Westfalia travel, wrenching and general thoughts.

Ten days w/o any blogging?    ;)

So it's been really nice actually driving my '81. So much work was done! It drives well and so far, has no real issues. Niggling small details yes, but I think that's true of most Vanagons or any vehicle this old. Time will tell, but so far, I think this bus should be reliable enough for some trips. My first venture should start next Monday and take me east into WA state. The idea is to do a little camping, and, do some recon on Spokane. As for the '88 Westy, it sits idle.

The Bass Trombone continues to get better but as with learning or relearning anything, there are plateaus and good or bad days. I swear though, in my mid 20's to late 30's, this didn't happen. I'd really worked out that horn. But as work changed, so did my playing.

As I'm sure I've already written, winning the Spokane audition is a long shot. And even if I won, there would be logistical issues. i.e. this is not a high paying job. There would be some large decisions required.

At the very least, it's a goal. I've gotten 2 lessons with a local respected player. Originally, I intended to play for him and get a few critiques but this turned into lessons. A good thing.

I've always known that playing 8 shows a week of the same show can "kill" a player. Forget the fact that it can be mind numbingly boring, it's super easy to "learn" bad habits. It seems I've done this to some degree.

In spite of the cussing that goes on while practicing my horn, this is all worth it regardless of the audition outcome.