Reasons not to teach high school

So, I was searching through my videos for something to share - and this popped up. Sorry about the cheerleader falls, we shouldn't laugh at that... but, the marching band stuff is just classic. Enjoy!

Home for the Holidays...

I have been back in the US for almost two weeks now, and I am totally loving it. When I got off the plane, it was great to see my Mom (and eventually my Dad later on in the evening) for the first time in almost three months. Truth be told, Mom got a little emotional, but that's ok - that's why I love her.

Had a few great days with the parents before Dad and I went over to Lawrence to pick up Mary. She came over for a bit while I had Lasik surgery on my eyes. Which, BTW - is one of the easiest procedures in the world. The initial appointment (preliminary) was about two hours where they deemed my eyes 'worthy' to do the surgery on. The actual procedure was only about 20 minutes from start to finish (with about two minutes total under the laser). I am not sure how many of those surgeries the doctor can crank out, but I do know that I am in the wrong profession for those kind of dollars.

Anyway, it's great to be back in the US. I am definitely getting used to driving a car, going to Target, and sleeping in a bed bigger than a shoe box. Today is Christmas, so MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone. We had a great day today. The whole family was in town (minus my Mary - she is with her family), and it was great to get to spend some time together and actually have a meal together. I know that these days are few-and-far between, so we really have to enjoy them while we can.

Not much else to report here. I go over to Lawrence to spend a few days with Mary, and then we are going down to Missouri to visit her family before we head to Phoenix for our little 'mini-vacation'. I said last summer that we should go somewhere warm in the winter. I was thinking about Florida to visit my mother's side of the family (they haven't met Mary yet), but we decided to just go out to Phoenix to scout the area for the future.

Anyway, more posts later on - hopefully before the New Year, but NO PROMISES! I hope that everyone had a great holiday, and that you all enjoy yourselves! I know I am! It is going to be hard to leave all of this, all of the people to go back to the land of coloUr. But, I am sure that once I'm there I won't want to leave either - I wish I could be two places at once! Merry Christmas, and a very happy New Year.

P.S. Stepping Stones for Euphonium, Vol. 1 - going to be on iTunes soon! Check it out!

Back home in the USA - a retrospective of the past 3 months

So,

I am sitting in the Chicago airport enjoying my internet amidst all of the chaos everywhere. The first flight from Manchester was rather uneventful, and the food was pretty good. Watched a few movies, read a little...had perfect intentions of getting some work done, but realized two hours into the flight that my work was tucked neatly under the plane in my checked bag. Oh well.

It has been a really great three months. I feel that I am a better musician because of being in England. I like that I am able to concentrate on playing, and feel that I am making progress. Some of what I want to concentrate on for next semester are my 'weaknesses' in my playing. Every player, regardless of skill, has things in their playing that they wished were better. I really want to concentrate on getting as few 'holes' in my playing as I can by July. That is the goal. That way, when I get to ASU in the fall, I can concentrate on the book-work (because there will be a pile of it) - and get my DMA off to a good start.

So, I thought I would share a few "observations" of England, and the way that they do things over there - sort of an "American's Guide to the UK" or a Top-10 things that Pat learned this fall, so here goes. This is in no particular order...

1.) There is more to the world than the United States.

2.) If you are ever in a foreign country, and you talk like an American - and you get into a conversation about politics. Say you are from Canada. Nobody messes with Canadians.

3.) The $ to £ ratio really sucks. Deal with it.

4.) When looking at nutritional labels in the UK, realize that they are always labeled in 100g measurements. So, if you have a bag of candy that is 300g - you have to multiply the calories by 3. Learned that one the hard way... ;)

5.) British people are nice, they just don't always show it.

6.) Not all forms of public transportation are created equal. This is just a fact of life.

7.) Spaces, just like the people, are smaller outside of the United States.

8.) Driving more than 100 miles causes people to really get cranky.

9.) Minced meat is one of the scariest things in the world. It's not natural. Don't eat it.

10.) When going to an Indian restaurant: if the sign reading "FULLY LICENSED" is bigger than the name, you need to find another restaurant.

11.) And, the number one.... No matter what the problem is: it's George W. Bush's fault... :-P

It's good to be home. More posts later, but this weekend I get to see my family. Love you all! Thanks for the support over the past few months! Have a great holiday, and a happy new year.

Strange - VERY strange...

Sometimes, you never know where your little CD will end up! I thought you might think I was making this up, so I took screen-shots! For those that are wondering, yes - I know that they are simply Amazon.com mirror sites, but it is kinda funny... ;)

The truth hurts... sometimes...

I know how you feel Jon, I really do... Hope you all enjoy this one!

Spelling Bee

See, everyone handles pressure differently... ;)

Sorry for the delay in posting...

Well, it has been almost 2 weeks since my last post. I was doing so well until last week. Sorry for that. Anyway, since Mary left me here in the UK, things have been going pretty well.

Everyone is ending the near of the term - and definitely ready to head home. Speaking of heading home, I am counting the days - and I am sure my parents are as well. I fly out of Manchester bright-and-early on Thursday, December 14. I get home to Evansville (with a little help from the time change) in the late afternoon.

It has been a great couple of weeks. Let's start with my trip to the Besson factory in Germany. Actually, the company that is making the new Besson Prestige and Sovereign euphonium is JA Musik, which manufactured Meinl and Meinl Weston tubas and euphoniums. I met a bunch of really nice people (some of which didn't speak a lick of English), and got to play the new line of instrument.

We got into Munich in the evening, and had a 3 hour drive to the small town where the factory is located. Basically, the entire town feeds off of this one business - it is a real sight. One of the most interesting thing is the hours that these people put into work. Everyone gets to work at 6am, which they then take a breakfast break at 8a, work until lunch, and then put in 6 more hours of work. A 12-HOUR work day! People in the US would be screaming 'UNION! UNION! UNION!' at that one! ;)

We stayed in this really small bed-and-breakfast, which I had some of the best breakfast I have ever had. Steve and I were the only ones staying that evening, and had the run of the place to ourselves. I got so wrapped up trying horns that I only took a few pictures out of my room at the boarding house. Pretty much the middle of nowhere, huh?

The trip was great, and I made a lot of new contacts in the industry. There might be some more news coming in the future, but I am going to keep a little 'tight-lipped' about that one!

The past week I was loaded with Besses concerts. I played two concerts with the band, and one with the Besses Boys Band, which is a training band for our adult band. The reason that British bands are so formulaic in their approach is these training bands. Basically, we have 3 levels of bands in the Besses. There is a youth band, which you start in. From there you can move up to the Besses Boys Band, which has middle school/high school age kids, and then the adult band which is made up of older players. So, a lot of playing the past two weeks, but well worth it.

I had the opportunity to play in a master class for Harken Hardenberger, who is a German trumpet player - very famous musician. I performed the 3rd and 4th movements of the Philip Wilby Euphonium Concerto. He had some great things to say, and even told me that I had a 'great sound.' It was nice to hear it from someone of his caliber.

Just to let you all know, there was a write-up about me on the KU homepage about my appointment to the Besses. You can read it by clicking here. A big thanks to Scott Watson for making that happen!

The new disc is doing great. Hopefully, a positive review will be coming soon. But, I do know that everyone that I've talked with has loved it! When I did the disc, I didn't do it for notoriety, but as a teaching tool that would useful - and it seems to be. Go me... ;) Just kidding... Go kids - that is what it is all about!

I am definitely looking forward to heading home, and seeing my parents and family. It should be a great visit home! Thanks to everyone who has been emailing me and keeping in touch! Thanks for your support, and I am looking forward to seeing you all soon!