Up past 11 on a Friday night...oh yeah...

...except that I'm sitting in a chair in my house all by myself. Actually, this evening was sweet. The fiancee and I went Downtown (St. Paul, thank YOU very much) for the bi-annual St. Paul Art Crawl, where local artists let you into their studio (which many times is also their apartment), serve you snacks and let you stare at their artwork. Many places had candy, some had salty snacks, some had box wine and cheese, but this one totally sweet place had a keg of Blue Moon. Alison bought a clay mug from them, and they filled it with beer...sweet. I bought a print of some penguins at a bus stop which is pretty hilarious.

I was getting the playing itch this week, so I sent out a bunch of e-mails to local performing groups that I may not embarrass myself with...so far I'm working on getting an audition with the Dakota Valley Symphony. Surprisingly enough, if I made it, it would be the first orchestra I've played in since high school, and that was All-State. I'm kind of excited to hopefully be playing my horn on a regular basis again.

Heading to Eau Claire tomorrow to spend some quality time with people I miss...at least the ones that will be around. I also still have some stuff at the Embassy, which is hopefully still there (although I'm not counting on my gin being their).

I also fully realize the significance of Monday, and the way my life has changed in the past year. I'm sure I'll have plenty to say about it on Monday...I don't know what work is going to be like then...I can't promise I'll be on top of my game. I keep Branden's picture in my wallet, and every day he serves as inspiration for me to not suck at teaching. More on that later.