Airports make me giddy.

I don't get the opportunity to travel all that often. The Marine Corps band here in Quantico, while some what of a traveling circus at times, doesn't get as much road time as I might like. And the usual response people have to traveling is one of dread. The hassle, the people, the rush of humanity, the crush of heightened stress levels, the inevitable flight delays, and finally, the interminable wait by the baggage carousel. I, for one, love this stuff. And that's probably just because I hardly ever get to fly anywhere anymore. But here I am, sitting on my own in the middle of Reagan National Airport, and I love it. There's a freedom in this. One that you just can't get anywhere else. (I think I just heard a hamster/gerbil/dog yip across the terminal. People who have dogs small enough to count as carry-ons need to be automatically shot by the security personnel.)

I love that you can sit here in an airport and listen to just about any cross-section of life at any one time. The avid sports fan, the nomadic businessman, the excited child, the nervous parent; everything just sort of collides in an airport.

The reason I am excited today, however, is almost entirely unrelated. Today, I fly to Chicago. And I'm going to the Midwest Music Educator's Conference. NERRRRDDDSSS!! YES! It's going to be awesome. 5 days of blissful nerditude. I can be as dorky as I want, and it really is cool. Because literally every single other person there, is there for the same reason. I get to meet titans in the music industry, and the education industry, and the music education industry. I get to rub elbows with the big guys. I get to pull out my horn(my wonderful, beautiful horn) and make better toots with people who also know how to make better toots (only one person will understand why that's funny). Lucky. That's what I am.