Just What I Needed

This is a TRUE STORY. I got this e-mail about an hour ago, on my friendly on-line dating account. It does in fact brighten my day/week/month. I have been a little discouraged lately (thank an English teacher and Ironman for that) but this does give me hope!

"This is the coolest email you'll receive today.

Hello,In short, I am writing to tell you that since I read your profile well over a year ago, it has become the archetype by which I judge all other profiles I read. It's also important to point out that I've never written to you up until now because we are not a match.

You've written what you feel you'll be destined to be remembered for. Well, from my profile, you'll notice that I am not destined to have a family. You may now go grab a tissue and dry your eyes. ;-)

I do feel, however, that one of the things I am destined to do is leave nothing unsaid in this world. I feel very lucky that I was able to tell my Father how I felt about him on his deathbed over a decade ago. How sad it must be, I thought at the time, that not everyone has the opportunity to say what they want in the time they have.

So, here I am. Your profile is extremely clever and I really get the feeling that your true personality is shining through the words. The little asides you put in parentheses makes it come alive.

I've always kept you on my favorites page to remind me about the kind of articulate and amusing profile I should be looking for.

One of the things I find interesting about being a filmmaker is the possibility of touching the life of someone I will never meet. Being so into music, I think you can appreciate this as well.

You've actually affected me a great deal by raising the bar of what kind of person I believe I deserve. You've been online for a while, and I am just returning to it after being in relationship for about six months.

I really hope you are not discouraged by how long it is taking to find your partner in life. You don't seem like the type that gets discouraged easily, but just in case know that because of who you are that there is an absolute stranger to you in another town who is pulling for you.

Best Wishes.

PS You're damn fine, too."

The Russian

One thing (just one?) Sex and the City did for me was to teach me how to make FABULOUS nick-names for the guys I date. God, I miss that show!

Carrie Bradshaw had Mr. Big, The politician (Mr. President), the comic book store owner guy called Captain something...., Berger, The Russian, etc...

I'm currently exploring the possibilities of a Russian of my very own! Will follow up with details in a week or two.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I know that people think it's so beautiful to get married outside, but I have to say the one thing that you can NOT control on your big day is the weather.

I absolutely HATE playing outdoor weddings. Maybe I should just make a rule that we won't do them unless it's in one of those enormous tent thingies or under a shelter (with a complete roof).

Not only is sprinkling a big problem, but direct sunshine on instrument varnish is bad as well. I was checking the forecast all week, and it was supposed to be way too hot on Saturday, but no rain was scheduled.

We played an indoor wedding in a church yesterday early afternoon (2:00) and were scheduled to play in an outdoor botanical garden at 5:00. As I was driving to the 2:00 it was sprinkling out. That freaked me out and I had to check the news, rain WAS indeed on the agenda.

Of course it begins to POUR outside while we are at the 2nd location, around 4:30. I turned into a bit of a bitch at this moment. The parents, the bride, the groom, the attendants and some of the guests ALL thought we could wait it out, delay the start and still have the whole shebang outside.

The problem isn't me, it's my group's equipment. We have over $20,000 of varnished hard wood instruments. We simply can NOT be outside if there are sprinkles. Not even just rain, but sprinkles.

There was this stupid arbor/awning thing for us to be under, but it had a few boards over us, it was NOT a roof. Rain came through this thing.

The alternate indoor location was a solid wall of windows facing the garden. I liked it.

In the end, our start time was delayed by about 45 minutes and we did play outside. Finally, towards the mid ceremony, it got super hot and sunny too.

Our gig last Saturday included rain (while playing on a rooftop) as well. I just wish people would pick fabulous indoor locations.

I repeat, I personally would NEVER get married outside. Too many variables that no person can control.

Oh yeah, when we got to the garden wedding I said to the groom's father, "I hope the rain holds off" (which it didn't). When it did begin to rain, he outted me in front of everyone by pointing at me and saying, "It's HER fault!"

Dude, if I could control the weather, I'd be rich and somewhere else, not playing your wedding for a hundred bucks!

Good Dog/Bad Dog

Last night I let Aldo out around 7:00 PM to go potty. As soon as I stepped outside and released him (I make him wait for me to say it's OK for him to go through the door) I saw the biggest rabbit I've ever seen in the wild! This thing had to be like 15-20 lbs. Not fat, just tall. This rabbit was huge!

Of course Aldo takes off chasing it (high prey drive). But the rabbit tried to get out of the corner of my yard and was too big to get out through the fence. How on earth did it even get in?

At this point (the rabbit is cornered) I'm afraid Aldo is going to get it, so I call him off. He sort of listens, and the rabbit manages to get away and cuts diagonally across my yard to the gate of my fence.

This is where it gets weird.

The rabbit crashes into/through the gate so hard, with SO much force, he OPENED the gate. Aldo was hot on his tail, but miraculously, stops short.

By the time I run over there the rabbit is gone (although it's fur is ALL over the fence) and the gate is WIDE open, and Aldo is just standing there.

GOOD DOG!!!!!

That's how people lose their dogs or how dogs get hit by cars, you know?

This morning as I was loading Aldo into the van to go to work I decided to remove this huge god-damned tent/awning thing my mom got me for the quartet. The problem is that it's SO big and heavy that having it isn't necessarily helpful. Also, some of the places we play won't allow it anyway.

I had the garage door open as I loaded this 12 x 12 tent out the side door of the van into the garage.

Aldo is a Bouvier, a herding breed. He's been bred over hundreds of years to NOT like new things (like a huge tent that's bigger than me). He spooks like a horse would. If he was protecting a herd of sheep or cows, that same instinct would keep the riff-raff away from the herd (or the herd away from the riff-raff).

As I'm struggling with the tent and it finally falls over creating a HUGE noise, Aldo practically says aloud, "I'm outta here!" and he jumped from the van and ran out of the garage into the driveway.

BAD DOG!

I called him to come to me, and I could see his dilemma. He clearly wanted to and knew he should, but that damn tent was sort of between us and he was freaked by it falling over.

He began slowly backing up, and I ended up having to chase him to the next door neighbor's front porch to get him to come back.

But at least he didn't keep chasing that rabbit straight out of the yard last night! He's much more good than bad. ;)

Giant Plush Microbes

And only $5.99 for each microbe!

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/plush/6708/images/1187/

Horrified!!!!!!

They finally hired someone to replace the guy who retired from my section Feb 28. They have yet to replace my boss (who left Dec 15th or so....) but that's a different story. The new guy attended a section meeting we had today to start to hear what's going on in our world.

He MUST have had long sleeves on when I met him yesterday, because today he had on short sleeves and QUITE the skin condition all over his hands and arms.

The skin condition (better not be contageous!!!!!!!!!!!) looks like a cross of chicken pox and pimples. They are almost all scabbed over and he is COATED in them I'll call it "the plague" from now on.

During our 45 minute staff meeting (there are only four of us), about 10 minutes in, I see him start scratching his plague. EW!!!!!!!

Then, the unthinkable happens. HE PICKS A SCAB AND EATS IT!!!! Yes, this 50 year-old man ate his plague scab!

I look away. It must be a fluke. I'm going to throw up. STOP IT!

I look back, and he DOES IT AGAIN.

So I'm freaking out and trying not to make eye contact with or even look at one of the three other people sitting at the table with me. Very hard to do.

I began tick marks to see how many scabs he would eat. In 30 minutes of a semi-formal meeting he ate 12 scabs. Holy cats! Didn't our boss see that??????

I'm simply horrified.

Princess

After tonight it's no more "Princess Tangles" for me! I'm getting a hair cut, nothing too drastic (I need to be able to wear it up for the July wedding) but shaped better.

My cousin's wife cuts my hair and because it's just wild and curly enough to be hard to comb through she always calls me Princess Tangles. It's so cute though! I love it!

Other recent nicknames from close friends include:
lil' red (from Jamie, j-dawg)
gr8redhair (from MK)

Hmm... I see a theme. They ALL give me hair names. I'm more than my beautiful hair people!

Wikipedia

If you need to know more about the Chinese Fire Drill (thanks to "little T"):


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_fire_drill

I love the part where the bucket brigade SKIPS the middle step in the plan. Awesome!



A Chinese fire drill is a prank that was popular in the United States during the 1960s. It is performed when a car is stopped at a red traffic light, at which point all of the car's occupants get out, run around the car, and return to their own (or other) seats. Chinese Fire Drills are sometimes executed when one needs to get something from the trunk of a car. People have reported its use as early as the 1940s, so it is likely that the phrase was current at the time, but simply was not written down that early.

The term is also used as a figure of speech to mean any large, ineffective, and chaotic exercise. In this usage, it is often shortened to just "fire drill," omitting the possibly-offensive "Chinese."
[edit]

Origins of the term
The term is alleged to have originated in the early 1900s, during a naval incident wherein a ship manned by British officers and a Chinese crew set up a fire drill for fighting a fire in the engine room. In the event of a fire the crew was to form a bucket brigade, drawing water from the starboard side, taking it to the engine room and throwing it on the 'fire.' Because water would accumulate in the engine room, another crew was to take the excess thrown water and haul it back up to the main deck, and then heave it over the port side (in order to bail it out).

When the drill was called the first moments went according to plan, but then orders became confused in translation. The crew for the bucket brigade began drawing the water from the starboard side, running over to the port side, and then throwing the water over, and so by-passing the engine room completely. Thus the expression "Chinese Fire Drill" entered our lexicon as meaning a large confused action by individuals accomplishing nothing. [1]

The term is traditionally explained as coming from a British tendency around the time of World War I to use the adjective Chinese as a slur, implying "confused, disorganized, or inferior." [2] Other "Chinese" slurs of the day included "Chinese national anthem" (an explosion) and "Chinese puzzle" (one with no solution). In this context it is related to the stereotype of the Chinese as being 'inscrutable', hard to judge, and difficult to understand, all relating to the British experience of a sophisticated but distinctly alien culture. There are earlier isolated examples which were based on ideas of the inferiority of the Chinese.

Several expressions in common use in aviation since World War I, such as Chinese landing 'a clumsy landing' and Chinese ace 'an inept pilot', derive from the English phrase One Wing Low, a legitimate technical description of flying and landing technique taken to resemble a Chinese name.

Chinese Fire Drill

I think that in many ways I have always been the way I am now. My actual personality has been how it is for a long time.

When Ellie and Pam picked me up from work for bookclub last night I got in the back seat of El's car. It was kind of hot out, and I don't know if that's what caused it (I wasn't reading the directions to Sara's house, about 30-45 min away, or anything). By the time we were on the interstate and way the hell outside the city limits I sadly was forced to ask "Pam, do you get car sick?" She replied, "Nope." and I announced, "I think I need to sit in the front seat on the way home." I'm sure I was green by this point.

Ellie said, "Roll down your window! Roll down all the windows!" And Pam suggested, "When we get off the highway, let's trade. We'll do a Chinese Fire Drill."

I'm not racist, we've always called it a Chinese Fire Drill in these parts. What that hell does that really mean though? I just realized that may be a derogatory slur and I don't even know it.

Sure enough, we pulled off the highway for our exit, and at the stop sign Pam and I both ran out of the car and traded places. As we were running OF COURSE another car pulled up behind us. That's just how this stuff works. I wondered if they were thinking, "Damn kids!" at us as we held them up for a few seconds. Heh, like we're kids!

It also brought back some fun memories of driving with Jojo and Amy and many other friends back when I was still 15 (and, GASP, unlicensed). Yes, I bought my first car before I got my license. I've always been the way I am now.... We would go out for a Friday night and just drive around (the price of gas was LESS THAN a dollar a gallon back then, it was a scandal if it went to $1.25). Of course when we did Chinese Fire Drills back then we would switch cars too. Ah, memories!

Jojo will appreciate this one: another memory that popped up on the way home (as I was directing Ellie to turn right at the top of the hill, on to Raymond Rd) was about this kid named Butto. His real last name was Butterfield, but he had a crazy speech impediment (that a little speech therapy, FREE in the schools!) would have fixed.

Anyway, about 15 years ago, we were all piling in to my car after school and Butto, who I wasn't friends with and barely knew, climbed in.

I just totally dead panned, "So, do you want a ride?" He indicated that he did. And I said, "Where do you live?" Because he wasn't my friend, I didn't know!

His response, is still funny 15 years later.... "I live white off of way-mond woad." Ha ha ha! We must have laughed. How could we not laugh? I did give him a ride home, just that once.

So when I told Ellie to turn right on Raymond Road last night, it brought back that memory. Last I heard Butto was running a pretty successful business in the area...

How Many Times Can My Heart Be Broken?

I found out today that the rescue group adopted Bella to a local (Missouri) family. So she isn't going to get to be my little girl. = (

*sniff*

Seriously, I get way too vested too fast when it comes to all these on-line searches, be it guys, jobs, or dogs! I think it's good that I have enthusiasm and go forth with gusto, but it seems to lead to a lot of heartbreak as well.

I've inquired about 3 new dogs on-line today. Nothing like a new dog to take my mind off of Bella.

Bridal Shower Games

If anyone has a few ideas on FUN bridal shower games, please share. Although I've been to many, many, many weddings, I haven't been to a BRIDAL SHOWER in almost 9 years (due to geography). Oh wait, I just remembered that I attended one about 3 years ago, but it was a small group and they did the make a dress out of toilet paper game (I'm not too fond of that one).

Anyway, I need ideas! I found a few on the internet, but anything tested by my loyal readers would be appreciated.

And no, Blox, the "shower" has nothing to do with the ladies bathing or group showering (we're showering the bride to be with love and gifts!).

Two Italians are Better Than One

I think that Bella may be the new mini-Aldo!

Bella (pictured top) is a Tibetan Terrier mix. She's currently in a shelter in MO, and I officially applied to adopt her today.

Aldo (pictured bottom) is a fawn colored Bouvier des Flandres. Both dogs require grooming/haircuts, are low to non-shedding, and have the same floppy ears. I think I may create quite the commotion walking these two down the street!

Bella will be about 30 lbs full grown, and Aldo is about 85. She's 8 months old, and he is 6 years old. They are both foreign dogs with Italian names. Bella is such a good name that I wouldn't even think of changing it!

My mom loves her too. What can I say, we're easy with our love for the doggies.

I'm ready to be a new mommy again, and SOOOOOO excited about meeting ma Bella! Cross your fingers that they pick me as the best home for her!

Square Peg, Round Hole

The concept of trying to "MAKE" a relationship work is craziness people! Sure, everyone has to work at it, and put forth some effort. But if something isn't working, how does forcing it, MAKING it, help anyone?

My car-dealer guy just told me that he is currently trying to "make it work" with someone he has been seeing on and off for three years. I imagine it's like the analogy of attempting to fit a square peg into a too small round hole (see pic above). Sounds like a good time to cut your losses and run to me!

On and off again, seems like a bad plan to me. Accept it for what it is, or has become.

Even though I feel stupid for having asked him out, at least I know that I tried. One of these days that simply HAS to pay off!

Ouch!

When one's on-line profile says they have attended "some college" and the narrative reads as below, I'd say it's time for MORE college!

I NEED to hurry up and write a book, because this shit practically writes itself, and you almost can't make things up that would be better than this!

"I would Like to met a Women who is sure of her self and is interested in the're own thing (Art, Music, Work, ect) But who will also enjoy each others company. And to go outfor a party, or for wine and dinner, or a play atleast once a week with me.I'm sure there is More thing i could think of but then all the mystery is gone, I think you need that in order to keep the intrest alive"

Bird's Eye View

I think the assessments are incorrect, but the aerial maps are cool on this site:


http://www.zillow.com/

The forest behind my house looks super cool on the map!

Test Drive!

I test drove the Toyota Yaris over the weekend. It's funny, I went to school (k-12) with the sales manager at the dealership. I guess because someone there knew me, they let me walk onto the lot and drive off (solo) with the car in about 10 minutes. They didn't ask to see my license (or check IF I had one) they didn't hold my license or keys or anything. It was 3:00 PM and they said, "Please have it back by 5:00, we close then."

So I test drove this car that is 10 years newer than my van. Another perk, it gets DOUBLE the gas mileage of my van. DOUBLE! That's 34 mpg city and 40 hwy. Wow! I checked, and my dad AND my bass both fit in it. Even at the same time....

I love it, and I want it. It even comes in Olive (I know that sounds girlie of me to care about the color....)

As soon as I have a financial windfall, I'm going for it! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

And I admit it, I'm a little interested in the sales manager too. Shhhh!

For All Your Castle Renting Needs

I stumbled upon this and might even use it someday!

http://www.simplychateau.com/

Kinder Koncert

I played a kiddie concert with a youth orchestra last night. It quickly became Phaedra the bassist and a stage of some kids. I couldn't help it, I had the tempos, the rhythms, and the intonation, so I just kept playing more loudly. The conductor never indicated that he wanted less from me (a few times he asked for more). I've never really been in this kind of a situation before, the most challenging part for me was just playing with these kids whose abilities were all over the map!

After the concert a few parents thanked me for playing! That felt great. One especially fabulous mother (the coolest mom there last night!) asked me if I was a "high-schooler." Aw! That totally made my whole night. I sadly had to report that I was instead a "thirty-one-year-older." She said she suspected I might be out of high school based on my playing.

Whadda ya know? I guess I really AM a professional.

In weather related news it was 37 degrees out, pouring rain, and the winds were 45 miles per hour for my 110 mile drive to and from the concert. Yuck! And my bedroom was about 47 degrees when I woke up this morning (it was 35 outside). I saw on the news that we had a little snow overnight (all melted, but STILL!). Snow and cold in May... I knew we'd pay the price for such a nice April!

101 Dalmatians

I saw this quiz on Musevia's site and had to do it myself. There are two versions of 101 Dalmatians, the cartoon version and the live action version. My dog Koko LOVED the live action version and would watch the whole thing with me. However the kick-ass song about Cruella DeVille is in the cartoon version. I'm going to have that song in my head ALL day!!!!

** Disclaimer ** I would NEVER hurt a puppy!

Also, I actually tied on Sleeping Beauty and Cruella. For what it's worth!

You scored as Cruella De Ville. Your alter ego is Cruella De Ville! You hurt little puppies and have bad hair... shame on you! Sleeping Beauty 81% Cruella De Ville 81% The Beast 75% Goofy 63% Cinderella 63% Peter Pan 56% Ariel 50% Pinocchio 44% Donald Duck 38% Snow White 13% Which Disney Character is your Alter Ego? created with QuizFarm.com

Double Whammy

It's a good thing that I realized this TODAY rather than Sunday, but I just discovered that this Sunday is Mother's Day AND my Reverend Dad's Birthday. Oh la la.

Double the gift giving....

And my dad will NOT want to go out of town for Mother's Day, although my mom will. So if she goes and he stays, what do I do?????

Not even 1% Republican

I freaking adore that I can take these little quizzes and come up ZERO percent republican.

Mental note: don't date any closeted republicans....

I'm a NEW Democrat

You scored as New Democrat. New Democrats emphasize fiscal conservatism, and have a strong preference for the free market. They believe in small-scale programs that provide targetted help to those in need, while working with the business community. New Democrat 90% Old School Democrat 75% Green 75% Libertarian 40% Foreign Policy Hawk 25% Pro Business Republican 20% Socially Conservative Republican 0% What's Your Political Philosophy? created with QuizFarm.com

Lost a Major Gig

The wedding that I am in this July falls on the date of one of the performances of a musical that I was offered to play in. I played the musical last year (in town too, no extra driving involved!) and loved it. It also pays quite well, $500 for just a few nights.

I just got the e-mail saying that I can NOT get a sub for the one show I can't play, instead I have lost the gig. Which means, no $500 this year, and probably not ever again (since they tend to always call back first the last person who played the gig).

I know that I have to be in the wedding, and I'm happy to be in the wedding. I am however very disappointed that it has to hurt me so much financially to do so. I could lose thousands on this gig if it's gone forever. And there really is nothing else like it (I've been commuting over 100 miles to the other gigs I've been getting lately).

I love playing in musicals because unlike my wedding gigs (which I have to fully organize) I can just show up, play, and get paid. There is virtually NO responsibility involved. Just show up, and play! Also, more people come to see musicals than private weddings. And having my name in the program occasionally leads to more gigs.

I'm really afraid that I'm falling out of the loop in the musical community. Which really wrecks my plans for continuing to play forever.

*sigh*

And truly, I have no options at this point.

I Spoke too Soon

Just last week I was the spelling police, this week I have to eat my words.

I was trying to hurry up and design, print out and mail invitations to my friend's bridal shower that I'm throwing in a month. Hurrying is NEVER a good thing (and I know this!).

After I designed it and typed it up I called my mom to have her "proof listen" over the phone. I needed a proof reader, but I was rushing. Had to get this all done before the big piano move of 2006! Operation Phaedra Piano. I digress....

My mom didn't hear anything wrong in the proof listen. So I printed out invitations on ALL of the beautiful paper that I got months and months ago for just such an occasion. Nut just any occasion, I bought these invites to coordinate with the wedding invite colors. This was PREMEDITATED people!!!!

Well, when Dan come over for some piano moving I gave him one to take to his fiance. As he read it, he was like, "Ha ha, BIDE to be."

I think I screamed, "Are you fucking kidding me?!?" He was not. I have typoed the word BRIDE and omitted the R. Spell check didn't catch it because bide (bide your time) is a word!

I had wasted all that precious paper, all was lost- but Dan had an idea! I could pencil in a calligraphied "r" on EVERY invitation (all 35 of them) and no one would ever know....

So I whipped them all off, and it really did look pretty impressive. I addressed all the envelopes (by hand) and sealed and stamped them. I was about to mail them when...

I got my mail today and opened an invitation to my friend little t's baby shower. For the same date, Saturday June 3rd. But that Saturday is the 2nd, I thought. They must have typoed poor t's invitations. Unless.... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I checked my calendar and after EVERYTHING I had already gone through with the invites, they were now unsalvageable. I wasted my money, and so much freaking time on this all weekend long. Damnit!!!!!!

I finally got a little more crafty (one extra step on the craftiness meter) and figured out that I could open all the envelopes. Which means in theory that I can re-seal them with new invites inside. All I have to do is find something that color coordinates somewhat and hurry my ass up too.

I once thought that I could be a wedding planner. Scratch that! Well maybe I still could. The key is I should know myself well enough not to keep rushing myself this way. Nothing good ever comes from it.

Workin' Out, Workin' it Off

I MEGA worked-out yesterday, and am finally getting back on that horse! I think I've gained 10-15 lbs since my mom hit me with my car in January (what with the bruised ribs and lack of working out and all). I need to look great (well, really all the time...) for my friend's wedding in July!

Hopefully, I can counter-balance the effects of some of the free food this week with lots and lots of exercise!

I saw a guy I knew from high school at the gym, and his friend was CUTE! Gotta love that extra motivation!

Musical Red Slippers

I went to the symphony last night (FABULOUS by the way) with my friend E who recently returned from almost a year in France. It was great to see her, and nice to attend the symphony with someone who has also played in a symphony and played several of the pieces. I know that I enjoy hearing something performed that I've already played, I don't know if others feel that way or not.

Anyway, the Schubert Unfinished was pretty good. I would guess that it's such standard rep that they didn't spend much time rehearsing it. It showed in a few of the violin entrances too. Not that I'm perfect or anything, I keep auditioning and can't get in! But I still know my shit.

The finale, Stravinsky's Firebird Suite was fucking awesome! I love that piece and they did a great job. I was surprisingly moved at the end.

For the piano concerto, the soloist certainly had his own fashion flair. He walked on stage with a black sparkly jacket, black pants, black shirt, and RED VELVET SLIPPERS! Ha! I couldn't tell if he did this for any kind of practical reason (so that even in the balcony people could see his feet) or if he was just into those shoes. He was great, and reluctantly did a little encore at the prompting of the standing O. All in all a great night with great company!

I played a rehearsal for a new youth orchestra the other night. They don't have any kids playing the bass so I've been called in as a ringer for the end of the year concert. They're playing some Star Wars medly, a great Mozart piece, Barber of Seville, something I've never seen before, and this crazy Vivaldi violin concerto (I think a college student it playing the solo). I've had the music for a month, and kept meaning to be more professional about the whole thing and you know, PRACTICE. But sadly, I never got to it.

The cello section is three girls, one of driving age ( would guess 16 or 17) and one in 6th grade and one in 7th grade. The 6th grader doesn't read music well (not good when you're trying to play a super hard accompaniment to a Vivaldi violin concerto). I turned into a little bit of a task-master with my shouting out "B flat!" over and over again at these poor girls during rehearsal. But I only have one rehearsal to learn this music and the concert is in the middle of next week.

I learned something really important at this rehearsal: I would ALWAYS rather be the worst player in a group than the best. ALWAYS. Being the best means that I can follow the conductor and know that I have the right rhythm and intonation (I'm in tune dude, I swear!) but if everyone else (or even half of them) are off, it sounds like a cluster (even though I'm right on). So I'm trying to play really loudly, and clearly, hoping that some of the kids will hear me and change whatever it is they're doing wrong. But they may not have that skill yet. It comes in time. They're probably still all wrapped in their own minds, staring at the page (and not the conductor) and just playing away.... without any awareness, without a care in the world....

I also had a moment of clarity/perfection at that rehearsal. It was the middle of the first movement of the Vivaldi and EVERYONE drops out except for me, the 1st cellist and the soloist. Somehow, even though I was sightreading I began nailing EVERYTHING. I was hitting all the notes. Even consciously, I knew it was a moment of absolute perfection (and that felt so amazing). I've never hit so many notes (let alone ALL of them!) in such a high pressure sight reading situation before. And I couldn't brag about it to anyone because I really shouldn't have been sight reading! God it felt good to be so "on" like that though!

Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to practice before the concert (because that's what being paid to be a professional is all about).

More Free (or almost free) Goods

I need to break this post into a couple of sections. There's just so much to say before 9:00 AM today!!!!


Free food (and how I justcan't resist it!).
I'm too much of a bargain shopper. Free food is like a sale, or a deal that I can't pass up!

They "appreciated" us at work yesterday by giving us ice cream. You have to love that, we're the Department of Health and they give us ice cream as a thank-you. As a matter of fact there was a group of us, the second-bowl club. The big-boss (my boss' boss' boss' boss) actually PUT the second bowl in my hands. Uhhhh, peer pressure! Hard to say no to.

The socializing part of the Employee Appreciation Ice Cream Social was weird. The big-boss and his boss (the even bigger boss) were both hanging out by me so I ended up being photographed quite a bit (I'm sure it will end up on our intranet).

And everyone was telling strange food stories. It's kind of like watching kids group off into cliques in high school, except the average age at this thing was probably 45. Although some of the stories made people sound more like they were 14 (there was talk about foods containing cow testicles and penises). But overall an excellent break from work in the afternoon, so I won't complain.

TODAY we're being appreciated with pizza. How am I EVER going to lose weight? There were cream cheese-rhubarb treats this morning too. Work is a death trap when it comes to the high calorie non-healthy free food!

Garage sale derailment
I was a little late for car-pooling this morning because I passed a HUGE garage sale on my way and couldn't help but see folding chair upon folding chair (which I just might need for a bridal shower at my house next month).

I got these two awesome padded upholstered deco looking chairs with wooden backs, and then six of the standard issue metal folding chairs. All this for $25!!!! I may go back for more of those metal guys if they have them later.

Guitar Hero (for PS2)
On my hot date last night (I actually went back to his place!) we played Guitar Hero for Play-Station 2. It was so freaking cool! It comes with a little plastic guitar and you finger the chords and strum where the strings would be. The songs I performed were "I love Rock and Roll" Joan Jet, and "I Wanna Be Sedated" the Ramones. I played the easy level, but still for a first timer I was pretty good. At least that's what he said (insert cymbal noise here).

Nothin's Better than Free

As a musician, I find it nearly impossible to turn down the offer of a free instrument. I have a whole drum set in my basement to prove it (and that was acquired by reverend Dad, not me).

My former boss told me that she is remodeling her house and no longer wants/needs the piano that her kids learned to play on. Neither she nor her husband plays, and it's just taking up space. I don't think they've tuned it in a few years, but I'm hoping that I can get that back on track without too much damage. She has offered to GIVE it to me for FREE.

The real issue is moving a piano is no joke. Reverend Dad (who used to own a furniture store and knows how to move large objects) and I went over to her place to take some measurements. It appears that this little upright (spinet?) piano WILL fit in my van. And someone just asked me today if I REALLY need a van. It turns out that I need my van almost every week!

I have a few friends secured to help in the moving project (Operation Phaedra Piano) but I'm still hoping to find one more. I need to make some calls.

There's a deadline too. I NEED to move it this Saturday or Sunday, as the new floors go into the remodel-house next week (and it HAS to be out before that happens).

Spelling Police

I freely admit that I'm not the grammar police. Or even necessarily the spelling police (I love spellcheck though!). But in any case, getting the forms of words wrong, the incorrect usage of the words that sound alike when said, but not written, is a huge pet peeve.

Examples: You're (contraction for YOU ARE)
Your (something that belongs to YOU)

To (preposition, check this for details: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=to )
Too (same thing as ALSO)
Two (the number after 1 and before 3)

And of COURSE the: There, Their, and They're debacle.

I received a professional, business e-mail that said,
"There on there way."

GOD does reading that pain me! They got the version of "there" wrong TWICE!!!!! They're on their way perhaps????? How do people function and get jobs writing that way?