Well, everything but the computer and the MIDI keyboard are packed up and ready to go. I'm taking the Auto Train down to Florida tomorrow, and will drive from Sanford to Tallahassee on Thursday. After a weekend of furniture shopping, overpriced utility hookups, and every meal at McDonald's, I'll have a week of grad student orientations, diagnostic music exams, and all the exciting accoutrements of establishing residency in Florida. I don't know how often I'll be online these next few days, but I'll check my e-mail as soon as possible. If you missed my mass-mailing with my online contact points and phone numbers, just let me know, and I'll keep you in the loop.

Irish Washerwoman is coming along, although not as speedily as I'd like it to. With an arrangement like this, especially a closing/encore number, it's hard to strike a balance between crowd-pleasing banality and music which is worth playing. I tend to err on the side of the crowd, which makes for a more enjoyable performance, although it doesn't always satisfy the music critic. All too often, popular and traditional music is dismissed as "non-serious" music that's not worth my time as a composer. Since my style is so enmeshed between both worlds, I can hopefully dispel this myth in future works -- I think Vanishing Point and Clown Facades were good starts.

In other news, today is my sister's 25th birthday, and I've also heard back from my high school friend, Mike Sharp, who's alive and kicking in Elmira, New York .

Now back to studying and composing...