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:

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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*

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