On the second day of xmas...

my true mind gave to me:

The Foster book to begin the next stage of my professional knowledge acquisition

Rush's Clockwork Angels Tour CD set to assuage my inner post adolescent self

A kick in the keister to begin the journey of a thousand steps

my reflective mind gave to me:

a family Christmas at the Ranch to savor, for I fear it will be the last on that scale that the house will ever house.

a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction that I got the gifts right this year.

a sense of melancholy that the last innocent Christmas is officially in the books.

my ideal mind gave to me:

an overall sense of calm as life moves towards the hope of 2014.

belum

The Ghosts of Christmas Eve

So here we are, 96 hours away from the big day. The wife is sick, the girls are manic, the daddoo is hanging on by a thread.

running for the wife is at the top of the list.

then for my mom

then for me

then housecleaning 101.

I am ahead of shopping but there is always the last minute rambunctiousness that makes the season truly memorable. Let music be the emotional salve that gets me through the mini-marathon of the next four days.

Holiday Spirits/The Ghosts of Christmas Eve

and in the end...nope, that's not right

welcome back my friends...nope that's not right

so in the next 120 hours all of the following will/needs to occur:

one cousins christmas party
one final professional development class to attend
four concert nights in a row; one assisting, two conducting, one overseeing
finish up shopping
put the tree up and begin to clean the house
maintain the little shred of sanity i have left

the weather, today notwithstanding, seems to be cooperative. i'm hoping today's traveling goes without incident.

the christmas spirit kicked in finally on wednesday as Kenton was finally spun for the first time this season.

twas' in the moon of wintertime [almost]...

The Christmas Can Can

is in full effect. I have one more major gift to buy for the misses and then minor and impulse gifts for all of the Roberts Ladies after that.

Concert are in one week, the week that is affectionately becoming known as the week from HELL. The first concert program is printed and needs to be folded. Chaperone assignments will go out on Monday.

Still need to pencil in getting a tree at some point, figure out where said tree will be placed this year with our new living room configuration, finalize xmas day plans and you get the drill.

The Ranch is no bueno. Dad's tumble on Tuesday has not allowed him to really resume anything approximating a normal schedule for him.

The girls are soo much more aware this holiday season. Not sure if that is a good thing or not.

and speaking of the girls, they are due in about twenty, time to make the donuts.

oh to be Home for the Holidays...

December the First

And the sprint begins.

to the good: I only have three more gifts to get the wife. The kids are pretty much done. grunt work for the first program has begun.

to the bad: time, it's fleeting and i can't slow it down or stop it.

to the meh: keeping it SPICEy.

Not much else other than continuing to develop the playlist for the year and the beginning of unit two for eighth grade/festival band.

twenty minutes until the twins descend to start their day.

let the games begin.

The Last Good Day of the Year

in theory anyhow.

so it's November 30th. A typical Daddy weekend is on tap.

And then the treadmill on nitro begins: concerts, concert prep, rehearsal schedules, xmas shopping, xmas decorating, xmas sidetrips, familial events, housekeeping, working miracles, family movie nights, etc., etc. yadda, yadda, yadda

and somewhere in that tsunami of activity: keeping things SPICEy.

Let simplicity be the buzzword of this holiday season...and may the aquastat hold on through winter.

it's the hap, happiest season of all...

grumble, grumble, grumble

in theory of course. but when you add in the concert week and the preparations for the concert and familial obligations and well you get the idea.

not too much new seasonal music out this year. this is a sad thing.

other than that the season starts off promptly with a crazy last day before bird day and the ongoing struggle with finding precious time to take care of the truly important.

sumus quo sumus.

AEA.

trying to keep things SPICE-y

sevens and the ride

inside a month to the concert week from hell. being torn in four or five directions at once. time for SPICE to kick in whole hog. Trying really hard to keep things simple this time around. Patience, persistence and focus is the ongoing mantra. gearing up for the score study follies.

it's daddy time...

And we're off...

The invitations were delivered. The responses were mostly as expected. A few surprises, but c'est la vie! The official program is: Anthem of an Era, Balladair and Black Forest Overture. A split two/three package but it is what is best for all concerned. Score study begins in earnest after Thanksgiving break. I amy have to create a bass clarinet player before it's over with and maybe a baritone sax player but otherwise, all is well.

ever forward

The journey begins...

So after a longer than normal, or healthy for that matter, selection process, I have decided on the Festival Band selections. Two of the three are eminently playable by the powerhouse ensemble I have this year. The final selection will be a challenge, albeit one that I am reasonably convinced that they are capable of meeting and exceeding. Only time will tell.

The final step in the decision making process came when I put ego aside and went with what should always be the overwhelming philosophy for choosing any music to perform: it's about the journey and not the destination.

watch this space.

Tramps Like Us...

funk. satori. moving on.

watch this space.

i feel a seismic shift in the cosmos about to occur.

for the phantom and the big man and the rest

no retreat, no surrender.

On the eve of 22 to 25

or 25 to 6 to 4, whatever.

so summer is icumen out and i is getting ready to head back for year 25 in my glorious profession.

my 'hoped fors' this summer didn't materialize, with one small exception. the cast of players remains mostly the same and it's all pretty much over but the shouting. so there you have it.

cue the music...oh crap, must sandwich that in too before the first official day on Main St. So much time, so little to do. no scratch that, reverse it.

down the rabbit hole i/we go...

Watch this space

Not going to quote ELP/Bridgemen again.

But I am finding a need for this outlet again.

more to come...soon...maybe not soon enough but as it says above...

Allegories

an interesting week, all things considered. Have to finish score study this week and iron out the March 21st schedule.

Jazz Band should be ready to go by Jazz Night. The Festival/Assessment group is slowly starting to gather steam. Still have to nail down the repertoire for the spring.

The wife says the finances are looking good for the year. Other than that not much going on.

Birthday is on the horizon. As are the worst weather months historically.

The album this time around features the Ticheli #2 and The Geschwindmarsch. The Ticheli is an absolutely stunning work.

Hoping for a pleasant surprise this weekend.

Adventures in Time

...mismanagement if one is to be truly honest.

so far behind on the nuts and bolts connected to school stuff; grading papers, score study, etc.

so far behind on quality time with my family at the end of the day; too exhausted from the shenanigans on Main St.

and so to be brief, got to get ready to go and load up the family for my trip to Main St.

later.

the album was one of the cornerstones of the Kenton big band. Johnny Richards was on the top of his game... now it's time to see if I can get to the top of my game again.

Across the Imaginary Divide

this might just become a regular thing again.

since we last met...

work kicked back in, with an emphasis on the kick. hit the ground running and reminding myself that if i am going to be a mentor in two and a half months I better get my head back in the game.

had a rehearsal with the assessment kids - 8th graders only and finalized that schedule. honors band is back in play and is going to have a successful second half. jazz band and percussion ensemble go back on line this week.

still no movement on the intent form, kinda torn with what to do.

the girls have discovered Candyland and are turning into little fiends 'jonesing' for the game with every other waking moment.

had a minor meltdown when the wife's day off turned into a partial workday. we do need the money but she does need some mommy time. i have to make that happen for her more often this year.

the dog resolution is holding up so far, am expanding their walk length every week until we get O back to something close to physical peak again.

still haven't finished a book yet this year, have been rereading the Shooters book from last year and am slowly working my way through the World Atlas of Beer.

Bela Fleck and Marcus Miller are behind the title of this entry. Kind of a unique melding of the post-bop/neotraditionalist jazz world with the iconoclast who reinvented the banjo for world. Will have to work this one into the rotation more this year.

acoustic christmas was also listened to in the interim.

today holds laundry and score study completion of assessment song #2 and getting my mental condition right for the week.

still torn on the weight thing

Access All Areas

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends...

long time, no post.

the girls are pushing three and a half, i killed another car and subsequently we have submitted to the borg.

business is about to pick up at work and there's so much going on that it seems that i'll never reach the surface.

fitting album to open the year; passion and pain, anger and melancholy and overall a reminder of how blissfully uncomplicated life used to be.

today is a stunning example of how many plates one can actively spin without breaking any.

main st. beckons...