being good to me

so, here we are - almost a full three months since my last post.  i have determined that i get busy with a lot of the wrong stuff, keeping me that much further from reaching the right stuff.  it's the obsessive/compulsive side of me (coupled with a mediocre work ethic and way too many full moons) that gets my mind fascinated with something while ignoring lots of other things.  i have had some time to myself to chip away at discovering what is important to me.  i realized that writing is one of those things.  


i also figured out that, after having a birthday this summer, i'm not getting any younger.  i decided to take my health more seriously.  by that, i mean take it seriously.  you know, have someone else look you over and break it down.  i began visiting a chiropractor, and that's been good.  i've started taking some of their supplements (not the sammy sosa stuff) and that's been good too.  i've tried to eat much smarter and much less, both proving to be good moves.  i am drinking way more water and, aside from the fact that i pee all the time, has been good for me. 

i began doing P90X, this workout dvd thing that i've owned for about two years and never opened.  it looked hard.  i was right - it is hard.  i have a small gym in my house (truthfully - a room devoted to weights and cardio only... free weights, bench, bike, yoga stuff, tv, big mirror) and have always thought i was taking care of business.  well, the dude in the video made it pretty clear on day #1 that i'm in some sad shape.  i have stuck with it.  i never miss.  i think about exercising, form, sweat, water, discipline, and pushing that last 10% when i would normally mail it in.  it's been good for me.  physically - yeah, i can do a bunch of pullups now, got the six pack in transit, and know what these yoga moves are actually called.  but mentally - i think i've learned how to be more focused.  


i'm trying to transfer these principles to my teaching and my own personal musicianship.  i took a gig that has flute doubles on it.  i own a flute, i can sort of play, i'm married to a world class flutist - i can do this.  i've eliminated some extra time commitments from my life that, although they do pay extra cash, deduct from my personal happiness.  i'm trying to cook healthier food, which means a racking up a bigger grocery bill and putting more forethought into what goes in the cart.  if i can make these types of changes in my life outside of music, i should be able to do them inside too. it'll be good for me.


and yes - i took some pictures before i got started.  if i'm brave enough and satisfied with the results, i'll post the before & after, which may not be good for you...

brand new skin

i got a bitch of a sunburn about a week ago. all over my chest and my thighs and my grill. man, it is RED. the gal i was sitting next to at the pool asked if i was going to put some sunscreen on, and i told her i was trying to get some color. she looked at me over her sunglasses, grinned, and laid back on her lounger. 3 hours later, i looked like i bumped chests with the kool-aid guy. i writhe in pain and do all i can to resist itching my my rosy skin while writing this blog.

the summer is full of projects for our family. home improvements (right now we've got some dudes installing a bunch of windows), car shopping (we test drove an '09 Saab suv), vacationing (4 week western swing coming up in a month), private teaching (sort of fun), and a whole lot of woulda-coulda-shoulda with our careers. despite the fact that sonja has a book coming out, i dropped a new cd, she's pushing for tenure, we're both headed to wyoming for some teaching, i've got a jazz band up & running, blah blah blah...it's hard to figure out where you're at in this world.

i want to be sure that i leave a quality amount of art for people to thumb through after i croak. sonja and i are both cognizant that our teaching is our #1 job priority and will in fact be a legacy of its own. but i've gotta tell you...the grass certainly is greener on the other side. friends playing gigs all over the country, traveling overseas, opening for big acts, touring, winning auditions, landing teaching jobs - all very exciting developments.

sonja & i take turns serving as each others' therapist (that's part of wedded bliss, right?) we pump each other up and put things in perspective. and we both realize that 1) we should probably bust our ass harder than we do now, 2) we should take a break more frequently than we do now, 3) we should definitely continue to be grateful for the opportunities afforded to us, and 4) our hard work and balance in our lives has helped us create and maintain those opportunities.

college teaching is a trip, especially in the music world. one-on-one teaching has its benefits but certainly takes its toll. the older we get, the more we realize that (as my mentor john rapson used to say to me) the race is not to the swift. we use the summer to shed our old skin and grow some new stuff and take time to enjoy the weather, hang with our kids, daydream about new vehicles, fix up the crib, watch each other grow and mature musically, and catch up on all of our law & order episodes.