Pleasant surprises...

I'm not much for surprises. The older I get, the more stability I want. While I am perhaps more flexible than others my age, I still find myself looking forward to things normal, regular, the everyday... As a result, I don't really like surprises. Unless, of course, its a good one. An unexpected tax return is a nice surprise that I did not get to experience this year. An exceptional meal at a restaurant is another. Yesterday, I was blessed with two more pleasant surprises..

Senior Recital

I have a student--I'll call him BR--who had taken Japanese previously with other instructors and studied abroad in Japan last year. He came to my class this year--Advanced Reading and Lit in translation--and he was a pleasant student: quiet, reserved but insightful and expressive when necessary. He seemed to know when to speak out and when not to. His timing was impeccable. Well, over the course of the year, I learned that he was a musician--which might explain his timing--and he invited me to an individual recital on he gave Sunday. I was truly impressed. He played lead violin in a Concerto for Two Violins by Bach (BWV 1043) and an emotionally expressive piece by Saint-Saens called Rondo Capriccioso. But what impressed me more was his last piece. He played a jazz piece that he composed on piano, a piece that was reminscent of McCoy Tyner's work in the late 70s. I don't mean to diss him by saying his playing suprised me, but I have been to a number of student concerts, and most of them have sounded like they were performed by, well, students. But BR put on a performance that was a joy to experience.

Consider Yourself Quoted

I found the other surprise on RBJ, Yes, I've hit the big time. I've been quoted... although I must admit, I don't know why. Most of the bloggers registered there are pretty serious writers... or so it would seem to me. And the quote they (Carlos?) decided to use from this site was pretty mundane... Oh well. It was a nice surprise to be recognized. Thanks to the folks at RBJ.

Speaking of which, there are a couple of people who seem to come here pretty regularly from RBJ. If you're a regular, thanks for bookmarking me on RBJ. It is--according to them--your way of showing support for sites you like to read... Of coure, this blog isn't all that... Ugh, enough self promotion...

So have you had any pleasant surprises recently?