It's Spring Semester '09 in Theory
with a new crew of 30 gifted students.
Just after class while doing late add codes, the power cord (as opposed to power chords in Week 3...) gives off a puff of smoke (open 5th's are, of course, smokin' too...), corroborated by Nick Dowdy (did you see that?). Googling for images, this is evidently not uncommon.
So it's off to the Apple Store in
Walnut Creek (the plug had been misbehaving the past few days by cutting in and out, powerwise), but first to the lab to record
Samson and Delilah (The Frank Judges), Op. 65: XII. Dan (The Levite's Idol), with its melting down of Camille Saint-Saens's S&D and Igor Stravinsky's Nightingale.
The Apple experience today means a 45-minute wait in a very active environment, dealing with four representatives -- the majority helpful -- who assure that the cord can be replaced on the spot, which turns out not the case, alas. So will have to return in several days, limping along in the meantime with the original run-over-with-the-piano cable, which, miraculously, still works, sans smoke....
From here, on a semi-whim, stop off at the Smart Car store for a test drive (have been thinking about this for months, in preparation for the drive to Wisconsin in May for Crystal's graduation), and with -- again, three out four helpful salespeople -- it's almost a done deal (concept, driveability, economy), save for a bait-and-switch price, aggressive manager (my take on the smarmy version is opening photo for January 14), no loaner-car program, and lack of space and spare tire (turns out I really do value having the room to cart around three file boxes and a compact bike). Rather a lot, really, and looks like all this is the cure for the Smart interest of late.
So, looks like a return to good old Novato Toyota (young ladies no doubt not included in the deal),
seriously exploring the 2009 Yaris option. Hmm, this blog is a freakin' car dealership today, so, on a more typical front, orchestrate the rest of The Creation, Op. 97: I. In the Beginning (page 3-8) and begin orchestration (first two pages) of
Babe Ruth, Op. 66: I. Prelude in the Night (Turn Back), an embrace of Maurice Ravel's Rapsodie Espagnole: 1. Prélude à la nuit (1907) and Stephen Schwartz's Godspell: Turn Back, O Man.
