what?!?

i just went online to see what the weather might be like in North Carolina during my visit next week. i saw that it's supposed to be *79 DEGREES* in raleigh tomorrow!

WTF?!? it *snowed* this morning in portland!

Is this the real life / Is this just fantasy

One of my job responsibilities is to contribute to a weekly sort of 'arts magazine' program on the station. The on-air hosts interview local music-makers about their upcoming concerts, then we edit those segments, add music, write intros and outros, etc. It's something I've never done before coming to this station, and in general I really like it. It's a new skill though, interviewing. I'm not always really good at it; my abilities are generally largely impacted by how excited I am about the concert or event I'm talking about.

Last week, I was really excited about my segment: The Northwest Horn Orchestra. This is an ensemble made up of 16 French horn players -- all really good ones, from the Portland Opera, Oregon Symphony, Oregon Ballet Theater and so on. Being a horn player myself, I was totally psyched for this interview.

So I found out who the contact person was, and asked if she'd like to come in for an interview. We emailed back & forth, nailed down a time, and I asked if she could send me some promotional materials for the show, and maybe her own performance resume so that I'd be prepared for our conversation.

I read her resume and my jaw dropped. The last line, where she listed her education, read: "Northwestern University, 1991". I looked again at her name, Jen Harrison, and said, out loud, "Oh. My. God." I totally remembered Jen. We played in many ensembles together at NU. I could even picture her face.

I wrote back to her and said, "Uh... Jen... I think we know each other..." and listed off a bunch of friends we had in common. In her reply, she said the first time she saw my name in her Inbox she briefly wondered whether it was the same person she went to school with, but for some reason didn't think it was possible.

The date of the interview arrived and when Jen arrived we had a little reunion of hugs and laughs in the recording studio. Our interview was infused with excitement and fun, and a way that none of my other interviews have been. We focused the segment on the oddity of the Horn Orchestra (they performed Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and a Led Zepplin cover, along with some standard Mozart and Copland, for example) and the fact that they'd be serving beer at the event. After I closed the mic we caught up on old friends, and she gave me tips on which orchestras I should try to contact if I want to keep playing. It was a really great time.

The concert was last night, and the turnout was huge. The orchestra acknowledged me from the stage and asked me to stand; at intermission many audience members came up and told me that they were there because they heard the interview on the station. That made me feel great. Also at intermission, Jen re-introduced me to another NU alum in the audience, one that played trombone that I totally remembered when I saw him. I look forward to reconnecting with him, too.

Small world. Great concert. Good times. This feels like home now.

OBAMA

he spoke in portland today, less than a mile from my apartment.

unfortunately, not only did tickets to the rally get snapped up before i could get one, but i also had to work. however, i just discovered video footage of his entire speech online. bill richardson is standing right next to him throughout.

in the last couple of months i have become an enthusiastic obama supporter, and after his big speech on race a few days ago i want to STAND AND SHOUT about how this country needs someone inspiring like barack obama. that speech was ridiculously eloquent, and brought me to tears.

then i learned that he wrote it himself. he wrote it himself. let that sink in a minute. he wrote the whole speech himself. i don't think hillary *responds to a reporter's question* without running it by a cadre of advisers. and he wrote that entire speech all by himself.

can you imagine having a president who can string together not only a coherent sentence, but inspire people with his words? how refreshing.

the man is phenomenal.

almost as phenomenal as my boyfriend. :-)

sorry

i'm getting slack about keeping up with this blog. i've got my head in the clouds right now. things with S are going really really really really well. like, ridiculously well. to the point that we're even fantasizing about buying a house together. (granted, that's not a rational thing to be doing, and we realize that, but that doesn't stop us from dreaming about it together.)

we had our monthaversary last weekend. he brought over two big bunches of mini-sunflowers and a bottle of champagne. we are happy in love.

fluids

I’m sick again. Actually, I wonder if it’s allergies. It occurs to me that I might simply be having some difficulties adjusting to a new climate. Things are blooming here – big time. Pink blossoming trees, camellias, daffodils, crocuses… the air is sweet with flowers. I’m sure there’s also pollen in the air that I’m unaccustomed to. I never, ever had problems with allergies in North Carolina. Not even with the yellow film of pine pollen that covers everything each April. Never. But maybe the newness of this place is throwing my system out of whack. I’m actually considering buying a neti pot to get this congestion under control.

My knee is suddenly much, much better. Not quite yet 100%, but close. I don’t know what I did right.

And yes, the deed is now done. I said “I love you”, and he got teary and said it right back. It’s scary how fast this is moving, but it feels really really right.

whassup?

only three things to report:

* pledge drive just ended, which is why i've been largely incommunicado. it's always exhausting and usurps most of my brain cells.

* i injured my knee somehow. i don't recall actual the injury itself, but MAN OH MAN does it hurt. it was so bad the other night the pain woke me up as i was sleeping. i called my insurance provider's 24-hour-nurse, who told me that since i don't (yet) have a primary care physician i should just go to the emergency room. that seemed like stupid advice, so i just swallowed a shitload of ibuprofen with some bourbon and went back to bed. i have a drugstore-bought brace that i wear when it gets that bad and it seems to help a little. oddly, today it feels pretty good, and now that i think of it, my knee wasn't too painful for most of the weekend. maybe it's getting better! i do have an appointment scheduled with a PCP in april; if i'm not healed by then, my knee will be her first charge.

* it looks like i'll be in NC april 2 - 6. stay tuned for further details as they develop. i'll be at the radio station most of the time, but i should have at least one night to socialize.

oh, and i guess there's a fourth thing:

* i think i'm in love.

charo scolded me for typing that. she says i should tell him first before telling the world. and she's probably right. but it seems like it's just too soon to be saying it to him. i feel confident, though, that he and i are both *wanting* to say it to each other, but are just a little freaked out by how quickly everything is happening. we often laugh, the two of us, about how it feels like we've known each other for a year instead of one month.