my first time

went this evening down to the speckled bird for the their monthly open mike night. decided it was time to read some of my stuff in public. wasn't sure i would be able to make it, it being house church night and all. but i got there in time and put my name on the list before i could chicken out. wasn't really sure what to expect. the first person sang a couple of folky songs. then angela sang some irish tunes. then someone read a poem they had loved as a child. in between, the mc shared some of her own stuff as well as some stuff from other sources. then it was my turn. i chose four of the pieces i was most comfortable with - a couple of sonnets, some blank verse and my "credo." the first sonnet was a bit shaky - couldn't seem to get my breathing to work. but i soon settled down and read through the pieces. not sure it's exactly what's supposed to be shared at an open mike - much too structured i think for most people. crowd was polite but i'm not sure they followed what i was saying. nothing against them - just not the easiest stuff to listen to. much easier if read. need to see if i have some other stuff to share if i do it again - more free verse kind of stuff. i don't know. i'm glad i did it, but not sure if i liked it enough to do it more.

rode this morning out to mariemont - sublime weather and light traffic. a relaxing ride. took my time and didn't push too hard. am hoping to get back into a semblance of riding rhythm again. still had a bit of numbness today even with the seat lowered, but not as severe as before. tomorrow i plan on riding to my doctor's appointment and then steve and i are supposed to ride around and visit some of the local neighborhoods for a city beat piece (he's writing, i'm just along for the ride). we'll see how i feel tomorrow - supposed to be in 90s. can't complain, though - these past ten days of open windows and breezes have been glorious.

not sure how the doctor's appointment will go tomorrow - will talk to him about my gall bladder problems. could possibly lead to surgery sometime this summer. i figure removing one minor organ every year shouldn't be too bad for a while. watch your back, tonsils, you're next on the list!

at house church we were scheduled to talk about marriage and divorce, but as sometimes happens, we were called away to help someone out. ken o. had a minor accident biking, so steve and i drove out to pick him and laura up. one of the joys of house church is it's flexibility. so we'll pick up the touchy subject next week. it's a timely lesson as i've been once again re-evaluating my stance on divorce and specifically remarriage. lots of personal issues wrapped up in that, so i'm hoping to get a bit of perspective from our discussion, to get some real world perspective to go along with my purely intellectual thoughts.

time to read and try to sleep again. still debating whether the benefits of the machine (which i've yet to really experience) are worth all the hassle it's been so far. and the drugs haven't seemed to do much more than make it hard to wake up in the morning. perhaps i'm doomed to a life of little sleep. there are worse fates.
Æ

----------------
Now playing: Hedwig and the Angry Inch - Wicked Little Town
via FoxyTunes