Weekly post from March 24, 2006: The "I can't wait but I'm psyched" issue

Hello friends & loved ones,

It's still been a bit cold this past week but Spring is definitely in the air. The grass is growing, the birds are singing and the days are getting lighter earlier. Soon we'll be putting our winter jackets away, rolling down the windows in the car, and wearing shorts and no shoes.

It's difficult coming up with a profound topic every week so I thought I would reflect on something a bit lighthearted. Last weekend we had a country-western dance complete with a live caller who taught line dancing and square dancing. The dance was a fund raiser to raise money for our new church building which we will hopefully be moving into later this year. I helped dj the event with another guy who had some technical expertise; I have none. The music was mostly country music and my biggest worry was not relearning how to use a mixer or my rusty bantering skills on the mic but hoping I had every song that was requested; I didn't. The last time I dj'd was at the college radio station at Elmira College more than 10 years ago. My enjoyment of music has always been present; I remember hearing certain songs on the radio growing up and bopping my head to them from the backseat of the car. When I moved to NY in at the start of high school, I used to follow the weekly top 40 radio show (Billboard, of course) religiously. With money I earned while working I would buy an album here an album there (cassettes back in those days) and soon I had a small collection. I went off to college and left the cassettes behind. From there I worked at the radio station and then began accumulating a new collection; this time in the form of cds. When the opportunity to help dj at the dance came up, I begged my spouse to let me help out. I had a blast djaying at the dance and Jim has assured the other guy and me that we can dj the anniversary celebration for our church later this year. One of the highlights was the impressed look on some people's faces that my collection was so eclectic. I'm totally psyched (I didn't say I can't wait which irritates my spouse because it sounds like I'm wishing my life away) for this event. I've reconnected with my passion of music and it feels so good. What or who have you reconnected with lately? Now my biggest worry for the anniversary celebration is what I'm going to lug all of those cds in.