Dan's Fall Update

It took me awhile to dig myself out of the giant mounds of various college students' assignments to get to the computer to write this blog post, but I finally made it here. Yes, it has been busy teaching 6 days week at 3 different colleges but I have still found some time to work on my dissertation. I do really enjoy the majority of my classes and students, and I am still shooting for summer of 2008 for the completion of the PhD. Let's see if I can do it.

I am also playing quite a bit. I have played in the Bronx, Long Island and New Jersey in the past few weeks. This week I am playing Beethoven's Ninth symphony at Carnegie Hall with some group whose name I cannot recall at the moment, but rehearsals start tomorrow. Next week I am playing the John Rutter Requiem at a big church in south Brooklyn.

After being entertained back at home in the Pacific Northwest this summer by various friends and family, we have had the opportunity to host some friends here in NYC. My good high-school friend Mark was here on business last week, he works for a large PR firm, so they put him up in the Sheraton in midtown. We managed to hang out on a rainy Tuesday night, and then catch a NY Rangers hockey game at Madison Square Garden the next night. Fun times, we saw a fan wearing a NY Islanders shirt (the cross-state rival hockey team) get de-shirted and pushed around a bit. The Rangers lost, but a good time was had by all. This past week, another good high-school friend Laura was here. She lives in Bermuda now, where she teaches music (viola and violin), so she stayed with us since no music school will put someone up in a NYC Sheraton. Katie and I are hoping to visit her at some point...in Bermuda! Her friend Greg came out to see her for awhile, and we enjoyed showing them around and eating out at some fun places. I made sure they tried out the ambrosia that is Brooklyn Lager, while Laura brought us some Gosling's Rum, Bermuda's unofficial national spirit, which we mixed with ginger beer (much punchier than ginger ale) for the official drink of Bermuda: the "Dark and Stormy." Yum!

Next week our newly-married friend Rachel (one of Katie's college roommates) will be visiting on business. She lives in Washington DC now, but will stay with us for a few days. We read that the average night in a NYC hotel costs about $240, so if you want to save some $$$ and have fun, come stay at Chez DanandBird. We accept advance reservations and all major credit cards. We absolutely do not tolerate nail clipping except in designated areas.

Public Groomers Need Not Apply

Okay, New York. I have had just about enough. I have been very tolerant of the enormous flaws in your late night/weekend public transportation. I endure the incessant sirens and honking and the elderly in their Sunday best shooting snot rockets onto the streets. I have learned to avert my gaze from the constant public urination (because, let’s face it-given the subway situation here even I have been close to joining the crowd). But what I cannot, will not, absolutely refuse to condone is public grooming. Specifically clipping one’s finger and toenails in public: on the trains, in the library, in church (holy nastiness).
Case in point: Dan was innocently commuting to Hofstra the other day when he heard the familiar “clip, clip” of the nail clippers. Briefly averting his attention from his paper, Dan had time to make a disgusted face before becoming engrossed in his article again. And then it happened: a sharp, dangerous crescent came shooting toward him launched by the filthy offender. We are lucky Dan is still with us today, as the bioweapon merely arched threateningly over the seat and landed on Dan’s newspaper. I shudder to think of what might have happened had Dan been helplessly mid-yawn and the trajectory of the Chinese star slightly altered.
I am disgusted and outraged by this behavior, it cannot continue. I am here to rally a following to put a stop to this socially corrupt practice. We need signs and support! Why should “no smoking” and “no spitting” and “no knife fighting” signs dominate our walls when there is a real threat to our quality of life at stake? Why should we always be forced to wear safety glasses while commuting? There needs to be repercussions in place to discourage this debauchery in the future; perhaps disabling the offender’s “clippin’ hand” or securing them in straight jackets while in public. I am still working on the particulars of the punishments, any suggestions and/or donations are welcome. Until we can get this thing under control, I implore you all to protect yourselves and to stand up for what is hygienic.

Testing, testing...is this thing on?

Avast ye scurvy dogs, ye can set aside the relentless pursuit of a fresh, new Brooklyn blog post. We are back with a sincere apology; we were remiss in our duty to provide our rabid fans with timely updates of our fascinating doings. Yes, the Harvest is upon us (thank you Marc), the leaves and the times they are a-changin’ but before we move forward, let us take you back to a land far, far away: the Northwest.
Many of you were witness to the glory of our summer trip home; the weather was awesome, people cooked for us and paid for our meals, we boated and shopped and barbequed and generally basked in the goodness of a NW summer. We packed in so many visits with family and friends (30 peeps in the first weekend) that by the end of our two weeks we were completely exhausted and in need of a vacation. Let me just say that going back to PA school was hardly a vacation, thus the amount of time which has elapsed between blogs. But I’ve already apologized! Geez, get over it!
You might be wondering what exactly has been occupying our time of late. Good question! Personally, I have been living at SUNY Downstate (or so it seems). We have an average of two tests a week (three this coming week) so once we are done with one test, they literally hand us a packet of information to know, retain and love for the next test. PA school is a relentless pirate who is constantly making us walk the plank. So far I am surviving, but really, really REALLY looking forward to our Christmas break when we get almost three (!) weeks off.
Halloween is coming up! For those of you who are aware of my sickness, you will understand how distressed I am that we will not be throwing the 2nd annual Monster Bash this year due to my hectic schedule. Never fear, though; the decorations are up, complete with orange lights, witches and spider webs aplenty. Thanks to those of you supporting me with new ideas for decorations, food and such for the next Halloween party. I am looking forward to implementing all the ideas, especially the Thorax Cake (thanks, Ragan). Also, look for pictures of the pumpkin I will be carving to enter in Downstate’s pumpkin carving contest. I plan to be $50 dollars richer by next Tuesday.
This ends my tirade (for now) and I promise to be much more compliant when it comes to blogging. Warning: Dan’s post coming up next.