Last concert for 2009: Philharmonic

You are going to want to kick me and I'm sorry. I have my last NIU concert tomorrow night. I am playing with the NIU Philharmonic orchestra tomorrow night (Monday) November 23, 2009 at 8:00pm CENTRAL TIME. You can watch this concert via webcast, just like the others. I know it's really last minute. Spread the word. Remember, this is a LIVE webcast and is likely the performance will not be archived for future view.

Here is the program:

Mahler - Kindertotenlieder (I play in this one)
Myron Myers, bass
Program notes: Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children) is a song cycle for voice and orchestra by Gustav Mahler. The words of the songs are poems by Friedrich Rückert. You can read about Mahler's inspiration and find the lyrics to the 5 sung poems HERE. They are very sad, but the music is beautiful at the same time.

~intermission~

Schubert - Symphony No. 9, in C Major, "The Great"
(I do not play in this one, but it is a great piece nevertheless)

You can get to the LIVE webcast through this link: http://www.niu.edu/music/media/webcasts.shtml

Concert Sunday!!

Hey Everyone...just wanted to announce that I will be playing harp in wind ensemble this SUNDAY AT 3:00PM CENTRAL TIME. Sorry it's late notice...this week has been...one of those weeks. I'll post more later, I'm in a hurry. Again, tell anyone you think would want to watch...if you are not at church...please don't miss your religious service for me :)

(FYI the link to the online LIVE webcast is in a post below....scroll down to it on www.michelleheuer.blogspot.com. )

Henry

Meet Henry.

Well, I was sad looking at the empty fish bowl on my desk. It seemed so lonely in my room without a fish in it. So after 2 days (Halloween I might add) I went to the the local petsmart and scoped out a new beta. After searching and comparing and observing for about 20 minutes I finally found my new beta.

His name is Henry. He is a beautiful blue and white delta tail beta (they actually have different kinds...isn't that fun). His tail is very flowy and rounded along the outside, and his top and bottom fins are much longer and also very flowy. Oscar was a standard beta with a pointed tail and fins, which were pretty but not "flowy" (is that even a word or did I make that up??). I got him partially becuase he is so handsome and would look good in my tank with the red stones, and becuase how active he was in the store. I don't want a boring depressed fish. And he is very regal looking when he swims. I've only had him for 5 days and he has even more personality than Oscar, I think.

I'm feeding him pellets instead of flake food, so his water won't cloud up as much. While Oscar didn't care for the pellets, Henty LOVES them. In fact, he hangs out at the surface waiting for me to drop one in. If he is really hungry he basically swallows them whole. If he is not that hungry, he'll play with it. He grabbs it in his mouth and swims around the tank with it until he decides he wants to eat it. Sometime he attacks it, sometimes he'll twitch with it in his mouth like he is attacking it. It's really funny to watch. And he always flares his fins really wide while he is eating. Here is a pic of him playing with his food. What a cute fish face!!

The other really funny thing about him is that he like to try to eat the plant. He does it less often than initially, but if a piece of root that has broken off he will attack it. There is also a certain place where the roots push up agains the bowl...he loves to wedge himself into that spot between the plant and the bowl. He also likes trying to wedge into the rocks at the bottom. Either that or he is scoping for food.

And he is always excited to see me. Sometimes he sees something outside and zooms around his tank trying to get at it. I know I sound silly but I love Henry!! I think you will agree with me on how pretty he is too :)

Farewell to Oscar

Well you may already know, but Oscar died last week. I knew it was coming. He had been getting pretty old (I think). I had him for about 18 months, which is pretty good I'd say for my first ever fish. And I think he was already at least a year old when I got him becuase he was already pretty big for a beta.

Oscar was a funny fish. He would get really excited when he saw people. He would flare and show off for you too. When you gave him food, he would jump up and attack it. If you made faces at him he would make faces back (puff his gills out). He was a good fish. He was pretty too. When I first got him he was a pretty teal color with a dark face. As he aged, he developed some red on his fins in addition. As he got old, his color started to dull and his face started to turn grey. It really did!! His scales were a silver color. I don't know if that is normal, but it seemed that way.

A couple months ago his swim bladder failed...meaning he lost the ability to float. So he would just sit at the bottom and stare at you. I think this made him depressed becuase while at first he would still eat and get excited when he saw you, he couldn't swim very well. Eventually he stopped eating as much and took to laying in the oddest positions, sometimes on his side, sometimes his nose pointing strait up. I knew it was getting close the last couple days before he died becuase he started laying upside down (belly up) and couldn't figure out how to turn back over. That can never be good right?

Farewell Oscar. He is in fish heaven now.

Tentative uber cool news....

I just found out some potentially exciting news for those who like to keep up with my harp playing. It might (emphasis on the might) be possible to webcast my first masters recital in the spring. I still have to find out details, so hang tight for more info on the matter.

By the way, my first masters recital is April 17, 2010 at 5pm central time. So put it in the books if you are interested in coming, watching via webcast (maybe), or just being there in spirit. Stay tuned for more info!!

Webcasting Announcement for Oct. 21st NIU Philharmonic Concert!!

Ok, listen up everyone. I have my first NIU Philharmonic concert, and I'm inviting all of you to watch!! If you are new to my blog or are recieving this blog email for the first time, I am at Northern Illinois University studying harp for my masters. I am also a member of the NIU Philharmonic Orchestra.
Here at NIU, they do this really cool thing called live webcasting, so any concert that happens at NIU is broadcasted live over the internet. They don't always archive these concerts, so you have to catch it LIVE. Follow?

Ok, so my next concert is THIS WEDNESDAY, OCT 21, 8:00PM, CENTRAL TIME. You Mountain timers, that means an hour ealier. Eastern timers, an hour later. Just so we're clear. I has been expressed to me by many ppl that they would like to know when I am playing in concerts. However, not many ppl read this blog and I can only email this blog to 10 ppl, so if you know anyone else who would like to know about this, please forward it along. For those who actually get on the internet to read my blog, I did not email you for that reason: you actually get on and check, which I appreciate!!
Thank you.

In case anyone wants to know the concert program, it is this:

~Die Moldau by Smetana. This is a piece inspired by The Moldau, a river that runs through Czechoslovakia. It is also the piece that I am playing in.
From Smetana's program notes ....
"The composition depicts the course of the river , beginning from its two small sources, one cold the other warm, the joining of both streams into one, then the flow of the Moldau through forests and across meadows, through the countryside where merry feasts are celebrated; water nymphs dance in the moonlight; on nearby rocks can be seen the outline of ruined castles, proudly soaring into the skies. The Mouldau swirls through the St. John Rapids and flows in a broad stream towards Prague. It passes Vysehrad [ where an ancient royal castle once stood ] , and finally the river disappears in the distance as it flows majestically into the Elbe."
--Well, Vysehrad is another movement of the piece (you can google it) that we won't actually be playing, but it is still a very cool piece. Just try to imagine the different parts in it as you listen:
-joining of the two streams
-great hunt
-peasant wedding
-nymphs in the forest
-ruins
-St. John Rapids
-The widest part of the River

~Como un Sueno for Harp and Orchestra by Gustavo Leone
Faye Seeman, harp

Gustavo Leone is a living composer who's music focuses on the kinds of sounds that instruments can make together. This piece is so beautiful, and almost sounds like it is out of a movie. It is worth watching this concert just for this piece. Faye Seeman is my professor here and is an outstanding harpist. Mr. Leone will also be in attendance at the concert.

~intermission~

~Dvorjak - Symphony No. 7
This piece is just awsome, full of sound, emotion and angst, lots of strings....good stuff!!!

So there you have it, that is the concert order. If you were wanting to just see me play, make sure you log on at the beginning, since I am first and the piece is the shortest one on the program.
[There is also going to be an open discussion before the concert with Gustavo Leone and my teacher Faye Seeman, which might be webcasted as well. I'll send more details on that later.]

Last thing (I promise!!): The link to the embed online: http://www.niu.edu/music/media/webcasts.shtml
I have posted the links for the webcasting in my previous post. If you have problems, go to www.michelleheuer.blogspot.com and look at the previous post (if you are recieving this by email). Chances are you will have to update something.
Feel free to post or email any questions you might have, my blog is always open!!

Webcast concerts from NIU

I don't know how many ppl actually read my blog, but in case anyone wanted to see me perform in concerts at NIU, they have this really cool link to live HD webcasting. So, if anyone wanted to see me perform in ensemble concerts, you can!! I think it's a pretty awsome thing they got going here. Too bad the library computers aren't as high tech (hehe).

The link to the HD webcast embed is: http://www.niu.edu/music/media/webcasts.shtml

I would recommend the most recent version of Adobe Flash Player: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer

and Adobe Reader: http://get.adobe.com/reader

This is what the school has recommended, but you may not have to have these recent versions, I'm not sure.

NOW: I am performing tonight for a band concert at 7:00pm CENTRAL TIME that might be webcast, I'm not actually sure. So if you are interested you can check the link and see. I am performing a piece for 2 harps and small chamber ensemble first up (for wind ensemble) then I am playing the first piece with the University band. So I'll be at the beginning, then I'm done. I will try to post in the future whenever I have a concert via webcast.

The next one will be on Wednesday Oct. 21 at 7:30pm, where I will be playing a piece with the NIU Philharmonic.

Poor Oscar

Well, Oscar (my beta) is sick. It is so sad. He used to be so happy and flare his gills and get excited when he saw me. Now he just lays in some random position on the bottom or on the plant and stares at me. He can't swim. He tries really hard, but just falls like a rock down to the bottom of the tank. I'm surprised he can even make it up to the top to get food. I've done some researching...turns out that for whatever reason his swim bladder has failed. That means he can't float. So it is so sad watching him try so hard to swim. He lays on the plant and the bottom and doesn't even care what position he is in. Did you know that betas can lay on their sides, or pointing strait up (sitting vertical)? Sometimes he breathes fast, sometimes slow. He also has some discoloration on his head...it used to be so dark you couldn't see his eyes. Now its multicolored with some gray on the underside and his eyes kind of pop out a little. I think he might have an infection on top of his bladder failing (which could be becuase of an infection). It doesn't help that he is an old man now either.
I have had him almost 1 1/2 years. They only live about 2 years (3 tops) and many betas can be up to a year old when you buy them already. So my beta can be anywhere between 2 and 3 years old. He probably hasn't got much longer, but I want him to die of old age, not becuase he is sick. So I'm going to go get some Maracyn 2 for him, which is an antibiotic that treats a number of ailments, including internal ones that may have affected his swim bladder. I think I'm also going to get a new beta bowl for him. While I have loved my bowl that I have, it really is too small for betas and if I lower the water for him so he can eat easier he will hardly have any room to move. It makes me sad to see him so sad and tired all the time.
..,
{ o }}>=
"lll"

Some more Asian nerdiness...

[It's official. I need to learn an Asian language. And then go study/teach in that country. Yet another person told me today that my Chinese pronunciation is very good, not including the couple ppl that tell me my Thai pronunciation is good as well. And Japanese, although that language is easy in comparison. If I were to ever learn a language to use in my life, it is going to have to be an Asian one. Apparently I can speak very well, as opposed to the other languages I've tried.]

So Jai-Ching has been telling us that an ethnomusicologist from China is going to be guest lecturing for several weeks. Dr. Wong arrived today, and was originally going to start teaching next week, since he just flew in from China last night. Well, he instited that he start today. It was such an awsome class. He doesn't speak much English so Jai-Ching was translating for us. He is so funny! Very happy person, and he got so excited over the little things he was teaching us. You could tell that he loves Chinese music and it's history.

So here I am, trying desparately to memorize the Chinese sentences we have been learning. I told him "Lao shu ni hao ma" ("How are you teacher"), "Wan dan ming zu sheu Hue Mei-Xue," (My name is Michelle Heuer. Oh, and my Chinese name Mei-Xue actually means "beautiful/pristine" and "snow", not "snail" according to my Chinese friend Lena), and "Wa dan dran yea sheu yin-yue" (My major is Music). The only thing I messed up on was my name. I can pronounce everything else fine! Just not my name. Go figure. The back of my neck/left shoulder knots up trying to pronounce it. I'm sure that's not supposed to happen.

He gave us an overview of what he is going to be talking about. There are lots of different categories and subcategories of music and the different functions it served, and each is sung/played differently. I guess not unlike any other culture, but in Asian cultures it just seemed more strict in separation, more functional and identifiable. It was truly fascinating...and exciting when I could actually identify certain words he was saying, like "yin-yue" which means "music." He was so good at explaining differences with his tone and hand gestures that sometimes we didn't need Jai-Ching to translate. This is the coolest class ever!!! The only hard part is all the reading we have to do.

AND a flautist in the class (who happens to be a poly-sci/econimics major with a chinese minor) brought in some Chinese flutes and Mr. Wang helped her play some (the Chinese notational process is different, as well as the fingerings on the flute as compared to a normal flute). Maybe she can teach me a little bit some time.
(AHHHH!!!!!!)

I also had to watch a Chinese movie for a paper I have to write later. I watched Red Cliff (and Red Cliff II), which is a 2-disk movie based in feudal China at the end of the Han Dynasty (203 BC I think). It's all about how an evil powerhungry war-mongering prime minister for the emperor starts a war with the other 2 kingdoms, who join forces to oppose him. There are a lot of traditional Chinese culture in it, a lot of staff fighting and those lightning-fast movements that made Jackie Chan popular. Not a lot of Kung-fu though. The plot was very intricate, showing both sides strategizing how to defeat the other. It got really suspenseful, and the actors portrayed all the characters really well...you felt like you were in the story. It is 6 1/2 hours total and I watched most of it last night, it was so good. Downside: Really gory, but a really fake kind of gory (bright red watery "blood" that doesn't look real at all). All the same, I could have done without it...but it is about war, so it did give it a more realistic view. If you like action/drama like Lord of the Rings or The Patriot or Gladiator-type films you would like it.

Harry Potter (CAUTION!!! THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS!!)

So the last 6 months I decided to read all the Harry Potter books in order....except I didn't read them. My dad has them all on cd with Jim Dale as narrator (he is amazing!!!) so I decided to listen to them all. I was on 6 when I drove up here and finished it up here. However, I didn't have the 7th book on cd, since it was at home, but I did have the book with me so I read the book. I had only read it that one time when it first came out, so the only thing I could remember about what happened was how the book ended. I had forgotten all the other information about thier journeys and all the stuff they find out that wraps the series together. JK Rowling was a true genious in the whole harry potter storyline. Well, I had also forgotten that Harry sacrifices himself in the woods when he thinks he has to die. I knew that he doesn't die, but I totally cried anyway. The way that chapter was written was so sad and so moving.

I am such a sap.

School.

Whew!! It is getting pretty busy here. I only have two classes, Music of China and Music Theory Review (ugh). Basically, I failed all my diagnostic exams that I took before school started. Well, the history I knew I would fail, I didn't really want to kill myself studying over the summer. Now I wish I had, because there are so many cool classes here to take and I have to pick and choose because I can only take 9 credits. I was taking a World Music class that focuses on the cultures of Asia, but I ended up switching it to Music of China class, which also doubles as my required history elective I have to take, and now I'm just sitting in the other class for fun.
I thought I would pass Theory though. Although when I looked at the test, there were enough stupid mistakes for them to think I needed the review class. I think I don't need to be there, I remember everything we have done so far and I'm even tutoring another student.

The Music of China class is really cool...I'm learning how to say all kinds of things in Chinese, and right now we are learning about the kinds of instruments. I have to know how to say certain things in Chinese becuase we are having a guest instructor for a month, and he's an ethnomusicologist from China and I don't think he speaks much English...our professor Jai-Ching (pronounced Ray-Ching) Wong is going to be translating. So I now know how to say things like "thank you teacher" "how are you teacher" "My major is _________" "My name is ________", and how to count to 10. Oh!! And Jai-Ching also gave all Chinese names. Mine is He Mei-Xia (Hue May-Sheu--you say the las part half-way between an open "A" and "U"...hard to explain). It kinda sounds like "Hematia" if you say it really fast, with no stresses. The first word is the closest sounding word to my last name (they use last name first) and the other two words closest to my first name. "Mei" means beautiful and "Xia" means snail. So we all address each other in class by our Chinese names, it's pretty cool. Sad I'm not learning Thai though....:(. I'm not sure which language is harder. Thai is easier for me to pronounce, although I do Chinese really well, but Thai also has 5 main inflections where Chinese only has 4. It's hard becuase you have to say the words with the right inflection. The way you say "Ma?" and "Ma." mean different words. Crazy. But fun.

I'm also doing wind ensemble and putting together music for my recital in the spring. I'm doing two harp quintets (harp with string quartet) and i'm way excited about it. I'm also doing this super cool piece by Michael Mauldin called "Birds in Winter." It is really mysterious and beautiful. My teacher Faye Seeman really keeps me busy and on my toes, and she helps me stay focused on my goals, which I like (and need). I love her she is great.

PLEASE READ!!!

My dad sent me this email, I'll have to ask him where he got it...I guess it has been circulating around. But it is so profound, I'm posting it here on my blog. Hopefully people will read it, understand it, and realize that Obama is doing exactly what this paragraph warns us against...and then spread the word. I fear that our country is coming close to this. We cannot let it happen. Here it is:

******************************************
This is probably the 5 best sentences you'll ever read. This is one paragraph that should be in every book, in every school room, in every city, in every state, in our great Union . Our educators should make a lesson plan on this one statement and beat these words into every head, in every class, in every state, in these United States of America.

Profound short paragraph:

"You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."*

* Adrian Rogers, 1931*

********************************************

Happenings

Ok, so it's been a while!! I feel bad, but it has been so busy, and when you are working and doing things all the time away from your computer it is really hard to post. Doesn't mean I couldn't have at all, the only time I could was going to bed and then I would never really feel like it, since I had to get up at 4:30am to go to work every day. But now that is over!!!!

I am now in Dekalb, IL about to start at Northern Illinois for my masters. Weird huh. I think it is anyway. Lots has been going on that I have to tell you about! Especially the last couple of weeks....

Ok first, we went on vacation the week before last. It was a blast!! We went to Colorado for a week and played around outside. First we went hiking up in the mountains, then we went on a 3-day white water rafting trip. There were 10 of us total, with 3 guides. At night we would camp out close to the water. The guides cooked for us and we might as well have eaten like a cruise ship for meals. The first night we had steak and potatos, pancake and bacon breakfast, amazing fresh sandwhich fare, and the second night BBQ chicken and corn on the cob, cooked over the coals with the husks on and everything so you had to peel and eat. It was all soo good! We also did some rockclimbing and rapelling while we were out there too. I was sad when the 3 days were over. The rafting started out with a couple 3class rapids. The second day we progressed to 4 class rapids in the morning, then after lunch we got on some inflatable kayaks called duckies and did some class 3 rapids in them, then just played around in the waves the rest of the time until camping. I love kayaking...out of everything we did, whitewater kayaking is probably my favorite thing. The 3rd day we did class 5 (that's the most intense rapids). After rappelling from the campsite to the water, we did some class 4 and then got out to scout out the class 5 before we actually did it, and out guide pointed out things like where we should go if we got thrown out and where we were supposed to be and safety stuff. Also we scouted out our path through the rapids and what we should do if we got off course. Then we went down it.....sooooo fun!!!! We were all soaked but none of us fell out. After the class 5 we went into Triple Drop which was a really fun class 4 and then into a series of rapids called Numbers...9 in all back to back, a combination of class 3 and 4. The last meal we had was the best fajitas I have ever had. Amazing the food you can cook over coals or a camp grill (all the other meals were over hot coals and fire grid).
On Friday we did a cattle drive. We were on horses and herding cows and everything. It was so much fun, and we drove them from one end of the property to the other, which was around 10,000 acres total. I don't know how many acres we drove them, but we were herding for 3 hours. It felt so good to back on top of a horse. I never heard more cows mooing than we did at one time either. On Saturday we spent the morning at Royal Gorge, with the longest suspension bridge in the world. Very cool. We got to see some native animals such as bison (a white one too), big horn sheep, and elk, which make this really high pitch keening noise that you think is from a bird at first. I also learned how to throw a tomahawk. I landed 3 on the wood target!

So that is my vacation. I have to get ready for church now, first time in this area, but I'll be sure to post some more later!

Last day of Hot Springs Music Festival

I just heard back on my car. I'm not sure all the details, but basically the verdict is my car is undriveable more than 15 feet at the moment. From what I understand, it overheated, leaking water and motor fluid (you guys can correct me if I'm naming the wrong things), which did something to one of the cylinders. Not quite sure yet if it is worth replacing yet or not, it will depend on what all in there needs to be replaced or not. I'm kicking myself becuase all this is something that could have been prevented days ago. Not just that, but could have prevented even if I didn't drive home the night it broke down on the road. Again, life lesson: check your gauges regularly!! (and take it immediately if it's making funky sounds. That too.)
So Dad is driving up with a flatbed trailer to pull it home, since they can't fix it in time for when we need to leave.

Dang it!!

Anyway, today is the last day of the festival. I'm kinda sad...it went by too quickly. All the concerts were good, but I'm not sure yet if I'm going to get any cd's...if I do it will be of the Potpourri concert, the one where the apprentices bring their own music and put together chamber pieces themselves and then audition them in to play in the concert. I didn't play in it this year. There was a quartet arrangement of some pieces from the opera Carmen that my mentor brought, but we could never get it together in time. I also got to play Hans Strauss's Nocturne for french horn and piano that my friend Doug the tuba player brought to try out on tuba and harp. It was really cool, and really pretty, and we got to discuss different ways of rearranging it with both our mentors.

The opera theatre production of Carmen was sooooo good. It was adapted from the original to a much smaller chamber orchestra, down to only the main cast (no chorus), and ran without intermission for a total of 1 hour and 20 min, roughly. And it was transcribed to english. If you know anything about Bizet's Carmen, there was no fluff in this one...just the nitty-gritty emotional story that is Carmen. It was really intense, and so good! The singers were absolutely fantastic...and the set was built by my mentor's husband (who runs all the setup stuff at the festival) on very little budget and mostly stuff laying around....and it looked so good! The stage was set up like an arena, bales of hay outlined a small circular stage on the feildhouse floor.

So, I'm officially done playing harp. I don't play on tonight's orchestra concert, but I do get to play with the percussion section. Yep you read right. It is a piece that allows anyone to participate in. So there are a lot of us, who aren't playing on the piece, that are doing various percussion instruments as a group...and you don't really have to read the music either, you just watch and do you're rhythm. There is some african drums, tom-toms, clave (which is hard wooden sticks banging together), whistles, cowbell, and clapping hands. I get to play the maracas. WOOHOOO!! It's really fun.

Here are some pics from the festival. This first one is of that fried banana cheesecake thing I told you about. It was sooooo good....

This is a brass quintet jamming songs from West side story at the Brauhouse patio:Here is a pic of a fountain walking along the sidewalk, and of the Quapaw bath and spa, one of the historic bathhouses on bathhouse row (now remodeled and working) here in historic district of Hot Springs:

Oh, and Stephanie, just so you know I met you're stunt double.......:o)

car trouble

OK..........yeah.

My car broke down. On the road. While I was driving it. Yep.

It had been running fine...or so I had thought. Then it started making funny noises. Then it just died on me last night. Couldn't get a hold of a tow truck, got a cab home. Called the tow truck this morning. Dad came back up. (He came up for my concert and then left to drive home and got stuck by the storms all night so he wasn't far away. My car broke down driving home from dinner.) Took it to a highly recommended auto place. Took a look at it, could be serious, may not be. I hope I don't have to get a new car, that would really be unfortunate, don't you agree?

So, waiting on the verdict. Apparently the water level was at zero and "smelled hot"....which means that I didn't notice my water temp gauge moving into the hot zone. Stupid me. But I had been driving so little while I was here (just a mile or so here and there) that I never stopped to just look at it. Which is still stupid becuase it is something you're supposed to check every time you turn your car on. woops. So yeah, I feel awful, and hope I didn't just ruin my engine. Life lesson here folks :l
I still have 3 days before I have to leave, so hopefully what can be done will be done by then. Cross your fingers!

Other than all that, I'm great! Concert went great last night. My duet with the flute was as close to flawless as you can get in a performance. And I got to stand and be recognized, so that was cool. Dad came out and really enjoyed the concert too. Anyway, I'm going to go watch a movie, maybe play on my computer...just be lazy today since my hard part is over in the festival. I just got back from the Colonial cafe where I had a stack of peanut butter chip pancakes....yum. Bet you're jelous huh?
:o)

Hot Spring Happenings

Ok, so tonight is the concert where I play Bizet's l'arlsienne suite 2 and Shulman's cello concerto. It is a pretty big concert. The Shulman is pretty modern, but I love it, and kind of has some middle eastern vibes to it. The Bizet is awsome. Everyone knows the 4th movement too....unfortunately the only movement I don't play on. But I do have an exposed duet with the flute in the third movement. So. Excited!!

Ok, so other than that, nothin much. Except yesterday my car decided to not start while at a movie rental place. Called a tow truck and everything....and then it started an hour later. So cancelled the tow truck, which was good. It has been fine since, other than this occasional click-clack sound the engine is making. I'm worried that my car has lost it's will to live. It just got out of the shop for bad coils and spark plugs. But we are thinking that it might have been vapor locked, whatever that means. But it made me miss the African drum piece on the chamber concert and the Brauhms so booooo!!!

Gotta go eat dinner before the concert. Love to all!!

..............

I am exhausted.

Day 7...I think...

Today was busy. Got up early, took a shower. Went to the farmer's market at 8:00. Got some blackberries...mmm...went to rehearsal at 9am. We rehearsed Mahler's 10th symphony, first movement...which is the only movement of it he finished before kicking it. It is not my favorite piece and we did a lot of sitting there because we were playing an edited version by Richard our conductor so there was a lot of checking to make sure everyone had the right notes in thier parts. That and the fact that there is not a lot of harp part in it. But, we played beautifully when we could. So all in all, good.

Then Shana (my mentor) and I practiced, then went to lunch at a fusion cuisine place. Talk about fusing cultures together...yep they mastered it but it is all soooo good. We got a fried banana cheescake thing with ice cream that was so good...I'll post a pic of it tomorrow.

Then we went back and practiced some more for the Family/children's concert that we were playing on tonight, which went really well. There are these 2 cute girls that I keep seeing at all the concerts and one is really interested in the harp. So we played a little piece on the program, along with a bunch of others, talking about different instruments and when they came about. The African drums were probably my favorite, though the saxophone quartet was awsome too...as well as the clarinet piece...it was all good. Then I went to half of the Piano Mania concert, which I just got back from. Whew that was a lot! I also might go to the Brauhouse pub to listen to the brass jam session, as well as some polka. Shana plays the accordian in the polka music jam sessions and I really am in the mood to hang out and hear it. (Which is the only reason I'm even going to the bar.)

My leg is doing much better still. It's still bandaged and wrapped up but it is not hurting much and is not enflamed anymore. I could actually walk like a normal person today. YAY!!

Tomorrow is Shulmer and Bizet. Tell you all about it later.
;o)

Day...I lost count. But it was my day off.

So today I did absolutely nothing. There were recording sessions all day so no rehearsals and my fingers hurt still so I just gave them a break today.
I went to breakfast at the Pancake Shope....it was amazing. I might have to buy some of their apple butter. They are known for their pancakes but I will go for their wheat toast with apple butter and a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice...this is literally the best orange juice you will ever taste. Yep.

Then I took a walk down historic district, cause it was nice out...a little chilly, but compared to heat it was nice. I then went back to the room and fell asleep reading. Then woke up, and fell asleep again. I got up at 4pm and my roommate and I went out and had ice cream for dinner....yum...and rented some movies, which we are about to watch. So that was pretty much my day off.

Day 4 in Hot Springs

Soooooo......yeah. Not much to write about right now. My leg still hurts, but it's getting better. We have our first concert tonight...pretty excited. I play on the last piece, Ravel's Daphnes and Chloe. Awsome piece, very emotional. I love emotional pieces. And it's programmatic too, which are my favorites to play.

I am not practicing today, other than rehearsal this morning. My fingers are so sore, I need to rest them for tonight or I will be unable to make myself heard. I can't even do a glissando with my right index finger right now....I'm having to use my picks instead. It makes the glisses sound louder anyway. So wish me luck, hope I don't mess up -_;

Anyway, I just read some amazing news that makes my day so much happier!!! My best friend is going to have another baby!! I am so excited for her and can't wait to talk to her...it's been awhile and I feel really bad. But yay!!!!

Here is an impromptu pic I took with my camera while sitting at a stoplight in the middle of downtown historic district of the town of Hot Springs.

Hot Springs Music Festival: Day 2

Nothing exciting really happened today. I'm peeved that I can't run. And rehearsal was not so fun. My fingers have blisters on them from playing so many glissandos and he kept wanting me to play louder, as if I don't know that I have to. AHH!! I'm trying to save my fingers for the concert OK?! Besides that, Richard Rosenburg is one of the better conductors I have played under. He has a keen ear, knows the music really well, and is easy to follow. That's a lot more than a lot of conductors out there. Even more annoying is when conductors cue you for harmonics and they don't sound. That's embarrassing.

So, I don't think I posted about this. 4 days ago I cut the backside of my leg right along the inside of my knee. Pretty bad. Apparently it was hilarious, according to Mom and sister Kimberly. We have about 3 acres. My mom was mowing the field with the bushhog attached to the tractor (google it). There was a big branch that got wedged up where the bushhog connects to the tractor. I was trying to pull it out. I overbalanced and starting flailing becuase I was falling over backwards...and most of the branch was behind me, with part of it pressed up against my leg. All I could think of was "someone please help me becuase if I fall backwards this piece of tree branch is going to go right though my knee." And "oh snap." It was one of those moments. Mom and Kim were standing right there but just watched as I fell. Their excuse was that they were stuck in the mindset of "oh my gosh she's going to fall flat on her back!" and never got to the part where maybe they should help me. So they just stood and ogled.

Well, I managed to fall in such a way that the branch just scraped my leg instead of going through it. Go me.

Here is what it looks like today:

Apparently it looks really bad. I didn't think it was all that bad and ppl are asking if I had surgery or got in a bike accident or something. And it looks a lot worse in real life...this is just a pic off my camera. It wouldn't be that bad but it is taking a long time to heal becuase it is in an area where the skin is bending all the time. There is bruising too. So I walk with a limp becuase I'm trying not to bend it. It's really not as bad as all that though. Just makes me furious that I can't run yet.

Aren't you glad I'm sharing this with you??

Hot Springs AR: Day 1

I'm not sure if I can post pics right now. I would like to, but this dinky little computer I'm on is so outdated that half the other dinky computers in this tiny lab are not working. Don't get me wrong!! I'm totally grateful to have internet at all right now, even if the hours are limited and the security only lets me get on a handful of sights. I was actually surprised it let me onto blogspot.

Right now I'm in Hot Springs, AR. The little town of Hot Springs, right in the center of Hot Springs Natl Park. It's pretty amazing here. I came here (and last year) to participate in the Hot Springs Music Festival. Apparently my resume and recording were impressive enough to make it in as an apprentice last year. As an apprentice, I come and play my brains out in rehearsals and concerts for two weeks on full scholorship. In other words, they pay for me to come and play my brains out and all I have to do is bring my harp, clothes, and money for food. The harp mentor, Shana, told me that if I wanted to come back, she would take my application first. So here I am, out in the hot woods of the south. I surprised a lot of ppl with my new haircut too, including my roommate from last year who I thought was going to have a heart attack when she saw me...

So today was my first day. I got in yesterday evening. Funny story. The key for room they gave me and had me signed up for had a guy already in it. So I just walk in, thinking it's my roomie from last year (we requested each other but we didn't get each other in the end) and there is a guy sitting on the bed. I ask if this is his room and he says "yep." We discuss briefly what room it is and if we had a coed room on purpose, we agree "no," and I go back downstairs, slightly embarrassed and greatly relieved that I didn't walk in to find something less innocent than a guy sitting on the bed...yeah...
So then they looked, sure enough I was signed up for that room, and they issued me another key, and said it was a single. Well, it wasn't. But that's ok becuase my new roomie is really nice and, most importantly, a girl.

So I was going to get up at 7am with the intention of running...only to be woken up by one of the girls in the room adjacent that we share a shower with at 6:15 in the morning. I try to go back to sleep, but it's no good. I lay there for a while, and finally get up at 6:30 when our neighbor is done with the shower. And then I remembered it was Sunday. So I got up earlier than I intended, and didn't go running. Usually in these situations you would sleep in. That's life in an old, zero sound insulated dorm building for ya. At least I got to do my hair all nice :)

So I met with my mentor (I'm the only harp apprentice) at 9am and we went over the music we had to know for rehearsal this afternoon at 2pm. Mind you I had only gotten the music the night before, so I was sightreading. But, I am an excellent sight reader, so we got through the rehearsal pretty well considering. I only missed a few cues.

So here I am. Typing becuase I have nothing else to do and I can't practice anymore today. I haven't really practiced as much as I should lately so I already have blisters on my fingers from playing so many glisses...though if I were in practice shape today's 5 hours of playing would have been blister free. There is a cabaret concert tonight at the Arlington Hotel, so I'm going to go eat before I go. I will try to post some pics later.

P90X

Whew....I am just wiped!! My mom and I finally ordered P90X. For those who don't know what that is it is a hard core 90 day program desiged to get you in excellent shape. The best part, it's designed more for ppl who are already athletes!! (although anyone can do it I might add). You can customize the workouts to fit your athletic ability and your personal goals too. My goals right now is not to necessarily lose weight (you know I'm already small) but to get toned and reduce my overall % body fat. I may be small and I may have muscles but a lot of them are weak and flabby because I don't really use them anymore since I stopped swimming after highschool. So I'm really excited about it, becuase come 90 days (or even over the next month) I'm going to be in a lot better shape. I took "before pics" and I can't wait to take the "after pics."

So I started yesterday (Monday). I did a chest and back workout....which was basically a lot of pullups and pushups...in fact I did sets of about 6 different kinds of pushups. Youch. And if anyone says it's not what it seems, that you don't work that hard or sweat....um I beg to differ. I was sweating buckets!! Well not buckets but there was a lot of sweat. And my arms hurt. I also did 15 minutes of abs. My mom really liked a lot of those and wants to incorporate some of them into our dryland workouts for our groups this summer (we coach swimteam).

Today I did plyometrics, which is basically a lot of jumping around/coordination moves involving a lot of squats and jumping exercises...using those big muscles in your legs gets your heartrate up too...so now my legs are beat. Tomorrow is gonna hurt, but I'm excited.

I know I'm being silly, but I'm a very athletic person and I do care about how I look...mostly I want to be stronger and more confident in myself and I'm tired of not working out enough, a bad habit I got into at college. And I want to be in shape when I eventually have a family and kids so I have better habits and hopefully not gain a lot of weight. So wish me luck!!

Woot!!

Ok people, it's official!! I just accepted the offer of admission to Northern Illinois university!! Go Huskies!! Well ok, their football team sucks but most of you probably already knew that. But hey, I cheer for BSU now anyway (and BYU too). So yeah, it is locked in now, well it will be in 2 days anyway. Off to Chicago, the windy city (also known as the Horridly Frigid Freeze Your Socks Off city). Ok, so NIU is not really in Chicago it's in DeKalb, but it's only an hour away from actual chicago...and there is actually a singles ward not too far away too. so yay!! And the best part...I am 2 hours away from my BFF and her family, and only 5 hours away from my friends and Mrs. Richter in Muncie...so I'll be able to visit everyone!! ROAD TRIP!!

I just thought that was exciting. Yay.

Random thought while it's on my mind....

Do I look 23 to you? Everyone thinks I still look 18 or 19. Except my family, but they see me all the time. What do you think? Why do you think that is??

What you have been missing!!

Ok, so first up is my trip to the Dallas Museum of Art. My friend Janay invited several ppl to go. So we met up and took the dart train down there, which was fun. And then we got lost in downtown trying to read a map that had no compass directions. But we made it there. Apparently, between 5 and 9pm it is free to go. I love art. I have a few favorites. The first favorite is in the light manipulation section. We went through this runnel that looked kinda like a keleideskope (I have no idea how to spell that word) and came out into what I can only describe as "The Orange Room." This was about the coolest room ever. It had nothing in it, except orange lights. The cool part was that the orange sucked all other colors out of the room. It was like walking into a black and white era, except everything was sepia, not black and white. So cool. One of the my favorite painters is Theodore Rousseau...at least I think that is who did this painting (I didn't capture all the aftist's names on my camera):

Another one of my favorites is:Of course, this could be the Rouseau one. Again, not sure. I love how the artist uses the paint to manipulate and simulate light. It really looks 3d, like there really is a real sunset back there! I have noticed though, the thicker they lay on the paint, the "brighter" or more reflective it becomes in the picture.

Afterwards, Janay and Mike (I don't know if it is spelled that way but that is how it sounds) went to McDonalds...well, I had Wendys but ate it in McDonalds, and then Mike wanted to sit in my truckbed and Janay had a blanket so we just sat and talked in my truckbed. We were really tired, and took a million pics (Janay kept closing her eyes), and I couldn't stop thinking about donuts...in the end these two were the best ones (I love the one on the left).

Ok, so the next adventure was washing the dog. Aly was working on her trebuchet with her two partners for physics project. It was nice outside, and they were practicing launching it and tweaking the weight so the ball would go 120 ft. It was cheap entertainment, so me and mom and aly's friend Shanon were just watching. I don't remember how it happened, but I left the back gate open and Cheyenne got out. If you know my dog, then you know she is one of those dogs that runs away from you to go exporing. She always comes back, but not when you tell her to. So she got out. Went everywhere, thankfully has the common sense to stay out of the street when there are cars, and ended up finding a really nasty looking bone out in the marshy area by the lake. So she was NASTY!!! I gave her a bath, which she hated becuase the water was so cold (I don't blame her) but she looked so hilarious all soaking wet and clean I just had to take a pic:

or two...

Next on the list....A NEW HAIRCUT!!!! As you can see in the previous pic of me, my hair is pretty long. I desparately needed a haircut. The way it was cut with it that long, I couldn't even style it to make it look good, so in the end I ended up putting it in a ponytail all the time, which my mom hates. So here is the final product. I got it done a week and 1/2 ago, I think.

Spiffy huh! The hairstylist's name was Sab. He did a really good job. And he actually gave my hair volume and the roots! I have done what he did at home, and I still can't do it like he could. Maybe I need to change my product...and find my round brush, I have no idea where I put it.

Last happening!! Yesterday was Easter. Awsome. I love Easter. I woke up and read the Easter story in the Bible, then practiced. I had to play the hymns for the Singles Ward since the normal girl was away. I played really good, except the last hymn intro. I botched it bad. But that was it. But, somehow everyone remembered and had to tease me about it. Oh well. I also got to wear a flower. My dad bought my mom, sister, and me an orchid to wear to church, which I thought was really cool. And it was really pretty. See?

I want you to notice something. See the clear face? Not so much zits? Especially between the first and last pics of me? Yeah. I'll tell you about it sometime.

So yay!! Got all the happenings on one post. I have thoughts to post too, but maybe not this second...I have to get ready to go coach.

It's been a while....

Ok, so I know it's been a while. I have been really bad about posting. It's not that I haven't meant to, it's just that I haven't really had the time. I have several posts to post, and they have pics (yay for pics!) and it takes a while when you post pics. I am going to try to get everything in 1 or 2 long posts, we'll see. So here goes......

Acceptance!!

Ok, so it's not really as exciting as all that. I got my "unofficial" acceptance letter to the Butler School of Music at UT Austin. While it is very exciting to actually read on paper my "superior level of accomplishment and potential for professional gowth," I already knew I was getting in....well, about 91.6% sure anyway. But yay! One down, 2 to go. My official acceptance for UT will come within a couple weeks....maybe then I'll know how much scholarship I got (if any).

Did I mention 'yay'?

Sigh...

It has occurred to me that I need to post more pics. I don't have enough pics on my blog. I should remember to take more pics so that I can have more pics on my blog. I guess that would have to require a somewhat more social life. Since all the ppl I would call up to go do something live in the midwest. But I am hopefully getting a job at Petco this week so maybe I'll just be working all the time and not have to worry about a social life.



I need a man. Then if I'm only hanging out with one person all the time I will have an excuse. And besides that I really want a man.

UT Austin

Ok, so last week I made the long drive down to University of Texas at Austin for my last audition (I think it was last weekend....no, it was 2 weekends sorry). It was crazy!! Well not really. But you know how UT has one of the biggest "party school" reputations and is really liberal? Yeah, the atmosphere was permeated with it. It was Saturday at the school of music and it still felt that way...and the kids that play classical music are probably the most right wing of the liberals that you would find there.

So anyway I got there, found the PERFECT place to park...right outside on the street so I didn't have to hike a mile with my harp. I was rushing because the rain clouds that followed me all the way to Austin finally started leaking while I was unloading...not too bad though thankfully. I checked in, unloaded my harp, and went up to the 5th level. Yup, the 5th, and that is not even the top floor of the music building, it has 6 floors at least. I have also finally figured out a way to carry ALL my harp stuff at the same time: harp, stool, harp bag, and music bag. So yay one trip! I went to the top floor and found a practice room. I was really hot from carrying all the stuff and turned on the air in the room...until I was not so warm and starting to get chilly. Unfortunately, once I turned off the air again I didn't' warm back up, and I realized just how airconditioned the building was. So I practiced before my audition time with freezing fingers that I could never quite get warm. Thankfully, when I went in to audition, the room was warm, so no cold fingers!!

I played very well. I had already told myself that no matter how good or bad I played, it was ok because I was well prepared and there was nothing else I could have done. But, thankfully I did play very good. I played my Pizzoli Etude no 29, Hanel concerto, and Scintillation. Except, I still didn't get to play all of it!! I was actually secretly upset that they stopped me after 6 pages becuase I had prepared it so well and really wanted to perform the whole thing. But oh well.

After my audition, I packed up everything and loaded the harp wagon back up. Thank goodness it wasn't raining this time.

I found Panda Express on the way home and ate lunch there. Yum! Then back to Dallas...and no more auditions!!! Now I get to play the waiting game. All of the schools have pretty much told me they would accept me, so I'm not worried about getting in somewhere. I just have to wait now to see how much money they will give me, because that is ultimately what it is going to come down to. We'll see in the next month or so.

Chicago!!

Ok, so the plane flight was pretty good. Long again though. This time I just read my new book. It is called Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith. I really liked it...there is some action, intrigue, politics, and romance. Some parts were predictable but I really liked it when I got done and the end was really good....the chemistry of the ppl were good too.. but don't worry it's not a "romance novel". It was good you should read it.
So I was just writing this up and I think I should turn off the autosave becuase I already typed this up once and I was highlighting it to change the text and somehow it all erased and then it autosaved. Soooo...I'm writing this again. whew....

Ok so I arrived at Chicago O'hare. I hate that airport. It is so always so busy, and it is huge and built like a maze. I literally felt like a rat in a maze about 3 years ago when I had a connection in there once and had to change terminals but the train was down and they were doing a lot of construction in the halls. It even had those orange road detour signs up to direct us pedestrians. It took me at least 1/2 hour to walk to my next gate...anyway I landed late because we were taxing in the air for about 20 minutes before we could land. The lady that was picking me up had told me to meet her at the arrivals, but she said it was the upper level...i know becuase I wrote it down the week before when I talked to her. There was no upper level however, and after standing up there finally made it downstairs and we managed to find each other. She was really sweet and nice, and she teaches voice at NIU. I was also going to stay at her house for the next 4 days in one of the rooms that she normally rents out to students. She was so nice and drove me to the grocery store to get some food to eat while i was there. I loved her house...it was a big old wood-panneled house which is awsome becuase I LUV wood panneling and the smell of wood...especially old wood. mmmm. So her house was awsome.

I pretty much spent the entire time locked away in the practice room. I love it when I have nothing else to do but practice and get ready for something like my audition and concert that I had to do there at NIU. I think I averaged about 5-6 hours a day while I was there. Ms Seeman got me a gig playing with the NIU philharmonic orchestra. It was thier concerto concert. I only played two pieces: La Forza del Destino by Verdi and a concerto for Steel Pan and Orchestra by Jan Bach. It was really good, and very well written for harp. You should go find it and listen to it, or even try to find a video. Very good. I'm proud of myself though. I learned the Verdi excerpt in only 5 days. Not bad, and Ms Seeman said I played really well in the concert...which is great because that is what I do best! Anyway, it was really good.
My audition was the next day. I played a little of everything. And I played really well too! I prepared really well too which makes me happy. I also got to talk to the conductor and what her plans for the future are if I should accept and come to NIU. She has a passion for orchestral music just like me, and we like a lot of the same composers. It was a good trip.

It was good that I was out of town that week, because that was the week where my family decided to get sick all at the same time with flu/pneumonia. I tease them about it and thank them, because they couldn't have picked a better time to be sick...while I was not there! But I think the Lord was looking out for me too because when I came home mom was not fully recovered and dad caught a strain of something else while I was there but I never once got sick or even felt under the weather, and if I had gotten sick at any time during that time, my auditions would have very probably been ruined, especially when I still had my UT audition in Austin the next weekend after I came home. So, all good!!

Seattle cont.

Hey I FINALLY found my cord to get my pics off my camera...woot becuase now I can post and not have to do the pics later.

So my audition went well. I left my hotel pretty early, around 8ish in the morning, so I could hopefully be there by 8:30 to start warming up. Needless to say....I got lost. So it was good that I left so early even though it is only a 10 minute walk from where I was staying. I had a map and everything too!! But I couldn't tell where I was based on the above view map. FYI: U of Washington is HUGE!! I'm not saying it's like a whole city, but really i've seen towns smaller than this place. I was looking at the spread of buildings on the map, and one quarter of this campus is about the size of Ball State. And Ball State is not that small. I don't know how big BYU is but I am going to guess UW is probably bigger. Anyway, I got lost and got pointed in the wrong direction by a supposed student and ended up walking down this long courtyard-type walk...until I figured out where I was. Which was here...which is not where I was supposed to be.So I backtracked and found my way to the music building and the back dance studio entrance where I was supposed to come in. Walked down 4 flights of stairs and voila! there was the harp studio. So for about 20 minutes it was just me, then another harpist showed up (there were 3 of us that day, two for grad school and one for undergrad). Well, I was letting the new girl have a chance at playing the harp, when we both heard a loud POP. Ummm...whenever you here a pop on the harp it is not a good thing. It usually means a string has broke, which if you have replacement strings around is not a big deal...except it was one of the bass strings, which are not so fun to replace. Technically the string is steel wrapped silk, and is pretty thick, and to get it off requires heavy duty wire cutters. Which of course we couldn't find in the studio. But we found the replacement wire and managed to get it off without scratching the wood at the bottom (aka we pulled the whole thing out through the bottom instead of cutting it at the bottom, which you usually do becuase the top is all loopy and hard to pull through the eyelet at the bottom...I don't know why i'm explaining becuase you still probably don't know what I'm talking about if you don't play harp). Anyway, we managed to get it replaced before Ms. Lehwalder came back in. Anyway, I was the last to audition out of the 3 of us. It went pretty well, but not as well as I would have hoped. I only got to play a small portion of my Scintillation piece...bummer. After lunch I met up with her and had a lesson. She was really good, but super intense about how to play. She did this thing that she said Salzedo always did, which was swooping downward to grab the strings. It was actually quite hard, but she claimed that was how she got rid of a lot of buzzing. Also, she thought I played too high with my left hand, that is should be halfway between the sound board and the middle. But we worked on sections of Scintillation and she had some great musical insights, which I have used and have really helped.

So after my audition we bid farewell and I went back to my room. I then decided to go walking. I didn't want to go out into the city alone, becuase it was going to get dark within the next hour or so. So intead I just walked along one of the busy shop and resaurant streets along the edge of campus. There were so many asian places to eat! I saw 4 Thai restaurants (one of them I stopped for lunch), several chinese shops, a couple japanese and Korean, and several Indian places as well. This actually didn't surprise me as much becuase of how many asian students I saw...I think caucasians are a minority there. Which is fine with me because I feel part asian anyway, what with several asian roommates, a love for thier food, a Thai sister, and I'm overall fascinated by asian culture. And Asian instruments are some of my favorite too. I felt at home.

The campus was beautiful...the architecture is very castley-like (is that a word?) and many buildings where very old. I didn't have time to take a tour, but the part I saw was awsome.

A really nice street lined with trees...too bad it wasn't summertime.This is the staircase in the library...wow!!!
This is the view outside my hotel window...and they say the sun doesn't shine in Seattle.

I don't know if you can see, but this guy was playing his cello on the street corner for money..he had it hooked up to a small amp and everything. He was actually quite good! I just never saw a street corner cellist before.

Well, the next morning I got back on my shuttle to the airport...off the Chicago then!!

Seattle!!

Guess what!! I'm in Seattle, WA!! And I absolutely love it here already, and I just got checked into my hotel room. There are so many trees, and its kinda rainy which i love, and even though there are lots of buildings everywhere, its very hilly and wooded and the buildings look older (less "industrial" i guess) and just has something about them I like. Haven't seen much of the UW campus yet but i'll save that for tomorrow!
I'm not sure what I'm going to do tonight...maybe go to the zoo, or the needle, or maybe just walk around. I might try to find out where the institute is, maybe stop by, we'll see.

The plane trip was sooooo long!!! I slept for like 2 hours of it, and studied my music for auditions for thhe other 2 hours....woot! But I'm proud of myself, I managed to make it to my shuttle and my hotel all in one piece. This morning was not as successful however. I got through security and found out that they had changed the gate to terminal C instead of A. So I took the skycab to terminal C, and dad calls telling me I left my ipod in the car....I kinda need my ipod for music study for my audition, and I had time, so we agreed to meet at the C security....until I realized that my scarf was missing out of my bag. So I had someone call down to the A35 security station to see if I had left my scarf there....which I had. So I got my ipod, went all the way back to A and then back to C again. So I got some exercise in today. Its so nice outside (as in being cool and wet and kinda rainy) that I might go run. I have to take a shower tonight before my audition anyway.
So I'm going to go figure out what I'm going to do....I'll be back!!

Like my new layout???

Hey y'all!!

Ok, I know I've been really bad. I mean come on, no posts for like a month?? wow. So, here I am. Nothing much going on right now. Christmas was good. We drove up to Utah, me, Dad and Mom....after me and Dad and Mom drove back to Dallas from Indiana. Looooong drives. But fun, cuase i got to see my family and all my cousins and grandparents. Love them! I love Christmas time. I don't know if i ever really mentioned how much I LOVE Christmas. My favorite time of year. I am obsessed with christmas lights, and I love christmas music.

Anyways, good times. Not much else going on right now. I'm looking for a job. That is proving a little tricky. Oh no, believe me its great to sit around and do whatever you want all day. It was awsome for the like the, oh, first 2 weeks. But note to those still in school--it is not fun to do whatever you want when you have no other important obligations...like school or a job. It's fun to watch tv and play video games then. Now its just boring. So enjoy school while you can.

Believe me.

So if anyone knows of a better-paying job thats hiring, let me know!

I miss Muncie. Didn't think I would as much as I do. Surprises me really. I couldn't wait to get out of muncie. Not that I hated it there. Ok, well muncie I didn't like. I liked Ball State. I love the ppl there. I miss everyone there in Muncie!!!!!! Just thought I needed to let y'all know. In case anyone there is reading this...which is doubtful, but hey. I miss the institute. I miss my friends. I miss the harp studio. I even miss some teachers. I miss y'all!!! So yeah, that really surprised me. I'll have to visit.

But, now that I'm graduated doens't mean I don't know what to do. I'm going back to grad school in the fall. I'm auditioning to 3 different schools: University of Washington in Seattle, UT at Austin, and Northern Illinois University. But, I think I am leaning toward NIU. I'm pretty sure anyway. That's the school I wrote about in a previous post. You know, the one that would basically pay me to attend. So I'll be right back there in the midwest....this time in chicago. BRRRRRRRRR!!!! Not looking forward to the weather though. Chicago area is cold!!!

So other than that, i'm peachy keen! Been on a few dates and lovin it. I'm not sure yet about being in an actual singles ward, but getting used to it. Has perks though!

(I'll post pics later when I actually find my camera cord in all my junk.)