$1399 later and it's still raining

The day starts with Rachel making a good cup of coffee. I’ll miss my “family” in Portsmouth, they’ve been so good to me. I have to leave early to get to the radio station. I’ll have an interview with Tim Stone and am looking forward to it.

I just love doing radio and it is very satisfying to me. After that I get a recommendation to go to the “Friendly Toast”, a breakfast place her in town.

I’m starving and can’t get enough food into my mouth. It’s really good, scrambled eggs with feta, olives and dried tomatoes. After that I visit the local Record store which a has an incredible selection. I find one of my favorite Cd’s, Teitur’s “Poetry and Airplanes.” I just love that album.

After that I’m looking for a Café to do some email. When I can’t find anything I decide to just drive around and see if there is some wireless. I find some place, park and start working. All over sudden the screen turns all green, then red, then blue, then grey and then it’s gone – that was it. I have an instant feeling of panic. All my database, contacts and tour info is in that machine. I’ve backed up last week but already collected tons of new stuff. Any attempt to turn it on fails and so I call Tim and ask him if he knows a Mac store in town. He gives me three phone # of people who might know. In the meantime it is 1:30 pm and I need to get going – but where? Finally I get an address of a store in the North Shore Mall in Peabody. It’s on the way to my show tonight at the Midway Café in Boston. I drive back to the radio station to print out directions and get going. It starts raining and I’m also close to tears. If my computer is toast I’m in serous trouble – period.
The Mall is a maze and it rains even harder. By the time I find the store I’m all wet. I’m lucky and get somebody to look at it right away. The diagnosis is devastating – no way to repair, it has to be send to TX. I’m searching as hard as I can for an option but the only one is to buy a new computer on the spot and transferring the data so I can continue my tour. That hurts and $1399 later I get a smile from the technician.

Two hours later I walk out of there into pouring rain. If it rained cats before, now it’s Dobermans! When I reach the first row of parked cars I’m completely soaked and still have to find my car which is in row 12, I guess?! I barely find back to the highway and am trying hard to figure out how to get to the club. The rain does not make it easier and my mood does not help.

Finally I’m back on track but run into Boston rush hour – not again!

Oh man, there is the tunnel again and it takes about 90 minutes until I see daylight again. Now I’m really late and kind of disoriented but still determined to get there for the sound check. When I arrive, nobody is there and when I look at the billboard I don’t see my name on it. Oh no! Jess forgot that she booked me – I can’t believe how that day is messing with me. Now it starts to be funny and I can’t help but getting that stupid smile out of no reason – or maybe a really good one. When Jess arrives I introduce myself and she’s slowly getting it. She is a little embarrassed and offers me to open up but I was looking forward to playing a round and either want to do that or just drink a couple of beers and listen. We end up doing the round with Jess Yoakum, Liz Stahler and Kristin Cifelli. My friend Patti DeRosa show up too and we take a picture before we start.

I know Patti from Myspace and am glad that she came to see me with her friend Arnold. Andy, Vicky’s husband comes too and so I have some people there and don’t feel too lost. The show is nice though I miss the friendly support that I know from the Seattle rounds. I guess the others were not quit at ease with me as unexpected 4th wheel. Whatever – I’m enjoying it and the music heals my injured soul. By the end of the evening I’m back on track and have a great conversation with Andy before he guides me back to their house. After all it is only money that I lost.