American perfectionism

I live pretty far outside the American mainstream.  I know very little about pop culture.  I don't have cable.  I don't have a smart phone.  I don't know anything about the Kardashians.

When I visit places with cable I often find myself glued to the set because I can't believe what I'm seeing.  This week I am with family for Thanksgiving and I am staying in a house where TV was on all day.

I should say here that I watched a lot of television as a child.  I was glued to TGIF every Friday.  In college I didn't have time to watch TV anymore and it's been basically the same way ever since.  I can't believe what it's like now-- Sitcoms, commercials and reality shows full of people without a flaw.  Beautiful white people with perfect teeth, perfect hair, perfect skin, the newest designer clothes, beautiful clean homes, etc, etc etc.  This is not reality.  No wonder kids grow up to think adulthood is such a disappointment.  If they grow up thinking their life is going to be like what they see on TV, any sort of life would feel like a let-down. 

I'm glad I don't understand or follow this trash.  My dad, a very wise man, is very much about going back to basics in life and I agree more and more the older I get.  I'd much rather read a good book, or -- better yet-- have coffee with a friend or family member and hear a good story, than sit in front of the television.  There is so much beauty in the world and so many stories to be told.  Stories that are more beautiful and more powerful and more vivid and dramatic than anything on NBC, CBS, or ABC.

I want to connect with people as much as I can-- with my students, with my friends, with my family.  Have you and I connected recently??  If not, give me a call.  I'll curl up with a cup of coffee and we can talk about something that matters.  Something real.

Happy Thanksgiving to my dear friends and family.  You make my life so vivid and so beautiful.  I have been so blessed to know you all.

new roads for exploration

I've been teaching at the new school for almost two months now.  That's going pretty well. 

Living in D.C. has been absolutely terrific.  There's so much going on here.  I have seen many concerts by area ensembles-- Choralis, Washington Bach Consort, Master Chorale of Washington.  I have been to museums and restaurants and festivals.  Last night I visited a haunted forest outside Poolesville, MD.  Today I breifly visited Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.  Absolutely breathtaking.  A different kind of beauty than the National Parks of the Southwest.  But stunning nonetheless.

I love living on the Maryland/DC border-- I love being able to get into the city easily on the red line of the Metro.  I love being able to take the Metrobus to work. 

One down side: It's COLD here... and it's that damp cold that cuts you to the bone.... and it's only October.  It's going to take some getting used to.  I wish my blood hadn't thinned quite so much during those years in beautiful Northern California. 

Oh, and I got a pumpkin to carve. 

Thus, far, a beautiful fall here in the Mid-Atlantic.  Looking forward of more good things to come.

an update perhaps

There are so many changes happening. 
Overall, life is quite good.
I don't know if I want to continue keeping this blog in existence.

The more life experience you have the more difficult things become to sort out.  Ironic?

a long drive cross-country

I have driven across the country several times:

• In 2001 I drove from Ishpeming, MI to San José, CA to start studies at San José State University as part of the National Student Exchange.
• In 2005 I drove from Ishpeming to San José again after graduating from undergrad. to begin my teaching career.
• In 2009 I drove from San José to Ishpeming via Flagstaff, Santa Fe, Oklahoma City, Warrensburg (MO), Indianapolis and Chicago.... then back to Flagstaff at the end of the summer to begin graduate school.

I arrived in Washington, DC two days ago after over a week on the road.  I was lucky that my mom was able to make the trip with me this time.  We left Flagstaff Wednesday, July 13 and drove to Minneapolis via Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota (Mt. Rushmore!!).  Then after two days in Ishpeming to D.C. via Ohio, Pennsylvania and (my future homestate of) Maryland.

Highlights of the trip:

• HORRENDOUS lightning and thunderstorms in Utah.  There is a beautiful scenic byway heading east out of Moah, Utah.  Unfortunately, we saw very little because of the heavy rains.
• Colorado and the Rocky Mountains.  I've driven this stretch several times but each time I am amazed at the beauty of the mountains.
• Mt. Rushmore.  It was my first time visiting and thought it was very much worth the time and extra driving.  Learning about how it was created is fascinating.  They didn't take what we'd consider normal safety precautions back then.  I can't imagine tackling such a large project.
• In Minneapolis I attended two days of the National Seminar of Hanbell Musicians of America, formerly known as AGEHR (the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers).  I will be teaching handbells this fall at Norwood and learned SO much and met some wonderful people from Area III (DC, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, & North Carolina) who can help me with the 439083098 questions I have about how to teach handbells at the middle school level.  It's a good challenge... I'm excited.
• Being at home for a day.  Not long enough.  Every time I go home I realize more and more how lucky I am to have been raised in such a tight knit community.  I have been very much shaped by my experiences growing up there.  It was fun to see family and friends.  I even got to sit in with my grandma Palkki's card club (the Tilden Terrors!).  Such fun.

I'm now in the process of trying to find an apartment on the Maryland/DC border.  Wish me luck!

inspiration for a lifetime

I recently finished reading Long Walk to Freedom, the autobiography of Nelson Mandela.  Please read this amazing book.

One of my favorite quotes:

"I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there is mercy and generosity. No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite...Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished." - Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom

Leaving Flagstaff

I leave Flagstaff for the East Coast next week.

Inevitably as you prepare to leave a place you reflect on your time there.  These two years in Flagstaff have been so incredibly vivid and full of life.  I left the Bay Area after four and a half years and was, admittedly, a bit dazed by the smog, the traffic, the fast pace, and a very stressful job.  I came to Flagstaff with my Bay Area friends thinking I was crazy to want to live somewhere to remote.  I came to Flagstaff wanting despeartely to be awakened in some way.  

For those of you who have never been here, Flagstaff is in northern Arizona, about 2.5 hours north of Phoenix.  We are at 7,000 feet elevation at the base of the gorgeous San Francisco peaks (see below).  This area boasts the largest group of volcanic peaks outside Hawaii.  Flagstaff has about 50,000 residents (not including NAU) and is a strange mix of NAU students, hippies, lesbians, artists, Native Americans, "gun and country" types... the gamut. To combat some Arizona stereotpyes... No, this is not the desert.  No, this is not like Phoenix or Tucson.  Yes, this is a quite liberal area in a sea of red. Yes, we do live in a massively large Ponderosa Pine forest.  YES, it snows here... a lot. 

Living here has made me appreciate the outdoors much more.   In San José, you need to seek out wilderness.  In Flagstaff, it surrounds you.  Skiing was 15 minutes away, hiking everywhere, the Grand Canyon just over an hour away...

But more than re-awakening my love for nature, what has amazed me about my time in Flagstaff has been the people.  Outside my work at NAU, I served as assistant conductor of the Master Chorale of Flagstaff and also as choir director at Flagstaff Federated Community Church.  What I soon found was that there is just enough of that small town atmosphere here to be charming (rather than my hometown of 6,000 folks where everyone thinks they know your business).  Starting last spring, I couldn't go anywhere in town without running into someone I knew.  And I found that I loved that.  I loved that people knew me and that we could exchange pleasantries in the produce department at Safeway.  I loved not being a number in the Bay Area rat race.  I loved being a part of this community.  I guess what I'm realizing is that this community has become a part of me...

I will miss Flagstaff immensely and will try to take these lessons to heart as I move to D.C. 

 The San Francisco peaks in winter

photo credit: Brad McCann

 

The view from my first room in Flag.  Ponderosa Pines everywhere!

 

Working with the NAU Men's Chorale... a source of great joy and inspiration

 

Conducting the Harter Memorial Handbell Choir at NAU.  So much fun. 

new horizons and getting involved

Some downfalls to moving around all the time is that your friends don't know where you are.  It is also difficult to become "rooted" and connected professionally.  The main professional organization for choral directors is ACDA, the American Choral Directors Associaiton.  ACDA had been a vital part of my development as a choral director and it is a national organization which operates mostly through voluteer leadership.  There is a national office in Oklahoma City with a small staff, but all the national officers and R & S (Repertoire and Standards) chairs are volunteers.  Each state has its own ACDA chapter, and there are seven divisions which have their own leadership.  My goal is to get involved with Maryland/DC and Eastern Division ACDA.

I can't believe I'm moving to the East Coast in just over two weeks.  I am excited to start my new job and to explore D.C., but I can't believe I'll be leaving the west behind.  I've become very accustomed to life (far) west of the Mississippi.  I'm not sure how I'll adjust to humid, traffic-ridden D.C. life.  I do love the city.  Hopefully it will be a smooth transition.  I plan to ride a lot of public transit.

I need to get a website.  Putting that on the "to do" list for fall.

I am currently in process of choosing the repretoire I'll teach next year.  An exciting but daunting process, especially when you don't yet know the students you'll be teaching.  The learning curve this year will be steep.

I am trying to be more active in these last two weeks. I have been rather lazy this summer and want to get off the couch and in good shape before driving 2,300 miles (!!) to my new home.