Happy Reformation Day/Daphnis and Chloe

Because I am a Lutheran girl, I wish everyone a Happy Reformation Day this October 31st. :-) 

Possibly because of the Lutheran-ness, I've never been a huge fan of Halloween. To me, this is just a means of getting to Thanksgiving and Christmas (much superior holidays). However, I must admit that this holiday is more annoying to me since my move to Boston and a drunk dressed up fireman on the T got a little too friendly my first Halloween here. Public transportation here on Halloween is much more worse than after a rousing game between the Red Sox and the Yankees. Prime example: tonight at the sane hour of 8:30 pm, someone threw eggs at the train I was on. Yuck.

This week has been better. Things are finally getting a little less stressful and busy, although now I'm filling up time with practicing instead of rehearsals and concerts, so everyday is still a pretty full day.

This past Monday's orchestra rehearsal was a little hard. We've started Daphnis and Chloe (the entire ballet) for the Symphony Hall concert on Nov 24th. While I have never played the first part, and have only done the second suite (basically the third part of the entire ballet), once we got to the part where the second suite starts, I almost broke down. It has way too much sentimental value to me to slam through it in a bad sight-reading session of the BU orchestra. Both the infamous "French concert" at Eastman (possibly the best orchestra concert I played in while there) and the "hodge-podge" concert at TMC (definitely NOT the best concert, but still pretty wonderful) featured the second suite from Daphnis. As much as I love living in Boston, have made good friends, finally have a teacher who is giving me a hundred percent all the time, and am even working as a professional, I miss Eastman and my time at TMC daily. Daphnis and Chloe brings those memories back with a full force. Once those stupid bird solos started I almost wept openly.

Anyway.

Ten Things I Wish I Could Say to Ten Different People Right Now:
1. DON'T change a composer's marking - he knew what he was doing.
2. I got some good practice time in this week - I promise next week's lesson is going to be much better.
3. I'm upset about your choice, because it has affected our repartee as a whole.
4. Why??
5. Lets play SCRABBLE!!!
6. You really do need to wash your hands BEFORE you touch a violin. I can see grime on your fingerboard!
7. I am so grateful for you everyday, for everything you both have done for me here in Boston.
8. Would you like a pistachio.....?
9. I'm so confused.
10. Would Baba like some bunny pasta? (response: he doesn't have a mouth!!)

Nine Things About Myself:
1. I like winter.
2. I only do laundry about once every three weeks. I don't have time or money to do it more than that. This is made possible by Victoria's Secret - because of the free panty coupon I get about once a month, I have enough clean underwear to last about 6 weeks.
3. I am addicted to sleep. Seriously. Addicted.
4. I don't practice enough.
5. I make too much coffee every morning and end up throwing a fourth of it away every day.
6. I prefer to be busy; if I'm not, I sleep too much and watch too much tv and waste the whole day.
7. My dental insurance expired when I turned 23. I haven't had a teeth cleaning since Dec 2006.
8. I could watch episodes of Frasier all day and not get bored.
9. I enjoy sitting in the back of an orchestra section - its more of a challenge.

Eight Ways to Win My Heart:
1. Clean my apartment.
2. Let me borrow a favorite book of yours that I've never read.
3. Give me a shoulder rub and don't ask for one in return. (selfish, I know)
4. Play scrabble or boggle with me.
5. Buy me sushi.
6. Smile and hug me when you're happy to see me.
7. Play chamber music with me.
8. Love me despite my many faults.

Seven Things That Cross My Mind a Lot:
1. We should call the landlord and see if the shower water pressure could be stronger.
2. I'm doing a doctorate and all this work - what if I never get hired at a college or university?
3. I desperately need a haircut.
4. I really need and want to visit Denver.
5. Prayers for health of my family.
6. Guilt for not calling those I miss and love more. I'm terrible at keeping in touch.
7. Guilt for not practicing more.

Six Things I Do Before I Fall Asleep:
1. Change into pjs
2. Prepare the coffee maker and set the timer
3. Set my alarm and check it multiple times.
4. Brush my teeth
5. Wash my face
6. Get music and class binder together and in my violin case for the next days rehearsals, classes, etc.

Five People Who Mean a Lot:
1. Mom and Dad
2. Heidi, Whit, Holly, Tony, Hannah
3. Adelaide and Finnis
4. extended family
5. Molly

Four Things I'm Wearing Right Now:
1. Blue jeans
2. Tank top, then grey sweater, then Tanglewood fleece (its COLD up here in VT)
3. Thick socks and clogs
4. Brown belt

Three Songs I Listen to a Lot:
1. Brandenburg Concerto No. 6
2. Hung Up (Madonna)
3. Ravel Piano Concerto (second mvt)

Two Things I Want to Do Before I Die:
1. Travel around Europe for a whole month.
2. Play a concert I feel 150% prepared for.

One Confession:
1. Since living in my apartment, I always buy more milk than I can consume before it goes bad. I've thrown away more spoiled milk than I am proud of.

I'm in Manchester.

Its beautiful up here - this is my sixth fall tour in a row.

I'm finally able to relax and breathe - my life has been too much of a whirlwind lately, and I am able to get some much needed rest at the moment.

Thats all I really have to say at the moment. More relaxing with wine, good friends, and tv is calling my name.

I'm killing time at the library before the big trumpet concerto performances tonight at Tsai. We are accompanying the three finalists for Cornell's Trumpet Concertino (sp?).

My life has been a complete whirlwind of activity, but with the passing of this week (Firebird concert in NYC done and over) and this weekend (a big one for me - my first as concertmaster for the Sunday Bach cantata at Emmanuel) life will get a little easier. Just a little.

Fortunately, some of the immediate family (Mom, Dad, and Hannah) are coming this weekend to meet Finnis and visit with Heidi, Whit, Adelaide, and me. A BIG unfortunately, Holly and Tony can't join us. :-( WE WILL MISS YOU!

Happy Birthday Kimby!

I know it was yesterday, and I will call...... I hope you had a wonderful day!

I'm swamped right now and getting up at 6:30 in the morning to head to NYC for a Firebird Ensemble concert - so goodbye for now.

Disappointing debate and Dr. Beat

I'm sitting here watching the VP debate, and it is frustrating me to no end. Everything is "Your guy voted this way" and the response is always "No he didn't! Thats a lie!!"

(sigh) I don't get it. Either he did or he didn't. How can there be so much "yes you did" - "no you didn't" back and forth and back and forth and BACK and FORTH? Its on a record - somebody isn't reading the records right! Either you DID or you DIDN'T! THERE IS NO MIDDLE GROUND! ITS YES OR NO!

Maybe I'm just not used to presidential debates. This is the first debate I've watched and paid attention to (although obviously I've gotten sick of it, now that I'm writing here) for a presidential campaign, and its not even the presidential candidates but the VPs. In any case - its driving me nuts. However, I will say that they seem to be overly nice to each other. Interesting.

I am seriously considering moving to Canada and staying there for the rest of my life. Good grief.

Onto now a different separate, serious, very tragic note:

Dr. Beat, my trusty, loud, rhythmically intricate metronome with twenty buttons that became a dear friend for now 6.5 years, has died. The circuitry is shot. I have simply dropped it too many times; it has been used for too many years; been carried around too many miles. It was my high school graduation gift from Heidi and Whit, and it was used and loved well all through my undergrad and masters years. All those CCE rehearsals, all those orchestra excerpts practiced for TMC and excerpt class to make sure I'm always steady while playing the Scherzo mvt. in Schumann 2, all those hours with a drone to help me play in tune. It has always stayed in my violin case, which means I carried it as much as my violin around. I am actually pretty devastated about this, and will be asking for a new one for Christmas. As silly as that sounds, a simple metronome after a Dr. Beat would be too hard - I have come to depend on it specifically.

If I had a backyard, I would bury it. Since I don't, and that might be a little insane anyway, I'll keep it for awhile for the fond memories.