better
I'm no longer in horrible pain each time I eat. Yay! I can still feel a little something there, kinda like the "lump" feeling I had before, but it's not painful. It's nice being able to eat full meals again. So far, that has been the only side effect of the radiation; no fatigue, nausea, itching, redness, heart palpitations, or whatever else. My upper chest is starting to get pink, but no "sunburn" yet.
I spent last weekend up at my parents' cottage with my college friends, and we had a great time. It was nice to kick back and see everyone again, especially the ones living out of state. It did rain a few times, thanks to the remnants of 'urricane Dennis, but nothing major and mostly at night. Mostly.
Speaking of hurricanes, my brother and his fiancee (by the way, he's engaged now, forgot to mention that) were in Cancun for training with his company, but had to come home early due to Hurricane Emily. Of course, everyone else in Cancun also wanted to leave, so there was quite the mad dash to the airport. Thankfully, his company was able to send charter flights to pick up their employees and fly 'em to Atlanta, where they had hotel reservations waiting for them.
Or not. The hotel filled up and twenty or so people had to go to another hotel, which didn't have the reservation in the name of anyone present. By midnight, they were finally checked in, and five and a half hours later, they were up and off to the airport by 6:30. That should be plenty of time for a 10:00 flight to Cleveland, right?
Nay! With a scant one person working the booth at Delta, and the woman at the front of the line who took 45 minutes to resolve her situation, they barely got their tickets in time. Mind you, they got their tickets in time -- but not with enough time to check their luggage before the flight. The next two flights were also booked up, so they waited on standby and left around 11:30 or so. They were not happy, to say the least.
But, at least they made it out of Cancun before the storm hit. My aunt from Weslaco, Texas, cut her visit to Ohio short to go home and board up her house in preparation for the hurricane, which looks like it will hit Brownsville today.
In other news, I've just agreed to reorganize the North Ridgeville City Schools website and update it when necessary. This will actually be the first web design job I've done where I'll be paid my standard rate. :)
Speaking of design, I now have some portfolio pieces on my graphic design web page. Right now everything is in PDF format, so I'd recommend a high speed connection if you want to see the full piece. I'll add some faster-loading images later. I have also updated my résumé.
Edited to add: The radiation has also raspified my voice somewhat. Yesterday I could sing a low F for the first time since 8th grade (I went from soprano to bass to tenor in 7-9th grades, respectively).
3 Comments:
Glad to hear you're feeling better! I didn't know you did tubachristmas stuff! What fun! I used to have such a great time going to those, and Harvey Phillips is *such* a legend. I got to play a sousa march (some not as well known one that I can't remember) in honors band where I was 1st Euphonium and he was playing the piccolo part on his tuba.
Hrmph. Since I still think that's kind of cool I guess there's a little bit of band geek left in me ;)
My boss plays euphonium, and he's really big into TubaChristmas. For 2003, my company helped produce a big gala event for the Cleveland TubaChristmas and staged it at Severance Hall. A few TC traditions were broken because of the venue; due to the limitation in stage size, only 100 performers were invited, they wore formal attire (save the Santa hats), and admission was charged to help cover the cost of the venue.
But, we had literally world-class tuba and euphonium players there from around the country (as well as 12 reknowned conductors and Harvey Phillips himself), some of whom performed solos. Those solos needed a piano accompaniment, and well we had a pianist right there feverishly attmepting to finish a 48-page concert program in time despite spilling pop on his laptop, so why not use him?
I've been on the stage of Severance Hall twice now, and it's always a thrill. Fortunately for anxiety's sake, it wasn't until after the event that I stopped to think, "wow, I just accompanied the first chair tubist of the Cleveland Orchestra!" And on top of that, the concert program earned me a bonus at work and is a great addition to my portfolio. Yay.
That's awesome Bryan!
Yeah, most euphonium players are into tuba christmas, because frankly, there isn't much else to do with a euphonium other than play in a wind ensemble, marching band, military band, and go to tuba christmas. Oh yeah, and there's "Beautiful Ohio" too, but I've already put that notch in my belt. So it can be easily seen why I jumped ship. I miss music, a lot though... I'm hoping that I'll someday become a guitar efficionado, but it's really hard to find a teacher who understands that I'm a classically trained musician who knows nothing about guitar. Perhaps I'll have better luck in Chicago! With a guitar, at least I have some hopes at becoming a rock star, or can bring it to the campfire for a rousing rendition of kumbaya or something. Can't bring a euphonium to a campfire (not that I have one anywya.. damn buggers cost an arm and a leg).
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