2004-01-13

IMPORTANT NEW NOTES FROM JUSTIN:

Wow, I sure have been traveling for a long time. As I post today's installment I looked at my calendar and saw that I've been out here for 144 days! This is the longest I've ever traveled, and by far the most challenging trip I've ever taken. Sometimes I think about calling it quits and heading home—some days I'm just tired of never sleeping in the same bed, some days I'm tired of wondering what happens when the money runs out. I miss my friends and family.

Yet, there is something that compels me to continue. I know I have something great to find out here. And, I know I have something great to give out here. And, I'll know when it's time to go home. But, until then, you'll find me somewhere out there. I'm the one in the red car with the driver's side window that doesn't work anymore, the one with the rust spots all over it that speeds past you. I'm the one taking the pictures of the graffiti, the statue, the strange food.

I've been playing shows every day for the last few days. I even played TWO concerts the other night. I sell my buttons, CDs, and photos at these gigs. And, I've been consistently selling things every day. It's very exciting! So, I'm sure as hell not rich, but my finances are looking brighter. I am starting to realize that I can support myself entirely with my art. Onward and upward!

I am still looking for nice, fun people who can put me up for a few nights and really host me. This would involve me staying at your house for a few days, showing me a good time, feeding me from time to time, and leading me into whatever general mischief we can get into. I'll get to learn about your life and write about our times together! I am meeting with people I've never met before and living some life with them. That could be you! If you think it might be fun to host me for a day or two or three, email me at justingrace AT mac DOT com.

Please make sure to include your address and phone number in your email to me so I can be in touch!

I am especially looking for places to stay in the southeast USA and everywhere on the East Coast. I will be traveling all over the USA, though, so email me no matter where you are because I will probably come visit! Here are the places I will be in the next few months that I am still looking for a place to stay at:

��Florida
� Alabama
� Tennessee
� North/South Carolina
��Georgia
��Virginia

Please contact me ASAP if you want to hang out!

If you believe in what I am doing and want to help support me, please do so! You can donate money to me using PayPal. Email me for more information! Or, check out my photo sales page! Buying photos from me feeds me and keeps me on the road!

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US Tour Day 121: So Much To Do

I didn't get to write about life today. But, there wasn't much interesting to write about. All I did was work, and since when is work all that interesting?

There's so much to do to get ready for the release of my forthcoming CD. Basically, I need to become a full–fledged business in order to sell the CDs. I have to send checks to everybody in the universe for their various licenses—business license, seller's permit, fictitious business name permit. Then I have to get a business account with a bank and also a merchant credit card processing account. I'm getting tired of all the phone calls and forms to fill out and faxes to send associated with all these things. In a way it's exciting, but it mostly makes me feel a little tired.

Then again, maybe I feel tired because I am tired.

The good news is that the CD will go to press soon and then I can start selling it on my web site. I also plan to start selling my photographs, books, and other creations there as they are born.

After a whole day of nothing but dealing with forms and phones and faxes and such, I spent the entire evening writing emails. I had about 65 emails in my inbox that required a reply. Some were from friends I'd been neglecting, some from readers, and others from business contacts from around the universe. I managed to reply to 42 messages. It felt like quite a feat. But, by the end of it my mind was jelly—gooey and mushy and useless. It was 4 AM and all I'd done for six hours was write emails.

I've had this rule that I always reply to every email I get, but I think I may have to give it up. It's getting in the way of my sanity and it's getting in the way of my writing. I've been so busy with correspondence that I haven't had time to document life or catch up on the last few weeks of writing about the trip. How can I make this into a book if I don't get time to write? I really need to find a manager or agent of some sort.


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