Writing Again

It feels great to be getting some songwriting done. I've teamed up with a production company in L.A. that shops songs to record labels for their artists. I managed to complete the first mix of the first song this morning and will polish up the vocals when I'm actually back in California. The songs are going to end up being far too "pop" for me to use as an artist - for better or worse, I don't see myself as being the popstar diva type. I'm learning to love that most of my songs aren't easily categorizable. As long as I'm staying true to myself and genuinely pouring my heart out, I'm happy. As far as the pop songs go - I'd be thrilled to make money by selling them to someone who's better suited to sing them. The lyrics are still honest and carry substance, but the character's more of the ass-shaking type. In case there was any confusion, I keep the ass-shaking to a minimum. Sorry.

I've been downloading every single song from every single Rush album ever made. I bought Luke an iPod for Christmas and have been spending weeks trying to fill it up with music he loves. He'll most likely be sick of all 4,000 songs after only two months in Afghanistan, but hopefully he'll be inspired to start creating his own music. We've pretty much gotten as much recording done together as we're capable of for the time being - his brain is fried. It's difficult for him to focus on playing guitar when he's about to go risk his life. The only thing that makes sense right now is physical and emotional closeness. Nothing else seems to matter during these last few days. His superiors are telling him that he'll have loads of down-time, though, so once he gets into the swing of things, he'll track down a guitar and resume playing. I put music-creating software on his laptop, so if he comes up with something cool while overseas, he'll be able to record it for later use.

I have two more illustrations to finish for the children's book. I'm hoping to get that done soon, but of course, that might have to wait until after Luke deploys. It's a struggle to keep my emotions in check. Every time I think about being without Luke, I tear up. If there's any couple in the world who could make it through this bullshit stronger and more in love than ever, though, it's us. Ready or not...