Well, after today, I don't like Concert Choir so much anymore. There are only like 6 first tenors, and 2 aren't there all the time, and 2 don't seem to care at all about it. It's making me upset. I know some of the people in the choir would rather be somewhere else or not be in choir at all, but for God's sake at LEAST pay attention to the director, and put forth SOME effort, because then you won't need to go over the same part OVER AND OVER again. THAT is the biggest reason I wanted to be in Uchoir at the beginning of the year. Some people are in concert choir because they have to be in a choir, and they are glad to be in concert choir because presumably, you don't need to make as big of a commitment. Well that doesn't mean don't do crap in class!!! I feel truely sorry for the people who are trying their best and giving their all to make up for the people who don't pay attention. ARGH!

Luckily my voice lesson cheered me up some. We started going through the Russian, and it seems like a fun song. I hope to have Garrett record at least some of the accompaniments for my songs before I go home.

Speaking of Garrett, I'm kind of mad at him because he has said he wouldn't mind me as a roommate again next year. I have a really crappy number for room draw, and he has a really good number. Anyhoo, he is asking someone else to be a roommate next year. Now, I normally I guess wouldn't mind this, except that without me, he wouldn't be here in Oakland this year, and now in the opposite camps, he's not returning the favor. I'm in the meantime stuck without a roommate with a not a chance in hell getting into Oakland next year.

#218 - Subdivisions - Rush :)

Well, to my amazement, I managed to get the majority of what I needed to get done, done. I watched my conducting tape, listened to 1 piece, Analysed the 3-pt invention, started the 2 parter, read a little bit of voices of protest, and I'm going to finish the IPA today (hopefully.) I didn't practice, unfortunately, I didn't really get started on my paper, and some other crap. But what can you do?

4 more days until I am home!!!!

#197 - Nobody's Hero - Rush

Saw 12th night today; it was good. I have the hiccups. That is not good.

#194 - Rhapsody In Blue (cond. Leonard Bernstein) - George Gershwin

Well I did a little bit of the stuff on my list, but I'm not going to the library until tomorrow when I have a lot more time. I read about 20 pages of Voices of Protest and I'm going to read more today and a lot more tomorrow. I also started to analyse the inventions. I'm going to finish the rest of the IPA maybe tonight after the concert. Man, I can't WAIT for the concert to be over. The unfortunate thing about this concert is that we are going to be on stage a big chunk of the time so I can't bring homework with. We sing at the beginning and at the end and not in the middle, so I wish we could bring homework with. I could get a lot more done, although it's difficult to do that with an orchestra right in front of you. At least there is always AFTER rehearsal, but I won't get anything done, that is almost guaranteed.

It was absolutely beautiful today. It got up to 65, and it was so nice when I went to rehearsal, but then it was colder when I got out, and now it's down to 35! What's with THAT!?!?!? I hate central Illinois weather. I can NEVER make up it's mind. It's almost spring. It should be 65 from now on. I'm sick of this cold crap. It's bad on my voice and body too. Grr. Oh well.

Well I think I'm going to get something to eat for dinner, and then take a shower and get ready. I have to be there at 7, since concerts in Decatur start at 7:30.

My MP3 collection is ever increasing; I got lots of stuff off of the network. I now have 601 Mp3's.
#170 - Peace Crusaders - Jean-Luc Ponty

You know, since I am so freaking bored right now, I'm wondering if I shouldn't just post my thoughts right now. You know, I go home in 7 days. Exactly a week from now I'll probably be watching TV in my room or something. And petting my dog. I miss everything. Don't you notice how you get more and more homesick the closer the time to go home is, especially if you are SICK of your surroundings? That is why I wish I had my car down here. GOD I wish I wasn't in that accident. That means I"m probably not going to have my car down here next semester; maybe Spring 2004 I will. I hope so; I need the car to do observations, and teachings and stuff. I hope Dr. Wagner sent that letter back to Dr. Forbes... He needs to get it.

Adam is home for Spring Break now. I go next week, and then Amanda. That's just for perspective. Anyway, Amanda IMed me last night saying she wants to interview Aria for a class so I said sure I'll ask her. I'm sure she'd be fine with it; Aria loves being the center of attention, even if she doesn't know what she is talking about (I.E. my love interview last year, she kept quoting Moulin Rouge).

OHOHOHOHOH A few more reasons why I want to go home: my mom spilled out my birthday present, but that's because she wants me to bring it back down with me: A DVD/VCR COMBO!!!!!! I am so excited you have no idea; I've been wanting those for forever. I mean it is so cool because you don't need two units! And now, if I feel the need to, I can bid on DVDs instead of movies, and I don't have to get DVDs of the movies I have because I will still have a VCR unit! Excited excited. Another reason: I AM CRAVING FANTA RIGHT NOW. I haven't had Fanta since I believe early January when I was home; I remember I used the last free coupons at a Kroger for our Christmas Party.... I don't think I had any left after I gave mom two. If I did have one left, it was still like Mid January since I had Fanta last. I'm beginning to forget the wonders of it.... sigh..... Oh well, at least I still have bengal spice tea.

I think I'm going to read, and listen to music while I wait to get so tired I can't stay up.... Tomorrow is a BIG day. I want to go home. I miss my bed!!!

#131 - Holiday - Madonna

Well, that sucks. The library closes at 5 on Friday and Saturday. I guess the library figured why bother? No one studies on Friday! Everyone studies! Geez. Oh, well, I guess i can get a little done if I can get my butt away from the computer. Which is probably unlikely, unfortunately. But I'm going to bed a little earlier tonight; I felt so tired all day. This Wagner thing is taking it's toll on my body. So I don't know. I hope I can at least read a little tonight or something...

#125 - "Birth of the Red Violin" (from the Red Violin) - John Corigliano

Since today I am not that busy, and tomorrow is, and Sunday isn't really, I'm going to try and make today as productive as possible. I don't want to talk much, since I am saving my voice (even though I have a voice lesson AND choir today, I'm probably not going to sing full out.) I'm going to practice my voice lesson stuff, which I should really do more, although with this Wagner thing it's easy not to. Your voice can wear out quickly. Last night at the rehearsal, I sang full out, and barely made it through the first song. But I did it!

Mr. Held told one of the students at the masterclass I didn't see that when your voice cracks, it releases tension. I was skeptical at first, and Garrett doesn't buy it (he says his voice never cracks, and I don't buy THAT), but after last night, I totally agreed with him. I was singing, and my voice cracked, and for the seconds right after that, my voice felt totally comfortable. I could feel the tension starting to creep back in, though. But I think it is great!

I had my history midterm this morning. I was so tired this morning I could barely do it. I only filled about half of a blue book, and I saw people fill like 2 blue books and so I'm thinking I didn't do very well.... I hope I get at least a B though. I explained a lot of what we talked about in the class. It's weird. But what can you do? I have a few midterms next week I need to do. Other things I need (or at least I'd like) to do this weekend are:
Watch my conducting tape
Listen to 3 conducting pieces
Take notes on those
Read "Voices of Protest" for history (At least get through a good chunk of it, so I'm almost done by the end of the weekend because a paper on that is due Wednesday.)
Analyze the two part invention for counterpoint
Analyze the three part invention for counterpoint
Practice (although not on Sunday, that is vocal rest day)
Finish IPAing the Russian for the Mussorgsky
Get started on my 20th century music paper (need annotated bibliography by Thursday)

I think that's it. I'd like to get all of that done, however that seems horribly ideal, considering the concert tomorrow. I'd like to get at least some of that done, though. I'm going to the library tonight to do a lot of it; I don't know if I'll go to Lighthouse because of that. I want to get my work ethic back on track it has been slacking as of late.

This UN meeting is still on after like 4 hours! This is a really important meeting, I know that. I hope something happens. OK, and they are saying that Usama Bin Laden's sons have been arrested.... I don't know but it at least a top al Qaida dude person which is good.

And Saddam is now planning to dress his soldiers as US or British soldiers, attack his own people, and then blame it on us. Can you believe that? I think Fox News Channel should explain that to France and Germany.

#111 - Lord of the Dance - Steven Curtis Chapman

I heard Alan Held sing today at a masterclass. HOLY FUCKING SHIT. Now I don't normally swear, you who know me, but OH MY GOD. HIS VOICE IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I mean, we were in Kaeuper Hall, and you could tell he was holding back, yet already his voice overtook the room. If he sang full voice in there, the room probably would have collapsed on top of us. Wow. And he is a great teacher! He helped the people who got to sing in the masterclass very well.

It was so funny today; we went to John's Hill School to observe. And me, Jacob, and Clayton observed a class (I forget off the top of my head what it is called) but it was for students and their future and they were talking about money and business. Now the guy said he was from Paris, IL, and asked if anyone else was. And one girl raises her hand and says "I'm went to Paris, France!" Hahaha. But that's not the funniest. The funniest was when he asked what other states people have been to:
Florida!
North Virginia!
Atlanta!
Chicago! (which is HILARIOUS because not only is Chicago not a state it is in THIS STATE)
France!
Trenton, New Jersey!
Jamaica!

#99-Into The Lens - Yes

I SWEAR TO GOD.... I am never singing Wagner again after this thing with Alan Held is over... it totally strains my voice. Singing the same 4 high notes over and over, right on my tessatura, wearing out my upper register, for 20 fricken bars, is absolutely horrible, and I hate it. I just don't like Romantic music in general... the only genre of music I like less than Romantic (especially late romantic, not post-romantic that's when it started to get cool again, and some early Romantic stuff is cool.) is atonality, serialism, 12-tone stuff.

#32, Rebecca St. James - Reborn

WHY does the weekend ALWAYS go by SO FAST?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!

Anyway, I'm in the process of listening to all 583 of my non-Christmas mp3s, mainly because I have never really heard all of them all the way through. I am on #19, Stratus by Billy Cobham.