*head cocks to side confusedly*

Furries are in the news... but they're being called "teen wolves?"

Adorable. You can see the confusion in the newscaster's eyes.

Apologies

Please don't ever do the following to a person.

Person: I'm really sorry.

You: No, you're not.

In my opinion, it's unbearably rude, and it's quite hurtful to the person making the apology. It also forces the conversation to stay on the topic of what the apologizer has done wrong, which is kind of unnecessary, because they already know they've done wrong. Hence the apology.

Also irritating: "'I'm sorry' isn't good enough."

If it's in the past, then there's nothing that can be done about it. So move on.

Does anybody else do that thing where they play imaginary conversations/monologues in their head, just in case the situation ever arises where you might need it?

Does anybody else spend time inventing an imaginary apartment complex so everyone you like is within close reach?

Does anybody else sit at the traffic light and play that game where you try to get the timing of the light to turn green right as you say go? (Assuming that you can't see the one for the street perpendicular to the one you're on, because that's cheating)

Does anybody else plan out the books they're going to have on their shelves when they have their own house and a steady job and stuff?

Does anybody else get really excited about series of something, and then watch/read/listen to the entire body of work in like a week?

Or is it just me?

I'm going to bed.

My dad is the editor of our local newspaper. Today, he told me he wanted me to come in and count quarters he collected from newspaper racks.

I spent almost four hours turning this:

Into this:

It was mind-numbingly dull.

There were $2,476.25 worth of quarters.

10 quarters per stack, with 4x10 groups of stacks. Each group had $100 in it.

But I wore my new shoes that I got yesterday, and they kept me comfortable as I stayed on my feet:

After I was done, I went home and transposed some music for alto saxophone into concert

pitch, so I could play it on the flute for Joseph… Dreamcoat.

While doing so, I found this nifty little notation anomaly:

For those of you who can read music, finger through measure SOMETHING. See if there’s anything weird about it to you.

For those of you who cannot read music, I’ll tell you what’s weird about it.

If you look at the notes in measure SOMETHING, you will see that the noteheads progressively rise from the beginning of the measure to the end.

However, the accidentals in front of them mean that the third note is actually lower than the second note.

In other words, IT’S STUPID AND MISLEADING.

Thanks, Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Thanks.

The show looks really good, though! Come see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as presented by the Davie High Arts Department on May 27-30 at the Brock Performing Arts Center!

• Tomorrow morning, my sister and brother-in-law are going to Uganda.
• Last night, my choir director had a heart attack. He's alive, and evidently he's doing better, but still. He had a heart attack.

If you're a praying person, then pray for them.

If not, then think about them.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

I'm playing in the pit for my high school's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. When I first got the music, I checked out a recording from the library and listened to it... and was appalled.

Evidently the original broadway cast was atrocious.

I'm pleased to report that our production doesn't make me cringe in pain (unlike the original broadway cast recording). In fact, it's quite good.

However, this musical contains the most random, unnecessary reprise that I have ever encountered in my experience with musical theatre.

There's a scene where the Pharaoh is explaining his dream to Joseph (in song and dance, of course... it IS a musical). At the end of the scene, Joseph walks up to Pharaoh and says (I'm paraphrasing): "I'm sorry... I missed something. Could you do that again?"

So he does.

Really, Andrew Lloyd Webber? REALLY?

Whatever. Anyway, come see the show!

Summer

In my final essay for my expository writing class, I wrote of the cold, clammy grip of my hometown. At the time, I thought I was simply being fantastical with my sensory language, but I have returned home, and found that my description was accurate. I love seeing my family, and there are some old friends here that I am glad to spend time with again... but this place is going to drive me mad if I have to spend too much more time here.

The following will keep me sane:

• practicing. The focus of learning new music, and of learning a new instrument, will give me a distraction.
• reading. Evidently I'm an escapist.
• getting a job. having a paycheck will give me the sense of moving very concretely towards the first thing I will be doing when the summer ends- Austria.

I miss my brothers.

Um... evidently my piano teacher here at OU is retiring. And I heard about it second-hand from my big, who was playing in the commencement band via text message.

WHAAAAT? Why didn't he say anything? Is he still going to be my piano teacher next year?

In packing, I have thrown away so much stuff that is actually very useful... it kind of bothers me.

Laundry detergent, pencil sharpeners, various over the counter medicines, laundry hamper, those snap-top plastic storage units, just ridiculous amounts of things.

And now I'm hungry, so I'm going to make a betty crocker quick and easy thing.

Things I'm going to miss about Norman this summer

• T.E.A. Cafe
• Eskimo Sno (Why did I not discover this place sooner?)
• The Caf (I know... weird, right?)
• ripping CD's from the Fine Arts Library
• Going to the Mont after Chapter
• SAI Bake Sales
• Raising Canes
• Hearing the organ in Gothic Hall every day
• Orange Tree ---> Orange Leaf
• the most unpredictable weather I've ever experienced
• The complete lack of orange
• BJ's <------ it's a restaurant.
• Sooner Rocks
• biking almost everywhere I go

Austria

This summer, I'm going to the Classical Music Festival at Eisenstadt, Austria. The plane leaves on August 1, and I'll be there 'til the 16th. We got our scores for the music we're singing today, and I'm so excited.

We'll be singing Mozart's Requiem(which I have learned already, but never got the chance to perform because of tonsilitis) and Haydn's Mass in a time of War (Paukenmesse) and Te Deum.

By the way: I'm freaking excited.

That's me being excited, by the way. In case you couldn't tell.

I'm finished with my finals

So, it's a little past midnight on Thursday of finals week. I'm finished with school completely. As soon as final grades are posted, then I will officially have enough hours to qualify as a sophomore at the University of Oklahoma. And that is so very surreal.

This year I have:

• changed my mind about six million times about what I want to do with my life
• become a brother at the Mu chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
• learned and performed music by Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Scriabin, Chopin, and Debussy on the piano
• sung in Mendelssohn's Elijah with an orchestra
• made crepe desserts at a fair
• marched in a 300ish person marching band in front of thousands of fans on multiple occasions
• survived a tornado
• learned that I really want to be a teacher
• made a bunch of really excellent friends
• discovered an issue that I care a lot about, and want to work to improve
• discovered the minimum amount of sleep that I require in order to function the next day
• made a music video
• more than doubled the amount of music that I have on my laptop
• premiered a piece of music
• developed more efficient practice habits
• grown (somewhat) into more of an adult than I was before I went to college (I hope)
• had more late-night conversations than I can remember
• developed a love-hate relationship with Burger King
• stumbled across a newfound love for snowcones and stir fry (not at the same time)

And more. I've become very at home here in Oklahoma, and I'm going to miss being here this summer.

I had my jury this week, and I played well! I made some very silly mistakes that I'd never made before, but then again, that's live performance. They didn't slow me down any, and that's the important part. I have music picked out for next year, too.

I'm happy here.

I need to finish packing tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to having an apartment next year. My roommates are spectacular.

Rage against notebook checks

Notebook checks are possibly the most irritating grade a teacher can take. Organization is not my strong point, and because it's not my strong point, I have developed my own system that works for me when it comes to keeping track of assignments.

I am 19 years old. I have just completed my freshman year of college.

If I can't keep track of my assignments and handouts, shouldn't that be on my own head?

And even if the teacher IS going to assign a notebook check, why should format be one of the things we are graded on? Why should I have points taken off if my folders show up in alphabetical order instead of the order listed on the rubric (A rubric which, by the way, said NOTHING about having the contents in a specific order)? All of the items were clearly labeled, and there was no question about where things were.

It's just stupid. I started having notebook checks in like middle school, and now that I'm an adult, I should be expected to keep up with a notebook without having it be graded for things like the order it's in.

IT'S JUST DUMB.

I have an album of music on my itunes account, and I don't know what it is.

This irritates me... WHAT IS IT?

It's gorgeous, whatever it is.

:)

Lesson

How do you know you're not going to have a good lesson?

• When the first thing that comes out of your teacher's mouth is, "you were supposed to be here 30 minutes ago."
• When you actually were not supposed to be there 30 minutes ago, but your teacher is stubborn and insists that you are incorrect, although you've been
• When you're coughing up phlegm and matching pitch is difficult, much less achieving a beautiful tone.
• When your teacher cannot remember basic facts about previous lessons, like what pieces you're doing, the name of your accompanist, or whether or not you are taking primary or secondary lessons.

These are all signs that your lesson will not go well.

Summer is soooooooooooooo close.

So very very close.

This semester is throwing a little temper tantrum on the floor, trying to make everyone as miserable as possible, although it knows it won't get its way in the end.

Help!

So, I have this cough right now. And tomorrow is my last voice lesson of the semester. I'd like to leave a positive impression, not the "my voice is in shreds right now" impression.

To make matters worse, I have my voice jury in less than a week.

What am I supposed to do now?

Fragments

• It only got better because I was focusing on how mad I was at you.
• I think you're wrong. I don't think it would be as much of a problem as you think it would be. But maybe I'm just being optimistic and hopeful, as I am prone to do.
• You are amazing, and I appreciate that you have suffered through with me.
• Um. That needs to stop. Now. Seriously, you sicken me.
• That too. Except with a different interpretation of sicken.
• WE NEED TO TALK. I have the feeling this summer will be filled with storytelling. And I'm totally up for that.

I WANT THIS SEMESTER TO ENNNNNNNNNND.

If you can sightread all of your exams and still make an A in the class, then the class should not be required for your major. You should be allowed to test out of it and not have to waste that part of your life.

Step off. Get away from him. He deserves a lot better than you've treated him, and I can't stand to see him so miserable. So step off.