a visit from the dreamgirls.

this weekend was absolutely incredible. thursday night i went to "where the wild things are" (fantastic movie, by the way - made me miss my parents a lot, however...) and came home to total weirdness. there was a postcard with an inside joke with my girls in the disney band on it in the clip by our door. i walked in the apartment (it's late at night, i'm not thinking clearly) and the TV was on. at the time, i thought i had just left it on, when it was actually playing the movie Dreamgirls. i'm thinking, "wow, i haven't seen this movie in forever" and then i look over and a light is on in the kitchen that i have never turned on before. by the time my EXTREMELY SLOW brain can process this, Jackie and Kristen jump out from behind my dining room wall.

a little background - in 2007, i did the disneyland all-american college band out in California. i got to hang out with the coolest people everyday and dance around playing the saxophone. Jackie and Kristen were the two other girls in the band. we were from 3 totally different places, and we were in 3 totally different places in our lives. but we got along better than anything ever. it was amazing, and we are still really, really close. they sort of complete me, in a way. i haven't seen them since March, and i really didn't know what i was going to get to see them again. and then they were IN MY APARTMENT. it was so freakin cool. i can't even tell how happy and surprised i was. unbelievable.

so they came to school with me on Friday. then we went to the Salt Lick for dinner that night, and it was spectacular. i had never been, and this place is amazing. we were lucky in that we got in right away, and we were inside out of the chilly weather. the food was spectacular - the company, even better. saturday J and K came with me to Waco, TX to see the kiddos i taught in the summer do their marching contest. it was great to see those kids. we came back and went downtown so they could see 6th street. it was a BEAUTIFUL evening - it was fantastic. sunday we went to kerbey lane for wonderful pancakes, then i played for evelyn and jack's conducting recital, and later we went the Iguana Grill for SAI/PMA dinner. the sunset was beautiful. the elephant room was also fantastic later that night. monday we couldn't do much because i was at school, and then i had to take them to the airport. saddest. thing. ever.

so basically one of the best weekends of my life. i want Jackie and Kristen to be here all the time. i didn't get anything done, but it just didn't matter. i had my dreamgirls here. absolutely amazing.

i need to do this again.

i've decided to try to get this blog-like thing underway, once again. good luck, me.

thought of the day - i truly, 100 percent, not-clichely, believe that people don't hear how much they are loved enough. just say something small to someone. right now. or in a couple of minutes. or tomorrow. just do it.

i'm in the middle of an assignment for my education class, and it's kind of blowing my mind. it's a bunch of curricular objectives, specifically for a middle-school saxophone student. it makes me realize how many goals i am actively working to help my students to achieve. i also realize the ones that i accidentally achieve because sometimes i have good instincts. then, there's the hard stuff - the ones that i forget about, and really should focus on. or, even worse, the ones that i think are too hard for students this age. but in all honesty, they really aren't that hard.

3rd thought - it is supposed to be 90 degrees for the high in Austin tomorrow. yes, i like nice weather in the winter. but 90 degrees, humid, and misting? gross. i'm looking forward to better temperatures in a couple of days.

also, i really like clouds.



alright. bedtime. peace out, dudes.