This is the time of year where you summarize the year in terms of numbers. For example, I received these notifications from Duolingo, the foreign language app, about my progress in learning Spanish.

As you can see by the above, I have an unbroken streak of 1955 days — as of November 30, 2024 when I received the 2024 report. There’s still the 31 days of December to add in! I’m happy to report that my Duolingo score for Spanish is 130, which is defined as:

A Duolingo Spanish score of 130 indicates a high level of proficiency, generally considered to be at the C1 level on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), meaning you can understand complex language, express nuanced thoughts, and comfortably use Spanish in most situations, including professional and academic settings. 

Key points about a Duolingo Spanish score of 130:

• Advanced proficiency:This score signifies a very strong command of Spanish, allowing you to engage in complex conversations and understand subtle nuances.
• CEFR level C1:According to Duolingo’s scoring system, a score around 130 aligns with the C1 level on the CEFR.
• Meaningful for professional or academic use:A score of 130 can be considered sufficient for most professional or academic situations where fluency in Spanish is required. 

All to which I say: ¡Jajaja! Eso es una broma. (That’s a joke!)

But consider my statistics as a musician, and the number of services I am responsible for. I did take six Sundays off this year, and will take one more (Dec. 29th) before the year is out to visit my family in California. That means I will have played:

45 Sunday services at Nuuanu Congregational Church
45 Sunday morning services at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
33 Sunday afternoon Vespers services at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church (St. Mark’s allows me to go to the Hawaii Symphony subscription concerts, meaning I play hooky from Vespers!)
14 Feast Day services (Epiphany Eve, Epiphany Lessons & Carols, Candlemas, Ash Wednesday, St. Joseph, Maundy Thursday, Easter Vigil, Annunciation, Ascension, Assumption, All Saints, All Souls, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day)
4 Stations of the Cross services at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
5 Funeral Services in various churches
0 Weddings (!) — compare this to the years 1994-2004 where I played 6000+ weddings!

If I didn’t take any Sundays off, I think I would play over 180 services in the year!

And how about choir rehearsals?

41 choir rehearsals at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

How about the number of organ lessons I’ve taught this year?

326 Organ lessons from January through December 2024.

How about the number of concerts I played in?

2 Early Music Hawaii Concerts
8 Rehearsals for Early Music Hawaii concerts
1 St. Mark’s Choral Concert (rehearsals accounted for above)

No accounting for how many concerts I attended — in addition to the Hawaii Symphony subscription concerts, I also went to concerts in Seattle in celebration of Peter Hallock’s 100th birthday, numerous concerts at the Three Choirs Festival in Worcester, England; and organ concerts at the AGO National Convention in San Francisco, plus organ concerts in Bergen, Norway and Barcelona, Spain.

Here’s another statistic for you:

84 hours spent in music typesetting my neighbor’s songbook. That is only in the calendar year 2024 and only the hours I billed for. Countless hours were spent not billed for due to minor changes and “tweaking.”

Here’s another interesting statistic. Ever since August 10, when my doctor told me to stop eating high sugar granola and fruit for breakfast, and recommended avocado toast as a more healthy choice, it means that by December 31st, I will have eaten this many avocados only since August 11.

60 Avocados for breakfast, 1/2 each day

Which reminds me — ever since I got my Invisalign® aligners, I have brushed my teeth from 3-5 times a day! That equates to at least 693 times and maybe as many as 1,155 times from May 14th to December 31st! YIKES!