well well well.
Capricorn, Friday the 15th, 2010.

The Sun is in your sign, so too, is the Moon. As the Moon passes directly in front of the Sun, it blocks out most of its light, leaving just a bright ring of fire around a black circle. In some parts of the world, the phenomenon goes on for over eleven minutes. This rare, powerful, event says something about your own ability to shine and the fear or negativity that sometimes prevents you from being at your best. It is as if you are about to see the true size and nature of a difficulty that has long daunted you and to be given proof that you are bigger than it.

I also have to say that the boy – ahem, young man – playing the lead in the new BBC series Demons (kind of Buffy-like, but with Brit accents, which I am enjoying) – is very cute.

Well. I am off to have a celebratory Guinness. Mind you, sometimes you have to celebrate before the fact. Don't you agree?

I went to a local coffee shop tonight and played for an hour and a half. Amidst conversations, street noise and occasional milk steaming cacophony. And it worked great. People kept walking in from the street and listening. Signing up on my email list. And, I got to practice the whole 'being in the zone' thing. I will be back there later in the week and may make it a regular thing for a bit. None of those people knew me or were my fans. This kind of experience – or experiment – is completely pure. Mind you, this is a fantastic area, too, full of creatives.

So, thought of the night: when it comes to performing, it should not matter if it's a coffeehouse or Royal Albert Hall (and I'll get to the latter yet and sell it out): it's me and the music. And the people, whoever they are or however many there are, get caught up in the magical web that I weave, if it's true and heartfelt. If I am in the 'zone'.

Which I was tonight. And now I am pleasantly tired and hungry.

Ultra connectivity of modern life is a strange thing. You wake up to go about your day, dealing with your concerns – some of them bigger and others miniscule – and then turn on the computer to find that a country somewhere has been devastated by an earthquake.

News takes minutes to travel these days. How do you react to something like that, though? By a prayer and a donation, I guess, when it comes to myself.

But it does make me think that we should live our days happier and more aware of all the wonderful things around us: the friends, the food, the ever-available technology. The opportunities. The coffee I drank this morning. The love I receive from friends and strangers – some due to the fact that I am becoming a better person, and some due to the gift of the music I make.

It also makes me wonder about other things. Haiti has consistently been ranked in the top four of the most corrupt regimes in the world for a few years now; topping that list in 2006. The corruption has led to incredible poverty. And now this. It is an ironic terrible thing. The country may never recover from this. Perhaps as of now there will be no more Haiti. What will this mean? Sometimes the most obvious things are not so obvious long term..

Another thing. As I was reading the news article about the event, I read: "Stunned people wandered the streets holding hands. Thousands gathered in public squares to sing hymns."

The power of music to heal, soothe and bring humans together. I think the above illustrates it in full.

well, so much for my inflated writing of yesterday morning.

Mind you, the show went really well, and there were moments when I was completely 'in' the music. I tend to be hard on myself. I always – always – always know how well I have done. The gift of self awareness can be an utter curse sometimes, kind of like the gift of perfect pitch.

But that said, I was also reminded how much work and practice I need to put into it. Now.

Highlight of the night was when a very nice Asian lady came up to me when she and her guests/friends were leaving, and asked me to sign her backpack.

I had an amazing afternoon brainstorming with a couple of creative and talented people, one of which is one of my best friends, and the other is fast becoming a good friend, as well. There are few things in the world that equate to being in company of such people, brainstorming, coming up with ideas and also being on the same wavelength. It is a rare pleasure, actually. And I am excited to be getting to a place where I am starting to build such a 'team'  around my music and within my life.

I was house sitting today, too, and when I walked into the kitchen, lo and behold there were two bees trapped in the room, trying to get through the glass to the other side. I caught them – it is really easy to do that with a glass and a sheet of paper – and released them both outside. I like bees. I never kill them. The word must have spread down the bee 'grapevine' because I haven't gotten stung in years. Well, the only one time I can remember was actually a couple of years ago, and it was only because a bee must have landed on my side, and I didn't know it and put my arm down.. So it basically stung me as a last resort as it was getting squashed. One time I rescued a bee from the pool. There was one time I rescued one from the ocean. I know this is sounding strange – but I have a soft spot for bees. Wasps are whole other matter, I can't stand them for some reason.

Came up with an amazing idea for a cover today, too..