The Next Blog Experiment

Well, as I struggle to find a way to stay motivated and on top of regular posting, I am going to try a different approach. I'm going to try to write a lot, and not censor myself myself. Part of my reticence is thinking of so many topics I want to write about that I get overwhelmed trying to find a place to start. So my thought is to try and just write about everything I want to, and then break it up into bite-size posts so I don't have a novella that runs the risk of alienating potential readers. This way I'm giving myself a chance to "catch up" since I feel like there are a lot of things that have happened or that I've thought of sharing, that ya'll are missing out on!

I'll start with the "big" news items, and work myself backward to lesser? (still interesting) tidbits.

Big News #1: Wendy goes into greater detail, but suffice to say God in his infinite Grace and generosity has chosen to bless us with the gift of a free car. We've been making do with one car for over 2 years now, and it's ok, but I think it makes life a lot harder for Wendy than it does me, since it means she's stuck at home whenever I'm at work or church or whatever. And it means she has to get up extra early to take me to work, church, etc. which is hard on her and the kids. Awesome...thanks, God! (And thanks to the person who was moved to give away their extra car!)

Big News #2: This one is kind of big to me, because of how excited I am about the possibilities it presents. 1999 is the last time I really played trumpet with any regularity, rehearsed, performed, etc. The 4 years I was at WCHS, I would break out my horn to play with the kids occasionally at football/basketball games, and sometimes take a solo with the jazz band. But I never practiced or played any music remotely challenging or was very consistent

So that's why my eyebrows arched considerably when we saw a flyer by our mailbox at the condo. It advertised an adult band program (18+) for all levels (beg. - inter. - adv.) to play symphonic band type stuff. I just found their website. Intrigued, I called the number on the flyer last week and had a great conversation with the director. He's a retired high school band director who has about 250 people spread across a dozen groups or so. He asked for my background, and when I gave it he seemed pretty excited to have me on board...even half-joking about how it'd be nice to have someone be able to step in front of a band if he's not able to. It's a little after 5:00 right now, and I'll be grabbing a bite to eat, then heading over to the rehearsal. Wish me and my out-of-shape chops luck! =)