Of Janacek and Cacti: September 2012

Ok, anyone following this blog must be wondering what the heck is going on over there in Arizona, because I have hardly provided any insight. Well, that is GREAT insight into what happens when your baby turns into a toddler. In fact, I can look back on this blog as an excellent way to track how busy I am in my life - when I am posting a lot, like during the first few months of Dylan's life, you can tell that as tired as I may have been, I obviously had some down time. No More!!!

In Dylan's defense, it might have as much to do with being a second year doctoral student and living 2500 miles away from family. But hey, she sure keeps us busy - plenty of energy with this little one. She loves to be outside, which has been a challenge as it has been in the 100s very often. The sun is just too strong when it is that hot, so we have to stay in the shade of our patio. In fact, on Labor Day I decided to walk with Dylan over to the park even though it was 105º, just because what is a Labor Day without the park? well, here is what we found there:

NOT A SOUL IN SIGHT. Except a Grackle, which we said hi to. Dylan was happy to be out though.

It is finally cooling down into the 90s though, so we can now take nice walks to the park. And we are settling back into a routine. I think one of the difficulties of grad school is that every season you need to adjust to a new routine - new classes, new stresses, etc. I am preparing for the French language exam now, which I will have to take October 5th. So I had to teach myself French this past summer. Starting from scratch. Actually has been very fulfilling, I am really able to look at a French newspaper now and make heads and tails of it. Hopefully will set us up for a trip to Paris someday. Maybe to visit Tam, who is living there right now. She would have to dramatically extend her stay though, as I am sure we are years away from getting there.

Here is a video of Dylan playing with my sound system:

What else to say - Rosh Hashana is coming up, so it is a good time for reflection. This has been a difficult transition back into the school year. I am worrying a little too much about how to bring in some income, and not focussing enough on my strengths. I have been trying to get wedding gigs, and they are few and far between. Seems people in Phoenix do not want any of the classic jazz even for cocktail parties. I need to figure out some other things - I have maybe been compromising too much. I still believe it will come together, has just been more of a challenge than I expected.

Otherwise we are good - happy, healthy (although Dylan is fighting a cold right now) and excited to be almost 1/2 way done with this doctorate degree. I am exploring what I want to focus on for my dissertation topic - it seems I am leaning towards writing a piano concerto which combines jazz and classical, ala George Gershwin, but I have a lot of work to get the idea formed in my head. Excited for the possibilities though.

Ok, time to go hang with Dylan for a bit. Happy New Year!