Trifecta Weekend

This weekend:

1. My kitchen cabinets were re-installed. The countertop gets measured on Wednesday, then wait 2-3 weeks for installation, some touch-up painting and then the home renovation marathon is officially DONE!

2. My mortgage went DOWN $259.60 per month. That's significant, and will allow me to pay for #1 that much faster!

3. Speaking of marathons, I ran the Miami ING Half marathon again yesterday. Didn't train as well as last season (what with home renovations and the ABA convention planning and all) so my time was a little slower than last year (about 7 minutes, I think) but I did finish and am functional today.

Hopefully this will be a sign of even BETTER things to come!

My latest match

This just in from eHarmony....

The one thing Bubba is most passionate about: the truth, when I am right and can prove it without a doubt.

Ummmmmm.....NEXT!

NOW I wish I had Cable/TiVo!

Jack has been invited to be a guest at the Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about his Lending a Helping Hand Bill.

The episode will air on Monday, January 28.

Which mallet?

Student: Which mallet should I use to play the crotales?
Teacher: The brass ones
Student: Which ones are the brass ones?
Teacher: Hit yourself on the head with each one. The one that hurts the worst is the brass mallet.

More fabulous kids

I got this article from one of my band parents back in September. I glanced at the first paragraph, but didn't read the whole thing. I kept it in my inbox because I knew I wanted to at some point. It's about kids who are collecting art - Warhol, Rembrandt, etc. REAL major pieces of art. The parent who sent it to me is the VIP for Relations Art Basel Miami Beach - a HUGE art show, sometimes considered the most important art show in the US. I thought she was just telling me how kids are collecting art. Little did I know that her son Andrew (one of my 7th grade trombone players and a FABULOUS kid) was in the article!

ENJOY!


(By the way - Jack's mom said she's playing phone tag with Ellen Degeneres; hope he makes it up there!)

Saturation point

Is it possible... if you have had a REALLY productive and busy day, getting many of your items checked off the "To Do" list and many loose ends tied up on projects and teaching your classes and having really good rehearsals, that at the end of the day when you have an unexpected block of free time, you don't know what to do with it and you end up just sort of wandering around saying "what now?".....that your brain has reached a saturation point and you just need to pack up and go home?

More nicknames

I got a cute e-mail from a friend the other day regarding nicknames on the Bing Blog. She's said before that she has a hard time keeping all of my "characters" straight (and believe me, you are ALL characters in the story of my life!). Then she asked for a nickname all her own. We talked about it, but nothing is popping out at me. How about we all brainstorm together?!

Here are the facts:
1. She's a former band director
2. She's a flute/piano
3. She's a stay-at-home mom with 3 kids. The last two are twins, born December 7th.

She was suggesting "Sleep Deprived Mom". It's definitely a possibility.

Oh, and be sure to check out her blog to see pictures of the family!

Do the Math

Exhibity A: I get about $3500 per school year to be the 7th grade Dean. If you figure an average school year of 180 days, that's about $19.44 per day.

Exhibit B: I get $20 per 30 minutes to teach private lessons.

Exhibit C: Between yesterday and today, I've spent 4 hours on Dean issues.

Exhibit D: Some of that time was at the expense of my jazz band.

So I ask you - what am I REALLY getting out of it? Prestige? Honor? A big fat feather to stick in my cap?

Call me "Macaroni" but this is crazy!

Hidden message

I just tried to send an e-mail to my mom...here's the message I got in return:

Hi. This is the qmail-send program at
I'm afraid I wasn't able to deliver your message to the following addresses.
This is a permanent error; I've given up. Sorry it didn't work out.

:
68.168.78.104 does not like recipient.

Hmmmm...I wonder if I should be worried?!

Changing the World

You may have seen this on ABC News tonight. Pretty impressive little guy, isn't he?

He's also a great little flute player in my band!

Nicknames

My faithful readers (Thanks to you, but you all REALLY should get a life!) will know that I try to keep an air of anonymity to the Bing Blog. I would rather have fun nicknames for those in my world, mostly made up from things about that person. I was thinking that my buddy D-Man needs something that is a little more interesting. I was discussing this with Band Lady as we were hanging out at the state band geek/music nerd convention. I mentioned that D is a large supplier for my sugar fixes, therefore being the keeper of the Sugar Monkey. I said "HEY! He can be the Organ Grinder while I'm the annoying little monkey swinging around in circles." Band Lady reminded me that "Organ Grinder" could have QUITE a different interpretation to some.

Discuss.....

interesting Genesis insights

There are a few other blogs that I check out periodically. I just read THIS today and thought "Holy Cow! Why didn't MY warped brain think of that?!"

Ever notice how being a team player never really helps your solo career, especially when nobody on the team understands your position anyway?

More celebrity guests

Visiting our school soon - Madeline Albright. This time our 8th graders get to attend, and so do our Social Studies teachers. Should be interesting!

The Singleness Seven Year Itch

THIS article graced my e-mail inbox today. It's pretty much spot on. And so another year begins!

It's raining lizards!

Seems as though when it gets too cold in Miami, THIS is what happens.

Happy New Year!

So "Bing in the New Year" did NOT go on as planned. Many out-of-towners had to cancel due to ill parents, financial issues or other problems. I was QUITE disappointed, but ended up punting, and drove to Orlando to be with Songbird, Precious and D-Man and their families, since they couldn't make it to Miami. It actually took a lot of pressure off of me to get the house pulled together, since I'm still working on the kitchen and some of the finishing touches. The bathroom and my bedroom are pretty much done. The Pez room is having some electrical issues, but is coming together nicely. The kitchen needs to be pulled apart, the floor REDONE and the cabinets reinstalled. I'm looking at a mid-February Open House. You're all invited!