The Journey Is The Destination

The race is on. The Almost Home master, artwork, and my $1600 payment is en route to Acme CD Manufacturing Corp. So now, I wait, and hope my 1000 copies make it to me in time for the November 20 tour kick-off.

The good news is that Alan made the track listing change I mentioned yesterday, so the sequence is just how I want it: California, I’ll Be Waiting, Never Be The Same, etc etc. You’ll hear when you get it: the record goes from the loudest, most produced track (‘California’) to the most simple and hushed (‘New York’), deconstructing itself from start to finish. Which was an accident, really, but a pretty cool one at that.

But I think people are getting tired of hearing me talk about it. (Are you?) At dinner with a friend last night, I found myself exclaiming more than once “Wait ’til you hear the record!” She was patient enough with me, but was like, “Other records can be good too, Benjamin” (we were talking about Randy Newman at the moment). And I know that. And I don’t mean to be self-absorbed. But I’m so excited about the damn thing, I just can’t help it. It just comes out. I’m like a solar flare these days, exploding with rogue energy.

So I’ve decided not to leave the apartment until the tour. I’ll just stay home and rehearse. No talking. No blogging. No excitement.

Fat chance.

At least I’m distracted for the next few days: the New York City Marathon is in about 72 hours. People seem more interested in it than ever this year, no doubt thanks to P. Diddy. This year’s gonna’ be pretty cool. A bunch of people I know are running it, so killing time out in Staten Island before the start should be more fun than usual — usually it’s just a lot of waiting. It’s supposed to be a beautiful day, and I’m as ready as can be. And I feel pretty good about the race. I mean, I’ve run six half-marathons this year, and a few bi/triathlons, so…

So I’m just going to try and just enjoy the people, the energy, and the city, and keep my aspirations for a personal best (sub 3:56:16) in the back of my mind. I mean, didn’t I once sing “Getting there takes all the time?” Didn’t I remind my mom upon her 500 mile trek across the Pyrenes that “The journey is the destination?” I mean, didn’t I? Huh?