Christmas break

Not in the literal sense anyway. But as far as college band is concerned, it's Christmas break. We had the last concert of the semester on Sunday, and there are no more rehearsals until the middle of January. Sweet!

Why am I in the college band even though I'm not a student? Well, our local college has a pretty small band and the director invites community members and faculty to join to supplement the group. And I feel kinda special because I fall under the alumni category... and in special, I mean it makes me feel old sometimes. Like last year on September 11th, we were having sectionals and I mentioned that I was a sophomore in college when it happened and what class I was in, etc. My entire section were freshman, so they just looked at me with wide eyes and one of them said, "I don't remember much because I was in the second grade." Wow. That made me feel like a super old 29 year old.

Anyway, after I got laid off in 2010, and after the instructor for Jazzercize retired, I found my 5:00's suddenly open. So I contacted the director and asked if I would be able to join. Certainly, he said. I went in one day to "test" for placement, although I knew very well that I would be last chair just because I was joining midway through the 1st semester. That's fine. I like not having tons of responsibilities to play high notes and stuff. Now I'm in my second year with the band and am principle second, and really liking it. The director usually picks pretty difficult music, so it's a challenge, and the clarinet section has 10 people in it this year. This is ginormous for the size of our band, so we're told to back off a lot.

But it also drains my energy pretty quickly, so I'm glad for the break. Now would also be the perfect time to break in some new reeds, as I'm still on the one I used last year. But breaking in a reed is a pain in the ass, so I don't want to. I'll have to suck it up though because I really NEED a new working reed. Blah. Why can't they come pre-broken?