We're almost counting hours now.
Very excited! Isn't it something how
much this series has affected all of us?

P.S. Saw it. Loved it. Enjoyed the IMAX 3D. Can't wait for the last two!

BOTTLED UP by Choral Responses, 2008

I don't keep my time in a bottle;
I keep it, instead, in a bowl.
It may not stay quite as fresh,
But if it spoils, I can dump it out, whole.

For a bottle, you see, keeps time out,
While its lid works to keep the time in.
So I never have too much time,
'Cause the excess flows over the brim.

A Little Bit o' Info

I've had some questions (okay, one) about what my calling is, so here goes...

First, a little background. I mentioned to my first Bishop here in town that I hated getting callings in wards that took me out of Gospel Doctrine classes. So he made me the teacher. 8 years later, the new Bishop told me it was someone else's turn to have fun, so called me to the Ward Mission. 7 years later, they added Primary Pianist to my list, but I had that calling for less than a year.



Now, I have a stake calling, as director of a ward choir at our prison. Which means no more ward callings for a while, because I won't be to all the meetings for my home ward. I have my own ID tag that I wear around my neck, and I get to work with a great bunch of guys. I know they are convicted criminals, but most of them aren't any different from most of the friends I've had over the years--they just got caught doing whatever it was.

I have been (and still am) EXTREMELY excited about this calling. I finally get to work with MEN'S VOICES, after 15 years of teaching teenage girls (and a few boys)! I have also been writing and arranging pieces for them, which has been very fun!

Snoozing @ the Movies

Saw G-Force 3-D today, along with Ice Age 3.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

Oh, sorry, even talking about them puts me out.
Kids will enjoy them though... Most kids.

They really weren't as funny as their previews. Or, rather, everything funny was IN the previews.

Oh well, at least I got a good nap.

Is there something I should know?

So our band teacher told me just a couple of days ago that he is leaving to take a job up north. In the time I have been at this school, I have seen 4 band directors leave, and even taught band one of those years. Am I missing something? I just wonder sometimes if I am doing something wrong, or if I am doing something right.

I am to the point right now, where I can't leave for another 15 years or so. If I do, I may lose my retirement, and I make enough that to go anywhere else would mean a pay cut. I love what I do, even though there are plenty of headaches. I don't really want to go, either, but can't help but ask why I seem to be sitting still while everyone around me jumps the fence to get to greener (or at least perceptively greener) grass.

Of course, by the time I get around to the point where I feel it is time to move on, I'll probably be at retirement age! Oh well, keep on keeping on!

Preaching to the Choir

My Inmates really sounded great today! We sang "Come, Come, Ye Saints." We had at least a half-dozen men who had never sung with us before this week, and they sang SO well.

Next should be a fun arrangement I made of "Master, the Tempest is Raging." I will try to get a recording of that on here for you to hear. I have to make it myself, because the prison will not allow any recording to be taken out the gate.

I still get nervous now and then, but not because I'm directing criminals, but because after 15 years of leading a women's choir, I am still getting used to men's voices!

It has sure been a lot of fun, though. I was as excited about this calling as any I've ever been given.

SKYDIVE by ChoralResponses, 1986

When troubles build, and threaten
to collapse upon my chest,
When all the worries of the world
are trite cliches at best,
When wishing counts for nothing,
and hoping follows suit,
I find that I can never have
a working parachute!

ANGELSONG by ChoralResponses, 2005

Bright bursts
of firefly colors
dazzle me
with their song.

Here for a moment,

linger for a breath,
Then vanish
in an explosion
of silence.

I am up and running, but I will make beautiful music later. This is just to make something start.