A new post. . . several months behind schedule

I've been a horrible blogger. Life has been crazy, and so many things to update. I try to use my time wisely thinking I'll get around to updating this, and then . . . well, I get lazy, crazy and things sometimes also get a little hazy. No, seriously they do - I need to put some drops on my contacts.

Anyway, a new piece of information: Jon and I are in a new place now. We moved in the first of November. That story will be added - it's interesting to say the least. And I hope to put up some pictures, but want to make sure we have all our stuff in place first.

My job has been going well. It's unlike anything I've really ever done before . . . partially because it's a private school with so many different components than what I'm used to.

So, I plan to post soon some stories that I find interesting about the continued journey of living in New York City. I will also try to post some pictures of the new neighborhood as well as other parts of town. I doubt any of my original blog viewers are continuing to look at this, but I will indulge myself anyway with the stories of random subway acts, elevator fires, roaches, anticipated trips to Qatar, home for the holidays and the like. But first, a salad for dinner.

Harvest

Right now Jon is back in Parkdale helping out on the Pear Farm. I know I never really did much help for the family business, but I miss driving a little golf cart around the orchard. I miss the crisp autumn air and early morning smells of coffee, tractors, and hard physical labor. I miss the sounds of the tractors and the sounds of the pickers yelling, "TRA-CT-OR!" I miss watching my father in law stack bins of pears on top of one another with such ease. I miss the damp, dew covered grass. I miss eating not-so-ripe pears off of the trees, much to my family's dismay. I miss Jon wearing torn up blue jeans, a flannel and a ball-cap. I miss the beauty that surrounds this time of year in the orchard. I miss my family.

Zoom.

It's been awhile since I've blogged, and I don't have much time, but I'll post a little bit.
This past month I have been extremely busy with my new job as a k-5 general music teacher as well as the choral director for k-12 students. There are some minor things that frustrate me about my position and the school in general, but nothing too challenging. Interesting things for my avid readers may include that I am teaching at a very (stress on very) wealthy school. Tuition for these students is more expensive than my masters program! But one nice thing about that is with money sometimes comes opportunity. In January, some of my students will be performing at Carnegie Hall! I don't know if these kids know how exciting that is. Carnegie Hall is a dream! Also, I have met some "powerful" parents who are among a who's-who list in the music (and musical theatre) industry! I met with a parent who is one of the top record producers for a major label and I am teaching a student whose father is a Broadway producer. Pretty surreal - that also reminds me that I don't think I ever posted that I also taught music to Al Gore's grandson at the preschool. I honestly never guessed this is what I'd be doing when Jon and I moved out here. Needless to say it's been an adventure - one that I will most definitely write about this weekend when I have a few more free seconds.

Reconnecting with Friends

I have been finding lately that I can't distinguish any time period in my life anymore. It used to be set up like eras, Arizona era, High School era, College, Grad School, Ridgewood era, etc. And through these era's I could differentiate groups of friends, classmates, colleagues - like, "oh, Ed, yeah, I worked with him for a few years at Ridgewood. Julie and I were in the same 5th grade class" and so on.
I was on one of the popular networking websites last night and came to the realization that I can't do that anymore. It's as if Ed and Julie also would have known each other. Yeah, this is kind of a lame blogging point but I can't help but wonder if other people do that too. Anyone?

Age of Olympian?

I know there is much controversy over the age of He Kexin, the Chinese gymnast who surpassed Nastia Luikin for the gold in the uneven bars. Yes, I too, was saddened to hear that ties are not allowed in the Olympics. I have competed in many things that are judged in the same manner as gymnastics - singing & dancing are both subjective as gymnastics are. What bothers me is the fact that everyone is complaining (except it seems, Ms. Luikin) about the "injustice" of the medal decision. Yes, it sucks (for at least one competitor). But does it really matter if He Kexin is underage? Did she not do a remarkable job on the uneven bars? Isn't it even more remarkable if she is younger and less experienced?

These are just my random thoughts - agree with them, or don't. But wasn't part of the reason Charlotte Church considered such a great singer because she was so young? Just a thought.

Time keeps on slipin' into the future!

Yes, it's a Steve Miller Band song, Fly Like an Eagle. Remember when I had songs lyrics for my blog entry titles? That was awesome. I just reread my first month of blogs. How fast time flies. It's weird how fast time goes by, but at the same time how everything living back in Oregon seems so long ago. Does that even make sense? Have I written this blog before? Deja Vu? I don't know if any of my students or friends from Ridgewood are reading my blog anymore. . . I wouldn't blame them if they stopped. Time presses on and we lose track of people and friendships fade. Depressing, I know. But somewhat true - I assume it's all part of us evolving as humans. When I get a chance I will try to upload some pictures of some of the people I've met. Speaking of humans and people we've met, check out this link for a movie that looks profound (and I'm not using that term lightly at all). Make sure your sounds is up. It's touching. I'm positive you'll be moved by the trailer. If you are, leave a comment.
www.grassrootsfilms.com/thehumanexperience/

Carbon Footprint

So I've been thinking a lot lately about the environment and the impacts we each make by our choices. I'm not trying to lecture. There's a great site I just checked out called (you guessed it) Treehugger.com. The site is a useful tool to make sure you are using energy wisely. It has some good articles and even a few links so you can check out your own carbon footprint and the impact your household is making - not to make us feel bad, but to figure out how we can make our world a better place. One thing that would make a tremendous difference if everyone partook would be to use reusable bags, like canvas or your backpack when grocery shopping. I read an article that talked about how much energy is used to produce paper bags and I was extremely saddened. Anyway, if you're interested in this stuff too, check out the website. It's amazing to me how small little changes in our daily lives (things that we would barely notice were gone - or added) can greatly change the environment in a positive way.
Instead of just preaching, here are things that I want to improve upon myself: 1. Always using a backpack when grocery shopping 2. Eating less red meat (the emissions from cows is absurd!. I would like to stop eating red meat altogether, but we'll see how that goes.