ALTO SAX MUSIC BOOK

Come to think of it, I hadn't been downtown since last August. It's kind of silly to not go downtown more frequently, since (when there isn't traffic), it only takes 17 minutes to get there from my house.

At least I took the opportunity tonight to go to the Meyerson Music Center to listen to the Metropolitan Winds put on a concert featuring my favourite: film music. Lots of John Williams, of course, but a real treat for me was the opener: James Newton Howard's Grand Canyon Fanfare.

There was one trumpet that was off and a French horn that every once in a while went a little bit astray, but otherwise, the performances were fantastic. And the concert was free--to me, that is. A friend who performs in the ensemble comped me tickets yesterday. She plays bassoon.

I saw a few folks I work with there, and that was fun, too, since I'd pretty much showed up and spent most of my time there alone.

Which is fine. I like mixing my entertainment and my socialisation, but I've come to realise recently that other people suck. I hate trying to make plans with people. Tell me where to be and I'll show up. But I'm tired of trying to work my schedule around everyone else's just to have someone's last minute constraint blow the whole thing out of the water. People are lame. If I want to go see Wanted, I don't want to have to try to figure out what's the best time for everyone or try find a row of seats that'll sit everyone or to show up early to chit chat over the annoying commercials they play before they present the trailers...

The cinema is 2 miles from my house. If I want to see a movie, I just go, no fore planning, no considerations of who can get a babysitter. I just go. The movie theatre is dark and loud anyways. It's not like I'm going to actually socialise during the movie. Although... I do miss the idea of going out for drinks right afterwards, or getting something to eat before. But really. they don't always have to mix. It would have been great to get together with people before or after tonight's concert (I mean.. I did get dressed up and all). But it was nice showing up 20 seconds before they started and then afterwards being able to just wander around the symphony hall and the lobbies enjoying IM Pei's amazing architecture without having anyone else be concerned about me being late or keeping them from doing something they consider interesting.

Juli accused me of enjoying being single, not having any accountability to anybody else, right before we cut things off. I guess in many ways that's true. But I would like to share this all with someone... someone who gets me, who gets what it is about all this that excites me.

But there are too many things to enjoy in life to wait for other people to align themselves with me to be able to do it. Tonight's music was wonderful regardless whether I showed up with someone else or not. I really enjoyed it; and it has been too long.

Common name: Gaillardia Fanfare
Botanical name: Gaillardia 'Fanfare' Family: Asteraceae (Sunflower family)

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This recent hybrid of gaillardia or the blanket flower made waves across the U.S. with its eyecatching blooms. The astonishing blooms are packed with mini-trumpet petals on a compact, very free-blooming plant. Absolutely the most distinctive development in Gaillardia's history. Plants form a low mound of light-green leaves, bearing upright stems of large daisy-type flowers. Flowers are almost lacy in appearance. Plants are midsized with a good mounding habit.


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