Entropy, Chaos, Sickness

How have 2 months passed so quickly? Here's a brief rundown, in case you weren't there:

• Someone stole a whole wheel off my car from in front of my house. Lug nuts, wheel, and brand-new tire. Yet they left my plastic hubcap and their jack and lug wrench. Found out in the morning of the day of street cleaning, leaving me precious little time to fix the issue. Now I have locking lug nuts
• A close friend was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. I don't know what I can do other than be supportive and send good thoughts
• A close friend miscarried after about 6 months of pregnancy
• I got back in touch with several people I hadn't heard from in years (if not decades) (Hi there Jim, Howard, Jeannie...)
  
• More people have left my job as the workload and stress ratchet up, magnifying its effects on those who remain
• I rode home on my motorcycle only to find a screw completely through the nearly-flat rear tire
• I interviewed my Dad about his life for over 3 hours
• I performed in the Palace Family Steak House Orchestra
• I've flown to Seattle (4 times), New York, and Las Vegas. Sometimes as much as 3 trips in a 7-day period
• Purchased and installed a new high-efficiency clothes washer and dryer
• Had my credit card number stolen
• Wrote 2 new cowboy songs ("Back in the Saddle" and "I Can't Find My Guns") for a good friend and former bandmate

There's probably more. The bad stuff stands out the most. I feel lucky to be where I am right now, despite my minor inconveniences and major work stress.

Interviewing my Dad was the most satisfying thing Ive done in a while - he was great!

I've also been preparing for my upcoming class - from July 5 - July 29 I'll be in Durham, North Carolina teaching "A History of 20th Century Music" at the Duke University Talent Identification Program.

I plan to blog about that a bit over the next few weeks.