overload

i have the same problem with every big fun holiday. i wait and wait all year long and then the day happens and suddenly i wake up and it's over. and i'm so so sad...no matter how old i get, the weeks after xmas just totally make me depressed. this year is no different, but i'm managing ok. taking a solid 48 hours to lay in bed, watch tv, and only use my leg(s) to get my sad smelly self to the bathroom or kitchen really helped. now i'm left fixing all the crap that should have been dealt with during that time, namely sending important applications for various music competitions that are almost overdue and dealing with the fact that my bank account is unbelievably overdrawn. this is on account of the fact that i actuallly bought people thoughtful presents this year for the first time ever. yes, you read that correctly. i've never claimed to be generous or selfless. on the contrary, i am extremely open about the fact that i'm a completely self-involved and egocentric little twit.

this year pretty much kicked big holiday ass in every way. there's a certain something that happens in families when all the kids are grown up but not so grown up that they're totally independent. they mostly live out of the house, but they're not married or have kids of their own. they have jobs or generate at least some of their own income, but they still get checks for their birthdays. this is a perfect moment in the suburban family, as i have learned. this is primarily because it is when the whole family finally throws caution to the wind and gets WASTED. oh yes, this xmas was all about alcohol here in west hartford, connecticut. granted, my parents are british and we have a certain love for the bottle that other families may not share, but there is something so sweet with looking around the holiday table, eating the ham and creamed broccoli and mincemeat pies, and realizing that every person there is just as loaded as you are. oh yes, how sweet it is. now you must realize that we are civilized people, so it's not like anyone was drooling or knocking over things or setting people's hair on fire by accident, but there was definitely a nice flow for about four days of "good morning" bloody mary's to lunchtime beers to evening champagne toasts to bottle after bottle after bottle of wine during and after supper. it doesn't get much better than that.

another reason that the holidays ruled over all holidays of all time is because i got to do a gig which involved singing in the basement of an entertainment lawyer's house while a born-again christian pianist i know played on an out-of-tune upright. all that can really be said about this particular situation is that we were by far the only white people in a house filled with 60-75 extremely fancy african americans, it was a DRY CHRISTMAS PARTY (which as we can see from the aforementioned testimonial, just won't do), and i had to compete with a 20 person gospel choir with a full band that played directly above us. why we were asked to play at the same time as the 20 person gospel choir (and let me tell you those jesus lovers were really really really loving jesus that night) is beyond me. the only people coming downstairs were the little kids who were stealing chicken wings from the not-yet-opened tinfoil containers and pouring themselves endless plastic cups of sprite. everyone else was praising jesus upstairs, and as soon as it was over and they came down to eat the chicken wings and french fries, our time was up. wow.

so, the holidays are almost over. all that's left is new year's...ugh. always such a pain in the ass. i mean, it's just one of those things that never lives up to anyone's expectations. ever. as long as i'm inebriated and with the ones i love, i could give a shit. if you are in new york and don't have plans, my dave and i will be seeing my darling kat in williamsburg, spitting on chris at pioneer bar, and finally djing at fat baby in the east village. (not me, dave. i don't do that crap.)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS MY LOVELY LOVELIES!!