I’ll have the Sliced Spacey…

Well, I finally got the Doctor to listen to me when I said “My wrist really hurts”, and they sent me to a hand specialist (his full title is “Chief, Hand Division, Director, Hand and Upper Extremity Center, Director, Orthopedic Residency Program”, so ya know he’s good).  He sent me for an MRI, which was my first time being slid into a tube who’s sole purpose is to zap me with electric fields while making me as claustrohopbic as possible.  They said to keep still, but damn…there’s really not much place to go :-)  Got yelled at for the metal rivets in my jeans shutting the thing off, got yelled at for moving, did my best to keep the wrist still (which made fire shoot out of it), got slid out again and sent home.

Went back to Dr. Hand, and got yelled at by his residents for moving during the MRI…Guess I moved my wrist so much a non-expert couldn’t see anything on the MRI.  Which is why I went to the expert, not the residents, right?  He took a look at the films, took a couple more squeezes of my wrist and said, “It’s intersection syndrome*.  Well, we can do nothing, which probably won’t help, another cortisone shot, which stopped helping you, more physical therapy which hurt you more, or we can ‘do something’, which probably will help you.”  So I picked door number 4.

(* Intersection Syndrome = Tendons have a slippery sheath around them so they glide over each other.  The place where my finger-pulling tendons cross with my thumb-pulling tendons intersect has a problem…the sheaths lost their slippery-ness, inflammed, and eventually fused…known in medical circles as “an owie”.)

On August 27 I’m going under the knife for Intersection Syndrome Surgery…he’s making a small incision about three inches bleow my wrist and removing the inflammed and fused sheaths…closing me up and sending me home.  Recovery time seems to be about 6 weeks or so of pain and tenderness from what I’m reading (thank god for the intrawebs), and (cuz I’m an optimist) I plan on playing shows again by the end of the year.

I did try the old vaudeville joke of “Will I ever play the guitar again?”  “Of course you will” “Good, cuz I couldn’t before!”, but he’s heard it more times than Groucho told it and instead of “Of course you will”, came back with “Do you play it now?”……Doctors, no sense of humour …..

So, when ya see me around next month…say hi, and give me time to answer…I’ll be doing everything one-handed for a while.

Wow, what a pretty sunset…let’s ride towards it.

Dear Spaceheads:

Hiya!

Well, after much thought and wrestling with Mr. Wrist…he finally won out.  As a lot of you know, last fall I was diagnosed with two separate overuse-of-the-wrist syndromes (basically tendonitis in multiple spots) in my left wrist.  I took a couple months off from playing, but only got a small amount of relief.  A cortisone shot helped some, and the physical therapist, while nice, didn’t understand that it took me all week after an appointment with her to feel better from the pain she caused…then she’d do it again

At the beginning of the year, my position at work was changed temporarily, and my wrist started feeling better, so I started playing inworld again.

Well, at the beginning of last month I started back at my old position, and lo and behold, my wrist flared up pretty badly again last week.  This time the Doctor gave me another cortisone shot and said the next time it flares up, I’m looking at surgery…and there’s a lot of the same repetetive motion at work, so I’m expecting another flare up within the next 4 weeks or so.

As much as I’d like to quit my job and play in SL 7 days a week, Ol’ Spacey’s got mouths to feed (and a family too). Instead of hastening the inevitable and probably making things worse, I’m gonna have to take a long break from playing in SL, and hopefully postpone the next flare up and the knife for a little while.  On the upside, typing doesn’t affect it at all, so y’all will still hear from me from time to time.

I have two last shows scheduled, Wednesday the 7th at 4 SLT (a Relay For Life gig, so bring Lindens (and L$ too!)) and Saturday’s regular slot at Crystal Sands at 5 will be my retirement gig.

Update 5/7 - Had to cancel the RFL show, and I wholly expect to have to cancel Crystal Sands on Saturday.  It seems I’ve already retired

Update 5/9 - Yep…Not even gonna wait til Saturday to cancel…I now have this incredible urge to go fishing and hang out at a Denny’s.  Maybe I’ll see if Walmart needs any greeters?

I’m gonna keep the Spaceheads group alive, so I have something to come back to, but I do understand group space is valuable so I won’t cry if y’all need a slot

I’ll be back eventually, and maybe with pictures of the inside of my arm!

See ya soon!

Not too bad…

Well, the shows this weekend went pretty well. Did the smart thing and only played Crazy Sharks for a half hour. Smart for two reasons; one, to give my back a chance to get used to sitting in a chair again, and two, Dru only had half as much time to be mean

Woke up this morning with my back screaming at me, but I really wanted to play the shows I had lined up, so I fought my way through. It’s actually not too bad until I try to stand up…that takes a while to straighten out. Bluestar Music Temple is a beautiful venue, and I would love to go back. I found it interesting that the host said everything in 3 languages. I have friends in SL from all over the world, but things like that really make you realize that SL is truly an international deal now.

After a hot bath and a little pre-show relaxation, I headed over to Drift’s party. The stage was dead center of 4 adjoining sims, with audience seating and dancing areas all around. Drift was on stage with us musicians, and aside from a quick realization that everyone ‘cept me was in some sort of formal wear, I had a great time. My first weekly gig was at The Lily Pad, and even though I only played there for a few months, I learned a lot from Drift, and I’ll never forget the support she gave. There are probaby close to 100 musicians that can say something like that, and I’m proud to have been asked to celebrate and thank Drift for her work.

Prankster’s is canceled for tomorrow night…they’re having a hard time finding a Monday host that can be there at 5 SLT, and it’s probably a good idea for me to rest my back for a day or two.

The only thing I have scheduled so far for this week is on Saturday. I’m taking part in opening The Sunshine Daydream, a new Dead related club run by Grateful Stryker and the fine folks that run Crystal Sands. Not sure of the time yet, but it looks like it’ll be around mid-afternoon Second Life Time.  More than likely there’ll be more scheduled as the week goes on.

Well, let’s try things here :-)

So I’m moving my blog over to WordPress. Why? I have no clue…it’s not like I post…I guess it was time for a change, and this is as minimal a change as I think I can make. Hope you like the new layout, and that it makes you as happy as the last one did

Shows, shows…well I have a few scheduled, but I wrenched my back earlier this week and I can’t move properly just yet, so we’ll have to see how the weekend goes.

Saturday at 2:30 SLT I have my regular show over at Crazy Sharks,and Sunday I’m at a new club, The Bluestar Music Temple at 12 SLT, and at 4 SLT, I’m playing at (surprise gig that many musicians are taking part in, check SL events list or the Spaceheads group for info). a party to thank Drift Monde for all she’s done to promote and help Live Music in Second Life grow.  Clicky here to get there.  There’s music all day and night, and I get a sweet spot, following the fantastic Grateful Stryker, so come early and stay late!

So…I think that about does it for the move… I hope I didn’t break anything on the way over.

Dang time flies!

Man, I thought I just updated this thing

Well, shows have been going well, and not so well.. I had a week or so of great crowds, then a week of 9 people total over three shows…that and some of the other usual stuff of late made for a depressing week last week, but so far this week I’ve played to some great crowds, and been getting to a lot more shows by other artists. The Live Music Scene in SL is just amazing these days…a lot of competition at the times I’m able to play in, but there’s just so much great talent spilling onto the grid now. Check out a show whenever you can!

Now, for some Spacey news:

Last week, I was Resident Of The Week in The Metaverse Messenger. Check out my deepest thoughts about SL….hehe

I’m also in a couple YouTube Videos, Check out a short clip from Crazy Sharks here, and a full version of Throwin’ Stones from The Merry Prankster here. Sound could be better, but that’s on my end…I’m workin on it

And…shows, shows, shows!

Friday I’m at Crystal Sands at 5 (yay!) Saturday I have my regular slot at Crazy Sharks at 2 SLT, Sunday at 5 SLT I’m back at Bay Vista for the first time in more than 4 months….wrist injuries SUCK!! And of course, back at The Merry Prankster Monday at 5 SLT for Good Ol’ Grateful Dead Night.

That about does it for this episode…tune in next time!

Another weekend, another bunch O’ shows…

Hiya!

Well some shows this weekend, including a new aspect to Spacey…he’s a DJ too!

Thursday (tonight) at 5 SLT, I’m at The Smoldering Joint, which still has the best club name anywhere in my experience.

Tomorrow, I’m over at Crystal Sands again at 6 SLT. Hopefully I’ll be allowed backstage after last weeks debacle (again..sorry about the carpet, guys).

Then Saturday, I’m helping my dear friends Rose Farina, Irelyn Christensen, and Pukk Abel open their new sim “Ooohlala Mode“. The fun there starts at 1 SLT, with Niko Donburi, then Cylindrian Rutabaga melts us all at 2. At 3, I’m gonna DJ for an hour or so, take a well deserved nap, and come back at 5 SLT for a live set of the usual stuff…then Rose is gonna take over the Wheels of Steel and spin some tunes for us til the wee hours (or so she says).

That about does it for this weekend…see y’all soon!

(See….now this is how *not* to do drama…..)

Welcome back my friends to the Show that never ends…

Crystal Sands was a blast! What a great place to play…great crowd, even a backstage area to hang out and get plastered in before going onstage (sorry about the burn marks on the carpet, guys).

So a couple days off to make sure the wrist is doing OK…seems to be so far, so I’m happy…then a full weekend coming up:

Saturday at 1 SLT, I’m performing at The Abyss Museum of Ocean Science, a fantastic build in SL. The opening in November won New World Notes Best Educational event in SL for 2007. Run by a pair of the best sculptors in SL, this build takes you to the extreme depths of the ocean to meet some interesting creatures.

(UPDATE) Then at 4 SLT, I’m back on the stage at Crazy Sharks, instilling fear into the hearts of the evil bunnies that lurk there

Sunday, I’ve got two 1/2 hour shows…one at Sterling Vineyard’s Weekly Open Mic at 3 SLT, then at 5:30 SLT, I’m playing at The Merry Prankster’s 500th member party. That will have been going on for an hour or so once I get there, so please forgive any drunken nudity that may (or may not) occur.

That about does it for me….Thanks once again to everyone for all their support the last couple weeks. I wouldn’t still be playing without you guys.

I’m baack! :-)

Yeah, it wasn’t that long of a break after all…I found what I needed most was to play. So I started back at Prankster’s, did the usual Dead plus a few others. It was cathartic…some songs took on new meaning for me, others that had meaning really didn’t anymore…a very interesting experience. There were a few people there that knew what I have been going through, and that support and random IM hugs helped a lot

And why not go right back in tomorrow with another show…this time at Crystal Sands at 6 SLT. It’s my debut there, they opened right around the time my wrist started acting up and I never got the chance to play. Hope to see a lot of Spaceheads there, and maybe make a few new ones while I’m there…goodness knows there’s plenty of room in the group now

See ya!

Isn’t that the way these things go?

So, as soon as my wrist felt better enough to start playing again, something else went awry that’s gonna keep me from playing for a while

To all of my friends that have poured out of the woodwork the last few days, I offer my heartfelt thanks. You know I would do the same for any and all of you, and that’s really all I can say about that. I’ll never forget it.

To all the Spaceheads that I so unceremoniously removed from the group, I’m sorry. I do need a break from playing to collect my thoughts and edit some of the song list, but I will be back soon. The Spaceheads group is still alive, so feel free to join whenever if you have a free group slot, or I’ll get ya back in next time you see me playing.

To Rose: You kept me sane this week. I have the discharge papers to prove it. Thank you.

And Yummie. I don’t think I need to say a word…just…

See y’all soon!

Well, I suppose that’s one way…

Yes, I don’t update my blog very often, I know…but a chain letter, Sunn? ;-D *FINE* .

My good friend Sunn sent me this…apparently I am now required by laws of the universe too complex for mortals to understand to post 8 random things about myself, then challenge 8 random friends to do the same about themselves on their blogs. There was one story in the note he sent me about Mrs. Sherman Q. from Lockridge, Iowa. She only posted 6 random things about herself. The next day, her husband left her for a lemur, her pastor converted to Zoroastrianism, and fingernails started to grow out of her nose. So……

1. I named my 15 year-old cat after my favorite Beatles song.

2. I have competed against the world record holder for Joggling 100 meters (juggling and running at the same time) in an official race (I lost).

3. I have a black belt in karate.

4. Although it’s a male name, my son is named after Cass Elliott’s daughter.

5. I’m not a fan of piña coladas, or getting caught in the rain.

6. I have a fortune cookie fortune taped to my monitor: “Your love of music will be an important part of your life.”

7. It only took me a minute and a half to find the “ñ” in “piña colada” on the Windows character map.

8. I used to put a cassette recorder in front of the TV and record episodes of The Monkees and fall asleep to them.

Welp, that’s about it for “Spacey at a Glance”. Tune in next month when we find out the answer to burning questions such as “What’s Spaceman’s favorite pasta topping?”.

I suppose I gotta post the 8 people I’m sending this to now…and since she hasn’t posted to her blog since September…I’ll start with Irelyn, then move onto Rose, and flip it over towards…..Rosa might like it, Grateful can do it on his MySpace, Jaycatt cuz I’m at a show of his as I type this, Dolmere cuz I don’t see it on his blog in the last few weeks, and….hey, look! Rez has a blog!

Anyone complains, I’m sending ‘em to you, Sunn…