Ah, the wonderful world of freelance, where your fortune can change from Ramen Noodles to top cut Filet in a matter of minutes. One moment, I’m convinced my power will be shut off by the end of the month; the next, I’m invoicing out $400 for a few editing jobs, planning a $600 video shoot for the weekend, and finalizing the details to get paid an obscene amount of money to learn to race a Porsche.

Yeah, it’s tough being me. Or, as I put it in my less manic moments, it’s great work when you can get it.

For those playing at home, if this was steady and stable, I’d be a lot more at ease with my situation. But when weeks can go buy with no money incoming, and those same weeks are filled with autos and computers and other equipment hemmorhaging cash, it can feel a little hairy.

So today was spent reviewing a metric shitload of CDs for Birmingham Weekly in weeks to come — Doves, Yngwie Malmsteen, James LaBrie, Queens of the Stone Age, Stuart McNair, Black Label Society. Overload. Overload. Danger, Will Robinson!

Yesterday was spent writing up the interview I did with Shadows Fall singer Brian Fair — which reminds me that this will be the most fortunate concert-going month in my history. I’ve got Steve Vai in 2 days, Shadows Fall (with my brother’s band Catchfire opening) on the 24th, and then Strapping Young Lad in Atlanta on 4/29. And I’ve got VIP passes to all…

Yeah, it’s tough being me.

The job I was shooting for at UAB reopened, and after a few phone calls, I think I’ve sorted out how to avoid my paperwork falling between beaurocratic cracks this time. It’s a good thing, too — the potential boss is a good guy, from what I saw working parallel to him; the job is right up my alley (part web design, part programming, and part writing); and the salary is… well, it’s nice to think that I haven’t worked as hard as I have all these years to continually look at making roughly under my age in thousands. Here’s hoping….

And of course, the continual distraction that is known as Pookie. She may well be the ruin of my logical thinking.

That’s a good thing, by the way.

And yes, she has a real name, but it’s been changed to protect the innocent. Legally changed, at that.

I should probably stop smoking. I don’t know why — which is why I probably won’t stop smoking — but I should.

Possibly going down to Clanton to record eight bass tracks on Sunday for the new Exhibit(s) disc. I’m thrilled beyond description that the process for the next disc has finally been set in motion. I told Chance that I suspected that getting the ball rolling was the only thing standing in the way of finally getting another AEX disc out; turns out inertia is on my side and I might have been right. It’s a strong collection of tracks (no surprise, given Eric’s abilities), with only one tune that I’m not a fan of (it’s just never clicked with me). Hopefully, the end result will be worthy, and maybe even a little different from the live versions we’ve been playing weekly for over a year now.

And dammit, I need to get this year’s two submissions for the Sidewalk festival over to their office, just to get it out of the way.