Final IWS Concert of the Season

The final concert of the 2007–08 regular season for the Indiana Wind Symphony is this Sunday, June 1. This is the concert that ends up taking up so much of my time, and that isn't even for practicing.

We have some traditions at our final concert. We give out the James B. Calvert Award for the Outstanding Indiana Music Educator. We also give out the Bob Day award to the outstanding member of the group. I don't have much to do with that.

But we also have our annual silent auction at our final concert. Once again, it has fallen to me to hold on to the auction items that people bring in (though, to be honest, the only auction items I have are the ones donated by my parents). I also print up auction sheets by creating a spreadsheet and doing a mail merge in Word.

Another tradition, and this is only the third year for it, is for the final piece of the concert to be something big and to include a visual presentation (using PowerPoint). Guess who puts that together. It just happens to be the guy who copy edited the original Cutting Edge PowerPoint For Dummies. This year, the piece is James Barnes' Fourth Symphony, "Yellowstone Portraits." It's about 22 minutes long, and I'm having a hard time finding enough pictures to put it together...or at least enough pictures to make it interesting. I do have a couple of videos to include this year. And it's taking up so much of my time.

As if that weren't enough, I also have to assemble the program, which runs 16 or 20 pages. This year we even have an advertiser.

All this, and I have to play most of the concert, too. I'm even taking Friday off of work to make sure everything gets done on time. And I have two freelance copy editing assignments smoldering on the back burner while I do all this. (sigh)

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy doing these things -- well, except for the auction stuff, which is just a pain. But I think next year, I'll just sit out for the playing part of the concert and concentrate on the other creative stuff. Or maybe I can get started on the PowerPoint presentation in, say, January (or next week), so I can have it finished before we even start rehearsals for that concert. (Like that'll happen. I thrive on deadlines a little too much.)

After all this, I just hope the concert is a success.

Cyber-Stalking?

An update on the never-ending search for intellectual and emotional connection.

Last night on Match.com, I found a local musician that, for the most part, looks on paper to be just the kind of woman I'm looking for. She's a violist with a Master's degree in performance, and she teaches viola and violin in the area. All of our other stats line up well except that she posted that she was looking for someone who had never been married and didn't have any kids. I'm hoping she will overlook that, at least for now. I wrote to her last night and have been crossing my fingers that she'll write back (which makes it difficult to type).

This morning, though, I couldn't help myself. I started Googling around. It only took me about 20 minutes to find some more, real information about this woman, including her real name, where she works, and even her home address and phone number. Is this considered cyber-stalking? I hope not. I don't plan on doing anything untoward with that information -- except maybe to point out that there are a lot better pictures of her out there than the ones she has posted at Match.com.

But did I break "the rules" by searching her out online? For all I know, she could be doing the same. There is certainly enough information in my Match.com profile for someone to find me, if they really wanted to. It might lead someone directly to this blog. Hey, she could be reading this right now!

Hey! IndyViolaBelle! Drop me a line! I really am a nice guy, and my children are wonderful and gifted. I hope to hear from you soon!

(Sigh. I think that's the last of my optimism for the day.)

A Weight-Loss Summer

This summer, I will lose 30 pounds. I will lose 30 pounds.

Okay, with a little help from my froggy friends (or, in this case, from my toady friends) I hope to find the motivation to actually do what I set out to do this summer.

Today's weight measurement: an embarassing 206 lbs.
This week: More exercise, less chocolate. More beans, less cheese.

(Un)Health Update

I had a visit with my doctor this afternoon, six months after my last visit, and six months after being on Tri-Cor to lower my triglycerides.

The results: I’m very bad at this staying healthy thing. I have no self-control. Plus, I hate that I feel like I have to do it alone.

But, more specifically:

Test	Healthy Range	Result 8/20/08	Result 10/4/08	Result 5/5/08
Cholesterol	140–200	228	↓185	↑214
Triglycerides	30–150	226	↓146	↑197
D-HDL (Good stuff)	30–70	38	↑42	↑45
LDL (Bad stuff)	0–160	145	↓114	↑130
Coronary Risk	4.2–7.0	6.0	↓4.4	↑4.8