You may have noticed (or at least I hope you’ve noticed) that dear old Lip Rip Blues hasn’t seen many updates in the past six months or so. You may have wondered if all is well.
All is well! So don’t worry. I’ve been a little unsure which direction to take this site, and as a result, I’ve let it kinda … sit.
This post is the last in a series of three on riding RAGBRAI, a weeklong bike ride across Iowa. Here’s the first one, and here’s the second one. Thanks for reading!
One of my favorite quotes is from Tony Robbins: “What’s wrong is always available, and so is what’s right.”
In November, my lower lip started acting up: weakness, muscle spasms, etc. It’s been hard to figure out what exactly is going on with it, so I recently went to the Cleveland Clinic to see Dr. Richard Lederman, a world-renowned neurologist who’s written extensively on performance injuries, particularly embouchure problems in brass players.
Here’s what I found out!
This post is the second in a series of three, so, you know, expect another one on this topic. Here’s a link to the first post. Thanks for reading!
My last post was all about the importance of perseverance. Whether you’re riding a bike across Iowa or trying to become a better musician, all you really have to do is keep pedaling. Everything else pales in comparison to perseverance.
We gotta put in the time and keep putting in the time. There’s no substitute for not quitting. We can make the journey more pleasant, though, by controlling our self-talk.
This post is the first in a series of three, so, you know, expect a couple more on this topic. Thanks for reading!
The past two summers, I’ve spent the last week in July riding my bike across Iowa with 15,000 other people.
I speak of RAGBRAI, a weeklong rolling Mardi Gras that’s been a fixture in Iowa culture for the last 43 years. I’m taking a break this summer, and I want to reflect on what the experience has taught me about being a musician. But first, here’s a little background on this strange phenomenon.
I work in higher education as an academic advisor, and I spend a lot of time giving advice I myself didn’t follow as a college student. Welcome to “What I Wish I Knew In College!"
Spring is here, and it’s a busy time of year at your local university. Everyone’s a little tired and stressed, but the finish line is in sight! I’m meeting with the last of my advisees (mostly freshmen) to talk about classes for next fall and assess how the current semester is going, and that means I’m hearing a lot about my students' classes: what they like, what they don’t, and why.
A big part of working in higher ed is helplessly watching your students make the same mistakes you did (despite advice to the contrary). I imagine it’s a lot like being a parent.
Anyway, one of the biggest mistakes I made in college was failing to realize that my attitude had an effect on the professor. “Wha?” you say? Read on, for I shall explain!
It’s one of the big questions in life. Do we seek out new experiences, or do we try to make today like yesterday and tomorrow like today?
We all lean one way or the other (my gut instinct is to cling to safety), but the best part is that we’re not stuck with our gut instinct. We get to decide what our philosophy will be. Hooray for free will!