Some items of note since my last post:
Profession Sterf first I guess -
Book Publications
- David has an Oxford University Press History Text book about to be released. It's pretty awesome and it's been a multi year project per norm. I am very proud of him, but also relieved it's over. Lots of stress for him to be sure.
- My "All Inclusive Audition Etudes" book with Eric Willie is doing really well thank goodness. The entire state of North Carolina has adopted it for middle and high school percussion auditions and we hope there is more of that coming. We need to apply for Mid West or TMEA, but.....
Paducah Symphony
- Bolero Snare Drum Part - terrifying and awesome!
- Porgy and Bess Xylophone part - ""
- I had some pretty critical parts in the 2017/2018 season and have appreciated that opportunity.
X4
- Shane is solidly in place in the group now and we love the dynamic. Not sure what the future holds, but we did get a damn good video of Spiderweb lead finally and also had a gig at Governor's School for the Arts at MTSU and the new music festival hosted at Dan's school, BGSU.
Caixa
- We had the awesome premieres at UTM and MTSU of the Contagion piece Cayenna Ponchione wrote for us, but not too much else. That's all about to change in the Spring of 2019 as we have gigs in Kansas City, North Carolina, and Texas. I also have personal "conducting" and coaching gigs in addition to this so lots still happening professionally.
UTM
- Gigs there are going well for both me and David although I think we could both stand to do something else. I am fried all the time and coordinating this faculty evaluation process for multiple years is a really non gratifying job. Maybe I'll get some consulting work out of it someday, but that would mean taking the time to organize all that we have done at UTM which never seems like there is time to do. I applied for the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs position and didn't even make the short list which is good for my ego I suppose, but I think a mistake on their part. Oh well, I love my chair job in music truly and work with great people.
PAS
- Today is my last day on the PAS EC after 8 years.
- Tomorrow is my first day as the new Co Content Editor for Percussive Notes. At least this will pay some. I never seem to learn :>))
Now onto the big news of our buying a city block.....
- We have doubled down in old Union City and become quite the activists. It started with one vacant lot and spread from there. We are in debt up to our eyeballs, but somehow managing to keep our heads above water for now and sometimes even enjoying all these real estate investments which hopefully will yield some fruit one day or at least a retirement plan. We bought the little house behind us and turned it into a vacation rental. Gloria's on Exchange has proven to be quite the gym and is helping fund the 3 mortgages we are now paying. The two houses next to us we had condemned and paid out of pocket to raze. This took years of work and activism with neighbors and the city. The city sucks and hasn't helped much at all, but we are invested now and just have to keep going. The scariest part was buying Ann Moore's house at the end of the block. It's a HUGE project and we are trying to refurbish it to make a wedding and event venue. I am not sure if we'll make it. we bought it just at 4 months ago and work has been going on for about 3.5 months. The labor costs are just massive and I am subsidizing with student labor and others to try and keep costs down. As such, some things are not getting down well and time and money is sometimes wasted, but progress is being made none the less. We hope to have the main floor open by mid February for donations at least while we continue to follow the legal process to be approved by the city.
Travels -
- In October 2017, David and I went to NYC to see Joan Jett at this National Parks Conservation Foundation fundraiser. Ed hooked us up per norm and it was awesome!
- May 2018 was our 10th Anniversary and we went to the Big Island of Hawaii and Maui. Kilauea was actually erupting when we were there! We stayed in a tree house just outside the National Park, but never even saw a spark. We also went to Maui and then stopped in San Francisco before going home.
- July 2018 we went to Great Smoky Mnt NP, Congaree NP, and then Forts Sumter and Pulaski. On to Charleston with a brief visit to see Peggy and Beverly and then quickly through Savannah and on to Macon, GA to see the Allman Brothers museum and then finally to visit family on Lookout Mnt which was great as always. Claire was there and Henry sent us home with a sail boat which of course we haven't had time to fix up nor learn how to use, but it looks cool sitting by dad's truck and they are coincidentally the same color of rusty red.
- Watch our trip series videos for more details on all of our trips.
Well that's it for me today. I have caught on our trip vids from this year and wanted to make a blog post before the year got away from me. I have a few hours to spare even!!! Back to working on the Money Pit down the street and hopefully this time next year, we'll have good news to share there too!
Julie
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