It's ADVENTURE TIIIIIIIME! My posts are too long.

Truly it has been a weekend of adventure.  Kurt came to Rexburg and stayed at my place Friday night.  It was tons of fun to have an old friend back, especially one who gets really excited about music.  For awhile now the jazz department has been short on assertive jazzers who are serious about learning the art, especially rhythm section guys.  It used to be Ben and Leighton on guitar, Kurt on keys, Nathaniel on whatever he wanted, and several drummers and saxophonists.  Everyone was looking for gigs and organizing jam sessions and experimenting and trying to play tunes that were way too hard, but it's not like that anymore.  So for Kurt to come up from Utah and practice with the Lionel Hampton festival competitors this year (because we have NO jazz pianists) totally made my day.

Last night was the premier of "The Quartet of Super Doom" which was the movie we made a few weeks ago, and Ingrid and I were going to turn it into another date, but she had to bail on me last minute.  So Kurt and I went to the piano at the Manwaring Center on the second floor (where terrible amateur male pianists frequently try to show off for the passers-by) and attempted to show off for the passers-by.  We actually didn't expect many people to go by, but it turns out we were right by some kind of new ticket kiosk (which was broken but apparently word hadn't gotten out yet) and tons of people came by.  Some stayed and listened.  It was really fun to play in public again, especially with someone who's good.

Later we got a big group together and watched our movie on a big screen in one of the lecture halls in the Snow Building with stadium seating.  Kim made a huge bag of popcorn.  The whole thing was amazing.  John's going to put it on YouTube, so I'll post the link as soon as I get it.  Plus it was like old times with all these people that I don't see much anymore, so I was getting in an increasingly slaphappy mood and soon my maturity level literally dropped to that of my high school days.  I was climbing the Snow Building walls, singing, dancing, saying all manner or retarded things, being flirtastic, and when we went to Millhollow I just had to change "$1.89 Chips and drink with purchase of sandwhich or salad" to "$1.89 hips and drink with purchase of sand or lad" just like old times.  The awkward thing was no one else was hyper, which made me the group entertainment for the night.

And then the moment of glory.  This cute girl with some other group at Millhollow said something kind of funny to me in passing, and then we kept making eye contact for some reason.  And then when I "accidently" flicked a piece of ice at their group, she was the only one who saw, and Dave said she was glaring at me.  So I collected everyone's styrofoam bowls and plastic spoons and constructed an elaborate doll with a face that I drew saying "I'm sorry I threw ice."  It was hideous and dripping melted ice cream, and I walked over to her table and gave it to her with my profound apologies.  Later she came up and told me it was the most elaborate thing she'd ever seen and asked me where I got the inspiration.  My mind went blank because I hadn't seen this coming and my ten noisy friends had suddenly gone completely silent to watch the awkwardness unfold, but I said something stupid and she said she'd cherish it forever.  Later I went through all the clever things I should have said but didn't.  Oh well, I'll probably never see her again.

So now I'm in Boulder, Colorado and already having a swell time.  Everyone's been so nice.  I was at the airport trying to figure out the bus situation from Denver to Boulder when I realized that a bus ticket was $12 and I only had $11.70, and you have to pay in cash and it has to be exact change.  So I said something to this old bus driver from this other bus and after he asked how much I had, he said "Don't worry about it, he'll let you on."  But then a few minutes later he came back and gave me 30 cents!  What a saint.  And then I had only just met this CU student girl when she entrusted me with her stuff so she could go do something back in the airport.  And then I met this retired couple on the bus who found out what bus stop I needed to get off at and explained how to get to my hotel, and the lady had worked at CU so she told me how great the school and community are.  And and this other friendly guy jumped into the conversation who had taken a bunch of jazz classes here and was telling me how cool the jazz faculty is.  And my hotel guy was nice and everyone's a hippie and everyone rides their bikes and the weather is only slightly chilly and I bought food at the organic grocery store right in front of my hotel and the jazz building literally looks like an old cathedral and it's a seven minute walk from my room and and and and...  and everything is just great.

So wish me luck.  I audition in 12 and a half hours.  But even if I don't make it in I'm still moving down here.  I found the perfect spot under a footbridge with some other bums.