October update

Student teaching has been great fun. I have been lucky enough to be in with an excellent master teacher in a 6th grade English/History core at the local middle school. There is one week left to go with her, and then I get a new assignment. Don't know what that is yet, but I should find out soon! As far as my actual schooling is concerned, there is only one more class session to attend. I still have two of the four "tasks" to complete, but the hard part of those has been done. These "tasks" are basically write ups of a series of practical situations one would encounter in a classroom. They are the result of California trying to raise the bar as far as teacher credentialing is concerned, but most people think they are simply irritating busy work. I count myself among their number. Still, if all goes according to plan, I should be completely done by Christmas.

On the fun side of things, we just got back from visiting uncle Trevor in Hawai'i. Always a pleasant experience.

Bach again!

Hard to believe, but it is time for the Carmel Bach Festival once more. This is a bittersweet year, as Maestro Bruno Weil departs after 19 years at the helm, along with several other marvelous people. They will certainly be missed. However, it is wonderful to see all of our old friends as they take refuge from the heat of their home turf in this foggy utopia! This is really a nice group of people, and I look forward to making music with them for the next several weeks.

Elaine and I are especially honored to be participating in an adjunct concert this weekend by the group Bernardus. Countertenor Jay White and vielle player Craig Resta will be performing a selection of medieval love songs from the troubadours at St Mary's in Pacific Grove. Elaine and I will be doing selected readings as part of that presentation. It is looking to be a real treat! Come if you can - it will be at 7:30 pm, and entrance can be had for a free will offering. Can't beat that!

More Good News!

Just got my latest PSA results - down again! That's two times in a row, and the drop was by about half. This is exactly what it should be, so I am extremely happy about it.

School is now out for the year, so there is time to breathe again. My next credential class begins next week. It is completely online, so we have the freedom to get out and about without worrying of making it to class.

Camerata had a very successful concert a couple of weeks ago, and I was glad to be able to be part of it again. John, our conductor, was gracious enough to include my newest choral composition, and people really liked it a lot. It is an arrangement of a liturgical version of the Russian "Ave Maria" called "Bogoroditse Devo." I heard it in its liturgical form on a recording of the choir of the convent of St. Elizabeth in Minsk, and fell in love with it. The first verse in my arrangement is simply what I transcribed from the recording, and I build upon that in each successive hearing. Hope you like it.

Life marches on

Ended the first week of a two week position for 7th grade English. It is a lot of fun. My credential program is going pretty well, and there are only a couple more weeks left in the present term. Luckily there are no classes on Tuesday for the next term, so I'll be able to return to the Camerata Singers.

My oldest daughter presented a paper at a linguistics conference in Berlin last week. I am bursting with pride ;-)

Good News!

Today was my first checkup with the doctor for my prostate cancer since the fall, and it was good news. My PSA, which had been creeping up, has fallen dramatically. It is now 1.13, down from 1.9. Down is good. It has been a long time since I received good news, so I am ecstatic, even after - well, in the middle - of an extremely busy and exhausting day.

Off to my class in how to teach social studies!

Overdue update!

Darn that Facebook! That's where I've been doing most of my updating, so I apologize to anyone who likes to follow along here.

No news on the medical front, but it is getting time to have a follow up with the doctors. Not my favorite thing to do. I feel fine, and have not been experiencing any problems.

I am continuing in the credential program at Brandman University (nee Chapman), and just took my most recent round of CSET tests. These were on Preliminary Educational Technology and were pretty lightweight for anyone with decent computer experience. Oddly enough, they didn't ask about keypunches or batch processing in Watfiv...

Unfortunately my class this term falls on Tuesday nights, which means I have to take a leave of absence from Camerata. 8 weeks with no singing! Que lastima...

On a more positive note, Elaine and I had a terrific trip to visit Derek in Hong Kong over Christmas break. We were there for 10 nights and enjoyed every minute of it, seeing many of the sites. Probably the most impressive was the giant Buddha at Ngong Ping on the island of Lantau. That is one big Buddha! The cable car (overhead tram) back down to Tung Chung was remarkable as well. It was very cloudy, and there were times we were practically fogbound. I would love to do it again on a clear day. From some videos I have seen you get a view all the way back to Hong Kong Island.

We stayed in an apartment in the midlevels with a gorgeous view of the skyline. It was right off of the "travelator", which is a combination moving sidewalk and escalator that goes down the hill in the morning and up the hill after 10 am. It was a godsend! We would go back in a heartbeat, despite the 19 hour flight.