Wednesday

I wish I could tell you today was one rip-roaring, exciting day. It was productive during the morning and afternoon. Wednesday is mostly spent with me being at home doing some of my administrative stuff. I do things like setting up the cue sheet for 3 weeks out, listening to the big idea podcast (it is probably more entertaining than informative - I get more from being at the big idea meeting); and working on other things like scheduling, picking songs for some of the other dates in December and, compiling in a readable format, the Christmas Eve service at Romeoville. I also spent a lot of time assisting some of my fellow arts directors in developing things on the artists website. Many of them have to create a separate space for Christmas Eve. I could have probably done it for all of them (it would have taken about a half hour) but I think it was best for them to struggle through it. We did have a step-by-step help page on how to do it. After you get it, it really doesn't take more than 5-10 minutes to create (it is always hardest the first time). And, with them knowing how to do it themselves, they can create spaces on the site for any special events that might be unique to their campus.

I do give two guitar lessons to a couple kids that are Jr. High/STUCO age. So, what did I work on with them? Classic rock stuff, naturally. One kid is fine tuning his acoustic guitar chops. I have always considered stuff from Led Zepplin for that material. Jimmy Page was never my favorite gutarist (expecially on electric) but as an acoustic player and writer he was awesome. So we have been doing stuff like Ramble On, Over the Hills and Far Away, and The Ocean (ok, actually an electric tune but it does go into odd time signatures - a good thing to learn). The other kid is the one who is learning Back In Black (AC/DC). That is always a popular one amongst that age. He is having a tougher time with keeping time (tempo challenges), so we have to work harder at that. To some it doesn't come easy. However, I do think that, over time, it can be overcome. I am one example of that.

After all that I had a visit to the eye doctor in the early evening. Katrina and I went. I haven't gone for quite some time and had a feeling I was going to need some kind of new prescription. We went to a place called Plainfield Vision. Everyone there was very nice and helpful. They also seemed quite thorough in the examinations. However, I left there feeling rather down (after arriving in an upbeat mood). The doctor during the examination got a little carried away with his "humor" regarding the "old" jokes towards me. Much of it revolved around how my eyesight was going to go super downhill over the next handful of years. He just kept at it. At first it was funny (and I do tend to blow off those "old" jokes - old is only based on a number and attitude). But it was becoming too much. As an example, there was one point where he did a dilation of my eyes for part of the examination. One short term result of that is not being able to see clearly close up. There was something he put in front of me that I couldn't read (because of the solution in my eyes) where he then said "that is what it is going to be like for you in a few years, (giggle, giggle)". Uh, ok, thanks. I feel so much better. It kind of was like that the whole time there. Yeah, I needed new glasses but man, lay off that stuff. Katrina did help me pick out a new style of glasses. Both of us were so picky, we were there for a while! They won't be the kind where I have to wear them all the time: just distance stuff (driving, maybe watching a movie, etc.) and reading (no, not bifocals! they called them progressive lenses). Most of the rest of my time they wouldn't be on.

For some reason I was tired early on. I was out by 10:30. That is early for me!