This entry will be done in sawed-off shotgun style: wide range, but more of an attention-getter than a deliverer of anything substantial. This is what usually happens when a bunch of stuff happens to me but I can't get around to writing it down until Monday.


1) I found out on my brother's recent birthday that he shares it with none other than fellow guitaristDjango Reinhardt. How's this for a studly man: he's considered the greatest jazz guitarist of all time, yet he only had use of two fingers on his left hand on account of he was caught in a fire in his gypsy-digs when he was a teenager.


2) I had a day-long project management class on Saturday. I thought it would be dry and amazingly boring, but it turns out the teacher had an abundance of awesome stories, which he was all too happy to share. Here's the coolest: he was once contracted by a government agency to undertake the task of finding out exactly what the government had to do and develop in order to have a working matter transporter, "just like the one you see on that Star Trek show." The amazing part, he told us, was that after meticulously breaking down the task to uncover all the technologies necessary to make a matter transporter work, he discovered that 8 of the essential 12 or 13 already existed. This was in 1983. Cue "Twilight Zone" theme music.


3) Here's the "life-lessons learned" portion of the entry. Stop here if not interested. I did a Google search the other day for a cellist with whom I had played once or twice in the past. I can't remember why...I had a question to ask or something. Anyway, I found out that this particular cellist had become a member of a local orchestra. They'd made the jump and started down the path to becoming a professional musician. Now it must be said that I, in my arrogance, had always considered myself to be able to play musical circles around this cellist, at any time of day. Needless to say, I felt not only surprised that they had made the jump to professionalism that I never did, but I felt a surge of jealousy. She wasn't that good, why couldn't I have done it?
Then I remembered- I had some very good reasons for not pursuing a musical career, joining an orchestra, and ending up in a very different place than I did. In the first place, I'm saved by my own arrogance; I wouldn't want to be stuck in an orchestra, anyway. Secondly, I'm happy where I am. I'm in California, entered into a career that I love, happily married. To boot, I can still play cello all I want. And I have done (thanks, Naughtians.), with friends of mine, to some critical post-rock acclaim. Why would I be jealous of someone who's stuck on the back row of the "Middle America Frozen Wasteland Farmer's Union Community Players?" No offense intended, of course, as I'm sure she's ecstatic to be there.

Alright, now we can all get on with our lives. My ego has been soothed.