Changing Directions

I'm starting to type this post just as a cat purports to settle into my lap, and a 25 month-old wakes up and waltzes out of her room, ready to take on the afternoon. Let's see how far I get. ;)

Hurray for the Fall!  It's been a hell of a summer and I am so glad to see it end. Suffice to say it was super-stressful, but the worst parts are over.* Now we're in a transition period, as we remember what life was life before it became so busy -- and as we find new paths for using our talents or handling long-standing issues.

One thing is certain: I have got to bring home some more money! I Love my job. I love my boss, I love the work I'm supporting, I think it's important to get this work out into the world. That said, I do not intend to leave my current part-time position, despite our growing need for additional income.

That leaves me with finding a secondary source of income that isn't stressful or requiring of an upfront investment of some kind. I have nothing of value left to sell (and those items that I do have aren't moving in this economy regardless.) Also, minimum-wage jobs are not an option -- what little is left of my time to "give" to a job is more valuable than that. I could write and love the work... but the starting income is eq*uivalent to about $3 an hour.* Been there, done that, I need faster results!

Then, last night, as I lay in bed thinking, it occurred to me: I have one asset that I can give and give and give from without losing any inventory. One lasting resource that people have told me they would pay for: my voice.

Now, I can't play any instruments while singing - not well, anyway. It's not for trying/practice, it's just how I am.  So I need an accompanist, or backing tracks, or something. Or I need to sign up with a local talent agency and let them work on my behalf. I used to avoid doing that in part on the basis of my looks (hefty) - but last year in Ikea at Christmastime, I saw a man and a woman perform, and she was every bit as big as me and not nearly as good. And I thought, "I can do that!"

Christmastime is the primary gig time for musicians like me. How do I get started around here with something like that? Where do I find an accompanist willing to work for half of whatever gets tossed in our hats? I know some GREAT musicians around here, but none of them are right for this job - they are either soloists in their own right (and I'd be backup for them) or they're too busy with other things. I don't want to be backup. Give me the dang mic.

* denotes any place I was interrupted* while typing and had to leave for a bit. *