This year was a first--a large number of my students used their cell phones to record me. They usually asked if it was okay. "Yes," I said, "but you can't post it on YouTube--I don't own the copyrights to some of the songs I play in class, so it would be illegal." I've never had so many kids recording. Of course, not that long ago most cell phones didn't have video recording capability.
We also had a potluck for the teachers at lunch. It was delicious! And I took Corey down to play, just for fun. I sat in the corner and ran through a few songs after I ate, and at one point, one of the teachers jumped.
"Steven!" he said. "I didn't know that was you! I thought it was a CD player."
Most of the student body knows I play the harp, but very few of the staff are aware of it. :)
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/A-magic
Wow.
I was double-checking stuff for the trip, and I came across Delta's luggage info. Now you can't have any piece of checked luggage that measures over 62" (height + width + length) or weigh over 50 pounds. I'm running into a serious problem. Corey and the new case only weight 45 pounds, so that's not a problem. But measuring the case itself is problematic. It's a trapezoid. One end is high, the other end is low. To get the height, do I measure the high end? The low end? Measure both and take an average?
I called the airline to ask and, of course, got a representative in India who barely understood what I was asking. Once I got her to understand the question, her only answer was to repeat the script in front of her. ("It's the height plus the width plus . . . " "I know that. How do I measure the height when the height isn't regular?" "Measure the height plus the width . . . ")
The airline does allow luggage between 63" and 82", but for a surcharge--of A HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS. That would be $300, there and back, to take Corey with me.
If I measure everything at its highest and widest, I'm a few inches over the absolute maximum 82". If I measure an average height, I'm fine (except for the $300).
Another option might be to wrap Corey in bubble wrap and put him in his soft-sided case. Then he'd be easily within the size limits (though I'd still probably have to pay the extra fee). But I worry about him getting smashed. I mean, the bubble wrap will help against bumps and bruises, but it won't help if he's on the bottom of a huge pile of heavy luggage. A harp is hollow, after all.
There's a distinct possibility that the luggage check-in person would accept the travel case without batting an eye or might just take a bit of persuading. But I'm scared to death that I might have no trouble at this end, only to hit an officious jerk in Ireland who tells me on the return trip, "No, this is too big, even for the extra fee," and I'd have to abandon Corey in Ireland.
And here's a kicker--Delta allows you TWO pieces of checked luggage. That means you can have 122 inches and 100 pounds worth of luggage, really, but they won't let you bring a single piece that's way less than this total. Corey's airplane case is, at its maximum, 85" and 45 pounds, and it could well be refused. But I could show up with two trunks of 62" each and weighing a total of 100 pounds, and they'd be accepted. Thismakes no sense!
I called a friend of a friend who works as a luggage handler for Delta, and after hearing my problem, he said he wasn't sure what the measurement policy would be, but he'd ask around at work today.
If he can't get an answer, I'll just go down to the airport with my travel case, select a Delta baggage clerk, and ask. See what happens.
I'm truly upset. I really, really want to take Corey with me. I'm looking forward to playing him on Irish hills and maybe even in tombs or stone circles. But $300 is steep. What sucks is that the case itself cost $300 to have made, and it may be suddenly unusable.
:(
- Mood:
frustrated
Some time ago, I'd ordered a hard-sided traveling case for Corey. The soft case he has now won't work for airplane travel, and since I'm taking him to Ireland, he needs an airplane-ready carrier. My friend Jeff Lewis (http://www.lewiscreek.net/) makes harps and he said he could make Corey a good travel case, and a while ago he called to let me know it was done. After school check-out was finished, I drove over to Howell to get it.
The case is solid and utilitarian. It's made of heavy-duty plywood and screws shut, so I'll have to bring a small screwdriver with me so I can get Corey out of it. It's also =heavy=, but I'm not going to be hauling Corey around in it on a daily basis, and I'm willing to deal with the weight at the airport.
As an added bonus, I was able to buy another tuning wrench and a tuner. I'd lost mine up at my sister's birthday party over Memorial Day, and you just try walking into a music shop to ask for a tuning wrench suitable for a harp.
CLERK: A tuning what?
ME: A tuning wrench. It's also called a tuning key. For tuning harp strings?
CLERK: A harp?
ME: Yeah. A harp. I play a harp and I need a tuning wrench.
CLERK: We don't carry harps.
ME: You have two folk harps in your window.
CLERK: Oh yeah. Those have been there for years. I don't even remember when we got them.
ME: Look, I'm hoping you'll have a tuning wrench that'll fit my instrument. Do you?
CLERK: We have wrenches we use to repair guitars with, but they're not for sale. Try a hardware store.
ME: No, I need a =tuning= wrench. To turn the pegs on my harp. I lost my old wrench and I need a new one.
CLERK: Why don't you go to a harp store?
ME: Do you know of any in the area?
CLERK: Nope.
And so on. I could order a wrench on-line, but believe it or not, harp pegs are =not= standardized, and it's entirely possible to get one that won't fit. So that's a risk. But Jeff carries the right size--I've bought them from him before. I also bought a new tuner from him, since my old one had similarly vanished. This one has a metronome built in, and it'll be handy for Aran to use for his lessons.
Now Corey is ready to travel! The smooth, empty surface of the case begs for Ireland bumper stickers . . .
- Mood:
accomplished
I haven't done a harp gig in a long time. This is because I'd mostly stopped playing professionally. I realized one day that I didn't have any hobbies that weren't business-related--both writing and harping were geared toward earning money. Whenver I sat down to play Corey, I was thinking, "I need to practice ______ because it would be good at a wedding," or "I should learn more ______ music for parties." It wasn't =fun.= So I stopped playing professionally in order to have something that was mine.
But recently I got an e-mail from a member of local fandom (a friend of a friend) asking for a harpist to appear at a party. I decided, what the heck and agreed to it. I quoted her my friends and fandom rate, which is much lower than my usual rate, and she was quite amenable.
The only snag was the the party was on the Saturday when Kala would be out of town. However, Sasha could handle babysitting for a couple of hours. Saturday evening I packed up my stuff and drove across town. Found the place with minimal searching and was greeted by several friends.
It was an Easter Toga Party With Kids. Most of the children were Mackie's age or younger. They clustered around Corey with questions and wanting to try playing him. I got used to this at ren faires. As long as they don't touch the sounding board, I let them explore. I'm there as entertainment for them, too, after all.
Also there were a couple friends from around Ann Arbor, including Tammy. (Hi, Tammy!) She'd brought HOME-MADE CHOCOLATES from her home business Tammy's Tastings (http://tammystastings.com/default.aspx) and she gave me a sample plate with one of each of her new creations. She was a bit critical of the way they'd come out, but they tasted fine to me!
I played for something over an hour, and it went very well. When the time was up, I socialized a bit, then packed up and left. I couldn't stay longer because I didn't want the house to be a smoking hole when I got home. It wasn't. :)
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