wednesday

So the past couple days have been pretty sweet. I went down to St. Mary's with Warren yesterday and we hung out. It was awesome. We talked a LOT about OBX this summer, and I really think it has a lot of potential. I'm going to start asking around and seeing who is interested. I have a bunch of people I'm considering asking. I mean, basically whoever wants to spend $100 for a week in NC and drink a hell of a lot of booze on the beach, which I'm sure is a lot of people.

So tonight I went out with Alice. I mean, not like WENT OUT went out, but we got coffee at Starbucks. I was a little nervous at first, but it went really well. She seems to be doing well and is happy, and it was nice to catch up. I guess I would consider her in the realm of "friends" now. We've had an interesting history to say the least, but I'm glad that we're able to hang out and stuff.

So I've resolved that I really want to do rock/pop violin. I really want to learn the style and be able to jam and play with bands and shit. That would be awesome.

xmas +1

Well, it's the day after Christmas. And it was wonderful! I got a ton of cool stuff. I'll list here:

-Kodak digital camera (6.1 MP holy crap! ...it is the z760 i think, if you're curious)
-a couple xbox games (splinter cell, mortal kombat: deception)
-some bitchin' CDs (ABBA Gold, Jascha Heifetz Brahms and Tchaikovsky, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra)
-a travel bathroom kit (will be awesome for Mexico)
-a violin cloth kit
-a pocketknife
-an itunes GC
-a can of mace (from my dad, I think)
-some awesome fleece pants
-some headphones
-a nice tshirt
-plus a bunch of little stuff that I can't/don't want to list off

But even cooler than the stuff I got was the stuff I did yesterday. Which was basically nothing. And I loved it! I just sat around playing with my camera and playing xbox and hanging out. I also watched the Ravens game, in which we beat the everlasting taint out of the Vikings!

I also have all kinds of GC's to lots of different places. So far I have my $15 iTunes, $50 total to target (I think I'm going to get some speakers for my ipod), and $45 total to Kohl's.

So tomorrow I'm headed to St. Mary's with Warren. It's going to be awesome! I don't think there will be many people there, but we'll be able to hang out, which will be nice. And then Stef comes home on Thursday!

So I think I'm going to do a survey whilst watching Clerks on Comedy Central. I stole this survey from Smitty, by the way.

1. What is your occupation? student/musician
2. What color is your underwear? I don't remember. probably black or blue
3. What are you listening to right now? ABBA and Clerks
4. What was the last thing you ate? celery
5. Do you wish on stars? no, that's stupid.
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? red. deep red.
7. How is the weather right now? kind of cold and rainy-ish
8. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Stef
9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yeah, Smitty is the fuckin' man. We're power houring all the damn time next semester.
10. How old are you today? 20. 21 in March, bitches!
11. Favorite drink? I like Crystal Light. For booze I like Coors Light.
12. Favorite sport to watch? Football. No contest.
13. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yeah, a couple times in middle and high school. But not since I've been at SU. Maybe that'll change next semester.
14. Do you wear contacts or glasses? contacts.
15. Pets? Kuffs. I'd like to have a pet at school, but that's really impractical.
16. Favorite month? hmm... probably March or June.
17. Favorite food? I like pizza a lot...
18. What was the last movie you watched? Clerks right now. I watched Blue Collar Comedy Tour earlier tonight, though.
19. Favorite day of the year? I really enjoy Christmas, but every day has its own good points.
20. What do you do to vent anger? I talk to myself.
21. Fall or spring? I prefer Spring, I think.
22. Hugs or kisses? That's hard. Kisses usually mean passion moreso than love and hugs mean love moreso than passion, if that makes sense.
23. Cherry or Blueberry? Cherry. come on people.
24. Do you want your friends to email you back? This doesn't really apply here.
25. Who is most likely to respond 1st? I'm not emailing this.
26. Who is least likely to respond? come on now.
27. Who do you live with? Stef, Jenn, and Ted (and practically his girlfriend, Cassie, who is really cool, too)
28. When was the last time you cried? A while ago.
29. What is on the floor of your closet? at school, some shoes. at home, some stuff my parents have stored there.
30. Who is the friend you have had the longest? shit. I have no idea. Warren, maybe?
31. What did you do last night? Played xbox until like 3am.
33. What inspires you? genius, great art of all kinds.
34. What are you afraid of? hmm... nothing, really.
35. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? cheeseburgers. no contest.
36. Favorite vehicle? I'd love a Blazer or something big, even though it uses a lot of gas.
37. Favorite dog breed? I'd love a beagle or a Sheltie or a daschund.
38. Number of keys on your key ring? a bunch.
39. How many years at your current job? Hmm... I've been at the box for like 6 months (since June).
40. Favorite day of the week? I really like Friday nights.
41. How many cities have you lived in/name them? Arnold, MD and Boca Raton, FL, now Winchester, VA.
42. What would you rather be doing right now? Practicing, maybe? Or making a lot of money doing nothing.

And that's all!

break

So it's been break for about a week. And it's been so freakin' awesome. I mean, I've slept like crazy, stayed out late a bunch of times, and all kinds of shit.

Last week, I started running on the treadmill. Well, at first it started out as like walk/running and stuff. But now it's like fast walk-jog-run-jog-walk. It's cool. I really like it because it makes me feel good. Lots of energy and shit. I really hope I can keep it up over the rest of break so when I go back to school I'm like really buff. That would be sweet.

One thing I've definitely not done enough of is practicing. I practice every day, but only for 2 or 3 hours. I just don't have the time, and I can't practice at night because the parents are asleep. It's difficult, but I'm learning to practice really efficiently. Hopefully that'll change soon (not the efficient practicing, but the length of practicing).... I just can't afford not to kick this repertoire's ass next semester.

So I am going to apply to at least the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival (ACMF) in Italy this summer. I think the app is probably due around, oh, March or April. I hope that I can have the Lalo or Paganini done by then. That would be kickass to audition with. I'm definitely going to use the Bach Adagio that I got a finalist in the Bach-Handel competition with, and I'd love to use Paganini too so I can show off my chops.

Other than that, it's Christmas in two days! Oh yes! It's too bad Stef isn't here... oh well, she'll be back on Thursday! YES!

home

So I'm at home for winter break. It's pretty nice, actually. I don't really have any responsibilities or anything. I just have stuff that I want to do. Here are some things I want to accomplish over break, in no particular order:

-work out every day for 30 min twice a day (at the very least 30 min every day)
-practice a lot, learn the pag, beethoven, lalo
-eat healthy
-catch up on spanish
-read a good book
-go downtown a lot to hang out in hard bean
-hang out with friends

Mostly I need to reconnect with myself and recharge over this break. Last semester was stressful, difficult, shitty (at times), and incredibly taxing. I need to be able to come back to school in january ready to really learn!

I REALLY should be packing

Here's a survey, just for the hell of it:

1) Was 2005 a good year for you?
More or less. I made a lot of good friends, got the orchestra scholarship, was a finalist in Bach-Handel, had a good recital, made GCP.


2) What was your favorite moment of the year?
Getting the hell out of 14 Taft. Finishing my recital.


3) What was your least favorite moment of the year?
Oh, September/October.


4) Where were you when 2005 began?
Outer Banks, NC. Doing fireworks on the beach.


5) Who were you with?
Parents, Justin, Kuffs, Stef, Aunt Joy + family, Uncle Jay + family.


6) Where will you be when 2005 ends?
I have no idea.


7) Who will you be with when 2005 ends?
Probably the family, maybe Jeff and the friends.

8) Did you keep your new years resolution of 2005?
I didn't make a resolution last year. I think it's kind of arbitrary to make it at the beginning of the year. I'd rather start something at a difficult time so the first weeks are hard and then it gets easier. Like with W-squared I started it right around Thanksgiving.

9) Do you have a new years resolution for 2006?
Get below 200. Learn all my rep. Get into a good grad school.

10) Did you fall in love in 2005?
No, that was more like 2004.

11) If yes, with who?
If you have to ask, you'll never know.

12) If yes, do they know?
I think so.

13) Are you still in love with them?
Oh, I guess ;)


14) Do you regret it?
Not yet. ;)

15) Did you breakup with anyone in 2005?
Nope.

16) Did you make any new friends in 2005?
About a zillion.

17) Who are your favorite new friends?
I have no idea. Maybe my lovA?

18) What was your favorite month of 2005?
Hmm. Probably November. That's when I had my recital and started W-squared.

19) Did you travel outside of the US in 2005?
No, but I will in 2k6.

20) How many different states did you travel to in 2005?
Hmm.... let's list them all: MD, VA, WV, PA, NC, and I think that's about it.

21) Did you lose anybody close to you in 2005?
Not really anyone super-close to me, but a lot of people I know died last year.

22) Did you miss anybody in the past year?
I guess. Not particularly. Except maybe in October.

23) Accomplish anything?
Sure! I mean, recital, Bach-Handel, and I've lost 10 pounds so far.

24) What was your favorite song from 2005?
I hate music.

25). What was your favorite record from 2005?
No really, I hate music.

26) How many concerts did you see in 2005?
About a million

27) Did you have a favorite concert in 2005?
Hilary Hahn with the Philadelphia Orchestra was incredible.

28) Did you drink a lot of alchohol in 2005?
On occasion.

29) Did you do a lot of drugs in 2005?
I smoked a hookah the other week.....

30) How many people did you sleep with in 2005?
Let's see... it's really hard to do mental math with 12 digit numbers, so let's just take a guess... hmm... probably around 8789704987641039284710983478930470983467108934719034-ish.

31) Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year?
Not really.

33) What was the worst lie someone told you in 2005?
I don't know.

34) Did you treat somebody badly in 2005?
I don't think so.

35) Did somebody treat you badly in 2005?
Yeah.

36) How much money did you spend in 2005?
Hmm. I'm not really sure. I still have some money in my savings account, so obviously not TOO much. But a lot, I think.

37) What was your proudest moment of 2005?
Recital, obviously.

38) What was your most embarrassing moment of 2005?
When there wasn't a chair for me at Bach-Handel?

39) If you could go back in time to any moment of 2005?
I wouldn't.

40) What are your plans for 2006?
Practice like a motherfucker.
Prove to everyone that I am good.
Make a top chair in symphony.
Win the concerto competition (?)
Play Paganini at a Performance Forum (which would be intense)
Get some students?
Oh, and lose a bunch of weight. I'd like to do at least 2 pounds a week.

Tuesday

So it's the first day of finals! Today was my viola jury and my violin sightreading. They went pretty well. Particularly the viola jury. Jan sat in on juries today and asked me if I wanted to play viola for the next Symphony concert! I said "Absolutely" so I guess I'll be a real live violist starting next semester! That's pretty awesome.

I also got a bitchin' gift from my SUBO secret santa today! I was kind of worried that they had forgotten about me, since today was the last day for secret santa junk, but she (I'm assuming it's a she) got me a couple Red Bulls, an M&M dispenser thing, and a bag of Reese's miniatures (1 point each, so not bad for a snack!) And apparently I'm getting an even bigger present later this week. It turns out that my secret santa hasn't gotten me anything just because I have a present on order, which is reassuring.

Speaking of which, I dropped another 4 pounds this week, bitches. another 3.2 oz and I hit 10 pounds.

word up, motherfuckers

So I had an awesome day today.

First I went to History of Western Music, which was actually really good. We had a test, which I think I didn't bomb, and then I demonstrated some 20th century techniques for the class (we're studying avant-garde and shit). Then I had a massage at 3. Holy shit, it was the most incredible thing ever. I feel so relaxed and awesome. The guy was so good, and I can't believe how much tension he released in my shoulders. He recommended I come back once a month for a half hour session, which is only 30 bucks, so I think I'm going to do it.

Then I had a veggie sub and some lays light for dinner.

Then it was time for W-squared!

I was nervous because I didn't think I had lost much at all this week, as it was my first week. I mean, I did get in all my fruits and vegetables every day and all my water, but still, I was nervous. So I stepped on the scale, and I lost 5.8 pounds! Holy crap! I mean, shit, that is significant! Oh, I also learned about Nature's Own double fiber bread (this is mostly a note to myself so I don't forget) which is 0 points for one slice and 1 for two slices.

Anyway, awesome day today!

finally, an update!

this is going to be short!

so the fall opera was this weekend and it is awesome! it is called "lizbeth" and was written by dr. albert. it is great! i loved it! it was perhaps the creepiest thing i have ever seen.

in other news, i joined w-squared on tuesday. hopefully i will lose like 50 pounds this week.

classes are going well. i think.

i'm doing paganini 16. holy crap.

we also picked out my recital program. it's basically the same as my new repertoire.
lalo mvts 1 and 2
beethoven g major sonata (all movements)
wieniawski scherzo tarantelle
bach g minor solo sonata (at least two movements, probably more, though)
and if it's up to snuff, i think i want to do the paganini for an encore or some shit.

anyway, time to play a game.

it's supposed to snow a lot on sunday/monday! yes!