WHEW....my weekend...is complete...

That's the weekend that started on Thursday for me, and ended...ohhhhhhhhh...late Sunday night. What did I do?

--Thursday morning--early morning breakfast meeting at Denny's w/director of Villa Park HS. Things are beginning to happen and take shape there. Good stuff. Kids are NOT going to know what hit them when my director friend takes over. Former Marine...poor kids.

--Went and checked out the students at Chino Hills HS and helped to teach a little marching basics and expand on the visual philosophy of Ryan H. Turner which is:

"Marching is nothing more than walking, with just a little bit of style and tempo." I'm patenting this. I'm tired of people marching like it's some kind of strange physicality made up by aliens from another planet. JUST WALK. Now raise your toes. Straighten the leg. Stop leaning back. VOILA!! YOU'RE MARCHING!!! Holy cow will you look at that?!?!?!

--Wrote some drill for one of my bands to tie up the opener a bit for La Sierra HS in Riverside. COOL OPENER!! I have no idea what it is. But it's cool. Band director wrote it--so the music just says, "OPENER".

--Friday...after writing the drill and running out of time, keeping me from going back out to CHHS, I headed poste haste to Torrance High School to help get the LMS-LA variety show going. Lots of angst when I arrived...lots of relief when I left. Hmmmmm...

--Saturday--24hr shift at the Fire Department. Tension. Angst. Tension. More angst. I love the OCFA.

--Sunday...Home, church, what's that? REHEARSAL FOR A CHOIR I'M IN!?!?! Uhhhhh...I'm supposed to be at a retirement thing for...what's that? You'll KILL ME IF I LEAVE? My...that's not very Christian of you. Well I know you're my wife...but you can't KILL ME!!! After rehearsal--race home, take off nice duds, but on lounge duds, head off to Bellflower HS.

--Arrive at 4:30pm, ready to announce for drum corps show. Notice pressbox all closed up. Something not right. Yep--district playing hardball with the show sponsor saying the contract was only for the field and the lights...but no pressbox. Uhhhhhhhhhhh...ok brainiac. I swear, the higher you get in beauracracy, the dumber you get. Hats off the Bellflower Superintendant for being about as dumb as they come. I ended announcing from the track a complete drum corps show (14 units in competition, 2 in exhibition). I was NOT dressed for it, and it was the first time in 22 years of announcing I had to do that. Of course, at least I HAD a sound system. Beats the time I did the show at Santa Barbara City College in 1994 when the sound system shorted out, and I had to YELL at the audience from the top of the pressbox. THEY LOVED IT. MY NEW GIRLFRIEND (later, my wife, THE WARDEN) loved it. My voice?

Hated it.

Anyway--show went well. I announced with great aplumb and enthusiasm, and got to shake hands with instructors and directors from all over the place. Sort of cool to hob nob with nobs while being a nob.

Sunday Night--12am...land my happy butt in bed, only to wake up 5 hours later...and BACK TO WORK BOY!!!!!!!

Monday...major data analysis and back and forth with the Medical Director and the Batt Chief of EMS and MY boss and HIS boss and both MY AND HIS boss...got what we needed by the time I left at 1630hrs. Oh but the fun at work was JUST ABOUT TO BEGIN...

Monday night--driving home, Nyleen wants to meet at our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner--meet her there. Kids are in RARE form, especially Michael Ryan. MY GOODNESS. What a wing nut. Just like dad. We drive over to Circuit City in Brea to find a specific universal remote. They don't have it. Drive to Rite Aid to see if they had it. Not the model we wanted. Ended up getting the model down from it and I insisted we go home. Wrote only 6 pages of drill. Collapsed in bed at 2100HRS!!!!! VERY early for me. Sarah AND Michael Ryan both had nightmares last night and created HAVOC for me and my sleep which is NOT GOOD!!

Tuesday--after a VERY nice breakfast at home of bacon and eggs (YUM!!!!!!!!), drove to work. Was planning on having a quiet day. No worries, no stresses, maybe go sit with a dispatcher or two and talk to them one on one and see how things are going--try to be HUMAN, and not a STUPIDvisor. Covered the floor from 0700-0900. All was going well...until MY boss comes out and says, "Get ready Turner. The Chairman of the Board of Directors wants a dog and pony show in 45 minutes" of the new TEMD program that I'm helping to develop. GOOOOOOOD GOD!!! Nothing like last minute. Ran to dorm rooms, made myself look presentable, met with said Chairman at 1000hrs sharp, and we got along GREAT. She's the one that spearheaded this TEMD program and so I was insistent with her that it was working and no major issues. VERY enjoyable time.

After that was done, I had to go take a walk. It was rather stressful.

So that's my weekend at a glance. Hope YOURS was better than mine...

Now get out of here.

Ryan