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New Year: Week One

2012-01-06T08:08:00.000-08:00

Be careful not to turn your back; before you know it, not only has the New Year passed but we're already a week into it. Strange how time flies by.

This should be, by all account, something of an epic year. On the one hand, I'm scheduled to be completing my Masters in Composition this semester by writing a symphony orchestra piece. Granted, that's a tall order to accomplish in one semester, though thankfully I had already started working on it in 2009. But now I've started afresh and am tasked at finishing it before the end of March. That should mean working on it virtually everyday, if only a little bit. Well, we'll see how that goes. There's always the fall if it doesn't work out...

I'm about ready to take another mecca to my homeland, Disneyland. I'll be leaving Sunday morning on my tri-annual journey to the Magic Kingdom, for a few days of relaxation and disillusionment. Or at least a distraction from the everyday real world anyway. But it's been over three months since my last trip...this time I'll be arriving for the last day of the holiday cheer before the Christmas decorations all magically disappear overnight. Chirstmas time is always special in Disneyland, even if it is a week into January.

This summer I'll be embarking on another vacation involving exploration to a new (for me anyway) unexplored region. This time it's the tropical islands of Hawaii. Normally I end up going somewhere or doing something in the summer that I've already done before in the past, but this will be a new experience for me as we explore the beaches of Waikiki and Honolulu. I've already begun making preliminary plans for an 8-night trip, and assuming I actually finish my Masters as planned, this will be in a way my graduation present to myself.

It's kind of interesting to consider the free time I'll (supposedly) have once this journey of education is complete. It's been a few years now of slowly taking courses and spending oodles of time reading and writing papers and so forth. I'm sure the fall will be filled with something else; life always get filled with something. Guess we'll have to wait and see...

Thinking...

2011-12-15T08:08:00.000-08:00

"While there is a lower class I am in it. While there is a criminal element I am of it. While there is a soul in prison I am not free." Thus begins the novel Hocus Pocus by Kurt Vonnegut. This is book with which I am now acquainting myself. I have been a Vonnegut fan for a number of years, and somehow this one has eluded me. The quote is actually from a real person, despite this book's fictional character. Eugene Victor Debs did exist, was a union leader and presidential candidate in the late 1880s. I didn't know that. I had to google it.

I like books that make you think, and Vonnegut was a master satirist. His books are rife with commentary on our society and indeed our humanity. I find them still relevant today, even though most were written decades ago. Even Hocus Pocus, one of his "newer" works, is now over 20 years old.

Thinking is a good thing, and is often overlooked by mainstream society. As I was walking downtown this morning between bus stops on my way to work, I noticed from the marquee of the Century Theatres downtown that one of their current filks is "Jack and Jill". This reminded me again that I like things that make you think. I'm not much of a fan of what I call the "stupid funny" type of movie. You know the one. Where the actor (in this case Adam Sandler) players two characters, and they're not of the same gender. Granted this is just one example; it doesn't HAVE to be like that. But I knew when I first saw a preview of this film that I would never watch it. Just not interested.

I like to think, and the quote at the top reminds us that our society is flawed. It's not generally headed in the right direction, although there still is and likely always will be many good aspects of it. If we all stopped to think, just a little, and wondered what it really meant to be alive, to be here on this planet, to be a part of a society, maybe we could collectively decide on different ways to run it. To run it better. To create some sort of utopia, the likes of which we normally only see in fictional accounts in books or on TV.

Some might say that's crazy talk. Am I crazy? Could be. Maybe all of us are, or maybe all of us should be. Or maybe we're all headed in that direction, in our own special way. One could only hope.

Black Friday

2011-11-25T08:42:00.000-08:00

Well another year of mad doorbuster deal shopping after Thanksgiving has passed. Though it's not even 9am right now on Black Friday, most stores have already been open over 8 hours already in their quest to entice shoppers to come and spend money. I myself went out early this morning, though with not a whole lot of specific things to look for.

Actually, with the stores opening at midnight this year, all of the crazy shoppers had come and gone by the time I set out on foot at 5am to brave the madness. And this was quite helpful too; between 5am and 7am I visited both the Wal Mart and Target in Natomas, and neither one was busy. In fact, both stores had and handful of cashiers just standing around and waiting for someone to buy something. They would literally fight over you as you approached the registers with goods in hand, each one of them hoping to finally have something to do.

I actually went out for a specific DVD which was on sale, and it seems that every door buster item was well in stock except for the one I was looking for. There were palates full of $49 Blu Ray players and shelves of half price in-ear headphones and flat screen LCD TVs galore. There plenty of DVD and Blu Ray movies for the picking. Just not, as luck would have it, the one gift that I actually set out to buy.

So, having gone in with the intent of buying a $10 movie, in good holiday fashion I came home with over $100 of other stuff. You're welcome, economy.

It's funny though how some folks just buy stuff because it's on sale, whether they need it or not or if they even know what it is. One lady picked up the movie 300 (pronounced "three hundred") at Wal Mart, and shouted to her husband one aisle: "Hey, they got Three Thousand. Three Thousand is over here." He replied back "Yeah, get that too".

Really people?

Well, it's approaching 9am, so I guess I'll take a cue from my cats and get ready for a nap.

FeNAM!

2011-11-13T08:15:00.000-08:00

Well, just as quickly as it started, this year's Festival of New American Music draws to a close today. This one wasn't too bad actually, though I did have a 15 hour day yesterday and several other 12+ hour days this past week. But, that's pretty typical. Today I'm going for something that I don't normally do...I'm actually going to watch all three concerts today. It's rare for me to watch any concerts these days as I'm just too busy doing other things, but today I'm doing the hat trick.

The highlight will, I think, be the California Youth Symphony at Mondavi. They are an amazing youth group, better than a lot of college groups, and though my composition teacher is their director and I usually get free passes to their bay area concerts, I've never actually seen them live. Today's program features Copland's Billy the Kid and Bernstein's On the Waterfront.

This year's festival has been something of a stoner convention; I don't think there's been a day yet were clouds of vapor haven't trailed into the Music Recital Hall with our audiences. Maybe you need to be high to truly appreciate some of this stuff, I don't know. The theremin concert which opened the festival surely was a good candidate for that. The whole concert was like an acid trip from the 1960s. Seriously. I'm not even exaggerating.

I was fortunate enough to have a work played on the festival this year; the first two movements of my Trio for Oboe, Clarinet, and Viola were played both at the Student Chamber Ensembles concert and the Student Artists Performance Competition. It was good times really, and the innovation for this year was that many concerts were video recorded and streamed online at Live Stream, so you can go back and watch them again - or catch the ones you missed. It's pretty cool actually; folks have watched our concerts in over 20 different countries, including Japan, Korea, Thailand, Australia, Mexico, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ireland to name a few.

Well it's just about 8:30 Sunday morning now, so I guess it's time to try and get caught up a little on the homework I've fallen behind on. This semester's graduate Ethnomusicology course will be the last class I need for my Master's degree, then it's on to my final project!

Disneyland!

2011-09-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

So I did make it out to the parks last weekend. I think it was the mot time I've spent in the parks on one trip, which I can get away with when I'm traveling solo as I can set my own schedule. But I drove down Friday morning and made it into the park by 2pm, staying till 9pm. Hey, I had to get SOME sleep before the weekend....Saturday I was in the parks from 8:15am-10:00pm, and Sunday I was there from 8:30am-11:30pm. That's near 36 park hours in two and a half days. So yeah, I was tired coming home on Monday. In fact, I'm still tired right now.

Unfortunately Pirates was closed for refurbishment, and a fair chunk of DCA was still under construction. But I certainly had my share of rides and shows, seeing the Soundsational Parade twice, Fantasmic and World of Color once, Billy Hill three times, and the Aladdin musical once. Not that I could have squeezed a little more in if I had more time...

I finally tried one of the food items that has piqued my interest for awhile, the Chimichangas from the food cart at the end of Main Street. I don't know why they have so intrigued me, except that I used to get the Chimichanga packs from Costco for lunches, and I've certainly had them at Mexican restaurants. Well, the one from the cart isn't as good as all that; it's essentially just a deep fried bean and cheese burrito. But it was tasty and a good snack while waiting for the fireworks to begin. Oh, did I mention that? Yes, I saw the fireworks too. I could have seen them twice, had I not left the park so early Friday night. But hey, you have to pace yourself at least a little bit.

So it was quite a fun trip, and nice to see the park decked out for the Halloween 'season'. This was actually the first weekend of that transformation, so naturally there were long lines at the Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain. And with Star Tours being an all new set of adventures, that had a tendency to back up as well. Good thing for fastpasses! I also got to see Ariel's Undersea Adventure in DCA for the first time, as it opened just after I left from my last trip in May. It was, I have to say, somewhat underwhelming. With all they hype I was really expecting something incredible, but yet I found it to be only mediocre for the most part. Still an entertaining ride, especially for the younger kids towards which it is geared. Just not much of a 'wow' factor. Better luck with Cars Land!

I do have a small sampling of photos online as evidence of the good times had. Next up will be Vegas, followed by (you guessed it) another trip to the Magic Kingdom in January.

Playing Again

2011-09-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

So I find myself once again playing on a G bugle, this time a soprano and with the Freelancers Alumni & Friends (I fit in the "Friends" category). I hadn't played a horn with any regularity since the summer of 2007, so it was interesting trying to ram the old chops back into shape. Fortunately it was all ballad-esque patriotic music for various 9/11 tributes, so the music wasn't that hard. And since I was playing 3rd part, it wasn't that high either.

But the two gigs we did over the weekend went...okay. Both were the kind of "hurry up and wait" situations where you get in position at the performance site and wait. And wait some more. And then finally bring the cold horn to your face and try to produce something resembling music for a couple of minutes. It's not that Idid terribly poorly...but we'll just say that it is easier I think if your chops are in good working order to start off playing out of the blue.

But if I continue to play throughout the fall, hopefully the chops will get a little more in check. We will see, we will see.

It's now Tuesday just before lunchtime at work. I'm really just waiting for it to be Friday, because on Friday I take off for an extended weekend at Disneyland. It's been a long time since I've been there after all, almost...4 months! Yikes. But it has been years since I've been there for Halloween time, so I'm looking forward to it.

There Went Labor Day

2011-09-06T11:42:00.001-07:00

Wow, it's amazing how fast that three-day weekend went by. Is time getting progressively faster?? I hope my self-imposed three day weekend in Disneyland laster this month doesn't go by nearly as fast!

But, the official end of summer has come and gone. I actually had a fairly active weekend, as weekends go. Did a 24 mile bike ride around the outskirts of Natomas and Rio Linda and around the Sacramento International airport on Saturday; that was a trip. Capped it off with a stopover at Yogurt Garden on the way home. Not sure why, but just about everything tastes far better after you've exhausted yourself out on something like a long bike ride.

If that wasn't enough, we did a 21 mile ride from our house to Old Sac and back on Monday, stopping for a bit to enjoy the Gold Rush Days. Which of course meant eating exceptionally unhealthy snack foods. But we also did the Underground Tour that the History Museum gives, which shows you some of the basements in old town that used to be the street level store fronts, before the floods of the 1850s forced the raising of the town by an average of 9 feet. It was quite an interesting tour, and worth the $15 price tag I think.

OUtside of that, spent time doing laundry and grocery shopping, and all of the other things I normally have to do on the weekend. And then - poof! - it was over. Now back to work.

Week One = Done

2011-09-03T07:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm not sure if I can go so far as to call it a 'hell' week, but the first week of school is done and in the books. As is normal, my days flew by with a constant stream of students and paperwork. Nothing but lockers and key issues and finishing up recital paperwork. Well, at least it makes the days fly by.

It's nice now to have a three day weekend to recuperate from the madness. And for once, I actually get to observe a three day weekend, as I have nothing pressing on my calendar for the next three days. So it will provide some time to catch up on some recorded TV programs, take some bike rides around town, and maybe do some organizing around the house.

I'm actually taking a grad class this fall, ethnomusicology. It's not a subject I normally study, but it's the only grad class offered outside of the Intro to Grad Studies course, which I've already taken. And at this point, I have one more class and my final project to do and that's it. So, I'll be taking this class as an elective. And thus should end my classroom career. At least from the student side anyway.

Next week, despite or perhaps because of it being a shorter week, will be a busy one. We start having concerts at school, and I've got rehearsal on Wednesday for a Friday gig with the Freelancers Alumni in a 9/11 ten year anniversary tribute. Still don't know much about the gig exactly, except that it's in Auburn and we're playing lots of ballad- and patriotic-type tunes. Should be interesting. It was nice to pick up a G soprano after so many years. So we'll see how it goes.

As for the fall semester, we're off and running, and we'll see how the ride goes...

Saturday Morning

2011-08-20T07:22:00.001-07:00

Well here it is Saturday morning, just over a week left of the summer before school starts again. Once again time has just flown by. Why does it keep doing that? It had better stop before I get old....

We had a good July though as we took a 10-day cruise out of San Francisco to Alaska. We had never been on a cruise that long before. Quite a bumpy and windy ride going up the coast, but the destination was totally worth it. The scenery up there is completely amazing. We didn't end up seeing a whole ton of wildlife; mostly whales spouting at a far distance, sea otters and occasionally dolphins in the water. On land in ports we did see salmon jumping and bald eagles (up close even at the Raptor Center in Sitka). It was a thoroughly enjoyable trip, despite the engine trouble that made us late into Victoria, Canada.

Now it's time to refocus on work and the fall semester. Well actually, I've been at work the last three weeks now trying to refocus on work. I'd like to report that I've made significant progress there. But I'd only partially be telling the truth. Really it's been a fairly slow and quiet rite of passage at work, awaiting the inevitable return of all those brats. I mean, the faculty and students...

But now it's time to have a somewhat relaxing weekend, the second to last before all hell breaks loose. Today is the Stockbridge annual picnic, so that will provide a chance to go bake in the sun and fatten up on food. Not that I need to fatten up though - the cruise put me up enough, and its going to take awhile to shed off all of that. Oh well, moving right along.

I am proud to report that the marching band music I've been arranging for the fall is all done. So, I have gotten something accomplished this August.

Where Did June Go?

2011-07-07T11:57:00.000-07:00

It seems like I just blinked my eyes for a second, and all of a sudden it was July. Can you remember a summer ever passing by so quickly as the first third of this one has done? Then I blinked again, and today it's July 7. One week into the month. I'm afraid to close my eyes again, for I might find it's the end of August already. Granted I would welcome cooler temperatures. This upper 90-low 100s that we've had the past week is not to my liking.

Anyway, things are moving along at work this summer, although the individual days seem to pass by slowly. Already we've replaced the lighting control system in the Recital Hall and gotten all new digital keyboards in the piano lab, and our rekey project has been approved and the details finalized. Just waiting for ordered hardware now. It might take awhile.

But this is the time of the summer where I generally start to check out. Most of the cleanup from the previous semester and resetting for the next semester is done, and I'm pretty much ready for vacation. Still have another week to go though, before taking just two weeks off and getting ready to embark on a 10-day cruise from San Francisco to Alaska and back. That should be a real treat. I might just have to take off more than two weeks though, just because. I am tired of seeing the inside of my office!

Still, so much to do this summer including finishing the season brochure and getting it to the printers and completing several composition projects (which probably should have been finished already...or at least substantially started!). Guess I'll take a lunch break now and then see what the afternoon has in store.

Disneyland!

2011-05-28T06:38:00.000-07:00

So this week I took a trip to Disneyland; it had been five months since I last went, so I was starting to have withdrawals! Three nights in the Magic Kingdom is always a good way to celebrate the end of another semester at Sac State. This time I went on my own, as Whitney is still teaching through June 10. I've never done a trip on my own before, so it was a new experience, and certainly one I was slightly wary of.

But it turned out all right. My friends Mike and TC were down there already, by lucky coincidence, so I hung out with them from time to time. But mostly I ran on my own, which in some ways is nice. It's a bit of freedom to explore as you like. Turn left here, turn right there, go to this land or that land next. Whatever!

The park was of course happily found much the way I last left it. Well, sort of. The ongoing construction in DCA has grown somewhat, such that half of the park now seems to be behind a temporary wooden wall. Albeit a pretty, decorated wall with depictions of Disney characters and promotional drawings of what the park will look like - whenever they finish it. The big news is the new ride, Ariel's Undersea Adventure. Or I think that's what it's called. Anyway, it actually wasn't open quite yet, not to the general public anyway. Cast members and their friends and family has special passes which were allowing them to experience it already. But at least the construction walls are down from that area, and the new building housing the attraction is both massive and impressive.

They still have Aladdin at the Hyperion Theatre (I could have sworn that was being replaced...). I did go and see it, and was glad I did as I seemed to enjoy it more than ever. It helps that the Genie essentially does stand-up comedy improv every show, that makes it fresh and new every time. This time, we learned that Arnold Schwarzenegger is his father...

I got to see World of Color for only the second time ever - and I found that I enjoyed it even more than the first time. Good sign. This time, the Tron preview I saw before was gone of course, but a new sequence featuring then new Pirates 4 movie was in its place, and was quite spectacular. Can't wait to see this show again!

Disneyland was much less under construction; the biggest news here was the impending opening of the brand new Star Tours attraction. This week it was open to Annual Passholders who were fortunate enough to win some sort of lottery online. This didn't include me. but, I did have a lot of fun exploring my old favorites and even managed to catch both the fireworks and Fantasmic the first night I arrived (they're still on off-season hours so these run only on weekends at the moment). I got to see Billy Hill unplugged and up close and personal, as the Golden Horseshoe is being renovated so they are playing out in the streets in Critter Country. As I almost got run over actually, as I happened to be right in their entrance line as they came out and the bass player jokingly steered right for me as I tried to scamper out of their way. It was a great show from them as usual, despite having no sound and no fiddles.

But all great trips have to end, and on Wednesday I grudgingly left for home. It won't be the last time I go, as I did buy an annual pass again - and I'm already looking at going twice more before this year is out! Now, onto the summer...

Another Semester Done

2011-05-17T09:04:00.000-07:00

Well here we are on Tuesday of finals week, a cacophony of recorders tooting in the hallways in anticipation of their Music 8 final. Boy that gets annoying real quick. But the semester is finally finished, all of our concerts are done and gone. It's been a pretty busy semester, especially the last few weeks where we had 10-12 concerts per week. Next semester is looking to be a little lighter, fortunately, but of course there's still time for folks to sign up for recitals, so you never know.

I played the Sac State musical this spring, playing on bass for The Wiz. I was really concerned about my wrist, after Rent destroyed it last September. The doctor, incidentally, essentially told me I was getting older and needed to exercise it our and take ibuprofen. Ha! Well although my wrist was hurting throughout this run, with several high doses of drugs I was able to push through. It wasn't as bad as it was in Rent, but even now after 4 weeks have passed I still get jolts of pain sometimes when I turn my wrist a certain way.

So, it may be very well that I have to retire from playing. It seems pretty clear that my wrist just isn't up to doing heavy playing anymore, and certainly not as infrequently as I tend to play. Xrays revealed nothing particularly wrong, so it may be time to hang it up and move on to other things.

On another note, I did finally get a new composition work finished, a trio for oboe, clarinet and viola. The first movement was premiered at the end of April and went pretty well. The full three movements should be premiered in December. Now that this semester is done I can relax from the musical journal and musicology readings I had been doing for my grad class, and focus on reading through the entire Harry Potter series as I ride the bus to and from work.

We'll see what this summer has in store, but as of right now I have a Disneyland trip planned for next week, a 10-day cruise to Alaska in July, and somewhere in there I need to start working on my final project work again, my symphony, so it can be performed next spring. In the fall I'll have one elective class, and then with my final project I should have finally earned the Masters degree that I began slowly working on in 2007. So bring it on, summer of 2011! I'm ready...

Huh, it looks like it's going to rain outside. Are we sure it's the end of May??

Two Months Later

2011-03-24T10:57:00.001-07:00

Been awhile since I updated my blog! It's spring break week here for Sac State. Unfortunately not spring break for anyone else; everyone else seems to still have their spring break attached to Easter, which is a month away.

So I'm chilling at home, working on the third and last movement of my Trio for Oboe, Clarinet, and Viola, and doing some light practicing on string bass (playing Urinetown, subbing for my brother on Friday and Saturday). I never practice bass, that's the weird thing. But sometimes you just get in a mood, and if you have a free day at home anything can happen.

It's storming outside, huge wind gusts and pelting rain beating down on the world. Kind of soothing I think, to sit inside and watch it going on.

So what else is going on? Well we're gearing up for the busy part of the semester at Sac State, where we have anywhere from 7-10 concerts per week. I'm also going to be playing electric bass for The Wiz at Sac State in April. Should probably practice a bit on that too...my left wrist hasn't been the same since Rent last September! It still hurts slightly when I play string bass; I noticed that when I read down the dress rehearsal for Urinetown earlier this month. Maybe playing just isn't meant to be my thing anymore...

And oh - I haven't been to Disneyland since December! I'm starting to have withdrawals already....But, we are planning a summer 10-day cruise to Alaska, round trip from San Francisco. That should be a blast!

So, life goes on...maybe it's time for a break. That 70's Show just came on TV...cocoa, anyone??

First Day Back

2011-01-24T16:07:00.000-08:00

Well today is the first day of the new semester. It's been business as usual, more or less, for the first day. Lots of students coming back, having forgotten their locker combos, needing a reminder, needing new lockers; the usual mundane tasks of the first week of school.

This day has been slower than usual though - it seems the economy is finally starting to catch up on us. I've never seen such an empty class schedule in our building. Someone came by to find a room for a rehearsal from 10-11:30am. A few semesters ago we would have been lucky to find a couple of options, but today there were 6 different rooms open at that time.

Yes, as more people graduate and enrollment restrictions keep our new student numbers low, we will continue to see a decrease in the activities around here. They're projecting another bad budget cut for the next academic year, and I wouldn't be surprised if the union starts talking about furloughs again.

In the meantime, the number of concerts is still pretty high as the students we still have are trying their best to get out of here before the fees get raised another 10% or 15%. Can't say I blame them. I guess the good old days of having tons of activity and a never ending flow of classes and people through the building are gone, at least for now. We'll see how long we're able to maintain a full complement of ensembles, at least with a comparable quality level anyway. More and more folks will probably be brought up from the junior colleges to sit in and fill holes.

It's just after 4pm on Monday, and it feels not too unlike a Friday around here...

Holy Crap It's Cold

2011-01-10T08:13:00.000-08:00

Well, I've gotten back into taking the bus to work, after a couple of months of straight driving back and forth. I estimate that is saves, round trip, about $4.50 in gas per day, and since as a Sac State employee it only costs $20 for a six month bus pass, it is financially in my favor to do so.

Picked a bad time to start though, as it's cold and dark in the mornings when I have to leave for the stop. This morning it was 27 degrees! (That's almost -3 in Celsius....brrr!). Holy crap that's cold. So yes, the first hour at work is spent defrosting. Which is okay I suppose, since no one else is here anyway. January is such a nice quiet time!

We're already 10 days into the new year and time seems to be flying by fast. What will the new year hold? Hard to say at this point. 2010 was such a whirlwind of Disneyland and weddings and musicals and composition and so much more that I can't even remember right now because my brain hasn't entirely thawed out.

2011 will present a big vacation trip in June...though I'm not sure exactly where at this point. Could be a Disneyworld trip, or a cruise to Alaska, or a trip to Hawaii. Guess it will be time to start looking for bargains soon....I'm guessing there won't be as much Disneyland as in previous years, since we did not renew our passes in December. Though I am currently slated to go for a few days in March over our spring break, so maybe I'll get a new pass after all...

Well, time will tell. Guess it's time now to actually get some work done and leave the dreaming for later.

Rain Rain Rain

2010-12-23T06:37:00.000-08:00

Well we just got back Tuesday night from our final Disneyland trip...at least for now as our annual pass has officially expired. And we didn't renew this time (though I'm planning on going back in March and will get a new one then...)

Never have I seen so much rain in Disneyland! It rained from the time we arrived on Saturday till the time we left on Tuesday. There was only two breaks in the rain...from 9pm-10pm Sunday night and from 9am-10am Monday morning. The first one was actually perfectly timed, as I had reserved a dinner package at Ariel's Grotto which included fastpasses to see World of Color from the 'premium' standing area.

We had seen the show only once before, and that from the side as we did not have those special passes. Boy, I tell you, the show is leaps and bounds better from the front. You can't see any of the projections from the side, and without that the show is just a bunch of random lights and bursts of water. It fortunately stopped raining just in time for the show, though by then the rains had driven crowds away to the point where the standing area was less than half full. In any case, we had a great viewpoint.

The rains got so intense at some point that even with a rain jacket and umbrella it was impossible to stay dry. We found that we had to got back to the hotel for a few hours in the afternoon just to dry off and change out pants and socks. Many of the public sidewalks were starting to flood at one point, and even Main Street in Disneyland was taking on more water than the poor workers could shove down the drains with their push brooms.

But hey, it was Disneyland after all, and you can't beat a trip to the Magic Kingdom. I was actually worried about crowds, being that it is after all the week leading into Christmas. The only time is was really crowded was that one hour on Monday morning where it stopped raining. Most of the time, waits on rides were negligible at best. I think I saw Space Mountain get up to 45 minutes once, which is a far cry from the 100 minutes you often see in the summer.

The downside of the trip - at it was quite a downer! - was that the rains prompted cancellations and closures of many shows and attractions, including all parades, Fantasmic, Electronica (whatever that is!), and unfortunately the evening fireworks and snow. That was a disappointment certainly; no white Christmas in Disneyland! World of Color seemed to go on the whole time despite the weather; I guess that makes sense as it's a water-based show with no live actors. One cast member actually told us that it's BETTER in the rain. Something to do, I think, with extra light refraction from the falling water. You'll have to ask a scientist for a better explanation.

But now we're home, dry for the moment, and enjoying some time off from work for the holidays. Which reminds me, now that it's two days till Christmas, time to do some last minute shopping!

And.....Done

2010-12-17T08:24:00.001-08:00

So it's Friday of finals week here at Sacramento State. And of course it's dead quiet. I rather like that...

Tomorrow begins two weeks of time off, which of course we're starting off right with a three-night trip to Disneyland. Unfortunately it started raining today, and is supposed to rain the whole time we're there. But to treat myself out and make up for that, we went to Kohl's last night and bought me a new winter jacket. It's really quite nice, and now that I think about it, I think it's the first new jacket I've bought in at least 5 years. Well the last one I bought was at Mervyn's anyway...but we got a great deal as they're having a three day sale right now. Originally marked $100, we paid $38 after tax. Nice.

But that wasn't the best part of the day.

I was sitting in bed last night watching TV. To back up for a second, we got a new 42" LCD TV for the front room as a Christmas present, so the old TV from the front room is now in the bedroom. Since I haven't yet re-programmed the Dish satellite remote to operate the "new" bedroom TV, I was using the TV remote to turn up the volume - and there was a beep from the bathroom.

Pause. Sit up and look around. Did I really hear that??

So I turn up the volume again. Another beep. This one gets the cat's attention, so you know it's serious. So, I get up to investigate and discover that the portable space heater in the bathroom is on. Apparently the 'up volume' button on the TV remote will turn on the space heater in the bathroom. And it's not even a "universal" remote!

Boy that's weird.

That was certainly the funniest thing that happened yesterday, unless you count calling Lorraine retarded on Facebook...

Dead Week? What's That??

2010-12-08T09:30:00.000-08:00

I wonder if anyone remembers the 'dead week' concept? It was still around when I was in college 15 years ago, though even then it seemed to be waning. Still, folks still mention it these days on occasion, even if it doesn't get recognized in practice. It used to be the week before finals week in school - well it still IS the week before finals week - but it was a slow week where no new material or homework was assigned, so that you could start getting ready (ie. study) for finals.

Of course in the music world, this concept has little meaning. This is traditionally our busiest week of the year, and this year is no exception. Although this semester has been, dare I say, light in comparison to other semesters, we have this week 10 concerts from Monday-Friday. So it is pretty busy around here these days.

Which reminds me - I have to go tear up the recital hall stage to get ready for tonight's big wind ensemble concert...

Thanksgiving Break

2010-11-28T07:56:00.000-08:00

For some reason it seems I always manage to come down with a cold when we have a break from work. Case in point: right now. It's the end of Thanksgiving break, and I've had some sort of sinus congestion and cough since Thursday. I blame Whitney. She had it first.

It's good in some ways, since I have the time to lounge on the couch all day and catch up on the 46 episodes of CSI, Law and Order, and House that have been collecting on the DVR throughout the fall. Bad in other ways, since I can't make much progress on all the projects I was originally intending to pursue during this time.

Still, we managed to have a somewhat productive four-day weekend. Although we didn't go out at 3am with the rest of the insane people to try and get bargain deals on Black Friday, we still managed to get a bit of holiday shopping in. And we still managed to get some deals - thanks to Target's 2-Day Sale. I truly believe it's the best place to shop after Thanksgiving. No insanity of being trampled when the doors first open, no lines around the building, no waiting outside in the cold and rain as the store slowly lets people in one at a time. We went twice, on Friday and Saturday, and both times the store was only mildly packed. Both times there was no more than 2 people in line at any register. So, the holiday shopping is underway....

And, on Saturday, we went and saw Harry Potter 7! Can't wait for the rest of it to be released...

Today, I think, me and the couch will become good friends again. Later it's dinner time at the old folks. And then tomorrow...well, back to the grind. I'm sure my cold will clear up just in time for that!

Ease On Down The Road

2010-11-22T09:29:00.000-08:00

Well yesterday marked closing day of The Wiz at Runaway Stage, and also essentially the end of a very busy time with chunks of concerts and festivals and marching band and so forth. The Wiz was my second career directorial job, after having completed my rookie show with Meet Me In St. Louis last November.

And it was good!

I have to say, coming into October I was not at all excited about doing this show. I had seen two productions previously from different community theatres, and it was always just a bland slanted retelling of the Wizard of Oz. But for this production, we were blessed to have a top notch cast and orchestra, which together made the show really shine.

Or so I think. When you get so invested in a project and have it ingrained in your mind for weeks on end, it does tend to grow on you. It was a little odd this time; with most shows you see reviews from various sources, including audience reviews submitted to SeeAPlay.com. For this production: nothing. Not a single one. There was one brief snippet in the Sacramento News and Review, mostly a calendar listing really, which just mentioned the "impressive orchestra".

I guess I'll just have to take that. It's better than what the orchestra usually gets, which is usually a mention about how it's too loud...

But it's all done now, and time to move on. To what? Well, who knows really. Sac State is doing this same musical in April, and I their music director did say off the cuff at one point that I should play bass for it. My wrist is still fairly shot from Rent in September, but it is getting better, so maybe I can play again.

Well, as usual, time will tell....for the moment the calendar is free and clear for the foreseeable future, and with it being Thanksgiving week now I'm looking forward to some time off!

Santa Cruz

2010-10-19T09:32:00.000-07:00

Well, this past weekend we went to Santa Cruz, joining the Sac State Marching Band on their tour. The band played at the Santa Cruz band (parade) festival, a standstill on the beach prior to the festival awards ceremony. It was a pretty good trip, the band played well and the rain held off at least until the festival was done.

Though for some reason I just didn't sleep too well. Even at the Hilton, which was quite a nice hotel.

But we stayed an extra night after the band left Saturday evening, in a hotel right on the beach, and got to spend some time exploring the area a bit. It's an odd town, Santa Cruz. The kind of place where bums wedge themselves into small garbage cans with the lid still on and panhandle for change. The kind of place where other bums wander into a pizza joint and strike up a conversation with folks at a table, and those folks get up to go get a to-go box to send the guy away with some food. The kind of place where folks talk on their cell phones on the beach, wearing heavy cold weather clothing but with open-toed sandals.

We got to walk along the beach Sunday morning, and marvel at the crashing waves and cliff-like edges of sandy beach being eroded away by the water. It certainly is calm and peaceful there...when the boardwalk isn't open yet. I'm not much into the boardwalk really; to me it's just a run-down dumpy Disneyland. But it's good I guess, for it's purpose. We walked a good distance and made it all the way to the Walton lighthouse before turning back.

Woody's on the Wharf, by the way, is a cool place to grab some lunch, and includes lovely ocean and coastline views. It was raining by then, on Sunday afternoon, and rained most of the way home as well. But hey, it was a nice weekend getaway.

Now back to the grind, and The Wiz is looming around the corner...

Rent

2010-09-25T14:43:00.000-07:00

Rent, Rent, and more Rent. That's been the story of this month. No, not the monthly payment towards to real owner of your current residence. I call that "mortgage". But I've been playing the musical at the 24th Street Theatre - two of them in fact: the mainstage version and the school edition version.

So this weekend wraps up the end of the runs of both, and by tomorrow we will have played the show in tech rehearsals or performances 11 times in 10 days. And that's a lot of Rent.

It's actually quite a fun show to play, and very challenging for me since I'm not a rock musician by nature. The parts offer a lot of variety, a far cry from the oom-pa bass parts you see in a lot of classic musicals. But it has been tiring, and my left wrist has been hurting for a week now (tendinitis anyone?) It's been so bad that I've had to resort to taking ibuprofen just to make it through some of the shows.

Due to the playing position needed for the left hand on a electric bass, my wrist stiffens up after most numbers and I have to slowly bend it back to a straight position and loosen it up between numbers. And don't even get me started on the loss of dexterity I'm having on those fast moving rockin' bass lines!

But it's been really fun to play, as I've said, and the cast is uber talented (some folks have told me it's the best production they've ever seen RSP put on).

If you missed it, too bad for you. At the moment there's less than 30 tickets available for the final two shows, tonight and tomorrow afternoon. Then I'll get a bit of a break to rest the wrist before the next project begins: directing The Wiz from October 29-November 21. Good thing conducting uses the right hand...

There Went That Month

2010-09-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

So, here we are in the first week of school, and indeed the first day of September. Where did August go? It must have been a figment of my imagination. But, a lot has been going on. Some recaps...

First and foremost, I am currently sitting in the jazz studio at school, literally babysitting the room to make sure nothing gets stolen. The door was removed by the locksmiths today so they can router it out and install a new digital door lock. The old one crapped out in June, and after months of filing and emailing requests and generally being ignored, they finally got back to us a couple of weeks ago with an estimate. And now, finally it's being fixed. So life can move on. At least for the jazz folks anyway, who will now be able to access their studio instead of canceling classes since there was no way for them to get in the room.

This is also tech week for me; after a year and a half hiatus I am back at Runaway Stage Productions to perform in this month's production of Rent. Now, I'm not really a rocker, and this book is pretty intense, that is to say there's a couple spots that are really kicking my ass. But, if it doesn't kill me, I should be a better player by the end.

I've also been arranging music for the marching band (oh yeah, THAT'S where August went!). Their pregame and halftime music is done, and i think the arrangements turned out pretty well. The drum staff has them now to write in their parts, though the pregame is done and the band is currently rehearsing it. It sounds really good! I think they like it. At least I hope they do.

The other part of August disappeared with a camping trip to Rollins Lake and a subsequent cold that was fairly nasty for (fortunately) short period of time. Our camping spot had a little trail behind it that went off into the woods and eventually came to a dead end. So I put my hammock up at the start of it and enjoyed several afternoon naps. One day, I awoke and looked up at the trail and a deer was standing there, about 25 feet away maybe, just staring at me. So, we stared at each other for awhile, and he eventually decided I was okay and proceeded to wander off a little bit and munch on some plants. I watched him for about a half hour or so.

Well that about sums up the last month. Is it kind of sad that one month of your like can be squeezed down into one online blog? Hmm. Perhaps that should be debated another day...

Weekend Folly

2010-07-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

So I just got back into the office after a nice weekend spent mostly at home. Over the weekend the custodial staff apparently came in and waxed my office floor. Unfortunately they left my refrigerator unplugged, causing it to spontaneously defrost.

So I came into the office today to find that I was now sporting a small lake on my office floor. Had I known, I would have brought fishing tackle. Thankfully my fridge was not too frosted over to begin with, nor did it have a lot of food left over the weekend. So the puddle wasn't too bad, nor was the smell of rotting food.

After spending a little while on my hands and knees mopping up with paper towels (we aren't trusted with things like mops - those are only entrusted to folks who don't believe in plugging in refrigerators...), order has been restored, and I can now continue with my regularly scheduled office work.

But, should I trust the yogurt that was left warming in my fridge over the weekend??

Shape Up

2010-07-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

So yesterday we did the unthinkable. We joined....a gym. Yes, it is true. We live right down the street from a new California Family Fitness, literally just a 5 minute walk away. We had actually been considering joining for awhile, but had yet to even step foot in the place. You know how it goes; the typical stereotype is that once you join one you never go. And hence you just end up throwing money away.

So last night we stepped foot inside and took a tour, then got the sales pitch, then talked over the sales pitch, then finally decided to go for it. It wasn't really a bad deal; we're on a month to month plan which for the both of us is $87 per month. No registration fees. No processing fees. That's it.

The facility, being a newer one, is actually quite nice. Two stories of equipment, three racketball courts, a full size basketball court, a rock climbing wall, and indoor pool and spa, two outdoor pools, and numerous additional rooms where special classes are held. All included in the membership.

So today, a Wednesday at 5pm, we walked over to - and here I sound more like a yuppie - 'hit the gym'. The girl we had signed up with was there, and she admitted that it was just about their busiest hour. But it wasn't that crowded really, or at least the vastness of space helped spread the people out so it didn't seem crowded.

I spent 10 minutes on the stationary cycle while watching a half inning of baseball and cycling 3 miles, then did some reps on the various apparatus, before hitting the pool and spa areas. All in all it was quite a pleasant experience. Now let's see if we can keep it up from day to day...

And....Layoffs

2010-06-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

So last week was a historic one for the CSU. For the first time ever - layoffs were announced. Granted, on the staff side of things, it's not as bad as it could of been. Their plan for 12% reduction calls for only 8 staff members campus wide to be layed off. Beyond that, many positions which have been vacated - really all of the positions that have been vacated - will not be rehired. This will amount to a staffing reduction of over 90 at our campus.

Guess the rest of us will just have to work a little harder...

I'm not sure, but I think by this point those special 8 individuals have been notified. At least, we are seeing anti-establishment graffiti right now on campus. Reminds me a little of the Hate Week portrayed in the novel 1984 (my current 'leisurely' summer reading...)

The card readers to the faculty/staff garage entrance were spray painted over, rendering them virtually useless (good thing I took the bus in today...). And, graffiti appeared both on the garage wall ("I was raped by Sac State!") and on the back of a state pickup truck, something "my life and job" sucking. I didn't get a real good look. Nor did I stick around to see what else there likely was.

In the words of Vonnegut...and so it goes.

Today I am leaving work early to go to the doctor's office - my first visit in over a decade if you don't count to one to get new prescription glasses a few years back. I sprained something in my knee fairly badly on Saturday evening, and now, although I can walk just fine, I can't bend my leg well enough to sit down without experiencing sharp pain. Nor can I get in and out of a car very well. Or put on my own shoes and socks.

And so it goes.

A Chorus Line

2010-05-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

So we went and saw A Chorus Line last night, at the Community Center Theatre. It's not one of my favorite musicals really, to be honest. Nothing against dancing per se, I just don't find the storyline to be particularly engaging. You get some brief snippets about most of the 16 or 20 or however many characters are on stage, but not quite enough to really care about most of them, nor to care whether or not they actually make the cut at the end. I couldn't even say which ones made it at the end - 4 guys and 4 girls - but really who makes it is fairly irrelevant.

But anyways, it was a fabulous production. The cast was exceptionally talented; not the best singers I've heard, but certainly remarkable dancers and great actors as well. The music itself, was of course, great. You couldn't see the musicians, they had a black drape drawn over the top of the pit. BUt you could hear them, and they sounded great. All in all it was a very worthwhile time.

So now I'm back at work, on a Wednesday but really a Friday since I'm furloughed the next couple of days. And with Memorial Day next Monday - well that means a 5 day weekend for me! What should I do?? Ah heck, I'll probably just be lazy and lie around at home. That that in itself is a nice treat after the hustle and bustle of the end of the semester.

If the weather would clear up I could go sailing...I finally went last Friday with Anyssa after over a year absence. What a great day it was for it! Sustained winds at 24 knots or better most of the time. We sailed under the Bay Bridge, which I had never done, and saw up close and personal the current construction underway as a new bridge is being built. I won't mention that I almost got us run into the pillars of the bridge...just got a little TOO close, and the strong current certainly did its part in trying to send us to our doom. Good thing the boat has a motor, that's all I can say. Maybe Friday we can go again...

Welcome to Summer - Sort Of...

2010-05-24T11:32:00.001-07:00

Well this week begins the long summer, finals having been finished at Sac State last week. You wouldn't think it looking at the weather. It's been abnormally cold and cloudy, really bizarre for late May. Don't get me wrong, I rather like it. The weather forecast calls for rain actually from Tuesday - Thursday and temperatures in the mid-60s. And it's May 24! Crazy.

Other than that, the signs of summer being upon us are certainly here at the university - it's been suddenly transformed from what was a bustling hectic environment to a virtual ghost town. And the squirrels are all out in force wondering where there food source disappeared to. But it's such a relaxing campus when it's quiet. Almost like you have a private park all to yourself. Too bad it can't be like this year round!

Wait - Where Did April Go?

2010-05-03T14:23:00.000-07:00

It's May already? How did that happen?? I was sure that it was only yesterday that I was lamenting about how rough April was going to be, how we have 23 concerts in a two week period. And now it's over.

Well, April turned out to be not so bad after all, I guess. What I remember of it anyway.

Now we have just two weeks left before finals, so it's time for the final push of the semester. April had several concert cancellations, which really freed up chunks of time for me. This week - 12 concerts. Well 11 more I should say, since one was yesterday. I guess I will have to be resolved to driving in almost everyday these next two weeks, as I'll likely be here later than the bus runs.

We got through tech week and opening weekend of The Wedding Singer at Oakmont High School without many hitches. There's spots here or there where the singers aren't anywhere near the tempo (or location in the music) as the band, but all in all I think it went pretty well. It's actually a rather entertaining show, and has some good fun music to boot. One more weekend to go...

And then another week of school...

I suppose I should seriously start working on my final paper for my grad class. This is the last grad class I'll have in I don't know how long. Next semester I'm not enrolling in any classes, simply because there aren't any offered that I actually need for my Masters. Maybe there will be something in the spring of 2011 again, who knows. Wait and see, wait and see.

Other than that, things are well and moving along. Welcome to May!

Back to High School

2010-04-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

So, these days, and at my age, it is pretty rare to find myself on a high school campus. But this week I have been, as I'm currently playing for The Wedding Singer at Oakmont High School in Roseville (and it opens tonight!).

It's been an interesting experience, to be sure. On one level, it's been a chance for me to work up my chops on electric bass, which I've not had many occasions to play on in the last decade. Which is good. On another level, it's been a little surreal being in a high school environment. It certainly isn't something I do on a regular basis, playing at high schools.

It all came about as a friend of mine from my Sac State undergrad days happened to be hired on as the musical director there. And for whatever reason, they elected to hire out most of the musicians rather than use the school's kids. Can't say I blame them really, the book is a pretty tough heavy rock show. I don't think I could have played this part when I was in high school. Heck, I can barely play some of it now!

But anyways, the tech week, such as it was, concluded last night with our very first full run through. It cam in at about 2.5 hours. I guess that should be so bad. It took 3 hours to get through one act two nights ago...

So in the end, a lot of progress has been made in a very short time, the actors have calmed down their talkative spirits enough to actually get some work done, people are now done pulling their hair out, and I think the sets are even (almost) done. We open tonight, for better or worse, and we'll see what happens...

First Day Back

2010-04-06T10:08:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was the first day back to work after spring break, and the first time I can remember that I've spent an entire week - and two weekends - away from the music building at Sac State. Boy that was nice!

I tell you though, having a week off re-energizes your spirit, more or less. Before the break, I drove to work almost every day for two weeks straight. Sometimes out of necessity - I often stayed late to work concerts. But often times I just couldn't drag myself out of bed to make it to the bus stop on time.

Not that it was entirely my fault - the bus was actually showing up a couple of minutes early almost everyday, a clear indication that they were jumping their previous timetable stop a bit. I mean come on, if the timetable stop says you leave at 6:48 and you're arriving at the stop 2 miles further down the road at 6:48, something is wrong.

Still, I was pushing my luck by getting out of the door much later than normal, and then having to rush to the stop only to see the bus go whizzing by.

But after spring break - well, I got up early enough to enjoy my shower, actually have a respectable breakfast, and still get out of the door on time. No, not on time. Early even. I was ready on Monday - a nice leisurely walk to the stop, arriving there six minutes before the bus was scheduled to make it there. There's no way I was going to miss that bus yesterday! It could show up early and I was there! I was ready!

And then the bus was late.

Busy Time

2010-04-03T22:44:00.000-07:00

Well yet another month has passed in 2010. Can you believe it? We're already a third through the year. Amazing.

Well I just keep getting older, having turned 35 last Wednesday. It was the first time I actually spent my birthday in Disneyland. And of course I got the complimentary Happy Birthday button to wear around the park, so complete strangers could congratulate me on successfully aging.

It's been spring break here, and for once it actually coincides with Easter as well. I must say it's been a relaxing yet rather productive week off. Though I'm still not looking forward to going back to work next week. I actually managed not to step foot anywhere near Sac State at all this week, which for me is quite an accomplishment.

But Monday we all start back, after having furloughed through our break. It's going to be a really busy month. I actually counted concerts and discovered that in one 13-day period we have 23 concerts scheduled. Yikes!

Just thinking about that makes me wish I had another spring break.

CMEA Conference

2010-03-12T09:24:00.000-08:00

So I went to part of the CMEA state conference yesterday, thanks to Whitney who got me a discounted pass by listing me as a spouse...but it has been many years since I've been to one of those. It seems like they've really scaled back, just less stuff happening and, I would imagine, less people attending. Times aren't as good as they used to be.

But it was a very good day for me; I attended a session on Finale 2010, which was supposed to be geared towards using it in the classrooms but really it was a session on "here's all the ways you can enter stuff in now". Not that it was bad - my 2005 version was feeling more and more obsolete as the session wore on.

At the end though - they raffled off a new copy of Finale, and of the 15 or so people who were at the session, I won! That was exceptionally exciting. It left me speechless really. The software normally retails for, at the academic price, $350. Wow! I'm stoked. This will hopefully take my composing to a whole new level...

But now I need a new computer to run it. Ha! Well, it's a good enough excuse I suppose.

The day ended with a feature concert that began with our Sac State Vocal Jazz Ensembles. They never disappoint in a concert, and this was truly no exception. SPECTACULAR groups. They are completely deserving of all of their Downbeat awards and then some, and are clearly one of the best collegiate vocal jazz groups around.

Too bad the program is being cut after this year to the California budget woes. Well, really, it's technically because the director is moving to Colorado to pursue doctoral work - at least that's the convenient excuse for dropping a program that was already being cut down again and again. But can you blame him? No. One can only work so long - part time - at something like this, which should be one of the ambassador programs of the whole system and could EASILY justify a full time position.

Does the university seem to care that one of its elite ensembles is just unceremoniously being scrapped? Nope.

Going Home in Two Days

2010-02-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

So it's a quasi-furlough Friday here at Sac State. I'm in obviously, and so is Teresa our budget officer, but the rest of the staff is out enjoying a four day weekend - Monday is an all campus furlough closure day.

But I'm going to one up them - on Sunday I leave Sac for home. Disneyland, that is. I'm taking off furloughs on Monday and Tuesday and using up some of my accrued overtime from last semester (I still have 50 hours on the books!) for Wednesday and Thursday.

I think this will be the longest trip I've ever taken to Disneyland, a total of four nights. Though as we're leaving on Valentine's Day, and that day happens to be a blockout date for our Annual Pass, we won't be hitting the park until Monday morning. And then on Tuesday we have some other business to attend to...

But it's going to be a nice escape in any event, and I'm sure I'll eat plenty of double chocolate chip brownies. So much for weight loss.

Today is my last day here for a week, and so I have to spend a lot of time getting everything in order for every event that's going to happen while I'm gone. Not a big chore, but enough to keep me busy for now. Off to work!

Super Bowl Sunday

2010-02-08T07:53:00.000-08:00

So yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday, and unlike many years, I actually knew who was playing in this one. Not that I cared much. But I was hoping the New Orleans would win, simply as they were the perceived underdog and it was their first trip to the Super Bowl.

And they won all right, despite having a fairly weak defense.

We actually went over to Brian Aguilar's apartment and hung out with some old friends, drank some beer and had tons of munchies. Oh, and prime rib. It was a delightful afternoon, and the game was a good one to watch too. I think it was the first NFL game I had watched in a couple of years.

Our music department actually had their Open House Brunch yesterday - and boy if I had a nickel for every time someone remarked, "It's on Super Bowl Sunday??". As if we were insane for even thinking to schedule something on such a sacred day. But I didn't pick the date, and in the end I didn't even end up going. I could have put some hours of work in for overtime. Well, when I say 'overtime' I really mean Compensated Time Off - no one gets paid for overtime. But I have enough hours already in my account that I need to take off.

So we did the 'American' think and watched the Super Bowl while ingesting lots of not too terribly healthy food. And a good time was had by all.

January. Done.

2010-02-02T09:20:00.001-08:00

Woah - it's February already?? It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating New Year, and now the month of January is done and gone.

We're now in the second week of school here at Sac State, and so far it's been relatively quiet. The normal hustle and bustle of students needing to be reminded of their locker combinations and scrambling to finish their recital paperwork and/or change their date to a late time. But other than that - it's been slow.

This is perhaps an omen of things to come, as the CSU is making a concerted effort to reduce student population and in the process make a lot of (mostly part-time) faculty obsolete. This is the final semester of Vocal Jazz here, for instance, after garnering national attention with a half dozen Downbeat awards and growing to be one of the best vocal jazz programs in the nation. Next semester: gone. Just one of many examples of cutbacks as the system struggles to stay afloat.

Meanwhile I just piddle along doing my job and little else. There isn't much incentive to go the extra mile anymore, after all.

Outside of school, I did have the unusual occurrence of having to turn down a good paying gig because of another good paying gig I already have lined up. It appears that I will be playing in a production of The Wedding Singer in late April/early May. Yes, the Adam Sandler movie has been made into a musical. This particular production is a high school one, but surprisingly still pays well, and is being directed by an old college friend of mine whom I haven't seen much of in the last few years.

So that's a brief perspective of what's on the horizon. I could write more on other topics, but I figured it's better saved for a future blog.

Hopefully I'll find time to posy more faithfully in the future...before another month or more just flies by!

New Year

2010-01-14T08:58:00.000-08:00

What? We're already two weeks into the new year?? It's amazing how time seems to fly by. I've spent most of this year so far doing, well, not much. Sporadic bits of work here and there as I try and whittle down my accrued overtime in order to appease the dean. In addition to the 1000 plus hours I have of accrued vacation and sick time, I have about 75 hours of CTO overtime which somehow needs to be taken off in the next 40 hour work week.

So, here I am sitting at home on a Thursday when I'd normally be at work. At least I'll have time to have a decent breakfast as I didn't have to rush out the door at 6:42am to catch a bus. Of course I could drive to work, but I like to think I'm being both economical and environmentally conscious.

Anyway, the New Year was fun. We almost did nothing, as we had made no plans. Fortunately Whitney's best friend Melissa bailed us out, as she had reserve a few extra spots at the Rocklin Bowl for their New Year's celebration. So we went bowling on New Year's, and did our champagne toast among throwing strikes and spares.

Well, admittedly, there weren't that many strikes or spares happening. It had been, after all, many years since I had bowled. But I'm starting to get back into it now; we've taken to going to the late night specials at Country Club Lanes, where it's $10-12 for all you can bowl after 11:30pm. So tonight, we may do that again, since tomorrow is a furlough day for me, and I'm just now starting my five day weekend (it's Martin Luther King Day on Monday...)

Hopefully my scores will improve...

It's Christmas Already?

2009-12-25T07:55:00.001-08:00

My how time flies...it's already Christmas morning. Not sure what I'm doing up before 8:00am. Oh yeah...the cats wanted their morning soft food. This was a busy holiday season - so busy that we never even got around to getting a Christmas tree. Well, until mom delivered a miniature 12 inch tree while we were gone to Disneyland. Ho ho ho, I guess.

So we just got back from a Disneyland trip, December 20-23. It was the first time we had been there since the middle of July. And that's a long time for us! It was actually our Christmas present to each other - instead of buying a bunch of presents, wrapping them, watching the cats slowly destroy the wrapping paper, and so on, we bought each other annual passports to Disneyland. Even though the price went up to $289, we'll still get our money's worth. In fact we already have our next trip tentatively planned - for February 14-18!

Boy, was it busy in the park! I mean, I was expecting to see some crowds, but on Monday and Tuesday it was exceptionally crowded. So much so that the park tried something new at the end of the day - opening up the backstage area behind Main Street to use as an egress, or rather a short cut, for those trying to exit the park. It certainly helped - traffic was quite jammed on Main Street and along the shop fronts. And it was pretty neat, since you don't normally get to see the backside of things.

Well, today is Christmas and as such there lots to do of course. The holiday break really starts tomorrow, when we can finally sit back and be lazy. And catch up on all the things we didn't get done in the last month...

Thank God That's Over

2009-11-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

Well, the Festival of New American Music is now officially over, at least it was as of Sunday. And after a restful yet productive furlough day, I'm back at work catching up on the things that had been put on the back burner the last couple of weeks. I must say, FeNAM in itself wasn't that bad this year for me; everything went smoothly, or seemed to at least, and I only ended up doing 22.5 overtime hours.

The last two weeks were compounded though by Meet Me In St. Louis, my first venture at RSP as Musical Director. Really, my first venture anywhere as musical director. Why anyone would think to put me in that role with no experience is beyond me, but it actually has worked out pretty well. And I've certainly learned a lot. And, it's been fun, which is really the ultimate goal of anything.

Of course, doing a tech week while at the same time trying to get ready to open our busiest festival at Sac State is really not recommended. That was a tough week!

Things were compounded further by my learning on Saturday morning that one of my old friends - my closest friend during my undergrad days at Sac State - passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. This certainly made it very hard to focus at Saturday's and Sunday's musical shows.

But I'm not going to go into that here...yet.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T07:46:00.000-08:00

Well, Halloween has passed and November has begun, and we've been given an extra hour due to Daylight Savings time as well. What nice timing, for people to get extra sleep following Halloween night.

It seems that in recent years I really haven't done much of anything for Halloween. I've always been too busy doing this or that, or just otherwise have not found time to get into the spirit. I certainly did not do any decorating or dressing up.

This year was not much of an exception, but at least I got out a little bit. The afternoon began with a four hour rehearsal of Meet Me In St. Louis. This is my first time conducting a show, which is at once both exciting and daunting. I've been trying to put a lot of time into score study and listening to the CD and even watching the MGM movie twice, so I could get up to speed. It's been going okay - at least I think I'm getting better and certainly learning a lot really fast.

Anyway, after rehearsal we ordered pizza from Papa Johns and went home for a few hours to see if any trick-or-treaters would come by, and to watch some Halloween-esque movie. It was my intention to watch Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein", but as it turns out, I don't seem to have a copy at home. So we watched recorded episodes of Law and Order and CSI. It kind of fits.

No trick-or-treaters came by. Just like last year.

Then we went to go see the 9:00pm showing of Batboy at Sac State. I was fortunate enough to come across some 2-for-1 ticket coupons last week, so it was a rather cheap date. The show was pretty solid overall, certainly entertaining and humorous anyway. And lots of people there were dressed in costume. So, it was kind of like being at a Halloween party.

Okay, not really. But hey, it was a fun holiday after all.

Time Flies

2009-10-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

Well it seems like only yesterday that I was writing my last blog on here about jury duty, but that was almost a month ago! My how time flies. I guess that's good that I'm keeping busy.

I've only been doing a little musical playing, most notably the Runaway State Productions Preview Show, which was an open house kind of event including performances of excerpts from last seasons and next season's shows. It was really quite a good show; I did last year's, which was a smaller scale, but this one had a 22 piece orchestra. Next season should be pretty incredible at RSP.

But will I be there?

It's a bit early to know what I will be doing in 2010 musical wise...I'm hoping they decide to put live music in Suds at the Cosmopolitan in January, so maybe I can play bass there. But no word on that.

Here's what I am doing though - last Friday night I was brought on to be musical director for Meet Me In St. Louis with RSP. It was kind of unexpected; for whatever reason their regulars and others who they asked could not do it. I was a bit leery about taking on such a huge role; after all I have never actually directed a musical before. But it should be a great experience, and I'm sure it will go fine.

Time to start doing some serious score study...

Jury Duty. Some Things Don't Change

2009-09-25T09:53:00.000-07:00

Well this week I was on standby for jury duty. It's the same sort of thing as before, where you call in on day and their recording tells you to call in other day, which you do, and are then told to call in another day, and so forth until you've made phone calls at least once every day for a week.

This time, though, I actually got called in - in the middle of the day. I had only been called in once, years and years ago. But on Tuesday I got to leave work at noon and go downtown to the courthouse.

I tell you, not much has changed. The building is the same, the setup is the same. It is nice that they have TV's mounted which play the big Disney blockbusters from 2 or 3 years ago. But other than that, it's the same deal.

I ended up waiting for two and a half hours while I read through my graduate music history notes and scores. Two separate panels were called over to different courtrooms during that time, but I was not picked in the lottery. So, at about 3:30pm, we were told we could go home and that our service was completed - for the next 18 months anyway.

So I went to the Super WalMart and did some grocery shopping, and still got home before I would have if I had been at work all day.

It almost seems like a waste of time to have someone go to all the trouble of getting off work and have them do all the paperwork that goes along with a summons and the surveys you fill out when your there, to then only be there for less than 3 hours with nothing to show for it. I almost wish I had been pulled onto a panel, then at least there would have been something interesting to do.

End of the Run

2009-09-08T08:52:00.001-07:00

Well, Forever Plaid has come and gone, after 387 performances in Sacramento. I myself played for the last 150 or so...I lost count after awhile. The last week of the run was great, with full energetic houses and emotions running high. It was a bittersweet ending for me, on one hand nice because I'll suddenly have more free time at home, but sad that's it actually over. (And of course I'll miss the extra paychecks!)

The final scenes and Justin's final monologue hit true to home, as it speaks of not wanting to leave and not knowing what the future will hold, but yet knowing that it's time to move on. The Plaids were all fighting back tears I think, and the last monologue lasted longer than it ever has, as it was difficult to get through.

I was really touched before the show that they gave me a signed and framed 'Honorary Plaid' certificate - the same they give out each performance to the lucky volunteer who gets to play the top part of Heart and Soul. That will sit on my desk at home as a testament and reminder of the longest running professional musical theatre show in Sacramento's history. And of course I am honored to have been a part of it.

But, as they say, life moves on.

So here I am back at work after a leisurely and relaxing tour of Apple Hill on Labor Day yesterday. It's only a three day work week due to the holiday and the Friday furlough, but I don't mind that of course. On to new projects!

My Friday

2009-09-03T09:35:00.001-07:00

Well today is Thursday, of Friday given that the 'real' Friday is a furlough day. I'm planning on going to see District 9 with the old man tomorrow, since I have the day off. From the previews, it looked like a rather lame alien-versus-human type movie. But everyone I know who has gone to see it has really liked it, so we'll give it a shot.

What the rest of the day will hold, who knows. But likely, lounging at home until it's time to go to my evening job at the Cosmopolitan. Only four more days of Forever Plaid! It seems like it's been going on forever. It certainly will be bittersweet to see it go.

This has been the first week of school, and thanks to holidays and furloughs I have a four-day week followed by a four-day weekend followed by a three-day week followed by a three-day weekend. Oh, if only it could always be like that! My 700 sick time hours might suggest that it could be so, but alas, in a couple of weeks I'll most likely be back to a five-day work week.

At least until the furloughs in October come.

But for now, the week has been filled with oodles and oodles of students getting their lockers and practice room keys as they desperately try and add the already overfilled classes they need to graduate. And life goes on.

End of Summer

2009-08-26T11:35:00.001-07:00

Wow, it's amazing that classes are starting next Monday, the official signal to the end of summer. Why does it always seem to go by so fast? This was quite a rollercoaster of a summer, although in retrospect it seems I really accomplished nothing. I played an average of seven music shows per week throughout this summer, took a trip to England for a wedding and some sightseeing, and went to Disneyland (though only once!), in addition to working here and there at the college and dealing with the furlough issues. Tat was the hot topic that consumed so much of our thoughts, time, and energy. But other than that, it seems the time just flew by.

And now the 'lazy' days of summer are over. Ironically, with Forever Plaid having only two weeks left until closing, the fall semester may present me with more free time than I had over the summer. Maybe I can use that time to get some writing. You would think that the summer months would present an excellent time to do some writing. But alas, not a note was written by me. Perhaps the tides will shift in the coming weeks, and I'll finally start becoming productive again.

And then again, maybe not.

Monday Morning

2009-08-17T07:17:00.001-07:00

Well it's early Monday morning, the close of a four-day weekend created by furloughing last Friday and today. It used to be that such a break would mean a trip somewhere, Disneyland or camping, or even just a drive to the ocean or the foothills. Something to get out of town. Of course, I still have Forever Plaid going on, and with 7-8 shows per week it's hard to get away.

And of course I need to keep as much revenue coming in as I can right now, since Forever Plaid is closing in three weeks! I'm going to miss that show, and certainly its income, though it will be nice to have some more evenings free.

Well, I'm sure they'll be filled up with school work since I'm currently slated to take two grad classes in the fall. So they won't be free per se, but at least they'll be spent at home.

But for today, in what will possibly be the last 'big' hoorah before the official end of summer is marked by the official start of the school year, we're going to sit at home with the shades pulled down and have a movie marathon of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. So if I can't travel anywhere physically, I'll take a mental diversion to Middle Earth.

Furlough? What Furlough?

2009-08-07T08:12:00.001-07:00

So today is the first furlough day at Sacramento State. Except I'm still here. It seems I'm always here. I should just move in a cot and sleep here; it would certainly save on rent, and since I have access to bathrooms and my own refrigerator and microwave, it could probably work.

Anyway, since we have Suzuki piano slated on the schedule for today, I'm still at work today, in this ghost town of a campus. So far I've gone around and checked to make sure things are locked up, and turned off lights which were just wasting electricity.

I'll probably spend most of today getting things ready for the start of school; making sure there's enough forms copied and Fee Cards ready, and signs for locker checkouts, and things like that. And at some point I'll go across campus to see if anything service-wise, such as the Union eateries, are running. Apparently the bookstore is slated to be open. And as there are summer classes meeting today in various parts of campus, it's not going to be completely devoid of life out there.

And come next weekend, I'll take a four day weekend holiday, to make up for missing out on today's historic furlough. Perhaps that will be a good time to do a Lord of the Rings movie marathon.

And on it goes.

High Security

2009-07-28T09:36:00.000-07:00

So, I was at Wal Mart yesterday, after having (finally) seen the new Harry Potter movie. Just stopped by to pick up a few things before heading home. You know how they now have self-checkout counters,so that you can totally avoid any contact with a live employee? Well I was going through one of those lines, and as I was paying with my credit card, it became apparent that the little stylus pen used to work the pin-pad was not working.

Now, of course, you can use your finger to punch the buttons on the little screen, and it still works. But this becomes problematic when you have to actually sign for your purchases. I'm not sure why I didn't think of trying to use my fingernail to do this. Though, I can't for the life of me understand why my finger would still be able to push buttons and yet the stylus pen would be completely ineffective.

So there I was, at the checkout counter, abandoned by all who work there, frantically scribbling with the little pen, hoping that I could get it to make some sort of mark.

And then, Hallelujah! A single straight line, about a quarter of an inch long, appeared.

Now, of course, I can't imagine any place that would ever accept that for an "official" signature designating that you agree to pay all of the money their store saw fit to charge you for their goods. But, having run out of obvious options, I used used my finger to hit the "accept" button.

And it worked. It didn't even question it. How's that for credit card security?

Furloughs

2009-07-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

Well, the furlough agreement for CSU staff passed, with a statewide average of over 80% in favor. Interestingly, our campus wasn't that much in favor of it. In fact, the unit I'm in, Unit 9, actually voted it down 53% to 47%. But, as in all things, the majority rules, and so come next month we all take a 10% pay cut in return for being forced to not work for 24 days over the coming academic year.

I logged onto my staff account today and noticed that we have already had our salaries effectively frozen since July 1, 2007. Not even a cost of living adjustment, to say nothing of merit par or service pay increases, for two years now. But we haven't been giving enough, apparently.

Anyway, today I signed up for the new furlough Q&A workshop that Human Resources is offering. So tomorrow I'll spend an hour and a half listening to other staff people gripe and bemoan about their personal situations, while someone in an assumed position of authority tells us that we really don't know for sure how this is all going to be implemented.

And life goes on.

The Cockroach

2009-07-23T10:44:00.001-07:00

So, I've just returned from the Happiest Place on Earth, and since I didn't have free wi-fi access there I was unable to blog whilst there. But the trip was a smashing success, which is to say I went on lots of rides and ate lots of overpriced food. We had something of an auspicious start to our trip though.

On the way down to Anaheim, we stopped at the McDonalds in Buttonwillow for a brief snack, dare I say lunch, before heading on again. We were rather surprised to find a cockroach calmly exploring the eating area inside. In fact, it was the family with three kids that first noticed him, and the kids kept remarking at rather loud volumes how there was a cockroach running around on the floor. This got the attention of several of the store employees, and for a brief while everyone stopped and watched the little critter scurry to and fro.

The show became boring after awhile, and everyone went back to their own daily routines. The cockroach, sensing that he was losing his audience, promptly made a beeline for our table, and passed underneath my feet.

Now, by this point, Whitney was getting rather traumatized by the whole thing, so she flagged down a passing worker and asked if we could use their little broom to sweep the critter outside. She promptly stepped on the unfortunate bug, and the left him there, with one leg still twitching, next to our table. Well this was too much for Whitney, so she grabbed a napkin and cleaned the cockroach up and threw him away.

I guess cockroaches must be a fairly normal thing in Buttonwillow, since the whole of the McDonalds staff seemed completely uninterested in ridding their establishment of the pest. Mental note: don't stop to eat in Buttonwillow again.

Disneyland...One Last Time

2009-07-15T09:57:00.001-07:00

Well, seeing as how my Annual Passport to Disneyland expires on July 27, it makes sense that I need to take one last trip, so on Monday we depart for a two day mini-vacation. I'm usually opposed to tackling Disneyland in the summer just because of the large number of crowds that are typically there, but at least we'll be there from Monday through Wednesday, which is the slowest part of the week.

I've gotten lucky on the hotel; we normally stay at the Anaheim Plaza Hotel, which is a nice spacious property right across the street from the park. It is, usually by far, the cheapest hotel within walking distance to the park.

When I originally booked the hotel, the rate listed was $89 a night. Not too bad, especially when you consider that most properties on that block go for over $100 a night. But that rate would get even better...

I guess in these economic times, people in general are less apt to travel, because they have less money to spend. It used to be that if you were trying to book a hotel fairly last minute, say a week or so before you go, it would cost a bit more than if you booked a couple of months or more in advance. Not anymore.

On a lark, I happened to look up the hotel on the web again this week, and I saw that the room rates had dropped to $79 a night. Nice! So, of course, I re-booked and cancelled my original reservation, saving about $23 on two nights when tax is factored in. But wait, there's more...

This morning I checked again - and the rate had dropped to $69 a night! So, naturally, I rebooked. Again. And cancelled my previous reservation. Again. And saved another $23. Again.

I think I shall have to treat myself to a nice dinner in the park with all these savings. Or maybe I'll splurge on churros and double chocolate chip muffins.

I have to wonder, though, how long it will be before hotels start charging in advance and not allowing refunds for canceling, like airlines do now. And like the Travelodge hotels in England do now. I'm sure I can't be the only one who continually checks prices and re-books when they drop. I guess time will tell on that one.

Water and Sewer

2009-07-11T16:26:00.001-07:00

So, apparently the City of Sacramento is fairly inept in keeping track of what services it should be billing for for residential properties. Perhaps there's just too many bills and fees associated with living in California, maybe that's the problem.

A couple of weeks ago we got a letter fro the City of Sacramento welcoming us to our new home (that we've lived in for over a year and half now), and informing us that they would be handling our billing for water and sewer from now on.

A couple of days later we received another letter saying, basically, "Oops, it seems we've forgotten to bill you (and everyone in your complex) for the past year and a half, so we're going to bill you for past services as well". Lovely.

Now, I was under the impression that our HOA covered these services, so it was no surpise to me that I never received a bill in the last 20 months. A cursory examination of our HOA's expense reports shows that they pay over $10,000 a year to the City for water and sewer. But, apparently, that's only for the "common" areas of the property, and not individual units. Which mean that there's something in the neighborhood of $26,000 of up-till-now-un-billed services for the units in our small community.

How in the world did the City miss that??

So, in today's mail, we received our bill for the current month and the past 20 months, and no have until the 27th of July to pay the $653.50 balance. And you wonder why California is so screwed up? Great job to the Capital City for setting such a fine example of business practices.

Have a Pint?

2009-07-09T07:45:00.001-07:00

Well, 8 days and 391 pictures later, I am back at work following a fabulous vacation to England. Currently I'm catching up on the 260 email messages that accrued while I was away (It would have been more, but I didn't check and delete a bunch of junk while in Wolverhampton).

It occurs to me now, as I read a Facebook comment suggesting that I should have a pint on behalf of various poor souls stuck in Sacramento, that I didn't quite have enough pints of ale whilst I was there, at least not enough for British standards.

While we were at the Black Country Living Museum, just a short 20 minute bus ride from Wolverhampton to Dudley, we discovered, among other things, that the typical coal miner would ingest up to 12 pints of ale - per day! That's a lot of beer.

I think I had a total of 4 pints while I was over there, or an average of one-half pint per day. And that was mostly of Stella Artois, with a little Amstel Light thrown in for good measure. I did better at the wedding however, at least approaching a respectable British standard. I think I had a mimosa (though they don't call them that - it's something like Bucksfizz over there, at least in Welsh country), three glasses of red wine, and two glasses of champagne. Granted, this was over a period of 5-6 hours of time. But still.

Well, I guess it's back to work now, for at least a half day today, and back to playing musicals tonight. Gotta earn money anyway, not only for bills but for our next vacation - a mini two day trip to Disneyland on July 20. It's quiet at work right now, but that will change, as this is the jazz camp week after all, so it's about to get very noisy here...

Back in the USA

2009-07-08T22:24:00.000-07:00

Well I'm back in the good ol' USA, our trip to the United Kingdom done and in the books. The wedding, our excuse for taking an 8 day holiday, went off without a hitch. Well, that is, except for the hitch that was supposed to happen.

The reception went well, and featured some Welsh square dancing and even some fireworks of the variety which would be illegal here in California. And the food - well it was incredible, especially considering that it was put together in a portable kitchen.

London was a great treat, and a fabulous end to a wonderful vacation. We were able to see Billy Elliot, a play of Peter Pan, the British Museum, and the Tower of London, and I even got to shake hands with Prince William - a small brush with royalty.

Pictures should be posted soon on my website...

Independence Day

2009-07-04T00:02:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are spending the 4th of July in England, the land we gained independence from, though no one we've met seems to hold any grudges about that.

It's also the day of the big wedding of Justin and Katherine at St. Peters church in Wolverhampton. We were fortunate to get a private free tour of the church, which dates from the 1400s, from one of the priests of the church. We were simply in the right place at the right time, and he and his dog apparently had nothing better to do. The church is quite spectacular, with dozens of massive stain glass window scenes depicting the life of Jesus and various kings and saints.

The site of the church, incidentally, has been a church site since the 800s when it was occupied by monks who had been given the land by Lady Wolfrun, for whom Wolverhampton is named. There still exists one column from that time which is believed to have originally had a wooden cross atop it. But I digress.

Today's plans call for some light shopping and wedding preparations, and later we bud to Old Hope Farm for the reception, which is the home of the bride's family. I don't think we'll see any fireworks today, but that's okay. It's a welcome trade to have a nice relaxing vacation. Now I have a few hours to kill...

Technology Unlimited

2009-07-01T23:38:00.000-07:00

As I sit in the lobby of the Brittannia Hotel in Wolverhampton, England, I can't help but be amazed at how much technology has grown since I was a kid. I'm typing on an iPod touch, specifically the one I found in a seat cushion at the Arden Fair Mall. Imagine! Being able to check email and Facebook and blog from a little device that fits in the palm of your hand. All wireless. All free. Gotta love technology. Well today it's off to explore the city, check out the art museum and city park, and maybe do some shopping. More to come...

Stuck in Houston?

2009-06-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorrow we leave on our trip to England. I'm certainly looking forward to leaving the 100+ degree temperatures here in Sacramento, and settling for the mid-80's-plus-a-chance-of-rain that they are having in England right now. As it turns out, however, we almost we're looking at being stranded in Houston on the return trip.

I went online this morning to do do our check-in and boarding pass printing, because the email message I received earlier convinced me that it would be a good idea to do. Not that I wouldn't have anyway, because, hey, who doesn't want to save a little time in line at the airport check-in counter? As it turns out, you can't print boarding passes, not just because we have baggage to check but because they need to visually inspect your photo ID. So, the email lied, or perhaps just played a good joke on me.

But it worked out in my favor, because as I was logging in online to not check in and not print my boarding passes, I noticed that the last leg of our return journey was conspicuously missing from our itinerary. So, I called there convenient 1-800 number to find out what the deal was.

Now, several months ago I had received a very serious looking email sporting a vivid red exclamation point, stating that our itinerary had changed, that the world as we knew it was ending, and that our entire trip was certainly doomed. As it turned out then, our initial outgoing flight time had changed from 6:05am to 6:00am. Whew! That was a close call.

This time, what had happened was, our last leg of the return flight had been changed to be 50 minutes later. This was apparently too much stress to place on their automated system, because it didn't even bother to send me a serious looking email. The system just gave up, and decided that the trip was surely doomed this time, and so it just removed us from the flight altogether. And gave our seats away to another couple.

Well, in the end, the kind people at the other end of the phone line scratched their heads for awhile, mumbled to themselves about how they have no idea why this would or could happen, and fixed the problem. Or so I hope.

I now have a new piece of paper that clearly states that I am booked on the return flight. I'll just put it right next to the other piece of paper that clearly states that I was booked on that flight the first time. And hopefully, there will be no more changes that will drive their system to further despair.

The Spiral Begins

2009-06-23T09:26:00.001-07:00

Well, the votes are in, and Sac State's staff voted 359-69 in favor of furloughs. Statewide the elections showed 82% in favor of this option, which is a pretty clear majority. Now the bargaining team will go to work with the chancellor's office to determine exactly how this will play out.

Of course, reducing all of our pay by 10% means we'll all be tightening our belts - again - just like we do every year when we find out that we're not getting even a decent cost of living adjustment, to say nothing of getting a regular raise. Maybe I should have been an administrator.

And by tightening our belts, obviously, we're going to spend less and less money in the private sector, which means more businesses will lay off workers or fold completely, which means the state will have even less and less tax revenue, which means the problem will continue to worsen. And so the downward spiral begins. Or rather, continues.

As a side note, the elections on our campus were a joke. I've seen better organization with high school prom queen voting than what took place here yesterday. It was a mass of confusion. No signs were posted indicating that folks should be in different lines depending on which unit they were in. No one was really watching to ballot box closely to make sure that those who were putting in votes had actually checked in. And as for checking in - no one even checked ID!

We did get periodically yelled at, to the effect of, "Don't just drop off your ballot without checking in! If you don't check in, your ballot won't count!". Not that the ballots had anyone's name on them. So, really, there's no way to verify if any particular ballots belonged to someone who checked in or not. Or whether they belonged to someone who checked in two or three times as someone else. Or whether they just dropped off a ballot and weren't even a union member.

Gotta love the state system. Sigh.

California is Dying

2009-06-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

I don't usually get too worked up in politics, but since today our union is set to vote on whether to voluntarily take a 10% pay cut next year in the form of furloughs, it seems appropriate to take a good hard look at California, and to start thinking about whether it's time to move to Oregon.

The following was sent to me in an email forward, and while I don't devote much time to the dozens of such messages that come across my desk, this one caught my attention. It originally was posted on another person's blog. While I can't independently verify everything here (outside of the ones which are linked to their sources, whether or not they are reputable), if even HALF of this stuff is accurate, well, then one has to wonder how California has gotten itself into such a mess.

California has the 2nd highest state income tax in the nation. 9.55% at $48,000.

By far the highest state sales tax in the nation. 8.25% (not counting local sales taxes)

Highest state car tax in the nation - at least any other state (1.15% per year on value of vehicle).

Corporate income tax rate is the highest in the West. (8.84%)

2009 Business Tax Climate ranks 48th in the nation.

Fourth highest Capital Gains tax (9.55%)

Second highest Gasoline Tax (58.3 cents) in the nation (as of April, 2009). When gas is $3.00+/gallon, we are numero uno - because unlike many states, we charge sales tax on gasoline purchases - it's built into the price).

Fifth highest Unemployment Rate in the nation. (11.0% as of April, 2009)

California 's 2009 "Tax Freedom Day" (the day the average taxpayer stops working for government and start working for oneself) is again the fourth worst date in the nation (up from 28th worst in 1994).

To offset lower state revenues, 29 states are proposing 2009 state tax and fee increases totaling $24 billion. California , with 12% of the nation's population, is proposing 47% of that increase (from CNN 6/5/09).

1 in 5 in L.A. County are receiving public aid.

California prison guards highest paid in the nation.

California teachers easily the highest paid in the nation. (CA has the second lowest student test scores)

California now has the lowest bond ratings of any state, edging out Louisiana .

California ranks 44th worst in "2008 lawsuit climate."

In 2005 (latest figures), for every dollar Californians sent to D.C. in taxes, we got back 78 cents - 43rd worst.

America 's top CEO's rank California "the worst place in which to do business" for the fourth straight year (3/2009). But here's the interesting part - they think California is a great state to live (primarily for the great climate) - they just won't bring their businesses here because of the oppressive tax and regulatory climate. Consider this quote from the survey (a conclusion reflected in the rankings of the characteristics of the state): " California has huge advantages with its size, quality of work force, particularly in high tech, as well as the quality of life and climate advantages of the state. However, it is an absolute regulatory and tax disaster."

California still gives away college education at fire sale prices. Our community college tuition is by far the lowest in the nation. How low? Nationwide, the average community college tuition is 4.5 times higher than California CC's. This ridiculously low tuition devalues education to students - resulting in a 30+% drop rate for class completion. In addition, many California CC students fill out a simple form that exempts them from ANY tuition payment at all. On top of that, California offers thousands of absolutely free adult continuing education classes - a sop to the upper middle class. In San Diego, over 1,400 classes for everything from baking pastries to ballroom dancing are offered totally at taxpayer expense.

California residential electricity costs an average of 28.7% more than the national average. For industrial use, CA electricity is 48.6% higher than the national average (11/08).

It costs 38% more to build solar panels in California than in Tennessee - which is why European corporations have invested $2.3 billion in two Tennessee manufacturing plants to build solar panels for our state.

Consider California 's net domestic migration (migration between states). From April, 2000 through June, 2008 (8 years, 2 months) California has lost a NET 1.4 million people. The departures slowed this past year only because people couldn't sell their homes.

As taxes rise and jobs disappear, we lose our tax base, continuing California 's state and local fiscal death spiral...

Furloughs? Here?

2009-06-20T06:39:00.000-07:00

Well, the state of the California economy has finally deteriorated to the point where it's reached my desk. On Monday our university staff votes on whether to start taking two furlough days a month starting in August. And it should be clear - this will not eliminate the need for layoffs. It will only reduce the need for layoffs.

I'm reminded of our annual union meeting in the spring, which was dressed up nicely as a free lunch buffet featuring build-your-own tacos and burritos. The person who was, for lack of a better word, "emcee" of the meeting said, among other things, that we don't expect to have layoffs because our past history suggests that this would not happen. Really. That seemed a rather ignorant statement even then. California was already in a economic crisis that was best described as "unprecedented". So how can you use past history to determine what may or may not happen in an unprecedented time?

But anyway, I find it sad, if not deplorable, that the state of things has declined so much. It seems, really, that this is the culmination of years of irresponsible economic planning. At least, I hope it is a culmination, and now a first step towards worse times.

It almost seems as if we are caught in a horrible circle. The state is having major problems due to, we are told, lack of tax revenue. So we furlough and layoff people, causing them to be more frugal with their dollars, causing - you guessed it - even less tax revenue. When will it end? Time will tell.

Compositional Insight

2009-06-16T14:45:00.001-07:00

Well, since composing music is supposed to be my main thing, or at least the thing I've spent oodles and oodles of time at in order that I can receive pretty pieces of paper which are eventually framed and put up on a wall, it only seems fitting that I ramble on a bit about it.

Writing philosophies are more common, I guess, in literary circles. One mantra suggest that you should write what you know. Another suggests that a writer writes, always. I don't know who came up with those. They don't really apply to music composition, at least not exactly.

Reflecting back on my undergrad days, it seems that I wrote what I didn't know, or at least the idea was to try and write for as many different things as possible, in order to gain experience and knowledge at writing for different instruments and instrumentations. Compositions were thus more akin to exercises than to being 'works of art'. Looking back, I don't think that many of the things I wrote as an undergrad were very good. It was common for me to struggle over this project or that project, only to have it hastily rehearsed and performed, and then promptly tossed aside. Maybe that's all they were worth. Learning experiences.

That was over ten years ago.

Nowadays, I find that I judge the quality of my work by how often it gets put in front of real live people, in front of audiences. To me, having a piece that I slaved over for months performed only once in concert is a failure. Why put so much effort into it if that is the extent of its life?

Not that all of the pieces I've written as a graduate have been played more than once. Many have; but some were still failures as such. Of course, that's okay, one needs failures in order to succeed, I guess. And all of my failures have helped to make me a better composer, just as the successes have. But what is it that really makes a piece "successful"? Obviously that's a rather subjective topic.

For me anyway, I've had the same philosophy, more or less, since my undergraduate days. Each piece I write has two fundamental goals - to be interesting for the performer and to be interesting for the listener. I find that if I'm able to reach both of those lofty goals, the piece tends to be more successful. Of course there's lots of other little tidbits that go into each of those broad goals. I'm still learning some of them. But it's a good place to start.

Drum Corps?

2009-06-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend was the opening weekend of the 2009 drum corps season. Apparently. Who knew? It's funny how times change, how priorities in our lives can become so drastically changed over time.

For a lot of last decade, more or less from 2000-2007, I was eating, sleeping, and drinking drum corps. I was one of those folks spending hours in the chat rooms, every day, gossiping and checking on gossip, and generally commenting on and arguing about things which really didn't matter much. Not a day went by that I didn't check scores or schedules, or stats or picture postings or whatnot. It was an all-consuming passion that took up all of my time and most of my money. And part of my soul.

Nowadays - nothing. No passion. It's like that whole world doesn't matter to me anymore. I'm far too busy these days getting paid to play music as opposed to paying to play it (or even paying just to see it).

I haven't made any plans to attend any drum corps show anywhere this year, not even when they broadcast the quarter finals in the Regal theatre which is a 10-minute walk from my house. Granted, how could I with the performance schedule I now maintain? We use to perform at seven shows per season when I was involved with the River City Regiment - the drum corps child I created and helped keep alive for several years with time, sweat, and money.

Now I perform seven shows a week. Who has time for anything else?

Admittedly, from time to time I still check up on the Drum Corps Planet forums, just to see what's going on. Is the great debate over the latest rule change proposal over? Is every corps still begging for members to come join? Are they still all broadcasting with pride over every event their group has planned for the season? Are they still arguing the pros and cons of everybody else's show? Is someone somewhere still grumbling about how someone else referred to drum corps or marching music in general in a derogatory light?

Yes, it's still all there. Just like I never left. Some things never change. But I did, I moved on, and it's time for other adventures.

Money and Musicals

2009-06-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm pretty fortunate. Amidst the current recession that's engulfing our economy, with the housing market crashing and unemployment at an all time high, and the state of California a hair's breadth away from bankruptcy, I'm actually doing better financially now than at any other time since 2000. Of course, a lot of financial problems for me personally around the turn of the century had to do with the now defunct drum corps that I had the ridiculous notion - the dream - to create. And since then, a lot of what I've been doing financially has revolved around recuperating from that disaster.

But nowadays, in addition to my full time job at the Department of Music at Sacramento State, I'm also playing full time for the California Musical Theatre production of Forever Plaid. And this is a big thing for me. It's a professional gig - one of not very many - although I've never seen myself as a 'professional' bassist. Still don't. But it's fun, it's do-able, and right now it's helping to pay chunks off of my bills.

It's funny how life can work itself out sometimes. I was never much into musicals going through high school, nor even in college. Sure, I went to a few here and there over the years, and played in one in high school once. But it just never was part of my life.

It was in 2006 - seven years after I graduated from college - that I happened to go see a production of Baby put on by Runaway Stage Productions. One of my friends was in the orchestra. Well, as it turns out, several people whom I knew were in the orchestra. After a random comment following the show to one of those old friends - who happened to be the orchestra contractor as well - to the effect of, "If you ever need a bass player let me know", I was drafted into that world and began playing again. It had been seven years since I had played anything! But there I was, part of a group, playing for fun and making just a little bit of money on the side. Good times.

You meet a lot of people in this type of endeavor, do a lot of networking, whether you realize it or not. Often this unrealized networking appears, in retrospect, to be merely 'coincidences'.

After my seven-year hiatus from playing bass, after getting drawn into musical theater, it was a lot of little random coincidences that eventually brought me to Forever Plaid, to where I am now, financially stronger. And happier.

I had met Chelsea through the drum corps. She just happened to be playing musicals for Garbeau's, another now-defunct company. She happened to meet Chris there, the pianist who also happened to work for the Theatre Department at Sacramento State where she was a student and I was on the staff. Chris happened to hire her to play a musical at Sac State, 42nd Street, and she happened to need a sub, and just happened to call me. I met Chris there, who just happened, sometime later, to get a real good gig at the 'new' Cosmopolitan Cabaret playing Forever Plaid.

Chris had phoned me about doing this gig in the fall of 2008, but with everything I had going on with work and graduate school, I just couldn't commit to it. I later regretted turning down such an awesome opportunity. But as things go, he just happened to bring Chelsea on board, and she subsequently just happened to bring me onboard as her sub. Then in the spring of 2009, for various reasons I won't go into here, Chelsea had to leave the show, and I became the full time player all of the sudden.

Where will it go from here? Who knows. Plaid will be running until September 6, and then a new show that doesn't involve live musicians will be in. So the fall is looking like a break for me, from playing anyway. I guess it will be time for me to hit the books again, and see if I can't get a few steps closer to that Master's degree.

The scuttlebutt is that the Cosmopolitan will be running 14 week shows then, as opposed to open runs. Which means that there would be three shows per year there, basically. I doubt very highly that they will stray away from having live music for too long. So you never know...I could be on stage again.

Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

2009-06-13T10:05:00.000-07:00

I've decided that I'm a fan of Double Chocolate Chip Muffins. Not so much that I would add an 'become a fan of' posting to my Facebook Page. I know people who do that, who will 'become a fan' of just about anything - cereal, TV shows, breathing. It seems you can be a fan of anything online, unlike the pre-computer-technology days where you could only be a fan of your local sports teams.

I was at the Cosmopolitan Cabaret yesterday, where I am most days since I'm playing seven shows a week of Forever Plaid, and decided that it was high time to walk across the street to Hana's deli for a snack. Really, I was just a little bored and a lot tired. But the highlight of my day was when I discovered that they were now carrying Otis Spunkmeyer muffins. For only 99 cents! How could I resist that chocolate bliss?

It certainly wasn't my first encounter with double chocolate chip muffins. But recently, I've been reading various novels by Kurt Vonnegut, whom most of you probably know as the author that forced you to read Slaughterhouse Five in high school. He as a unique gift for storytelling, actually, and of combining humor and satire about life as an American and indeed about life as a human being. One of his many philosophical quotes was something to the effect of telling us to notice when life was good. And, really, double chocolate chip muffins are good.

They remind me of Disneyland, really, for it was on one of my trips to the Happiest Place on Earth not so long ago that I decided it was high time to branch out a little and start trying more of the delectable treats that the kingdom has to offer. It used to be theme parks only offered the standard fried fare, hot dogs and hamburgers and french fries and soda, and so on. Not anymore. Now there's a plethora of edibles to suit any taste.

I started off simply, however. On the way out of the park late one evening, we stopped at the Blue Ribbon Bakery on Main Street, just to get a little midnight snack as it were, before stumbling back to our hotel. And there they were - double chocolate chip muffins! So I got one. And it was good. And ever since - it's become a tradition now - when it's time for me to say goodbye to the park each night, I get a muffin on the way out. Talk about heaven! Well, these days we have to take the pleasures we get when we can get them. We have to notice when life is good.