I don’t think I would be able to function if I didn’t have an obsession of one kind or another, so currently I am feeding my artistic obsessions. I go through phases, from reading only one author until everything I write and say mimics what I have read, to watching an entire television series, until I have lost my mental balance and have melded into the particular era the series was shot in. I don’t fuck around when I dig into my obsessions. If it is a movie or TV show, then I go to imdb.com and check out every new actor and actress I am unfamiliar with. If there is a female actress I am sexually attracted to then I will Google then for any potential nudes that may be available from other movies they appeared in.
For whatever the reason, I can become obsessed with just about anything and everything. Years ago I was the lead guitarist in a popular punk band and after that played a variety of blues bands and projects. Now some twenty years later I still enjoy strumming my acoustic guitar and reliving those early years.
About 3 months ago I got it in my head that I should try to write some new material; something along the lines of a song I wrote named “Dirty Boulevard”. Dirty Boulevard was a very popular song at the time I had written it. It was far from a punk rock song but more of what I called “anti-pop” song. I originally wrote and performed it on an acoustic guitar, and in the early years of the band I played in, the group had performed it until our sound defined and it was dropped from our set list.
So at first I just sat at my computer desk and with an open notebook I began working on song ideas. While I never came up with anything I believed would be worth any further investment of time, I decided to try re-recording Dirty Boulevard to see if I could improve upon the old version. So I took an old Firewire Motu Traveler I had to Guitar Center In Saginaw and traded it for a Tascam USB interface, a few decent mics and stands, along with a set of Mackie monitors and began recording Dirty Boulevard.
It only took about 2 weeks for reality to set in and then I promptly packed all of the gear into my bedroom closet. I am not a young man anymore and while I could see myself playing in some of the local coffee shops and the such, there was no way possible I would take my music on the road like I had done some twenty years ago, thus killing that obsession befoe it got out of control.
My most current obsession that has turned into a legitimate hobby is the collection of Luxury writing instruments. I was given two slightly aged Mont Blanc pens as partial payment and gift by a generous and grateful college professor who I recently helped update an unmaintained Mac computer and network. One was a fountain pen and the other a sturdy rollerball. I was unaware of the real valve of these pens until I conducted an online search, and while at first I was going to simply sell them and pocket the cash, after watching a youtube video of another collector who bought broken pens and restored them, I decided to do the same.
While I haven’t perfected the art of fountain pen repair, I have been successful in repairing a Waterman Expert III and a Waterman Phileas. Both were bought in bulk collections of broken Waterman pens from eBay. From a modest $70.00 investment, I now have two fully functioning Waterman fountain pens each valued at roughly $150.00 each.
While I am sure I will have other obsessions, but I think I will nurture this one for a while. One thing is for certain; I have a lifetime supply of Luxury writing instruments close at hand should I need one!
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