Apparently there is custom or a game spreading through the web called blog-tagging. The rules of this noxious pursuit are that someone ‘tags’ you, you tell 5 little known things about yourself, then you ‘tag’ 5 others to do the same. It’s like an evil chain letter. A few days ago Regina Wilshire tagged me. I was going to let the spread of all this stop at me, but then I thought about it a little and decided that I could reveal 5 fairly innocuous things about myself without divulging any of my many perversions.

Unfortunately, since graduating from medical school and immersing myself in the practice of medicine and child rearing, my life has taken a turn for the dull, dull as dishwater in fact. Before medical school, however, I was a little different. I had a lot of bizarre interests that I pursued with a vengeance, most of which even my good friends don’t know about.

So, speak we now of the young pre-medicine Mike Eades and the 5 things few know about him.

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Happy New Year to everyone! Here’s hoping that we all have a safe, healthy, happy, prosperous 2007.

You will no doubt be pleased to learn that 2007 started off most prosperously for Yours Truly. I hit 5 out of 5 bowl games yesterday, and performed that all too infrequently performed act of crushing the bookmaker. Had I not been laid up drunk from overindulging in New Year’s Eve cheer I would have hit 7 of 7. The early games started at 8 and 8:30 AM for me, so MD set the alarm for 7:30 when we finally climbed into bed at 3:30 AM after all our guests left. When it went off at 7:30 AM I quickly decided–even in my semi-comatose state–that were I to bet those two games I would probably win one and lose one, so, really, what’s the point. The human ability to rationalize is a wonderful thing, except that it cost me because I had picked two winners.

Alas, my beloved Arkansas Razorbacks went down to crushing defeat. But all was not lost because I had bet on Wisconsin to cover the spread. The best of all worlds would have been an Arkansas win and a Wisconsin cover, but such was not to be.

My last bowl victory came when Boise State (which I had at +7.5) beat Oklahoma in what was probably the most exciting college football game I have ever watched. It topped off a wonderful day of college football wagering.

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This evening at 6 PM saw the first of many concerts on this tour. The group performed Mozart’s Requiem in d minor in St. Nicholas Church in Prague. There was much consternation after the rehearsal yesterday because the hired Czech orchestra appeared weak in the strings section and was a tad surly overall about the director’s instructions.

MD went with the group an hour and a half early to prepare. I drifted in 30 minutes before the concert and snagged a phenomenal seat slightly to the right and near the front. I was glad to have gotten there early because by the time the concert began every seat was taken. The Czechs love music, especially Mozart’s, and are pretty knowledgeable and harsh critics. I think the troupe was a little surprised at the turnout, which intensified their trepidation about the orchestra.

I can say without reservation that the performance was stunning. The entire group sang brilliantly, the soprano soloist, Tamara Bevard, was nothing short of spectacular, and the fears vanished as the orchestra more than rose to the occasion.

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