It's there, George. It's just that not everyone can read it. I recommend Madame Zala at the end of Brighton Pier. 

There is a very long shot that somebody like t_i_n to occure with a character like that and with his/her features, likes and dislikes etc.
We are all part of a nature and part of a game.


I agree with Millie that it is better to live and to know how it is. If one doesn't know what it it is to earn for something, be betrayed, perhaps change camps yourself, have doubts, have ups and many downs than one doen's have pains, but one doesn't know much too.
Would it be better never come to life and be a stone or a cliff?

I believe we don't go away, we come for a short moment to learn and leave something behind.

But some times (often) I agree with the ones that doubt that wisdom.

However, at the end it worth it to be alive.
My brother did not make it. They did not want him, but I was given a chance. Sometimes I envy him.

I suppose that is the answer, Martle. I was trying to avoid paying the fee by doing it in-house with a mirror on a stick.

This is sort of a tangent, but something which this seemed the appropriate thread to post in. I was looking at martle's comments at the beginning, and considering the sort of stress that comes for many working in the music world, and certain factors in particular. One of these is the relative informality in terms of the times spent on one's work: obviously if one is primarily doing a teaching job hours are more fixed (though in universities and music colleges these are still somewhat less rigid than in, say, a 9-5 office job) and even more so in music administration and publishing; but composition, performance, writing take place at all sorts of hours of the day. And all can be very solitary in nature (for composers and writers most of all and to a large extent solo performers). This is combined with all the socialising, networking, etc., which goes on, and needs to be done, after in what otherwise would be one's 'social' occasions. Certainly some of the time this is a very informal process (the situation differs in different countries - I've noticed that there seems to be a clearer delineation between one's formal and informal interactions with others in the music world in Germany, for example), which can actually be very hard - I suppose sometimes what's necessary is to build contacts, etc., without obviously being seen to do so. This leads to all sorts of strained pseudo-friendships, to people seeming friendly then suddenly cutting others short when they see someone more important to talk to, and so on. I suppose what I'm getting at is that the boundaries between one's professional and social lives become very blurred, and this can sometimes make it difficult to find time for genuine relaxation if one is in any sense in the company of other people involved in the same field.

Personally, I find that side of things can be stressful, and for that reason (not having a family, and having found in recent times that relationships/romances with women not professionally involved with music may be the better option) need a side to life that is entirely separate from all this, and friends who are not musicians or at least only very tangentially associated with the music world. I do have that side and group of friends, and that is vital in avoiding becoming totally subsumed in the stresses of the music world (especially as not enjoying all the networking side or 'keeping up appearances', and the awful business of ascertaining which friends are more 'useful' than others). But I reckon that these blurred boundaries between professional and personal lives must be extremely stressful for many and wondered how people here generally cope? Is it feasible to be able to somehow 'draw a line under one's work' at some point in the day, as many doing what some of us might see as more mundane jobs do, when our actual work is so fundamental to our whole being? And when composes or performs, both intensely personal things, how does one manage not to allow every part of our lives to be overwhelmed by these, but at the same time avoid an attitude and approach of slightly cynical, detached 'professionalism'?

I don't know if this all makes sense, but hope some will recognise what I'm alluding to - I'm really interested to know how people here deal with conflicting pressures?

What do you DO on Sundays, rm?! 
Is this the moment to bring up the issue of communal bowls of peanuts in bars etc.?

Ian, very interesting issue - will rally some thoughts and post later.

mart - Sunday night is bath night 

George - think how long those sacks of peppercorns sit waiting for collection while the rats play around and do the other things that rats do...

t-p - Non musicians stay detauched.

Now, is that detached or debauched?!!  I can see the advantages both ways...

Here I go again. I probably meant detached.
Here is an example of one who never learns. Thank you Roslynmuse, like always.

I just used you as an example. But I can proudly say there is no other person like me in the world (stupid as I am). May be there is benefit for being stupid.