Author Archive for Luke Abbott

DIY Reality Show with the Abbotts?

by Luke Abbott on December 22, 2009 in Video. Comments

Here’s the pilot episode/proof of concept:

The idea (and it is a crazy idea, I’ll grant you that) is…Continue reading ‘DIY Reality Show with the Abbotts?’

Nasty Bark

by Luke Abbott on December 20, 2009 in General. Comments

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First, take fifteen seconds to guess at what you’re looking at above…Continue reading ‘Nasty Bark’

Adventures in Viola, Parts I & II

by Luke Abbott on December 2, 2009 in Music and Video. Comments

I am fortunate enough to have a very nice viola on loan from a bluegrass friend. It’s been very fun to play with. The video above is the poignant one; next is the contrast piece…Continue reading ‘Adventures in Viola, Parts I & II’

Great, now you tell me…

by Luke Abbott on November 8, 2009 in General. Comments

We’ve all had the feeling of being stuck with someone we didn’t want to be around. Well, I got that at a waltzing workshop I went to tonight (which, for the record,…Continue reading ‘Great, *now* you tell me…’

The Morning GTD-ish Routine

by Luke Abbott on October 4, 2009 in General and Video. Comments

I think it’s time to revive my old morning routine—and when I say old, I mean, from earlier this year. The routine I came up with is based around a methodology called Getting Things Done (or GTD), which I’ve blogged about before.) Here’s a video of my routine:

And here’s the story behind the video, and why I was happy to watch it again after…Continue reading ‘The Morning GTD-ish Routine’

“Did you forget your cart again?”

by Luke Abbott on August 30, 2009 in General. Comments

We go to Costco every week, usually on around the same day and time. As a result, we see the same sample servers every week, and we’ve gotten to know some of them a little, if not always through conversation then by observation. Well, there’s this one gentleman that we’ll call Ralph (not his real name) who stands out. Namely, he’s said some peculiar things.

The first incident was when he was doling out some sort of high-caloric treat. Papa took a bite and exclaimed that it was “good, too good in fact” and that he was on a diet. Ralph’s exact words I forget, but it was something that implicated that Papa ate a lot of fava beans…Continue reading ‘“Did you forget your cart again?”’

Vignettes from Alaska, 2009

by Luke Abbott on July 27, 2009 in General. Comments

Some highlights from my third year at the Cordova 4-H Music Camp. I’ll try and section this up so you can skip around at your leisure. (Not that I condone skimming Abbott Family Blog posts, of course…)

Sasha! Sasha! Blah, blah blah!

First up: a video of the most popular dance at Cordova Music Camp:

I think this is a Russian dance that was introduced to the camp a few years ago by a dance teacher (who has been absent ever since). The “blah blah blah” part was originally “1 2 3″ in Russian, but the kids couldn’t remember it. And thus, a timeless classic was born…Continue reading ‘Vignettes from Alaska, 2009′

Flight Timing

by Luke Abbott on July 8, 2009 in General. Comments

I leave for Alaska on Friday. This will be my third year as an instructor at the Cordova 4-H Music Camp (see my previous Cordova blogging) and, as always, I’m super-excited about my trip…and really unsure about when to get to the airport. Take this scene, which I wrote about last year:

“It is too late to check in for this flight,” said the automated check-in terminal. “Please talk to an Alaska Airlines representative.”

My heart sank. Last year I arrived at SJC around 4:30AM and had to wait an hour before I could board my 6:00AM flight. This year Mama and I decided to leave half an hour later, only to arrive with just minutes to spare.

Rushing off to check in (I'm the one with the banjo)

We got separated as I rushed to find where to check in, which took me over five minutes. By that time, it was too late. The security line snaked its way around the baggage claim area, and I hadn’t even checked my bags in.

Luckily, this really nice representative put me on a 6:30AM flight which actually ended up getting me into Anchorage earlier. There I met up with some other camp musicians, where we waited for our flight to Cordova—which got delayed by four hours! Luckily, we all had our instruments with us.

This year I’m on the 6:30AM flight, so I think I want to arrive at SJC by 4:30. Which means leaving here one hour earlier. 3:30am, or something like that. It’s early, but I don’t care; I don’t have a 6:30AM flight to fall back on!