there's another surprise at the end!

just walked into my apartment about 10 minutes ago. been gone since wednesday. the trip was good, but exhausting. here's the timeline.

wednesday-
5:30p leave eau claire
10:00p arrive in fon du lac
10:30p play through audition for colin's family
12:30p go to bed

thursday-
5:30a wake up and get ready
6:30a leave for milwaukee airport
9:30a depart for rochester
1:30p arrive in rochester
2:30p shuttle to hotel
3:30p walk to eastman to play trombone
5:00p dinner with colin and jennifer
7:00p back to eastman to practice more
10:00p back to hotel to sleep

friday-
7:30a wake up and get ready
9:00a audition meeting thing at eastman
10:00a warm-up
11:00a food
12:00p play more
1:00p relax
2:45p audition
3:30p back to hotel to chill
5:00p chill time with colin, darts, pizza, etc.
12:00a bed

saturday-
6:00a wake up and get ready
7:45a shuttle to airport
9:30a depart for milwaukee
12:30p arrive in milwaukee
1:00p leave for eau claire
5:30p arrive in eau claire
5:32p leave for minneapolis (maria schneider concert)
8:00p maria schneider concert (amazing!)
10:00p hang with george flynn
12:00a hang with evan benidt
1:30a bed (still in minneapolis)

sunday-
11:00a wake up
12:00p leave minneapolis
1:45p arrive in eau claire

and that brings us up to date. as soon as i'm done with this post i'm gonna take a shower, and head over to school to practice.

the audition went well. it wasn't a personal best for me, which was disappointing, but it was still okay. i'm certain that the only reasoning that will get me in, however, is if they recognize that i got a little nervous and pawn off some of my mistakes on that. i can't worry about it any more. time to focus on manhattan next weekend.

the best part of my trip was my conversation with a 2 year old girl named audrey as i flew between detroit and milwaukee. i began to fall asleep before take off and audrey tapped me on the shoulder to make sure i didn't miss the best part of the flight. so we talked a little bit. she has a brother who is 4 and another brother who is 7. she likes gummy worms and is excited to move into her new house in milwaukee.

well, time for the surprise i guess. a few of you had seen the last video i posted, but i guarantee you haven't seen this one. i received this one through e-mail from a friend (i can't remember who it was anymore) in high school. it's a short video clip of me playing "makin' whoopee" with high school band. the camera work is top notch and 2 points will be awarded for each member of the band you can identify that ended up coming to eau claire. good luck, and enjoy!

http://www.jamesyardley.com/video/mvc-153v.mpg

love,
james