This afternoon all of the stars in my interesting little pocket of universe unexpectedly collided. I resurrected all of my childhood beliefs that good things (great things!) can happen to me for no reason.

It can be hard, at times, to feel like this ordered world we live in still dishes out gifts that we haven’t worked for. As a cake-breathed kid, my love-rich environment conditioned me to assume that a trip to the zoo was a toothless grin away and dessert before dinner was just natural. I had no qualms about asking for an extra squirt of flavor in my coconut snowcone, even though I hadn’t paid for it. And a trip to the Wickett, Texas swimming pool was a sure thing every summer afternoon at 4pm, no matter how good or bad my brother and I had been earlier in the day. (Maybe our punishment for bad behavior was having to wear a stripe of bright green zink-oxide down the bridges of our noses). Life was a lot simpler then and, like a lot of kids, I was born with rose-tinted glasses intact.

Post-college, though, real life quickly introduced herself to me. As an artist, that “introduction” was especially hard to stomach. When I painted stick figures for my parents, they gave me a quarter. Now, when I spend months painting and showing my work, I’ve learned to expect some negative (and even worse, some apathetic) reactions. Gifts and praise are not freely given. They’re earned. It’s harder for me to ask for an extra squirt of coconut flavoring in my snowcone without having a dollar bill tucked away in my back pocket just in case.

Maybe that realism shifted a little to idealism this afternoon.

Out of the blue, we got a call that the Soiled Dove (a great little venue in Denver) had upgraded our tickets to the Over the Rhine show taking place this coming Saturday evening. We were told by someone named Chris M. that we were going to be given a special table, front and center with our very own nameplate for the show.

We called and asked Chris M. why we’d somehow won the music lottery without ever having to gamble on a ticket. His response was kind and also kind of suspicious/secretive. “Well, we sometimes just do that for guests.” But, our very own nameplate? At a venue we’ve never visited before? Weird.

And also wonderful. You see, earlier this morning I spent a good 15 minutes daydreaming about Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist, the songbirds behind the band name. I first learned of OtR about 3 years ago. My first song (akin to a first kiss really) was “Latter Days.” For me, the lyrics helped to edify my belief that there will always be glimmers of beauty in the worst kinds of pain. And Karin’s voice. O h, t h a t v o i c e. . .

Hearing Karin sing is as close as I think I’ll ever get to hearing an angel and this Saturday evening I get to sit inches away from this muse. Should I try and probe to see why we were called and told we will be treated like royalty this weekend? Rather than find out there were just extra seats and we got the long straw, I think I’ll just assume that this is one of many upcoming encounters with grace. I will try to take some pictures at the show. After all, I’ll probably have the best view in the house.

It is so much more fun to be an idealist than a realist anyway.

I love how easy MTV and Microsoft have made it.

We’re becoming more savvy about ideas and efforts that make positive differences in the world, but are often unable to do anything. We’re busy with our jobs, families, and personal interests, so don’t have time to fly around the world lobbying for peace, justice or healing.

But, social activism still matters to us, right?

I read on Ad Week this morning that MTV has just launched its Beta site Think.MTV.com. It’s a cool stab at social networking meant to really capitalize on our desire to impact the world starting with our computers. I noticed that one of the banner ads on their new site pointed back to Windows Live Messenger and their new initiative, i’m making a difference.

Here’s what the site says:

i’m is a new initiative from Windows Live Messenger™. Every time you start a conversation using i’m, Microsoft shares a portion of the program’s advertising revenue with some of the world’s most effective organizations dedicated to social causes. We’ve set no cap on the amount we’ll donate to each organization. The sky’s the limit.

Out of the gate, Microsoft is supporting 9 organizations. One that I’m particularly interested in supporting is the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. So, they’ve made it really easy for me to download this cool web button so all of you can click and learn:

Or, say you’re passionate about:

You get the idea. It’s exciting that two groups, MTV and Microsoft, are both latching on to the stuff we’re saying matters to us.

(P.S. I agree with Justin Timberlake. I love you MTV, for wanting to get your hands dirty, but please go back to your roots and play more music.)

Jeff Caylor will be playing at Rico’s (a restaurant, toy store, book store and venue!) tonight starting at 6:30pm. Jon Collins and Don McCaleb will be sitting in with him, both featured musicians on the “Okay” album. Steve Russo will also be adding his drum skills on a couple songs.

I’m still deciding if I’m going to play/sing. I’ve been fighting a cold for a few days now and was slightly delusional last night (thanks TheraFlu!) as I fell asleep. Kept seeing giant purple spiders crawling out of my dresser drawers. And was then convinced that an elephant’s trunk was slowly creaping out from under a pile of socks. It might be best if I just rested tonight, lest I mistake an audience member for a circus animal.

But, either way, I’ll be there to enjoy the great music.