The past couple of days have been fantastic for me, educationally. First, since I'm going to be spending a lot more time at the computer researching and writing for the next few months, I decided I needed a more efficient work space than sitting on the couch with my little 13" laptop. The library on campus did not provide the isolation or equipment I needed, and the midi lab had limited hours and desk space. I needed an office.

We've been using the 2nd bedroom of our apartment primarily for storage, so last night I consolidated some of those boxes, cleaned off the desk, and moved my midi keyboard in there. The only other thing I really required to make the space usable was a bigger screen for my computer, so I went on Craigslist to see what I could find. It was my lucky day, and there was a guy selling a reasonable 20" flatscreen, and he got it to me that evening. Then, just below that ad, I found a guy who repairs and resells old computers who was looking for broken MacBooks that he could scavenge for parts. I still have my old water-damaged MacBook laying around - I'd kept it in case I needed any of the parts from it. The guy from Craigslist wants to buy it, so tomorrow I'll have effectively exchanged a broken old piece of junk that was doing nothing but taking up space for a beautiful new office setup.

This afternoon, after spending most of the day working from home in my new environment, I went in to campus for the first rehearsal for my recital (March 4, 8pm, Weigel Hall). I've assembled almost all the graduate students from the school of music, 3 of the best undergrads, and a couple of ringers to play in a brass choir on the second half of the program. As the leader of the ensemble, Jeff Shellhammer has agreed to conduct. It is the best brass section I have played in since I was in Cedar Rapids. The first rehearsal, despite a couple of individual problems, went remarkably well. I think we're going to have a great performance.