The End Is Near

This is the last day of regular classes for fall 2010! I am so happy! My first finals are half over, since I've already had my piano juries. Yes, they count as half of the work and stress. But they're done, and my grade is okay. 

Now for random stuff I would like to write down, to amuse myself later:

-I just realized I can see my dorm room window from this window across campus. Huh.

-at this moment I can hear a tenor, a violin, a piano, and two people speaking Chinese. Oh, there's a horn of some kind too.

-Friday I got sick. Saturday morning I had my piano jury. The one time in the semester that I got sick! Thankfully, God worked things out okay for that and kept it from going to my throat, which would have made singing in Lessons and Carols a might painful. Yay for His Awsomeness.

-Today we're having lunch in FYS. I think this will be the only Monday all semester that I will have eaten lunch. :)

-I will miss having access to online radio stations. I feel spoiled right now.

When my head comes back up on Saturday, I might post. I might not. Am I prepared to deal with the freedom that will come from completing 18.5 credits? That is the question.

~HalifirienPilgrim

The Days are Just Packed

This is me. In my mind.
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"Do you think he plans it all out or just makes it up as he goes along?"

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Here's my schedule for the day. Just so I know.

10:30 - Write Afghan Women paper

11 - lunch

11:20 - Research childhood in Germany, find pictures, add to iMovie, do voiceovers

12:00 - Finish Afghan Women paper/statistics homework

12:45 - play bubbleshooter :) If I don't schedule this I'll just be doing it the whole time.

1:00 - get ready for Chimers concert

4:30 - change out of concert clothes

4:45 - vacuum/homework/write letters

6:00 - dinner

6:20 - practice

8:20 - homework

9 - watch Raising Hope :D

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This picture should have gone with the previous post, but here it is.

~Halifirien Pilgrim

I'm One of the Outsiders

Shortfalls of little sins/Close calls and no one wins/Stand tall but running thin/I’m wearing thin 
Oh, why are we keeping score?/Cause if you’re not laughing,/Who is laughing now? 
I’ve been wondering/If we stop sinking/Could we stand our ground? 
And through everything we’ve learned/We’ve finally come to terms/We are the outsiders. 


- Needtobreathe


This song sums up what's been going on for me spiritually since the last post. I'm keeping up with things, but just barely. I am in this world, but definitely not of it. I am an Outsider. Needless to say, I will try to not to take a full load of credits ever again. 


------------------------


Narrative record of a practice session


Background information: juries are fast-approaching, and the pianist is short on time for memorization. There is only one piece that doesn't need to be memorized; one out of 13 movements of music; 45 seconds out of 10 minutes. That leaves a lot to be memorized. A fearful lot when one doesn't have a photographic memory.


8:34 PM
The pianist begins with Chopin's Prelude 17. They get the whole way through, pretty much. There are some hiccups, but they can be fixed. The pianist starts to play again and realizes the first section is getting mixed up with the last. NOT GOOD. Pianist takes a break to run to the water fountain. Since said pianist's keys are locked in the dorm room, the pianist is very hungry and thirsty. Unfortunately the roommate won't be back for quite a while. *sigh*


We left the pianist meandering the practice hall, peeking in windows and stretching. The urge to stop and look at Bach's family tree is not obliged. The pianist darts into a free practice room that contains a favorite piano and starts the Chopin. It's still mixed up. Botheration. Pianist returns to previous practice room and picks up laptop, determined to listen to something inspiring and non-melancholy to counteract the Chopin. Ah, Danzon #2 by Arturo Marquez. Nice. 


Now the pianist is going to resist the longing to continue writing here until some progress is made. 


-practicing-


8:56
Another try. Maybe memorizing the chord names will help?


-practicing-


9:12
Somewhat. Saga continues.


-practicing-


9:23
Pause to e-mail advisor course plan.
Checks Blackboard for stats test grade. *urgh*. It's still not posted.


-practicing-


9:43
Hurray. Now there's only this tiny bit at the end that won't self-iron. But now this piece can't be played any more for fear of wearing it out, so the pianist picks something else. Hmmmm.......Bach. The piece that doesn't have to be memorized. 


-practicing-




Belay that. Water break.


-practicing-


10:19
Definite progress is made. Tiredness is pretty low. Hunger level is at the distracting point. Time for sit-ups.


-practicing-


10:39
Practice must end, otherwise sleep will be inadequate in preparation for test at 10:00 in the morning. Good news: if I pass the test, I won't have to report to music theory class for the rest of the semester. 


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This has been a presentation by "Writing in Third Person". Hopefully it wasn't too annoying. I don't blame you if you skipped most of it, honestly. :)


~Halifirien Pilgrim

"Let Us Not Be Hasty"

It bothers me when people jump into things without thinking about the consequences. It really bothers me when people don't set themselves up for success. It really REALLY bothers me when people do all this and hurt others in the process.

Come on, people. Live like you value every minute. If you don't value your own time, consider the people who do. You would have an easier...hold on while I stuff envelopes.

Done. I love work study. To be honest, it's quite refreshing to work with people who have already graduated college. It gives me hope for the world. And they're all so positive, it's just great. I've met a lot of the teachers thanks to having this job.

I shall get off my soapbox now. :)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Fall break was nice, and it made for a very short school week. I don't have any homework save practicing and working ahead on math, so I am going home for the weekend. I get to see one of my brother's baseball games. I miss those. He was going to have a tournament up here, which would have been very fun, but it was moved. Big bummer.

Things are going smoothly with school. I got my midterms and my grades are fine. Stats could be better, but it might in the end. Part of the problem in that class is that the prof's voice is so soothing. I have a hard time staying awake!

It has been beautiful up here. I went for a bike ride yesterday and found a nice housing development. It's fairly hilly, which is good because you can't go all that fast in neighborhoods. It would also be good for rollerblades, I think. Oh joy, another thing to store in my dorm room.

Okay I must shred paper now. Bye bye.

Free At Last!

I am officially DONE with midterms. At least the ones that haven't been postponed. Tomorrow I have guitar class and FYS, and then I get to go HOOOOOME! Well, first I have to go to the bank and Toys R Us to pick up legos for my bro, but then I'm zipping down the highway. Oh, I also need gas. That's kind of important. *mental note*

This week has been crazy, but it was a little easier because I'm rather used to the craziness now. It's predictable. Predictable craziness is not as hard to handle as unpredictable chaos. Just ask Satie.

So, what kind of break do I get? Just the weekend and two days, but that's okay. I haven't been home since...the first week of September. Wow. Time has flown, and been creeping along, at the same time. Typical school year.

I'm going to miss all the people I've met here. And, I admit, a certain Kawai piano. It just moved from one of the teaching studios, which means it is fairly new, and I've fallen in love with it. I spend more time with it than any other, and I get jealous if someone else is around. Especially people who aren't pianists. It's really annoying to look in that practice room and see a flute player in there. Come on, people, if you're not going to use the piano, at least go to a room that doesn't have a grand!

Thank you. I needed to vent that frustration. Tomorrow in work study, I think I shall ask if I can make posters asking for non-pianists to avoid the grand rooms. Yes. I shall. A couple days ago we were researching tuition rates of other schools. If you want a complicated and confusing project, that's the one for you. I suppose having 3 people working on it at once didn't help, but still, how many different ways can a school display (or bury, disguise, or scatter as the case may be) tuition, room, board, and fees? It was rediculious. Rediculous. Redicoulous. Rediculus. Oh my. Ridiculous. There. Ah yes, phonics and the English language. It's...ridiculous.

I am now off to take a shower. After all, I do need to get up in 6 hours. Oh college life.

I Have No Imagination For A Title Right Now.

Give me one statistics problem and my creativity quotient is used up for five minutes. We're still in that time range, so, sorry. My imagination is limited. Therefore, I will just list what's going on until I regain inspiration.

-I am almost caught up on my homework, and the one thing I could work on is in the library, which is closed. I've been getting my assignments in just in time since I started school. I feel strangely liberated. And now I don't, because I just remembered the book I need to read. Botheration.

-The first chorus concert is tomorrow. I'm excited. (Yet I feel no need to use exclamation points. Nope.). Con: we leave at 12:15 and don't get back until around midnight. Pro: we're taking buses, so I can study on the way there. Con: we have to wear black long clothes, and the theatre is tiny, so we're going to be very, very, very warm. Pro: My spot on the risers lets me have one side free. Pro: I get to hang out with a really great group of people for 12 hours straight. Pro: I get to see my mom and sister. Pro: I get to sing!

-I found my new favorite radio station on iTunes: home.fm  : )

-My math prof. is compassionate. Like like like. However, he won't give an A+ just for asking questions. *sigh*

-My First Year Seminar class is a ton of work. I write about 4 pages for that every week, and the assignments are so confusing! (There, I used an exclamation point). There are group projects, then there are journals, not to mention regular, erm, essays. Thankfully my group works well (Thank you, Grace!).

-I, The, I, My, My. What a self-centered post this is. Ugh.

-I have Smerf fingers right now. Yay, tiedye.

-All the music therapy kids were COMPLETELY confused about this new project we've been given. I find it slightly hilarious, because they kept asking me what they're supposed to do. Hahahahahaha.....

-Reading your blog posts are therapeutic. Thank you.

-Back to statistics. Bye bye.

New Names and White Stones

¹⁷ “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’ Rev. 2:17


That was my reading this morning. It was one of those times when part of a verse jumps out at me, and I keep thinking about it. I like the personalization that is implied here; God will give me a stone that has my name on it, and I'll be the only one who understands what it says. That part is a little confusing. What could possibly be written on my stone? But at the same time it's exciting to get a glimpse of how much more personal I can get with my Lord. There are some things I only share with Him, and I need to work on building more of those special things into our conversations. 


The other neat thing about this verse is what I learned from the footnotes (thank you Grandpa John, aka John MacArthur :D ) Here's what it says: When an athlete won in the games, he was often given, as a part of his prize, a white stone which was an admission pass to the winner's celebration afterwards. This may picture the moment when the overcomer will receive his ticket to the  eternal victory celebration in heaven. (The MacArthur Study Bible, c1997 by Word Publishing, a div. of Thomas Nelson, Inc.)


So that's what I discovered today. 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


This week was....amazing. My professors are great, everything I'm learning is pertinent and interesting, and to top it all off, I'm surrounded by music and people my age 24/7. I love it.


Today I need to do all my homework that's leftover, go shopping with my friends (yay!), and practiiiiiiice. A lot. 


First up is lunch. I love the food here. It's really good and there's plenty of variety. Thank goodness, because it's expensive. 


Over and out!

Everything Is New Again

Things I love:

My room, my roommate
       My classes, my teachers
   My instruments, my life

I can't wait to get my schedule set in stone and start classes. It all feels so unreal, yet so comfortable. I love this campus and all my new friends. I'm so happy!!!! Soli deo gloria, definitely. Amen and amen, again and again.

"Enough rhyming. I mean it!"
"Anybody want a peanut?" - Princess Bride

That was the quote of the week. Stay tuned for the song of the week. : )

So here I am, reclining on my new bedspread, typing on my new computer, listening to some new music. Today I thought I had to take a music theory test, but that didn't happen. I thought I was going to have to audition on the viola, which would have been really bad because I didn't prepare the excerpt. But that isn't the case either. The cafeteria had spinach, kale and fruit tonight. Life is good!

I'm skipping out on the laser tag because I haven't had much down time. I did get to practice for an hour today, which was w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l. (Yay for alliteration!) The only downer is that my English AP credit isn't here, which makes things a little tricky. Nevertheless, my advisors are super helpful so I'm sure everything will work out.

My roommate is amazing. I can't believe how similar we are, still. I have the best quadmates and RA, too. Everyone is very considerate and mild-mannered and lighthearted. We're going to have sooooo much fun.

Tomorrow at 8:30am I have to report to vocal auditions. Yeah, I know, it's not even in my top three instruments, but I have to do it since there is no piano ensemble and I can't be in orchestra yet. Just watch. I'll get in that orchestra.

Time for some stats. There are about 35 freshman music therapy majors, 650 freshman total, and 3,500 students total.

Random: I like how we can see what's going on between the dorms from our window. Nice.

And now I will share my favorite lyrics of the week with you. Here we go:

It was love that set this fragile planet rolling
Tilting at our perfect twenty-three
Molecules and men infused with holy
Finding our way around the galaxy
And Paradise has up and flown away for now
But hope still breathes and truth is always true
And just when we think it's almost over
Love has the final move
Love has the final move  -Chris Rice, The Final Move
                

Enough of That

Now that I have all that journalistic, self-centered stuff out of the way, I shall post something interesting and profound.

Ummmmm....I'm in a bit of a doldrums. Weeeeelll, I met my goal yesterday of running for 30 minutes! *throws a party*

Yeah. That's about it. And that was just as self-centered as before, so I'm just going to leave now. Bye!

Standing on the Edge, Unfolding Wings

College really doesn't seem all that scary. Still, I don't want to brush it off. It's a big step.

So here I am, getting ready to move into my new life. It will take a while to get adjusted to everything, but I'm looking forward to it. I will bask in the joy of a consistent schedule, which has not been my lot this summer, or even this year. People are constantly changing the time they want me to come to babysit or teach, which means I have to change anything else that might be in the way that day. Unpredictability is the bane of a musician. I can't lug my viola with me everywhere, let alone the piano! Thankfully I had The Magic Flute rehearsals, otherwise I might have become stagnant. I shudder at the thought.

The Magic Flute ended the last week of July. That week was a little tricky, what with three houses, two pools, a dog, a cat, and three gardens to water. My circadian rhythm was set back because of the late night rehearsals we had for Flute, so I'd bike over to the houses around 10 am. I'd be done by 11:30, when my family showed up to go swimming. I love that glorious pool. That week the high was always above 95, so you can imagine how rewarding it was to bike there, get all sweaty walking the dog, cleaning the pools and watering plants, and then have a pool to jump into. It was the perfect scenario, and a great workout regimen. I hope I get to do that again next year. The only problem was how tired I was before the four-hour rehearsals. My arms weren't quite up to the challenge, but I made it. I really enjoyed getting to play with my teacher and her husband and the kids I know from youth orchestra.

It was bittersweet, ending my time under the direction of Mr. Wirth. He's the conductor I had for the last two years. I'll miss orchestra, but hopefully I can get into the one at SU next year. I'm going to miss you especially, Mrs. Tung. I couldn't ask for a better viola teacher. I love you!

In short, I'm looking forward to school, and I'm very thankful for all I've been given.

Thanks, Lord.

Question

Does anyone have a movie recommendation? I was thinking something along the lines of Sahara or The Brothers Bloom.

Hmmm?

A Hand-picked Friend

Every person God puts in your life is handpicked by Him, but this one, my future roommate, seems so much like me that it's unbelievable! Thank You Lord for putting me with Kelsey! Plus, I got into Parker dorm, which is exactly what I hoped for. Yay!

There have been several discouraging things this week, like my ears plugging up from a cold on the way to opera rehearsal. It's pretty bad when other people have to tell you that you aren't playing in tune with everyone else. Thankfully that passed pretty quickly, but it was a long rehearsal. 

Anyway, all the discouraging things have been counterbalanced with the news of my new roommate. I'm so excited! I can't wait to see what else He has in store.

Update on the Random List

I am now updating some items from my random list of 6.11.10

Number one: The Brothers Bloom is one of my favorite movies of all time. I would recommend it to anyone over 16 who is not squeamish. It's not completely clean, but the story and acting is so fresh and unique that it's worth it. Or maybe I just don't see enough non-mainstream films. Be that as it may, I liked it. I plan on watching it again before I return it, because there are so many details I probably didn't get the first time.

Number two: I picked the iTouch. Enough said.

The Creator in Art: Part II

    You would think that the summer is a blank page when it comes to musical goals. In some ways it is. Practice time is unscheduled, lesson times change at random, camp may or may not be an option,  and unless you have an audition to prepare, you can run wild and free. Shake off the sometimes-shackles of ensemble music and delve into a new genre. For the classical musician, this can be the most exhilarating season. 

    

    Or not. 

    Last week I reached the over-saturation point. Music held no energy, my instruments seemed tired. I didn’t want to practice and I didn’t want to listen to music. After 6 performances of different types over 2 1/2 weeks, I needed a break. But, being what my teachers think is perfectionist, I didn’t want to waste the time. The only musical performance group I’m involved in this summer is opera. However, there is an hour and a half of music in The Magic Flute, and it won’t practice itself! Thankfully, I was forced to take a break while we traveled for our family reunion. What blessed vacation from music it was. I left my viola at home. I left my piano at home. (Not much chance of getting to take that anyway). I took my iPod, but not once did I use it. It stayed sequestered away in my pack. When we returned, I found a renewed vigor for “imposing my will upon unsuspecting air molecules”, as the famous quote says. Enthusiasm regained!

    And as always, God knew how beneficial it is to take breaks. He actually commanded it to be every seventh day. In our world few people really rest one day a week, and it makes me wonder how much more healthy our society might be if we did take the time to rest. Unfortunately the way certain professions are set up, it is impossible to someone to rest one day and not get dreadfully behind in their work. I think this is especially true for teachers, as well as physicians. In order to keep up, the teachers have to grade work and prepare for the next week. Most physicians and surgeons, in order to be able to refer their patients to a hospital, are required to spend an unhealthy amount of time on call at the hospital. 

    I feel for the people in those professions that drain the life out of people instead of invigorate them. Some rearrangement would help so much. The good news is that in music therapy I’ll be able to set up my own schedule, and it’s a highly interactive, non-office job. Can I hear a hallelujah?

    Amen!

Coordinates Requested and Received. Halifirien72 is Ready for Takeoff.

    I’m just making up my own cockpit dialog, so don’t judge me on accuracy. The only flight dialog I’ve heard/seen is from Star Wars, The Hunt for Red October, or Going Solo, which makes me a non-expert. And now I’m way off topic. *screech of brakes as train of thought prepares to reroute*

    

    This week marked the second most momentous step toward college: orientation. I woke up ten minutes before my alarm clock was set to go off, so I must have been excited. That’s something funny I’ve noticed about myself: people will ask me if I’m excited, and I just won’t know. There’s either a disconnect in my neural network, or I just don’t work myself up for things, but I rarely get noticeably excited about anything that a) I’ve never done, or b) involves unknown people. But that is one of the goals of orientation, and this one was successful. Now I know two more kids that will be in my music therapy classes, have seen the backs of about a quarter of my fellow class of ‘14, and decided that I would much rather be given a suite-style room than a quad. Or it might be the other way around, but the point is that I don’t want to share a bathroom with the entire hall. Stay tuned. I also bought a sweatshirt and Dad got me a license plate holder with the school’s logo. Very exciting.

    That was seven hours plus one and a half of driving. It was a very, VERY hot day, and I was exhausted when I got home. I touched ground for about an hour, long enough to eat something and get an ibuprofen for my achin’ noggin, and then I was off again for three hours of orchestra rehearsal. It was okay, because my energy went up a little before we got there, and the ibuprofen worked, thank You Lord.

    It’s been a fun week so far. On Saturday I went to Mattea’s graduation, which was well worth the trip. I’m so glad I could go, and that we didn’t schedule my party to be that day.  It was quite a contrast to my graduation, which I think is totally due to region and people involved. It was kind of funny to see how much culture varies state to state. My ceremony was shorter and a little more conventional , but it didn’t give as much of a glance into the family’s lives that I got to see at the PHAA’s.  I really enjoyed the ceremony and getting to see Mattea and her family. Let’s celebrate! WE MADE IT!!!!!

Taxiing for Takeoff

Here I am, taking my plane down the runway that is graduation. How do you say goodbye, politely, to your childhood?

I've decided to post a collection of thoughts and things going on recently.

1~   A big thank you to everyone who contributed to and came to my party. It was a blast. I want to have all of you come back, one at a time, so I can actually talk to you!

2~ Though we did not win the concerto competition, it was an educational experience and I'm glad we did it.

3~ Learning bar chords is not something you can do overnight, even if you have strong hands. I do love a musical challenge.

4~ This background does not quite capture my day, as I paddled up and down a rather small stretch of a rather slow river.

5~ I wonder what the movie The Brothers Bloom is like.

6~ I hope whatever is hitting its head against the window behind me does not hurt itself.

7~ I am excited about the new Chopin preludes book I've been told to buy. I'll have all of them, right at my fingertips, just waiting for me to play them! Joy! Alas, I have to decide which edition to get; the untried-yet-scholarly edition which contains stories behind the songs, the favored-yet-expensive, or the cheap-o?

8~ Have you ever had a staycation, where you take a week off and go sight-seeing close to home? That's what I'm doing right now, starting today, and I'm not sure I'm going to get to all the places I want to see. But hey, it's day one and I already have a sunburn. I must be on vacation.

9~ First goal for the summer: work on pushups.

10~ Thought: the zombie voice for alerts on Macs is quite creepy at 10:40pm, even when you're expecting it to say "you're now running on reserve battery power". *shivers*

11~ Second summer goal: work on guitar.

12~ I have to choose: iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad? Tough one.

13~ Poison ivy, be gone! Rats. It's still there. Ugh.

14~ Now the thing on the window is playing a drumroll. o_O

15~ I like green.

16~ I miss the loons in Maine.

17~ Arrivederci

FATTO! FEITO! FINE!

I know you're longing to hear what I'm talking about, but hang on a second while I go get some food. I'm starving, as my bros say. Ugh, now the phone is ringing....


Okay, I'm back. What was I about to say? Oh yeah: HIGH SCHOOL IS OVER!!!!!! WOOOOOOT! Let me take a moment to savor the moment.


It feels weird to no longer say I'm home schooled. When people ask where I go to school, I can say a name, and it won't be followed by that little pause while the person rearranges how they think about me, which is usually followed by, "do you like it?"  


I know I will miss home schooling. Where else can you be your schedule your day any way you want to, changing it whenever you feel the need? Where else can you choose your courses without having to add the ones you won't need to graduate and don't like in the least? Where, I ask you? Thank God He gave me a career choice that suits me so well. Otherwise, I might be super depressed at the thought of college.


I have enough mood swings as it is. Last night I stayed up late talking through my troubles, which is a bad idea sometimes, because they're blown out of proportion in a teenager's mind at night. It lasted a long time. My poor parents. At least they know what's going on in my head now. 


Sometimes, all these changes just get to be a LITTLE TOO MUCH!


Still there? Sorry, that was loud. But thanks for letting me put that out there. I feel better now. That doesn't mean you don't have to pray for me, though! Here's the big decision I have to make: play viola, or not play viola. See, there's this thing called course overload, and if I choose to have both piano and viola as my primary instruments, it's going to cost more (time and money). I would be, in effect, double majoring, even though my actual major is music therapy. What to do, what to do? I'm not sure. At this point, after talking to my parents and viola teacher, I'm thinking I'll give it a try. What will be even better is if I get a good score on my AP psych, which will get me out of that class and free up practice time (and money! Don't forget that!). I just hope I'll be able to handle it all.


In other news, we got four chickens last Saturday. Yep, one for each of my siblings and one for me. Not that we'll be able to survive on just the eggs produced by four chickens, but the lady was selling them and we can get more later. Right now we're waiting for the rain to stop so we can build a coop and yard. They stink when you keep them inside. Bleck. 


MIcah is funny about it, and keeps saying how these chicks aren't going to survive, the cats will eat them, etc. Stephan gets really mad at him when he says that, but I think Micah is just preparing himself in case they don't make it. The chicken mortality rate is pretty high around here. The hawks must be in want of mice or something. That's why the chicks are in our basement for the time being. Ick!


I'm off now, to rid the world of meatless hamburgers. (e.g., I'm going to go play diner dash).


~me

Almost...There....

This is the second-to-last day of homeschooling. Ever. *sigh*  It's a milestone for me, yes, but even more significant for my parents. They've managed to educate a kid from preschool through 12th grade, at home! Tada! Thank you, Mom and Dad, for giving me such a wonderful learning experience. xoxo : )

I'm so glad the AP psych test is over. No more SATs, no more APs, ahhhh. So nice. Now all I have to worry about are juries and finals and all that fun stuff in college. The next hurdle is the recital this Saturday, and then the concerto competition after that. I'm really thankful my sister and I got to do the double viola concerto together. It's been fun, and challenging, but it makes it easy having someone in the house who can practice with you whenever you get to it. 9:30 at night, for example. I know she'll be happy when we're done with this and she can have her shoulder looked at by a specialist. Playing music shouldn't put your limbs to sleep, lol.

Babysitting job no. 1 of the day is now finished. Kid is on bus, check. Next babysitting job is in the afternoon, so I have to go home and see how much I can get done before I head out again. Sorry for the boring post. I'm trying to post a video of my music, but it won't upload. Any ideas?

Adios, amigos.

Alas, AP psych review is devouring me, thus, I cannot post properly.

I shall be back next Wednesday.

Adieu.

~Reluctant Crammer

The Creator In Art, Part I

I'm about to lapse into a random thoughts-onto-paper sort of writing about how the lessons I've learned in music translate into my journey with God. However, it is 10:34 pm, and I haven't touched an instrument all day (not my fault, completely), so it could get weird.

I am working on one of Chopin's piano pieces, and I realized I hadn't used the metronome with it for a while. Okay, maybe never. Thinking this is probably a good idea, I hunted around for Melanie, my little metronome, found her, stuck a nail in to turn her on (she hasn't been quite the same since the accident), and off we went. Woops, slow down, girl. I'm not Horowitz. So there I go, running along, and I notice how uneven I had been playing it. Metronomes are good at showing mistakes. After a while I got used to it, and I thought about how the Bible is sort of like a metronome. I live my life, setting my own pace, moving faster when I feel like it, pulling back when I get scared or tired. But then I figure out that something is up, something isn't quite right. I run to the Lord, and ask Him "what's wrong, why do I feel like my heart is...uneven?'' Then I start listening to the metronome, which is always on. I just don't listen for it all the time.

Actually, now that I think about it, the orchestra conductor is a better picture of this. Sometimes I bury my head in my music, not paying attention to the conductor's leading. This is synonymous with doing devotions every day without concentrating, being still, and listening for God's voice. Then all of a sudden I'll hear the other musicians, or realize I'm rushing all over the place, trying to get this over with as fast as possible, and I'll look up at the conductor/God, and align myself with His design.

It just amazes me, the order that He's set up. Everything, from bugs to singing to dirt to trees to sports to love, is all connected. It all relates to everything else.

Hopefully this makes sense, and I won't read this tomorrow and go "oh, dear. That was my 10:58 pm, trying-to-keep-myself-awake-until-the-parents-get-home-so-i-can-be-done-babysitting self talking". Speaking of which, I think I hear a car door.

~  : )

Modern Art On A Shell

   HE’S ALIVE!!! My God conquered death. My whole life, my eternal existence, everything depends on that fact. I have new life in Jesus, and I get to spend FOREVER with Him. How awesome is that?! 

    The egg is a sign of new life, so we do our human thing and try to make it more beautiful every Easter. Out come the dyes, the vinegar, the eggs, and the old t-shirt that needs to be spruced up (see below).

    All in celebration of the greatest thing that ever happened to mankind. 

    HALLELUJAH, AMEN!

---------        ----------             ----------          ----------        -----------        -----------         -----------        --------

    I tie-dyed this shirt last summer at camp, but it wasn’t very vibrant anymore, plus I hate throwing out all that dye, so I revamped my shirt and one of Stephan’s. 

    “Much more better”. We shall see if it stays through the wash.

In Which I Have a New Adventure

Today we realized that the vehicles really do need to be inspected, so I was chosen to drive one up to the car shop and then bike back. Mom is on restriction (due to her vein surgery), so she couldn't do it. Dad was hours away and had misplaced his jetpack, so he was out of the question. So off I went, ready for whatever lay ahead. This out-of-the-ordinary diversion was a welcome change since this week has been so stressful. School and scholarships and demands and people can get on my nerves. But anyway, all was not lost, and I was set.

After having my prerequisite blonde moment -- the mini mart section of the gas station does not process inspections, duh -- I got my bike out of the back and went to the library. Uneventful. I love that bike, by the way. Raleigh rules.

So I spend an hour at the unusually quiet library, then get on my bike and go home. I was passed once. Anticlimactic moment.

The end.

In other news, the boys set up a blind in the yard. The groundhog's days are numbered.

It is B_E_A_U_tiful outside!!!!!

Graduation and party plans are being finalized. We have to work around a concerto competition, which is annoying. More to come on both.

Applying for countless scholarships and seeing little return is downright frustrating. The good news: I get workstudy. Yay!

The actual end. Thanks for reading.

"I'm late! I'm late!"

I feel like the Mad Hatter. I have no time to post! My apologies!

Printemps (Spring)

 I declare,this is the best year of weather I have seen my whole, entire life. Last summer was pretty temperate, the fall was nice, we had several big snowstorms this winter (!!!!!!!!), and now this marvelous spring. All nature sings of the LORD, it really does.

    I can hear one of those birds chirping away, and it makes me want to write a piece of music using bird noises. That would be a fun project. I want to include the peeper frogs, too. Sansa mp3 players have voice recorders that are very sensitive and great for this type of thing. And then there’s GarageBand, with its endless options. Yep. I’m going to make that a school project, haha. I love home schooling.

    Speaking of which, school is going pretty well. I really enjoy psychology, and my music activities are more varied than ever, which is wonderful. I look forward to the hour a week I spend with Justice, my sweet, 4-year-old friend who has agenesis of the corpus callosum (she was born without the broad band of nerve fibers joining the two hemispheres of the brain [New Oxford American Dictionary], which means, I think, that the two sides have a hard time talking to each other. ) Anyway, that is the day we play music together. 

    Sorry about the change of font. I can’t figure out what I was using before. 

    The orchestra concert went well. According to our conductor it wasn’t as good as the dress rehearsal but still very good. I messed up a little on the sextet piece, partly because I had never played on that piano before, but we held it together. I doubt anybody noticed, anyway. Listen tohttp://itunes.apple.com/us/album/pierrot-lunaire-op-21-1912/id58103265?i=58103503 and see what I mean. You'll probably be glad you don’t have to listen to the whole thing. Needless to say, it was a learning experience. There’s a clarinet, violin, flute, cello, piano and singer in there. The string quartet played 
 http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/string-quartet-no-3-mishima/id79033083?i=79033072  comes with its own set of difficulties. Our group did really well.

Well, that’s it for today. Adios.

Tale of the Cramming Orchestra

...And the orchestra pulls an all-nighter, rehearsing until their bow hair is gone, their fingers stiffen up and their reeds can give no more. But the musicians labor on, knowing that they have only one more day until the concert, and their playing needs to improve. Tempers flare, nerves grow thin, and ears wear out. “I honestly can’t tell the difference between an A and an A-flat anymore, maestro. Really.” 

Okay, well, it didn’t go exactly like that, but we did add half an hour to the practice time, and my sextet had to practice for an hour on top of that. That’s 3 1/2 hours total playing time. Gabe, my stand-partner, and I had sore backs by the end, but it didn’t turn out as bad as we thought it would. Maybe we passed the point of the night when we are usually getting ready for bed, so we got a second wave of energy.

Anyway, it was a good rehearsal, considering we lost two practices to the snow storms. I’m looking forward to the concert.

Gathering Speed

It's ironic. This is the most full time of my life so far, when I have so much to do, so much is happening, and there so much I could write about, but I can't decide on a topic for a blog post. Go figure. I think I have too many options. 

Thankfully that isn't true when it comes to college. God has blessed me with clear direction on what He wants me to do, and it is now official: I am going to Shenandoah Conservatory to study music therapy. Woo-hoo!

But the work doesn't stop once auditions are over and you've been accepted. No, it's just getting started.

God is saying, "Hold tight and hold fast, dear one. It's going to be a fast, rough, joyous, and strenuous ride. But it is entirely worth all the effort. Watch Me."

 

So be it!

CNN vs. the government

Blogs look so forlorn with only one post, so I'll add another.


What do you think about CNN asking that all of the healthcare bill proceedings be televised? Do you think governmental transparency can be taken too far?


I, for one, am happy about CNN's request. I can see the other side's view, though. It probably gets on the lawmakers' nerves to have cameras in their faces 24/7, but then they can't get away with anything. : D


Conclusion. Tada.

Greetings and Salutations

I'm finally on, MK! Aren't you proud of me?

Now to decide on a font. Trebuchet? Verdana? Wedbdins? Apparently not that one. Lucida Grande? Georgia? Courier? Oh, I like that one. But I like Georgia better. Nice.

Yay! I'm excited. I'm also excited to be done with these songs I've been working on for six months+. But it is helpful to have something to work towards. I'll be glad when the auditions are over!

Guten Tag