Finally

OK, so here's the update...hmmm where to start?

After my last post we had our presentation at UWEC. It went alright I think. The first one was a little cramped on time, but the next one was better. We had more time to show videos and answer questions and act out some scenarios. I definitely left with lots of ideas for presentations in the future. It's a learning thing just like everything else. It was nice to chat with Dr. Murphy and felt good to feel like an actual colleague.

Otherwise, Feb was fine. We had our first band concert. It was kind of bleh, lots of people choked. Oh well, it was fun to move on and get new music. We are playing some band standards(well just movements of them) like Linconshire Posy, Holst First Suite, and so on. We are also playing Benediction by John Stevens and I have fond memories of playing that in our old tuba/euph quartet so that's cool. I get to play the starting and ending solos and the old people think it's amazing. How funny. In many ways I think I sound way better than I did in college and in other ways I can still tell I am out of shape. BUT playing 1-2 times a week, sometimes more, is still so much better than once every couple of months like last year in Owatonna. It feels great and I feel like I didn't throw away $4000 on a euphonium.

I have been trying to fix my eyes. This Thygeson's is a bitch. I have been to the friggin eye dr. 5 times since mid-January. I finally was able to wear my contacts again and after 3-4 weeks I started to be able to wear them less and less. I started having itchy eyes again and it is so dang hard not to rub them. Anyways, my eye dr had emergency surgery so I had to see some new douche. He is weird and his breath smells. He told me to go back to not wearing contacts and up'ed my eye drop dose back up to what it was in the beginning. Luckily, I got my new glasses and my eyes are feeling much better. Hopefully when I go back this Friday he says I can work back into contacts again. My new glasses are nice, I suppose. It's always strange to adjust to the way you look even though no one else seems to notice. In the last two days I think 3 kids noticed. Maybe that's a good thing...

In the beginning of March my school went to see a group at the Overture Center, called Sones de Mexico. We studied music in Mexico and stuff to prepare and it felt meaningful to the kids when we went. It was cute, and we had front row seats so a bunch of our kids got picked to be volunteers. They also asked the audience to point to their music teacher and all 100ish 2/3rd graders were freaking out pointing to me. Hilarious. These kids are nuts. I love them.

Beatriz came to visit a couple weekends ago. It was a nice visit, although I almost don't like hosting someone for four days. It's tough no matter how much you love someone. Plus, she got the stomach flu Friday night or something and threw up 3-4 times. No one else got it so who knows what was up. Saturday was St. Fat's and it was fun. I think because we started drinking as we were waiting for dinner to be done we got drunk really fast. Joe and Stephanie came and surprised me. I really didn't think they were coming. It was crazy, just as it always has been. Good to see everyone.

The next day we visited Dave Jaeckel because he was in the hospital for ten days. His blood pressure got so high that the blood vessels behind his eyes burst and he is basically going to be blind for a year. It was nice to see him, hopefully he was happy we came. We also saw Rick and Ellen M. Ellen has been sick for a few years off and on with ovarian cancer. It's pretty bad. Even though her cancer is in remission, she still is dying. Her stomach is destroyed, as well as her kidneys and other parts. They've already purchased a cemetery plot, and she was going to talk to us about her funeral but I guess it was too hard. I think she wants us to play or something. I just think it's so sad. I love her so much, she's always been so much fun. She was like another drum corps mom, her and Cheryl McCormick. I hope we are able to get to see her again soon.

Moving on, last weekend me and Theresa didn't have much to do so we sat around at watched the 1977 TV series Roots about black slavery. It was so interesting. I've always loved that part of history(not in the way like I thought slavery was good!) I like learning about history now that I am older, and I like hearing stories about slavery, or things like the Holocost. Does that make me weird? It was a nice weekend.

This is the last week before Spring Break. Can. Not. Wait. The kids are going nuts and are ready for a break, although I have to remember their behavior might also reflect their anxiety about the lack of stucture, supervision, etc. that they might experience over that break. Our family is coming down this weekend. We are hanging out Friday and then spending Saturday in Chicago and then they will go back on Sunday. I guess Scott, Laura, Shannon, Mom, Dad, and maybe even Pat and Erin are coming. It's going to be another full house here. It will be a fun way to kick of break though. Then Theresa and I are spending Sunday-Thursday getting tons of school stuff done(or that's the plan) and then we'll spend some time in EC and Menomonie.

I am pretty excited because the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra is coming to Falk after break. It'll be fun, and also I am meeting with a lady on Thursday about the Madison Symphony Orchestra doing a program at Falk where a quartet comes 4 times throughout the year to teach about their instruments and music. I feel like no one takes advantage of these FREE opportunities. CMON people!

So, I received, signed, and returned my contract for next year, still 90% of full time. This doesn't mean I am for sure going to be here, but I guess I have some security now. I am going to continue to look at job postings, but I'll only apply for full time jobs that I would feel comfortable staying at for at least three years. It's a lot of stomach, all of this job shit. Gah. I don't hate my job here, I just feel like something is missing. I don't connect to my colleague like I want to, you know since I am not a die-hard Bucky Badger fan. Time will tell what will happen. My fingers are crossed for a new opportunity.

This month is Music in Our Schools Month and so this week I am having a music "open house". Basically, friends and family are invited to sit in on music class and see what it's all about. So far, I have had a few parents show up. Not too many, but I half expected none to come. It's been fun to show them what we do in music, especially with the little ones. They're so cute! I am getting into my concert stuff more heavily now so it's also not like it shows exactly what every other day is like. I am getting super excited for my concert. It's at the end of April and I feel like I started much earlier and have been much more prepared. Things are still coming up so fast and piling up too. I am sure it will be fine though.

Well, Biggest Loser and American Idol are on so I am going to get back to that. Hope everyone is doing well!