What would you do if you couldn't enjoy playing at the level you wanted?

Ugh. It only took a split second. I went to check a tire to see if it was flat, extended my left thumb and pressed it against it. Wow, was I wrong. As Newton said, for each force there is an equal and opposite force and my thumb collapsed and I felt a burning sensation at the base of my hand.  Yeah, that hurt and I knew.

Damn it, my left hand.

I reach for everything with my right hand. Check the garbage disposal with my right hand. Change lightbulbs, grab piping hot toast and pick up broken glass with my right hand. If anything happens to my right hand, I can modify my bow grip but if anything happens to my left hand, I can't play violin.

I've been asked if I would be okay if I could never play violin again. And I said yes. It's not because I don't enjoy it, it's because I'm grateful to still be playing at this age so I cherish every minute of it.  The time spent practicing, producing music (whether it's a concert or a  friend's wedding), and interacting with fellow musicians make whole experience still pretty cool.

My left thumb is still throbbing like a knife sliced something inside it. By now I've stopped what I've been doing and headed back inside. This moment, Saturday, September 21, 2012 at 5:05pm EDT, the thought of never playing another thing I love again crossed my mind after the stinger.

Softball

Thursday, June 10, 2010 at 6:33pm EDT. Location: Fillippello Park, Watertown, MA. I hit a grounder and run to first base and I know I can leg it out. My last step catches half the base as my left heel lands on the baseline. My leg locks straight and all my weight comes down on my ankle. I hear popping noises as if you tried to ring out water from a sheet of bubble wrap. I landed on the ground and attempted to get on my feet but my left leg will not have it.

I knew that I would never be the same after that and I haven't been. 2011 was the first year that we didn't win a championship since 2003.  Since then, I've injured my right shoulder (still hurts), my other ankle, hyperextended my knee and had imprint of softball stitching right above my right eye after a bad hop. A half inch down, I would have and I have to turn my head to see to the right. I'm still trying to work with my limitations but I still enjoy the game and need to play it at a different level.  But it will never be the same but I am okay with it.

I look at my left hand after two hours and it's not swollen. My left ankle didn't swell either but I definitely exacerbated it by walking a mile away to the Garden to attend Game 4 of the NBA Finals. At halftime, I determined that this injury was much more severe and sought medical attention.

In a couple of days, I will try to practice scales and see how it goes. I hate to be wrong as I have finally optimized my playing intelligence to compensate for my skill level over the last couple of years.

It may not be the end but I consider not playing at the level you want the same as if you never played again. It's different and it happens to everyone eventually. I've been lucky enough to play with hundreds of musicians from recording artists to iconic legends to compadres who enjoy great Buffalo wings & drinks after rehearsal.  If I can't back on track after this, I'm okay with it. But I am truly grateful for the time spent.

Boston Concert Hall Cycle: Part Deux

As the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra Benefit Concert at Sanders Theatre approaches on Saturday, May 19, 2012, I reflect on my last concert performed at this elusive venue.

I cannot believe it has been almost 25 years. The Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra (GBYSO) allowed me to perform in three outstanding music halls in the area as a youth: Symphony Hall, Jordan and Sanders Theatre. And in my adult life, I've had the privilege of performing in Symphony Hall twice and Jordan Hall three times but Sanders Theatre has always escaped me.

On Saturday, May 19, 2012, in my 19th season as a member of the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, the venues will come full circle. There is one catch: I will not be joining the orchestra on stage. My responsibilities as Marketing & Publicity will take precedence and won't allow me to finish my "Boston Music Hall Cycle." This role within the organization has grown immensely over the last couple of years. I must focus my efforts elsewhere and I have come to terms with not performing there again.

So I still have Sunday, June 14, 1987. That afternoon, as the Los Angeles Lakers were completing a 6-game series victory over the Boston Celtics to win the front end of back-to-back titles (the NBA's first in my then lifetime), I performed my last ever performance indoors* as a member of the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. It was an amazing afternoon filled with energy and emotion as a four year journey ended with so many life experiences that I still continue to cherish. To this day, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 will always bring a smile when I play or hear it performed.

If I had a chance before the Benefit Concert on May 19th, I would like to look out from the stage and take a moment to remember what someone once said to me: Play every concert like it will be your last. For me, it will be 25 years for Sanders Theatre and counting.

(* We performed on the Hatch Shell Esplanade later that month and our Music Director, Eiji Oue allowed me to play for our last ever performance of that season. Oh, by the way, I'm also looking to get back on the Hatch Shell too...)

Mobile Social Media Updates without a Data Plan

Yes, I am probably the last person in the whole world who updates as much as he does on facebook and whole bunch of other social media websites without a data plan. How do I do it? Text and SMS, baby. It is somewhat inconvenient (updates cannot be revised until I get to a computer) and impersonal (I can't always reply to a comment) but this is easier on my wallet (Verizon Wireless charges $29.99 for a personal data plan and can be as high as a $49.99 business data plan).

Below is a rundown on how to pretend you have a data plan like your friends do without actually having to pay for it.

Facebook

Support - http://www.facebook.com/mobile/

Status updates: Text to 32665 (FBOOK)

Mobile Uploads: SMS to 32665 (FBOOK) - Put caption in body of SMS NOT in Subject

Commands

m to message (ie "m john smith hey")

info for information (ie "info john smith")

srch for search (ie "srch john smith")

poke for poke (ie "poke john smith")

r to reply

n for next when you are reading a message that is truncated because of the 160 character limit

Pros: You can also read full messages over a couple text messages and somewhat interact to friend comments of your update.

Cons: Be extremely careful with typos and grammar otherwise you have to wait to get to a computer to revise. Cannot read News Feed. :(

Rating: ★★★★☆

My Space

Support - http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=mobile

Updates: Text to 69772 (MYSPC)

Commands: <your 155 character message> to send a short Blog to your profile.

shout <your 154 character message> to send a bulletin to your profile

mood to update your Mood.

status to update your Status

Notes: Incomplete

Pros:

Cons: 

Rating: Incomplete

Twitter Updates: Text to 40404
Support - http://twitter.com/devices
Pros: Tweet on the spot
Cons: Be careful about Twitter's 140 character limit since most (if not all) text messages allow 160 characters. Difficult to shorten links without using bit.ly or tinyurl.com
Rating: ★★★★☆

Foursquare Updates: Text to 50500 new
Support - https://foursquare.com/overview, http://dotgo.com/res/foursquare/
Pros: RT, @, # are all available.
Cons:
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Don't have a data plan but want to reach someone via text since they are not by their computer? No worries. You can text others via your email!

Verizon Wireless
Text: @vtext.com
Picture: @vzwpix.com

This is great if you want to text someone from home and the recipient is out and about.

Boston Sports-break Hill

With all the articles being written about how Boston is a title town, we are like the economy and we are in the midst of a slight recession. After having 5 parades in six years, there has only been 2 since then,

Please consider the last decade divided into two parts and you'll see that the losses in recent years have been downright painful and historic.

(OCTOBER 29, 2007 - PRESENT)

Patriots

2007 Super Bowl XLII loss to New York Giants (End season at 18-1)

2008 Did not make playoffs

2009 AFC Wild Card loss to Baltimore Ravens

2010 AFC Divisional Playoff loss to New York Jets (1st Seed)

Bruins

2008 First Round loss to Montreal Canadiens (Lost Game #7)

2009 Conference Semifinals loss to Carolina Hurricanes (Lost Game #7, 1st Seed)

2010 Conference Semifinals loss to Philadelphia Flyers (Lost Game #7 after being up 3-0)

2011 Won Stanley Cup over Vancouver Canucks

Celtics

2008 Won NBA Championship over Los Angeles Lakers

2009 Conference Semifinal loss to Orlando Magic (Lost Game #7, 1st time losing series after leading 3-2)

2010 NBA Finals loss to Los Angeles Lakers (Lost in Game #7, 2nd time losing series after leading 3-2, 1st ever NBA Finals Game #7 loss)

2011 Conference Semifinal loss to Miami Heat

Red Sox

2008 ALCS loss to Tampa Bay Rays (Lost Game #7 after coming back from 3 games to 1)

2009 ADLS loss to Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Lost Game #3 when leading in the ninth inning)

2010 Did not make playoffs

2011 Did not make playoffs (Leading 3-2 into the 8th, lost 4-3 on Papelbon's Double-Double-Single. Tampa Bay overturned New York 8-7 in 12 after being down 7-0 in the 8th inning.)

FEBRUARY 3, 2002 - OCTOBER 28, 2007

Patriots

2001 Super Bowl XXXVI win over St. Louis Rams

2002 Did not make playoffs

2003 Super Bowl XXXVIII win over Carolina Panthers

2004 Super Bowl XXXIX win over Philadelphia Eagles

2005 AFC Divisional Playoff loss to Denver Broncos

2006 AFC Conference Final loss to Indianapolis Colts (Lose 38-34 after leading 21-6 at halftime)

Bruins

2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals loss to Montreal Canadiens in 6

2003 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals loss to New Jersey Devils in 5

2004 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals loss to Montreal Canadiens in 7

2005 Did not make playoffs

2006 Did not make playoffs

2007 Did not make playoffs

Celtics

2002 Conference Final loss to New Jersey Nets (Game #4 largest comeback in NBA playoff history)

2003 Conference Semifinal loss to New Jersey Nets (Swept)

2004 First Round loss to Indiana Pacers (Swept)

2005 First Round loss to Indiana Pacers (Game #7 loss after being Atlantic Division Champions)

2006 Did not make playoffs

2007 Did not make playoffs

Red Sox

2002 Did not make playoffs

2003 ALCS loss to New York Yankees (Lost Game #7 in Extra Innings after leading 5-3 in the middle of the eighth.)

2004 Won World Series over St. Louis Cardinals

2005 ALDS loss Chicago White Sox (Swept in 3 Games)

2006 Did not make playoffs

2007 Won World Series over Colorado Rockies

Seven (7) Years Ago Today Cornerback Earthwind Moreland was signed onto the New England Patriots Practice Squad

Earthwind Moreland is being interviewed during Super Bowl week in 2005.

Yea, I know it's been seven (7) years but I still think this is a funny story.

CB Earthwind Moreland, named after the group Earth, Wind and Fire was signed onto the New England Patriots practice squad on September 21.

Here is the New England Patriots Printer Friendly Document from their website the day after...

Boston Red Sox 2012 Regular Season Schedule

Not to look ahead towards next season but the Red Sox just released their 2012 Regular Season Schedule.

Looks like Wave One Tickets will go one sale on Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 10AM based on previous years. Make sure all your computers will be ready with multiple browsers open

HBK! What a nice gift for the kid today.

Halloween II: 30th Anniversary on Blu Ray Disc. Includes Bonus Out of Print Documentary!

Amazing...

X-Men: First Class (September 9th), Thor (September 13th), Star Wars Blu-Ray (September 16th), Bridesmaids (September 20th) and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (September 30th) are all coming out this month and the one I am most excited about is a less heralded Blu Ray Disc. It's also a movie wasn't even made this century.

It's Halloween II: 30th Anniversary Edition (September 13th). Why? Well other than the fact you think I have terrible taste in movies, it's because of this below...

Terror in the Aisles was horror documentary made in 1984 and hosted by the two most known genre actors at the time. Donald Pleasence (Escape from New York, Halloween) and Nancy Allen (Carrie, Dressed to Kill) hosted this fete of splices from prominent horror films of that day by asking 'What Scares You?'

This production was bypassed on DVD and only existed in a VHS and a Japanese import laserdisc. During my seven years at Big Emma's New and Used Laserdiscs, I never came across the latter. For only $14.99 + tax, I can finally retire the VHS and that transferred-onto-DVD copy copy I own.

This two movie pack have a combined age of 57 and oddly enough, the horror films featured in Terror in Aisles used a lot of fake Ketchup of the Heinz variety, I assume.