Queen's Gambit

Its another "first day;" as I turn to face a very excitingly uncertain future, I put to rest a very trying age of enlightenment and embrace the oncoming swarm of artistic opportunities, adventures, and possibilities. I've advanced to a higher stage of Life's never-ending chess tournament.

Yesterday, I joined the ranks of the "Laid-off" - an event I not only anticipated, but also eagerly awaited. Though I was "content" in my position with the cafe, it held no promise of promotion or fertility. I can gratefully look back at my time with SCC as a fantastic voyage: I discovered the tricks and traps of owning and managing an independent artisanal business in Chicago, fell more deeply in love with craft coffee and its encompassing sensory experiences, and fortified my necessity for creative process and collaboration in everything into which I dive my heart and soul.

I could certainly be much worse off turning this leaf. Spring is nigh, and so with it brings growth, (consequently evolution), warmth, and longer days. I have more artistic partnerships and inspirations now than ever, and an often overwhelmingly fantastic perception of and approach to this individually common experience we call Life. Meditation and wholistic health ground me, my senses enliven me, my soul impassions me, family and friends and strangers give purpose to those passions. Yes, life could be worse.

An overview of upcoming artistic ventures:
- promising interview with Ballroom Dance Chicago.
- promising audition for "Mother's Milk" low budget feature film.
- currently developing my website with RECasper.
- "Raffe": booking gigs, promoting, music video direction, and possible collaboration.
- developing a guerrilla social experiment "Dance or Die"
- "Let Them Eat Cake" in rehearsals now, performing in March @ Workbook, Art Institute, Carnivale.
- begin teaching "Tuning-In: Character Acting through sound and movement." in March.
- Production meetings for "Water" begin in March. 
- Point Break, Live! returns for 6 weekends, beginning late March
- cast as the Porter in MacBeth at New Rock Theater in May
- and continuing to write, paint and make music. 

My senses do not deceive me, though. I am aware that great challenge awaits me; in this world it depends greatly on income and I have little of that at present. This excites me, however, as I thrive in the midst of challenge. I crave problems to solve. My senses are heightened and they continue to guide me through the maze called "Balance."

Balance means my passions, talents, and enjoyable employable skills entirely support my health and my wealth. The puzzle is in the process of discovering how I and my passions, talents, and enjoyable employable skills can effectively collaborate with the community, society, world and universe in which we exist. It's a mix of philosophy, sociology, child psychology, quantum metaphysics, statistics, and logistics. It's a sales and stock strategy. It's a duality of student and teacher. It's intuitive. It's a social experiment. It's gaining control by letting go. I can't overcome the obstacle unless I acknowledge and submit to its existence. It's a chess game with Goliath.

I've done my studying. I've watched him play. I've prepared my mind and soul, and set up my board.  I'm White, and it's my move. Queen's gambit: pawn to d4.