Me? A Morning Person?

Northshore Concert Band Festival is today.

Why do I feel better the earlier I get up? (Today it was 5am)

I fear I'm becoming an early-riser.


Woo breakfast plate discounts at Perkins!

Update Dump

Let's see, we'll organize this in the order that things pop into my head:

Performed "La Virgen de la Macarena" with the BHS band. It went well. It is also being broadcast on local cable access - or so I hear.

Gave my second concert with my band. It went very well. I love my job. Program was:
6: Latinesque (Prueninger), Kinetic Energy (Clark), Pulsar (Osterling), Actium (McGinty)

7/8: Procession of the Nobles (Korsakov/Bocook), Day in Space (Curnow), Lost Lady Found (Grainger/Vinson), Beyond the Seven Hills (Sweeney)

Attended the Northshore Concert Band Solo & Ensemble Festival. We had 19 Division 1 placements and 4 Division 2 placements. No one placed lower than Division 2. Hooray!

Played my second concert with CLC. It went well.

This Thursday we're attending the Northshore Concert Band Clinic. It shall be good times.

This weekend I have an Easter gig in Glen Ellyn. Hooray for playing trumpet in Chicago. Afterwards, I'm going to spend a few days in Macomb with Alysse and then Bob and I are going to Kansas City to eat good food and see his dad play in a couple bands. Who knows, maybe we'll play too!

I'm thinking I may get a laptop after all, and use my newly purchased LG widescreen monitor as an extended desktop.

My savings broke a big number this past week, and I am very happy about that.

That is all.

I should update more often

This past weekend was spent in Macomb. It was WIU's Showcase of Bands and the man that kept me from dropping out of the music program was the guest conductor. We had a nice conversation after the concert and then again at the Alumni House. The bands sounded wonderful and it is *always* nice to go back to Macomb.

Alysse and I talked about "Big Things" and had a good weekend. We decided "Real World versus Road Rules" is a dumb show, and watched "Across the Universe." Great music, downer story (but at least there is a happy ending).

I was able to practice a bit and I'm confident about my upcoming solo performance with BHS. My bands have a few concerts coming up, and they are going to go well if the kids put in the work they need to. I was suprised today, so hopefully that will continue.

I'm judging this weekend at a local high school for IHSA Solo & Ensemble and sent out an email today testing the waters with a potential gig. Hopefully it will turn into something, but I think I'll need to make an investment in another horn if it does. (Ooh how exciting, what would it be? He already owns 4 Bb's, a C and a picc!)

I am a nerd.

Brain Dump (as per valerie)

I haven't blogged in a long time because I haven't made the time for it. I'm not sure if this is because I have been busy or because I have been uninterested. Perhaps both. Or neither.

School is going well. There are three major performances in March and two in May. Solo & Ensemble is stressing me out but I think I've come across the solution. We'll see if it works.

Trumpet is going very well, save for not playing due to an ugly head cold for the past week. I've received several compliments from brass players in the wind ensemble I'm playing in whose opinions I respect, so I must be doing something right.

I transferred the ugly head cold to Alysse while she was up for a very nice weekend. I also get to see her every weekend for the next month or so, which is amazing. We've been together for almost three years and long distance for about half of that. This is a big deal. Also, sorry about the head cold.

I bought a new computer monitor because my other decided it didn't need to show me shades of green anymore. Goodbye 2003 Compaq CRT, hello 2007 LG widescreen LCD. I love me the 3000:1 contrast ratio and 2ms response time. I am a nerd.

Bob is thinking about buying a new trumpet. He should do it. You should tell him so.

A collection agency called me today and left a voicemail telling "Kaylee" that they were going to repossess her Pontiac Sunfire. They had the wrong number. I feel bad for Kaylee, but the agency won't answer their phone. A conundrum that is.

Thats it. I'm done.

The Weekend

Friday Night: Scored a volleyball match at school. Afterwards, I went to Naperville to see a steel pan group at Quigley's with Bob, Q, Marianne, Aubrey and Aubrey's friend Sarah, a choir director from the western 'burbs. Sarah is originally from Indiana and never renewed her pre-21 license, so even though she was 23, Quigley's kicked her out for having an invalid ID. We all left in support and headed to Feature's for food and drinks. Soon Sarah suggested we head to Sandbar in Brookfield to hear a band. We went, and decided Sandbar rules. The band was covering Beatles tunes, and they also ruled. We stayed until 12:30 or so and then headed out to the Green Mill downtown to participate in the jam session. Bob and Q both played, and schooled the first couple of general public that had been on stage. Congrats to those guys. Sarah got hit on by a guy that had entirely too much alcohol in his system and I saw two people from high school that I hadn't seen in seven years. We got home around 4.

In short, Friday night ruled.

Saturday: Bummed around most of the day. Saw Rambo, which was very powerful. I'm serious. Great movie. Very realistic war scenes though. Do not watch if you're squeamish. Think Saving Private Ryan times a million.

Sunday: Bummed around again. Watched some movies, headed back to Fox Lake. Little bit of work for school, went to bed to catch up on my sleep.

Static is evil.

That is all.

Unexpected Awesome

Alysse bought me a bag of starbucks coffee beans and a grinder when I moved into my new apartment. I hadn't used either until last week, when I had my first morning cup of coffee in a couple months.

Today when I got home from work I felt like having a cup, so I busted out the grinder and obliterated some beans into coffee goodness. The coffee was good, but what happened then was unexpected awesomeness.

The coffee aroma from the ground beans I didn't need when I brewed, plus the grinder itself and my apartment with very little ventilation equaled an apartment-wide "coffeehouse smell," minus the hipsters and Macbooks.

Are there coffee scented air fresheners?