Joy, Upset, Dorkiness and Sadness

We performed Beethoven's Ninth last night. It was an interesting evening, to be sure... First, you must understand two things:

1. There's a long segment in this symphony where the basses don't have a thing to do. Not a single note for page after page.
2. There's a bar right across the street from the concert venue, rather popular by local musicians.

It had been decided that during the performance, after the bass players had played their parts in the opening of the Ninth, they were to quietly lay down their instruments and leave the stage rather than sit on their stools looking and feeling dumb for twenty minutes.

Well, once they got backstage, someone suggested that they trot across the street and quaff a few brews. After they had downed the first couple rounds, one said, "Shouldn't we be getting back? It'd be awfully embarrassing if we were late."

Another, presumably the one who suggested this excursion in the first place, replied, "Oh, I anticipated we could use a little more time, so I tied a string around the last pages of the conductor's score. When he gets down to there, he's going to have to slow the tempo way down while he waves the baton with one hand and fumbles with the string with the other."

They had another round and finally returned to the Civic Center, a little tipsy by now. However, as they came back on stage, one look at their conductor's face told them they were in serious trouble. The conductor was furious! And why not? After all... It was the bottom of the Ninth, the score was tied, and the basses were loaded.
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Ah, an oldie, but a goodie! Anyone who knows the Ninth knows that the basses work their asses off in it! Anyway, the concert went off without a hitch, and was a great way to open the season!

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Look at my teams over there in the sidebar. Yep. My beloved Griz are killing me! They lost their second game in a row on Saturday (someone might have been following the game on their Droid during the long stretches that the trombones didn't have to play...). They haven't done that in quite a number of years. They're not out of the playoff hunt, by any means, but every game from now on is a "must win" game. On another note, it was the conference opener for both teams, and the home opener for Eastern Washington. Know how Boise State has the blue football field? This game was the first on EWU's new red field. To look at it is mind-altering. To watch it on TV is eye-popping. To watch it on TV for more than 10 minutes is vomit-inducing. Click on the link to see a Flickr set of the installation.

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Sunday was "Talk Like a Pirate" Day. So I dutifully changed my language on my FB to "Pirate". It wasn't until almost midnight that I realized that it only appeared in "Pirate" on my page to me. No one else could see it. While I got a warm feeling for being able participate in some way, I feel like a dork that no one else got to read what I was reading!

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This is Midget. Rachel's dog. (for the newbies...Rachel was one of the original 6 HNTers) Rachel has been working at a remote mountaintop lodge in Glacier Park this summer, leaving Midget with her parents here in Helena. It was tough to leave her for the summer, but had to be done. Rachel just finished her summer in Glacier and was coming back to pick up Midget. Sadly, before she got here, Midget got away, ran into the street, and was run over by someone. Whom some witnesses say purposely swerved to hit her. You know, life really sucks sometimes.