Worth every minute. Watch it.

"Sustainability" is a hot word these days. Its popularity doesn't devalue the meaning of it in a musicians life, though. We need sustainability. Unfortunately we are known for late night gigs, smoking like chimneys, drinking like fish, and living like paupers - a life that cannot be sustained by much more than foolishness. I'd love for this generic statement about musicians to be proven wrong, especially through my own life. Sustainability takes smarts and foresight - two things I think we'd all like more of in our lives.

In approaching the writing of this blog post, I've asked myself the hard question. What areas of my life are not sustainable? and Speaking honestly,

1) I don't move as much as I should. On my teaching days, I sit for the entirety of the day - cellists play sitting down. The nature of my instrument which is also the nature of my profession is to play sitting down. That's fine and all, but when your days are spend sitting down, eventually my arse will mold to the chair. Thank God, I'm not at that point yet.
2) I don't save money as much as I'd like. Living like a pauper might be the only generality that applies to all musicians at one point or another. I'm okay with that. I find fulfillment of life through what my hands do all day (even if I'm sitting down.) But as I put on my foresight-goggles, I find that if i continue at this financial pace, I'll never have the option of grad school, health insurance, buying a house, or eventually retiring. It's unfortunate, but money gives life options and stability.
3) My car is ready to kick the bucket any minute. Ask any one of my friends and you'll find that because of statement number two, I've had leather belts hold my car's hood down (now it's a bike lock.) I can't go 60 mph without the hood raising up 2 inches, threatening something worse. I've still got last years mail stuck in my back windows (holding them up.) and this month marks the 19th month of the everlasting duct-tape on my driver's-side rear-view window. It's beyond the point of hilarity. I now just roll my eyes.

Combining these three unsustainable ways of life, I've come to a fantastic and challenging solution... A Bicycle.

The Fall of 2010 will hold a lot more movement, a wee larger savings account, and no car hassles. I'm using the remainder of the summer to plan routes, purchase supplies, and prepare for easing into the vibrant bicycle culture of Seattle. Seattle has a "One Less Car" program. Zipcars. Green Lanes. Trails. Clubs. Blogs. Sharrows. Rides. Communities.

Awesome.

I'm even considering purchasing a Burley Kid's trailer to pull my cello to rehearsals, home lessons, and performances... Kinda like this: