This Just In! I Have A Character Flaw

Shocking. I know.

I met with someone today about playing music [cue "Back in the saddle again...."] and here's where my character flaw came to light.

But first....

I haven't played much at all since The Break Up. I haven't written any new songs, I haven't sang in front of people. Actually, I couldn't play "Dream Song Thingbob" (forgive the title) without crying for months. I'm over that now, but I'm still not doing anything productive. If artists derive their art from pain, I should have a double length cd written by now, right?

Nope. Nuthin'.

So, I impulsively answered a couple of craigslist ads looking for singers. And I didn't tell anyone about it because I wanted the option of backing out without looking like a weenie. After some emails and myspace sharing, I met Tbone (not his real name and not Burnett) in person and played him some of my originals. He liked them. Which made me feel like I haven't lost it completely.

Enter character flaw.

I tend to hijack the conversation. I'm asked a yes or no question ("Do you like the band so-n-so?") and six minutes later I'm talking about what I had for dinner last night and that my favorite color is red. And the person says, "Uh, where was I going with that?"

Crap.

I chalk it up to nervous energy. I talk too much when I'm nervous. Did I ever tell you that my kindergarten and elementary school teachers used to write that I talked too much on my report cards? Quite the motor mouth, I was.

I also deduce that I babble because it's my way of being interested in the conversation. I'm not one to ask a lot of questions because it annoys me to have conversations with people who just pummel you with questions and never throw their two cents in and you feel like you're on a stage being interviewed under a heat lamp. So I don't ask questions because I don't want to pummel people but I'm still pummeling these poor people because I'm rambling about a Kia commercial and how depressing folk singers really INSPIRE ME when I simply should have said, "Yes. I like them."

They say acknowledging the problem is the first step to solving it.

Problem = Acknowledged.

Tbone, I promise keep the babbling to a minimum and let you finish a thought next time. Honest.