Growth comes in many forms. Sometimes I consider getting a load of laundry complete as a victory, which leads to growth in some fashion! Anytime we can get a check in the 'WIN' column, is growth. The past few months I have been growing in several ways: 1. Practiced bass trombone everyday for 4 months... Continue Reading →
Stay At Home Dad: Part 2
A year ago, heck, 4 months ago, I would have no answer to the question: "How do you entertain a baby?" Maybe I would have answered, 'Why do babies need to be entertained? Do they lead such stressful lives that entertainment is needed so they can relax?' Now I know that Yes, babies need to... Continue Reading →
Reading, Reading, Ready, and READ!!
OK. I've been reading a lot lately. I admit it and I'm okay with it. I recently asked people to post on my Facebook page books they enjoyed reading in 2014 and I got plenty of new stuff to stack up on my nightstand (I would stack them on my nightstand if my Sweetie will... Continue Reading →
Resolutions: Professional Edition 2015
Okay, I know I kind of poo-pooed the idea of resolutions, but in the spirit of trying to make 2015 better than 2014 (I don't know HOW that could happen), here are a few resolutions I could improve upon in my professional musical life: 1. Figure out how to SELL and WORK the great duo... Continue Reading →
Stay At Home Dad: Part 1.5
So far so good! Baby is happy and we had a lot of fun finding our toes, dancing to Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges, and playing with a crinkly lion toy. I read the majority of the Isaac Asimov novel 'Currents of Space' to the little guy, and I think he enjoyed it! As expected,... Continue Reading →
Stay At Home Dad: Part 1
This morning, January 5th, began my stint as a full-time 'stay-at-home-dad'. I can't be happier about this moment! As a freelance trombone player, my schedule allows me the privilege to be able to stay home and take care of my son. Thankfully, Stacy has a good job and is the main breadwinner of our partnership.... Continue Reading →
What Do You Do While Running?
I've recently gotten back into the running life, and so far I am enjoying it. What I am NOT enjoying is the sub-freezing temperatures, snow, sleet and wind. That damn wind can pierce anything! When I first started running seriously back in 2012, I used to listen to music. I created running playlists trying to... Continue Reading →
Resolutions… Anyone?
The new year is a time for life changes and resolutions. I've never really been good at this whole new years resolutions, because, let's face it, in the middle of winter, everything you can think to better yourself sounds like a good idea. But as the days get longer, it feels like you have more... Continue Reading →
What A Difference a Year Makes!
It is now 2015. I ran for the first time today in months. So it only makes sense that I'm writing a blogpost, the first one in a LONG time! One year ago, January 1st 2014, I was in Shanghai China playing with the Hollywood Concert Orchestra. It was a long day. Another cold theater,... Continue Reading →
30 days of Freelance Trombone
I often meet new people. Hey, I'm a sociable guy! One of the first questions people naturally ask each other when they first meet is, "What do you do for a living?" Pretty standard question. Whenever I respond with, "I'm a musician, I play trombone", people look puzzled. I don't blame them! How many trombone... Continue Reading →
Feeling Connected through the Arts
Since my last post, a rather dark post to be honest, things around here have gotten back on track. Positivity is in the air, the future looks bright, and life is good! I did several things to change my perspective, change my inner dialogue, that all led to feeling happier, more grounded, and more connected... Continue Reading →
Grounded
It's a little late, but allow me to wish all of you a Happy New Year, and a wonderful 2014!! As many of you know I recently returned from a 5 week orchestra tour through China. For 5 weeks I rode in busses, trains, and planes. I slept in very hard beds, ate oily and... Continue Reading →
Thoughtfully Checking In…
August is over half over, so my self imposed "no drinking and running/biking/exercising to get back on track" edict is nearly over, so I thought I'd check in. I miss drinking. I am so boring sober. My jokes fall flat. My witty cynicism is locked somewhere behind an anonymous bar waiting to be opened and... Continue Reading →
Stalled Out, Coast, and Restart
You know when you're just chugging along down the road and you look up and have no idea where you are and where you are going? You do? Good. That has been the past 8 months of my life. A little over a year ago I did my 30-Day Experiment by going vegan and running.... Continue Reading →
What will 2013 bring?
Ok, so it's been over two months since my previous post. There are several reasons why I haven't been posting, and I'll get into that in future posts. Believe me, you'll hear all about it. I was hesitant to write in the new year because I didn't want to write down some unattainable New Year... Continue Reading →
Race Day thoughts
Since this was my fist major race, I really didn't know what I was getting into on the brisk, nay FREAKIN' COLD morning of November 3rd. I was a tad nervous to say the least. As the time got closer to the 8am start, the temperature didn't rise like I was hoping and I couldn't... Continue Reading →
Run a Half Marathon…Check!!
I just got home from running, and finishing the Monumental Half-Marathon! According to texts my friends received (and then sent me), I finished in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 51 seconds! This race was cold, kind of dreary, and crowded, but hey, I finished it! When this all started I wanted to run races as... Continue Reading →
And now the Playlist!
Wow! I've been tweaking this playlist since I've started running regularly back in June, and I feel like I really have it poppin' right now! Last night, instead of relaxing and getting 10 hours of sleep, I stayed up and added the Beats Per Minute (BPM) for every tune in my list! Ideally, I want... Continue Reading →
It’s Here!
The half-marathon I have been training for is right around the corner, and I'm pretty excited about it! I'm also excited that I'm doing this as a Plant Powered runner! Speaking of Plant Powered, I got my 'No-Meat-Athlete' long sleeve shirt in the mail last week and have been proudly wearing it on the final... Continue Reading →
Taper Week + Fun Gigs!
Well, here we are. The week before my first half-marathon and I gotta say that I'm pretty excited about it! This week is the second of two taper weeks, meaning that the milage is less than previous weeks. It kind of feels weird only running a few miles instead of 7-10, but it all leads... Continue Reading →
Monumental Half-Marathon Team RBD!!
The Monumental Marathon and Half Marathon is on November 3rd, 2012. As this is my first half-marathon, I'm thinking I may need some sort of support team, or at least suggestions of how to best navigate eating/drinking throughout the race. Anybody want to sign on to Team RBD?! Let me know! The course of this... Continue Reading →
The Fear of Failure
The Fear of Failure is upon us all the time. For some people, it is a tiny fear WAY back somewhere in the packed attic of their brain. For others, the fear of failure can be strong enough that it prevents them from even starting something. On the whole spectrum of not fearing any failure,... Continue Reading →
Wow and Whew!
The last week of running has been pretty amazing! Two Saturday's ago I participated in a 47K relay. I was one of four people running a 2.2 mile circuit. The four of us ran the 47K (which is a marathon) in 3:22:47, not bad! It was quite cold and I learned a lot about how... Continue Reading →
Getting Back on Track
We've all been there. One day everything in life is going smoothly, then the next time you look up a couple of weeks later, everything in life is a mess and you can't figure out HOW you got to this point. Well, if you haven't experienced this, kudos to you. If you HAVE experienced this,... Continue Reading →
First Speed Bump
Well, I've had my first speed bump with my running this past week. Since I've been ranting about the ISO Musician Lockout (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) , I haven't been writing about the running so much, so let me re-cap a couple of weeks here: Two weeks ago, I was supposed to do... Continue Reading →
What Really Matters, Re: Indianapolis Symphony, Part 3
To catch up on my rant please read Part 1, and Part 2. Part 3 is just a continuation of my absolute frustration with what is happening with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. This blog will tackle only one question: What can be done? In the previous blog, I was hoping to cover more topics in... Continue Reading →
What Really Matters, Re: Indianapolis Symphony, Part 2
This is a continuation of my blog post from yesterday, What Really Matters, Re: Indianapolis Symphony, Part 1. After writing and reading yesterdays post, I still felt like more needs to be said, and questions need to be asked! How did the ISO get to this point? How many people will this lockout really effect?... Continue Reading →
What Really Matters Re: Indianapolis Symphony, Part 1
Wow. My previous blog post was pretty damn self serving. After I hit the 'Publish' button, I got to spending time on Facebook (who doesn't right?!), and I got to doin' some thinking with the ol' gray matter that sits between my ears. What are my problems compared to the rest of the worlds issues?... Continue Reading →
4 Weeks Finished
I know, I know. I haven't been writing much...er, I mean, I haven't been writing AT ALL! So sue me. I've been in a fog recently. Yeah, I've been pretty lazy about keeping up on my running/vegetarianism blog, but what can I do. I'm writing NOW, so enjoy it. Despite not writing about it, I... Continue Reading →
Game On!
It's official!! I will be running the Monumental Half Marathon on November 3rd here in Indianapolis! The race is exactly 12 weeks away, so my No-Meat-Athlete Half Marathon Roadmap will be perfect to get me ready for 13.1 miles! Now that running a Half-Marathon is 'real', it is kind of daunting! I've never run more... Continue Reading →
Mythical 5th Position 