Jurassic Park, My Ego, the Netflix Exercise Plan

3 months ago I posted about random stuff. That seems to be the only way I ever blog these days. The reasons are these: 

1. I forget sometimes that I have a blog because I get distracted my my iPad and phone and Facebook. 

2. It takes me 3 months to come up with the right word for what I'm feeling or thinking. Yes, I said "word." So imagine how hard it is for me to come up with an entire post full of words. 

3. Ennui. It's winter, and I find myself struck with a sense of blah and nothing to say. 

So by the time I get back onto my blog and feel like posting something, I've got 3 or 4 unrelated topics to mention (all of which strike me at once, and not one at a time, because of the aforementioned ennui). Thus, the lack of focus on my blog. Now that I've explained myself to my (possibly) one reader, I will post about 3 or 4 unrelated topics.

Dinosaurs. I have three boys, and for some reason we have yet to experience a dinosaur obsession. It seems weird to me. Is it unusual to make it this far with no dino facts being spouted at me incessantly? I think the superhero craze going on right now is partially to blame. That plus Doctor Who. My 9-year-old can tell you EVERY DETAIL about EVERY EPISODE he's seen. But he doesn't know a thing about dinosaurs. You may be wondering at this point what made me think about dinosaurs at all, since my kids aren't thinking about them. I was looking for something winter-friendly to read. You know, light, exciting, not too realistic or depressing. I came across our copy of "Jurassic Park" on the book shelf, and thought I'd read it. I think the last time I read it, the technology they use in the book was still futuristic and not obsolete. (There was an explanation of what CD-ROM meant. I may have snickered.) It was pure coincidence that there is yet another Jurassic Park movie being released soon. I will probably see it. It has Chris Pratt in it. Win. So I read the book, and then I started thinking about the movie (the original that was good, not the lame sequels), and it made me want to watch it. Then I wished my oldest son was old enough to watch it with me, but I'm pretty sure he'd mistake the furnace sounds at night for velociraptors and refuse to sleep in his basement bedroom. But I added it to my cart on Amazon anyway, because I'm old enough to watch it. And that is when I realized how sad and strange it is that my kids have no interest in dinosaurs. I think we need to take advantage of one of these warm days and head over to the Dinosaur Park. 

Piccolo Ego. I mentioned in my last post that I am playing in a Wind Symphony. (It's called the Salt Lake Symphonic Winds. Come to our next concert.) I eased in for the first concert playing 2nd flute. For my non-music friends, that means playing background and harmony, but rarely the melody. And you're with 5 other flutists, so your job is to blend and play in tune. The next concert came around, and it was discovered that I owned a piccolo and had played it in college. So I was put on the piccolo part for our December concert. The piccolo is that tiny flutey looking thing that does the part in "Stars and Stripes Forever" that's high and loud and recognizable. It's not meant to be a blending instrument, nor is it meant for background. It's the frosting at the top of the group. This means when you miss a note, EVERYONE KNOWS. Having had a 14-year break from playing piccolo, I was terrified. I had forgotten how exposed you are. And I slowly remembered that, in order to be successful on piccolo, you have to develop what I'd like to call "a Piccolo Ego." This means you WANT everyone to hear every brilliant note you have in your part. There's no shying away from it. This means that you KNOW you're in tune. Which means you have to be in tune. Which is hard, since you're blowing a huge amount of air across a straw-sized hole and playing far above the rest of the group. I have a tuner that has become my best friend. It has a special pocket in my flute bag and everything. In order to develop your Piccolo Ego, you have to practice a lot. Have you ever been within 5 feet of a piccolo that's playing high and loud? It'll melt your face off. Think of what it's like when you're actually playing the thing. But, by our December concert, I felt sufficiently egotistical, and the concert went well. So they asked me to play it again. On harder music. So I'm going to be melting my own face off daily until early March.

Netflix and How it's Going to Help Me Fit into My Pants. The classic TV show "Friends" (It's a classic. The '90s were a while ago) is on Netflix. My bike is hooked up to my bike trainer in my basement. If I put the two of these things together, I have an exercise plan. I can tolerate riding my bike on a trainer for about 25 minutes. One "Friends" episode happens to be just about that long! There are 24 episodes per season, so if I can manage an episode a day, then maybe by the end of Season One all those cute jeans I bought last spring will fit again! (I may have had an ice cream problem over the summer...) If I get in good enough shape, maybe I'll be able to bump it up to an entire "Gilmore Girls" episode. I'm only allowing myself to watch "Friends" if I'm on my bike, so right now, my plan is working. If they'll put Season 6 of Drop Dead Diva on Netflix already, the pounds will be flying off my midsection. (Does anyone have an in with Netflix? I'm going to California in 3 weeks, and I'd really like my pants to fit sooner rather than later.)

I'm sure you can, in some convoluted way, find a common thread between my 3 random topics. But my brain power is spent. (I blame the piccolo for part of this. I'm sure I lose brain cells due to lack of oxygen every time I try to hit a high B.) So, until next time, which, if my pattern holds, will be in April, happy winter to you!