Don't box me in

Originally I had different content in mind for that title.

I really wish I could make my brain think of yet another situation for "Irene Casarez" and "Stewart Copeland," and there's stuff in there... but I haven't sat down long enough (well, I have, actually, sat down long enough, but it's the imagination part that's failing me now, not the sitting down part) and tried writing it.

Instead -

Last night was flute choir! We've been on another weird schedule this quarter, with one week on, one week off (due to activities at the school, I guess), and then I missed a week because I wanted to watch the Biden/Palin debate a couple of weeks ago. It was fun to be back. Maybe I was so excited to be there because it took me an hour and 15 minutes to drive 17 miles. I am actually closer to Culver City at my new job, but I have to take the 10 freeway to get there now, and, as I am learning, the 10 freeway sucks. Once I got there (and I was pissed because my lateness allowed me no time to drop in at Mi-T-Mart (OK, so it has a new name but to me it will always be Mi-T-Mart) and buy a bottle of water. I also had to pee, brush my teeth - I had to make a choice.

Since it's our winter concert, we are, of course, gearing up for the holidays, so the music is less challenging than usual, but Patty picked up some interesting remakes of typical Christmas tunes, including one original piece (as in, not a new arrangement of "Angels We Have Heard on High") that calls for three (yes, THREE) piccolos. I get to play picc 1, with Mini on picc 2 and Ronna on picc 3. Mini is a little dynamo - she's quiet and calm, and always prepared and practiced, and I like playing with her. Ronna gets a sweet tone out of her piccolo. Me, with my 50% plastic piccolo (Really. Only the headjoint is wood, and probably crap wood at that! I love bitching about it. It's actually not that bad, and I got a deal for $300), well, I'm pretty loud, and usually in the right place at the right time. We're a fine piccolo team, and I'm excited. Can you tell?

Dora, Puma and Franny will probably not be too happy to hear me practicing (my part has some high Cs and quite a few high B flats); nor will the neighbors, I think, but oh well. Now if I can plan to practice during the open house across the street then I can maximize the amount of people I can annoy.

One the way home, though, after sitting in all that traffic getting there, you'd think the traffic heading south on the 405 at 10 p.m. would've been better, but no. Why do Thursday night drivers love to box me in? I could not get around this one group of pickup trucks going 60 (one in the carpool lane, one in the fast lane, and one in the middle lane) from Culver City to Carson. It was ridiculous. Were they in a parade? A cavalcade of pickups?

In a couple of weeks I'll be driving to City Garage for tech rehearsals after work, and I have no idea what traffic is going to do to me. I'm going to really have to work on not being in a bad mood once I get there.

Today, well. Today. Today I am going to Kaiser for my first mammogram. I'm kind of putting off getting up and getting dressed and going to do this. I'm not scared. I'm just... procrastinating.