Hits and Misses (June 9-15)

Here’s a look back at the week that was….

HITS

• I am so thankful for the friendship and hospitality of the good folks at Bartlett Music. Pop has not been able to go to work since his accident a couple of weeks ago. For this pianist, that also meant that I could not get any work done. When I called Melissa to ask if I could rent a few hours of space, she immediately told me to come on as often as I needed to. Having a place to practice and the friendship that I have with Melissa and her amazing staff have done wonders for my stress level. I am incredibly grateful!
• Have I mentioned how good it has felt to get some practicing done? There’s nothing better for the musician’s soul and mind. I’ve especially enjoyed working on a little Debussy and Rorem this week…..as well as Bernstein, Copland, and Barber!
• I was finally able to get to the chiropractor after my European fall-in-the-shower incident. I knew I needed an adjustment, but I was still unprepared for the SOUND of all of my vertebrae aligning so rapidly. Looking forward to visiting Dr. Tyler again on Tuesday afternoon for a follow-up visit.
• Summer is always a time to surround myself with books and I’m loving it. This week I completed my reads of Divergent by Veronica Roth as well as Alan Walker’s magnificent biography of Fryderyk Chopin. Completing both books in a single week could only have one possible outcome — A TRIP TO BARNES AND NOBLE!!!!! Armed with a gift card from a student recital (thank you!) and my personal checking account (oops!), I made my way to Jonesboro to visit a different store and came away with 3 new novels and 2 biographies. So what have I got my nose in at the moment? I’ve enjoyed the opening section of The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands and plan to start the next book in Roth’s Divergent series. I sense some glorious reading days ahead!
• My Netflix binge continued this week. I finished season 4 of Madam Secretary this week and I’m patiently waiting for season 5 to become available in a few weeks. In the meantime, I stumbled across Parenthood and have become completely hooked. I watched season 1 in a matter of days…..I was completely engrossed by the story.

MISSES

• Now that I work at WBU, I’ve gotten spoiled to not having a major commute to work every day. It’s been a bit of a pain to suddenly have a 45-minute one-way drive daily in order to practice. I’m thrilled to have a place to rehearse for three hours each day; the additional two hour commute is not as thrilling.
• I am continuing to struggle with congestion that simply won’t go away. I don’t feel bad. I’m not running a fever. I am not suffering from more-than-normal allergy attacks. I just have a lot of gunk in my chest that isn’t very pleasant. Here’s hoping that a round of Mucinex will clear things up quickly.
• Geriatric medical care can still be frustrating. On a return visit to his GP, changes were made to Pop’s medication. Given his health history, that is worrisome. I was frustrated that a call wasn’t made earlier in the day to make the cardiologist aware of the change just to make sure he agreed with the course. I was pushed over the ledge when I learned that Pop cancelled an appointment with the above-mentioned cardiologist that was scheduled for Monday afternoon (which would have been the perfect time to discuss this medical change with him!) because Pop didn’t think he could drive himself to the appointment. What the heck?!? My brother and I are both right here and will willingly drive you to the doctor IF YOU BOTHER TO TELL SOMEONE!!!!! Okay….rant over. I’ve beat my head against a wall enough for now.