Dada (not the movement)

Believe it or not, in 16 days I will be a father! Or at least sometime between then and now. Or maybe later than Jan. 15, but it's safe to say that we will have the new arrival sometime in the next month or so. I can't wait! ENP really likes the name Gabriel, and I have to say that I do as well. Other choices were destroyed by negative experiences (e.g. Hayden, who ruined the Star Wars prequels along with George Lucas, "Aiden" which sounds like "Hayden," and "Ethan," which was a top-10 boys name in 2007 and also one of the freaky Others on Lost). Any other suggestions from my two readers? Time is running out!

The nursery is all done, bags are packed, and I have been practicing like a fiend at home for most of the holidays. And I am really excited about all things Spring--the baby, a whole new spin on life with ENP which should be awesome, playing the Svoboda concerto with USO (if you haven't heard this piece, head over to Tomas Svoboda's site and give it a listen--it's amazing), the Daugherty concerto with Symphonic Band (I wish MD would come up with better titles for his pieces; see other posts for details), a new concerto being written for me by Steve Hicken (http://listen101.blogspot.com/), a heavy TSO spring season, lots of visiting guests, and continuing to obsess about my students and basic world domination.

Until next time, enjoy the creepy eyes of our wily feline quadruped as she surveys the damage from Christmas and ponders her new fascination with human food.