Return to MAUI

 

Today I worked on campus, and my colleague and I went all over on our lunch break, taking photos of the beautiful fall foliage.

This is a photo from my coworker's office window.

This is a photo from our conference room window.

I was going to call this blog post "Niko's First Ukulele Strum," but Travalon suggested "Return to MAUI," which is much better. MAUI is the Madison Area Ukulele Initiative, and the big group hadn't done much since the pandemic, but small groups of retired people were getting together at times when I couldn't join. I was invited to join groups, but they would always be practicing on, say, Fridays at one, which doesn't work with my current workday schedule. Then I heard that tonight they would be getting together at the Lone Girl Brewery up in Waunakee, so I showed up, and oh am I out of practice! It took me about half an hour before I could remember how to make those chords. Then Travalon arrived, so I cut out a little early so we could grab dinner downstairs. (The ukuleles meet in the big room upstairs.) I had a Caribbean chicken sandwich and tomato basil bisque with a raspberry tart beer - so good! Some of the other ukulele people did remember me. Apparently this monthly strum has been going on for about four months, so I don't know how everyone else knew about it. Anyway, now I'm on the email list, so I will hopefully know about all future strums. They said there may not be one in November, and the December one will be at the Lakeside Coffee House, where they used to be. I am just so happy that all this music is finally coming back after the pandemic: the slow Irish session every fourth Sunday, this ukulele strum on random Wednesdays, and of course the classic rock jam at the East Side Club on Wednesdays too. And maybe choir practice on Thursdays...? I'm not quite ready to commit to that yet.

Famous Hat