it’s been precipitating for weeks now.  does it ever cipitate?  i’d love to see what happens after the rain, but not in the nelson sense.  still, sleeping late in a comfortable bed knowing you really don’t need to get up to do anything specific is a pretty amazing feeling.  it’s so rare that i get to sleep in a bed, and even more rare that i have nothing to do.  well, that’s not really the case, but for the most part i’m either busy or should be busy, or sleeping on a floor that is less conducive to lounging about.  that’s not to say i don’t lounge the heck out of floors, but it’s decidedly less comfortable than a bed with blankets and the ability to sleep diagonally.  what a luxury.

i’ve been in manhattan beach, ca for the last few days hanging with an old friend, colleen, from warped tour who is a lovely woman with great aspirations and talent.  on top of that she has warm, kind people in her life and provided me with a wonderful respite from the life that was beginning to wear on me.  the lack of shows in california, coupled with the fact that the few i’ve played have been less than overwhelming, has drained my heart of happiness and my wallet of dollars.  but after a seemingly unneccesary two hour drive to a show that didn’t happen two nights ago, and then the turn around to drive two hours back in the original direction, i was poised for feeling like giving up.  it was at this time that i spoke with a dear friend who is dealing with a life changing situation wherein he will have to reorient his entire existence or question everything he’s done.  it’s times like these that obviously any trite, simple problem i’m having is forgotten about or laughable and my only concern is to try and be there for people i love and who need a friend, a heart, an ear, a shoulder.  and not only does it make me feel good to be there for people, but it is also good to have things put in perspective, that life is not always what we think it is, is not always as tough as we think but also that we will have to deal with hard things at times, and when these happen, we should turn to our friends.

after talking and listening i headed back west and didn’t really care that my show didn’t happen or that my wallet was thin and hungry.  i knew in my heart that i have amazing people in my life and that there are way bigger problems to worry about.  i also was able to catch up with buddy brian about the variety of wonderful and banal things going on in his life.  i love this cat to death and implore you to check out his lovely music at http://www.myspace.com/thewaltzmusic.  he’s an amazing man and directly responsible for me being who and where i am today, both as inspiration to my 13-year-old self and my current 28.  between these two conversations i was really pleased to feel like a small piece in a very huge and lovely puzzle, a mosaic of beauty, hope and creativity.  i drove the rest of the two hours listening to sweet, sad, lovely tunes and feeling at peace.  after a comforting sleep i awoke to see colleen had returned home and we could finally catch up on the many adventures we’d neglected to talk about over the last year and half of digital communication after the tour ended.  it’s been good for my heart, though i fear i talked every ear in this house off.  but they have been nothing but sweet and welcoming so i’ll relax.

tonight i return to LA to play a show at the viper lounge, and it looks like colleen and her friends my come out as well as some of acacia’s friends, which totally rules.  somehow in a city where i barely knew anyone, a good handful of people are positively responding to the idea of coming to see me play, whereas in cities that i have lots of good friends it occasionally feels like pulling teeth.  it’s a really welcomed change and one that makes me feel way better overall.  i’m also just excited in general to play, as the last few weeks have been less than awesome for shows, so i’m looking forward to packing a bunch of friends into a tiny room and making music, love and laughs.

oh, and on a side note, i ate amazing vegetarian food in LA the other night with acacia.  the wildest part about it was that the veggie bbq pork sandwich that i had was made out of jackfruit.  maybe i already mentioned this?  well, i’m really excited about the fact that there is still a half of the sandwich in acacia’s fridge.  well, i’m hoping its there.  if not, i can’t be mad, but man that would fucking rule.

otherwise, just so you all know, here’s how the rest of the year of a thousand roommates is panning out:

i get back to the east coast on feb 13 and play in new brunswick feb 13 and philly on feb 14.  come get a vday kiss.

i’m going to sleep for three days and relax for a few more, but also have shows on feb 17 (local 269 in manhattan) and feb 20 (first big banquets show - my dudes from let me run, the stand in and the black numbers - in jersey).

feb 21 or 22 i will fly to the UK and straight from there to india to visit my brother.  a few weeks in india, and then some travels around the UK and europe and then the year is over.  crazy, isn’t it?  i’m excited, scared and curious.  i hope you’re all the same.

but in all honesty, i send my entire heart to all of you.  i’m broke and will have to get some sort of job after all of this, but it will have all been worth it.  for 9 plus months i’ve lived an amazing dream during which i’ve learned so incredibly much about people and about humans in general.  i’ve heard millions of incredible stories, made uncountable amazing friends and given and received hugs, love and songs from so many insanely beautiful people.  but hey, maybe i’ll win the lottery or people will just donate a few thousand dollars to me and then i can continue wandering the world and planting the seeds of love like some sort of hippie johnny appleseed.  until then though, i guess i’ll have to be a dish washer or something.  ha.

i hope you’re all warm, well and laughing.  i send my love.

pj bond