The Olympics are over...

... but enjoy this meme!

Victory in the Pacific Day

Since I was finally reunited with my trumpet this past February, I’ve been trying to get back into the habit of practicing, and to keep myself motivated I joined a brass band that rehearses near my house. I was a little surprised at how popular they are in Australia (I kind of assumed it was an American thing). So far I’ve enjoyed it a lot better than concert bands and wind ensembles I’ve been in, since a lot of the music we play is orchestral music arranged for brass ensemble, as opposed to the crazy avant-garde stuff that wind ensembles tend to perform. Also there are no pesky woodwinds taking all of the interesting parts, so we are playing almost constantly without long stretches of rest to count.

I had my first performance with the band last Sunday at the Kingsgrove RSL (Returned Services League) club. RSL organizations provide support to veterans and their families, but the clubs are basically just bars and restaurants where people hang out regardless of whether or not they have served in the military. It was VP (Victory in the Pacific) day, which commemorates the end of World War II, so there was a service in the morning where we played some hymns. Afterwards they served us a free lunch (and beer!) and we played a set consisting of a mix of military marches, movie tunes, opera arias, and Broadway show tunes. It was good to be performing again, I’ve really missed it!

Here is my outfit. I feel like I’m on the Lawrence Welk show.

Olympics

The Olympics are officially in full swing down here! Unfortunately with work and the time difference I haven’t been able to catch much swimming, but I’ve been following it a bit in the news. All the Aussies are in panic mode ever since the men’s 4x100 freestyle relay choked and their golden boy James Magnusson has been failing to deliver despite all the bragging he did before the games started. Although I generally keep it to myself, I feel a little smug every time the USA manages to edge everyone out. I watched women’s weightlifting last night (no Australia or US representatives unfortunately), and it was unexpectedly fascinating to watch a girl from Tunisia lift 100 kilos over her head. Hopefully I’ll stumble upon a few more sports I never knew I liked!

For your enjoyment (and mine), here is the photo the Sydney Morning Herald ran this morning of Magnusson losing yet another race to an American. USA!