bort wrote:Been starting to talk about moving out of NYC next year (that is, move to somewhere else in the country, not like move to New Jersey or Connecticut "moving out").
Where should we go?
Depending on how far you want to go, I would consider 1. Blacksburg, VA-college town, lots going on, beautiful country: 2. Boise, ID-one of the nicest places I have ever been to, see comments about #1. If you are bound and determined to stay in the Upper East Coast I would move to Vermont in a heartbeat.
Probably looking to leave the east cost. My family is in Baltimore, but hers is all over the midwest. I've always liked, but haven't really clicked, with Colorado. Pacific NW is an option too, though it's a little "earthy" for me, maybe (though admittedly, I haven't been there!) Texas is both a mystery and an option, too.
Vermont and Blacksburg are both nice places, have been to both. But I need a little more action. Wherever we go, it should be in or near a city, but with plenty of options to get "outdoors."
I work remotely, so exact location isn't a huge concern as long as I have an internet connection and a phone line. (though I know this won't be my last job either!).
bort wrote:Been starting to talk about moving out of NYC next year (that is, move to somewhere else in the country, not like move to New Jersey or Connecticut "moving out").
Where should we go?
Bort, check out Montana. Billings, Bozeman or Missoula have some active music scenes and plenty of outdoors to keep you going many miles and many hours, and it is not crowded, where the deer and the antelope play - Tubas
Beginning again to be a tuba player.
1291 King Double B flat with detachable bell.
"The hills are alive, with the sound of (tuba) music."
MartyNeilan wrote:Found this on a list of bad coworker stories:
i have a co worker who constantly runs over to my desk to fart… and last time he did that, he farted so hard he pooped his pants, had to go home and change his pants. he hasn’t tried farting around me since.
schlepporello wrote:We were just informed by our minister of music this morning that our sanctuary orchestra will no longer be referred to as an "orchestra". We will now be referred to as a "praise band". The reason being to attract either a younger group or a "yuppie" group of parishioners. The reasoning behind this is that the title "orchestra" denotes a "stuffy" or "stuck up" group. Whereas the term "band" would refer to a more fun-loving group I presume.
Two possibilities, it seems to me:
He's trying to "fool" young folks into thinking there will be electric instruments and drums used in the service, or
He wants to make such a change eventually and is just going "name first."
I wonder how long it will be until this and bands/songs like it will be "standard" in worship services.
Todd, who wonders "if it's the words that matter in Christian rock/punk/metal/whatever, then what's the point if you can't understand a word they sing?"
Don't underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit to work through music. As long as you faithfully offer a joyful noise to the Lord, you are engaging in meaningful worship. The important thing - offer the Lord your best, not second best. You are praising God in worship and not just having church. Quality worship is infectious; it brings people eager to participate.
Beginning again to be a tuba player.
1291 King Double B flat with detachable bell.
"The hills are alive, with the sound of (tuba) music."
Todd may have a point: so many churches are going with the "praise band", ala Rick Warren approach, and it seemingly fails in so many ways. As has been said, the older, established parishioners [who also are overwhelmingly the largest and best supporters, financially and otherwise] quickly flee for something they can better understand and the young folks who have been targeted soon discover they can hear better music on their I-Pods and stay away anyhow. Now you are left with a church just trying to survive. There has to be some better way to attract 'em without destroying traditional music services.
scottw wrote:Todd may have a point: so many churches are going with the "praise band", ala Rick Warren approach, and it seemingly fails in so many ways. As has been said, the older, established parishioners [who also are overwhelmingly the largest and best supporters, financially and otherwise] quickly flee for something they can better understand and the young folks who have been targeted soon discover they can hear better music on their I-Pods and stay away anyhow. Now you are left with a church just trying to survive. There has to be some better way to attract 'em without destroying traditional music services.
My church does quite well with a praise band and if it starts an orchestra as I have stated many times before I am out.
"the next church I go to that meets my needs with an orchestra will be the first"
Rev Rob wrote:Bort, check out Montana. Billings, Bozeman or Missoula have some active music scenes and plenty of outdoors to keep you going many miles and many hours, and it is not crowded, where the deer and the antelope play - Tubas
I've always wanted to take a vacation in Montana, especially Glacier NP. Was interested around this time or so last year, but ended up planning my wedding instead.
I'm sure it would more than fulfill my outdoor needs, but might be a little too spread out. I realize though, that my frame of reference is the east coast, where you can cover quite a few major cities in 5 or 6 hours.
I drove cross country a few years ago, and remember the "empty" feeling in some places. Not sure I'd do well with that. The drive from Oklahoma City to Albuquerque was particularly "empty."
bort wrote:I drove cross country a few years ago, and remember the "empty" feeling in some places. Not sure I'd do well with that. The drive from Oklahoma City to Albuquerque was particularly "empty."
But you made fabulous time!
It was about the lowest low-stress driving I've ever done. We did stop in Amarillo for lunch, though I can't at all remember the name of the place... some hole in the wall place with great (fresh) burgers.
After I weeded a flower bed and prepped it, I made a dump run, we do not have garbage pickup here - you do it yourself. Then I caught my horse, saddled up and went riding for about an hour or so. Beautiful crystal clear day. I could see the Crazy Mountains quite easily and they are 40 miles away. It was a good day to be out in the countryside riding my horse.
You've been updated.
Beginning again to be a tuba player.
1291 King Double B flat with detachable bell.
"The hills are alive, with the sound of (tuba) music."
bloke wrote:How do you people in Seattle pour concrete?
I personally get along fine with what little concrete I already have, but those who do pour the stuff seem to manage all right.
Seattle's rain may be more notorious than it ought to be. Just based on annual volume, I'm too lazy to look it up, but I think annual rainfall here is less than most of the east coast. Summers are dry enough that native plants tend to be drought tolerant. Not that it doesn't rain, but when it does, it's usually light and could go on all day without really dropping much water. Summer can be grey, and cold (it's 51 F now), and wet, but ironically for all the rain, hardly ever do we get the kind of gully-washers you get all the time in most of the rest of the country, and when the weather takes a dry turn we'll have no rain at all for days.
So it's probably better for concrete than the South. A little rain doesn't really do much damage anyway, and after the first couple hours it may actually help by keeping the concrete wet and cool while it cures.
Got an audit letter from the IRS for 2008 today. Seems I didn't receive two W-2s from schools I had done some writing for and now owe $1600 in taxes for that year. The "self-employment" tax on stuff like that is a killer.
The timing couldn't have possibly been better as I am now in my 3rd month of drawing unemployment and waiting to see whether I'll have a job (probably around $8K) from OSU in the fall. God Bless America!
Todd S. Malicoate wrote:Got an audit letter from the IRS for 2008 today. Seems I didn't receive two W-2s from schools I had done some writing for and now owe $1600 in taxes for that year. The "self-employment" tax on stuff like that is a killer.
The timing couldn't have possibly been better as I am now in my 3rd month of drawing unemployment and waiting to see whether I'll have a job (probably around $8K) from OSU in the fall. God Bless America!
You have been updated.
Those taxes are killer! Oh, well. At least you know the money is being spent wisely.
Todd S. Malicoate wrote:Got an audit letter from the IRS for 2008 today. Seems I didn't receive two W-2s from schools I had done some writing for and now owe $1600 in taxes for that year. The "self-employment" tax on stuff like that is a killer.
The timing couldn't have possibly been better as I am now in my 3rd month of drawing unemployment and waiting to see whether I'll have a job (probably around $8K) from OSU in the fall. God Bless America!
You have been updated.
Those taxes are killer! Oh, well. At least you know the money is being spent wisely.
When I couldn't find a regular job in my field and started my own computer network consulting business for two years, I got slammed with all kinds of taxes. I had virtually nothing to write off because my only expense was mileage - everything else was brainpower. I started off saving a chunk of each invoice towards quarterly tax payments, but my then wife had other ideas. Some tax money bought a nice 5 diamond anniversary band, more went to a diamond solitaire (later flushed,) trips, dinners out, you-name-it. By the time next April rolled around, I had nothing in the bank, nothing to write off, and no dependants (she filed separately and the first kid was not yet born.) Selling tubas (YFB-621 comes to mind) and taking on a large payment plan was the only solution.
I had the luck of going through that "save for taxes" during my first 2 years of employment out of college...the employed "rent and beer money" years. Those were good times, although the "false account balance" wasn't annoying to deal with.
My worry isn't for things my wife buys, but for the things I haven't bought for myself over the past 5 years or so, like clothes, shoes, or furniture. And the inevitable going back to school, though work will help pay for that. But even still, the sheer thought of owning a house and having to shell out the bucks to furnish it scares the turds out of me.
(though I know this won't be my last job either!).
