rebounding

well, life seems to be on the rebound...

my trip to michigan was so-so at best. the gigs were moderately rewarding and the traveling really sucked. to sum up the traveling, we left late wednesday night, arrived in byron center (near grand rapids, mi) at about 6am thursday morning. then we began our trip home late sunday night, and arrived in eau claire at about 6am. on the way home, evan managed to give us a tour of east lansing before i got us directions to I-496, and talked to a drug dealer, somewhere in western michigan, just before entering indiana. evan, you're amazing.

anyways, life is slowly improving.

becker, colin, randall, and i "decorated" dr. ostrander's house last night (halloween) while he was gone playing a gig with the MN Opera. ornaments included chalking the driveway with the Ride of the Valkyries in B-flat alto clef, which modulated to A-flat treble clef, which then turned into a jazz lick followed by chord changes only colin and randall could thing of. sharp 1, that's brilliant. other ornaments included hanging a trombone, with a knot that was supposed to resemble a noose, from his basketball hoop. oh yeah, and steve turre called...he needs him to play piano. blaming the freshman by signing their names was a nice touch as well.

i played my tune (cantaloupe island) last night at the stones throw and felt about the best i ever have about my improvising. sad as that may be...because i still have a long ways to go with that. but i'm starting to leave the realm of suck and enter the realm of it-could-be-worse.

i saw branden's sister, katie, there too. that lifted my spirits quite a bit. if she's able to go out, i can't feel too awful myself. it's still hard to cope with though, but time is doing it's thing.

i got two new wycliffe gordon cds in the mail yesterday and i can't stop listening to them. they're sooo good and inspiring me even more to practice my improvising everyday.

chip valley rehearsal didn't totally suck today. the tenor is really starting to feel comfortable and i'm actually enjoying the principal chair. high c's aren't so bad afterall. i still have a lot of improving to do, but i'm getting better every time, which is extremely encouraging.

i think if i could get back up to the gym on a regular basis i would be even happier. i just haven't felt like going lately, and it's bugging me, but i just can't find the motivation to get up there. i think it's the reality of how sore i will be from starting up again that is one hinderance for me. i've started running a little, which feels really good. but, i really do want to get back to the lifting.

i guess that's about it. i love my friends and i'm still thankful for the time i get to spend with them.

g'nite fools.