What have you done for a tuba?

Eric B · Post by **Eric B** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 11:58 am

A couple of months ago, Joe S. (Bloke) came through Texarkana on his way for a gig with the Shreveport SO. He dropped in at the church where I work and let me play a MW Thor for 45 minutes. Needless to say, I have tuba lust again. As a married man, I can't just go out and finance the horn, nor can I get money out of savings. Money I make from singing funerals, and for playing tuba goes straight into my "tuba fund".

Here's the crazy thing I'm doing on the side to raise funds. I am donating plasma twice/week for cash. I get paid $35 twice weekly tax free. How crazy is that? It takes an hour and half for me because my iron is so high. It made me wonder about the ridiculous things you've done because you were obsessed with purchasing a horn that was financially out of reach. Let's keep this legal please! I can't wait to hear from you!

Toobist · Post by **Toobist** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:16 pm

Well...

I managed to get financing, but I had to get the permission... er... approval... er... (OKAY! She's the boss) or my significant other.

Long before I had planned to broach the subject with her, I caught her looking at the local humane society web site. Now... we have THREE freekin' cats already. To get my YFB-822S, I really had to bite the bullet on this one.

So... I snuck up behind her and saw the cat she was fawning over. All I saw was another little crap/pee machine (yay litter boxes!

) but I also knew I had a year's contract with a really busy quintet for which the horn would be a definite asset (I was getting a sore back standing with my Nirschl on gigs.).

"Aw... he's cute!" I said, swallowing the bile rising in my throat. "You know what honey?" I cooed, "You should get another cat. You really deserve it. I mean, you do so much for me, I should let you get another kitty!"

She stood and threw her arms around me, thanking me profusely.

The next day, after we made arrangements to adopt the new kitty (His name is Stravinsky - Vinnie for short. The first time Cathy saw me play was a Stravinsky programme.)

Then... After a long conversation on how I'd be helping with the cat boxes and feeding our herd, I, smoothly, popped the question!

I'm now (after a little negotiation and much leverage with Vinnie) the proud owner of a horn I had zero chance of owning without the new cat!

tubaribonephone · Post by **tubaribonephone** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:04 pm

Toobist wrote: The next day, after we made arrangements to adopt the new kitty (His name is Stravinsky - Vinnie for short. The first time Cathy saw me play was a Stravinsky programme.)

Off topic but my girlfriend has a cat named after a composer. Gustav.... After Holst, not Mahler (though I would much rather prefer Mahler any day!). He also goes by Goose, Poop Fat, Fatty and 17lbs of Lovin'. (technically, he is now 19lbs!!!)

Anyways, carry on with the thread....

JohnMCooper · Post by **JohnMCooper** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:13 pm

Toobist wrote:...(OKAY! She's the boss) or my significant other...

On another forum I frequent (The Vintage Mustang Forum), we call them SWMBO, short for "She Who Must Be Obeyed"

pierso20 · Post by **pierso20** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:41 pm

Eric B wrote:
Here's the crazy thing I'm doing on the side to raise funds. I am donating plasma twice/week for cash. I get paid $35 twice weekly tax free. How crazy is that? It takes an hour and half for me because my iron is so high. It made me wonder about the ridiculous things you've done because you were obsessed with purchasing a horn that was financially out of reach. Let's keep this legal please! I can't wait to hear from you!

maybe others managed to overlook this...but....you are selling plasma for a tuba huh?? haha

How does the process work? What do they do, etc. Is the time spent getting dones etc, worth it??

Haha..I ask because...I'm a poor college student.....and I have tuba lust...actually, I LOVE my small F, but I want a smaller CC horn and will need to do that before I graduate...OR....I dunno.....I may not want 2 horns later on so a bigger F like the yammy822 or just an Eb will suffice.....no matter what I do, I need money.

Right now, I'm just used loans to get horns..loans and saved money..that's all.

billeuph · Post by **billeuph** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:43 pm

On another forum I frequent (The Vintage Mustang Forum), we call them SWMBO, short for "She Who Must Be Obeyed" Wink

Which originated with John Mortimer's "Rumpole of the Bailey" British novels and BBC series. A great quote, and a great series.

People sometimes go to great lengths to raise money for their passions. Robert Rodriguez, the film director ("Desperado", "El Mariachi", and "Once upon a Time in Mexico") volunteered as a lab rat, took experimental medications for money, then used the money to fund his early purchases of filming equipment. He wrote about this in his book "Rebel without a Crew." Are you that passionate?

Bill Anderson

Eric B · Post by **Eric B** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:09 pm

pierso20 wrote:maybe others managed to overlook this...but....you are selling plasma for a tuba huh?? haha

How does the process work? What do they do, etc. Is the time spent getting dones etc, worth it??

The organization is called DCI Biologicals and they seem to be nationwide. You can get your questions answered at their site www.dciplasma.com

Basically, it initially takes a couple of hours. They ask you a ton of personal questions, test your blood, and do a physical. The process is similar to donating blood except it takes much longer. The stick a needle in the vein at the inside bend of the elbow. Your whole blood goes into a machine (aphoresis machine?) that seperates the plasma (pale yellow liquid) from the other components in your blood. Those components as well as fluid from an I.V. are returned to your bloodstream. Donation time varies from 40 minutes to 1 1/2 hours depending upon the individual. The average is an hour. Lucky me...it takes an hour and a half. The plasma is used for a variety of purposes, including burned victims and leukemia patients. Most say the worst part is the finger stick. For me it was the removal of the tape at the end!

I know, it's crazy!

MaryAnn · Post by **MaryAnn** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:17 pm

Personally, I would never, ever, volunteer for any medical experiment that involved taking a drug. Even after they are on the market, sometimes people die of things that were either not found in the small sample of people in the drug trial/experiment, or people die in the actual drug trial/experiment, or suffer permanent damage. (remember fen-fen? arthritis drugs?) No way, no how! I am damaged "enough" from what I ingested during my own youthful "invulnerable years."

Giving plasma is different....doesn't harm you (unless they decide to save money by repeat using of needles, which HAS happened in the USA) and helps people.

MA

TubaRay · Post by **TubaRay** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:52 pm

Toobist wrote: I'm now (after a little negotiation and much leverage with Vinnie) the proud owner of a horn I had zero chance of owning without the new cat!

Can you send me your wife's email address? I'd like to send her a link to your earlier post. Just as a courtesy, you know.

lgb&dtuba · Post by **lgb&dtuba** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:01 pm

billeuph wrote:
On another forum I frequent (The Vintage Mustang Forum), we call them SWMBO, short for "She Who Must Be Obeyed" Wink
Which originated with John Mortimer's "Rumpole of the Bailey" British novels and BBC series. A great quote, and a great series.

Bill Anderson

It was used there, but didn't really originate there. It's a little older than that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She_(novel)

And probably even older than that.

billeuph · Post by **billeuph** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:12 pm

billeuph wrote:
Quote:
On another forum I frequent (The Vintage Mustang Forum), we call them SWMBO, short for "She Who Must Be Obeyed" Wink

Which originated with John Mortimer's "Rumpole of the Bailey" British novels and BBC series. A great quote, and a great series.

Bill Anderson

It was used there, but didn't really originate there. It's a little older than that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She_(novel)

And probably even older than that.
_________________
Jim Wagner
Tuba/euph/trombone - Little German Band & Dancers - www.prosit.org

Bravo! What would we do without Wiki? Does anyone still own paper encyclopedias? But I think we may be a little off the subject here ...

Bill Anderson

Toobist · Post by **Toobist** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:21 pm

TubaRay wrote:
Toobist wrote: I'm now (after a little negotiation and much leverage with Vinnie) the proud owner of a horn I had zero chance of owning without the new cat!
Can you send me your wife's email address? I'd like to send her a link to your earlier post. Just as a courtesy, you know.

Too late!

She already knows she's been grifted! Luckily she loves that cat! Don't tell her (or Sushi, Nibblets or Stimpy), but Vinnie's my favourite. He stinks the least of the rest of 'em. I should know, being the official litter-shoveler.

bearphonium · Post by **bearphonium** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:18 pm

Yep. Encourage SWMBO to buy that new trumpet, knowing that I wanted to drop about that much on a nicely restored silver King Sousaphone...only to buy a euph instead! (I like cats, so a cat could have been much cheaper...maybe next time.) I am now chucking my "latte money"--money I would be spending on a preppy coffee--into a kitty to buy said sousaphone. No tax refund to contribute this year

, unless the "stimulus package" comes through.

Ally"still wanting that sousey"House

ken k · Post by **ken k** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:14 pm

scrounge around the house for anything useless and sell it on ebay or craigslist (or even our own classified section of tubenet!)

I have done this for mouthpieces and trombones already, although tubas are a bit more expensive.

ken k

Eric B · Post by **Eric B** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:18 pm

ken k wrote:scrounge around the house for anything useless and sell it on ebay or craigslist (or even our own classified section of tubenet!)

Yes, Ken. I'm going to do that next.

tubatooter1940 · Post by **tubatooter1940** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:29 am

In my days in the military, a "vampire weekend" was defined as selling a pint of blood on Friday to have beer money for the weekend. After several of these, I was a cheap drunk.
On a trip to Vladivostok, Siberia, I was looking to buy a cheap guitar in a music store and , finding all their guitars untunable and unplayable, happened to find a ten dollar Eb tuba. It played like a $20 horn but it was mine all mine.
When my Soviet tuba got me a steady gig, I found my beater King Eb on E-Bay for $350. Still got it. Good player.
Had to negotiate with SWMBO to get a Tubatamer stand for it and a $4000 P.A. system to blow it through.
If Momma ain't happy, ain' nobody happy.

Kevin Hendrick · Post by **Kevin Hendrick** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 10:18 am

tubatooter1940 wrote:If Momma ain't happy, ain' nobody happy.

That's for sure!

brianggilbert · Post by **brianggilbert** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 10:19 am

On the topic of meidcal testing for revenue generation-

Pick up "Men's Health - Best Life" at your local magazine rack. There's a big feature article on people that participate in testing AS A FULL-TIME JOB. Talk about dangerous!

Brian "who needed something to read badly while laying over in Atlanta yesterday" Gilbert

Jack Denniston · Post by **Jack Denniston** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:42 pm

Between my 1st and 2nd years at college I worked all summer at the lumber yard and saved up enough to pay cash (around $900) for a brand new MW Bell model CC tuba with hard case. I played that horn for 25 years or so, then sold it about 15 years ago. I recently saw that horn for sale on tubenet and the photos sure brought back some fond memories.

MikeMason · Post by **MikeMason** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:07 am

If she were a new version of BAT,what you reckon the T would stand for?

TubeNet