I am procrastinating ...should be packing...I'm actually sitting next to a straw hat I got in New York last May and trying to figure out how to pack it without smashing it....too cute to smash! Couldn't figure it out...so here I am...on myspace and blogging...where are the packing elves when you need them? :) 

I ran in to Nathan Chapman by the coffee machine up at Sony the other day and  he asked me if I had heard my Jypsi cut yet. I hadn't and he conveniently had it with him, so thanks to my new habit of drinking coffee and waiting for a cup to brew last week...I got to hear the cut...and it sounds so great!  Jypsi is a cool young band on Arista that Nathan is producing made up of three sisters and their brother...they are serious players and have a cool sound...check them out...myspace.com/jypsi They cut my song "Anything At All" that I wrote with the talented and wonderful Dave Thomson. Yay!:) 

Randy Rogers Band To Release Album Sept. 23

New music from The Randy Rogers Band will hit stores on Sept. 23. The new, self-titled release will be published on Mercury Nashville. Rogers co-wrote "Let It Go" with Radney Foster, who produced the album. Additionally, Rogers co-wrote nine of the 12 tracks on the album.

Other songwriters lending their talents to the disc include Gary Nicholson, Stephony Smith, George Ducas, Micky Braun, Heather Morgan, Clint Ingersoll, Sean McConnell, plus bandmates Jon Richardson and Geoffrey Hill.

The Randy Rogers Band issued their first release for the label, Just a Matter of Time, in 2006.

Hey Everyone!!! I just wanted to tell ya'll that Kristy Lee Cook's debut album, "Why Wait," is coming out next tuesday...September 16th. I am soooo excited because she cut a song I wrote with Leah Crutchfield called, "Hoping To Find." The song is track 4...and you can preview the song and pre-order the cd on Amazon.com by searching for Kristy Lee Cook...or download the album on Itunes. I can't wait!!!!:)

My sister, Meredith, lives in California and is trying to figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life...I read her blog for the first time : http://www.hintsandguesses.blogspot.com and the answer was staring me in the face...Meredith has always been a brilliant writer...she eases through stories and has this beautiful way of painting what she is feeling, seeing or thinking into these vignettes which I used to sneak in to her journals that she kept on her bookshelf at home to read. Growing up in Richardson, Tx... all that separated us was a bathroom between our bedrooms where each side had a sliding door that was easy to yell "good night" through or throw clothes through till I went to college...it's still works for both purposes when we are both home for holidays...

Our mom was an english teacher before she became a mom and now holds two masters degrees and loves her career as a librarian at a junior high school in Dallas...she loves books, loves to read...she always encouraged creativity, and writing, painting...drawing...songwriting...I started writing songs because of my mom finding out about a creative arts contests when I was in kindergarten...I was the only 5 year old that entered a song into the contest...and that huge grand prize ribbon I received made me think I was really good at the whole songwriting thing...nobody really mentioned I was the only entry till years later...at that point I was well on my way to what I was going to be...so crazy that what we can become can have roots that early in our lives...

With my sister...it's kind of the same thing...she's always been a writer...she IS a writer...I think I'm going to call her...it's 2 hours behind in California...if I was there, I would say..."I don't know how to tell you to do this...it's not as obvious as songwriting...I don't know how to get you a writing "deal" ...but you are a writer...done...all these questions of ...."where am I supposed to be and what am I supposed to do???"....you are supposed to be writing!!!! I don't know the where or how...and that probably makes my epiphany less helpful...but... these little stories are amazing...you have a gift...you are a writer..."

So...I wanted to share what the other "Morgan" girl writes...because she blows me away...with every word...so here is the real "writer" in our family...and here is her latest piece of little blog magic...and being a twenty-something...or whatever-something...I'm sure many can relate to not having it all figured out....


thursday, may 29, 2008

I feel like the little bird (was it a bird?) in that book Are You My Mother who is walking around all the animals and politely asking, "Are you my mother?" I know who my mom is, she does a good job of that. But I feel like I'm asking that question of everything else in my life. "Are you my career?" "Are you my home?" "Are you my husband?" walking around not knowing what kind I am and therefore unable to recognize my match when I see it. The career is the biggest one. Although I've tried to retrain my brain to stop thinking in absolutes, it keeps doggedly insisting that there must be some perfect career and if it can just sniff out the clues the answer will be there. So far that dog won't hunt.


I know I sound like a broken record. I feel like a wind up toy who does the same song and dance and then just putters out and crashes, only to be wound up again. I was hoping that my stint in California would be enough of a change of scene to alter these thought patterns, but it turns out the acting troupe in my head is quite flexible, "no problem," they say, "we can set up our stage anywhere to play out this little drama."

I went rock climbing with my friend Steve last night and he was encouraging me to try grunting. Tanya, another one of our climbing friends, said that sometimes you can't get past a move without letting out a yell. I told them I think I have some pent up anger that I'd like to get out while working on the overhang of a 5.10. My one attempt at a grunt was mostly choked, I didn't make it over the roof.

I have many more analogies to describe my "stuckness," and many explanations for why I think I am stuck. None of them stick. I'll save those for later.

I had to go the the DMV this morning...and I figured...why not go right when they open...I had been up since 5:30am because I went to boot camp with my roommate...and was still walking with some leftover-you ran far this weekend-itus in my legs...so I thought I would just leave my workout gear on...and not bother with make up...I had things to do and getting dolled up to go run errands seemed like a waste of time...and I was going to be on the clock today to get it all done...(and me "blogging" wasn't on the "list" today...so I have derailed a little)....anyhow...I head down to Centennial Blvd...and miss the turn because I am singing "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis courtesy of 107.5...and don't realize that I'm all turned around...till I turn around at Tennessee State University...oops...well...at least I have a few extra minutes in the car to hear moms call in to The River and talk about how Miley Cyrus and some pics taken of her when  her parents  left the shoot are the reason why they are never spending another cent on a Hannah Montana jackets or back packets or light up pens...or $3000 concert ticket...people are p/o'd I guess...I only got half the story...I'm sure google has the rest...

I find the Department of "lost my dang license..." and park. And...today of all days in Nashville is uncomfortably chilly...thank goodness I have my just in case windbreaker on...and my oversized sunglasses so I don't have to look at anybody in line...since I don't know anybody I don't feel embarrassed as I jump up and down to get warm...until the redneckiest...ickiest...redneck happens to get in line behind me and keeps staring at my ass...and seems to be getting I don't even want to know...out of me trying to stay warm...so I stop jumping around...move close to the men that look like they are in the mafia beside me and proceed to a nice circa 1980 aerobic toe-tap to stay warm...just then a mother and daughter join the line...and a man next to me ask me if I play tennis and if I am from Russia...I awkwardly pause, make a borderline rude face behind my oversized sunglasses...laugh...just a little...and say...do I look Russian? And he says I look like someone he knew back home in Russia..hmmm...really..? So, I politley point out...it must be the sunglasses...or the Nike just in case windbreaker kind sir....I'm Texan...and I turn to go back to toe-tapping as redneck-nasty just stares at my lower half...and proceeds to talk to someone on the phone about it...ICK..."I got the the DMV just in time, Joe Bob...some Russian chick is toe tappin right in front of me and I don't even have to pay to see this..." Okay...he didn't really say that...I couldn't really understand it really...but you girls know when you get that icky...I can't wait to run away from this person feeling. . . and you assume he has rope and tape in his McNasty redneck truck...because he has facial hair and looks like a stereotypical stare at your tail redneck...

What a croc?! This is the moment when I started to think about blogging about this day...a sweet mother and daughter...who were both very petite walked over and joined the line...and I recently purchased a lovely leopard printed kelly green bracelet for the summer...so I am all for leopard print...and so was the mother of the daughter getting her license for the first time I was guessing...She had a leopard print tote...and then the wind blew the collar of her windbreaker over and revealed a lovely leapard print top...how...safari? ...and then came the kicker...and another reason that made me start writing the blog in my head and how a runner friend I haven't really talked to in a while would have a field day with this...(yes...that was vague)...there they were....LEOPARD print crocs worn with a pair of black socks and tapered jeans...oh my...I suddenly forgot about MCNasty redneck icky scary dude...

So...at this point...I am starting to get to the point of actually being in the door of the Deparment of "dang it...I lost my license" place...because I am in the door..the wind has died down...but the smell has not...all different ethnicities crammed in a little corridor to the DMV...my ethnicity being the one that worked out and didn't shower and can't remember if deodorant made it into the routine this morning...so I'm not thinking I am the rose of the group or anything...so...that said...I start to people watch more...out comes a woman...clinching her purse...kind of made me want to tell her...lady...it's 10am on a Monday...and there are a million people around...nobody wants to jack your stupid purse...all you need to worry about is redneck McNasty staring at your ass as you walk to the car...gah!:)

So...then...dyed her hair at home...and curled it like she's going to prom on a Monday morning...lady...who possibly holds a title back in my home state for being a "rodeo queen" comes out to get her car insurance she forgot...the little desk guy must know a rodeo queen when he sees one...because he is really nice to her...and those people are never nice...not really...( I feel like I should disclaimer this with a Conan O'Brian statement like..."don't send me hate mail please...") So she gets her stuff done and the line is moving...I'm getting closer to the front...

So then Feathers comes out..."Feathers"...looks like she might have hit up a Curves before hand...I can tell this from her attire...and maybe a salon circa 1974....he hair was parted down the middle from the front...then she walked passed me and as I saw her from the side...all of her hair on the side...every bit looked like feathers...all sweeping back like back when disco wasn't dead...I'm sure feathering hasn't been appreciated as much because of the mullet...and half naked picture taking...ticking off all the mothers and their offspring in Nashville singing gal's daddy. :)

So then ...my favorite came out...a statuesque woman in a jogging suit...with her hair nicely styled and a gold..but could have been silver tooth...I thought she hurt herself...or won the lottery...because she was screaming ...but then between her skipping and jumping...(no exaggeration...I exaggerate stories sometimes...there isn't any of that going on with my fav. here or feathers...) Anyhow...here is this woman waving her brand new license in the air as she runs through the exit of the building...I finally understand what she is yelling..."I AIN'T GOTS TO BE DUCKING AND DODGING THE LAW NO MO!...except between 6:30 and 7:30 when I ain't supposed to drive...but I ain't ducking and dodging no mo!" Then she got into a suburban with her new found freedom...and I decide...YES...today...I am going to blog...

So, I finally get to the Jay-Z of the DMV...big bald dude...grey polo...did not give a rat's ass about my ass...or rodeo queen's either...or the fact that I had just gone to boot camp...and that's why I didn't want to take my picture...can't you please use the old one, kind sir??? It was so cute..you could almost see a cute little dimple in my smile in that one..please.. (BIG VOICE SAYS SHUT THE HELL UP AND SIT YO ASS DOWN...."  he really didn't say that...he just said...you're getting a new picture...you can pay $8 and come back and re-do it if you'd like...but it's gonna cost you $8....so I faked a smile...wearing no make up...and my just in case Nike windbreaker...and as JAY-Z is counting off the picture I just think that the Russian guy from earlier is watching me smile right now and thinking that I must have been lying about the tennis and trying to see if I still resemble his friend from Russia without the oversized glasses... If I had only showered after working out...dang it...if I had only not left my license...wherever on Saturday... double dang it! So...I get the license...see the pic...remember that I should have moved my bangs over because that almost gone little breakout on my forehead...is still there..darn it...because the smile's not that bad. I leave...leave the smells...the crying kids...the mean JAY Z man...the Leopard Crocs mom and get in my car...at least I ain't "DUCKING AND DODGIN THE LAW NO MO!"

The end:)

The Best Day Ever....by Heather Morgan....

The Best Day Ever started out like this...Me...asleep...sort of...in my bed...3am...windows to my bedroom open so I could fall asleep to the wind and John Mayer's "Say"...at 11ish on Friday...which turned out to be wind and rain on the tin roof of the carport at 3am on Saturday...perfect weather for a lazy afternoon nap...or the 2nd verse of a song...but not ideal weather for the Country Music 1/2 Marathon..which I was going to be getting ready for when my alarm went off at 4am. Me...trying to go back to sleep...trying not to let my brain over re-think what I was going to wear...but ending up anyway wasting a good 15 minutes of quality sleep time...putting together running outfits equipped for rain in my head for the paper doll version of me...that was going to get soaked in a race in a few hours....luckily the answer hit me with 45 min. left to spare of sleep...go with my original outfit...and wear the $7 made of paper jacket I bought at the running expo the day before...that-a-girl...always thinking a head...like mints at the check out line of the grocery store...you buy them one day...forget you bought them...you reach into your pocket/purse...for your first choice of after dinner refresher...gum and find a pack...an empty pack...but then you remember....you bought a paper jacket at the running expo....you have mints!:) Follow? It gets better...hehe...and longer...I am betting....

So...next order of business...breakfast...I go downstairs...cook some instant oatmeal...scramble some eggs and scramble for a clear ponytail holder I had put out with my socks and shoes the night before...ponytail holder found...hair in ponytail...eggs scrambled...runner properly nourished...So, I go upstairs...pin the short sleeves of my Team Rio running jersey up to make the shirt sleeveless like I used to do at summer camp with ribbon...I hate wearing sleeves during workouts...unless they are long sleeves...or t-shirts...but on race day...safety pins are a must...so I am dressed looking down at the brand new pair of running shoes I bought just 2 days ago...that have only seen two miles of road in Nashville...so we are in the very early stages on our running relationship...I can hear the lady at the running store telling me..." we don't recommend you wear new shoes on race day.." then I hear my own rationale think... (yes...I hear it think...) "your old shoes were making your freakin' foot go numb...go new...wear the new ones...but take the old...just in case..." So along with my " just in case" back up shoes...are my "just in case" visor...sunglasses...BMI hat...and windbreaker...just in case...

So my roommate, her boyfriend...who is driving, and myself take off for the race...before the crack of dawn...there is no crack...and little sign of dawn...the only crack is the kind that 30,000 people are smokin' for getting up in the rain and all piling on the the interstate to go the stadium at the same time while all the 18 wheelers having to pass through the bible belt cuss the city of Nashville and the running spirit in the air on this day. So, an hour goes by...and in the first 5 minutes of the ride...I realize I brought the wrong shoes....for my just in case pair...I picked up the same shoe...but one that has had it...and one that could handle the race...if the other shoe hadn't dropped...somewhere back in my closet...dang it...so I nervously go through a pack of gum...I stuff gum in my shoes...because I have to have a fresh piece of gum when the race starts...not really thinking to the way the gum might look and smell by then...but I did have brand new socks on....SO we park....and the rain starts coming down hard...and we are freezing..but luckily I am wearing a paper towel that is water resistant and has a zipper in it...I look like a marshmallow...but feel warm as my roommate shivered over to the bus.

So we get seats on the bus...make it to Centennial Park...where my hidden stash of toilet paper comes in handy as I make a last minute effort to use the "ladies room.." aka...the nasty port-0-potties scattered all over Centennial for the racers...

I get in to a heat that I "think" is mine...heat 8...then I remember what a pro at the expo told me...drop back to corrall 11 and start with someone he had recommended to run with...So I'm standing there...in my paper jacket and BMI, not made for running...but does well...hat. I turned to a couple of ladies next to me and asked ...when do ya'll plan to finish...they say 2:15..and instantly I feel panic...something in my plan has gone wrong...I look up as I see the corrall I was supposed to be in...already racing....so I speed...and I mean...rush and dodge people to get to the front of the line and corrall...and just as I hear him say..."Okay....we are going to go in 3...2...I throw my paper jacket at a man...who kindly caught it and threw it away..." and started my heart rate monitor...and took off...a little thinking..."what the hell just happened...." how did I miss the 11's. Dang it....catch up...which made me sprint early...which I knew better than to do...but I run well when I am chasing somebody it seems...but even better when I can see them...and I couldn't see corrall 11...so this was tough...so by the time I get to the hill of Music Row I decide...just run a great race..beat the best time you have yet...and be happy with all the work you've put in to it....and..that's where I am going to pause the story of the Best Day Ever...because my spaghetti squash is burning...so I am going to go make dinner...and go to the gym and watch the hills...and maybe continue this tomorrow...because I actually have another one I want to write...about the DMV and my lovely morning. :) H

March 4th...Four years ago today I loaded up all my clothes, shoes, two guitars, books, hair dryer, curling iron...and my roommate from my sophomore year at TCU in my Jeep Grand Cherokee to move to Nashville. I remember going to bed close to midnight the night before and my mom being super concerned about me having enough sleep to make the 800+ mile drive to Nashville the next day. We had loaded the back of the jeep up for the most part on the night before and to this day I don't know if it was me or my Dad that left the hatch of the jeep up....but it stormed all night and the jeep was wide open all night long...somehow the battery didn't die and luckily there weren't any criminals looking for a bunch of shoes that night. I remember waking up in the morning and looking out my old bedroom window and wondering why the back of the jeep was up since it was raining. Before I left, and before the water works started...I made sure my mom got a picture of me sitting on the back of the jeep with all of my things behind me, my purse on my arm...and a smile on my face...that looked more like I was posing for a sorority photo instead of looking like I was about to make one of the scariest drives of my life. My roommate from college, Chauncey, was making the drive with me...to keep me "safe." My mom was afraid I would fall asleep, or something else terrible would happen and it was safer to go in two's. There were 19 tornados in Texas on March 4th, so it was a good day to get out.

I remember crossing the Mississippi river and taking out the video camera to film the "Welcome to Tennessee" sign. I also remember getting so lost coming in to town finally around 9pm. I had found 440 like I was supposed to, but finding Woodmont Blvd., my new street at the time, was a little harder. Chauncey and I luckily found a subway in Green Hills, and then we found my new home on Woodmont Blvd. and ate our subway sandwiches in the den of my new home with my new roommate, Mandy. It was pretty normal, and surreal at the same time. It kind of felt like a vacation...except I was staying and Chauncey was going home in three days. I unloaded all of my clothes into the upstairs of this amazing home I was renting a room in. The room I moved into was fully furnished with two walk in closets and a bathroom that was bigger then most bedrooms I've been in...it was not the typical dumpy starter apartment...there was a guest house, a pool and built in chef...a little over the top...and full of great stories that only made the move to Nashville that much more exciting. . .

Today...four years later, I sat at dinner with a group of girls that work as songwriters, A&R and pluggers in the music industry here in Nashville...and thought about how much my life has changed since that day I left Texas. Professionally, I have been with an amazing company for three years and was just picked up for a fourth year...I am attending a listening party tomorrow at Sony/ATV publishing to listen to Ashley Ray's new album on which I got my first "real," cut last year with a song Ashley and I wrote called, "Hurricanes." I got my first cut with one of my greatest friends here in town last week, Leah Crutchfield...a long with Jesse Lee who is the artist and a co-writer on the song that is now part of her upcoming album on Atlantic. I'm also proud to have Randy Rogers including a song that I co-wrote called "This Is Goodbye," on his new album...we shared a lot of dates in Texas and it's really cool to see our paths cross again like they have. I guess my ramblings at 2am in the morning just basically involve me reflecting on where that drive led me to today as I sit here in my bedroom in Nashville, a place that feels like home...and although I love the scenery, hills and peacefulness this city can offer...it's the friends here that I've fallen in love with that have made this place feel like there is no where else in this world that would fit me any better.....;)HM