Yes, that is not an entire key.....

Today was interesting...

Kate had her first 5 a.m. shift. She first got up at 4. She was gracious enough to let me sleep until about 4:40 when I had to take her to work. After getting back I was unable to get back to sleep. I think this is the longest I have been awake since traveling to Europe a few years ago. Sad, I know, but it's true.

After Kate got off work we went to Brigham Young Memorial site to take some pictures with me and my trombone (the park is just across the street). When we came back in this happened:


Not awesome. Luckily, the maintenance man was able to get it out without a hitch. It's too bad the maintenance man doesn't also teach karate, because that would be a beautiful 80's throwback that I would most definitely have to take part in! And then I would definitely have to dress up as the shower curtain for Halloween tomorrow night. As it stands, there will be no dressing up tomorrow since I am in class in the evening. Sad. That's ok, I had my share of dressing up last weekend (see post below about Halloween concerts).

Cheers.

Shostakovich 11

Last night Kate and I went to the Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall to listen to Shostakovich 11. It was phenomenal! This orchestra is one of the more underrated in the United States, in my opinion. The brass and winds are top notch. I was extremely pleased with the performance and now I am looking for a good recording!

New iPod today....

While listening to the second movement of the Wagenseil Alto Trombone Concerto in the car yesterday, my iPod starting clicking quite loudly. Since I was on the way to pick up Kate at work, I stopped in at the Apple Store just a few doors down. They would not see me, which I understand: retail stores are always busy on Friday nights. The thing that I found to be most strange was that I was not able to set an appointment for Saturday. You have to do it by the day. Very strange.
That was ok, I had the Halloween Concert Friday night anyways. Late Friday night/early Saturday morning I set an appointment for Saturday when Kate was working, so I only had to make one trip. 
I simply let the genius know that the hard drive was toast. He looked at me like I was an idiot and says "that doesn't happen". So, I handed the "genius" the iPod and let him play with it. After about two seconds, his eyes popped open and he says "yeah, that doesn't sound good". I simply said the exact same thing I had before with identical inflection "The hard drive is toast".
He fills out some paperworks and then goes to the back to get a replacement. The one he brings out looks a little thicker than mine, so I say "I think that is the 5th generation, not the 5.5 like mine". He says "no, this is the right one." Ok. As he types the serial numbers into his computer, an error message comes up that he isn't familiar with, so he had to get someone else to help. The 'help' states that the error means that he got the wrong iPod from the back. 
Jonathan 2: "Genius" 0
He went back and got me another iPod and all is well.
This bizarre customer service situation was nothing more than comical. I am amazed that such basic skill as listening to the customer completely failed this individual. 
Genius? Not today.

Halloween Concert 2

Tonight was the second of the Halloween Concerts. It went quite well. Here is a picture of a few of us in our costumes. 

From left to right: James Boyer (yes, that gladiator costume is made entirely from Coors cans, oh frats....), me on my trusty steed, Matt Laube as...... Matt, Lindsey Woods as a flapper, and Mandy Glettler as Cruella de Ville. Cut off on the right is David Balandrin as a communist. Great costumes, great concert.

The stars have finally aligned!

It has taken way too long, but my first masters' recital at the University of Utah is finally scheduled!
I will be performing works by Wagenseil, Hidas, Casterede, Grondahl, and Michael Davis.
The recital will take place in Dumke Hall, located in Libby Gardner Hall. (Northwest corner of President's Circle on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City, Utah.) at 5:30 pm Thursday, December 7, 2006.
Everyone is welcome!

Halloween Concerts

Last night and tonight the University of Utah Symphony Orchestra performs thier annual Halloween Concert. This year's concert features works by John Williams, Alan Menken, Gluck, Mozart, and Berlioz. Tickets are $7 for non-students and $5 for students. Tonight's concert is nearly sold out, so get there early! Pictures to follow!

October 25, 2006

Today was kind of a down day. When Kate and I woke up this morning she was feeling really sick. She has had some health problems in the past, so we didn't want to risk it. We went the IHC InstaCare here in Salt Lake. Several hours later we find out that she was ok. huh. Unfortunately I had to miss Orchestra and Wind Ensemble today. I especially bad since we have a concert tomorrow night. There is still one more rehearsal tomorrow, but still.

October 22, 2006

I stayed up way too late working on this site yesterday. I started around nine and worked straight to almost one. I got much of the content that want as of now. I still need to work out some kinks in the photos page. Right now it is very blog-y. I would much rather have it be thumbnails opening to larger images. It's not a problem, I just haven't taken the time to do it yet.

October 21, 2006

Today is my 26th birthday! I can't believe another year has gone by. I am up way too late too! Couldn't sleep.
 I have had a good birthday though. Kate had to work way to early at her new job for Old Navy. Even though the shifts start really early, I think she is going to like it. After I dropped Kate off, I came back to the apartment and finished reading "Speaker for the Dead" by Orson Scott Card. The whole series is so well written. It remains one of my favorites. After that, I got cleaned up, went to CompUSA to spend my birthday money from my parents! And I decided on the Shure e2 headphones. They have pretty good reviews and people seem to like them, so I thought that I would give them a try. They come with several adapters for different size ear canals for the best fit. I think that I have really small canals. We'll see. So far, the sound is great, but the comfort level is less than perfect. I need a few days for a true test.
After that, I got a haircut and then headed home to re-clean up post hair cut. After that whole shindig, I treated myself to a game of Super Mario World (I love emulators! So many great, classic games at your disposal without having to search for the old consoles, controllers and games!). That was fun. Once kate got off work, she let me open my presents! Yeah! (still a kid, I know!) Got some goodies! Then she took me to Texas Roadhouse for steak. Yum!! She sure treated me well today!
Thanks to all for the birthday wishes!

Today is my 26th birthday! I can't believe another year has gone by. I am up way too late too! Couldn't sleep.
 I have had a good birthday though. Kate had to work way to early at her new job for Old Navy. Even though the shifts start really early, I think she is going to like it. After I dropped Kate off, I came back to the apartment and finished reading Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card. The whole series is so well written. It remains one of my favorites. After that, I got cleaned up, went to CompUSA to spend my birthday money from my parents! And I decided on the Shure e2 headphones. They have pretty good reviews and people seem to like them, so I thought that I would give them a try. They come with several adapters for different size ear canals for the best fit. I think that I have really small canals. We'll see. So far, the sound is great, but the comfort level is less than perfect. I need a few days for a true test.


After that, I got a haircut and then headed home to re-clean up post hair cut. After that whole shindig, I treated myself to a game of Super Mario World (I love emulators! So many great, classic games at your disposal without having to search for the old consoles, controllers and games!). That was fun. Once kate got off work, she let me open my presents! Yeah! (still a kid, I know!) Got some goodies! Then she took me to Texas Roadhouse for steak. Yum!! She sure treated me well today!
Thanks to all for the birthday wishes!

The joys of emulation

The joys of emulation! Recently, I have discovered a great emulator for Mac OS X for the original NES. There are a bunch of emulators, SNES, TurboGrafx 16. Man, they are so sweet! The trick is finding ROMS that work. I have found a site that I will not publish here that has tons of sweet, free ROMS. Our favorite right now is the original Super Mario World. Add a USB game pad for $10 and we are good to go! Awesome! 
But then I realize I am just as bad at Mario as I was when I was 8. Sad, but true.