Welcome home mikey!

Well, I wasn't really in the city long enough after my job to feel like I was at home, but now I am here more permanently.
As I said, the road trip was wonderful and it was great to see some family and a wonderful city. The scenery along the way was extraordinary and no matter what I say, I'm glad I went.
With that said, I feel so guilty about having gone. I had wanted so badly to make up for my lack of productivity this summer as soon as I got back to Winnipeg, but then there was a road trip and BOOM! there goes another week and a half of not getting anything done that I've needed to this summer.
Oh well.
But now it is time to get my butt in gear.
Next week, on Monday I start working for 2 weeks with the Musical Theatre Camp. I will be working for just 3 hours a day in the afternoon - perfect timing for me as I needn't wake up early and I still have my evenings free. I will also be doing a few mornings, but that's fine.
Since yesterday I've pushed myself to start working on the Bach Fugue and it's starting to move along...slowly. I think I've done enough work on the Beethoven before the start of the year. Now, I'll just do the upkeep on the 1st and 3rd movements- there's other pieces which I have to learn first , namely the Haydn Sonata. I would love to have that one completely learned for the beginning of school, but it's doubtful - rather, I will aim to learn the finale and make some headway on the other movement. What else, Liszt I think will be one of those pieces that I'll make slow consistent progress on. And the MacIntosh piece, I'll get around to that one later. eep.
Composing - eep, I need to do that too. I've gotten my ideas a little more organized for the variations, and I still aim to have that completed or structurally sound in time for my first composition lesson this fall. I think that is pretty much all I can reasonably expect from myself this summer, but if I can get a start on anything else, that would be wonderful.
Anyway, it's good to be back and I'm excited to go back to school next month. Now I just have to do a lot of work so that excitement is warranted.

so this has been a super-awesome road trip thus far, for a few key reasons:

cheap- we haven't overspent our gas budget! also due to...

family- we haven't had to camp or pay for accomodations yet. After the first night staying at Binky's dad's, we stayed with Jonny in Calgary, my aunt in Vernon, and my cousin in Vancouver (presently). Besides the savings, I'm so happy that we have visited with these people.I rarely see family often enough to even keep up with what's going on in their lives, so a few days with them is a wonderful opportunity!

Beautifulness- Wow, mountains and the West Coast in general are breathtakinglybeautiful! So many pictures of pretty and the trip's not done yet.

In conclusion... I will be applying at both University of British Columbia AND Simon Fraser so as to double my chances of moving to Vancouver. I think I have fallen in love with this city and then some. The only bad thing about the city is the cost of living... but in reality... I can't stay at home with my parents in my home town forever and no matter where I am looking to move, the cost of living is going to somewhat interfere with my.... well, living.

Anyway, that is enough gibbergabber from me for the moment. I will be leaving Vancouver on tuesday morning and in theory, I will be back either late Wednesday evening or Thursday sometime. From there, it's up to Thompson to visit my sister.
well, so much for getting myself well prepared for the upcoming school year....(oopsie)

So, I'm heading out on a road trip tomorrow. We don't have a specific final destination in mind. We know we're going to Calgary to see my friend Jon. If it doesn't cost that much in gas money to make it there, then we might go farther. I have an aunt in BC we might be able to stay with... who knows!
One thing I noticed today was that I don't have a map of Canada to take.... I don't know if Binky does either.... but it doesn't bother me either way. I don't think the directions to Calgary will be too difficult - Take the transcanada west, at Calgary turn right. And seeing how that's our only real destination... I don't think we need one anyways. It's an adventure! On the other hand, I'm sure I could find that one from my road trip last summer if I really wanted to...
Oh well, I did a fair amount of baking today and I found a tent for us to use. A most productive day it has been!
I should get to bed and have a good night's sleep. I still have to pack my stuff tomorrow, and who knows how well I will be sleeping while I'm on the road.

Well, the fringe festival is coming to a close. I was fairly bummed out about thinking I was gonna miss it when I was at work, but now that I was here and able to see it... I didn't really see a lot. I'm going tonight to see one, but I dunno. It's improvised sketch comedy.... which I'm always a little leary about...with good reason. True - it can be extremely entertaining when done well, but I have never seen it done at a non-professional level. True - it can be extremely gruelling and painful when it is not done well. I have a feeling that tonight will be closer to that edge of the spectrum, but I will go with an open mind and at least give it a chance.
I think the reason I'm not jumping at the idea to see more and more plays is that I saw a really really great one the other night. The acting was superb and the writing was wonderful, it was able to call upon strong emotions in the audience without straying too far from the comic goal. I would much rather have ended off this year's fringe festival with that in mind. Oh well.
There's still Folklorama coming up - always a good time with ethnic food and drink and.... hmm, I'm trying, but I'm really not that excited about anything this summer. Maybe this road trip will change things around.
Im leaving sunday evening on this exciting journey, who knows when I will return!

I went to see Ballet in the Park tonight. It's a public display put on by the city's Ballet School and some company members. It was nice to see some of the students performing, as I didn't get to work with them this summer. The show was very nice overall. The thing I didn't like was that since it was an outside free concert, you have a very interesting group of people assembled to watch. A few drops of rain caused lots of people to get up and leave, and if not, they put up their excessively large umbrellas and block my line of sight. We never thought to bring rain protection, so we sat through it. It was rather cool for the shorts and t-shirt I'm wearing, but oh well.
I love this weather!!!! It's so cool for summer! It's perfect sweater weather. I'm thinking I should put on pants and a sweater and go for a nice long walk. I certainly should... we went for a bit to eat afterwards, and then Jenn convinced me to join her in having dessert... oops. I think I'll do some good ol fashioned thinking, or compose one of these blasted variations in my head while I'm walking.... ooh and I can stop off at the park and go for a swing. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I love going on the swings.
Well, thats enough for tonight, unless I discover something absolutely exciting to talk about on my walk.

the 20'th century finally caught up with me

It makes me a little sick, but I'm actually using the twelve-tone method.. thats right, I am a veritable dodecaphonist!
I wanted a section to sound random -without a hint of musical intentions. So lo and behold, I asked a friend to put the numbers 1 through 12 in random order, then I proceeded to create myself a matrix to create many different combinations of the notes which I derived from the numbers.
I'm not sure if it will have the effect I am going for, but I figured I would try it.

roadtrip weeeeeeeeeeeeeee

ok, so I know now that everything works out for the best!
I almost bought a car this summer, but i didn't. If I did, I would have spent money on the actual car and then insurance and registration and everything, then I would have been (financially) forced to stay at the Lodge til the end of the summer to pay for it....
As it happens, I didn't but the car - I came home early and have nothing really pressing to do (ignoring the practicing/composing thing) until the middle of August. I have a friend named Binky who wants to travel around .... THEREFORE ROADTRIP!!!!!!!!!!
even better is that she has a car and she's totally cool with the random road trip idea!!!!
We're also both wanting to stick to a almost non-existent budget!! Yay for cheapness!
Oh wow, I'm excited, superduper!
I'm not sure exactly when I'm leaving, but most likely by Saturday or sunday! yippee!

This set of piano variations I'm working on is driving me crazy, well not really, but ya. How is it that I feel like I've made so much progress on it, but when I look at what I've actually written... it's sadly depressing. Grr! But ya, soon enough I will be done with this silly incubation period I seem to be in, and I'll have it marked down on paper.
Ignoring that rather dreary introduction, today was a pretty marvellous day. I took my mom and Granddad and Great Aunt Jean out for lunch and then we went back to their appartment to see pictures of my granddad's trip out east and then we talked for a while. It impresses me how smart my Great Aunt is, both of them really. I've had a lot of experience with older people, and it's frustrating how closed minded and stubborn they can be. But these two exercise their minds and bodies regularly - and I admire then immensely for it. We talked about the state and value of higher education in North America, touched on the situation overseas, and of course we talked about the apparent lack of traditional parenting skills amongst the younger generation these days.
Tonight I went to the neighborhood coffee shop with my friend Cara and her boyfriend Dat. While it was a relatively short night, I always enjoy spending time with them.
Well, it's nearly half past eleven, but I don't think I'm done for the evening. I wonder what further trouble I can get into tonight...

Today I went to the library to take out a good edition of my Beethoven Sonata in order to crossreference it and find out just how bad the one I've been using is. It's not actually all that bad, only a few little discrepencies here and there. Thankfully, it's not like I'm going to have to struggle to relearn chunks of it.
While walking towards the building, I stepped into what I thought was dirt (AKA dry mud), but it wasn't - it was veritable mud (AKA wet dirt). The subtle distinction means that my foot and shoe got quite dirty and my foot slipped, I flailed and screamed and the world was at a loss for not having had people around to enjoy my reaction...
Tonight I hung out with a friend that I haven't seen for a while. It was good, but since I know they read this - I'll point out that I didn't really buy the attempt at a bright mood. There's no need to put on a show for Mikey - but if that actually is an improvement in mood, I'm worried. But for now, enough said.
Before I went out tonight, there were Park family shenanigans - mostly trying to decide what to do for dinner. The end result was me leaving. It was an event of indecisiveness. We were all hungry and it was a reasonable time for supper. When we posed each other the question of 'what shall we make?', noone wanted to make a decision. In order to partially stave off our hunger, but mostly to avoid deciding we made appetizers. I made bruschetta - involving many cutting boards and knives and swearing while my mother went all out and made celery with peanut butter. The bruschetta was alright, but not quite was it should have been like. I think that was due to the wrong type of tomatoes and some pretty tasteless feta, but oh well. I'll try again sooner than later.
That's about all for now.
Ooh, Tomorrow I'm going for lunch with my Grandpa, Great Aunt, and Mother. It will be wonderful, I don't see those first two nearly often enough. I haven't decided where I'll take them, but I'm sure they'll have some suggestions... or else it could be a whole new indecisive adventure!

my hair got shortened

it was haircut day today.
i was excited to go to my baber, but apparently he only works a few days a week now, and he hired two other haircutters who only operate by appointment.... this made me not happy.
Barbershops don't do appointments... it's just the way things are... gosh!
anyway, so that put me off a bit, but mostly I wanted to have short hair for the rest of the summer, so I said screw it and went to one of those ghetto little discount hairchopper places.
Yuck, there was like a 4 year old getting her haircut beside me, and apparently it was causing her some kind of unimaginable pain and torment cause the little shit bag didn't stop screaming the whole time. For fucks sake, the thing that got me was that the mother said she does it every time... fricking shit - then don't cut your kid's hair! or cut it yourself, it's a child that's the perfect age for bad haircuts... give her a fricking mullet for cunt's sake! That's what they invented the Flobee for!
Anyway, no biggie. I don't particularly care what my hair looks like most of the time- ie. the mullet or the multiple times I've let drunk people cut my hair at parties. It's quite short - the only thing I cared about was that the back was properly taperred, which it was, so I am happy. The last haircut I got was out in the middle of nowhere and she didn't taper it at the back, so it already looked like I was going for another mullet... again. I don't think I've had it quite this short since I started the music program (according to my picture id).
That was the productivity of today. I also practiced piano a bit in the late-afternoon/evening. I've made some strong steps forward in terms of the first page of the last movement of my Beethoven sonata. -If only I was this productive everytime I practiced-
Anyway, I think I'm off fringing for the evening.

I love city water

I know it sounds odd, but I really do love the taste of Winnipeg Water.
Out where I was staying this summer, the water was far too salty to drink straight from the tap. The restaurant/bar had a wonderful filtration system that made the water taste much better, but I still prefer the clean taste of mass water filtration with a hint of fluoride. Yummy. Just in case your sarcasm-meter is going off, stop it, I am completely serious.
I had myself a nice little brita water filter so I could drink the water in my little cabin. I also had a kettle fo I could pour the water into that and then into the brita filter - the setbacks of an extremely shallow sink. After not even two months there was a thick build up of salt in the spout of the kettle, and a slime on the inside of the filter basin and on the filter itself. As I didn't have another filter, I washed it off and continued to trust that it was keeping me safe from the natural sludge in the water. It tasted fine enough.
I have been just gulping back the water, now that I am home. With the taste and large effort required to filter my water out there, I was not drinking anywhere near my normal 4 litres of water a day. This is something I have to catch up on over the next little while.
Aside from water, I have also not been eating much lately. The food had been accessible - so no real excuse. It's not just that I haven't been eating much, but I can't eat much. It's not a loss of appetite, I still feel hungry and then eat, but I don't need much to satisfy the craving. I've been getting full quickly lately, which I won't argue with - I'm not gonna keep eating when I feel that way.
Nevertheless, I am no healthier nor have I lost weight this summer - damn the theory I had months ago of being healthy in mind and body...
So far this summer has been a write-off for productivity, but I'm gonna change my ways - you just wait and see!!

I have moved home for the rest of the summer.
Never have I felt so much like the people I was leaving will genuinely miss me.
Anyway, long story short - I had a great time and spent it with great people this summer. I am glad that I worked out of town this summer, and I will miss those people dearly, but I am excited to be back in the city and can't wait to get to work on practicing and composing.
A few weeks back I realized something that wasn't so cool, but I won't dwell on it too much-
Being in say a school of music gives you a lot of friends who you see all the time. It's like highschool, some relationships are stronger just because you have no other choice. It's nice to think that you will still stay in touch with some of those friends after school....
While I was out of town, I didn't receive any phone calls or text messages from the people who I thought might have. I'm not going to bitch about how it wouldn't have cost other people any money to have called me, cause I still had a city number... mumbly mumbly.
It's just that sometimes I feel like the pathetic friend that people only talk to when I call them up. I've thought about just not calling people anymore and seeing if anyone actually does care, but the prospect of being interminably lonely isn't all that appealing. although at times, it does.
This is just in my mind because people I said goodbye to today were very adament about me keeping in touch. More than just something people say, they made sure I wrote down my contact info and stuff - it made me wonder how close you can get to a person in a few short months - or three years?
Gah, too much heft for a post in such summer heat.
I'm back in Winnipeg and all is well!

I was supposed to be leaving to go back to the lodge right about now, but as per usual... plans have changed. My ride back in has decided to stay on vacation a few days longer. No biggie, I just have to take the bus tonight at 8pm. It means I won't be getting back til later tonight, but oh well. We were heading back earlier tonight so that we could go to one of our coworker's birthday celebrations, but if my ride isn't going at all... I won't look so bad for being late.
In other news, I'm sure if it's just because I haven't been using my nightguard for my teeth lately or if there might be some other reason, but I've been feeling quite tense lately. Mostly in the jaw neck and a bit in the shoulders. Anyway, now that I've made a note of it, I will take proactive approach to fix the problem. When I move back into the city, I will also go for a massage.
My friend Jon and I have been planning for a while to work together on some kind of collaboration. We're both actually serious about it, but living in different cities and things to do and whatnot... we've never actually tried to start it. BUT, over the last couple of days, we found a way to work together....separately. The theme/topic of the work is kinda vague, but in the best of ways and the structure of the work will give us the freedom to do whatever we want. The basic idea is that we will each create several segements which will be paired with other segments. As a result, each pair of segments will explore the theme from a different angle.
As you should be able to tell, I'm really excited about this. Nevertheless, I know I'm not going to have a lot of free time to work on it, so it will be a slow moving project, but I think that's how it will be on both sides of the collaboration....
On the other hand, if we can get it finished and put together by January or earlier, I can use it as part of my portfolio for auditions. There we go again... thinking about things that should be far off.... but they really aren't....
Bye for now everyone, I'll see you all when I move home in about 10 days.

This visit hasn't been anywhere near as good for visiting with people. It seems everyone is very tired or down this time of the summer.I suppose it's understandable, and some of my friends have very good reasons to not be available this week, so I won't complain.
It definately has felt different, on account of knowing that I'm not going 'home' tomorrow; rather, I'm going out of town for a little vacation almost. Anyway, it's not important.
I have so much work to do during the rest of the summer. For example:
In terms of composition, I need to finish the piano composition I am working on. For all intents and purposes, I haven't really moved forward on that at all since I moved out there. I also want to have finished reading my orchestration textbook. I won't have to have read it for the course, but it will put me at an advantage in terms of the course, and lower my disadvantage a bit in terms of learning how to compose for orchestral instruments and groups. These two goals represent a bare minimum for what I have to do. I really should aim much higher, but as the list continues, it becomes doubtful as to the amount of stuff I will get done.
In terms of Piano, I have said that I need to have a substantial start on my recital rep, but thats an anderstatement. I need to learn a Haydn sonata for my half Jury/ I have began to pick at it, but not in a nearly picky enough fashion.
Let's take a look at my recital plan:
Bach - French Overture- As a base minimum, I need to have learned the first movement, so that I just have to work on the remaining dance movements. The first movement is about 9 pages. I have worked a fair bit on the opening two pages, but after that there is a rollicking fugue that will take a fair bit of tenacity to get in shape.
Beethoven - Op.101, I have learned the majority of the first and third movements... But I'll be honest, those are the easy movements in terms of technique(this will give me the chance to get more familiar with them, so that I can be very comfortable with them and make my musical intentions solid..... but ya, I need to focus on the technical stuff) The second movement is a fast march and I'm sure it will not be a breeze in the park to learn or play. The scary part is the fourth movement. It's very fast and has a fugue as part of it.... Intimidating, to say the least.
Liszt - Vallé d'Obermann- I've started to make some progress on this one. I think it's safe to say that the intro is ready for a first lesson scenario, and I forced myself to dive into the obviously more difficult sections. I absolutely LOVE this piece. I absolutely LOVE Liszt.
I'm loving all my repertoire of course! The Beethoven I'm listening to right now and it's just amazing how brilliant it is! It was the fifth last sonata for piano that he wrote and the experience and mastery of his craft are just amazingly present!
McIntosh - This is a piece I will be performing with a singer..... thats the first issue I should take care of....finding one.... The piece involves a lot of improvising and coordination... so I don't quite know how to approach the learning process. I think I'm going to treat it as an excuse to practice technique drills (I really really shouldnt need an excuse) so that I have a battary of options available at my fingertips(pun intended).

Anyway, thats the main things I need to be concerned with learning. Although I can't let myself forget that I will have to also learn something for the second half jury... but I'll probably do the same thing as this year, leave most of the work for those pieces til the last minute.
Bargh! too much thinking about the school year that hasn't even come close to starting yet! Oh well, I need to be focussed! yippee!
gnite!

Holy Schomley, it's hot out there!

It's summer!
I'm not really a big fan of the weather in the summer, although I enjoy the feeling of freedom that flows through the air.
Nevertheless, yesterday and today I spent some time outside and enjoyed it a lot.
Yesterday Fi and I went fishing. Humane fishing really... we didn't use bait, we didn't use hooks... mind you we didn't even use fishing line. We took fishing poles and threaded them with knitting yarn. At the end of the line, we attached stuffed toys - the benefits were endless: Everytime we tossed the line out... we brought something back.. well except for the time that fi had given up on the fishing pole and then let go of the string.... The other benefit was that we didnt harm any fish, but we still had the fun associated with fishing. I got some good pictures of the crazy antics that can be expected from fi and myself.
Today, I went for ice cream and then a walk with my friend Kimberley. We walked by the creek, walked across the rocks and then Kim picked some flowers. Kim is leaving in a month and a bit to move to Germany. She is not the only one.
I'm not surprised, but a fair amount of my friends from high school are moving away to exciting exotic places. Two of them are moving to Germany, one to Montreal and then another to Hong Kong. I know it's silly, but I'm feeling a little jealous that I'm going to be in Winnipeg for another year(if not two). It's not that I really have the travel bug, rather I just want to be "away". My summer getaway didn't really fill that desire for me; it felt too static, I wasn't really being productive or developping much. Anyway, thats enough feeling sorry for myself.
Now that I'm not tied down for the summer, Fi and I can go on our exciting road trip to Thompson, Mb to visit my sister. We'll probably go on a weekend so it doesn't interfere with Fi's work. I'm super excited to be able to do what I want on a weekend. All summer I've had to play piano on the weekends, now I can go party it up in the boppin social atmosphere of Thompson, Mb! Yippee! I actually am more excited than the sarcasm there should have veiled.
Hmm, enough typing for now.... maybe it's supper time, maybe I'll knit, maybe I'll watch some star trek, who knows!

Today was the second day in a row of practicing piano.... wow, the dedication that I have just exemplified! As sad as it is... the little that it has been has actually been quite rewarding. Little bits of development have occurred. I'm learning my Beethoven sonata - little by little. Tonight I taught myself the last 16 bars of the piece. I figure you should learn the end of the piece fairly early on in the development stage. People are always most attentive to the beginning and then the end of a piece, so you need to make sure those are nice and impressive. On the odd chance that a person might fall asleep during the first movement and then not wake up til the very end of the piece... I'm set already!

I'm already preregistered for school - long before registration has started. I just told the registraar which courses I needed and she will do it for me. Luckily they she needed to find some random students to register beforehand to make sure that everything is hunky-dory. Now I don't have to worry about my registration date and time or missing it or whatnot. And things are all set, I will be prepared for graduation by the end of the year.
Tonight I think I might practice at the school. I need to be productive and I always seem to run into some people when I poke my head in there. I haven't been getting my regular dose of schoolness this summer... perhaps due to lack of school.
I'm excited for tomorrow. The only point of business while I'm here this week is an orientation for a mentorship program that I will be volunteering in the fall. I'm excited to put my life experience as a diabetic to some good use. I also haven't done nearly enough volunteering over the last while - meaning my whole life, really - so I look forward to getting involved in this project.
I should also look for some work to fill the rest of the summer up. By good furtune, I got myself 2 weeks of work during august with a musical theatre camp with one simple phone call. I should make some more of those and find some more things to do to make money once I relocate back to the city. I'm thinking I might try to find some work as a waiter or something, but with those two weeks in the middle of August, my availability won't be so great. I think I'll stick to finding random music-ish gigs to make some quick cash. So if anyone knows of any weddings or accompanying work.... let me know please.

quick post... I'm sure I'll tell you before you read it here... but I'm coming back in 2 weeks for the rest of the summer. Long story short - the piano thing was an experiment and the result is that it wasn't successful enough of a business venture. I don't think there are any hard feelings on either part, so I'm gonna move home in two weeks time.
At the moment, I'm in town til thursday, so fun fun fun!
This summer has been marvellous so far. I've learned a lot, met so many interesting and exciting people. It was a beautiful place to live for a few months... but I do miss the city.
I haven't been practicing/composing nearly enough this summer... which I must admit also weighed on my decision to move home. I thought being away and in nature would give me some inspiration or something... but no, I was just distracted by the way of life out there: relaxing and drinking, when you're not working of course.
All in all, I wouldn't trade the last few months for anything and I'm excited to see what the rest of the summer will bring.

Well, I'm about to head back to my summer home in a few hours. It has been a wonderful time this week. I saw lots of people, and I made it to two chamber music concerts which were wonderful.
Odd sensation today. In conclusion, I think I don't really appreciate living out in the wilderness. I walked home, maybe 20 minutes, in my suburban neighbourhood and really enjoyed the summer air and weather. To me there is no air fresher than the air you breath after holding your breath to avoid a car's exhaust. I don't feel that refreshed when I'm at the narrows and walking around in the fresh air.... I love the creek I live by - Sturgeon Creek. As wonderful as Lake Manitoba Narrows is to swim in and to watch... I still prefer my little marshland creek. Today I crossed the creek by stepping on the rocks.
I love that sensation of not knowing which rocks are going to be stable, you might just topple over into the water. It will forever remind me of elementary school. In gym class, we would all walk down to the creek and then we'd have to run along the creek all the way down from one bridge, cross the water there and then back to the other bridge to back where we started from. Some of us would always cheat.... there was a little island in the middle of the creek which you could get to by walking on the rocks. Coming up to this area, we would slow down the run and then shave off about 5 minutes of the run by crossing there and we'd play around on the island. It always seemed like a long time, and we'd join the group when the rest of the runners would come running by. Sometimes we'd get caught, but it was always worth the risk.
The same creek also reminds me of my late puppy Rex. He was afraid of water from the get go. He was always the kind of dog that would jump over or scoot around puddles, and giving him baths was always a hassle! One summer, I decided to cure him of his fear (thoughtful me). I took him for a walk down to the creek and tried for quite a while to coax him into walking into the water. I went in and tried calling him.... Obviously that didnt work. I tried pulling on his chain to pull him into the water - he got me back by causing me to fall into the water. The next step was to pick him up and place him in the water. Keep in mind that this was super shallow... maybe halfway up my calves. He would either sit there or try and run back out. I would be supportive and pet him and tell him he was a good boy or give him treats.
In the end, not much changed... he still didn't like the water.
I guess there really is no moral to that story.... too bad.
But, the moral of the set of stories is that I think I call this home. I like the city. I like creeks in the city.
The End

So I called my boss to find out if I can get a ride into the city tomorrow or if I need to leave tonight. I didn't get a certain answer on the ride... but I don't have to work until Sat morning, so it's not a pressing issue. This means that I still have til tomorrow night at 8pm to get a bunch of fun stuff done.
Tonight is going to be a gooder! I am going to the second Mozart concert with Chris and Davey. I have been doing uberwell with the visiting of people this trip.
I was also somewhat productive while I've been here. One of my composition projects for the summer is a set of variations for piano. I now have the theme entered into the computer in a state that is very close to what it will be as a final outcome. I think this will probably have been the most difficult part of the composition... writing the theme. If everything else is going to be based on it, it needs to be just right. The type of variations I am doing are not quite the standard Mozartean ones where you maintain some of the elements and then rewrite it so it's just different enough... rather I'm going to use the theme as a template upon which I will directly mark the changes.
Anyway, I'm starting to feel that I'm going to be productive with composing this summer... but I haven't felt that way about piano. The good thing about my piano practicing is that I am using my time very wisely and efficiently... the problem is that a few hours a week are simply not enough, no matter how efficiently I use them. I just need to buckle down and actually get around to practicing. This year's recital is going to be huge and I need to have a LARGE head start on it.

apparently I've done 200 posts... this being 201.... I missed the celebration.... but it's not like anyone is reading this anyway, judging from the commentary.... So, I conclude that noone cares about the meager happenings of my life.
Nevertheless, I will fill you in.
On the ride into the city, my boss asked me what I had planned, or lined up for my time in the city.... I had nothing... absolutely nothing...
When I got home, I realised that there were a couple of my piano teacher's concerts this week... so boom I have things to do. I spent time with my friend Kimberley monday night. Today I talked with friend Andrea and hung out with her this afternoon and watched some World Cup. These two events have reminded me just how much I enjoy spending time with friends on a one-on-one basis. Groups can be fun, but I prefer the more intimate setting for conversations and chit-chat... whatever. I've bumped into quite a few people today, and as a result, there are many concerts I can attend while in town... oh and tomorrow I have a lunch with workmates from the Ballet.... Perfect timing! the call was on my answering machine last night... if I wasnt in town, I woul dhave missed it, which I thought I would have to anyway, but yay!
I still have all of tomorrow and then possibly all of thursday to fill with fun times with friends and random fun!
This has been a succesful journey into the city already!

It still amazes me that I'm only in the city once ever 2 weeks,. and still I post more often than people who are here all the time. Oh well, I'm in a good mood, so no need to complain.
Basically I have begun to feel at home out at the lodge. The people I work with are like family, but even more fun. My worries about making enough money at the job have been lessened by my boss. Anyway, I think I don't care anymore about that.... I will make enough money to pay for school... and I'll have income coming in next year, so it's all gonna be good, or at least tolerable.
I'm not getting enough practicing or composing done up there. It's not that I can't find the time... I'm just not motivated. There's really no good reason. Boo.
The Jonny Cash book I bought last time I was in town was a big hit with coworkers and some diners... but it didn't do well with the tips. I think that country music is too pedestrian, not in a bad way, but it doesn't give people that sense of "this young man is a gifted musician who should be tipped", rather it makes them think "ah, good times y'all... get me a bottle of whisky and a banjo and I can do this too".
It's a subtle difference.
Ya, my bosses are wonderful. One of them gave me a ride into the city and when I said I was going to be in thursday night on the bus, another boss said "but you don't work til friday evening.... give my daughter a call, she's coming in sometime friday, she'll give you a ride in."
Im glad to be in town. I don't really have anything I need to do like shopping or anything, and I have a day longer than I did last time when I had tons to do, so it's relaxing time! woohoo!

Why driving with my mother is special:

Situation: A car signals and then pulls into the 2 and a half car lengths of space between our car and the car in front.

"Asshole! So you're gonna cut me off?!?! I'm gonna be on your ass like a hemorrhoid!"

Today I had some running around to do. I bought some deodorant, toothbrushes, cookie baking betty-crocker bags, underwear, yet more discount socks, then I went to the sheet music store, I bought lots of country music and the essential Jonny Cash collection... now I will fit in up there. I still had time before picking my mother up from work, so I went and bought a violin. It cost more than I was planning on, but apparently it is a good instrument and will last a long time. I will spend the summer becoming a virtuoso, and you will all be shocked and pleasantly surprised in the fall. The theory is that if I take it with me to the middle of nowhere, at least there will be relatively few people to hear the badness that is sure to ensue.
Grr, I spent far too much money today... but on the otherhand, I have spent next to nothing out at the lodge. If I do pay to eat at the restaurant... I get cheap meals, or a good discount, but I've been cooking my own meals a fair amount of the time. The only thing that i'm spending more money on than I would here is booze... I had actually cut back a lot of drinking lately in the city... rarely at all.. but now there's not much else to do in the country than work, drink or sleep- so I've taken up drinking again. Nevertheless, drink prices are quite reasonable, and I will keep a healthy limit on my booziness.
Anyway, last night something changed. I won't get into details cause it's very fresh, I'll perhaps comment next time I'm in town. I'll just say that I had to do something very difficult. Nevertheless, because of the other person involved, it was not as uncomfortable as I thought it might have been, and I thank them for being such a great friend in that regard. I hope that they were being honest in the front I was shown, as I appologize for any discomfort or awkwardness I caused.
I think that's all for now, once again, I will be in town next around June 12-15th ish. Hopefully I will be able to see more people then. Driving around today reminded me of just how much of a contrast there is between the city and the Narrows. I must admit that I'm still a city boy at heart, but I am enjoying my life out there as a down-to-earth rancher/lumberjack/exterminator/pianist.

well well well, I'm back for a short while!

Just for 2 days and a bit: enough time to catch up on emails, buy some stuff I need, and see the people that I don't get to see when I'm out in the middle of nowhere. Speaking of.....
I am really enjoying my work. When I am not playing piano on weekends, my job duties are incredibly varied. I am doing some retail work with which I am very familiar and comfortable. I have also entered the food service industry as both a bartender, waiter, and extremely short order cook which is new work for me, but I'm learning quickly and am comfortable enough with the work. On the other hand, I've been doing a little bit of manual labour, reminiscent of last summer; and I've even worked as an exterminator.
The work certainly is varied enough to keep me interested. I quite enjoy being a do-it-all kinda guy; a jack of all trades (master of none).
The people out there are wonderful, a great group of coworkers who make work enjoyable. Not just the coworkers, but my bosses (the owners of the lodge) have been wonderful, and they've made me feel at home and very welcomed. It sounds corny, but it's like I'm part of a family there, which is a nice thing when I'm away from friends and family in the city.
Aside from the people and the work, it's gorgeous out there! Everynight I'm treated to a beautiful sunset over the lake. My cabin is within a boot's throw of the lake, and knowing how I throw, that sure is close. Speaking of the lake... I went swimming, it's cold... very cold! But it was great and refreshing and wonderful. Soon enough it will be warmer in the lake, and I will be able to go swimming daily if I want.

While I'm up there, I have no internet access, but you can get ahold of me by my phone or voicemail or text messages. The good news is that I will be coming into the city every 2 weeks. We're going to be doing a 10days on, 4 days off schedule, which should be nice. It will probably always be mon-thursday ish.
Anyway, I have lots to do over the next few days, so bye for now, but I hope to update before I leave again.. if not, see you around June 12'th ish.

goodbye world!

Goodbye,
Im now heading out the door, fully packed and ready to go!
have a great summer!
i love you all, except for some, butI sohuldn't tell yout hat I hate you, momma always said "if you dont have anything nice to say, shut the fuck up!"

it's almost go time!

last minute packing... I tried to get my paycheque this morning, but there was noone in the office... so I don't know if I'll have time to go there again...eep it's out of the way!, but I need the money.. especially if I need a deposit on the appt. or something like that... I don't have many socks, where have they gone?!? I think I might need to buy some on the way out, really! where are they!?! gah.... and theres nothing I like better than fresh new socks... mmmm so cozy! oooh there's excitement in the air. I actually read the newspaper today, I went for tea in the morning before trying to get my cheque, and I read through the Free Press. gah, I didn't like it.
One article was about how our Maestro was ineffective. He made it clear that he wrote it from a non-musician's point of view, and I can understand that. he said he couldn't teel the difference betweent he orchestra under different conductors, and that he never really changed the style of concert as he said was necessary, BUT, having a good conductor inspired the players in the orchestra... which seemed to be the problem when they... say... were on strike when he first came here... so he did fix that up... but now what's going to happen ... oh welllllll

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Wowzers,
time has just flown by this last little while... and tonight...
I'm glad my mom started helping me pack.. I totally lost focus, but ya, stuff still got done.... all thats left is the clothes, which I'll do tomorrow morning.
I need to get my paycheck from the contemp dancers before I leave... tomorrow is payday... so I'm hoping it will be ready in the morning... or that they won't hate me for wanting it first thing... because I need the money. Im going to wake up early to drive my mom to work, that way I will be awake and functional and actually be prepared to leave in the afternoon.
Alas, I should be off to bed, tomorrow is going to be a long day!

I bought a brita water filter and a whistling kettle!
I also bought veggies, so I won't get scurvey right away when I move away!
Gah, finding boxes was a bit of a hassle.... neither of the LC's had them, so I got a few from JackAss, and I still haven't really started packing... oh well. My mom's being very helpful!

Last day in the city

Tomorrow is moving day, which means that today is packing day.
I think I'm having to put everything I should have been doing over the last few days into today.... but packing is always best at last-minute... although I've only ever done it last minute, so that's good enough.
I need to find boxes to put things in. I need to wash lots of clothes today, then there's also the task of digging through the piles of clothes in my room to find my wardrobe for the summer. Shit, I really have no idea what to take, should I take a CD Player or not, and if not, should I bring cds incase theres a cd player up there? Should I bring my keyboard, will there be room in Deena's car, do I care to have it? How many towels do I need to bring?...if I use them after a shower, they're still clean then, so I don't really need to 'wash' them persay....
I'm still wondering.. he said there were pots and pans and stuff like that, so I'm wondering exactly how furnished the appartment is. I'm hoping there will be an iron.
Anyway, it's not too important to worry about these things now, my parents are coming for the Mother's day brunch, and they will be able to bring me whatever I realize I need once I get there, because we all know I'm going to forget something important.

I have a new friend!

For those of you worried about me being lonely and without companionship this summer.... Worry not!!
I bought a new friend today. He's fairly short, but he loves to smile and he will be a great companion. Fiona didn't get along with him today, but I think she's just jealous of my new friendship. I won't tell you much more because I'm going to make Deena wait until we get there before she can meet my new friend. One hint... he loves carrots!
Today was random errands and stuff. I bought new sandals and new shoes. I handed in the CD for the ballet dance and returned a library book to the Millenium Branch downtown. I think with those things done, I am stringless in the city; there's nothing left in the city that I have to worry before I run away for the summer. Everything else I have to do is to make sure I can survive out there.
I ordered what should be enough drugs for the summer, and the food will last for a while. Now it's just a matter of knowing what to take, and make sure I'll have everything I'll need without packing overkill. Anyway, bye for now.

Time is running out!

Today I sent out an email to a bunch of people to let them know where I'm going, so they don't get confused when they can't find me all summer. That pretty much puts me in official preparation mode. All the time I spend is either packing/cleaning or somehow preparing for my departure. It seems everyone I talk to, I'm explaining whats up for the summer, or spending quality time with them before I'm off.
Last night was a good night. We had the final concert of the year with the choir that I sing in. The concert went well, all things considered. Many people were under the weather, or for somereason not in good shape for singing. The concert was poorly attended, but I think the people that were there enjoyed the show. We performed Bach's Peasant Cantata as the closer of this all Baroque concert. People got a chuckle or two out of it due to one of our soloists who did a splendid job of bringing about the jolity and humour of the text... albeit not in an academically fitting Bach style.
After the concert, Deena and I dropped her car off at her place then I changed at my house and we went to Kyle's for his party.
At Kyles, there were the usual bunch of people. It's always fun to see people there. I wasn't drinking cause of Antibiotics and driving, that way Deena could.. and she certainly did! tee hee She is a very cute drunk, what with the rambling and random talking and commentary.
Another highlight of the party was the 'meeting' Jon and I had. We've been talking about a collaboration of sorts for a while. We both want it to happen, so we were trying to think of different ideas, but neither of us is particularly political, or has a major theme that we want to address in an artistic piece... so that's getting in the way. I think it might involve puppets!! or maybe some kind of artistic porn...
I'm going to do the music and Jon will do the visual aspects of the project. We're thinking a video.. but who knows. I'm going to email him now, i think.
The low point of the party was at the beginning.
THERE WAS NO FUCKING SPINACH DIP!!!!!!!! All the dumbass cunts whowere there ate it all!!!! FUCKIFUCKFICIKKCIFIKCIUCKMIFUCK! I told him I wasn't going to be there til later and to wait to put it out... but no!!!!
ARGHS!
And I couldn't even drink my sorrows away due to the soberness of my evening. FUCK!
ANyway, that was the evening. I will be bitter about the Spinach Dip for a long time.

Academically successful year.

Wow,
I'm impressed with myself and partially surprised, but mostly proud.
This is the first year in my university carreer that I haven't recieved a mark in the B area. This is because, I am a straight-A student this year. Not only that, but I recieved two A plusses! Only two of my marks haven't been posted: major practical and chamber music, both of which are going to be A's.
I am very happy!
Today was super busy, but now I'm officially done with Ballet for the year. The senior level class that I play for on sat. mornings.... I'vr been playing for them for over 2 years now... and some of them are moving away and not coming back next year.. or not returning for some reason or another. At the end of the class today, I told them I was leaving for the summer, and they decided to maul me with a group hug. Poignant moment. More than anything, I was actually aware of my role as an educator today. I don't think you really notice that you're teaching people until they are on they way out, and you can look back upon what they have taken from you. This is not even necesarily what they can tell you they've learned:
(Story time)..........
When I started playing for this group of dancers, it was fairly unintimidating because they really didn't care what i played. They never really noticed if I made mistakes or stylistically wrong music choices; the musicality(or lack thereof) they showed was unwavering. Musical jokes that i love (such as hinting bluntly at well-known themes) passed by them completely unnoticed, If they didn't understand the accents in terms of the ballet movements, there was nothign that my music could do to help them.
Today, and this year, it has become a different story. Choices of music and style that I make actually do make a difference in their movements. A girl had been humming/singing "Somehwere over the rainbow", and when I slipped it into their developpé exercise, their was a quiet uproar of giggles.
....................(end story)
It was an incredibly rewarding day at the ballet. For the other class, I still have to rerecord the piano version of "You are my sunshine", as the counting wasn't quite what it should have been. Other than that, the teacher said she really liked what I did with the song, so I should just fix up the one section and it would be great.
AFter ballet, there was a dress rehearsal, which went fine, but it was tense because we might not be able to use the organ for the concert..... eek!
When I came home, I left again quickly to pick up my bound books of music.... finally all finished, so I'm happy enough. I tried shopping for sandals... but frick! 60$ for sandals?!? I think not!
I went to Cara's kickboxing fight tonight. It was great! unfortunately, her opponent didn't show up in town, so she did an exhibition against someone she knew. She was dissapointed, but I still think she was awesome.
Anyway, I'm so very very tired, I'm going to bed far earlier than normal, and I'm gonna love it!
I have SOOO much to get organised and done before I leave, and nowhere near enough time.

So this book slicing up and reorganizing task has proved more complicated and stupid and frustrating than I had planned... actually I knew it would be this way.
I took out of each book, the songs that I want to use. Now I am combining those 5 alphabetically... just a few letters at a time. Sounds simple, but remember that none of the songs are individual...and they rarely lack to a connection to another song - on the flip side of the page. Sometimes I am using the song, sometimes not. The big problem comes when I have a solid chunk of songs being used from one book spanning letters f-h, and then another chunk spanning e-i: so my alphabet goes A B C D E F G H I F G H J K L M.... and so on...
this problem occurs all over the place... so the alphabet is only going to be loosely represented here.. meaning that I will have some major troubles trying to actually find any specific song in my vast collection. Nevertheless, I will find a way, and yes, it will be fun.
Even just getting the book cut apart was a bit of a hassle. One of the places said they only bind the books from start to finish, so they wouldn't just cut it for me..... I was expecting that this had something to do with copyright laws, but no... apparently they just didn't want to help me out. Another place had a 24 hour wait on all jobs... even though it would have taken 2 minutes and I would have left them alone after that... but oh well, they didn't mind losing my business. The store I had called before said they did it.. so all was good, but I went to a differnet location which didnt have the cutter required... so I had to go to the location I called to get it done.
All in all, I will finish this organizing very soon and then take it to be spiral bound into two books this afternoon, and then I can worry about the other stuff I have to do before leaving.
For example:
I need to go to Value Village or elsewhere to buy more semi-respectable clothes so I look somewhat classy as the pianist.
Shit, I just remembered I need to record the music for one of the ballet classes for their end of year performance.
I need to figure out exactly what to bring, and start packing/ or at least getting organized.
I need to photocopy all the classical music I need to learn for next year so I dont have to lug the originals out there.
Eek, I know theres still lots more, but I can't think of it... I'm making a list. this weekend is so busy, I have things going basically constantly:
Tonight, going to an opera and then Nachos at Papa Georges.
Tomorrow, Work in morning, dress rehearsal in afternoon, then Cara's fight in evening.
Sunday, Concert in the evening, then Kyle's party at night.
I have to find time to record that piece SOON, cause ya, that's a necessity and I really should have had it done for tomorrow, but that's not going to happen, so oh well. Maybe I'll do a rough copy to double check the counts, and then record a better version later. ya, thats a plan.
Anyway, now realizing all the crap I need to do, I'm off to get doing it!

So, I heard back from the guy from the summer job today.
I asked him the main questions which were my concerns:
Practice time - I can use the piano in the restaurant 5 days a week between restaurant closing at 8pm and the lounge/hotel closing up at midnight. In theory, this will work out.
Room and board - I would live in a bachelor type appartment with a kitchenette, 200$/month.. so it's cheap. I have to pay for food... 35% off the restaurant food (at cost), but that's still costly, so I will try and live off groceries as much as I can. I really don't crave variety in my eating, so I think I'll do well with living off cheerios and peanut butter.
Wage - they offered me a starting wage of 12$/hr with a guaruntee of 40 hours a week. With R&B considered, its the same as a 8-9$/hr job in the city.
Random other considerations - if I don't have a car out there, I won't be spending lots of money on gas as I have been lately. I will become one with nature out there in the wilderness.

I'm going to treat this as a summer of cleansing. Over the years I have become lazy, overweight and less active mentally and physically by my own volition. I am going to exercise regularly and eat better. With the beautiful scenery and the lake, I'm sure I will have opportunity to go for walks and swim often. I am going to bring lots of books to read, varied books. I'm going to use books as my entertainment. I won't have tv or the computer, so lots of reading.... maybe I can encorporate the reading and the walking...

Investment / Frivolous spending ?

If you know me, you have probably at some point been subjected to my love of School House Rock. Today my love was taken to a new level. Let me tell you the tale.
I went to the music store to make an investment today... I needed more lounge music... and there was a noticeable hole in my "Best of the (insert decade here)" series... I had the 50's-70's.... so today I bought the 80's and 90's. So much more music.. and I'm actually more familiar with most of this stuff! I also found a discount rack and clearance bin... so I bought some other random stuff... mostly individual songs that I might be able to encorporate into my lounge act.... such as Britney's "I'm a slave 4 U" and so on and so forth... theres a reason they were on clearance....
BUT the highlight of my day was when what did I find in the discount PVM racks..... but the sheet music for selections from School House Rock.... thats right... I can go to "conjunction junction' anytime I want now... and I can consult "Lolly lolly lolly get your adverbs here" too! Actually conjunction junction is scored in the DVD for a really awesome sounding quartet of voices... I'm thinking next year at a noon-hour recital....
All in all, I spend close to 100$ on music today. If this job works out well, I can justify that to myself as an investment... if not... I'll cry myself to sleep tonight.... again.
So heres the thing.. I now have 5 books in the decades series... and I am only going to use about half the songs in each(at best). That could make for a large pile of music beside the piano....
At the same time... the binding of the books is done with glue... so they don't lie flat on the piano... meaning it's damned near impossible to play from them....................
::::::: Festival accompanying... David.... book closing.... argh..... eeep!!!:::::::::::::
My original thought was that I should have them rebound... simple enough... they just slice off the glue and then stick a coil binding spiral in it. BUT this is my plan-
I will get them to cut the glue bound bit off.. then I will take out just the songs I want... organise them alphabetically into 2 or 3 books that I can use rather than 5! Once they are organised, I can take them back to be bound together in neat books that will suit my needs quite nicely.
At the same time, it's going to be a fair chunk of effort on my part... right now, I'm figuring out which pieces I want to use from each book.... I'm discriminating based on whether I know the piece or not as well as whether or not it would be appropriate for background music.
Fun Fun Fun!

so, we realized today, right after the first afternoon class of musical theatre that today was my last day playing for those classes...
Next week, I miss my afternoon classes because of the dress rehearsal for a choir concert... and then the next weekend... I will be moving away!
It's all happening so quickly. I found a substitute for next week, but I'm still waiting on the final word to make sure that I actually am taking that job.... with that, I also have to find subs for the remaining classes of the year for all my ballet classes. The afternoon shouldn't be a porblem,. Im sure hte lady doing it next week can do it for the rest of May too...but the morning classes... eep, that could be hard... we'll just have to see what might happen.
I need to make a list of the stuff that I need to get done before I leave... but I need to talk to the boss guy to find out details.
I need to know what kind of stuff I need to bring.... if it's a hotel/lodge... I might not need to bring my own towels and that sort of thing. I don't know what the food scenario is.. is there going to be a place to cook there... a place to buy food? I need to find out about computer/internet access... not just to post on my blog.. but I also do banking on here AND I am going to have to do my Registration online too... and if I'm stuck out there til Sept long, then I will need to make sure that it's available.
Lot's of things coming in the time before I leave though.. so it won't be a bland time....

So, I was a little anxious about today. Today was the day I was supposed to call the factory back and find out if they would be hiring summer students. I was expecting that they were just taking their time, and I would have to spend today calling people trying to make sure I CAN acquire work doing music in the summer so I'd have things to do after working at the factory for a month.
No worries though.... turns out that the factory won't be hiring summer students at all this year. They aren't planning a heavy workload, and they won't need extra people even with people taking summer vacations. In other words... I don't have an option... while I had hoped to have an alternative option to moving away for the summer, I don't.
Now I just await the specifics from the Lounge Piano job and hope that it is worthwhile... cause even if it isn't.. I might have to take it anyway, cause there's even less worthwhile, in terms of making money, here in Winnipeg.
I shouldn't be so negative, this job will be fun and involve music... I just didn't want to have to work the entire summer. I wan't some time off to make room for random fun... eeek... anyway, I will have to make sure to get in all sorts of random fun related trouble between now and when I leave.
Every summer I can remember since high school.. I've done something wild and crazy on the spur of the moment, or I made it as spontaneous as possible..... New York, Chicago, last years random bus trip... I'm a little frightened to be tied down to a workplace... especially involving every weekend....
Oh well... new experience... new opportunities for fun!

So yes, I'm offically finished, and it feels great!
I have to decide on who I want to study with next year for Composition. My current prof told me I should put some thought into who I want to study under... he wanted me to feel free to chose from any of the three options. I had been planning on just continuing with him, mostly because I don't know what to look for in a composition teacher. Today I'm going to talk with one of the other profs and see what I think.
I had a meeting yesterday with a a musician who has a prominent position in the Dance world. I had booked the meeting a month ago, as part of my plan to get to know more about my options for working as a musician in dance. He outlined what I would need to do if I wanted to be a rehearsal pianist for a ballet company, the list was something like this:
Tchaikowsky: learn all the major ballets, learn prokofieff'z Romeo and Julliet, find another pianist to work on Petrushka and Right of Spring with, have a handful of piano concertos which you'll be able to play at the drop of a hat, any ballet that you know the name of... you should learn... and your sightreading skills should be equal to your normal playing skills.
Keep in mind that Swan Lake alone is about 200 pages in the reduced piano score.
He told me that it would be at least a 2-3 year venture to get prepared for that, but when I did... it would be impressive to go to any company and say that you could provide them with those services.
I voiced to him that it wasn't that appealing to me. It's not that I don't want to put in that hard work... but we were able to distinguish that, while he loved being an interpreter, I desire to be a creator. He was a little frustrated at the vaguety with which I speak... mostly because I wasn't specific with what I want to do..
He tried to get me to narrow down what I desire: I want to collaborate with modern dancers in a creative manner.
his response was that it sounds like I'm interested in composition.
Why is it that we often need to hear someone else say something about us before we realise it for ourselves?!?
I think, I've realised that i want to be a composer. Being a pianist will always give me the sense of direct collaboration with dancers.. and a practical hand at music always, but I don't think I'd ever be satisfied with interpreting music. Even in a ballet class, I will choose to inprovise music over playing off a sheet, anytime.
For the longest time, I've felt that improvising is somethign that anyone can do, and it shouldn't be a special skill that i have, wondering why other people don't do it. I think now that I originally (when I was a little tyke) would improvise because I had a creative spark and needed to explore that. There is no doubt that it has been improvising which has led me to look into composition, so maybe I do have an inherent compositional disposition.
ANyway, the big reason why I was hesitant about the program at Simon Fraser is that I wasn't sure if I was ready to basically stop being a pianist(ie stop taking lessons as a focus), but I think that I will be.
The ballet, yesterday, lent me a giant book with all the contact info of every school, company, choreographer, musician and composer in Cda, Usa, Internationally.. who put an advertisement in this book... it's huge! I'm going to go through it and find some contatacts and start asking questions.
theres enough rambling for one day.... off we go

maybe writing my Advanced Analysis paper and my Piano rep paper so close together and at the last minute wasn't such a great idea.... my piano rep paper was basically a detailed harmonic analysis... with intermittent comments about pianistic style... Nevertheless, it came easily enough to me. I actually really enjoy doing analysis.
The moral of the story is that I just finished and printed my piano rep paper off... meaning that I simply have to take it to the school and then hand it in and then play my jury, and then I'M FINISHED!!!!
I practiced last night, and feel prepared enough for my jury.... although I'm still congested and not in prime condition, but you know what... I will play well, just in spite of that!
anyway, i still need to shower and find some clothes for my jury today, then bus to the school.... I also need to fill in my rep log... fun!

2 down, 2 to go!

I just got back from the school where I handed in both my Analysis Paper and my Viola composition. I feel fairly relieved, but I still have work to do.
Tomorrow, I need to have my Piano repertoire paper done, and I have my jury at noon. This means I have to have my paper finished and printed tonight.. as I don't have a car tomorrow with which to do my running around.
I'm still not really feeling any better, and my nose burns from being overblown.
I'm looking forward very much to tomorrow, when everything university-related for me is done!
Anyway, just one more night of staying at home and getting work done, then its....
I really want to say "Party time" but thats a lie.. tomorrow night, and during hte day I'm sleeping !!!!!!

Holy moly, do I ever feel like absolute crap. I'm absolutely miserable. I want to die.
I could have been happy to sleep all day today, but I had my usual long-ass day at the ballet. It was long, and we had a family photo taken in the middle. So actually, the day went well, but I haven't been enjoying it. I have the devil/angel shoulder thing happening, where I really want to just go to sleep, BUT I NEED to have the analysis paper done for Monday, and the Piano Rep one should be done then too, but I think I can push the limit on that one a little more.
It's so hard to concentrate with the congestion and pounding in my head, but I'm gonna force some productivity out of me tonight, and then go to bed nice and early.
-ouch

WHat a day:
I was supposed to have an interview 2 hours out of the city, but when I called to double check in the morning, the guy was running behind and wasn't gonna be able to make it out there himself, so we had the interview at my house.
This morning, I was feeling icky from a cold/allergies, whatever, so I took cough medicine... it tasted terrible.. but not normal terrible.. my stomach gurgled... and gurgled then I looked at the expiry date --Feb 2004-- eek! by this time my stomach had made it's mind up... BLURGHSGHKGIYUSKHD
Pukey!! luckily all I had in my system was the litre of water I had drank before that.
Once it was out of my system, it was fine.. im just congested and blaghy anyway.
Back to the interview--
He had me play some different kinds of music, and he was impressed by everything.
Basically I have the job. He guarunteed me full time hours (plus), and he doesn't seem to be picky about what I do when Im not playing the piano. The only thing that he cares about is that Im there for every weekend -especially long ones- until Sept long. This is understandable, as resorts have their busy times at those times.
This musical work would be a delightful mix. For Weekend brunches, he wants relaxed upscale music- my specialty! Theres also evenings.. he said he wants some more upbeat music for the lounge/tavern....
This sounds like a super fun job opportunity... and I should be more excited...
I'm just not excited about not really having a summer with friends and whatnot. I would be moving away from the middle of May until the beginning of school. Theres also concerns like making sure I have access to a computer so I can make bill payments and register for school and whatnot.
Im pretty sure I've decided to do it, but I'm waiting to hear back from him about wage specifics and some more details, because let's face it, I'm there primarily to make money.
So yes, I will be moving away for the summer, BUT it's only an hour and ahalf away... so EVERYONE has to come up there and visit me... just think, you can come drink in the lounge/tavern while I play beautiful or fun music... and then in the morning, you can soothe your hangover over brunch with tender piano music gently carressing your aching ears!
OK! it's decided, I'm excited now.
Other things about today:
I finished my Viola composition. I made the changes and details requested by Sarah and by my prof, so it's good to go! now I just need to get it bound and we're set!
On that topic, yesterday I had great lessons in both composition and piano. my comp teacher said I have a flare for composing, and David told me I'm in 'good shape' for my jury.
Still to get done this wekeend are my two papers. The one for Analysis is the primary concern, as it's due date is more solid AND it is a more academically demanding paper. This one has me a little worried, but no, it will be good. I've devised, what I think to be, an exciting form to the paper which is creative enough to spice up the fact that it is a musical-analysis paper.
here we go!

Am I wrong, or did the term "stoked" not go out of fashion quite a while ago...?
twice in the last few days, I've heard/read people I know using the term..
I've always clumped that word in with surfer talk... like 'tubular' and 'cowabunga'....
tee hee hee, now I'm having flashbacks of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Anyway, maybe it's just the fact that I don't use a lot of slang, and when I do, it's in a mocking fashion.....
However, there was a guy I met through one of my friends who actually did use ALL sorts of out-of-date talk. He used the word 'rad' like it was going out of style... only, IT DID GO OUT OF STYLE -in the early-mid 90's! Anyway, this guy was too much to handle, and I feel he was the wayward influence of one of my afforementioned friends.
NOW-back to the real-world.
Last night I was totally PMSing (def: Pissy Michael Syndrome). I think I'm better now, but oy was I ever pissy and flustered and grumpy. Nevertheless, I got a few things done on my list of goals:
I finished(ish*) my viola composition! The other composition has been printed and bound. Today I hand in the bound copy to Fitzell and I am officially done with that one! yay, thats a good feeling!
*this is my first draught, today I have my lesson with Fitzell, and he will give me suggestions and tell me the things I have to fix, then I will fix them, print it, get it bound, and be done with it!
I practiced a bit last night. During the day I had worked on increasing speed in the Scarlatti. I did make it to the tempo that David told me to play it at, but it feels a tad out of control. I know this will go away with playing it over and over again, but I would have liked it to be more secure for my lesson today. The Rachmaninoff--eep, I just don't know. I went over the tricky bits to make sure they were secure in the fingers, so thats fine. I practiced the loud parts a little understated, and with lots of direction so that they build in intensity to the climax-I'm just feeling a bit uninspired by the piece lately; mostly because of the way I played it at CMC. Oh well, today I play for David and he'll give me the magic list of things to do before my Jury, and all will be well(i choose to not mention the work I'm going to have to put in because I have so much other work to put in elsewhere, but all WILL be fine!)

I believe many people enjoyed yesterday's post about the pie-adventure.
I believe that there is enough interest to perhaps plan some sort of mass pieing event this summer... let me know what you all think.. and if you would be interested...!

Now on to today's events. I wrote my 20'th Century exam this morning. I feel that it went reasonably well, and I'm not worried about the outcome. I'm glad it's over so that I can move on to the other things I still have to do. At the same time, this exam marks a big event in the time at U of M Faculty of Music. This was the last course which the majority of people are required to take. Next year there are no more large classes that we will all have in common. Specialization and separation are kicked into motion hardcore. I think it's a good thing, and I'm excited to concentrate on the things that are more specific to me.
All in all, I enjoyed this course, the prof was really good, and presented the info in an excellent way, where you actually felt you were learning things along with the projected plan! And I leared so much about, and how to appreciate new music.

So yes, the current state of affairs is: 1 exam down; 2 papers, a composition, and a jury to go!

PIE PIE PIE!

It was last summer, the weather was great..
The grass was green and something was in the air...
....

it was pie!
This was a plan that Fi and I had for a long time, and that was the day to make it happen.
We went to the store and bought pie crusts and filled them with whipped cream, then got my dad and sister outside to capture the event on film.

we both wanted the event to be exciting, so we each posed for preparation pictures.

The pie fi was to have thrown at her was filled with both regular and chocolate whipped cream, mine was just regular.





Then it was time for the excitement.

This stellar picture was taken as the perfect action shot!

You can see our excitment!

And then.....

the aftermath.....



As you can see, it was a delighful experience!
We were both well pied. As you can tell, Fiona's hair really enjoyed the pie.
Things we leared from this experience:
Whipped cream kind of stings if you get it in the eye.
Nevertheless, Pieing is FUN!
Whipped cream really kills the grass that it lands upon: for the rest of the summer, the grass in that spot was dead! I think it's better this year.. but only until we do our next pie-extraveganza!
Even a little grass in your pie won't hurt!

Yes, we did sit there for a while eating pie off the front yard... then we sprayed each other with the hose to slightly clean off..... not very effective....

In conclusion, this was a wonderful experience, and I highly recommend it to all!

Ich habe eine Haircut!

ma tante vient de me couper les cheveux.
She cut it in the back yard so we wouldn't have to worry about cleaning up or vacuuming or anything.
it's not too short, but a nice length for the summer.
IM SORRY TIFFF!!!!!
but I have a feeling that you were more concerned about me GETTING my hair cut ,rather than the opportunity to cut it...
although I'll probably want another haircut during the summer when it gets long again... and I'll track you down! Yer still my funnest hairstylist when you got all pro and had hair things hanging from every part of you.
I had a second shower today, just now so I wouldn't be too itchy. Now, I'm uber clean!

I didn't get enough shit done today.... but my papers aren't due til later than I had thought. I practiced a wee little bit today.. maybe half an hour.
However, i did get my remaining cd's from Jonny so I can actually study for the exam on tuesday. YAY!

Easter weekend is over for my family already. This evening we ate Easter dindin... it was very good... we had ham, not dindon....
This has been a kick-ass weekend with Heather and Gareth in town. I don't get to spend enough time with them, so it's fun while we have the chance.
The weekend included: the zoo, gelati, a movie, drinking.... ya, the weather was also beyond awesome.
They leave tomorrow, back to Thompson.
we also had a birthday dinner for my dead grandmother, she paid... yesterday. Grandma's birthday was always the time of year that my aunt Linda would come in town.. so why let a tradition die, Linda came in this week, and Heather and Gareth being here was a perfect opportunity for a family-fun filled weekend. Grandma's tax return brought a close to her financial existence, which outlived her by quite a bit! The last of her monies were spread between her children, some charities, her church, and then one final birthday dinner.
It's been good weekend so far, but yes, not very productive... I've been very easily distracted from my studies and assignments.
BUT I've been making good progress on my viola composition AND I got Sarah to play it for me, to make sure that it's a plausible piece. There were no technical impossibilities, and she was glad that it was "playable", in contrast to a lot of modern music that is awkward to play on... well really any instrument. I was very glad to hear it, and I have written a fair bit more since then, so yay!
umm tonight I went to the opera! Marriage of Figaro. It was wonderful, but oh so long! 3 and a half hours! I was also tired, so interest was not at an all time high, but I didn't fall asleep AND I was able to clearly understand the actions and story the entire time! I'm too sleepy to give a review at the moment, but overall it was a successful performance. Nothing was really spectacular, but everything was acceptable and enjoyable.

I think I really enjoy modern dance.
I've had really good experiences these last 2 days accompanying modern classes.
If I am going to have continued experiences in dance, it will be in the modern vein.

I slept last night, almost 8 hours. I feel good. Last night I felt bad... I had only slept 3 and a bit hours, then there was a long day with stress and some not-so-happy feelings. I felt like I was going to die. Yesterday morning, I just thought I was coming down with some kind of sickness... then I woke up this morning and realized that it was just pure unbridled exhaustion. It's insane how much effect it can have on you to simply not have slept enough.

Today, after dance class, I took back a bunch of books to the library and went for lunch with Deena. It's been a good day.
My aunt comes in town today, for a week long stay. Tomorrow Heather and Gareth are in for the weekend.... 6 people in the house.... eek!

Well, I'm consistent.
I got an 82 in both round of CMC. The thing is that while it's good enough to get to the second round, its not sufficiently good to go any further.
The comments from the same judges as last time seemed like it was from completely different judges... but thats because I probably sounded like a completely different pianist today. Everything that all 3 judges said leads me to believe that I didn't listen to myself at all today. I played very heavy, therefore Mozart was uncharacteristic and Rachmaninoff sounded blasty and insensitive.
It's odd that I felt terrible about Sunday, and they liked it; today I felt a lot better about it, but they didn't like it. I need to be more in touch with my own musicality. While you should be able to lose yourself in a performance, you should be able to look back on it objectively... something I've lost sight of.
Anyway, I've actually learned a ton from this experience, and their comments are extremely well put and helpful, I just wish they reflected on my normal playing, but that's my fault for not playing that way today.
The true excitment of today is that, having finished with this weekend, I can say goodbye permanantly to:
Mozart Sonata K.331
Brahms Intermezzo(and Cappriccio)
Scriabin Op. 49
Bach Prelude and Fugue in G Major
PDQ was already gone, but added to the list is Rubinstein, which I won't have to relearn this summer.
In fact, in 2 weeks time, I will be completely done with all of this years rep and ready to start on next years!
However, still on the waiting list for this year is my Jury of 10 minutes of music(Rach and Scarlatti), a paper on Brahms, a paper on Kindertotenlieder, and a viola composition, plus the actual process of printing and binding my compositions. I just called the university copy centre and I should be able to get them done for cheap there.

Well, I'm consistent.
I got an 82 in both round of CMC. The thing is that while it's good enough to get to the second round, its not sufficiently good to go any further.
The comments from the same judges as last time seemed like it was from completely different judges... but thats because I probably sounded like a completely different pianist today. Everything that all 3 judges said leads me to believe that I didn't listen to myself at all today. I played very heavy, therefore Mozart was uncharacteristic and Rachmaninoff sounded blasty and insensitive.
It's odd that I felt terrible about Sunday, and they liked it; today I felt a lot better about it, but they didn't like it. I need to be more in touch with my own musicality. While you should be able to lose yourself in a performance, you should be able to look back on it objectively... something I've lost sight of.
Anyway, I've actually learned a ton from this experience, and their comments are extremely well put and helpful, I just wish they reflected on my normal playing, but that's my fault for not playing that way today.
The true excitment of today is that, having finished with this weekend, I can say goodbye permanantly to:
Mozart Sonata K.331
Brahms Intermezzo(and Cappriccio)
Scriabin Op. 49
Bach Prelude and Fugue in G Major
PDQ was already gone, but added to the list is Rubinstein, which I won't have to relearn this summer.
In fact, in 2 weeks time, I will be completely done with all of this years rep and ready to start on next years!
However, still on the waiting list for this year is my Jury of 10 minutes of music(Rach and Scarlatti), a paper on Brahms, a paper on Kindertotenlieder, and a viola composition, plus the actual process of printing and binding my compositions. I just called the university copy centre and I should be able to get them done for cheap there.

I did not sleep well last night at all. 3:30-7am is not nearly long enough.... BUT, I couldn't handle any more time in bed anyway. My jaw tension was at an all time high, I can feel it down into my chest and back. I know I could feel much better if I just took one of my muscle relaxant pills, but here's the thing(s):
I recently finally read up on them, and it seems that prolonged use of methocarbamol can cause the following:
-inaccurate blood testing results in diabetics
-breathing difficulties and respiratory problems related to bronchitis and whatnot
In other words... I haven't been sick with bronchitis for months and months.. my body has just been telling me to stop taking this drug. Well, it's a theory; side effects are always possibilities, but I stopped taking them just incase.
I'm trying to decide to what degree I am addicted to them, but I don't think it's high, if even at all.

On a brighter note, today is the second round of CMC. I fell pretty good about it. I practiced last night and almost went home not feeling confident about certain sections in the Mozart. I ended up reconsidering, and then staying just under an hour longer, but during that time, I kicked those sections' asses! Unfortunately, its the hard parts that have never really been perfect, so I'm not sure if one night of hard work will magincally fix everything. It's the kind of thing where I should have been working with that kind of intensity everyday, day after day until the section felt completely comfortable, dare I say, played itself.
I had worked on the Rachmaninoff earlier in the evening, only technical stuff, so I was unsure if everything would stick in the memory... It was SO good. Im super glad it's my closer...either one could have been closer:
The Mozart Turkish Rondo- energetic and flashy close...but it's not feeling all that secure
Rach- not flashy at all, but it has a tremendous power in the mood and colours, It will have the audience eating out of the palm of my hands, but they won't be holding food obviously, I'll be playing piano, silly!
Now, I'm off to work... subbing for some dance classes today. My first experience playing for a modern class setting.. and its for the senior professional program.. so it's a bit of a big thing. Nevertheless, I feel good about it, and I will learn so much, just in this first hour!
toodles!

just a quick update

yesterday was the first round of CMC. I actually got really nervous before I played..... this never happens! As a result I didn't play my best. During the Bach, it seriously felt like every 15 seconds I felt like I was going to completely crash and burn. As a result, my rhythm was not steady at all.. and I tensed up. Their comments both reflected the rhythmic instability and lack of varied texture...things that I had worked really hard on getting right! BAH! I really don't feel good about the performance, but as I had said earlier... I got whatever I needed to get on to the next round.. so now I just have to work hard to get past the next.
Nevertheless, I got a high enough mark to go through to the next round, so on tuesday I compete again.
The judges' comments were great, and I got a chance to talk to them afterwards. They told me that I was an excellent musician, and commented on how they enjoyed being able to just sit back and enjoy the musical ideas I was presenting.
I'd like to say that today would be devoted to practicing for it.. but I also need to get work done on my composition, and my papers. But tonight, I'm going to the school and I'm going to practice these pieces until they are perfect!ish.
Outside of that, I managed to pick up a few extra shifts this week subsitituting for dance classes, so yay money!
Some spring cleaning has been forced upon me, though not very successfully. I got a new (very old) bookcase which now houses all my paperback books...it was crazy to realize how many books were lying on the floor.. and just how many books I have in general.
oh well, back to the books and the keys

great lesson today. I played the pieces for my second round of CMC and David was quite happy. The Rachmaninoff was not so comfortable in the memory, so I'll keep working on that... but David was most impressed with the Sonata.
I was early in thinking a month ago that I could be done with some rep... but after tuesday, I will be officially done with these pieces... except for the Rach for Jury.
Tonight I played on the piano they are using for the competition. It's not an ideal situation. The sound is hard to manage... the piano gets really mushy in such a live accoustic. The church is oddly shaped and the sound at the keyboard sounds nothing like the sound in the audience. It was good though to have some other pianists in the audience for the sound checks, and the lady running it gave some good pointers. She told me I seem to have a good handle on the piano, so thats good enough for me.
Tonight I did a little little bit of practicing, then watched a movie with Deena.
good night

delightful day

i finished that musical theatre recording last night-dropped it off for her today and got paid 25$. I also got paid 25$ from a singer for festival accompanying. I ALSO got my GST cheque... so I'm rolling in something.... mmm dough... mmm cookie batter!
speaking of that musical theatre piece... the music was totally lifted from a Grieg Norwegian Dance for piano, 4-hands.... Eleanor and Kim played it in recital the other day..... and the music I was given doesn't make mention of it... maybe I could cause a copyright scandal... meh, not really worth the effort. Just another example of how musical theatre ruins music in general.
Tonight I have to kick my own ass and make all my repertoire shiny and well prepared for this weekend... I have my lesson tomorrow and I have a feeling David will not be happy with my level of preparedness. This is not a good feeling, and it really doesn't reflect well upon me. The conceptual plan was that I was going to keep the momentum of the recital going, and apply the dedication I showed to everything I do. It appears I have failed at that task. Nevertheless, it is not too late. I have been known to do great things in a short period of time... and I shall do so tonight. I know that David won't be happy for tomorrow's lesson, but tonight I will have started the ascent to the high level of kick-ass that I will have reached by this weekend.
Before practicing though, I have plans to go to Value Village for fun times. I want to buy overalls...and I think they have gone out of fashion, therefore there is a chance that I might find some there. I also need to buy some t-shirts for summer!
SPeaking of summer.. the weather is amazing... perfect weather right now. Not too warm, but warm enough that you can wear just a long sleave shirt or sweater and be comfortable without a jacket! I thrive in this weather!
On the summer work front... I still haven't heard back from the factory job... so I'm a little worried, but I'm getting creative about things to do for work if I can't... I'll still look for a full time job... but the contemporary dance school is still running for a few months... I might get work there... I could add on a part time evening job... also I might get a job as a lounge pianist.
It would be exciting if I could work all music related jobs.. although I am aware that it would be hardest just to find the job opportunities.
ANyway, off to do things!! new (used) clothes and practicing galore await!

Ich bin so stupid!

I had such great plans of getting that recording done this evening after jonny's recital..but alas no.
I left the laptop at home, so I had no means of making a quality recording!
I did practice the piece some more, so it will be that much more secure tomorrow night when I try again. And I practiced the Beethoven... I started with a few key areas that I know are tricky... but I played it through planning to stop when I had flubs.... even just little ones..... I barely had to stop!! It felt so good to know that I can make it through the whole pieces with minimal problems...
Tomorrow is going to go well! Then there will be another thing completely finished for the year.. bringing the total to 2; cantata, and chamber music... ooh all done with ensembles.
Jonny's recital was great... and with a grrrreat closer... hopefully we have set the trend for others to follow. I think its a great thing to have a nice professional and serious recital with a quirky finish that really highlights the performers love for music and the enjoyment they get and give with a performance.

I'm sitting here thinking about how insane it would be to have a recital still looming over me at present. Granted, I picked a stupid time to do it, but any later would have been silly.
Tonight I'm going to my friend Jonny's recital. After that, I need to record an accompaniment for a musical theatre song. The piece isn't difficult, but since the recording is going to be used in public for a dance festival, I am aiming for perfection as the starting point. I just hope it won't take me a million takes due to little mistakes randomly here and there. The other top priority for practicing tonight is my Beethoven Piano Quartet, which we perform tomorrow. I really enjoy playing with string players! In terms of preparation, I need to really drill the technical bits that are a little tricky so that they will go smoothly tomorrow.
Also tomorrow is Jason and my presentation on Arvo Pärt. We both feel pretty confident that it will go well. It's going to be very off-the-cuff, but we know the broad topics we will cover and each of us has the responsability of talking in detail about certain aspects. Anyway, I won't spend too much time here on that subject because I feel well informed and prepared to teach the areas on which I will focus tomorrow, which are:
-playing a piano piece as an example of his early tintinnabuli style
-leading/accompanying a class singalong using the tintinnabuli technique
-presenting a walkthrough of the formal analysis of Pärt's Magnificat
I think I won't worry about other things until after I have presented and performed tomorrow.
Once these things are done, next on the list is the CMC on April 9 and 11th. Pieces needed to be ready and in good shape are: Scriabin etude, Bach, and Brahms Intermezzo; then Mozart complete sonata and Rachmaninoff. Of these, I need the most work on Rachmaninoff, then mozart, then tidying on Bach, and the other two just need to be rebuffed.
I need black ink for my printer so I can print my now premiered* piece and get it bound for submission to my prof.
* The performance on monday was great! I got such positive feedback from both the performers and members of the audience. The performance was true to what I intended, so I know that what people thought of the piece was actually a reflection of my work. I talked with my comp prof and he had good things to say, as well as some suggestions as a discussion about what I can learn from the situation and apply to the future.
I think the big thing is that the piece was very tonal, and comfortable for the composer, the performers and the audience. Not to say that it shouldn't, but I need to step out of my comfort box and do things that aren't necesarily just due to habit. This is the big task for my viola piece. I have a gesture/main concept which I am both supposed to hold on to steadfast, but also branch out from. This will give the piece a kind of unity, yet also have variety and tension. It will be a very interesting experience, this viola piece.. but yes, exciting.

I spent about fifteen minutes on a couch tonight very angry at my phone because I couldn't figure out how to use the voice dialing thing.... I was under the impression that you had to record a voice tag for the phone numbers and that was what the phone could relate the voice to. I finally figure out that no... it jut recognises the language/// super smart technology.
But I shan't rave about the smart tech stuff.. it got me in trouble.... When it asked for a name.. I yelled "whore" into the phone and the first name on the list of possible matches was Deena.. I thought it was hilarious.. she was less impressed. My friend Amy from school came in second...
It's not my fault that this technology is so smart.... haha jk.
Anyway, it's very late, in fact it is one hour later than I wish because of daylight savings and whatnot. Tomorrow is a busy day with choirs and choirs and more choirs.... from 2:30-9:30 my day will be overrun by choir type things.
good night.

Today was pretty darned awesome... Spring Break means no ballet, meaning I didn't have to work or wake up for work.
Last night was the quasi practice-a-thon... cause it got cancelled, but Dianne, Brendan, Deena and I were there at the school all night. We actually didn't practice, rather watched dvd's. It was fun, but a bit of a waste. Getting home from knitting with Fi at 1am, I would have done some composing, or gone to sleep had I known that there wasn't actually going to be any practicing.
Nevertheless, there were pancakes this morning. Banana Chocolate Chip... yummy! That made it all worthwhile.
Tonight I'm going to a BBQ for a friend I haven't seen in a long time. After that, who knows. If my parents are out, I will practice at home, if not, I might go to the school, or who knows.
Today I practiced My Beethoven Quartet, and I feel good about it again.. still more tweaking to do, but it will be great for wednesday. I also worked a bit on the Pärt piece for 20'th century.. it's short and easy notes, but i just played it over and over again to get the feel of it. It's starting to make sense to me, so I can make the phrases mean something to the listener. I still want to do lots of work on Mozart this weekend, and I should be working on Rach, and Bach, and Brahms, oh and that Scriabin etude... sure.
Oh ya, I have a cell phone, now Im all technological! It's a necessity, and I don't know how I feel about it quite yet. At the moment, it's seeming too much like a toy.
anyway, bye