My favorite chocolate chip cookies

My favorite recipe was shared with my family by our former neighbor, Sherry Burkhalter. She's an awesome lady who also is an amazing seamstress (like my mom!). It's similar to the standard recipe, with a bit of different proportions, of course.

First you start with some sugar and crisco...(mix).

Cute little round ball of tightly packed dark brown sugar.

The beginning.

Add pretty eggs, mix again. Nothing unusual.

eggs!

In a separate bowl, be sure to mix the flour and salt and baking soda. Flour: you must NOT let the flour get packed or it won't turn out right. Scoop the flour with NOT the measuring cup, and don't tap the cup or the flour will settle and it'll be too much. I guess normally this may not be too big an issue, but with this recipe, there must be a higher flour to everything else ratio than normal recipes. So, be sure the flour mixes with the salt and baking soda, or else one cookie will be REALLY fluffy and salty, where the rest will be flat and ... not. Ask me how I know.

All ingredients about to be friends.

Ok, now here's the fun part: mixing in the flour into the dough. Be careful here and don't get impatient, because if you add too much flour at once, you will look like this:

Don't be like me.

No, I didn't do this today while cooking -- I actually just played with flour to demonstrate what you could theoretically look like if you were impatient and dumped an entire cup of flour into the dough at once. More commonly, when you get impatient, there will just be a lot of flour dust all over the counter surrounding the mixing bowl.

Also, careful with your mixer here, if you are using a handheld one. The dough gets pretty thick. Today, when I was at the end of this step, my handheld mixer actually broke. Horrible metallic sound, then the smell of burning.... something. I would say oil, but I don't think mixers have oil in them.... so, be careful. I usually use a stand mixer, because they are heavier duty, but I accidentally left it in Alabama, so have to go back to get it this December. I only have one thing to say about the poor little mixer: I'm glad I only was making a half batch, or else these cookies would have taken MUCH longer!



Don't forget the vanilla! I forgot to take a picture of the vanilla, but don't forget the vanilla. I can't tell you how many times I have forgotten to put in the vanilla - it's easy to get excited after all that mixing. ( "Yay, cookies! EAT THEM SOON! Chocolate chips now!" *20 minutes later* "oh yeah .... I forgot vanilla." )


After vanilla...

Ready for chocolate chips?  Also pictured: sad mixer.

Stir in chocolate chips...

So tempting...

THEN, important tool: The awesome cookie spoon! Warning: do NOT use this spoon for ice cream. Trust me, I tried once. Broke it. This spoon is one of those super awesome self-emptying ones, but is only to be used for soft things like cookies, not hard things like ice cream.

Best spoon ever!

Space the cookies carefully ...

Perfectly spaced.

Cook for 8-10 minutes .... then enjoy.

Aren't they beautiful?

Yummy cookies.

Those who Served

Today, and every day, I am thankful for those who have served, and those who are currently serving in the military.  I personally only know a handful of veterans, so only have a small glimpse of the personal sacrifice given to serve our country, but I am thankful.   Although I wish that we lived in a world where we did not "need" a military, where war doesn't exist, I am still so grateful for those who chose to serve... so that humble musicians like me can have our "normal" lives and don't "have to" serve.  (Granted, I know I wouldn't make a very good military person, so I'm also glad that no one has to rely on me for protection -- they'd be doomed!)

I am kidding, a little, but there's actually real truth to that also.  Sure, perhaps I could do what was needed, but I'm a musician...

...and as a musician, I have no idea what our veterans (and those currently serving in our military) have to live with on a daily basis.  I try to imagine, but realize that I truly just don't know.  I live in my isolated little world, and don't have the firsthand knowledge of what our veterans have gone through.  I maybe never will, but I would like to at least express my gratitude.

This humble musician thanks you.

New musical adventure: Taliesin West

I will explain more about this soon, but for now....

Today (and yesterday, for rehearsal) I had a new musical adventure:  I played piano as part of a memorial service celebration of life at Taliesin West.  Family and friends of Cornelia Brierly got up to speak about her life, how she inspired them and what she taught them.  She had the distinction of being involved in the designing of Taliesin West, I think, and lived and taught there her entire life.

It was largely a joyous occasion of remembrance, though there were understandably some tears among the people attending.  The most remarkable part of this whole experience, though, was the way her personality and person really came through in the stories and thoughts people shared.  I did not meet this remarkable lady, but the inspiration she had been for so many people...it was powerful.  I was an outsider in this group of people, but I still felt like I knew her, through their stories.  It was a wonderful return to perspective, seeing this group of people, so sincere in their love and strong in their memories of this remarkable lady.

I met a few people after the service, who shared stories of her and of Frank Lloyd Wright, Taliesin West, and the love for music held by so many there.  It was so obvious how many lives this lady impacted throughout her life.  It was a happy reminder that if you pour your life into people, wonderful things can happen.

Amidst the day-to-day, week-to-week graduate school grind, I needed the reminder that people are always the most important.

I Drive a Future Lemons Car

"  Hey, can we borrow your engine?  "

Today, I was reminded about Lemons...not the fruit, the "race."   Lemons races fall into that "different" category for sure.  As crazy as they were, the Lemons races at CMP remain some of my fondest and craziest car memories. (Other ones: saved for later.)  If you haven't heard of these races, they are spoofs on the famous LeMons, and the basic rules are: Take a car valued at $500 or less, add safety equipment and pick a team "theme," and try to get the most laps over 2 days.

The first year, our awesome and spectacular team drove a 1986 (?) Ford Thunderbird, AKA the Deathmobile.  Too many mechanical happenings to list, but by the end of the race, we were limping along at 38 mph top speed, earning the "most likely to leave in an ambulance" award.  (Note: We obviously didn't, as were were quite good at staying out of the way.)

So, we decided heavy and slow was the bad plan.  Now, go for light and breakable.  And, hopefully fast. (Note: Faster than my daily driver.  Not actually fast.)   Enter the 198x Honda Civic hatchback.  Civics are everywhere, and they are not expensive, so ... it was an obvious choice.  The only problem?  Something about an oil pump and only right hand turns and ... bad things.   Other than that, they are bulletproof, just don't expect to crash and keep the car in one piece.

So anyway, since they are all $500 cars, you can imagine that most people bring as many spares as possible, and DEFINITELY as many tools as we can.  I was fortunate that pretty much every single person other than me on the team were very, very mechanically savvy, so I didn't have to poke around and go, "Hmm......"

Evening of day one race, and our neighbors' civic engine was toasted.  They were calling junkyards and everyone they knew to see if there was an engine they could have for day two...and they were striking out everywhere.  If they could just find an engine, they could swap it out in what, two hours?  One?  I'm not sure what their record was, but they are good.

My very-obviously-stock civic was parked kinda between our paddock areas.  One of the guys (don't remember who) pointed to my car and goes, "Whose is this?"  Chuckling to myself, I smiled and said, "Mine."   He goes, "So, you know ... any chance we could borrow your engine?  We'll give it back after the race tomorrow."
...
At that moment, I knew that I just HAD to let our neighbors borrow my engine. After all, what's the worst that could happen?  My engine could explode and then I couldn't get to work or school?   Nah, that'd never happen.  I have really good "luck" with my car. They had my engine out in an hour, even though it was kinda scary to watch. ... and the race went on the next day.   They were eternally grateful, and did a great job of reconnecting everything the next night so I could get to work.  It was so stressful to watch my only car be taken apart, that I swore I'd never do it again!

...  Ok, so the above paragraph didn't happen.  The question was NOT asked seriously, and I laughed and replied, "Sorry, not my daily driver..."   But they DID end up finding another engine, or fixing the toasted one, and finished the race with no problems.  And everyone noted that we shouldn't tempt people by bringing the most popular engine in all of Lemons.  (I think my engine fits in all models of civics or something, but don't quote me on that.)


Randomly, I am reminded of those experiences, and I laugh.    Yes, I am sure I look like a crazy person.  I'm that crazy person, laughing to herself while standing at the bus stop, or walking somewhere throughout town.

Crazy, perhaps.  So glad to have been able to have such good, crazy times with some of my favorite people?   Absolutely.

Below, Lemons 2011.  Happy times!  Miss you all.  From what I heard, y'all placed pretty high in the standings this year... Good job!  Wish I could have been there, but I will return.  Just thinking about it makes me grin!

Roundhouse Kick Racing: we are ALL Chuck Norris

Before the "parade."   VW wheels, cheap paint, denim fabric, and lots of sharpie-penned Chuck Norris quotes

Music (of course) and... Football?

[... but not at the same time.]

Music

First, "mandatory" music anecdote:  I have learned that if you are playing in a large ensemble, and are worried about proximity to percussion ... then wearing an earplug in one ear, for the last 1/3 of a piece, for the first time during the performance...... just *might* not be the best idea.  I feel like it saved my hearing, but I felt majorly handicapped for the last 50 measures of the piece.  Next time, if I need an earplug, I'll practice with it too.  It turned out fine, I am told, but it was not an aural experience I would like to repeat.

That being said, Schwantner's "From a Dark Millennium" was REALLY fun.  I would be really happy if the opportunity ever came up again to play it again.  Something about playing in large ensembles is just so rewarding.  I think it's because when a group that large really "clicks," it REALLY clicks.  And it's really exciting when that happens.  I love being part of a team like that.

Speaking of teams...

College Football

This past weekend (Oct 6), I actually watched part of a football game -- I saw the Gamecocks pretty much destroy Georgia.  I think it was the first SC game I have seen any part of...  but you know what?  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I actually enjoy sports in general, but watching sports instead of participating is sometimes the difficult part,  because I miss the limited team sports I used to be involved in.  Anyway...

I've realized --again-- that I am a really dreadful football fan.   In fact, for the past 12 or so years, I have almost actively AVOIDED football.   I don't own a television, and I don't keep track of when the games are.   I generally practice or shop during the games, because I know it will be peaceful and uncrowded.  The one exception has always been the Iron Bowl.  As I was growing up, it was the ONE game that we watched as a family.

Maybe I should start there.  Growing up.  My family has never been huge football fans -- casual ones, yes; caring about the Iron Bowl, sure (because that's basically mandatory) ...  We didn't have cable growing up either, so I don't even remember if any of the games came on the four channels we did get.

I was raised an Auburn fan.  My grandfather went to Auburn, both my aunt and uncle went to Auburn, and both of my parents did too.  Recently, my youngest brother also attended there, and is now in the midst of his Masters' degree.  I grew up an Auburn Tiger.

I grew up crying War Eagle.

So, when I wanted to pursue Piano, but Auburn didn't have piano performance anymore ... to Alabama I went.  Of course it was much more complicated than that, with plenty of happenings in-between, but that was the result.  My family occasionally teased me after I had made my decision that the only reason they "let" me go to Alabama was because they didn't offer my degree at Auburn.  (Of course they weren't serious, but it was years before I realized just how fortunate I was to have a family that is pretty chill about football in general.)

My time at Alabama is full of fond memories and wonderful friends, many of whom went to most of the games -- but during my six years of living in Alabama, I went to exactly one football game.  In fact, it remains to this day the only (college) football game I have attended, as I didn't ever make it to a Gamecock game during the time I lived there, either.  (I did, however, go to a baseball game.)

I actively avoided football.  Barely acknowledged its existence ... essentially decided there was too much I wanted to do in  my life to sit down for an afternoon and watch sports.  My excuses included something to the effect of:  "Work/school is more important." or,  "Learning about football would take too much effort and time that I don't have."         So, like politics, I avoided the issue.  Perhaps because I knew that I would never love it as much as so many of my fellow classmates ...  I didn't understand the hype...why a sports game was so important, so I just didn't even try.  Being completely out of the loop seemed like a better alternative than being a bad fan.  I still remember falling asleep during the 2005 Iron Bowl, even.  (I suppose that would technically be called a "low point.")

Lately, though... I realized it's actually something a little bit different.   Even though I haven't been an active football fan, I do still have very healthy "school pride."  I'm happy when "my teams" do well, even when I don't watch the games.  It's not that I don't care ... so why then, did I avoid watching any football for so long?

I think it has more to do with a couple things.  First, feeling like caring about football was "mandatory" -- because most people had such strong feelings about football, and I ... didn't.   I didn't like being told what to do, or how -- or what, to think, no matter who was doing the telling, society or individuals. (I've always been like that. Those of you who know me well have seen that many times.)  Second, my family ties to Auburn.  I suppose I wasn't sure how things would go if I became a huge Alabama fan, so I chose not to enter the potential conflict zone. (ha! excuses!)  Lastly, I didn't want to be a "bad" fan, so I chose "no" fan.

Then this year, I started hearing more about how good Alabama is this year, and realized I was secretly Very excited.  (I guess the secret is out now!)  Last week, watching South Carolina play made me realize that I may not be the most vocal fan, but I am still a fan.  I'm proud of both of my alumni schools, and will be rooting for both of them this year.  And no, I don't think that makes me any less of a fan, that I can root for two schools at once.  I will admittedly never be as big a fan as some, but I have learned to accept that.  Watching USC and cheering them on with my friends reminded me how fun it is to have an excuse to get together.  Of course, it really helps that a few of my friends don't mind explaining "what just happened?" since I still don't always get it.

Anyway, all that to say:

ROLL TIDE!!

GO COCKS!!

WAR EAGLE.




...Just, not at the same time.

Oh, essays...

Currently writing a few essays for a random scholarship I found.  It's interesting what you come up with when you're asked to talk about your "goals in life" for something like a scholarship program.  My plan has always to be as flexible and marketable as possible, and just see where life takes me, but you can't just say that in an essay if you want them to consider you.  So, I've been actually taking some of the "wishful thinking" ideas and putting them into "concrete plans" instead.   Anyone who says that scholarship essays aren't helpful hasn't tried this!

Even if I don't get the scholarship (statistically I'm sure I don't have a very good chance), this was a good exercise in putting some thoughts down.  Later, I may share the interesting parts with you all.

Happy Monday!

Upcoming Music

I think I said this in a previous post, but:

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Dr. Robert Spring teaching here at ASU.

To celebrate, one of the cool things going on here is this weekend of clarinet amazingness (my word), where many of his students have returned for guest recitals and guest masterclasses, held throughout the weekend.  The end of the weekend's festivities is marked by Dr. Spring giving a recital today at 2:30 pm (with many, many guests!).  I must admit, I'm excited to hear some awesome music this afternoon, to start of the week of concerts!  (I personally am involved with three concerts this week - and yes, I'm also excited about those!)

Press release from ASU:
ASU School of Music alumni return for Robert Spring's 25th anniversary concert celebration


This week's festivities:
Robert Spring's recital today at 2:30
Barrett Choir concert tonight at 7:30
ACME concert Tuesday at 7:30
Wind ensemble concert Thursday at 7:30

And last this upcoming week, but the one I'm most excited about:
Thomas Nixon's final DMA recital, Friday at 7:30

Why is it awesome?  Because Thomas is awesome!

Here's the program:
Theme:  all original piano reductions or orchestral works by the composers themselves.

Leoncavallo: Stridono lassu from I Pagliacci
Beethoven:  String Trio in D major, Op 36 (Symphony no. 2)
Barber: Knoxville: Summer of 1915
Ravel: La Valse


I'm so fortunate to have such wonderful colleagues and friends!

Music for the End of Time

Well, it's official!  The first concert of my new home is officially done.

I can now say that I have 1) played on a stage full of fog, and 2) played on a stage while "surprise" bagpipers walked in from the sidelines.  It was awesome.  The piece, written by Michael Schelle, was called "The End of the World," and it also happened to include pre-recorded thunderclaps.  The fog was the most interesting, though.  We only rehearsed with one fog machine, not two, so we had no idea what the end result would be.  My roommate, Qiudi, told me later that the director said something like, "I knew it was all over when I couldn't see Aimee anymore."  We were all just playing our parts in our small bubble of fog.  I remember at one point losing count of the measure number (the ending ~50 measures repeated the same 2-measure pattern until the end).  At that point I thought, "Ok, I'll just keep playing until I can see Prof. Hill again, and hope that the rest of the ensemble has the same idea."  Thankfully, we did -- great minds think alike -- and the overall effect seemed to work pretty well.   I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of the ensemble performances.  It was SO much fun, and I hope I can keep this assignment during my entire stay here at ASU.


The back story...

For my scholarship, I play piano (and sometimes celeste) for the large ensembles here.  That means any orchestra or wind ensemble (or larger chamber ensemble) piece that needs piano, I'm their gal.  It has been an awesome experience, to go from playing under zero conductors for the last few years to playing for six different ones -- it really helped me get well-adjusted again.   Not well adjusted to following conductors -- that part was easy -- but adjusted to counting rests again without cues.  (Also, it should be noted, there are not six conductors for the large ensembles -- this number includes other ASU activities also.)

I must admit, at first I was worried about the transition to playing in large ensembles again.  The last time I played in an orchestra was 2005...in the second violin section...in the very, very back.  Second violin is very different from piano in orchestra -- mostly because you have 7-11 other team-mates to help you out.  So, if you miscount, there are people to help you, including the section leader.  And, well, you have teammates helping you!  Playing piano is a little more terrifying in large ensembles.  Thankfully, it was only terrifying on the first few days -- after I got used to counting 25+ measures of rest without having the other music in my part, it was back to being awesome.  Kinda makes me wish that wind ensemble/orchestra gigs became vacant more often, instead of once every 25+ years.

Anyway...
The orchestra and wind ensemble were very strong -- everyone had worked really hard for this concert, so it was exciting to hear it all.  I only played on two pieces (plus the Messiaen).  They were spread throughout the concert.  Because of this, I didn't get to see the concert from the audience, but I did get to hear from backstage.  It was so interesting, playing on such a large stage again -- it's been awhile.

My favorite aspect about playing with large ensembles is the fact that we are such a large group of people, a team, but can also be one single unit.  When things work well together, they REALLY work well.  I love the sheer energy you can feel on stage with that many people -- it's a different kind of performing somehow.  You can't always trust your ears 100%, because if you do, you will be behind.  Instead, it's a cross between what you hear and what you see.  That takes a bit of getting used to.  As a pianist, I can't "sneak" in like I used to be able to on second violin, ha!

Now that I'm adjusted to large ensembles again, I can't wait for the rest of the music for this semester:

Schwantner's From a Dark Millennium
Missy Mazzoli's Still Life with Avalanche
Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije
Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite
Ravel's Mother Goose Suite

...I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting, but that is all I can remember at the moment. Have a happy Tuesday!

More random cooking adventures

Since school began a little less than a month ago, I have gotten into the habit of cooking on weekends so I can have food for the week without thinking too much about it. 

So far I have been sticking to simple things, but hope to soon branch out.  Last week, I made a pasta dish:  Rotini with a creamy tomato sauce (and Roma tomatoes!), with sausage and grated cheeses.  Yum, cheese.  Oh, and onions, of course -- the staple of EVERY dish I make, apparently.   It was a huge experiment that turned into a decent success.  Seriously, I just started throwing stuff in a pot and stirring it, and just kinda made it up as I went along. 

Today, I had a recipe I wanted to try.  I read the ingredients, then started my own. I didnt' look back at the recipe once! ... Oops.  Just made it up.  I didn't quite get the proportions right, but here's a general overview of what I did.  

Sautee in pan: onions, bell peppers (yellow and green), carrots (sliced thinly), and Mexican grey squash (in thin small pieces).  Added spinach.  In a separate pan I browned turkey hot dogs (because they were cheaper than turkey sausage), also in tiny pieces. Then, added cheese and stirred it all together.  I guess it's kinda like a Southern stir-fry.  

If I did it again, I would probably add many more carrots and squash -- the onion to squash/carrot ratio is a little lopsided.  I also need to figure out the smaller end of how much butter or oil to saute things  in.  I just kinda guess and always put too much in the pot, haha.

It's interesting, though, because it's amazing just how far I've come in the cooking department.  A few years ago I would have never tried anything like this, despite the fact that this is very simple.   I have learned recently, though, that I very much like dishes like this -- ones where the meat and veggies are actually together.  Otherwise, I find myself just eating veggies, or just eating chicken -- not both.  

The best part about cooking for a few hours every weekend?  I feel refreshed for the upcoming week, and am much more highly likely to actually eat the leftovers throughout the week.   The other best part is that aside from things like sushi, I feel like anything I cook is probably going to be healthier, cheaper, and tastier than store-bought food.  Side benefit: because of this fun cooking "hobby," I haven't been out to eat since early August, right after I moved here.  I haven't even gone to Subway or Chipotle, which is pretty impressive since they are both directly across from the School of Music.

This coming weekend will hopefully be more stir-fried rice with chicken and LOTS of veggies.  More Mexican grey squash (I haven't figured out how it's different from zucchini squash aside from being lighter in color), lots more carrots, perhaps more peas or some beans...and of course, more onions.

Soon, I will write stories of playing fun music with wind ensemble and orchestra, along with fog machines, pre-recorded thunder, and bagpipers.  It was definitely a good way to spend this past Friday evening, so I will try to update about that evening sometime this week.

Afternoon of Crafty-ness: Book Covering

So lately, I have been relaxing (a tiny bit each weekend) by doing random paper crafts. drawing, and writing snail mail letters to friends.  Nothing too crazy, but still, just enough to allow me to be "artsy" without the constant critique of the practice room.  Don't get me wrong, I love practicing!  But practicing is my work.  It's freeing -- the same way a performance is freeing -- to be able to do something artistic without actually critiquing yourself in the search for that elusive highest artistic performance.

Little project -- re-cover an old journal I have lying around.  It's been filled up for awhile now, so I'm not writing anything else in it, but I have at least 3 other small black notebooks just like it.  I can't even remember the number of times I have grabbed this book, thinking it was the current one.

My roommate, Qiudi, was so kind to introduce me to Rubber Cement craft glue.  This glue is awesome, because it is (obviously) rubbery enough to help prevent wrinkles when working with paper.  I never did so well with traditional Elmer's glue, or even glue sticks...so this was great!  

This was my first book-covering experiment, so it's not perfect by any means; however, it was definitely fun!

._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.

First, my tools:  slightly tattered journal, two kinds of paper, and some rubber cement.  The rubber cement reminded me of the glue for PVC pipe, but thankfully it's not nearly as stinky.

Isn't the paper cute?

Yeah, I obviously like this paper.  It's just nice, cool tones.  And whimsical!  I like whimsical.

Apply rubber cement to each surface - then stick them together.  Super easy.  

The first corner didn't turn out quite so well, because I was still figuring out the angles to cut.  No, I didn't pay $12.95 for this small book.  I think it was $3.

From the front (of the back cover).  Not too bad.

Getting ready for the finishing paper.  It's plain white cardstock.  Next time, I will just use plain white paper.  Cardstock may have been a tad overkill.

Finished back cover.  View from inside, plus pretty paper for front.  

Prepping the front - the glue is almost dry.  You can wait til the glue dries to put the paper together, or place them together when it's still wet.  If it's dry, though, you have to put it in the right place the first time, because it won't be going anywhere.

Yeah, I got the front a tiny bit crooked.  Before arranging the corners.

Despite crookedness, the corners turned out MUCH better.

And, a finished view of the inside front cover.  No, your monitor doesn't have spots on it -- that's actually the awesomeness of rubber cement.  If you have excess around the edges, it comes off quite easily in small rubber balls.  Vacuum them up, then you have a cleanly finished book/envelope/etc. with no trace of glue or tape!  I had begun to remove the excess glue here.  This aspect of rubber cement is my favorite.  If you are a bit clumsy and tend to drop things, or accidentally paint glue somewhere it doesn't need to be, the cleanup is very forgiving.

And...

I'm finished!  Back view:

And front view:

 ._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.

I would call it a successful first book-covering excursion.  Next time I think I'll try something a little more complicated.  Fun times!

Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band

Ok, so I'm more than a week late, but I wanted to write a short-ish post about last weekend's concert: Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band.  It was highly interesting, because I had never been to a show where one of the performers also happened to be an actor.  The show actually opened with some video clips from Forrest Gump -- naturally, the Lt. Dan scenes.  Then, towards the last third of the show, they showed clips from Gary Sinise's current show, I suppose.  (I don't own a television, so I had heard of the show but had not seen it before.)

This was the third concert I've attended in the last year or so that I had literally never even heard ANY of the band's music before.  And, it must be noted: Each of the three (yes, these were non-classical) concerts that I ventured out to see ended up being some of the most inspiring performances, in different ways.

Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band was no exception.  They played covers of just about everything -- so many that I can't even list them all.  And they were consistently good. Sometimes the nerdy part of me would admittedly cringe a little at some of the vocal placement or vowels used, but overall I couldn't complain.  (Besides, since they played covers from the last 30 years or so, I think I knew almost everything they played.)  There were four singers total: one male and three females.  My favorite singer was the third female singer - if there was a classically trained singer in the bunch, it would have been her.  Honestly, though, it wasn't even the music that was inspiring.  After all, the songs they played would fall into the category of "fun and entertaining," so it wasn't  really the music itself, necessarily.  (Though, the energy they all had on stage was just great.)

The most inspiring part of this was actually Gary Sinise himself.  He introduced the members of the band, but then when he introduced himself, it was always, "And I'm Lt. Dan, and I'm just trying to keep up."  or, "I just play bass, my job isn't so hard.  But so-and-so, he's amazing, isn't he?"  Always trying to deflect praise from him to his band.  He talked about what inspired him to start the Lt. Dan band, and how thankful he is for the people who serve in our military.   I learned that he has a number of family members who serve or have served in the military, and that he films his TV show five days a week, then travels to do shows on the weekends.  Everything that the band makes, money-wise, (after paying the musicians I'm sure) goes into his Foundation, which is dedicated to helping veterans and current military, in as many ways as possible...

It's just so inspiring to see someone using his resources to give to other people in the way that he does.  He could be relaxing on the weekends, but instead, he spends his limited time off raising money to help other people.  Hearing Gary Sinise talk about something that he is so obviously passionate about, the lives he has touched and the impact he knows he has made on some of the people he met -- well, it gives me a little more hope for people in general.  It's not about him -- even though he could easily make it that way given his "celebrity" status.

For that, Gary Sinise, you have my respect and admiration.  Thank you for breaking the "celebrity" stereotype and spending not just your money but your time.  Time is precious and it's inspiring the way you choose to spend yours.  I can only hope to make such a difference in this world.

Spinach Tofu Pasta Bake

Our Awesome Roommate Culinary Adventure tonight:  a variation on stuffed shells

(ARCA, for short)

The grocery store where we shop (Food City) didn't have large pasta shells, but they DID have all sorts of other pasta on sale for $0.75 per bag, so we went for Rigatoni pasta tonight.  The other day we found the Asian supermarket, Mekong, and acquired the tofu.  Yum!    Blend tofu, spinach, ricotta cheese, garlic together, add mozzarella (on top), tomato sauce, tomatoes, onions, and pasta...and the result is a GIANT casserole bake that cost us a grand total of something like $5.   Leftover servings: seven.  That's probably enough to feed both of us for the rest of the week!   (Of course, spreading out the pasta awesomeness.)

Yes,  Qiudi and I may be a little obsessed with Food City.  I think I've never spent more than $25 dollars there at one time, and that was even buying chicken and tons of produce.  (Yeah, I only buy chicken if it's less than $0.99/lb.)  Their produce is SO cost effective, it's really not worth it to go anywhere else.  The one-mile drive doesn't hurt their case, either. 

Currently, there are 20 avocados in our refrigerator -- they were 5/ $1.00, limit 10 each.  So, we bought 10.  I like avocados cut in half with salt on top, eaten with a grapefruit spoon.  Yummy lunches, they are.  And, I eat them fast enough, they won't go bad.  I could get used to this.  I finally feel like I'm not going broke by just eating!  Produce is less expensive than non-fresh stuff here. It's quite strange.

Now, on to the first FULL week of school.  Soon, the large ensembles will be going, and I will finally have a full schedule!   Goodnight, friends.

Random things I think about...

Why are people so afraid of self-reflection?  Are they afraid of what they will see?  Are they afraid of seeing something they don't like, or even worse, something that they're proud of?  Or something they love?  In our society where outward appearances seem prized above all else, does this mean we have distorted what a ...True person is?    (Sometimes I think so.  Sometimes I think our society and therefore we as a whole do not place enough emphasis on being people of substance.)

The written word is powerful.  I feel empowered when I write.  But, through my writing and self-reflection, I am also even more painfully aware of those things about myself that I want to change.  The insecurities, silly pride, or sometimes just plain ignorance.  There is so much I want to learn about and so much I want to study, and, consequently, so much I want to eventually share with the world...if I reach a point where I am able to share those things.

I want to make a meaningful difference.  I don't want to just be "that pianist" who is good to work with or who does good work.  I truly want to make a difference in people's lives.  I know that may sound silly, since I am by trade a classical pianist -- and who could make a difference doing THAT, anyway?? -- but I truly believe that there is a way.  I will find a way to make a difference.  If I can succeed in doing that, then I will consider my life a success.  Don't get me wrong; there are PLENTY of things I want to do -- the specific list is pretty long -- but making a difference in people's lives is, I suppose, my goal behind it all.  I truly believe that my musical voice is at least a little bit unique -- so if there is a way to make a difference, I won't stop searching until I find it.

Adventures in ...

... Public Transportation

Until moving to Arizona, I had never ridden a city bus in the United States.   Other countries? Sure.  Spain, Luxembourg, Germany ... but never America.  So, at first, it was a very strange experience riding a bus here -- actually being able to understand everything being spoken, what a concept!  (Really, it's just a reflection on my rustiness of foreign languages, but that is a different subject.)  Arizona State has a cool discount program for students called the U-Pass, and it is quite affordable -- and gives students unlimited access to all the bus routes and the light rail.  The bus even stops directly in front of the school of music, and there is also a stop right outside the gate of the apartment.  That was actually a factor in choosing the current abode: how far is it, to walk to the bus?

I have the feeling that I am going to get to know the bus drivers as the semester continues on.  I have observed that the drivers seem to have a good rapport with the regular passengers, though obviously the nature of their job prevents them from lengthy conversations.  Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised, but I figured that since Phoenix is so large, people would be much less warm and approachable than I have found them to be.  So far, I have found that even the complete strangers -- those who have no reason to take time out of their busy lives or current task -- will take time to wish a stranger good day.
--------------------


... Cooking -- with my new roommate, Qiudi!

So, Qiudi and I have been talking about cooking things once or twice a week together.  Our first cooking adventure was Wednesday, and we decided to cook Ratatouille!   It was a little bit of a modified version, because we just used the ingredients we had.  We used fresh tomatoes instead of stewed, added potatoes instead of zucchini, etc.   All together, I think the entire (giant!) meal cost us approximately $6...and we had 8 servings of leftovers after stuffing ourselves.  It was so tasty, and might become a staple.  It's just a nice way to have a bunch of vegetables all together.    Our next cooking adventure will be tofu-stuffed giant pasta shells.   It's been awesome to be able to spend time together as roommates and get to know one another -- in fact, it's only been a week but is so comfortable, I feel like we have been roommates much longer.  It's always awesome when that happens.  AND, we even have the exact same old laptop too!  It was just meant to be!  No one has this laptop anymore -- it's a 2008 model.  Win!



... First day of classes

None of the performance-based classes will be busy until next week, so the first day of classes was pretty relaxing.  I had one meeting to pick up some music and my office keys (I get an office -- shared with two other people.  Awesome!), then our first French diction class.   This class is going to be so much fun!  Actually, the ratio of pianist to singer is about 1:1, which is a very unusual ratio, so the in-class accompanying should be very interesting.  Usually there are 12-15 singers and 1-2 pianists.   We didn't cover too much, since it's the first day, but we at least all met one another and had first assignment/overview of the class.  It is shaping up to be an awesome semester, so far.



Grammar note:   By the way, I have not said this on the blog here yet, but I realize that I have not had an actual grammar class in years even if I write a good bit.  I realize I have family and friends who have much more experience than I do in this area.  Any writing critiques / grammar corrections are freely welcomed, since I am constantly working to improve my skills.


More adventures coming soon, I'm very sure.  Ensemble classes will begin next week, I think, so many fun things to report soon.  New music, orchestra, wind ensemble, and plenty more!

Cooking Adventures and French Cafe Music

This very moment, I am listening to French Cafe music and taking a break from general cleaning of the apartment.  I wrote this post the other day, and am happy to report the pound cake was actually tasty, even if a bit ugly.  French Cafe music makes me feel like I don't live here, somehow ... it's so different and fun.  Good Friday evening music!  And, have I mentioned that I absolutely LOVE listening to French being sung? Reminds me of good times in South Carolina with Jenny...

So, I don't normally post about food on here...but it's also not every day that I make my great-grandmother's pound cake recipe, either.  Since it was a bit of a momentous occasion (and two days til my new roommate arrives! Excited!), I decided to document it.  

The beginning of any cooking adventure of mine lately, involves a text or phone call to one of my friends or family members, because apparently, in the past when I have cooked, I just figured I would remember the recipe for the next time -- after all, I have my favorite cookie recipe down by heart.  Unfortunately, my memory does not work that way, and I forget everything, including simple chicken recipes.  So, step one: Text Mom!    Step two: Buy ingredients, and ask Mom clarification like "unsalted or salted butter?"  I am not sure why I can never remember the most basic things like that.  Perhaps because I can see how you could use both, so I forget which one is actually used on a more regular basis.

Step three:  Wait.  ......  Wait for the ingredients to get to room temperature.   Unfortunately, that took a lot longer than I had budgeted time for, last night.  No worries, I just had my morning coffee and then began baking this morning!

Step four:  Begin mixing things.  ...and creating the most awesome kind of kitchen mess, ever.  I was quite fortunate that it takes an hour and a half to cook these things, because I sure had a huge disaster area of a kitchen to clean while the cakes were baking.   Of course, being the cook, I was contractually required to sample the leftover batter that didn't make it to the pan, and the results were Oh So Yummy.  I couldn't wait to eat this cake!  Mostly, I am very glad that I have friends here in AZ to share this with, because otherwise I most likely would eat the...whole...thing... by myself.  And, that would not help the avoidance of this Type II diabetes that I want to, well, avoid.

(I really can't believe I'm about to make a blog post about pound cake!  Well, I suppose sillier things have happened...)

Step five:  Clean up the disaster area!  Turns out it wasn't quite as bad as I thought, because I created a homemade dropcloth made of blue paper towels (the shop kind, aka the best kind).  So, most of the batter that escaped the bowl landed on the dropcloths.   See, I accidentally forgot to pack my amazing stand mixer, and only have a small hand-held mixer.  It works fine, but I am so used to the mixer sitting still and adding things into the bowl, that my sometimes-clumsiness was in fine form while I attempted to use the hand-held one.  After a few spectacular slinging of batter, I remembered what actually worked, and had more success keeping the food IN the bowl.

Favorite step is the last one:  Eat and share with friends!  Yummy.

Rest - Ralph Vaughan Williams

Continuing the poetry trend, Ralph Vaughan Williams has set the text of this Christina Rossetti poem.  I had the extreme privilege of getting to sing in a chamber choir in undergrad, and this was one of the selections we performed.  It is one of the few pieces that has stayed with me, 8-9 years later.   It just is such a beautiful picture, to me.   Now that I think about it, it's the way Vaughan Williams sets the text that is so touching.  There are a few recordings on youtube if you wish to find them, but I won't put links in here.  (Partly because I'm not sure how the video will embed...)

Why am I posting so much poetry?  Well, I guess because my day-to-day life isn't so interesting quite yet.  But it WILL be -- my new roommate moves in on Saturday!


Rest
-----------------------
O earth, lie heavily upon her eyes,
Seal her sweet eyes weary of watching, Earth;
Lie close around her, leave no room for mirth
With its harsh laughter, nor for sound of sighs.
She hath no questions, she hath no replies,
Hush'd in and curtain'd with a blessed dearth
Of all that irk'd her from the hour of birth;
With stillness that is almost Paradise.

Darkness more clear than noonday holdeth her,
Silence more musical than any song;
Even her very heart has ceased to stir:
Until the morning of Eternity
Her rest shall not begin, nor end, but be;
And when she wakes (and when she wakes), she will not think it long.

Ode, by Arthur Shaughnessy

So, it would seem I am on a bit of a poetry kick lately.

An interesting poem.  I must admit, I'm not completely sure what I think of every bit of it quite yet.  Still digesting it, but I figured I would share.  I may have to go find out what inspired Mr. Arthur to write this.

------------------------------------
We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams; --
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.

With wonderful deathless ditties
We build up the world's great cities,
And out of a fabulous story
We fashion an empire's glory:
One man with a dream, at pleasure,
Shall go forth and conquer a crown;
And three with a new song's measure
Can trample a kingdom down.

We, in the ages lying
In the buried past of the earth,
Built Ninevah with our sighing,
And Babel itself in our mirth;
And o'erthrew them with prophesying
To the old of the new world's worth;
For each age is a dream that is dying,
Or one that is coming to birth.

A breath of our inspiration
Is the life of each generation;
A wondrous thing of our dreaming
Unearthly, impossible seeming --
The soldier, the king, and the peasant
Are working together in one,
Til our dream shall become their present,
And their work in the world be done.

They had no vision amazing
Of the goodly house they are raising;
They had no divine foreshowing
Of the land to which they are going:
But on one man's soul it hath broken,
A light that doth not depart;
And his look, or a word he hath spoken,
Wrought flame in another man's heart.

And therefore today is thrilling
With a past day's late fulfilling;
And the multitudes are enlisted
In the faith that their fathers resisted,
And, scorning the dream of tomorrow,
Are bringing to pass, as they may,
In the world, for its joy or its sorrow,
The dream that was scorned yesterday.

But we, with our dreaming and singing,
Ceaseless and sorrowless we!
The glory about us clinging
Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing:
O men!  It must ever be
That we dwell, in our dreaming and singing,
A little apart from ye.

For we are afar with the dawning
And the suns that are not yet high,
And out of the infinite morning
Intrepid, you hear us cry --
How, in spite of our human scorning,
Once more God's future draws nigh,
And already goes forth the warning
That ye of the past must die.

Great hail!  we cry to the corners
From the dazzling unknown shore;
Bring us hither your sun and your summers;
And renew our world as of yore;
You shall teach us your song's new numbers,
And things that we dreamed not before:
Yea, in spite of a dreamer who slumbers,
And a singer who sings no more.

Being Alone

It's been awhile since I've been alone for an extended period of time.  I think I have most always enjoyed being alone, actually.  I know it makes some people uncomfortable, but I very much enjoy the time to think and reflect.  Moving to a completely new place only seems to magnify this.  It's a good time to reevaluate and start over.  Of course, certain things I don't necessarily want to start over, and will not start over (and don't need to, either)... but in general, it's a nice time to sit down and take stock of the positive changes that Have happened vs. the ones that still Need to happen.  I had almost forgotten the move to South Carolina, but this recent move brought back a few memories.

When I moved to South Carolina, I did a horrible job of (a) telling anyone I was leaving, from what I remember, and (b) keeping in touch with anyone after I left.  I pretty much just left and disappeared.  Part of it I'm sure was a lack of organization, but I have never naturally been great at keeping in touch with people, as some of you my friends well know, I'm sure.  I'm still pretty bad at it, actually.  It's something I am trying to work on, for sure.  I have a few friends I have already exchanged snail mail addresses with, so if you'd like to correspond the super-slow way, let me know.  Send me an email or something to let me know.  Of course, email correspondence is fine too, I just don't have internet here yet. Have to travel for internet.

Being alone.  I don't mind being alone at all these days, and often times like it a lot.  Sometimes it's nice to analyze myself and write thoughts down -- things I want to change about myself or things I have noticed about my interaction with the world or other people.  Sometimes, it's just nice to reevaluate what is truly important to me in life. And sometimes, being without people on which you have relied on in the past (for one thing or another), can be quite the helpful experience.  Not always comfortable or easy, but always helpful.  I don't like relying on people, in general, though I do it all the time and I think it's a very normal thing to do.  I guess humans are at heart social creatures, so we all need one another in some form or another.  Sometimes, though, it's fun to pretend like I'm a solo explorer, ready to discover things that no one else could have possibly figured out yet. Just a Southern girl discovering the desert and enjoying it all.  Nevermind the fact that it has all been experienced and discovered before -- since I haven't experienced it, I can pretend that I'm somehow doing new things.    ;-)

Of course, now that I have internet, I am chilling at a friend's house!  I'm sure my days will soon be filled with not so much being alone, but that will not stop me from enjoying all my moments of being alone before life becomes crazy again.  I may even do something crazy like return to my cross-stitch project after catching up on snail mail correspondence.

Goodbye South Carolina, Goodbye Alabama, the Long Trip and Getting Settled in Tempe

...Also known as the day that would never end.

Has it really been already more than a week since I updated this? It feels like one long day.  Today I will actually have a few updates, since I don't have internet at the apartment yet and tend to write here, then travel for internet.  (We are spoiled with internet in our residences, aren't we?)

But first...a random observation.
Driving in Phoenix is actually quite fun.  There are plenty of cars on the road, which could create problems if people were inconsiderate or bad drivers (though I'm sure there are plenty of those), or there were huge speed differentials like in Atlanta.  Overall, though, it seems like Phoenix-area drivers are actually observant and courteous most of the time!  That was highly surprising to me, somehow.  Generally, on the highways, it doesn't seem like people speed So much -- everyone tends to keep a similar speed throughout all lanes -- and, if you put your blinker on, people will actually adjust speed and allow you to merge if your lane is going a few mph slower than theirs.  It's quite strange and is taking some getting used to.  Then, they have lots of entrance ramps where the ramps are metered during high traffic hours. One car per green light, and each lane takes turns, with really smoothly running results.  People actually merge well here, it seems!  I felt like the out-of-place driver, actually, as I'm sure I was merging a little too close (for their comfort, not mine) behind a few people needlessly.  Good job, Phoenix.  Perhaps my first impression is incorrect, and I will let you know if that turns out to be the case -- but I am impressed with the overall quality and courteousness of driving, so far.  Even on the busy city streets, people are relatively courteous.


Moving...

The day after my last day in South Carolina, was my last day in Alabama.  I left my overnight bag in the moving van, so walked outside around 10 pm Saturday night to get it.  It started like any other necessary errand. I was tired and ready to go to sleep, and only went outside by necessity.  The air was wonderfully humid, the cicadas were yelling their funny song, and the moon was bright.  Standing in the middle of the field, I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the evening, then decided to try to memorize the sky.

I wonder if anyone has ever tried to play the sky.

Somehow, I was looking in the right place, and saw a meteorite fall.  It was quite neat, and I'm glad I could see one before I left.  It was the time with the people, though, that was most important. I didn't get to see everyone before I left, but I did get to see most of my family before leaving on the cross-country trek.  Now that I'm here in Arizona, it was strange leaving the places that I have known for my whole life to move to a place that feels like a completely alien planet.  I don't mean alien bad, by the way -- just different.  I'm excited to explore the area, if I can bring myself to spend the money on gas to actually get out and do it!  That will be the difficult part, but I'm determined to do it -- so, an in-progress list is being compiled of all the places I want to see before school starts.  I'm keeping that list short, for sure, for obvious purposes.

The cross-country trip.   Dad and I left Alabama, drove past Houston and slept. Drove past El Paso and slept again, then drove the rest of the way and arrived Tuesday, July 31, approximately 3 pm local time.  That would be currently Pacific time, since Arizona doesn't observe Daylight Savings time. We were able to get into the apartment a little bit early, and somehow unloaded everything in less than 6 hours (Why did I pack so many books?! I'm glad I put the same amount in storage!), with the wonderfully appreciated help of one of my new neighbors' hand trucks!  He was a very nice young man to allow us to borrow that.  Today (this morning), he returned to pick it up, and mentioned he was moving his girlfriend into a new place today.  I suggested he borrow our furniture movers, so he did!   I hope they helped as much as his furniture truck helped us.  The next three days were spent placing furniture, organizing kitchen and patio, and hanging pictures -- now, all that's left are the little things to unpack.  Books, organizing clothes and cleaning supplies, etc.

The only slightly scary part of the trip was unloading the car from the trailer.  I was reversing off the trailer, and then felt the entire thing lurch and heard a large banging noise.  I figured there wasn't really anything I could do about it (and Dad wasn't freaking out, he kept motioning me off the trailer), so I kept going.  Besides, I wasn't exactly sure WHAT the noise was...  Turns out, the ratcheting system on the trailer had apparently been working itself loose the entire trip and was no longer holding the trailer onto the truck!  The UHaul guy seemed to think that someone tampered with it on purpose, but we think it was probably just a gradual process.  We had been checking the trailer throughout the trip and hadn't noticed a problem, but I don't remember either of us tightening that one part to be sure it was still tight.  It was nice that the trailer waited til unloading to fall off, though the way it was designed, it wouldn't have fallen off under forward load.  Now, if we had been braking really hard and hit a huge bump, perhaps that could have caused an issue, but in the end, all was okay.   Somehow, in the end, all is always okay.

My car's AC may be on the fritz too -- it quit working for a little while, but then Dad started trying different things.  Turns out my AC will not work if the recirculation button is on, anymore.  It works most of the time otherwise.  Who knows, I will probably only be driving it to the grocery store anyway.

I have decided that all this sunshine makes me sleepy!  I haven't taken a nap in the middle of the day in forever, but I fell asleep on the couch for an hour this evening.  Of course, I'm sure my eating habits of the day could have been a factor, but I personally like "sunshine" best.  I need to avoid too many naps in the middle of these days leading up to classes, or my sleep schedule will be too strange to deal with school!

I still feel like I might be returning to South Carolina, or Alabama, any moment -- like I'm just at another short-term job, or an audition, or vacation.  It's strange to think that I will live here for at least 3 1/2 years -- but exciting at the same time.

I hope to have plenty of stories soon, as I plan to visit the Grand Canyon sometime before classes start, and perhaps Sonoma and Flagstaff too.  Or other wanderings around Phoenix metro area.  I must find good thrift stores and second hand shops soon....and maybe a dollar movie theater. ;-)
Before those things, though, I am definitely going to the Farmer's Market in town, and seeing what it has to offer.  I'm surprisingly excited about fresh produce!

Last Day, before the Big Move

Well, friends... a short post today.

Today marks my last full day, here in South Carolina.  It's been an exciting journey, these last six years, and I wouldn't have traded it for the world.  I've learned so much about who I am and what I want from life, and what I want from music.  I've met wonderful friends, whom I certainly hope and plan to keep for my lifetime. Life has truly been good here.

Now, it's time to move on to the next thing.  I have enjoyed my life here So much, that there were moments I forgot I still had that last degree to go after.  It's taken awhile to make that mental shift, but I'm finally there.  I'm not really ready to leave my friends and colleagues, all the people I love -- but I AM ready to attack this DMA degree head-on.  It's time.

I love you all dearly.  Please stay in touch, and I will do my best to do the same.

Where Corals Lie

Not many adventures today, except for packing for the move, and trying to set up last meetings with friends. Today, I wanted to share a text that was set by Edward Elgar in Sea Pictures.  It is a beautiful text, and Elgar sets it so effectively.  The text is a poem written by Richard Garnett, I think.  Enjoy!





Where Corals Lie
by Richard Garnett


The deeps have music soft and low
When winds awake the airy spry,
It lures me, lures me on to go
And see the land where corals lie.
The land, the land, where corals lie.

By mount and mead, by lawn and rill,
When night is deep, and moon is high,
That music seeks and finds me still,
And tells me where the corals lie.
And tells me where the corals lie.

Yes, press my eyelids close, 'tis well,
Yes, press my eyelids close, 'tis well,
But far the rapid fancies fly
To rolling worlds of wave and shell,
And all the land where corals lie.

Thy lips are like a sunset glow,
Thy smile is like a morning sky,
Yet leave me, leave me, let me go
And see the land where corals lie.
The land, the land, where corals lie.

Back to the U.S.

Day in Luxembourg

The Saarburg festival provides a direct bus service from the Luxembourg Findel airport to the festival. Saarburg is pretty small, but it DOES actually have a train station.  Last year, since Dr. Parker-Harley knew how to navigate the bus and train system, we took a bus and then the train to Saarburg ... but we had an hour layover wait at a very deserted train stop.  This year, I opted for the bus, even though it was a little pricier, because it was a 30-minute ride directly to Saarburg and they could drop us off directly at our hotel.  It was so convenient.  

For the return trip, there were supposed to be 2 buses: an afternoon bus and a morning bus, but since there were only five of us signed up for the afternoon bus, we all decided to take the morning bus to the airport.  A handful of people didn't fly out until the next morning, and were going to wander around Luxembourg for the day.  Since my flight didn't leave til 6:30 pm, I decided to join them.  We walked around part of the historic district of Luxembourg City, where I took enough pictures to make up for the fact that I took zero pictures the entire week.  It was so nice to get out and walk before being cooped up in aeroplanes for so long.

LUX --> AMS   6:30 pm
AMS --> DTW  8:15 am

We landed around 7:20 pm, so I settled in for the long layover...

Layover in Amsterdam

It turns out I don't particularly mind overnight layovers, if it's here in Amsterdam or another airport that has in-terminal Hotels for not very expensive.   I stayed in a place called Yotel, which is very compact and efficient. I think is is probably more cost effective if you only stay there for a nap, but it sure was nice to have a semblance of shower and rest time. I took my shoes off and napped on and off for a few hours, which was glorious.  The best part was the fact that it was AFTER you go through security in the airport, so I didn't have to leave the airport to be able to sleep.  From now on, overnight layover/in-terminal hotel will be a definite consideration of booking flights.

4:33 am
After a few 1-hour segments of sleep since I was worried about oversleeping my alarm, the alarm went off, during the time, of course, when I really was finally enjoying being asleep instead of fitfully napping.

4:45 am: Breakfast, delivered to the room
Breakfast consisted of very well-done (read: dry and crispy but warm) croissants and pastries, some orange juice, and a cup of coffee.   It could have been better, but it could have been much worse!  It was also nice that they brought it to my room -- I'd never had room service before!   It was also very nice not to have to make decisions that early in the morning, since I had ordered it when I checked in.

5:15 am
I left a little too early from the hotel room -- I didnt' know how long it would be to walk through the terminal, so I gave myself almost an hour and a half before boarding to leave.  Turns out, it only took 10 minutes to walk, because I didn't have to go through security again -- that will be after they call us for our seats, I think.

I was walking here to this section of the airport, and kind of got to watch the airport wake up.  It turns out I started walking even before the flight crews and workers arrived, because I think all of them passed me on the moving sidewalks as I walked here.  
Right when I got here, the last few workers were arriving.  Most of them, when they passed me, were talking amongst themselves, in what I presume is Dutch.  One particular gentleman, however, told me good morning, then proceeded to ask if I had a parachute in my backpack!   It was quite amusing.  I replied, "No, though I suppose it's big enough for that, isn't it?"  His next question, "Are you in the Army?"  I told him no...this is just what I prefer to use, since the smaller backpack could connect to the bigger one.  He kinda laughed, "Wow, so it can be an even BIGGER backpack?!"   I said, "Yes! It's silly."  He replied, "See you soon!"

I sat in one of the closer rows of seats, and watched the workers set up the somewhat random-looking customs checkpoint.  It was basically a square with podiums in different places, then farther back, the beginning of the line for the security screening.  The plane wasn't even here yet at that point, so I took pictures of it rolling up. It wasn't until they called for people to come up and go through security screening that I figured out just how well the system would work.  They had a "gate monitor" -- basically the person's only job was to get the next person in line and tell them which customs agent to see.  Then, the customs agent pointed you in the next direction, to the security screening line.  It looked a little chaotic from the outside, but from the inside worked great.

Amsterdam also didn't make us take off our shoes.  The first time I flew through there -- on the way to Luxembourg this year -- I took off my shoes and the security screening guy goes, "Why do you do that? They aren't metal, only metal objects you take off."  Haha.  Good to know!

This plane was the A330, I do believe, which is similar to the MD11 in size and passenger capacity.  Very comfortable, which was a good thing since we would be in our seats for a very long time.  Partway through the flight, one of the flight attendants started having a medical emergency of some kind. They called for a doctor or nurse to come to the back of the aircraft at one point, then about 20-30 minutes later, called for the same person to come to the front of the plane.  We ended up having to land in Iceland so the lady could go to the hospital.  Hopefully she is ok -- I talked to one lady who was a nurse and had seen her, and while she didn't mention what she thought was the problem, she did say that she thought the lady would be ok, but that she definitely had needed a hospital to treat the problem.  At any rate, it was an...interesting experience which hopefully helped the lady become healthy again.


approximately 11:45 am, EST
The landing in Iceland only put us one hour late landing.  This was fine, since I had a 4-hour layover. Lots of customs lines to go through, so by the time I navigated everything, I had one whole hour to wait.  That was just the perfect amount of time to tell all interested parties about my safe arrival in the U.S, and it was off to the last flight.  (Hmm...looking back on this, it doesn't seem correct, but I don't remember the actual times anymore.  So, we will go with this.)

approximately 4:35 pm, EST
It was SO nice to be back...or at least not on airplanes any more!  Whew.

Rain!

Small, short blog post.  It's been raining on and off since this past Sunday, and will remain raining on and off til we leave.  I am enjoying the humidity and rain as much as possible now, since I'll be soon moving to a place that rarely has rain and has more sunshine than I could ever want.

So, this evening will be spent indoors.  Probably relaxing in my hotel room, but also perhaps getting some laundry done and packing started.  Or research on different things that I haven't been able to do lately.

Tomorrow's schedule will also be playing it by ear.  Tons I *could* do, but haven't decided what I *will* do.  I might sleep in, for starters. I slept til 7, then dozed til 8 today, and it was glorious.  Perhaps go to the bookstore.  Wander around Saarburg for sure. The silly part?  I could do a free wine-tasting at noon, courtesy of the Mayor ... or go to the cheese and honey festival in nearby Mannebach. (I think that's its name.)  Thing is, I am pretty tired and am not sure that alcohol during the afternoon of a performance would be the best plan, even in small amounts.  I have also developed a bit of a headache today and yesterday, which has made me a little less social than I might be normally.

So, on to my relaxing evening of possible naps and laundry.  Enjoy your Friday!

Week 2: Three concerts down, two to go

Well, it's been a busy week here in Saarburg.  Monday night was our night "off," so that was the evening the Mayor of Saarburg (a very generous man) treated the faculty and staff to a lovely dinner.  It was epic, and we all rolled away without any more room in our tummies.

Tuesday, we had the first student recital of the week. It was at Mannebacher Brauerei.  The Brauerei is a lovely venue, with an outdoor Beirgarten near the modern addition to the building.  The actual concert was in the modern addition, and the sound was actually quite nice -- just the right amount of live.

Random observation:  The "simplest" waltzes are sometimes the most difficult to play!  Still fun.

It's been raining all week, so we were quite glad that Tuesday and Wednesday venues were indoors.  Wednesday night, the venue was a very beautiful, modern-looking "Atrium" in Orscholz.  It had a nice natural feel to it, because the entire indoor was made from light-colored, non-finished wood, which reminded me of knotty pine.  Who knows, it could have BEEN knotty pine -- I don't know my wood grains well enough.  Whatever kind of wood it was, it was beautiful and the decision to not varnish it was perfect.  The sound space was much drier than the other venues so far, so I got to use LOTS of pedal the entire time. It was fun, though a bit disconcerting at times, haha!   It's strange to know that you want to play staccato, and still need to use a bit of pedal for that.  All in all, though, the concert went well.  All of the students are very well prepared, and it was great to get to see and hear them.

Thursday's concert was outdoors, in a place called Schmelz.  This concert was the farthest away so far, at approximately 60 minutes away by bus.  The performance was outdoors, underneath a lovely giant white tent.  The atmosphere was a little more informal since there was no formal backstage area, but it was actually quite nice to be able to basically sit in the audience before going on stage.  The audience was so supportive and really enthusiastic.  I had a short chat with a lovely couple who actually remembered me from last year, and expressed excitement that I had transitioned from student to "staff."  Another charming older gentleman asked me what it meant to be a "guest artist" instead of a "guest faculty."  I explained that the main difference was they asked me to play for lessons and a few groups, and the main difference is I am not actually teaching anyone.  

Schmelz:  The new performer "green room" was so fascinating. It was on the second floor of an older house.  This older house sat literally on top of a small stream, with a water wheel providing power to the house.  The top floor room where we were for the beginning of our time there was a museum of sorts, titled "The History of the Anabaptists."  We did not have very much time in that room, or I would have tried to figure out what significance this particular place had in the history of the Anabaptists.  Even without knowing the significance of this location, it was fascinating: there was an old pump organ with LOTS of voices (!), some interesting looking farm equipment, and a few strange looking mannicans dressed in old-style clothing.   I loved the outdoorsy, farm-type feel of the entire place.

So far, each of the venues have fed all the performers. The Brauerei gave us this amazing penne pasta dish, with a vodka-type sauce mixed with zucchini squash and other amazing veggies. It was SO good!  But it was also SO much food.  The Wednesday venue gave us cold-cut sandwiches, for which I was very thankful. (After awhile, you just can't continue to eat such large quantities of heavy food!) Last night, the Schmelz provided brats with a bread handle.  Authentically German and very tasty.  Though, I do notice my body is craving some more vegetables at this point.  I am seriously considering buying a broccoli floret in the grocery store downstairs and just having that for dinner!  

Tonight - Friday - is the one concert this week I have "off."  Since I have been getting a little bit carsick during the bus rides, I think I will sit this one out and have a rather boring night here in Saarburg.  I say "boring" but I really mean fun and restful and filled with lack of bus rides and an early bedtime.  Then, tomorrow is the last student concert, followed by the farewell dinner, and it is going our separate ways on Sunday morning.   The two weeks have flown by and have been filled to the brim with as much as possible.


Oh, and be warned:  I have a grand total of something like 15-17 hours of layover on the way back, so I'm sure I will retroactively update different adventures here.  Prepare for the random!