On Yule and Tide

Phew.

Okay, 24 Christmases down. You may have noticed that I haven't written for a while, and I can't say as I have a good excuse. I mean, it does seem silly that, being in Boston for the holidays, I should write on a site dedicated to my Houston adventures. On top of that, I have been in the annual "What Now?" kind of mood that begins around Christmas, peaks at New Year's, and then usually fades quickly afterwards. During this time I assess my life as I see it, peruse mistakes and successes of the past year, decide where I want to go from here, and, of course, practice little if at all. Think of it as a little Spring Cleaning for the Soul, only it happens in December and usually things end up just as messy as they were before. Okay, maybe Spring Cleaning is not the right metaphor.

Well, I've said that much, so I might as well get into it a little. Is there a point to my being in Grad School? It feels right, because it's what I want to do. But the chances of succeeding at it seem so slim. I could probably make a much better living doing something else, practically anything else. What I'm asking myself right now is: at what point, if ever, will I realize that I will not be a success playing the trombone, and go into something else instead? It won't be soon, of course, because I will at least finish school. It's not costing me anything but time. But when I graduate, and I'm working full time in some office somewhere to support myself while practicing and taking the occasional audition, how long will I last? It's difficult to think about now because it's not a decision I will have to make for a while, but I really would like to know what I will decide.

Kurt Vonnegut wrote: "If you really want to hurt your parents, and you don't have nerve enough to be a homosexual, the least you can do is go into the arts."

Okay, that's enough for now. If you want to read more, look for my series of books coming out soon: Spring Cleaning for the Soul.

Oh, by the way, speaking of Christmas, I'm a star again! Check out this video, courtesy of thepetersonproject.com.

And, last thing, I've been reading this book by The Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, about the Red Sox. If you're a Sox fan and you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. My favorite quote so far: "By the way, I have to question any Red Sox fan who would marry a Yankee fan. Unless you have never been laid before and this is legitimately your only chance to have regular sex, it's simply unacceptable. Would you marry someone from Al-Qaeda?" Now that's quality sportswriting, people.

Until next year!