I've noticed this because I have nothing but time to do with as I see fit. And I developed a habit (upon getting myPhone) of feeling instantly bored and distracting myself with technology. But the unease is really so momentary and goes away as quickly as it starts. The article says that in moments of inactivity, our brains have better access to autobiographical information. Maybe that information is painful, so we gorge on new information to keep the old pain from coming back. Maybe if we take the time (and energy / and space) to come to terms with that pain head on, we can move beyond it. Maybe giving ourselves long periods of quietude will teach us what we need to overcome. It was nice that the article reinforced what I was already thinking.
Over the weekend, though, I was hardly bored. I went to Chicago on the train Friday night, then took a bus to Lincoln Park for some homemade pizza, then to cocktails (margaritas with chiles and cilantro?!), then to see Diana and the Dishes in a benefit for Médecins Sans Frontières. Saturday was walking and coffee shops, Guitar Center (for a much-needed guitar humidifier), and then to Wicker Park.
Saturday night was a salon in Hyde Park that I'd been planning on going to for a while. Hosted by Majel, one of the people behind Opera Cabal, it promised an eclectic of music and poetry hosted in a Kenwood mansion. Yes, two blocks from Obama's place, but I'd seen it so many times that it's nothing exciting. It was BYOB but there was a ton of food (deep-dish pizza) that we noshed on before the performances. The first performance took place on the third floor in a space that was almost like an attic-ballroom. Like a finished attic with 14-foot ceilings following the slope of the roof. A big enough room for the 40 some odd people to sit (on chairs or on the floor) and watch a slide show presentation detailing the history of the University of Chicago vis-a-vis architecture, the World's Fair, and modernism. It was setting the stage for the next new building at the U of C, the Arts building - the picture of which is below. There was a narration read by two people involved in the project and a soundtrack coordinated by a third. I was dying to ask the guy running the sound if he knew that you could adjust the sound on a Mac without it making that sound. If you didn't know, you can either turn that off in Preferences > Sound or hold down Shift while changing the volume. I, for one, hate hearing that noise in public, like in a coffee shop, and think that it's really unprofessional.
After the presentation, being a mostly U of C crowd, there was the obligatory Q&A, which is all the more fun with academics. And by fun I mean tedious. One woman thought it was the right forum to complain about Jazz and dance being underrepresented. My friend Raynovich and I rolled our eyes at each other several times. Then there was a performance of solo violin pieces by a Lyric violinist. It was great for me to get to watch and get a better sense of how to write bowings. Then there was a lecture and preview of Opera Cabal's next performance in February. Devoted to avant-garde opera, unlike Chicago Opera Vangaurd which is devoted to new operas whatever their aesthetic, Opera Cabal commissioned a new opera from an Oberlin composer who acquiesced in spite of hating opera. So he stripped opera down to its essentials: music, drama, singing. The question of the evening was then "You call this opera?" This was tut-tutted by the U of C crowd, one person heckling "That's not a question." To which I would have said "That's not a question?" Turns out, it's an opera (according to the Cabal) replete with recitative parts (non-verbal, acted out, but moving the "plot" along - if there were one) and an aria (that was the harmony from a Wolf song, an English melody, and a text from F Scott Fitzgerald). Overall, a good time at the salon, which then served as a preamble to the rest of the evening: breaking stuff at a party in Logan Square before going to some mushroom bar on North avenue for some Scotch with Laura and Nick. (Mushroom bar: they just pop up overnight and you feel compelled to try them even though you're pretty sure they'll make you sick.) Sunday was MusicNOW to see Pierre Boulez and his music - and two world premieres by foreign composers my age. A really good concert. Then met a friend I met through Twitter for coffee (she was at the concert with her boyf), before training it back to Wicker Park. Went to the Gallery for the dinner (watched Alan, who lives in my old place, play a couple songs at the open mic) and met Anna for a drink. Ended up sleeping on her couch after a fierce game of Scrabble.
Monday, I tried to get to work, still in Chicago. I taught a piano lesson at 6, stayed for dinner, picked up a brush I forgot at Laura's, and rode my bike to the train. The bike I picked up at my old place; it's an old Trek, but it'll do for winter. I was going to leave the bike at Bobby's (bike shop) but all the doors were locked. I ended up locking it with a cable at the end of the docks and running over to the train. Literally running. I had 13 minutes to go from Illinois and McClurg to Millennium Station. Google maps says it should take 18. So I ran, then walked, then ran; my legs got so tired, must be out of shape. Some guy tried to ask me for money, but I was out of breath and could barely squeak out "Sorry man, I don't have time for you." Made it to the train with two minutes to spare, just as they were starting to pack up.
Finally, after three nights on three different couches, made it back to Michigan. I'm getting better at being a nomad. I even got a travel/hiking towel and a mini-brush that will leave more space in my bag for clothes.
I'm feeling pretty good, healthy. I meant to do some planning this morning but got up late and spent most of the morning settling in. Tomorrow, I'm going to plan, continue working on the orchestra piece, and play a little with the loops if Ableton doesn't crash. I'm really close to sending their support team a message.
Sorry for the novella. Lots happened.
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