I'm going to be quite busy for the next month or so and I'm beginning to stress a little with the volume of things I've said I'll do. I seem to have overcommitted myself, promising myself out to a lot of worthy causes (read: mostly things that pay me little to nothing) because sometimes I have a hard time saying no. I would like to pretend that this is because I am such a diehard altruist but to be completely honest there's more to it than that.
Part of it is that all these people are asking me to play music and I've had a longstanding policy of playing in front of people as often as I possibly can. A few days ago I found myself wondering where this policy came from and and after thinking about it for a while I realized that I once read a piece of advice from a very successful musician that said, in effect, "Take every gig you can get. If you wait till you're ready you'll never be ready."
This advice appears to have made a strong impression on me.
But then I thought about it some more and it occurred to me that this axiom might very well have originated with an interview I once read with none other than Ted Nugent. And of course, once I realized that, I found myself saying
"Ted Nugent? I'm taking advice from Ted Nugent? I am a complete idiot!"
The other reason I sometimes have a hard time turning down these requests, I suspect, is because I secretly enjoy envisioning myself in the role of savior. I like to feel that I'm swooping down to the rescue and saving the day. Not so much a Christ complex as a Batman complex. I mean, loaves and fishes and water into wine and whatnot are cool, but retractable grappling hooks are way cooler.
Normally when I start to get this feeling that I'm in way over my head it makes me want to hide in my room and take long naps in the hopes that when I wake up it will all have gone away somehow. Which, as it turns out, doesn't work. And is also, I'd like to point out, very un-Batman-like behavior: Batman never took naps.
So there you have it: My role models are apparently Batman and Ted Nugent. It's a wonder I can dress myself.
Posted by flamingbanjo at July 22, 2005 02:44 PM"My role models are apparently Batman and Ted Nugent. It's a wonder I can dress myself."
What, I thought every up-and-coming musician/superhero sported camo fatigues, spandex and Nomex coated body armor in their closet...
i am a girl who cain't say no, and i have often found myself in a horrible mess. i'm trying now to filter free or nearly free work with this qualification: am i likely to feel resentful or noble about this while i'm doing it? how about after i'm done?
i like your superhero factor. i always liked "letterman" from the electric company. perhaps this warrants further investigation.
Posted by: anne at July 24, 2005 05:45 PMAvoiding eye contact is often my (non-) coping strategy, too. Never works, my friend.
Posted by: mol at July 26, 2005 09:58 AM