2014 Moratorium

It doesn't seem fair to do a moratorium in a year I'm still living in, if just for a few more hours, but I felt the urge to scribble a post.

2014 had a lot of good moments. It was a kind of relief from everything that had happened over the previous two years between Matt's mom dying and losing our dogs, Buddy and Zak.

Accomplishments: This one is not my own but I consider it a pretty major deal that Matt not only completed his Bachelor's Degree through Houghton College but he maintained a 4.0 the entire time!

Matt and I also celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in July. It doesn't really seem like it has been 10 years!

Travel:

• Four-day trip to Washington D.C. in March to see our friends, Brian & Tim as well as getting to see M. (long time friend and shenanigans associate) and Brandy (Jamestown transplant)
• Overnight to Cleveland, OH in May to take part in an alumni orchestra rehearsal at Baldwin-Wallace under Dwight Oltman's baton one last time. Saw many old friends.
• 10th Wedding Anniversary trip to Burlington, VT with a day trip to Montreal in September to finally meet Maurice.
• plus numerous trips to Rochester, Buffalo, and Erie, PA.

Books: I read at least 15 books according to a scan of my Goodreads list in 2014, which is a marked increase from recent years.

Movies: Between Netflix, movies at The Reg, and our local theatre chain, we saw some good flicks including The Monuments Men, The Way Way Back, We Are The Best!, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Le Week-End, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Frozen, Mrs. Brown, A Single Man, Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, The Trip, Funny Face, Slacker, New York, I Love You; Coffee & Cigarettes, Don Jon, Blue Is The Warmest Color, Geography Club, and The Interview.

Music: My top ten artists according to last.fm for 2014 have a lot of overlap when you consider that Johnny Marr and Morrissey both were part of The Smiths and Adam Schlesinger is writing/singing/performing songs for both Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy.

1. Fountains Of Wayne (132 plays)
2. U2 (126 plays)
3. Morrissey (99 plays)
4. Taylor Swift (62 plays)
5. The Smiths (59 plays)
6. Ladyhawk (52 plays)
7. Enya (51 plays)
8. XTC (48 plays)
9. Johnny Marr (47 plays)
10. Ivy (44 plays)

Violining: My violin was attached to my neck most of this Fall but for overall ensembles/concerts that I performed with this year, I offer this:

• March - "Annie Get Your Gun" at Falconer High School
• May - Jamestown Area Community Orchestra Spring concert at Jamestown High School
• October - Jamestown Area Community Orchestra Fall Concert
• November - "Les Miserables" at Jamestown Community College
• December - The Living Christmas Tree at First Covenant Church

Random Bits: I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in October and have been on medications since that seem to have stabilized my levels so far. Matt made the decision in 2014 to get Lasik surgery on his eyes, but that won't happen until 2015. We bought a fancy, new convection oven, 5-burner gas stove in December after another pecan pie filling failure on Thanksgiving. I also bought a Pono device after buying Neil Young's pitch hook/line/sinker. It really does have great sound quality although I will admit I'm still mad at Apple for discontinuing the iPod Classic as that probably would have been my music player replacement for my iPod Touch, which is old and doesn't hold nearly enough music for my liking.

Looking Ahead to 2015: Who knows what could happen? It's going to be a year of some change with my office being moved to City Hall, Matt being able to see without glasses, and the fact that it's an election year for our Mayor. I've never been a fan of resolutions because they're far too easy to break, but I'm hoping that we go into 2015 with an open mind and patience for what lies ahead.

28 Days Later

Here I am at the end of 28 days away from Facebook. What have I been up to?

Books I've Read:
Morrissey: Autobiography (UK Edition)
Why Can't I Be You - Allie Larkin
Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell
Summer In A Glass: The Coming of Age of Winemaking in the Finger Lakes - Evan Dawson

Movies I've Seen:
The Monuments Men
The Way Way Back

Blog Entries I've Written = 29

Pounds Lost = 2

Exercise Classes Attended = 8 (guessing at this since I only started recording on Feb 18th)

Nights Spent Snuggling on the Coach with Sammy & McKinley while watching many episodes of Poirot on Netflix = Too numerous to count

Outings Out Into the Cold to See Friends Socially That Weren't Connected to Work/Boards/Organizational Events = 3

Phone Calls to Parents = Three. One 2-hour call and one 1.5-hour call and one 40-minute call.

New Beers/Ciders Imbibed = 7
Southern Tier Brewing - 2XOne
Southern Tier Brewing - Grand Arbor
Otter Creek Brewing - Citra Mantra
Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits - Tongue Buckler
Stella Artois - Cidre
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - 75 Minute IPA
Lagunitas Brewing Company - A Little Sumpin' Wild Ale

Musical Rehearsals Attended - 2. Will increase exponentially in the next week

Paczkis Consumed Prior to Fat Tuesday - One solitary over-filled, seemingly double-glazed wonder

Tickets Purchased To See Morrissey In Concert at Artpark: - 3. One for me and 2 for my cousin and his friend.

Buffalo Sabres Traded: Two

Stealing & Recovering a $5 Million Stradivarius in Milwaukee

It's easy to put a romantic spin on a story about the theft of a Stradivarius violin, but it was anything but for Milwaukee Symphony Concertmaster Frank Almond when he found himself tasered and his $5 million "Lipinski" Stradivarius stolen just before he got in his car following a concert.

Indulge me with a moment of levity. I can't help it. I imagine that there are many in my age group who automatically hear the pronunciation offered by Vincent Furnier, known professionally as Alice Cooper, in this movie scene:


Done? Done.

Almond recently told his side of the story to The Violinist's Laurie Niles.

Fortunately, the tale ends positively with the recovery of the violin and the arrest of the two individuals suspected in the case. Almond was back on stage with the "Lipinski" in concert a week after it was recovered.

One of the things I appreciated is that the value of both of the bows that resided in the violin case along with the Stradivarius were divulged: $20,000 and $30,000. Stradivarius violins are so desired because they produce an amazing sound, are rare, and still retain some mystery in terms of the exact combination of materials that work to give the instrument its sound. But every violin needs a bow if you are going to realize the instrument's potential. A bow's construction is just as important as its larger partner. Of course, a bow isn't much without a violin where you can still make music on a violin in the absence of a bow.

My public service announcement for the day to any parent who has a child who is becoming more serious about being a violinist and who is playing on a full-size instrument, is that it's worthwhile to invest in owning a violin and it's worthwhile to buy a quality bow. Your wallet may be unhappy in the short term, but your child will enjoy playing on a better quality violin versus struggling with a violin-shaped-object. The goal of purchasing a violin is not just to save on rental costs but to give your child the opportunity of a lifelong enjoyment of her instrument. Here are some other thoughts on the topic.

There Is Violins in "Annie Get Your Gun"

I did my first run through of the music with the pit ensemble for Falconer High School's production of "Annie Get Your Gun" last night. Initial ensemble run-throughs are always interesting because you're not only getting a chance to hear how your part fits in with everyone else but you also get to find out just how different some of your music markings are from the Conductor's score. The only issues that seemed to come up tonight were whether we were in 4/4 or 2/4 time since it wasn't always written in the instrumental part if the time signature had changed. Our conductor loved that one!

The fun thing about playing in musicals for high schools is that there are usually a couple students on in the ensemble. FHS's pit orchestra is hampered this year by a lot of would-be-pit members being part of the actual stage show. Still though, it was good to see the return of one of the flutists who had performed in the pit for "Cinderella" last year. As the students move up in grades, you can start to hear them grow as musicians both in confidence and musicality. 

This year's show will run the weekend of March 14-16th. Here are some numbers as done in the Broadway revival of the show.

Tipping The Hat To Summer 2012

While there are actual seasons blowing in and shining down, the constant pace of my life has hardly seen a break in years. But seasons come and go regardless of whether I'm occupied or not.

This summer..

- We hosted this year's "Cousins Weekend" which saw the arrival of cousins from Albany and Boston, aunt from Buffalo, and my parents from Rochester to our house. Somehow in just a weekend, we visited Southern Tier Brewing Company, Panama Rocks, Bemus Point, Chautauqua Institution, Forte, Lily Dale, and Dunkirk. It was a bit of a whirlwind for me as the host but I was so glad to see everyone!

- My parents came down to visit a couple times to help with some household improvements and to celebrate Father's Day. My grandmother came the latter visit and we had fun going to the Yassou! Festival and finding bargains at some of the local thrift shops.

- Matt and I worked on some household projects. The downstairs bathroom saw a makeover with the old vanity being ripped out, new flooring being put down, a new-to-us toilet being installed, new lighting, a pedestal sink, and wainscoting installed on the walls. The room still needs a final bit of wainscoting and a final paint job before accessory installation can happen.

- I finally got to see Fountains Of Wayne, for free even, as part of Buffalo's Thursdays In The Harbor. It was a wonderful show even though there were only a handful of us who were familiar with a greater range of their songs beyond "Stacy's Mom."

- The end of June included the arrival of a puppy in our lives: Sammy. Sammy is a German Shepard-Lab-Mix we adopted from Northern Chautauqua Canine Rescue. Matt says he's one of the best puppies he's ever had. The little guy is quite cute and quite a handful. I never had a puppy before so I was definitely not prepared for the lack of sleep, the time commitment, and the patience needed. Even so, I like having him around. He has a lot of the traits of Buddy to the point where we joke that Sammy is Buddy reincarnated. I didn't blog about Buddy dying back in April. I don't know if I ever will. I still miss him so much and probably always will.

- On the health front: Matt and I have been eating a diet that follows the Paleo Model. We were strict for the initial 30 days of the diet (started day after Mother's Day and continued until June 8th), but have relaxed to the point where 70 to 80% of our diet is paleo. The diet is a "real food" diet that is gluten free (no rice or corn even), legume free (no peanuts or soy), and dairy free. As it's anti-inflammatory, I've seen my rosacea calm down and I lost some of the stubborn weight (around 5 lbs) that had been hanging on for the last year despite all my exercise/calorie counting. Matt lost 16 pounds he had gained back after his big weight loss competition last year and saw his allergies settle down as well. I don't miss bread as much as I thought I would although lunch is a bit more complicated because there isn't the easy fall-back of sandwiches. Eating romaine wraps does get old. I also am not missing cheese as much as I thought I would either. That doesn't mean I haven't had a cheeseburger here and there over the last few months!

And forward...

- I submitted my resignation from my teaching gig at Infinity Visual & Performing Arts. Part of it is because I will have a rehearsal on Wednesday nights most of this Fall which would have made it impossible to teach the one day I'm available. Also, while I really enjoyed teaching and I liked the small group of students I had, sometimes you need to step back and refocus.

- Refocusing doesn't mean I've given up being busy. The rehearsals I will have are for JCC's production of "Legally Blonde" in November. It has been 3 seasons since I've done a musical at JCC and 2 years since I played in the pit for "Chicago" at Lucille Ball Little Theatre of Jamestown. It was time for a challenge of a familiar, but different variety.

- Busy also includes: Playing in a wedding this Saturday and enjoying Local Music Showcase, a couple trips to Rochester to celebrate my mom's birthday and my parent's 40th wedding anniversary, a Fiona Apple concert on October 9th, a Morrissey concert on October 19th, a Jamestown Community Orchestra concert on October 21st, three weekends of "Legally Blonde" performances, and Matt's 40th birthday. You'll need to check back in with me sometime in January before I have free time again, in other words.

Bits of Life Over Cream Sherry

I'm drinking the smallest glass of cream sherry ever right now because I wanted a little something before bed, but I didn't want to be up until 11am drinking a more regular sized glass of sherry. My drinking habits tend to run in the "nursing" department, but that's not bad when it comes to figuring out who can drive home at the end of the night.

I went to the first rehearsal for the Living Christmas Tree tonight. There is a kind of sacrilegious feeling to playing Christmas-like music before Halloween has even happened. This is on top of all the Christmas creep I've been trying to ignore in stores. Really retail people? You really think that by saying some people want to get their shopping done early means it's okay to make the rest of us suffer? Really?

That said, I'm looking forward to the early winter/holiday season. I love Thanksgiving and I love those early days of cold weather where you can make the house feel cozy by baking, wearing lots of wool and fleece; and eventually listening to more holiday-themed music. I swear I haven't had a lobotomy.

My main goal right now is making sure I'm caught up at work and getting as much violin practicing in as I can stand before my well-earned, much-needed vacation. I'm playing in a wedding on Veteran's Day which involves a lot of unfamiliar country and religious-pop music. I probably didn't charge the bride enough for my services, seeing as how I had to write out the violin part for one of the songs, but I don't mind in some crazy way. I think all artists and musicians undersell themselves at times just because they enjoy the challenge, or are having enough fun doing it to think about asking for more cash.

Speaking of violin, I have a new student as of Wednesday. She's a 7 year old who has never played violin. I heard through the grapevine that her mom really doesn't want her to go the Suzuki route, which is fine with me.

On the exercise front, I've been asked if I want to be a sub for Zumba classes at the YMCA. I don't have a routine together, so I had to decline. Part of me keeps thinking I should work on creating a routine just because it would be fun to actually use the training I received before my licensee authorization runs outs. I can't justify signing up for the Zumba Instructor Network, which has a monthly fee, in order to maintain my licensee authorization if I don't even have a routine!

Lastly, my body can tell it's time for winter because it wants me to fill up on carbs and sugar as the amount of daylight diminishes. I'm trying to resist the best I can, or at least counter some of my weak moments with appropriate time in the gym, but I can almost feel the other kind of Christmas creep threatening in the form of weight gain. Here's to at least holding steady over the holidays!

It's Been One Week..

It's been one week since I stopped doing the news.

I'm feeling a little lost.

It's silly in a way.

So what have I been up to?

I gardened last Sunday. I cleaned up some of the house on Monday and had a Memorial Day hot dog dinner with Matt. I watched I Capture The Castle and New Waterford Girl.

Tuesday I finally saw Labyrinth for the first time since it was available on Netflix streaming.

Wednesday I had just one violin student and then I went to watch Matt play floor hockey. We went out with the team after to Applebee's for dinner and some drinks. It was the first time in awhile that I recall having a drink in the middle of the week with dinner, or before 10pm.

Thursday I attended the dress rehearsal for the Infinity group, Collective Groove, that I would be performing with on Friday. After dinner, Matt and I went to see Bridesmaids. I cried on the way home because the movie reminded me of how much I miss one of my friends who moved away.

Friday we ate dinner quick before attending the Infinity Performing & Visual Arts Showcase at the Reg Lenna Civic Center. I had my worst case of nerves in years complete with icy hands and dry throat. We dropped into Forte after for a glass of wine and slice of grand marnier cheesecake before going home.

Saturday we had a funeral in the morning for the father of our friends. He was a good man. After a quick trip to Wegmans, I took my mother in law to a bridal shower for her granddaughter/my niece. Matt had a hockey team party that night, so I sat down in the recliner and read all of The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.

Today I chatted online with my friend, Candy, who has had a marvelous weekend, before getting ready and meeting my friend, Heather, at Wegmans for coffee and grocery shopping.

There was a lot that went on this week. I did some things I might not have if I knew later on at night I would have to do the news. I felt like I should be a lot more simply because I didn't have that one thing hanging over my head.

I feel like I failed in a way.

Heather said she got some advice not that long ago that makes sense. That she just needs to be rather than worrying about setting goals. I think I just need to be for awhile. I need to figure this out. It's been a long time since I've had this kind of additional time back. It seems so very over dramatic to be going on like this, but the truth is that I just don't feel like myself. I've even had a hard time remembering what I used to do with myself in the days before I did the news. I also know I'm a much different person from then.

Matt says I don't deal well with change. I know I don't. I just don't like to hear it out loud because I tend to advocate pretty loudly if I see something that should be changed for others. Admittedly, even when it's a good change, it's still hard. The good thing is that I still make myself do it. I couldn't grow otherwise.

Sun & Blue Skies in February

It's a rare sunny and blue sky filled day today in Western New York.  We've had more than our fair share of cloudy grayness for the past couple months.

Zumba

I decided I enjoyed taking the class so much that I signed up for Instructor Training with my friend, Ali.  We head up to Rochester after work tonight for an all day session tomorrow.  There's a serious need for evening classes in the Jamestown area with only one being offered at the Y after the 5 o'clock hour.  I'm hoping Ali will be able to fill the gap, with me filling in if needed.  On a related note, I re-joined the Jamestown Y since as long as I make it there at least 3 times a month, it pays for itself in terms of the cost of adding me to Matt's membership. 

Violin

I won't be performing in any musicals this Spring as the school I usually play for doesn't have a violin part written into the musical they are doing.  This means I won't be playing again until the Spring concert for Jamestown Community Orchestra.  On the non-performing side, I still have 2 students at Infinity.  After almost 10 years of prodding, T.R. McKotch finally got me to write a violin part so one of my students could accompany an ensemble that's covering "Back To The Earth" by Rusted Root.  I can't really say I'm writing the part as all I'm doing is transcribing the background vocals so my student can follow along.  It's still more than I've dared to try in years.

Radio

I'm still faithfully recording the news every Sunday through Thursday night for WRFA.  I've also been voicing a segment called "This Week In Metal" whenever I'm sent scripts by Len Barry.  It's a goofy segment, but it's fun to do something different than straight news reading.  For the past month, I've also been mentoring the Public Affairs coordinator at the station to give him some pointers, story ideas, and delivery tips.  He has some radio background, but he's left to his own devices a lot of times so I thought it would be helpful to offer some guidance.

Health

I've had a cold/sinus drainage issue for over 5-weeks now.  I was knocked down pretty good for 2 of those weeks but my doctor didn't recommend any kind of medication.  I'm hoping it will go away soon since it has been keeping me from being as active as I'd like.  Otherwise, I keep trying to eat healthy, get enough rest, get enough fluids, run the humidifier at night and exercising.

2010 - Is It Over Already?

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
I began teaching violin at Infinity Visual & Performing Arts

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Not much of a resolution making sort of person, but I did pinky swear with a few friends that 2011 will be the year we're more positive.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My cousin, Rachel, had a baby girl in May.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
My Grandfather died October 5th. He had been sick since this summer, but took quite a turn that first weekend of the month. Just by chance I was able to be there in the room with my family when he died. In an odd way, being there helped bring a lot more closure than I've had when other family members have died.

5. What countries did you visit?
Matt and I went to Hamilton, Ontario to see Star Wars In Concert on our 6th wedding anniversary.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
The feeling like I can move forward with things I want to do.

7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Losing some fear to do the things I want to do.

8. What was your biggest failure?
Still not saying no enough.

9. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I'm still a pretty healthy gal.

10. What was the best thing you bought?
PlayStation 3, which enabled us to "cut the cord" on the upper tiers of cable.

11. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Matt still gets high marks.

12. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
It would not be polite to name names.

13. Where did most of your money go?
Mortgage and house related stuff such as replacing the foundation on the backside of our house, fixing the furnace, and having to get our sewer line roto-rootered twice.

14. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Signing up for a Zumba certification class that will take place in February 2011.

15. What song will always remind you of 2010?
The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition



16. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? I am happier. I feel more even going into the New Year than last year.
b) thinner or fatter? I think I gained a couple pounds from where I was last year. Hard to say since I KNOW I gained some "holiday weight" over the holidays last year.
c) richer or poorer? Edging toward a little poorer after some hard home maintenance costs over the last year.  We're still on course though to try to purchase a car to replace my beloved Toyota Tercel.

17. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I think I should have written more.  I had a nice streak going at the beginning of the year, but lost focus.  I always wish I had taken more time to read, and that continues.  You know it's bad when you have a monthly magazine that you still haven't read and the next issue is probably in the mail today.

18. What do you wish you’d done less of?
I wish I had stressed less.

19. How did you spend Christmas?
We went to Cheektowaga for Christmas Eve dinner with my family.  Much to my joyous excitement, Matt gave me my big Christmas gift of tickets to see New Kids On The Block/Backstreet Boys with Ali in Pittsburgh this June.  After opening presents, we headed off to Midnight Mass at Queen of Martyrs where the service actually began at 10pm and only lasted 42 minutes.  We left Christmas morning after eggs, toast, and copious amounts of coffee to come back to Jamestown for Christmas day with Matt's parents.

20. Did you fall in love in 2010?
I stayed in love.

21. What was your favorite TV program?
Paranormal State, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Psychic Kids, and the news.

22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No. I'm not big on hate because it wastes so much energy. There are people who disappoint me, but I don't hate them.

23. What did you want and get?
Some pure joy.

24. What did you want and not get?
That sense that I can change some things in order to be more happy

25. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I worked and later went to the Brick Room for dinner with Matt, TJ Maxx, and then ice cream at The Big Dipper. I turned 34.

26. Who did you miss?
I was sorting Christmas decorations when I came across a box from my grandmother's house that hadn't been opened since she died 5 years ago.  When I opened it, all the linens smelled like her house and reminded me of how much I still miss her.

27. Good Things About 2010 (a list)

When I Grow Up, I Want To Be...

I had the discussion with some friends not long ago about what we wanted to be "when we grew up." Of course, that always leads to the inevitable, "I'm still asking myself that question every day because I STILL haven't grown up!"

Even if you're fairly satisfied in your job, I think it's always good to look back at where you thought you would go in life and the dreams you had as a child. Consider it a lesson in grounding yourself, perhaps?

So my list of all the things I thought I could be was so varied that I thought it might be fun to list them all off:

1. Witch - Some of the first books I read on my own were about a little girl witch, Dorrie .I think I thought I could become a witch too and make potions to help people. It wasn't until years later that I learned that there were actual witches in this world
2. Artist - My mom signed me up for a variety of art classes through  Rochester's Memorial Art Gallery's Creative Workshop when I was younger.  Most of them involved some sort of water color painting and drawing.  There might have been one class where we made pottery items, but I could be confusing that with art class in middle school.  My mom was an enthusiastic supporter of some of the stuff I produced which I suppose led me to believe that maybe I could do that art thing.
3. Ghost Investigator - Before I became afraid of everything bloody, violent, and gory in films, tv, and books, I read many books about the paranormal.  After I exhausted the children's section of the library, I moved onto the rest of the library to find books with ghost stories and other horrors.  I think my idea about becoming a ghost investigator was primarily fueled by seeing Ghostbusters.
4. Meteorologist - Meteorologist Kevin Williams visited my school when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. He had footage of tornadoes and other weather phenomena.  It looked exciting and something I could
5. Archeologist - The Indiana Jones movies are solely to blame here although my parents did have a habit of taking me to every historic village they came across while on vacations.  I still love history.
6. Musician - Before the next notion came about, I decided that maybe I could be violinist professionally because how cool would it be to play violin in an orchestra and get paid for it??
7. Music Teacher - The performer idea track was derailed when the idea to become a music teacher was presented to me just before 8th grade.  I think it sounded reasonable and something I might like to do so I spent the next 6 years of my life dedicating my studies toward this goal.
8. Music Historian- Almost 3/4 of the way through my freshman year in college, I realized that maybe I didn't want to be a music teacher.  I loved music and thought perhaps the music history route was the way to go.  I even met with the music history department head at Baldwin-Wallace College to try to feel him out for what possible careers in that field could be.
9. Radio Music Director - Ultimately, I switched majors to broadcasting with thoughts that maybe I could be a music director for a radio station since I had so much fun doing it in high school.
10. Radio Programmer - That led to thinking maybe I could program a whole station.
11. Radio News Person - And then I took that news writing course my Junior year in college at Buffalo State and it was all over from there.

What were some of your dreams of what you wanted to be when you grew up?  How true did you remain to those dreams?

Pre-Labor Day Summer Wrap-Up

The unofficial end to summer is this weekend. I'm currently scanning RADAR and several weather websites in an attempt to divine whether we're going to get so much rain that the city's Labor Day Festival, which I help organize, has to be postponed until Monday. Fingers are crossed right now.

So what about the rest of this summer?

- We took a 4-day weekend to the Midwest. A stop in Chicago was made for dinner at Hop Leaf with friends. A fantastic party in Pontiac came next with a theme of "Video Games." I went as Princess Peach.

- Matt and I spent our 6th wedding anniversary in Hamilton, Ontario to see "Star Wars In Concert." It was a fabulous performance that we capped off by having dinner at La Bella Sicilia's which is where we held our rehearsal dinner. I also convinced Matt that we needed frozen custard from Fran Ceil's.

- We took in a lecture by Ed Kashi at Chautauqua Institution courtesy of our friends from Kodak who were there for Photography week.

- An evening of Bellini's and Ballet was had with friends at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute.

- My two young violin students showed up regularly for the rest of the summer. I'm hoping they come back to the program this Fall.

- Matt scored tickets to see an Abba tribute band perform at Chautauqua Institution. It was surprisingly good and revived my appreciation for that Swedish pop band.

- I was asked to play violin in the pit orchestra for Lucille Ball Little Theatre's production of "Chicago" in October. Rehearsals started this past weekend.

- We met up with Len and Ali in Cleveland for the "Dog Days of Summer" at Great Lakes Brewing Company.  After admiring lots of people's dogs and having some food/beer, we headed downtown for more beverages at Flannery's.  Before heading back to Jamestown, we walked around downtown and I showed Ali and Len Tower City Mall.

- We celebrated Ali and Len's 10th wedding anniversary with them, family, and friends in the cool middle-of-nowhere log cabin where Len's mom and step-dad live.

- I earnestly started clearing out a lot of my clothes that don't fit or I haven't worn in awhile. I also started a consignment account at a local shop to try to sell some of things I no longer wanted.

The Fall, which eventually turns into my "slow time" at work, is shaping up to be rather busy. There's Labor Day Festival this Sunday (unless it gets rained out), Local Music Showcase, WRFA fundraiser at Southern Tier Brewing Company, my mom's 60th birthday, "Chicago," Jamestown Community Orchestra concert, Halloween Fun Fest, pierogi party, and when we get to November I'll finally get a 2-week vacation. Just doing my best to hang in there until then!

2010 Summer Run Down Thus Far...

I'm going to say summer started at the end of April because we've had some seriously nice weather these past few months. So what have we been up to? Ready, steady, GO!

- A Dos De Mayo Party at Shannon Mac's house kicked off the season. There was delicious food made by one of the chefs from Hutch's Restaurant in Buffalo, a DJ, and a slip'n slide on a hill.

- "This Week In Metal" was revived on WRFA-LP (podcasts available). Leonard Barren and Julia Tesla can be heard weekly giving you random cool facts with a metal theme.

- I played in the Spring concert for the Jamestown Community orchestra. We rocked out to Chuck Mangione's "The Children of Sanchez."

- The foundation on the south side of our house was replaced so that we no longer feared the back-end of house falling over because of crumbling blocks.

- Memorial Day weekend my parents visited, installed a motion detector light on the back of our house and went on the Chautauqua Art Trail. We all watched the Memorial Day parade down Lakeview Avenue and later hung out at a friend's house on Chautauqua Lake.

- We attended the Yassou! Greek Festival with friends and some of us attempted to drink the Southern Tier Brewing Opa! kegs dry.

- We celebrated the marriage of NickDean and Lori in Bemus Point. It was a super hot and muggy day that was met with lots of chair rocking on the front porch of the Hotel Lenhart.

- A orange tiger-striped cat we named McKinley came to live at our house. Matt wrote the whole story here.

- We revisited our high school years by attending Forte's Surprise Prom Party - Enchanted Shipwreck Under The Sea.

- More hanging out on Chautauqua Lake for Fourth of July.

- Spent as much time as possible hanging out with Shannon who was in town from Pontiac, Illinois. Plenty of beer was consumed.

- In theory, I began teaching violin lessons at the Infinity Performing Arts Center. Of the two students I have, one had car trouble and the other forgot to show up. We'll see how the second week goes!

- We joined some cousins in Rochester to head off to the wineries for much merriment. Crowning touch on that visit, besides all the excellent food consumed, was clogging a Wegmans' aisle while looking at beer.

And that's just through this past weekend! Stay tuned...

High School Musical - 2010 Edition

I put on a pair of dressier jeans that look just like another pair of dressier jeans I own this morning. At first, I thought it was the older pair because they were slightly loose on me. Then I realized it was the newer pair and that I must be experiencing the joy of "musical weight loss" already even though I had only been to one rehearsal.

I'm playing violin in the pit for Falconer High School's production of "Once Upon A Mattress." I rehearsed with just the pit last night as the cast wasn't quite ready to do a joint rehearsal. That will come in bits and pieces this Sunday for Tech Day. The pit members watched the cast run through parts of songs last night before we escaped to the band room to do our part.

I was glad to recognize a few faces from last year's production of "L'il Abner." One of the cool things about high school plays is that you get a chance to see how students change over their 4 years and hopefully grow into new parts. The kids who are playing in the pit band are great. They have a casual approach to rehearsals but clearly know their stuff. We lost a trumpet player to the part of the Minstrel in the play, so he is missed but the group still seems tight. I just need to make sure I nail my part since I'm all by myself.

Doing a musical this time of year involves a little bit of insanity, but I think I've found there's never a good time to play for a musical when you have a day job. This is a compensated gig, not that the money is important. I'd probably do it for free, but given how precious my free time is, I also have to know when to say no. Fortunately, I don't have to in this case.

Performances are in the Falconer High School auditorium on March 12, 13, and 14th. Not sure about times or ticket prices just yet. Should be a nice time!

The Mayfly Project - 2009

It's the end of 2009, so it's time to assess the year in 24 words for The MayFly Project:

Painted dining room. Acquired violin student. New job. Seven weddings. New friends. Lost family member. Wrote for The Word. Played pit for The Producers.

My past attempts at MayFly summaries:

2001
2002 (longer)

Miscellaneous Madness

It's crunch week for the musical with Opening Night this Friday. It's worth mentioning that opening night for Jamestown Community College Uncommoner's production of "The Producers" is sold out! Tickets are still available through the JCC Box Office (aka the bookstore) for November 7-8, 13-15th, and 20-21st.

What's the news? Let's break it out headline style:

Swine Flu Hits Home

Matt has been battling something stomach bug-ish that included a fever, achy muscles, and lots of reading time in the bathroom. We don't know if it was the swine flu or just some random bug. On the other hand, our friend's daughter was officially diagnosed on Friday with Swine Flu. I'm playing keep away the best I can.

Halloween Eve Brings Out Some Ghouls

Friday night, some hooligans rifled through both of our unlocked cars in our driveway. I was initially unconcerned because I don't keep anything of value in my car. Unfortunately, Matt had left his book bag in the car overnight and that would be the one item that was stolen. It contained some old computer coding books, our joint checking account check book, and our digital camera. Fortunately, Matt had recently transferred all the pictures off the camera to his computer. Unfortunately, we had to put a freeze on our checking account until we can figure out what checks were taken so we can have those flagged by the bank. At least we can still do bill pay electronically. Live and learn.

Halloween Fun Fest a Success!

I spent most of the past few weeks finalizing plans for the city's annual Halloween Fun Fest. Aside from swine flu, a marching band trip to Syracuse, and other events making my pool of volunteers dwindle so that I was in a near panic right up to the day of the event, everything went great. We had a record crowd at the Allen Park Ice Rink. We know how to improve things for next year. Most of all, it seemed like everyone had fun.

The Producers Opens Friday!

As mentioned, this is crunch week. We had a very long tech rehearsal yesterday and are back at it every night this week. It's going to be a fun, but challenging show. There are some pesky transitions to iron out, but that's what the next few nights are for. I'm nervous in the sense that I woke up in the middle of the night mildly panicking about music I don't have under my fingers yet. That should come. I hope! My parents and a Great Aunt will be coming down for the show, which is great because they haven't seen a musical I've played pit for since I was in high school. There are other friends who are coming in from out of town to see it as well. Between that and having friends in the show, it's been a lot of fun. You can't ask for more, right?

A Break

It was just about a year ago that I "trimmed back" my performance schedule. I use the word "trim" lightly when I consider that I only dropped one ensemble.

This past year has been rough. I started the new job just when the busy season for the job hit. With how my contract is set up, I won't get vacation time until I've been there a year. This means my vacation time will kicks in at the same time as our busy season, so I'm looking at next Fall for when I can probably take a truly long vacation.

I finally let this reality sink in and made the hard decision to truly take a break. That meant dropping both the Jamestown Community Orchestra and The Living Christmas Tree concerts. Besides the needing a break in general there also was the fact that I was going to miss quite a few of the Living Christmas Tree rehearsals due to the musical. Plus, when you're at a rehearsal for one ensemble, that's time when you can't practice for the other ensembles. It was leaving me very few moments to just breath.

I feel extraordinarily guilty. I feel like I'm letting people down, even though another violinist showed up tonight who will be able to take my seat without any difficulty. I think it's the feeling that I'm not living up being able to call myself a musician because I'm not taking every opportunity that comes my way to play. I know that's bullpucky, to steal a Rachel Maddow-ism.

The relief that I'm sure will come is that I will be able to relax a little and concentrate more on the musical. I might be able to finally read the books I have on extended loan from the library. Undoubtedly, I'll probably feel slightly less harried than I have been. I'm looking forward to finding out what that kind of feels like for a little while at least.

Life's Essentials

"You're just heading into your real busy time period in the next week or two, aren't you?" my mom asked me on the phone last night.

"Yes, everything really kicks in now," I replied.

"Doesn't leave you much time for yourself, does it?" she said.

I didn't need to think before saying, "No, but it's all stuff I like to do."

I may gnash my teeth and cry "Hack! I'm just a hack!" in those frustrated moments with my violin, but I keep practicing and going to rehearsals for multiple ensembles because the music wouldn't stop in my head anyway.

I may find myself exhausted and collapsing face down on my bed around 9:30pm at night, just wishing I could go to sleep right then, but I'll get up and wait patiently for my news scripts so I can go down to WRFA to record the morning news. There is a time slot that requires content and I must fill it with something.

On days where my mind is blank and the creative streak that occasionally glances off of me has disappeared, I still try to log onto my blog or journal to write. It's proof I'm still here.

These are some of the things that keep me going. Without them, I'd feel lost, incomplete, and less myself. It's what keeps me passionate about life. I know what it's like to be drifting listless through days or weeks, feeling like I have no purpose. Sometimes these things don't fill the emptiness, but at least I have them if I want them.

I know my free time will experience a sharp decline for two months. I don't mind. It may require some creative scheduling and meal planning, but it's okay. I know I'm alive and doing what I love.

Getting The Best of Myself

I have a habit of letting myself get easily frustrated. Everything could be absolutely fine, but I'll let one little thing work me into a complete tizzy until I'm a sulking mess. Most of my personal drama comes from this.

Tonight, the frustration started as I tried tidying up the house. I kept seeing a million things that probably could be taken care of but I couldn't tend to right at that moment because I had other stuff on my to-do list to accomplish. And when I came across something that had to be done that wasn't on that to-do list (putting dog's bed in washing machine because he had an accident), I let that get to me too.

Naturally, going into practicing violin with this attitude was grounds for FAIL. I dutifully popped the Broadway soundtrack of "The Producers" into the CD player, opened my book to the first in a list of songs I wanted to practice and hit play. My determination turned to confusion as I tried to figure out why my notes didn't sound like they were in the same key as the CD, and then I found a spot where everything sounded "right." By that time, I had run out of music but the song was still going merrily along in the CD player. I flipped forward and back and tried to see if I could hear where the hell I was supposed to be. I decided after no success to try the next song. That went better but I still was having trouble following. The next song, I simply listened to see if I was nuts and still had a hard time following.

Of course, by this point I had decided I was a total hack of a violinist, was wondering why no one had told me before, and then started getting mad at people for not being honest and just telling me I suck. See? Totally unreasonable.

Matt gave me that look when I went upstairs to pout, "You know you just need to practice some more. You're not going to get it the first time or third time off. I thought you said rehearsal had gone okay."

I stomped away at this point and did some menial task to calm down. Then I decided that since writing seemed to be going well for me the past couple days that I'd blog.

I really need to find a way to not let myself get this frustrated. It's counter-productive and childish. The last time I had one of these moments was when I had to teach myself how to use Audacity to create the music soundtrack for the Labor day Festival Fireworks. That time, I kept at it. I made myself go back to the project and just keep at it. In the end, it worked out. I just need to find that inner push to not let the negative thinking kick in and throw me off course.

10 Things About Autumn

Similar to her 10 Things to Do this Summer post, Mary Kunz Goldman has offered up 11 things she's looking forward to this Fall. I naturally have to share my own list of things I'm looking forward to and hope to do over the next few months:

1. Enjoying pumpkin everything. Last year, a friend of a friend started an "Everything Pumpkin Flavored" group on Facebook. There was much hair pulling and gnashing of teeth over where to get pumpkin milkshakes at that time. This year, we were all quite relieved to know that September 1st seemed to be the magical day that pumpkin milkshakes were available at McDonald's and pumpkin spice lattes were available at Starbucks.

2. Fall music. I like to dust off and search out certain artists during the Fall like The Replacements, Sugar, Cranes, Tom Petty, Morrissey, Gin Blossoms, and other assorted artists that I discovered during the Fall months of my junior and senior years of high school.

3. Lynn & Tiny B's Wedding. This will be our seventh and last wedding of the year. It'll take place in a barn in Cassadaga over Columbus Day weekend. I'll be playing something still yet to be determined on the violin for the ceremony. I can't wait to celebrate this day with two lovely friends.

4. Leaves. I love watching the leaves change over and fall. The sound of leaves rustling across pavement in a breeze is probably one of my favorite sounds. As the trees become bare, the acoustics change around us, reminding us that soon there won't be anything to make the wind more gentle as it blows through.

5. Port. I don't consume a lot of port, but as the weather cools I do like a glass now and then. It's heady stuff.

6. Regulars at Forte. I appreciate the folks who come to visit our county during the summer and the money they spend, but I like seeing familiar faces again at the bar when I drop into Forte for a drink after doing the news.

7. The Producers. After our first pit orchestra rehearsal this week and finally watching the movie of this musical last night, I will say I'm most excited for JCC Uncommoner's production of "The Producers" this November. It's going to be a lot work, long hours, and such but the sense of fun to be had is great!

8. Time Off. My vacation time doesn't officially kick in until February but I have two personal days right now. I plan to put those to good use and take a very long weekend around Veteran's Day in November. It'll be my only chance at a "long" vacation for about a year.

9. Afternoon Day Trip. I don't know where we might go, but it's a personal goal to go on a road trip some weekend afternoon. We have yet to make it to Sprague's this year, so that might be the destination.

10. Autumn Clothes. I love the shift to wearing jeans and sweaters. It's comfort clothing.

The Producers - Casted

If you're a Facebook type and want to see the full cast list for JCC Uncommoners' production of "The Producers" then click here.

A very short list:
Max Bialystock - Tim Smeal
Leo Bloom - Gary Peters Jr.
Franz Liebkind - Len Barry

I singled out these three because they have main parts and they all have the distinction of having worked together before in the local improv group, The Unexpected Guests. While I bet it's not unusual to have a cast where people have worked together before, I'm guessing that this kind of collaboration doesn't come along all too often unless you're talking about the Christopher Guest movies.

They're also friends of mine so I'm unabashedly biased. Congrats to them and the rest of the talented folks who were cast! Performances are scheduled for the first three weekends in November. I'm sure there will be more to come.