Oh yeah, the blog!

Well, I haven't blogged in six months, eh? Noooooo problem. Piece of cake. Ahem.

I think most of you who check this blog already know me and are in contact with me, but here's a pictorial update on the last six months.

I graduated from CU on May 11 and 12 with my Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance. You can watch this video that I took of the graduation procession into Folsom Field, though it'll take a while to load. (mov format, 17 MB)

A couple of weeks later I found out that I couldn't go to Thailand because they don't let people who are engaged or people who have been married for less than a year to go on their trips. This particular organization shall remain nameless. Anyway, I don't have any hard feelings, the engagement was short enough as it was. I did, however, get a free t-shirt and water bottle out of the deal.

The next three months were very busy and very sweet, since I got to spend lots of time with Dawn. I found a job at a shady locksmith company owned by a bunch of Israelis and stayed seven weeks.

The wedding was hard to plan and it took lots of time and cooperation, but we pulled it off! We had lots of great friends and family, including my dad's family from Springfield, IL. It was awesome to see them. My dad and sister lead worship for the wedding which was held outside at Hudson Gardens in Littleton, CO at 10:30am on July 29th. It was probably 100 degrees outside by the time the ceremony was over. I enjoyed the reception and I think most people were entertained. Dawn looked absolutely amazing in her dress.

We then drove to Vail and checked in at Eagle Point Resort, which was a very comfortable time share my dad provided for us off the beaten path of tourism in Vail. The weather was beautiful and we had an amazing time. We ate dinner out every night, went to Ford Park to picnic, went hiking, and mostly slept in every day.

We returned a week later and moved to Denton, TX, which is just outside Dallas. We got settled into our 530 square-foot apartment after a week and Dawn began looking for jobs while I prepared for my chair placement audition. After a total of 16 applications turned in for teaching jobs in the area, Dawn was only called back for one, and was not offered the position. She is now working as a substitute teacher at all levels, though mostly middle school, in two school districts in the area. Our hope is that she'll get her foot in the door and go from there. She is doing a great job with it, though it has been a growth process for her, to say the least.

I started school at the University of North Texas on August 28th with a full load - 17 credit hours. I am going for my Master of Music Education degree and my teacher's certification, which totals more than 70 credit hours. It would only be 38, but I haven't had any education classes yet, so I'm having to take them now. On top of that I am teaching four clarinet students and getting plugged into a local church.

It has been quite stressful getting used to marriage with Dawn, living farther away from family and friends than ever before, taking 17 credit hours worth of classes at an unfamiliar school, and living truly on my own for the first time. It will take a while yet to get used to my surroundings, but I believe that we'll thrive after the adjustment period is over.

That's all I can write for now, but I plan to write on these topics in the near future:

- Our membership in The Village Church
- Differences between Colorado and Texas
- My reflections so far on the field of Music Education
- Why I can't be God to Dawn and visa-versa
- I hate libraries (not a topic, I just hate them, but really...this is a topic I could write about)
- How marriage is changing my life
- Living in my heart means needing free time