Re: The virus, the economy, mandolins and you
I've been busy catching up on a number of inside projects I'd been putting off for a long time, mostly because I'd rather do just about anything else. But now I've got fewer excuses, so I'm finally getting around to them. I suppose that's a good thing.
I lost a couple of St. Patrick's Day gigs, too. One was a private party the Sunday before it, cancelled due to fears, two weeks (as it turned out) before the first reported case in the country. The other was at a pub scheduled from 3:30-7:30. Our mayor issued an edict that morning ordering all bars and restaurants in town to close beginning at 5:00. Done in by bad timing.
My day job closed for ten days beginning the next day. That got extended indefinitely. The company is the largest employer in the tourist industry here, and tourism is by far the biggest industry in town. There is hardly anything else going on here, apart from typical retail and service industries. So by now the place is pretty much shut down. All non-essential businesses are closed. Perhaps with some exceptions. I didn't know until now that liquor stores are essential. I guess ... The upside of this is that I may be eligible for unemployment. I was planning to quit soon anyway. So while that date has been pushed up a bit, I could well be getting something like severance pay instead of just walking away cold.
By fortunate happenstance I went to pay the rent on my storage unit. Turned out they were getting ready to shut down for the time being. (That's how I learned about the order concerning non-essential businesses.) I got a few instruments out of there, including the 1908 A-1 I'd forgotten about. Put a new set of strings on here and adjusted the intonation. It's sounding pretty nice, though it's still thinner than my plain A. That pineapple tailpiece is a beaut, though.
Another plus is, with all this free time, I've been spending more time than usual with my duo partner, 33 miles up the road. We've been doing some recording and video shooting. The videos started out as entries in NPR's Tiny Desk contest, but we've added more beyond those. I'll be posting these in the near future. If you can't wait, go here and here.
Stay well and happy!
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
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