Studio Time

I'm fired up for what's been happening in Barcelona. I've been writing more poetry, and even writing more songs. Most recently I wrote a song called Urgent Presence, which I shared with Guilem's guitarist (from his band), Victor, and he expressed interest in helping me bring it to life. So yesterday I got up and read for a bit before walking a half hour to meet Victor during his lunch hour. Victor is the youngest branch manager for a big insurance company here in Barcelona. He's a very focused and intense guy, but not without a soft and relaxed side to him as well. I got to his office around 1:30pm and then we left for his apartment, which is located in Montgat (about 15 minutes away by scooter), soon thereafter. It's funny to be the passenger on the back of a scooter with another guy driving. Not the most manly thing I've ever done, but even more comedic because I'm a much bigger guy than Victor. We take the freeway for a few miles and then get to Montgat, which is a suburban neighbor to Barcelona along the Mediterranean. It's a more quiet and sleepy town, which is a nice change from Barcelona for now. Victor tells me he bought his three-bed condo a few years ago after his father passed away. He never imagined buying a place, but timing and the money worked out, and so now he's got a very nice (and new) condo with a view directly of the sea. He makes some pasta and chicken for lunch and we sit on his big balcony overlooking the water and discussing life, love, music, and traveling. Victor is engaged to a Romanian girl he met here in Barcelona. He also never imagined being engaged and married, but again he says to me that life and love are more about timing than anything else. I couldn't agree more. Sometimes I think back on athletic or career opportunities, relationships, or simple decisions that would have been completely different if they occurred at a different time in my life. Everything really comes down to timing, and what point you are in your life. We finish up lunch and head into the studio, which is badass. In my next home I will DEFINITELY setup a home studio similar to this one (pics below). We talk about the song and Victor breaks out his Spanish acoustic guitar and toys with some ideas. Eventually I sing three versions of the song along to a metronome, and he records them with a very nice microphone. I give him some more direction on what I'm thinking for the song, and then we finish up and head back to the city. Such a great experience. I never even knew this guy before a week ago, and now he's cooking lunch for me and taking time away from work to help me realize a song of mine. Cannot express the amazingness of experiences like these. Wish I had more pictures to share, but trust me I was in a very great place yesterday. We get back to the city and then I walk back to my apartment, where I read a bit and then walk to an art store to get a canvas and paints for a painting I want to do. It'll be one of the more small paintings I've ever done, but I'm excited to give it a try. Instead of my usual abstract art, I'm going to try to do an impressionist piece of a photo I took while on my bike ride in Arles, France. It was a special time for me so it'd be nice to capture it in a painting as well. We'll see how it goes.

Today I was up early again and am planning to head to a beach outside the city with Karla, a girl I met last week. She's from Peru and just finished her medical residency here in Barcelona. Very cool and interesting person - should be a good day. Tonight I'm either going to meet Guillem to watch some music, or just work on my painting. Either way I'm excited for the day!!

Have a great Thursday everyone :) 

Great lunch with a view to start the studio session time - thanks Victor!

Great home studio!!!