musition's symphony

wake up!

2003-09-08T18:04:00.000-07:00

Rant & Rave

2003-07-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, I'm returning to Miami this fall to pursue my Masters. I'm truly excited for the opportunity to work with the MUMB again. In addition, Columbus wasn't my top choice of locales. I did have a good job working with a good friend, but I needed a change of scene.

In addition, my band, Island Ed & His Fiery Limbo Revue, has been quite busy lately. We're performing 7 times in the next month. Great side job. Too bad I can't do that for a living. HA!

Let's see what else. Nothing really. Hope all is well for everyone.

News

2003-06-25T00:53:00.000-07:00

Hey all... if you're reading, I have some wonderful news. I've been offered an assistantship to return to school this fall to pursue my masters. I'm SO excited. I'll be returning home to Mother Miami and getting back where I love. I'll be passing my story along to everyone soon. Bye for now

Is AT&T part of "The Man"?

2003-06-15T20:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was getting out of my Explorer (pictures on Toasty to come later) and dropped my cell phone. The case was severely scratched and the microphone was knocked out of commisson. I took it to repair shop today and they were able to fix the microphone (free of charge) but now the display backlight doesn't seem to work. In addition, there is a heavy humm in the background.

I thought, maybe Cincinnati Bell Wireless being formerly affiliated with AT&T Wireless, they'd be willing to lend a hand in offering support for my phone problems. Wrong. Direct quote: "Sir, we do not support any products sold or distributed by AT&T." My response: "But I thought Cincinnati Bell was a subsidiary of AT&T." Response: "Sir, technically you are correct, but the 'wireless' removes the technicality."

So I got on that new fangled World Wide Web thing and called up AT&T Wireless looking for solutions to my problem. (need new phone, no money) Obviously, I was mistaken in thinking ATTWS would be able to help my problem with minimal loss of funds. Existing ATTWS customers are not permitted to take advantage of online or store offers on new phones. All deals putting phone costs under $50 are reserved for new customers. So I asked the rep on the phone... "What is the early termination fee?" response: "$175" me: "Thank you"

So again, "The Man" has me and the rest of the United States by the balls. Do I shell out $100+ for a new phone or $175 for the early termination fee? Or, should I stick with ATTWS (who doesn't have any stores or customer service vendors in Cincinnati or Dayton)? Who knows... I know this... *insert Lethal Weapon IV quote* "The F$%# you with the cell phones"

Summer Vacation

2003-06-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

Today was a banner day. I woke from an evening of excess. Not my excess rather, the excess of a group of men participating in a classic right of passage. I'm not speaking of fraternity rush or the first time with a woman. I'm talking about the "Bachelor Party." This particular bachelor party was in celebration of Mike Alessandrini's marriage to Karen Kunkler. The wedding itself will take place next Saturday, June 21 in Van Wert, OH. A party town with a farmer problem. It should be a lovely affair. Full of shamelessly happy people enjoying the company of other shamelessly happy people. Enough ranting about marriage. It was a wonderful bachelor party with close friends, beer, and antics I'm sworn not to repeat. What is truly wonderful about this particular Sunday is the notion of being temporarily unemployed for the next two months. Summer vacation rules!!!

Merely two months long, summer vacation is the time when sad and exhausted teachers recover for the upcoming school year. When I was a student, I used to think teachers never went home and didn't have lives outside of school. I now know the truth and wish I could tell the students the truth. But I quite enjoy the fun in the mystery.

The Day of My Birth

2003-06-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, Eric is correct. It is the 28th anniversary of the day of my birth. Truly a huge moment in time. Dr. Emmett Brown of "Back to the Future" fame would characterize this as a "redliner date in history." HA! Anyway, I spent my birf-day with friends at a movie, "Bruce Almighty". Not sure how I feel about this "dram-edy" combo from Jim Carrey. Thank goodness I only paid $3.50.

The coolest piece of electronic equipment I've owned arrived late last week.... ie. Apple's iPod. Heck, I showed my parents and they thought it was "cool." Mom even said she wanted one... wouldn't that be crazy! It took me about 6 months to get them used to their iBook. An iPod would be WAY out of their league. It's a badass toy for a badass boy... HA!

Summer is finally here... school ended with a bang!!! or lack thereof. I have some major news for everyone concerning next year, but I'll wait till next week to post it. Tomorrow is Margarita Madness #1... or a fantastic excuse to drink in the middle of the day... Saturday is a bachelor party... let's see.. next week... NOTHING and glad to know that... see ya!

B-Day

2003-06-12T09:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Herm!

Waiting on "The Man"

2003-06-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

So... checked on FedEx tonight... no movement from Columbus "sort facility" since 3:42AM. Ahh. The last time I saw a message like that was when I sent my GA application to PennState in December and UPS lost it. I've found FedEx to be more reliable, but it is ground service... not next day air. Of course, it's coming from Wilmington, OH. About 1.25 hours from here. Patience is a virtue and I'm not paying much attention to it.

Talked to a good friend today. It's nice to catch up with someone you're not near in location, but close in presence. We're only seperated by 2 hours, but it's almost impossible to get together. Someday it will work out... Night everyone!

Life's Excitement

2003-06-03T06:27:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here in 2nd period at the middle school with my 7th grade band students. We're watching "The Three Musketeers" to fill time. Would have been outside playing kickball if the weather would've cooperated. Oh well... less work for me to do. :) I had another interview last night in a nearbye district. It went pretty well. They're supposed to notify me either way by the end of the week. A pretty good option... one job - band 6-12 - no other director. That's the most appealing part, small program with one person. We shall see.

I made a sweet purchase this week. I finally broke down to my desire for an iPod. I did not get the latest version which was released about a month ago. Instead, I was able to find a sweet ass deal from Mac Warehouse on the last version 20G iPod. $200 off the original price.... couldn't pass it up. Also picked up XtremeMac's Ultimate Bundle with case, cables, car adapter, car power, and buds splitter. It's very possible I could be CD free in 2003. HA! Thanks to Tim Kingman for finding the deal and Eric for bugging the hell out of me for so long. You guys rule!!! The iPod should arrive today or tomorrow and the bundle next week. Gonna be sweet!

2003-05-31T13:51:00.000-07:00

Been a couple weeks since I posted. Actually, 3 weeks and a day to be exact. Nothing has really changed around here. Got the end of the school year approaching, which is going to be a nice change. Not sure where I'll be next year... but we shall see. Oh, got a letter finally from Penn State. It said what I expected... "thanks, but no $$$ for you" That's okay. The unprofessionalism of the department had turned me off.

Still working on "Where is Joe Merchant?". I usually read at school when I'm not busy, and it's been a long three weeks. Should finish within the next week or so. As for what's on the palette after that... who knows. Maybe I'll pick up one of those books Eric is always reading. I'll become enlightened or something like that. Well... have a good couple days folks! (if anyone is still reading)

2003-05-09T16:50:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been over a week since my interviews. I haven't heard anything from either school district and nothing, I repeat, nothing, from Penn State. It's been a rough couple of months waiting for some type of response from PSU. I've decided to write a strongly worded letter to the Department Chair and Marching Band director. I'm not going to voice my discontent with their lack of offers, more the process in general. If I wasn't the ideal candidate for consideration, I feel it is their professional duty to inform me. Sure, I might burn some bridges there, but at $20,000 a year, that's a bridge I'll let smolder.

As for everything else, it's status quo here in C-bus. I'm hoping the summer brings new opportunities and a fresh outlook. Oh, I'm reading again... a hobby my mother is elated I've picked up. I'm currently reading Where is Joe Merchant?, authored by James Delaney Buffett a.k.a. Jimmy Buffett. I've read all three of his books before, but going back again has been a wonderful experience. Tales from Margaritaville and A Pirate Looks at Fifty are two wonderful novels for the troubadour at heart. Take a moment to read... it lasts a lifetime. I know... I know...

2003-05-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

So, here's the synopsis of my interviews:

Interview #1 (North Allegheny) - WOW! They slammed me against the wall. A fantastic district for music with giant expectations. I wasn't as prepared as I should have been for a job like that. I was able to take a HUGE amount of information out of the interview. I used that information as a prep for future interviews.

Interview #2 (Sidney) - I kick ass!!! I was completely prepared for every question they asked. I felt so good walking out of the interview. Whether they call me or not, I felt I learned and brought myself into the interview. We shall see what happens.

Well, I'm back to work today at "The Job". I love teaching... I really do. Hope everyone is having a fantastic week. Later....

2003-04-26T03:56:00.000-07:00

I must love my job to be up at school and ready to teach at 6:45 AM on a Saturday. Actually, the high school Women's Choir is on it's way to State Contest and I'm here in moral support. It's a tough prospect after a night on the town.

This weekend I'm preparing myself for two interviews I have this coming week. The first, in Pittburgh (I know...), with North Allegheny Schools for their Marching Band position. It's quite a step up from where I am now, but you never know... jumping off a cliff may turn out alright if you land on your feet in a barrel of feathers. The second interview is with Sidney City Schools. It's the "HDIC" job with an emphasis on building the marching band. Also a good prospect, but a completely different situation. We shall see...

2003-04-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

The last two days at work have felt more like work than anything... I gotta figure this "life" thing out... hope everyone else is doing well.

2003-04-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

Philosophy has never been an interest... but while I was in Toronto a few weeks ago, I was wandering around a book store. I came across this book. If you love The Simpsons or might have an interest in philosophy, take the time to read The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer. Mmmmm... philosophy.

2003-04-22T12:09:00.000-07:00

I have a question to pose to readers:
What causes stress? External or Internal events? How do you avoid self-induced stress? I'd really like to know.

2003-04-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking... I haven't listed out some of the music I listen too. Since this is a music 'blog, I should start a conversation or two with info from my current collection. Let's start in the jazz idiom...

Dave Brubeck	Caribbean Jazz Project	Stanley Clarke	Harry Connick, Jr.	Miles Davis
Duke Ellington	Stan Getz	Charles Mingus	Buddy Rich	The Rippingtons
Charlie Parker	Weather Report

2003-04-21T16:48:00.000-07:00

There's always a place we'd rather be... and for me... it's always Key West. Someday... I'll be that guy, living off the land (or gig money), starving, but waking up under blue skies and smelling the ocean. ahh...

2003-04-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

I belong to a Columbus music forum which has all kinds of stuff relating to Cbus and music. (Makes sense.....) Well, there's this dude, LyNChMoB. He is the most persistant loser I've ever seen... check out some of his posts....

Numero Uno

Numero Dos

From LyNChMoB Haters...

2003-04-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

Back to work today.... thank goodness only 30+ days left. It's been an interesting 2nd year of teaching. I'm truly glad I have the best summer job in the world... Wanting to know what is... Island Ed & His Fiery Limbo Revue It gives me a taste of what a real professional musician feels like.

2003-04-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

Guess I should start out and put something music related here... Tower of Power, Oakland's soul powerhouse, is currently traveling the nation. I've been lucky enough to see a performance. I recommend to anyone seeing this institution in R&B/Soul/Funk music. I'm hoping they'll be touring for another 10 years...

2003-04-20T19:21:00.000-07:00

Hey!!!! My weblog is finally online. Thanks to a little help from Eric Case. Now, I can just blog to my heart's desire. I'll fill this place with my mindless thoughts, music reviews, and just about anything I can think of... more posts to come.