Day Job Drama

It occurred to me yesterday that there is actually more drama in my day job--politics, personality conflicts, medical problems, blame, sloth, poor communication--than in my musical career. That's not to say that the negatives outweigh the positives in my day job, just that there are more of them, ironically, in a so-called professional environment, classic corporate America, than in dealing with musicians and bookers. I don't know if it's because I spend more hours per day working in an office so just statistically speaking there's going to be more of that. But it would be interesting to ask other musicians if they find that to be true as well. Or is it because musicians are working at something they love, while office workers usually aren't? And yet, I do love my day job and I think many of my coworkers do as well.

It's also ironic because musicians are perceived to be flakey and bohemian--yet as I've said before everyone I deal with is incredibly dedicated, responsible and easy to work with. But, there are tremendous advantages to having worked as long as I have in an office. First, I've learned a certain resourcefulness and ability to manage projects that served me very well in doing my CD. And then, due to the aforementioned drama, over time I have learned that "this too shall pass" and "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger" (absent the corollary "though I will piss and moan about it forever" and a hilarious version someone told me, "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger, except what maims me.")

So I guess the general ability to
a. Get s--t done
b. Deal with s--t
has applicability in something as unpredictable as a music career.