Communication

I had to chuckle when I saw this post on Jon Mark's blog today - especially since the sign is in our neighborhood.

I sure hope this person was able to reach David.

Read the story here.

Five Years

It's true, five years ago I arrived in Amarillo. Honestly, when I moved to Amarillo in 2005 I had no intention of staying this long - there was part of me that believed I would move on in two or three years.


But I didn't.

For a girl who grew up in a small town in Eastern Iowa, I never would have predicted that I would have move 1100 miles away to a place where I knew no one.


But I did.


The seed of an idea to pick up everything and leave Dubuque, Iowa was planted Memorial Day weekend 2005, my brother's wedding weekend. I knew it was time to move on to a new adventure, call it an ephiphany if you will.

On Memorial Day I sat down and my desk and began browsing for job opportunities. That first day I identified a few possible opportunities and began drafting resumes and cover letters. That week friends helped me revise my resume (Thanks to Jason and Bobbi M.) A week after the letters were mailed, I had appointments for phone interviews with 3 different orchestras. Multiple phone interviews occurred during those June weeks and eventually invitations to travel to three cities for on-site interviews. I opted only to travel to one - Amarillo.

A two day interview extended into three (as my flight was cancelled due to excessive air traffice in Dallas) and I spent the Juy 4th holiday in Amarillo.

Earlier this month I was reminded that during one of those many interview panels (July 3, 2005) I was asked where I saw myself in 5 years. The young and optimistic Sue answered, why, I'd like to be the Executive Director here or at a similar size orchestra. The irony was revealed earlier this summer when I was named Acting ED.

Mid-July 2005 I was offered the opportunity to move to Amarillo, and so I did.

Prior to my departure my friend Tori told me that I needed to move to Texas, buy a pick-up, get me a dog, and find me a cowboy.

Well, Tori, I didn't do what you said, but I have found happiness here in Amarillo.

Only in Amarillo

Only in Amarillo can sunshine, high winds, fire warnings and freeze watches all be part of the same forecast.

Frank's Christmas Jam 2009

Bryan and I spent Saturday night enjoying fun with friend's and music at Frank's Annual Christmas Jam. At this yearly jam members of various Amarillo bands get together and do that...jam. There are never too many guitars or drummers on stage. It's a time for these musicians to kick back, relax and play for the fun of it.

Only four guitar players? Nah, clearly - that is not enough!

Pirates of the Canyon Balloon Rally

After a late night of working on projects around the house, Bryan and I headed to Palo Duro Canyon to watch the Pirates of the Canyon hot air balloon rally.

First Snowfall of the season

Turn your head and you can watch the first snowfall of the season in Amarillo. Scary but true!

After the storm

This is what 11 - 13 inches of snow looks like in our yard.

Our house, 10 a.m., Saturday, March 28



Our house, 4 p.m., Saturday, March 28



Our house, 2 p.m., Sunday, March 29



No worries, snow melts fast here.

The show must go on

The show must go on. Friday night's symphony concert was reconfigured due to the freak Amarillo snow storm. A few minutes before the start of the show this is what the parking lot outside the performer's entrance looked like.



We were able to avoid cancelling the concert because of the generosity of our guest artist, Davide Cabassi. We released the orchestra from the concert service and provided an alternate performace for our die hard concert-goers. Approximately 50 folks joined us for an intimate evening with Davide Cabassi.

Here's some looks from the show:




Thank you for an amazing evening of music, Davide.

In West Texas, anything is possible...

Last week, high temperatures were in the 80s. Today is a very different story. A blizzard is upon us.

From the National Weather Service:
AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WINTER STORM WILL IMPACT THE PANHANDLES
REGION THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY. HEAVY SNOW WILL SPREAD FROM
NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE PANHANDLES THIS MORNING. BY
MIDDAY TODAY...HEAVY SNOW AND VERY STRONG WINDS WILL BE AFFECTING A
LARGE PORTION OF THE AREA. NORTHERLY WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS
OVER 50 MPH WILL CAUSE WIDESPREAD BLOWING SNOW WITH NEAR ZERO
VISIBILITY IN WHITEOUT CONDITIONS THROUGH TONIGHT. HEAVY SNOWFALL OF 6
TO 12 INCHES IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE WARNING AREA WITH AMOUNTS IN
EXCESS OF 12 INCHES COMMON MAINLY ACROSS THE OKLAHOMA AND EXTREME
NORTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLES. SNOW DRIFTS OF 10 TO 20 FEET WILL BE POSSIBLE
BEFORE THE SNOW FINALLY ENDS SATURDAY MORNING.

My favorite part is the section that refers to the 10-20 foot drifts.

This winter weather storm on most days could be a delight. However, today has a bit of a complication. It's concert day. That means I'm not staying home curled under my blankets in front of a fire. Today, I'll be prepping a hall and an orchestra for a concert in the midst of a blizzard.

My years in Iowa have trained me for this.

Well, I need to go add a few things to my car - shovel, icemelt, etc.

Hitchin' Post

Yes, your eyes were not deceiving you that is the sign of 5 horses hitched to a horse statue in Amarillo. There are some things that only happen here. And yes, those five horses and riders are preparing to merge into traffic on Amarillo Blvd.

Horses on the streets of Amarillo

A few months ago, Bryan and I first saw this sight


Yes, these are horses - and they, along with their riders, are confidently enjoying a trot on the streets of Amarillo.

I have seen these horses and riders a few times - and sometimes they are parked at the nearby Dairy Queen. We saw the sight again yesterday and I was reminded that I had not posted this image.

I suppose this is another one of those, only in Amarillo images.

West Texas Pick-Up

As much as I wish it were so, this blog is not about a Ford F150 or any of it's diesel cousins.

No, this is the true ramblings of another sort of pick-up...a pick-up West Texas style.

Two Saturdays ago I had found my way to a local sports pub to meet up with a co-worker and his wife. We had picked the evening and place to match wits playing BuzzTime Trivia.

I arrived at the pub and was greeted by a familiar face, a colleague that works for a business that I work with often. We exchanged pleasantries and I went my way and he went his. (For the sake of this post I'll call him Mr. Cowboy - since he was at the pub to watch the Dallas Cowboys game)

Now, another friend had told me that Mr. Cowboy was interested in me. Because of the nature of our working relationship I don't want to actively pursue a relationship. But I'll be the first to admit that a little flirting is good for the ego. However, after hearing some of his lines...oh dear!

During a pause in our BuzzTime Trivia Challenge Mr. Cowboy visited our table. He indicated that he wanted to buy me a drink, so he put $5 down on the table and walked away.

Odd, most guys I know actually buy the drink rather than put money on the table.

At the next pause in game play Mr. Cowboy comes back to join us. It is clear that he has had another drink or two during the previous round (btw, at this point, I am currently the point leader...probably because I have had my one drink and called it quits for the night). During this visit Mr. Cowboy explains that he is at the pub with his ex-girlfriend, an ex-girlfriend with excellent fringe benefits. He disappears for the next round of play.

Current game has ended and Mr. Cowboy reappears with "ex-girlfriend/friend-with-really-good-fringe-benefits". Mr. Cowboy tells the gal that he has bought me a drink and that is why there is a five dollar bill on the table. "Really?", she exclaims. "You need to put more than that down." He agrees and another $5 bill is placed on top of the original bill. Mr. Cowboy and gal disappear for the start of the next game.

My friends and I cannot help but chuckle at this point. Seriously, this is good live action comedy.

Round 1 of the next game finishes and Mr. Cowboy reappears without the gal. This time he is ready for more conversation and he primes it so well..."Sue, I have always thought of you as 27 going on 40."

Sheesh. I don't think I really need to say more about the evening. I will say that I have to hear the end of it from my Amarillo chums. Apparently they have never known one who has been the recipient of such an odd set of pick-up lines. Oh well, at least there were laughs to be shared. So, in the interest of keeping you non-Amarilloans in touch with the wacky life of Sue...yeah, I had to share.

Spider Sitting

Here's another incident from the, "It could only happen in West Texas" series:

This week I was asked to "tarantula-sit". Yes, it's true. One of my youth orchestra members had captured several of the critters, placed them in an ice cream bucket (thankfully sealed with duct tape by her father) and brought the spider to rehearsal for a show and tell. Yikes. Wisely, the youth orchestra coach would not allow the spiders in the rehearsal room because they would be too much of a distraction. That left me with the unusual task of tending the spiders. Oh my.

Honest Mechanic?

No, it's not an oxymoron, this week I actually met and worked with an honest mechanic. Call in the producers of Dateline for this special!

The short story...my car had been in and out of the shop for the past two weeks. The visit was triggered by a pesky check engine light. In this case the light was on for a reason...one that no matter the proposed solution did not seem to rectify the bigger issue. After days of repairs and hundreds of dollars invested the mechanic called me to say that he was stumped and could not fix my car. He recommended that I pick the car up at the end of the day. I went to the shop at the end of the day to pick up my drivable yet ill vehicle. Jimmy recommended that I contact a Chrysler dealer to work on the beast because he was stumped...he left all of the new parts in the car, asked me to call him when the dealer found a remedy because he would like to know how to fix it and handed me a check totaling the amount that I had spent on the car in the past two weeks. Can you believe it?

My friend Eric says I live a charmed life and must be part Irish because he had never heard of a mechanic willing to issue a refund for that much labor. Good thing I do and I am.

Another West Texas Moment...

I would not have believed it unless I saw it with my own two eyes. This afternoon, returning from a lunch meeting, I saw six horses "parked" (and I use the term loosely) in a Dairy Queen parking lot. (I-40 and Washington - not exactly a rural setting). No, there is not a hitching post at this particular establishment. Yet, there the horses stood, each in their own parking stall while their owners were presumably dining at the Dairy Queen. My traveling companion indicated that the horses were hobbled together. Now all we need is some tumbleweed on Polk Street, and a shoot-out at the saloon and the experience would be complete.