A couple of Saturdays ago, through a series of events, I had to scramble to cover a DJ's event at Timeless Underground. It was already posted, and it was to be directly following another DJ, so there would already be people there. I was able to get the second hour covered pretty easily, but that left an hour in between. Since I had the know how, and a playlist almost set up, I decided to DJ for that hour. I'd known that I might have to cover sooner or later, and my philosophy at the moment is to give everything a try.
The fifteen minutes before I actually played were some of the most stressful and exhilarating I've had in a very long time. I accidentally borked my unsaved playlist at almost the same moment that the DJ we were covering for announced they were able to play, and proceded to get very upset that we already had plans to cover their time. I had to go deep to find a calm place, and I did.
I played, and managed to keep the crowd we already had for the next DJ. It rocked. It's an incredible ego boost to be sharing music that is personal to you with other people and having them like it.
Since then I've played a few times. I played at TU again to a very small crowd and got heckled even. It doesn't feel quite right to be playing there because my job is to manage and to promote, and doing that for myself seems wrong. I will remain ready to DJ there if need be, but I will always put myself at the bottom of the list of possible fill-ins.
I'm less selfless than I sound, as my spinning at Underground got me a regular job at another place called The Diffuse Lounge. Every Saturday night I'll be following DJ Lain Messmer for a couple of hours. The first time was just this past weekend, and for serious, there's nothing like feeling those nerves turn into exhilaration.
My very good friend Ela is back after a long absence. I met Ela way way back in The Sims Online Beta. I was a true nub, and she took me under her wing. Without the experiences we had there at Hap'penstance I might not have been so suited to doing what I am doing in SL now. We rarely get a chance to measure the flowing stream that is our self, but Ela's comeback has made me sit back and say "oh my stars and little garters!". I've come a long way, and gained a lot of confidence. I'm grateful for reminders like this, and to take the time to notice that these are the good old days.













