Visiting Graves, Parasailing, Tying Up Loose Ends

I don't have anything deeply profound to say at this hour, but I'd rather not leave my last post as my most recent pot any longer, as, true thought it may be, it's depressing even to me.

I picked up, courtesy of the recommendation of the department chair,  two last-minute masters recitals for which to accompany in this upcoming week. Even senior recitals, much less master's recitals,  are not supposed to be allowed so late in a quarter, so I assume there must have been special circumstances surrounding the rescheduling of them. Master's recitals pay better than senior recitals. so who am I to complain?

I met with both candidates at the music department building yesterday (Sunday). I ran through the music with each soloist - one flutist and one violinist. it's all straightforward music. I could do either recital right now if necessary. both musicians have had adequate preparation, which take stress from me. It's enough to worry about preventing my own miscuse; having to be concerned about reacting to and minimizing someone else's is stressful. There's still always the possibility of error on my part or someone else's, but it's easier to sleep between now and then knowing that it would be a flukish sort of thing and not a likelihood.

What to do with unexpected cash flow is always an interesting quandary. Conventional wisdom would be to put the money away for a rainy day, but i've put a whole lot of my earnings away for rainy days, and were experiencing a pretty heavy drought here in California, so the earnings from last week and this week are going to be spent. i'm taking mt brother, my friend Alyssa, ans Jared to Santa Catalina for three days. We're parasailing while we're there. They're each kicking in the fee for their ferry transportation and paying for their own food so that it won't all be on me, but i'll footing the hotel bill and the parasailing fees. 

Alyssa and Jared each have one more year of undergrad, but for Matthew and me, we're looking at a lot more drudgery than fun and games over the next four years. A few days of frivolity while we still have the chance seems like not such a bad thing. We'll essentially have summers off for three years, but our childhoods ar essentially over. The nice thing about the medical profession is that once one has completely finished education and training, one must work hard, but then has the means to play hard if that is what one desires.

Tomorrow morning, which is actually today, my brother and I will make the northward trek to our twin brothers' graves to clean the grave sites and place flowers on them. We've collected a nice selection of flowers from neighbors, and we're packed an ready to go. I should be sleeping in anticipation of the drive, but sleep eludes me at this moment.

Santa Catalina Island, which is soon to be my destination