01 February 2010

H..h..h...hello?

Geez, I totally let this blog fall by the wayside! Maybe I should bring 'er back to life and put more of my musings out there into the ether, as it were.

Been living in Tübingen for one-and-a-half years now. I love this little town!

Realizing that this will take some time to put out in writing leads me to think it deserves to be done later, when I am not so tired.

We'll see if I go through with it...

-the Doo

03 August 2008

Sätze.

I am bored.

Not doing much these days.

V and I are trying to find a new apartment in Tübingen while we both have summer holiday.

Today we found an open teaching position in the Tübingen area and I am sending out the resume ASAP!

This summer holiday time is not really doing it for me.

Don't get me wrong, I love down-time as much as the next guy, but too much of anything is not a good thing.

It's hard to get motivated to do, well, anything when has been so hot and humid here.

My bari is giving me problems - no surprise there.

I feel too old to be starting over on a new instrument, but the potential for tone keeps me at it.

Only three more days until my first complete year living in Germany!

10 April 2008

I am an April Fool.

Where did January, February, and March go? I need to come back here more often.

Things have been fairly hectic these last few weeks. I now teach two days a week at my job in Tübingen so I have to stay overnight at V's parents' house. That doesn't count the times I rehearse Saturday and Sunday down there as well with the sax orchestra. Needless to say I am getting pretty tired of living from a suitcase! Life will hopefully be better once we move down south to be by my job and her family. Some days I really wonder if when I look back on this time I will think it was worth it to travel so much. I mean, one must earn a living and all, but I am not sure this is the way to do it.

I am looking forward to the time in early May when I will be attending a Rascher Quartet workshop. Some of my friends are coming from Florida and that will make it even better. My German is getting ever better but I am needing more English interaction, especially in the realm of music. Sometimes it is hard to communicate complicated musical concepts through the language filter.

I miss my family!!! I hope GrooveSalad and Lis-bo keep checking back here!

06 December 2007

Buh?

Where did November go? I need to come back here more often.

I am really bummed out that I am unable to go visit my family this Christmas. Flying home from Germany is just too damn expensive and I wouldn't be able to stay long enough to make it worthwhile, anyway. I hope I will have a good one here with V. I know it is not going to feel the same, though. Even though the years of Santa and presents are behind me, it always has felt good to wake up Christmas morning in the house I grew up in. This year my family won't have me or the dog there. Double-sad.

The annual Christmas caroling is another thing I am going to miss this holiday season. I have been a part of it for at least 12 years now. Triple-sad. The holidays are supposed to be a time for family and good thoughts. I hope I can embrace my new family in some meaningful way and that it will be enough to get me through this Christmas.

17 October 2007

It's like there are several of me...

Life outside of school - what is it?

I find these days that my mood can swing violently in different directions. When I am in these different moods I feel almost like I am a different Doo. I find myself at times in complete contentment, especially those times spent with V. Other times I wonder why I am even bothering to draw breath. Now I ask you, is this normal? I have the feeling that most of you out there would say "yes".

Let's face it, life is not easy. It is not supposed to be. But the goal we all have, I think, is to try to be as happy as we can be for as much of the time we have been given on this planet. So, in accepting that all of this is true, how can I avoid plunging myself into throws of despair whenever something in my life goes wrong? How do I stop ignoring my problems by shoving them aside and occupying myself with trivial, non-important tasks?

I remember telling many people in Florida that I was sick of being a student and couldn't wait to do something different for a change. Yet, at times I find myself longing to go back there and take up the old life again with its own struggles, because it seemed easier than it is now.

I wish to streamline my emotional ups and downs because I can't handle these rapid mood swings forever.



Ich weiß nicht, was zu denken.

28 September 2007

I am typing on a German keyboard.

Some of the letters are in different locations and you have to use Shift just to add an apostrophy. So, if I happen to use one in this post you should be thankful that I went through all the trouble. Understand's?

This is another weekend that I am in Tübingen for rehearsals and teaching. Life out of a suitcase! Yay! Normally I would teach my lessons on Monday, but not this week. I am going back to Hannover early to see DREAM THEATER Monday night! That's right, I get to see my favorite band twice in the same concert tour!! I am so ready to rock!!! Hopefully I will post about it afterwards.

After typing all of this I have realized that finding the "Y" on this damn keyboard is much harder than the apostrophy. The German language uses few Y's.

Argh, that last one nearly did me in...

12 September 2007

Well well well...

...my life is finally going along in full swing. Since moving to Germany at the beginning of August I have used the past weeks to become somewhat acclimated to everything. Now I have begun my two jobs and everything is starting to run more smoothly.

I live in Hannover, which lies towards the upper middle of the country. One of my jobs is teaching saxophone and clarinet lessons at a music store/school called Musicus. It is in Wolfsburg, the home of VW automobiles. My other job is also teaching saxophone lessons, but I have to travel to Tübingen, which lies nearer to the southern end of the country. I get to ride the train for FIVE hours there and FIVE hours back every monday/tuesday! But hey, it's a music job...

This weekend is my first rehearsal with the Tübinger Saxophon-Ensemble. This saxophone orchestra is the organization from which I teach in Tübingen. I am excited to rehearse with other musicians again!

Okay then, it is a short update, but at least it's something.