Hello there Nathaniel, Ben, Dan, Scott, James, Dave, and Lee. Lee, congratulations on what was (judging by pictures) a really beautiful wedding. I hope the return to Chicago/move went smoothly.
At the risk of straying from the typical Woodchipper fare of anonymous Nic Cage chimeras and pictures of tousled-haired kids with plastic straw-glasses, I thought I would humbly offer an update on my life at IU, with the equally humble hope that others would follow with updates on their own lives.
In case you’re wondering what a Hoosier actually is, this 20,000 word essay should clear things up. http://www.indiana.edu/~librcsd/internet/extra/hoosier.html. The only obvious takeaway from this monstrous piece of speculation is that all the possible etymologies for “Hoosier” are almost without exception, pretty derogatory.
I’ve now finished my first week of classes at Indiana. I am taking jazz piano lessons from Luke Gillespie, (a buddy of Dr. Horn at Wheaton), Jazz Arranging, The Bebop Era, Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combo, and various master classes. The Bebop Era is taught by this jovial fellow: http://info.music.indiana.edu/sb/page/normal/22.html, David Baker, who is the 80-year-old chair and patron saint of the jazz program. (In his early days he played trombone with Miles Davis, Lester Young, and just about everyone else who was anyone in the bebop world. A car accident and resulting jaw injury left him unable to play trombone, so he instead became a world-renowned cellist and composer.) I was placed in the third best jazz ensemble - there are two pianists in each of the five ensembles, meaning there are four or five jazz pianists here who could whup my ass in any given jam session.
For the last two Sundays I’ve been going to a non-denominational church called Exodus, and have been liking it. The pastor Matt Nussbaum and his wife Kathie both graduated from Wheaton and there are several Nussbaums who either recently graduated from Wheaton or are currently attending. Julia Stanton, a Wheaton grad two years ahead of all of us, now master’s student at IU in Career & College Administration, also goes to Exodus.
I am living in a pretty big house a 10-minute drive from campus. My commute consists of driving Volvo Baggins to the football stadium, which serves as a park & ride from which I take a 15-minute bus ride to the school of music. I share the house with Taylor Anderson, a 26-year-old (female) master’s student in the school of education, specifically learning sciences, Martin Shedd, a 22-year-old master’s student in classics, specializing in medieval folklore, and Nathaniel Olson, whose reputation precedes him. My adventures have included going on hikes in the 40-acre wooded land trust behind the house, going to a Sublime cover-band show with Taylor and her sister, going to a couple jazz clubs, and going to see the (surprisingly emotional, anyone??) movie The Help. Notably, one of the local bars, Yogi’s, has a 100-beer “century challenge”, and Taylor, after being here two weeks, is up to 50.
After a homeschooled high-school experience and a 2,500-student suburban undergraduate experience, IU is a lot different, needless to say. It’ll probably take me a while to get used to the innumerable hordes of wanna-be jocks, Korean finance students, Alpha Phi sorority-ites, and pseudo-bumpkins from places like Pacudah and Mishawaka. But I’m already starting to feel pretty settled after the first week. I’m glad for the 3-day weekend to have some time to recharge.
That’s it for now. I miss you all and you’re all in my prayers.
Matt
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