I left home late yesterday afternoon with a barely begun entry about how ornery I was feeling throughout most of the day, but then it was kind of surprising how the day turned on a couple of mostly minor events.

Of course, it almost went entirely the other way, as I almost hit my second cyclist in two days on my way to Guitar Center. Wednesday's was my fault, as I didn't check my sideview mirror before I opened my door across the street from Schuba's. The most recent incident, though, was some moron coming from way behind me as I was signaling for a right turn. Fucking brilliant. Just come right out of my blind spot, why don't you? It's not like you can tell I'm going to turn or anything. Then there was more rain, and I thought I was in for a miserable evening.

The plan, such as it was, involved exchanging the 18" crash cymbal I bought on Monday, visiting with some co-workers down in River North, then Foxide rehearsal. Things started changing for the better when I got down to the typically congested neighborhood of the Brehon Pub, right around 6:45pm. The time is significant, because half a block away was a parking spot that was a 15-minute loading zone until 7pm. So I put on my hazards and got me a drink.

Then, rehearsal went pretty well. Kevin rejoined us for this one, as he's returning to the fold and Erik couldn't make it, and seemed to be enjoying himself. And after the initial disappointment of the first crash cymbal I bought this week, the new one just sounded right. Full-bodied, nice pitch, the right amount of decay, and this nice dark, jazzy quality.

Finally, off to Moxie to continue working that open mike in order to get a weekend paying gig. No real progress to report there, but I still think it will happen eventually.