Back To Basics and Please Practice This Stuff....

"Take what you can and leave the rest..."  - My Grandmother

The new job is quickly getting old.  Today was the first time I was able to open up and start the day.  It's the same old thing with jobs like this.  Get into the rut early and then stay there because nothing ever changes and nothing really is a challenge.  (Except those damned cappuccinos...)  Needless to day there's always something about which to nit-pick.  The person in charge seems to think that having an opinion is grounds for insubordination.  I feel kind of sorry for this person due to the fact that this job has kind of become a lifestyle and they have, generally speaking, become institutionalized.  My career in education has led me to some wonderful days filled with excitement and quick thinking at every turn.  This job is definitely all I'm doing to pay the bills, and it's not paced like my career.  I wish, along the way, the two could merge and share like qualities but I don't foresee that happening in the near or distant future.  Oh well, 5:45am isn't so bad once you get used to it, but it's definitely not a perk.  (Not at all...)  Keeping my fingers crossed that something along the lines of my career choices will come knocking, but until then I'm going to continue to sling these coffee beans out the door...

Rehearsals have given way to sectionals and I'm finding it a little challenging to keep pace with the rest of the players.  Meaning that I don't want to regress and slow myself down to join those that have chosen not to practice the music in the last week and a half.  I know at some point I'm going to go crazy in trying to work with them.  I just wish that they'd wake up and understand how important things like this really are in their musical lives.  Especially those that claim to be "majors".  Needless to say, most of them are still being held back by their notes and basic rhythms.  Keep your fingers crossed that maybe they'll take an hour or two between now and Thursday to work on some of this stuff and make the effort for the group.

I hope everyone is having a great week so far and that life is great where you are.  Ciao!!!!

Spinney Rooms And Long Tones...

The last day and a half have been the most trying with the cast on my arm. Yesterday was the first time it felt like the cast was weighing my arm down to the floor. Keeping it elevated has been the best piece of advice so far. It really relieves the stress and helps with the "end of the day" soreness that has been creeping in around the break point and my upper forearm. Needless to say Tylenol has been a lifesaver as I'm not too keen on medicating with the percocet that the doc prescribed. So far I've only taken two of the prescription pills. Each time the effects are strange, spinney, woozy, sleepy...and I never really like feeling that way. So, I guess I'll stick with the Tylenol endure some of the throbbing.

Practicing has been a little slower than I would have liked but, as the trumpet is such a visceral instrument, I'm having to remember to take baby steps when trying to finger through some of the faster technical studies. Jazz is my love and I'm already chomping at the bit to get back on the horse...for lack of better cliche phrases...lol.

Anyways, just buzzing tonight and going to work through some long tone studies. Always a relaxing process are long tones and, with the upcoming gig next week, it will prove a great resistance measure taken.

The first run today down the highway was a unique experience as well. Running with this cast makes my arm tingle. It feels weird and I can only assume it's the increased blood flow that is causing the arm to feel that way. After a while I became used to it, but let me say that it feels very strange and other worldly.

The music is coming and I'm hopeful that the gig next week will be bright and successful. Until next time...

Ciao!

My World With A Pink Cast...

The world, one-handed, is one with which I am quickly becoming acquainted. Yesterday I visited a very highly renowned orthopedist who applied a cast to my arm and told me that things are going to heal up as they should. The cast is bright neon pink! (Hell ya!) Needless to say it was a great relief when I was able to move at the elbow once again. That splint was on for five days and it was a real downer to not pivot at the elbow. My upper arm is a bit sore, but another added bonus of the short arm cast is that my fingers are free to move.

Practice room here I come!

Thankfully I'm getting through the healing process relatively unscathed and surgery has pretty much been eliminated as an option. (Thank goodness!) So, with an upcoming gig on the 28th, the practicing issue will be fun no doubt.

Wish mew luck and hope for the best. More to come...

Ciao!