In Which Ryan Carries Water Up A Volcano
November 2023 | 4:11
Koopa has an uncanny feeling that his shadow is up to something.
What's Been Happening
For anyone who is unaware, I'm terrified of heights. It's a totally non-conscious reaction so I'm less embarrassed by it than bemused and somewhat frustrated, and about the only time it comes up is driving by cliffs or while hiking. My wife has no such issues, but does a lot of work to find hiking trails that we don't think will cause issues which I obviously appreciate.
We were able to spend a week in Hawaii this past month which was as awesome as it sounds. We decided to try a trail I had scouted online that supposedly had orchids, (hooray!) had a section that was along a valley (should be fine for me), another section that was switchbacks (might be fine or might not work for me), and a final section that was a climb along a volcanic ridge to a panoramic lookout (definitely nope for me but she would probably enjoy). I ended up making it through like 3 of the switchbacks before needing to turn back, and since it was so early in the trail and we hadn't seen orchids yet we decided she would keep going and I'd head back to the trailhead.
Meanwhile, I remembered that there was a non-profit group (the Aloha Tree Alliance) doing replanting of native plants and asking hikers for help carrying water up to the various watering stations, so I figured I'd ask if they wanted help while I waited. Predictably, by the time my wife made it back down the trail I had helped them carry all the water up the trail, then learned about all the plants they were re-introducing, then helped water them, then helped carry the equipment back to the trailhead and was having some kind of local iced tea and homemade banana bread with poi. Oh, and yes she did find orchids at the very top of the trail.
Besides being a fun random thing from this month, it made me realize a couple things.
First, how awesome is my wife that she puts in so much extra work to find trails that I can enjoy too, and doesn't get frustrated when I can't keep going sometimes? Second, how important it was that we communicated when there was an issue, that we found a compromise, and then that we each figured out ways to enjoy the situation that presented itself. The non-profit folks were borderline shocked at how willing I was to help and that I wasn't stewing about waiting for my wife; obviously I've felt sorry for myself before, and not that I wasn't at all frustrated and I'm sure she was too, but this way we both enjoyed ourselves which seemed like the point.
I won't pretend to be a relationship expert, and a lot of what I do right is being lucky enough to be married to my wife. But don't be afraid to help cultivate your own luck, and talk amongst yourselves out there.
May your masks smell pleasant and your packages arrive without incident,
Ryan
Chart O' The Month
I've mentioned my love for John Hollenbeck's music before, but it's worth highlighting some of my favorite albums of his as part of this space. All Can Work has actually been out for a few years now, but like a lot of John's stuff I keep coming back to it and enjoying it in new ways.
The title track is a tribute to the late trumpeter Laurie Frink, and it's absolutely haunting to me. It's comprised of music based on her standard warm-up she would always play, mixed with text from emails between herself and John during his time in New York. It's a tacit invitation into a deeply personal place, and given how many of those similar warm ups I've played and emails I've sent... it really hits home. "Elf" is a reimagining of a jazz standard (I won't ruin which one if you haven't heard the track), and even by John's usual standards of delightful misdirection this one hooks me every time.
All the rest of the tracks are also his usual brand of inventive and fresh, and I can't even begin to guess how many musical ideas of my own can be traced back to this record. All of his records including this one are available on his bandcamp site, and he continues to give the proceeds from all his record sales to Black Lives Matter causes.
Look, Nature!
This is a sea turtle we saw while snorkeling at Shark Cove on the North Shore of Oahu. That sounds so cool it feels fake to type, so I'll add that both my wife and I didn't see the turtle 5 feet from us until I heard someone say "hey did you see the turtle," and even then she was trying to take a picture of the fish behind it because she thought that's what I was pointing at.
Education Notes
It's audition season for DCI, which has obviously had me thinking a lot about the process of selecting performers through only a snapshot of interaction. Two specific ideas that I continue to think are incredibly important for folks on both sides of the interaction to consider:
For performers, the audition materials are chosen for a reason, and how you perform them communicates a message regardless of your intent. The more you understand the reason and the clearer you are with your message, the more likely you will be succesful.
For people rating auditions, nothing is more important than having a clear prioritization of what you value in performers. If you are unclear or incorrect about what you're looking for, you're unlikely to find it even if you're staring at it.