The California adventure begins

Just a quick update to let you guys know that this part of the journey is already more exciting than I imagined it would be. I have meetings and dinners lined up this week with folks I don't deserve to know. Today's experience at UCLA was exhilarating. I think I gained more insight, both practical and philosophical in nature, in one day than I have in all the conventions and workshops I've attended since graduate school. Don Neuen is simply amazing. Today he spent every single minute he could with me between classes and rehearsals. He even gave me his faculty ID number so that I could eat whenever, on his tab, at the faculty center! Then he drove me back to my hotel at 7 tonight when rehearsals were over. Tomorrow I'm spending several hours with him, on his day off, at his home. And this is just the beginning.