Phlegm



Spanish Moss at Sunset Hill Cemetery, Valdosta, GA, March 2010

Taught today.  I love teaching, but hate getting up at hell-thirty in the morning to go do it.  I taught four periods' worth of trombone, euphonium and tuba students, some of whom have All-State Band auditions this Saturday.  I got a call between classes and talked for an hour to my own private teacher from high school, who now conducts two brass bands back in Michigan.  It's fun to be a total euph geek every now and then.

I ate some carrots between students, and had toast with peanut butter when I got home from school.  Dinner was scrambled eggs with potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes and onions.  And more of the key lime Rice Divine.  It's been almost a week of No Dairy January--it's getting easier, and I feel pretty decent.  Sinuses are clear, for the most part.  My head doesn't hurt as often as it has for a few months.  Falling asleep hasn't gotten any easier.

I got my ass into a chair and practiced for a decent amount of time today, finally.  Well, I was standing for most of it, but I still practiced.  I'm giving a solo recital at the end of February--it's one of the reasons I wanted to go non-dairy for a while, to see if I could clear up some of the crustiness in my throat and head.  If I perform frequently, I get used to it, and ensemble performances are no big deal, but the solo thing...I haven't given a full recital in way too long, so the pressure has built up in my mind.  I want my nose to be clean, at least.

Today in one of my lessons I noticed that my throat is still phlegmy.  It gets worse every Friday when I go to teach in Valdosta--I'm constantly clearing my throat, and the other professors just nod and say, "Ahh, the south Georgia crud."  What is it, pollen, smoke, humidity?  I have an image of my lungs filled with trailing fingers of Spanish moss. 

Tried to upload a photo for tonight, but the server rejects it for some reason.  Bah.
**update 1/7/11: got the photo up this morning.