I fell in love with songwriting as a young teenager. By the time I got out of college, I'd written about a hundred songs. Most were on my Yamaha classical guitar; a few were on piano.

In my mid-20s, I put together a small home studio in the attic of the place we were renting: fake "Les Paul" Franken-guitar, Juno 6 and Yamaha DX7 synths, a drum machine, a small mixer, and a big reel-to-reel tape recorder.

I created some songs on that system. And I decided: This is too hard. I hate analog. Wake me up when all this is digitized.

Decades passed during which I was a sign-language interpreter, computer programmer, grad student, writer, crossword puzzle constructor, grad student again, and (now) relationship counselor / sex therapist in private practice, drifting toward retirement.

Two years ago I woke up and realized I'd overslept: home recording *was* now digitized. In fact, it had been digitized for years, and the products had become sophisticated and powerful.

I fell in love all over again. I put together a new small home studio to write and record songs. I heard about FAWM in January of 2023 and my heart leapt. Getting stuff out rather than getting it perfect is exactly what I need. By dropping things on the floor right and left (example: my taxes), I posted seven songs. FAWM 2024 was similarly thrilling and exhausting, with the added thrill of stretching myself in new ways and gaining insights into my creative process. Best of all, the community is wonderful.

Now I'm back for my second 50/90. Yay!