My dad once told me, "People don't change, they just get older." Well, this statement fits perfectly in describing my band experiences over the past 18 years. Here are just a few examples (if you have ever been in a concert band, you will no doubt be able to relate):
There's always that one person who nobody likes, not even the biggest dorks. In elementary school, it was that goofy little kid who just kept to himself and really wouldn't talk to most people, probably out of shyness. Then in high school it was that goofy guy who played 3rd trombone or was the superfluous percussionist, who the nicest people would reach out to, only to realize he actually was really weird. In college, it was the 2nd clarinet guy or the 3rd sax, who some people felt bad for, but honestly he wasn't worth talking to because you couldn't carry on a conversation with him. As an adult, he's still there. He's in the back of the band wearing the weird t-shirts, not that good at his instrument, but he doesn't seem to realize that. And if you tell him so, he gets defensive, or he can't hear you at all. Aaahh.... the joy.
Then there's that girl who is thinks she is the most wonderful person in the world, and that all the boys LOVE her (she may potentially be not-so-bad-looking, but she's just so damn annoying). She really wasn't there much in elementary school, because "boys have cooties." In high school, she rears her annoying head, and she's the one before and after class and on field trips rubbing the guys shoulders and flirting with the director. She's okay at her instrument, but that's an aside. The only difference in college is that her shoulder-rubbing now occurs on band tour buses and in church basements, and there may be occasionally a little more than just rubbing going on... As an adult, she still may be flirting with the director, or you'll find her surrounded by the still-dorky young men in the group on breaks and before concerts.
Then there's the "one cute guy" who is constantly being fawned over by all of the girls. In elementary school it was that cute trumpet player or percussionist who also ran the fastest in gym class and got the best grades. In high school, he was also on the basketball team and played soccer, pure over-achiever. In college, it was basically the same as in high school, it's just that now he was the one cute fraternity guy that still held on to his musical abilities. As an adult, it's that well-dressed man, still pretty good at his instrument, able to hold a decent conversation, and probably has a gorgeous wife and three beautiful children. Probably also drives an upscale 4-wheel drive.
Then there are the "core band people," for lack of a better description. I did not like most of these people, and to be honest, still don't (at least not the current ones). These were the people who, poor babies, had been treated like dorks their entire lives because they were in band. However, in reality, they were really a hell of a lot more judgemental and exclusive than those who they thought looked down at them. They weren't really there in elementary school, but oh were they there in high school. They were the ones who were in band, choir, the musical, Madrigals, pep band... everything. They were never fully accepting of me in high school because I also played sports and went to parties and drank beer, and didn't commit my life to band. In college, they were the music majors who spent every waking hour in Bergendoff, in SAI and Phi Mu, and didn't like me because I was in a "social" sorority didn't make band my life (even though I had been in it as a freshman, as long as they had). Now, it's the ones who don't like me because I'm young and can't make it to every single rehearsal because I have a sick kid or can't find a babysitter-- even though I play my instrument and love music as much as they do. Yes, these are pretty blanketed descriptions, and judgemental, I know. But you've got to admit there's some truth to it...
I don't know what category I fell or fall into, but I just know I always did (and still do) things that I enjoyed and didn't care what people thought of me. I had fun playing softball and being in marching band, and also going to sorority parties and band tour. Hell, I missed Pref Night at Augie most years because I wasn't back from tour yet. However, after all of this apparent emotional scarring... haha... I have learned a hell of a lot. Facebook is an odd duck, and has taught me that some of those people that I wasn't a huge fan of in college have grown up just like I have, finding their own adult lives and putting the past behind them. I'm glad for that, and glad that I see them in a much more pleasant light now than I did years ago. There are still those weirdos, but then again some of those weirdos have the most beautiful families and are the nicest people. I wonder what years from now will bring of my opinions of the current folks I play with... Oh wait, I'm the youngest, I bet they'll all be dead ;)
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Okay okay, I'll start writing again...
*We went to Skip's co-worker and friend Tony's wedding on the 6th. Last wedding of the season for us! It was a good time, and I got to "recycle" my outfit from Sarah and Andy's wedding, plus a little extra "bling" in the form of a really pretty necklace I got at the gift shop at MCW. Bonus :). Oh, the shoes came off long about 7:00. On the 7th, we got together with Dwyers down in Lake Geneva for lunch. We haven't seen them in a while, so it was great to catch up. I did a serious double-take when I saw Delanee and how tall she is. She is a beautiful little girl that looks SO much like Melissa-- especially those blue eyes. But she definitely got her daddy's height genes! We strolled around LG for a little while before heading back up to Milwaukee. It really was a nice day spent with our friends, and then some more time just our little family.
*Preston had his 1-year (albeit a bit late) appointment on the 9th. He is doing quite well these days, walking like a champ and getting more words each day (plus some sign language). He's 28.5 inches tall, but only 17.8 lbs. The doctor wanted to make sure that there was nothing clinically wrong with him that's preventing him from gaining weight, so she had about 6 tests ordered. Skip said Preston had 4 vials of blood drawn, and 3 shots for his immunizations. My poor baby cried through the whole thing (Skip took him since I was at work). He was pretty exhausted that day and the next. Well, his tests came back, and everything is completely normal! It looks like he just is destined genetically to be a tiny kid, at least for now. In the meantime, we'll keep feeding him and making sure he's hitting all of his milestones!
*This weekend was a good one, albeit a bit tiring in the end. On Friday after work, Preston and I bummed around town after dinner doing a little shopping for some stuff, and Skip went to work at Sinai at 7. Saturday morning we got up and had breakfast and got dressed, then woke up The Bear (i.e. Skip) to take me to the train station so I could take Amtrak down to Chicago. The ride down was nice, and the train was totally packed, which was nice to see (Insert Obligatory Anti-Scott Walker comment here: I wonder if the proposed train to Madison will be as crowded as the one to Chicago. If so, Walker needs to quit trying to put the damn kibosh on that train. I digress...). I walked over to Lindsay's and visited with some of the girls before we headed to see The Lion King. The show really was great. The actors and singers were awesome, and the costumes in the show were pretty impressive. After the show, we all went to Quartino for dinner, which was also a fun time. Italian tapas and red wine is a great combination :). After dinner we went back to Lindsay's for a little while before I got on my train home. Well, after all that wonderful wine, the motion of the train is not a good idea. I definitely did not have a good ride home... At least I made it to the bathroom, let's leave it at that. Skip and the boys picked me up from the train station, then I got home and Preston and I totally crashed in our bed.
Sunday morning Skip got up to work at Meda-Care, and Preston and I had breakfast then got ready for the day before he went down for his morning nap. At my request, Local photographer UncleMichaelEckel came up to take pics of Preston. We went first to a new Vietnamese place for a pho lunch, which was quite tasty. After lunch, since it wasn't too nice outside, we headed to the indoor buildings at the zoo to take pics (thanks to our Zoo Pass from Mom and Dad Eckel, we're able to go whenever we want). I haven't seen the pics yet, but I really think Michael got some good ones of the little guy. It was also nice because we got to see the zoo almost totally empty of people, so that was fun. Anyone looking for a good photographer should seriously consider having Michael take their pics... just a little plug for my baby bro :).
We came back to the house for a bit before Michael took off, then Preston, Scotch and I went over to visit Skip at Station 5 for a little while. After a stop at Ziemers to get their mail and a swing through McDonalds, Preston and I came home, had a quick dinner, then totally passed out. It was a great weekend, so I wasn't a huge fan of getting up to go to work this morning, but such is life. Oh well. We've got another busy weekend coming up, with Knightwind dress rehearsal and Megan's birthday on Saturday (plus Skip has a show), then Sunday is my concert. Should be fun!
Here's a recent video of Scotch and Preston goofing around. Scotch sounds mean, but I swear he was fine-- remember, he's a big dog, with a big voice... He got a little crazy at the end, though, so I cut them off. Sorry it's sideways, I have no idea how to rotate in YouTube. :(
*Preston had his 1-year (albeit a bit late) appointment on the 9th. He is doing quite well these days, walking like a champ and getting more words each day (plus some sign language). He's 28.5 inches tall, but only 17.8 lbs. The doctor wanted to make sure that there was nothing clinically wrong with him that's preventing him from gaining weight, so she had about 6 tests ordered. Skip said Preston had 4 vials of blood drawn, and 3 shots for his immunizations. My poor baby cried through the whole thing (Skip took him since I was at work). He was pretty exhausted that day and the next. Well, his tests came back, and everything is completely normal! It looks like he just is destined genetically to be a tiny kid, at least for now. In the meantime, we'll keep feeding him and making sure he's hitting all of his milestones!
*This weekend was a good one, albeit a bit tiring in the end. On Friday after work, Preston and I bummed around town after dinner doing a little shopping for some stuff, and Skip went to work at Sinai at 7. Saturday morning we got up and had breakfast and got dressed, then woke up The Bear (i.e. Skip) to take me to the train station so I could take Amtrak down to Chicago. The ride down was nice, and the train was totally packed, which was nice to see (Insert Obligatory Anti-Scott Walker comment here: I wonder if the proposed train to Madison will be as crowded as the one to Chicago. If so, Walker needs to quit trying to put the damn kibosh on that train. I digress...). I walked over to Lindsay's and visited with some of the girls before we headed to see The Lion King. The show really was great. The actors and singers were awesome, and the costumes in the show were pretty impressive. After the show, we all went to Quartino for dinner, which was also a fun time. Italian tapas and red wine is a great combination :). After dinner we went back to Lindsay's for a little while before I got on my train home. Well, after all that wonderful wine, the motion of the train is not a good idea. I definitely did not have a good ride home... At least I made it to the bathroom, let's leave it at that. Skip and the boys picked me up from the train station, then I got home and Preston and I totally crashed in our bed.
Sunday morning Skip got up to work at Meda-Care, and Preston and I had breakfast then got ready for the day before he went down for his morning nap. At my request, Local photographer UncleMichaelEckel came up to take pics of Preston. We went first to a new Vietnamese place for a pho lunch, which was quite tasty. After lunch, since it wasn't too nice outside, we headed to the indoor buildings at the zoo to take pics (thanks to our Zoo Pass from Mom and Dad Eckel, we're able to go whenever we want). I haven't seen the pics yet, but I really think Michael got some good ones of the little guy. It was also nice because we got to see the zoo almost totally empty of people, so that was fun. Anyone looking for a good photographer should seriously consider having Michael take their pics... just a little plug for my baby bro :).
We came back to the house for a bit before Michael took off, then Preston, Scotch and I went over to visit Skip at Station 5 for a little while. After a stop at Ziemers to get their mail and a swing through McDonalds, Preston and I came home, had a quick dinner, then totally passed out. It was a great weekend, so I wasn't a huge fan of getting up to go to work this morning, but such is life. Oh well. We've got another busy weekend coming up, with Knightwind dress rehearsal and Megan's birthday on Saturday (plus Skip has a show), then Sunday is my concert. Should be fun!
Here's a recent video of Scotch and Preston goofing around. Scotch sounds mean, but I swear he was fine-- remember, he's a big dog, with a big voice... He got a little crazy at the end, though, so I cut them off. Sorry it's sideways, I have no idea how to rotate in YouTube. :(
Friday, November 5, 2010
Not feeling very blog-ish lately.
I haven't really felt up to posting too much here, just not up for it. So, here's a basic update of what's been going on lately:
* Preston's 1st birthday party was Saturday the 30th. It was a good time! He was a total champ with all the people, and it was wonderful that everyone who was there was able to make it. I know he won't remember, but it meant a lot to me and Skip to have all those folks there to celebrate our little guy!
* Skip's been working like a madman. He really enjoys his job, and the new hours are actually working a lot better for us since we talk in the morning before I go to work and he goes to sleep (as opposed to at 4 am when I was asleep-ish). The only thing is that he really is still low man on the totem pole, so his schedule is a little insane. Just wait for the holidays... or rather, the workidays. :(
* I was really angry at the results of the election on Tuesday. I don't think I was even this angry in 2000 when Bush won the first time. I had begun to accept that Scott Walker was going to win the governor race, which isn't the end of the world (not ideal, but it really could be worse). There are some deep-seeded issues against Doyle in Wisconsin that I hadn't been much exposed to since I haven't lived here that long, and I know that Barrett was a tough sell for some people. However, I just don't understand how a crazyman like Ron Johnson won in the senate. I understand people were tired of Feingold (which is sad, because he's a successful, BIPARTISAN policymaker), but Johnson? Seriously? It makes me feel like I am in a terribly uneducated state, and that people have no idea about the issues. I don't want to go into it more here, but geez. It's going to be sadly interesting to see how Johnson does over the next 6 years. Ugh.
That's about all I have to say for now. Maybe I'll be more verbose another day!
* Preston's 1st birthday party was Saturday the 30th. It was a good time! He was a total champ with all the people, and it was wonderful that everyone who was there was able to make it. I know he won't remember, but it meant a lot to me and Skip to have all those folks there to celebrate our little guy!
* Skip's been working like a madman. He really enjoys his job, and the new hours are actually working a lot better for us since we talk in the morning before I go to work and he goes to sleep (as opposed to at 4 am when I was asleep-ish). The only thing is that he really is still low man on the totem pole, so his schedule is a little insane. Just wait for the holidays... or rather, the workidays. :(
* I was really angry at the results of the election on Tuesday. I don't think I was even this angry in 2000 when Bush won the first time. I had begun to accept that Scott Walker was going to win the governor race, which isn't the end of the world (not ideal, but it really could be worse). There are some deep-seeded issues against Doyle in Wisconsin that I hadn't been much exposed to since I haven't lived here that long, and I know that Barrett was a tough sell for some people. However, I just don't understand how a crazyman like Ron Johnson won in the senate. I understand people were tired of Feingold (which is sad, because he's a successful, BIPARTISAN policymaker), but Johnson? Seriously? It makes me feel like I am in a terribly uneducated state, and that people have no idea about the issues. I don't want to go into it more here, but geez. It's going to be sadly interesting to see how Johnson does over the next 6 years. Ugh.
That's about all I have to say for now. Maybe I'll be more verbose another day!
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