2024 11 13

Strange girls. Chicago, Illinois. September, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

No post yesterday (until now) because I decided to tell work to fuck off for a bit. I’m kind of buried with work right now, mostly self-imposed of course, and the previous night my buddy Dave invited me to see Dehd at Thalia and I decided I needed to focus on getting shit done. Fast forward 24-hours later and my wife Allison texted me to see if I wanted to go see Dedh at Thalia (they played 3 nights in a row). It was like The Universe was testing me! Of course, my instinct was to say no thanks and keep working (I was in a groove trying to finish printing and framing fifteen pieces for a show in the building that I need to hang soon). After some internal struggle, I decided I should drop my work shit and get my ass outside into the dark, rainy night.

It was the right decision, of course. The music was pretty good, the fresh air was nice, the tacos we got after the show were delicious, and letting my brain decompress for a bit was ideal. More interestingly to me, however, was that we ran into not one, not two, not three, but four people at the show who we knew. On top of that, two of them were helpful with my work I was “neglecting” (planning a holiday market at the studio), so in a weird way, I was being more productive at work while not working. The Universe was showing me the way.

Long story short, down time is non-negotiable. Get your ass out of the house regularly.

-Clayton