Here's a little more about me, since the section below doesn't give you much space!

I'm 40 years old, and work as Director of Bands at McMurry University, a small college in Abilene, TX. I'm spending more and more time in Oklahoma City for family reasons, and that trend will definitely continue.

I'm a musician, not only by profession, but as a function of who I am as a person--it permeates my soul! I'm trained as a classical musician and conductor, but love jazz and popular music too. My listening list is VERY diverse, and I'm working on my performance abilities in many areas.

After 15 years giving serious effort to a marriage with a really good woman, it became clear that my life needed to take a different direction. I'm near the end of a low-drama divorce, and anticipate a smooth completion to that process in the near future. We have not lived in the same town for months, and have no children, so my daily life is relatively uncomplicated. I am taking things very slowly at this point, seeking a normal existence based on family, quality friendships, and the understanding that I am responsible for my own happiness and fulfillment.

Let's see...things I'm proud of in my past...

• relationships with my family and friends
• getting a doctorate
• running a marathon
• being published in a book
• teaching lots of students and being a positive force in their lives
• soloing with a professional symphony
• taking my college band to Italy this past summer
  

There are still many things want to accomplish in life, but more and more, those are becoming about people instead of things that boost my ego or put a plaque on my wall. That being said, I do want to publish my OWN book some day, and want to complete a triathlon!

I'm rather social by nature, but also enjoy my solitude from time to time. I enjoy making others laugh and love giving my students ideas that rock their intellectual worlds. I think and feel very deeply, and have a VERY busy brain, so being close to me takes lots of energy. Fortunately for me, my friends seem to think it's worth it.

At this point, I'm in the best physical shape of my life (I feel like I'm 25!), have developed the confidence and awareness to continue becoming the person I dream of being, and look forward to whatever lies ahead!

I finished! It took me 5 hours and 26 minutes and I finished 149th in my division (male age 35-39), but I finished!

Now time to get back on the road to get ready for the next one!

It's been a pretty steady haul since January. I'm teaching what amounts to a 25% overload (NEVER again), so I have been really bad about correspondence. Sorry, friends!

OKC Marathon training seems to be going well enough for a rapidly aging, never very athletic in the first place, extremely busy guy. (I hate it when people whine about how busy they are, so I'll stop). My 18-mile training run went pretty well 2 weeks ago. This week's long run pretty much sucked, but I think I was under-fed and under-rested. The 20-miler is this weekend. If I can get through that one OK, I think I'm pretty much set for the event at the end of April!

It's that time of year when we have concerts and recitals to wrap up our year. Our departmental Collage concert is tonight, which is veyr cool. We choreograph the whole thing so that there is an hour of non-stop music. Band starts on stage, and as soon as they finish their song, lights go down and a spotlight appears on another performer elsewhere in the auditorium, then straigh to another..you get the picture. It's a pain to put together, but definitely worth it. All the university administration and dignitaries show up, and the students love it.

If you want to hear my band, check the McMurry Band Myspace page.

School started just a little early for my taste, primarily because the kitchen remodel isn't finished yet. We are living in a quasi-chaotic state because all the appliances are in the dining room until I can finish installing the tile. I'll post more pictures of the kitchen when I finish. If you only find a picture of me, coated in what appears to be a thin layer of concrete tile adhesive, you'll know it got ugly.

I just discovered that the Sopranos book is coming out February 16th, instead of some time in March. I'm very excited! In case you missed it in an earlier post, I contributed one of the chapters to the upcoming book, Reading The Sopranos : Hit TV from HBO. My chapter is entitled Gangstas, Divas, and Breaking Tony's Balls: Musical Reference in The Sopranos. I've been spending some energy recently doing some analytical work on music in pop culture (specifically, television). I gave a lecture at the Slayage Conference on Buffy the Vampire Slayer  (a real scholarly conference--not a fan convention) in 2004, connecting the Buffy musical episode to the operas of Mozart and Wagner. You can read about it here.  I've been invited back to present at the Slayage Conference on the Whedonverse  this May. Joss Whedon is the creator of Buffy, Angel, and a cool but short-lived sci-fi series called Firefly. At this point, I plan to talk about Whedon's portrayal of technology in some of his different television series, but I may resubmit something musical, just to stay with my strength. I doubt this "recreational scholarship" will do anything to help me get tenure, but it keeps me off the streets.

Classes at McMurry are going well, although I am teaching about a 25% overload again this semester. This term, I'm teaching Conducting, Music Education Practicum, Woodwind Methods, studio clarinet, saxophone, oboe, and bassoon, and I'm conducting the Symphonic Band. I'm working my butt off but enjoying it tremendously. Michelle is in the same boat, with almost 30 private flute students in addition to teaching Music Appreciation at McMurry. We both love our students, so that makes it great, even when it's hard.

I love that our students are quirky and interesting in a world where, to be candid, most people are boring, shallow, and predictable. A case in point, I ganked the following from one of my student's blogs. I thought it was really funny:

I really need to send this to Betsy Ballard. If anyone sees her, please tell her I said "hi."