This week has been particularly busy (though not with work, unfortunately), but I'll hit some highlights. Tuesday night Kristin and I went up to College Station with a fellow OU graduate we'd met at the national championship watch party. It was OU at Texas A&M, and we enjoyed eating at a local college hang-out (Layne's Chicken) and then watching our team stomp the Aggies. The car ride home from a game is so much more pleasant when your team has won the game.
Yesterday I took Kristin to the airport for her flight to D.C. (she's attending the inauguration and an inaugural ball, tickets courtesy of a friend of ours who works for a Colorado senator; I'm glad she's going, because I know she'll enjoy it-- I, on the other hand, would stand there and weep, while dejectedly waving an anti-Bush banner) and then fought rush-hour traffic to get home for supper. That was about a three hour round-trip. Houston is so big. After sharing a meal with my grumpy parents (bad days at work), I zoomed on over to the nearby ATA Black Belt Academy, where I participated in my first taekwondo class. After joining the class for the keep-you-hopping (literally) cardio warm-up, one of the head instructors worked with me one-on-one to teach me some of the basic stances, blocks, punches, and kicks. I'll go for my second trial class on Monday, and then the new session starts the next week. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm quite ready for this financial burden-- given my continuing lack of income-- so I may need to delay my enrollment till a later session.
I got a phone call today from Matt, the guy who went with Kristin and me to College Station on Tuesday. I'd found out then that he plays in a band (which explains all his rapid-fire email questions about my cello-playing ability after he'd found out from this blog that I play), and so yesterday, to satisfy my personal curiosity, I did a little internet research on the group, which is called Red Monroe, and found out they're pretty good. (One is always a bit suspicious of the phrase, "yeah, I'm in a band." Frightening what the unwary could be subjected to. I know. I've played in a couple not-so-spectacular ensembles myself.) So, having already been impressed with their sound, when Matt called today to ask me to join them for a few songs at their CD release show in Dallas next week, I was able to answer in the affirmative with sincerity and pleasure. (Trusting souls, these folks. They've never heard me play a note. Of course, that's the job of a good soundman-- just mute that channel if there are any guest-performer-regrets. Musicians can be wonderfully passive-aggressive.) I'm currently engaged in making arrangements to go to Dallas this Saturday to rehearse, and hopefully I'll stay that night with my friends Chris and Christy (Christy's approval pending) and then be back in Houston Sunday evening in time to pick Kristin up from the airport. Since I have all of her keys, it's rather important that I return for her return.
So that's some bits of the past few days. Oh-- if anyone's interested, you can find out more about Red Monroe at www.redmonroe.com.
1 comment:
It doesn't sound like you'll have time while you're in Dallas, but we'd love to see you! Just send me an email -- maybe you could come see the new house?
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