Yet another season underway...

I've been at the Children's Orchestra Society as Assistant Conductor for over 6 years now... and as I think about how the years have passed, I marvel at the changes in both the group and myself.

Sometimes the years pass quickly, sometimes they pass painfully slowly.

Each year, a group begins raw, a hodge-podge of collective experience/ inexperience, skill/non-skill, enlightened/unenlightened, some new and some older. As each year passed, those groups came together for a common goal of learning the language of music, and having a successful concert... Sometimes the journey was easy, sometimes it was very hard, but the journey was always made, and for the most part, successful.

When I think about the concerts that are done by everybody, I'm always reminded that most (as in the audience) see only the final finished product. It's exciting, and inspiring, to see young musicians do their very best. The young members of the audience may even join our programs based on the wonderful performance they've seen.

Occasionally, some get discouraged, because when the season starts, it's that raw, sometimes unpleasant sound, of an orchestra that's put together anew. Rebirthing pains, if you will. Some even want to leave based on the first rehearsals... They failed to understand and take into account that what they saw before was a finished product. They weren't there when the blood, sweat, and tears were expended in each and every single rehearsal in a long season.

That's okay. The ones that do stay become better musicians.... forever transformed and strengthened and tempered by the rigors of working with many to play as one with a common goal.

It looks like it'll be a good year....

whoa.

It's been a while since I posted, eh? Have some cat pics.

A batch of newer Nabi pics

GROWL

Be wary of companies that won't let you discontinue your service online.... I had to call XM Radio to cancel my service (Gas prices don't really justify $156/year), since I also don't really listen to it much. They had an automated voice-activated computer that had none of the options I needed. Then, when I finally got a real person, they transferred my call like 4 times (one time I could swear they must have been in China), despite the fact that I specifically wanted to go to the cancellation department. When I finally got to the last guy, he tried to sell me even MORE service, either to myself or my "friends".

I think I got it cancelled... but if I didn't, and I see a charge on my card, THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY.

Ken and QQ the Dog

I was messing around with this program called "Comic Life" that came with my MacBook... this is the first little comic I made with it. It's a fascinating program that's rather intuitive to use. This little comic is about one of my first encounters with "QQ", one of my girlfriend's dogs. Click for a larger image. :)

QQ is one of the cutest dogs I've ever met... very adorable. He is very loving of humans, as you can see.

Skater lands in a real bad way. OUCH!

These crazy kids... I hope he was wearing a cup....

Ken sez.....

"While humble, be capable. While capable, be humble."

Favorite Quotes from Theodore Roosevelt

This is some of the quotes of his that in the American Museum of Natural History...

MANHOOD

"A man's usefullness depends on living up to his ideals insofar as he can.

It is hard to fail but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.

All daring and courage, all iron endurance and misfortune, make for a finer nobler type of manhood.

Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die, and none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy of life and the duty of life."

Victim of the Switch

I've become a Mac enthusiast once again... :) Just bought a MacBook (the cheapest one) and it's awesome. Excellent design, decent application speed, great battery life...

Installed Finale 2006d on it, works like a charm. :) At some point I'll try working with some of the GarageBand software and stuff.

PCs are still king of games, but Mac OSX... is excellent.

Fire Fart

Oh... My....

ARGH.

Installed the new Internet Explorer 7 Beta v3, but it kept crashing and crashing over and over. So after much teeth-gnashing and internet research (using Firefox... it's much more stable... ha), it turns out that Google Desktop (which I don't like all that much anyway) was conflicting with some thingamabob called mshtml.dll.

Uninstalled G-Desktop, and suddenlty everything works perfect again. Heh.

Cuteness explosion!

Cat barrage!

These are some fairly recent pictures... as you can definately see, Nabi has made a nearly full and miraculous recovery! He's subject to daily fluid injections and some pills and tonic, but other than that, he's becoming as peppy as a kitten!

Chabi, of course, is a very cute, but obese cat. No danger of that cat starving for now. :)

Back, with music video!

Sorry about the hiatus, just had a lot of stuff going on. But this is a selection from this year's JSE group. They really came through like troopers!

As far as my training goes, it had been going nicely, until the entire morning Muay Thai class caught a ringworm skin infection... I only had a tiny spot, because it was caught and treated early, but some of the other guys were not so lucky. I think it was either from one of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu players who also cross trains in Muay Thai, or it might even have come from one of the seminar attendees from last month's Ajarn Chai Sirusute seminar. As it is, I had to stop training for a week, and may or may not be cleared tonight to do stick drills. No hand to hand sparring for me, probably, just to be on the safe side.

While on hiatus, I've been sharpening up my piano skills! Mostly, concentrating on score-reading exercises out of the Morris & Ferguson book. I can now read alto and tenor clefs on sight combined with treble and bass clefs above or below them. It's tricky, but actually a fun exercise.

Famous repeated words, I know but... "will write more soon".

Hey, I adopted an internet kitten!

adopt your own virtual pet!

Try clicking the kitten and moving the mouse pointer around... hours of fun!

Ok, maybe minutes of fun....

Ok, maybe seconds... but still fun!

Good news

It is with great pride and relief to say that Nabi seems to really be a fighter. He's finally eating normally (though he has nearly 4 pounds or so to go until he gets back to his original weight). The dialysis treatment is working like a charm, as if the water was the fountain of youth or something. Apparently the incessant nausea and vomiting was caused by the kidney problems he has. With the dialysis, that nausea as since seemed to lessen, and hopefully in the future, just cease entirely.

I'm exhausted today because I went to one of the days of the 2-day Ajarn Chai Sirusute Muay Thai seminar. Let me say that while he's not a young man, he still moves like one, and is an incredibly effective, if somewhat brutal, teacher. It's like he's Guro Dan Inosanto's dark-half, the one who will say direct stuff, and is not afraid to tell it like he thinks it is. If he feels that you kick and punch like a diseased old woman, he'll tell you so. He certainly made a rather cruel example of one of the seminar attendees, somebody who was obviously more a wrestler than a striker, and was clearly out of his element. In the end, Ajarn Chai complimented him for making the effort and undergoing such stress. I learned a lot about proper muay thai form and technique, and I wish my schedule allowed me to go to both days instead of just one. Like any old man, he tends to get a bit sidetracked into telling random storys, though he does eventually wander back on point. The stories he tells offer great insight into history, technique, and personalities in Muay Thai.

Nabi update

Nabi seems to have more strength now... not enough to really run around, but he's hanging in there. The injections seems to be helping a bit. Hopefully with a little more strength, his appetite will be sparked.

A Very Difficult Time

Sorry for the absolute lack of updates... been busy doing the usual training and music thing. But it's lately been more than that...

Nabi, our beloved orange cat, has steadily been losing a lot of weight and energy. When we took him to the vet, it's been determined his kidneys were having difficulty functioning. Blood tests are still being done, so it might reveal more. The vet has given us some subcutaneous fluid injections that we are to do daily... in essence, it's like giving a cat dialysis.

Upon arriving back at our house after a 3 night stay at the vet's, Nabi has very little energy, and very laboured breathing. We're hoping he will pull through, but it's very touch-and-go. His time on our mortal plane might very widely, measuring in days, months, or years.

I have no religion. I cannot pray. I only have hope and tears. But those of you that do, that've been keeping watch on the blogs, please keep Nabi in your thoughts and prayers.

Kung Fu Rummy! 

Fainting Goats!

Concert from 2 years ago