I'm not in a super good mood at the moment. I am trying to fly home to Kansas City from Phoenix and my flight has now been delayed by 3 hours...I hope it does not get cancelled! I am projected to arrive in KC at 1:59 am. Then I have a 45 minute drive home. Oh well, I have a lot of time to kill, and watching people offers a ton of entertainment. What stands out to me as I sit here watching people walk by is....people are sloppy. Very few people I see make any attempt to dress nicely when they travel. Dudes wear flip flops, basketball shorts, t-shirts. Ladies wear shorts, flip-flops, leggings. Most of these folks look they just rolled out of bed and came to the airport. Occasionally a well dressed man wearing a sport coat, slacks, and a dress shirt will stroll by. Or a woman wearing a skirt or dress and nice shoes walks by. But these people are by far the exception. The rest of them probably argue that they want to be comfortable. Sure...but you look like a slob too. It is possible to be comfortable AND look sharp at the same time.
Another annoying reality of people is their lack of self awareness, especially in crowded spaces. Some are talking on their phones with the speaker on, seemingly oblivious that I can hear what they are saying and what the person they are talking to is saying. Others walk, stop, turn, walk and move all over the place without recognizing that they are in the way of the rest of us. Hello! The guy next to me is also at his computer. I am typing this and listening to music (Chopin) with my headphones on. He is watching some show without headphones and I can hear the words of his program through my headphones. He seems clueless that he's being a dick.
Traveling today is a an ugly pain in the ass.
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I was reflecting on my earliest memories of playing the violin this week. We are having our bathroom renovated...new flooring, tile, shower door and vanity. I was practicing my violin in my office when one of the workers stuck his head in to ask a question...but first he said I sounded great and asked how long I had been playing. I had to stop and think a second and add up the years...48 I answered...the number hit me pretty hard. That seems crazy when I really think about it. So I started to reflect on the beginning. 1973. I was transported back to the University of Texas Music Building. It was an old building even then. I spent so many hours there taking lessons, practicing, studying and dreaming. I remember hearing one of the advanced string orchestras playing a piece of music by Vivaldi. I was spellbound by the the sound I heard. And the kids in that group looked so much older and cool as they dug into the music. I was hungry to play that music someday. And they didn't have tape on their fingerboards either! I also remember learning about politics in the men's room. The walls above the urinals and the stalls were covered in graffiti. One phrase that appeared often was "Impeach Nixon." Another was "No More War." Those were the days.
