6 September 2001
Patience

The muse came to visit for a while last week, and now there are two songs sitting on my table, a little fuzzy around the edges but more or less finished. I've also got a handful more that seem determined not to remain half-songs, and at this point I think it's just a matter of patience. Whistling and drinking tea, not looking over to see whether anything has grown since last I looked. They'll emerge in their own good time.

The workshop at Berklee was good. Interesting -- I've been incapable of saying anything illuminating about that week, even to acquaintances who merely want to know how my trip went. "It was good," I say, and feel no desire to explain further. Usually by now I've formed an official statement, a brief but entertaining summary of the grand, exotic adventure from which I've returned...but this time, nothing. Strange. I will say that the experience seems to have unlocked something in me, temporarily at least, and that it feels awfully good to be working again.

- VT