Holy cow, do I feel hospitalitized!! (Read that word carefully…I made it up.) As I sit on the hotel computer next to a personally autographed picture (with a personal note) of former first lady Barbara Bush, I reflect on what I just experienced…and what I will likely experience tomorrow. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so at home with strangers in such a short amount of time as I’ve felt today. By the way, read my last post if you want to know where I am and why I’m here. Anyway, not only were we picked up in the airport by two linebacker-esque guys with southern drawls, but it turns out they are extremely friendly and funny. They took us to our hotel (a Comfort Suites), where I get my own very nice room and where we met the worship pastor, who was waiting for us to arrive. The three of them waited for us in the lobby as we got our stuff into our respective rooms. When we got to our rooms, we both found a hearty welcome basket waiting for us on the tables. (It turns out I got Jennifer’s, and she got mine, but we fixed the mistake. I wondered why pink was a prominent color in mine.) Next, they took us out to Longhorn Steakhouse, where we got to eat with more amazing people. I ate an 8 oz. serloin, but they made us feel like we could have ordered a 16 oz. t-bone if we had wanted to. All in all, I guess you’d have to be here, but all this southern hospitality is making me want to stay here longer and come back again.

That’s all for now. It’s time for bed.

Matt

No, not the greatest decade for music. I’m talking temperature. Sure, it’s fairly nice in the Michigan/Indiana area (63 and sunny here in Holland and 66 and sunny in A-town…according to my weather widget), but why not enjoy 80-degree weather in a place like South Carolina? That’s right! This ol’ boy is headed down south to Dixie for a few days. Being a musician, I get some cool opportunities, one of which is getting to play for an artist named Jennifer Stanley. She’s got a show down there, and she’s taking me along. So if summer never fully comes to the North, at least I’ll have these couple of days to enjoy hot summer weather. Too bad it’s not a summer-long tour instead of a one-day thing. Oh well…I’ll take what I can get.

Matt

You know, I have two wishes. Here they are in a very specific order:

I wish:

1. For interesting things to blog about and plenty of time to do it.

2. For people to actually read my blog.

As far as I can tell, since I’ve decided to deviate away from the blogging clichés such as Xanga, LiveJournal, and Blogger, there are an average of 2-4 people that read my blog, and one of them is my Mom (love you, Mom). Of course, as I think about it, maybe people don’t read it because I don’t update very often. What’s the point of checking a website regularly when the updates are very sparse? Hm… I guess that’s something for me to consider. My other option is that noone cares. And honestly, I don’t blame them. What’s new and exciting in my life doesn’t have to be exciting to others…and probably isn’t. Plus, I must confess that it’s somewhat rare that I read other people’s blogs. Why would I expect them to read mine?

No, I’m not depressed, nor am I looking for some sort of affirmation of your love for me. Not in the least. These are just thoughts and questions I’m pondering. I sometimes think, “I should post a blog entry,” but then wonder if it’s a good use of my time and mental energy. Usually, I opt to do other things like sleep or eat or hang out with a friend…or work. So for now, I will update when something worthwhile crosses my mind, and I happen to have access to the internet. Who knows how often that will be.

Stop using ’s to make words plural. I hate that. Oh, and while you’re at it, use your/you’re and there/their/they’re correctly. Thanks!

Matt

So the “Tiger” has been on the prowl on my Mac now for a week and a few days, and let me tell you, it’s amazing…for the most part. There are a few minor things that I need to get used to, but everything else is great. Features like Dashboard and Exposé make using my Mac more convenient, not to mention they look sleek. Anyway, most of you don’t care about that anyway. You’ve succumbed to the Microsoft myth. Oh well…it’s your loss. Now on to bigger and better things…

So I’m finally done with my sophomore year of college. The last couple of weeks were fairly close to a nightmare. Preparing for my UDPE (Upper Divisional Performance Evaluation - basically I play for the faculty and they decide if I can still be a music major, so no pressure at all), writing an orchestration and a string quartet and doing three workbook assignments for orchestration class, studying for finals, preparing for the summer, studying for finals, hanging out with friends who I might not see for the whole summer (or ever again in a few cases), sleeping, eating, and doing anything else that could possibly take some of my time were all aspects of my life these past few weeks. Blogging was not one of those important things. But now I found some time…obviously. I think I need to find some time to write some e-mails too, as I know there are a few people I haven’t gotten back to. But for now, I’m going to head to bed. Church is happening tomorrow morning, and I’ll be there, so I should get some nappy-nappy.

Zzzzzzz,
Matt