Concert Tonight!

We have a Fairbanks Symphony concert tonight featuring Giora Schmidt at 4pm at Davis Concert Hall. It's a Brahms concert, so we're playing the Violin Concerto (Giora's cadenza in the first movement is impressive to say the least) and Brahms' first symphony. It is going to be a great concert.

I have a lesson with Minna today before the concert which is a hard thing. Instead of preparing for the concert I have been getting some difficult passages of the Saint-Saens Concerto up to speed. In all honesty, I would rather be working the concerto anyway.

On an entirely different note, the weather during the last week has been amazing. During the day it has been above freezing almost every this last week. The cold temps are supposed to come back soon but hopefully I'll be in Mexico on my cruise by then. I can not wait. I have never been on a warm beach before, or on a real vacation for that matter, and after this winter I think I'll want to stay there.

(Tomorrow is the big day. The sex of the baby is to be determined. Any guesses?)

Touching is Good!

Nintendo said it best when talking about the DS, "Touching is Good." And it was good...and is good. I love my DS and still play it (when time allows (stupid full-time job)). So naturally when the iPod Touch came out I knew I had to get one. An ample supply of Amazon Gift Cards made the purchase possible and the Touch is currently on its long journey to Alaska...I think.

I received conformation of a ship date with an estimated date of arrival for Feb. 1. They (Amazon) allow you to track the package through them, and the carrier, USPS, does as well. Amazon tells me my package has been picked up in Kentucky, while the USPS says they tried to deliver it but couldn't so they left a notice. The problem with this is that I have a P.O. Box...mail is not delivered to my house. So where did it get delivered to? Usually when a package comes there is a notice left in my mail box, which means I have to wait in a line for 20min to get some gum-chewing lady with a mustache to roll her eyes at me and eventually fetch my package. However if that was the case why does it say that they will try to deliver it one more time then it goes back to the sender?

I guess there is only one way to find out...check my box. That would be awesome if it was here, but I doubt it. Nothing is ever quick or easy at the post office.

Internet Frustrations! (rant-tastic)

It has now been one month since the Internet guys over at Acetekk said they would come out and hook us up...they still haven't. We were told they would definitely be in our neighborhood on Friday. They better be hooking us up while in my neighborhood.

The weather gods have turned their smiles into frowns. +30 degrees last week, -26 degrees today. The temperature changes here are more than extreme here...I can't take this anymore. Two more summers to go, then I'm out of here.

On a different note, we have an ACO (Arctic Chamber Orchestra) concert Saturday at 8. I'll be happy for it to be over simply for the fact that there are just too many rehearsals packed into 2 weeks. I'm ready to get back to one a week with the FSO (Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra) next week. We have Giora Schmidt coming up for our next FSO concert. If you don't know who he is check out the video of him playing the Kreisler Recitative and Scherzo for solo violin on You-Tube. Come to the concert. He'll be playing the Brahms Concerto in D.

The ACO concert will be good as well, we have Massimo Mercelli who came all the way from Italy to play the flute with us.

On yet a different note, we had our first ultrasound last week and everything looked great. There is only one baby in there (**few**) and it is very active. It wouldn't stop moving the whole time the doctor was probing. Less than a month until we get to find out if its a boy or a girl. I'll keep you updated.

Get me outta here!

Hell.

Hot or cold?

I believe that hell is personalized for the displeasure of each individual guest. That is why it is no surprise that 40 degrees below zero, the current temperature, is my own personal hell.

Why would I say something like that?

Glad you asked!

Earlier this winter I noticed a draft coming underneath our back door. I taped it up with good old red duct tape, which stopped the draft. This red duct tape is now covered in ice crystals. Yes, there are ice crystals forming inside my house; and not just there either. Our mentally challenged handyman has an incredibly poor work ethic and has been asked to fix our window…over four months ago. I understand that he has brain issues and his mother is most likely his sister, which probably caused his…umm…current mental state, but now the window is coming open from the end that is supposed to be attached to the wall and more, yes, MORE ice crystals are getting into my house. Our heater is holding up thus far, but heating fuel costs big bucks and I don’t want to use more than I have to.

Yesterday Beth’s father and I changed the transmission fluid because the cold made it really hard to shift gears in our manual transmission SUV. Earlier in the year we attached a battery heater and an oil-pan heater to make sure that our car would start even in the dead of winter. This morning our car would not start. All bets are off at 40 below. I am told now that it would have started if we had a block heater in it the car would have started. How the hell am I supposed to know that? Cars don’t need to be plugged in where I come from.

Let’s keep the fun going!

More than 20 below, or should I say less than 20 below…if its colder than 20 degrees below zero, the kindergartners do not get to go outside for lunch recess. Part of my job is to carry lunchboxes, open milks and ketchup packets, zip-up jackets, put on mittens, and supervise the small ones while they eat and then play outside. This becomes a problem when we can’t go outside. You would think that, since this probably happens every winter, they would have some sort of indoor playground the wild animals could play on when it got too cold. Not at my school. During an indoor kinder lunch recess I am forced to play games like Red light/Green light, Duck-duck-goose, and Simon-says (all fun) in the dance studio, and do a little kid exercise video in THE MIDDLE OF THE HALLWAY. There isn’t a class where I can hide my embarrassment from all of the other adults and judging preteens. There I am, in the hall, dancing with 20 kids and a cartoon koala.

Yes, a cartoon koala.

Why me?

It’s so cold that the Internet is not currently working. The Internet is actually frozen. I didn’t think this was possible. But in a 40 degree below zero hell…anything can happen.

(Written at 9:00am Alaska time, on Word in the midst of extreme boredom)

New Subtraction, New Addition.

Subtraction first. Christmas break means a subtraction from the amount of hours that I will have to spend at work. Two weeks of R and R in Washington, with a little cello thrown in there. I am fortunate enough to be able to take a couple lessons from my college professor and my childhood teacher; but that means traveling with my cello.

Now Addition...well new addition...as in a new addition. That's right, Beth and I are now expecting. Beth is, according to the nurse, about 2 months pregnant. By the time we get back from Yakima in January we should be able to find out what sex it is. We are really excited and ready for this step. Well, as ready as you can be.

Beth's father informed us that on her mother's side twins are somewhat prevalent. Having twins would be the best and worst case scenario. We get more kids out of the way at once but we also have to go through all of the normal baby issues times two. The good thing is that I would have the makings of my piano trio. No need to worry yet.

Saint-Saens Concerto

I have two weeks between lessons and a lot to accomplish in that amount of time. Although its double the amount of time, I know it will pass in a flash. I wish I could go back to the days of practicing 4 hours a day, then I would have this piece in no time.

I now have less than a month until I get to go home to Yakima for Christmas break. Unfortunately, since my cello is still unisured, it will have to stay here for the holidays. I am supposed to have a lesson with Kevin, which is going to be difficult if I don't have a cello to play and practice on. Not to mention I hate going anywhere for a long period of time without my cello. Its kind of scary leaving it behind, who knows what could happen to it.

Back to the concerto: I am working on sections F through H which starts the fast section. If you have heard or have played the concerto berore, then you know the section Im talking about. Im supposed to have it learned by the 8th. Wish me luck.

Army Base Oddities

For those of you that don't know, I currently live on the back end of an army base. Army bases, I have learned, run by a very odd set of rules that I am learing as I go. I have to show my I.D. just to get to my house everyday. But that is to be expected in today's political climate. However, there are some strange things that take place that Im starting to notice.

A few nights ago Beth and I were driving home, a helicopter passed over us, which is normal because our house lies in the flight path to the base airport. However this particular chopper pilot decided he would follow our car with its spotlight which scared the $h!t out of me. Its pitch black on our drive through the woods and then suddenly the area around us was drenched in sunlight. Naturally, I shouted impolite insults at said helicopter and drove home.

There is a back way to our house that takes us along the iver and through the woods on a gravel road. You rarely see more than one car during the trip to the alternate gate. One night a few weeks ago, we were driving down the road, a little faster than the limit, when I saw four dim red lights floating no more than 50 feet ahead of us. As I approached the lights, still going faster than the limit, my headlights showed that it was one of the Amy's six-wheeled tanks driving ridiculously slow using their night-vision only. The four floating lights were reflections from their rear lights, which weren't in use. I had to slam on my breaks to avoid killing myself. Pissed off, I drove around the tank as fast as I could.

After driving around the next corner I had to salm on my breaks again because of another six-wheeled tank driving by night vision, this time in my lane coming at me head on. Naturally I put on my brights, because I hear that sucks with a pair of night vision specs on. Perhaps they will learn better, although Im going to guess not.

I need a new word to express how cold it is..."freezing" no longer works!

So I made it to Alaska, and have survived thus far. We already have had over 9in of snow and the current highs for the week are under 18. Fall was absolutely beautiful here but it was very short and winter will be, on the other hand, very long.

Things I didn't know of or experience before I moved to Alaska:
1. Cars need to be plugged in at night because of the cold.
2. Wolves might eat your dog if its outside for too long.
3. Moose are giant and do exactly what they want when they want.
4. I now have to bring water to my house and fill up a tank (which is underneath the house) If I would like running water.
5. I also have to haul my own trash.
6. Kids still get to go outside at school if its -10 degrees.

Now What?

The year is done. College is done. Its hard to believe that after 17 years of school Im finally done! The senior recital went well and now its time to prepare for auditions. Im also currently working on repertoire for a recording that I could use as a kind of calling card. Any suggestions? Oh yeah, im driving to Alaska in a week (I'll let you know how that goes).

On the Eve of Spring Break

It's finally friday! Midterms and auditions are done and Im getting out of Spokane as soon as possible. Im headed up to Seattle with Beth to try out some new, very expensive cellos; it's going to be sweet! We're also going to go to the EMP or the Zoo and do the normal amount of site seeing that you have to do while in Sea-town.

The weather is great today, so get out and do something!

Anxiety, Bus Rides, Panic & Relief!

Last night I decided that I should have a good night's sleep so that I would be totally ready for the audition...but of course I couldn't have slept for more than 3hrs. I finally woke up (got out of bed) and rushed out of the door, without the breakfast I had planned on eating, to the bus stop with my guitar, cello, and messenger bag. I barely made it through the bus doors becasuse of all of that luggage I was carrying, and when I eventually sat down I took up 4 seats.

When I finally got to school I let myself in to the practice rooms and set to work trying to practice all of my difficult sections. I finished 10min before I was to start the audition. It was at this point that I realized that I had left the programs at home and was forced to go upstairs and type out a new one.

The new program ended up having 3 typos and I left out two movements of the Bach. I ran downstairs and handed out the mediocre programs, sat down and, since my pianist wasn't there yet, statrted with the Bach. ( Now, at my last lesson, we decided that the Bach would go in the middle of the program because it is really hard to play when your nervous and your hands are tense, so naturally it went first )

Greg eventually showed up and we played the rest of the music. I tryed to do my best impression of a virtuoso cellist while still concentrating on hitting the notes, well...most of them. They deliberated for about 10min, then Kevin brought me into his office, and with a cold stare on his face, told me that I passed.

I still have a lot to work on but at least this stupid audition is out of the way. The Recital is set for Apr 21st, 2007 at 1:00pm...its official.