The Final Christmas Dinner

Tonight I had a FANTASTIC time with all the boys & three of their female friends, Brianna, Sarah, & Adelaide, as we celebrated Christmas one last time. Hopefully when photos come up on Facebook, I'll post some of them over here too. Everyone went all out and we had some fantastic chicken, stuffing, squash, garlic mashed potatoes, homemade bread, homemade lemon meringue pie, homemade tarts, and 2.5 bottles of wine between the 8 of us (ha! such non-drinkers are we!). The food was sooooooooo tasty and I cannot say how fantastic it was to spend a few hours with such fantastic people. Did I mention it was fantastic?

Well tomorrow I'm back to the daily grind of it all. I only have one hour of actual class so that should leave me plenty of time to:

• Go to the gym
• Pick up OSAP (stupid me forgot her SIN card when I went to pick it up on Friday before most of the students got back... now I have a two-hour line-up to look forward to waiting in tomorrow)
• Sell my finance textbook to the used bookstore. A *glorious* occasion this shall be
• Finish four reeds so I have some better options for my audition on Saturday
• Practise like I haven't practised in two days
• Pick up my one piece of ensemble music for the next two months (usually I'd have like 8 but by the grace of God, I only have one!)
• Get my resume(s) checked by the Career services people. This better go well.
• Make chili. I have to cook the ground turkey tomorrow so if you want to come over for dinner tomorrow, I'll have enough to feed about 15 people. Seriously. E-mail me. We will work something out.

Ok off to bed. I'm up waaaaaaaaaaaay too late for the night before back-to-school.

To keep or not to keep?

My first year Norton Anthologies... I'm keeping the textbook but do I want to keep the anthologies?

I've decided to part with my theory textbook. Pretty sure it won't ever come in handy thanks to the Internet. Also gone from my shelves are sightsinging & ear training... as if I will ever practise that stuff again. Might as well get some $$ from them now...

Day in points

I've done a lot of thinking today, but nothing particularly in depth that I feel like sharing other than the following:

• I didn't leave the apartment building today. I did $6 worth of laundry, read, etc, etc, but I've been soooooo cold since I woke up that the thought of having to be even colder to reach someplace warmer (i.e. the music building) just did not appeal to me at all
• I looked at the recent job prospects (the UWO server has been down for a while) today and once again became concerned that: none of them jump out at me, I don't want to prepare 40000000 tailored resumes & cover letters to get a job, and I don't look forward to getting rejected by most of these companies.
• I again don't know what church I am going to tomorrow morning. I am tired of this limbo. I would really like to go to Open Door again but it'd take an hour on the bus (which I suppose is an option now that I type it out... I do have a lot of time on my hands). I have tried to arrange a ride (it only takes about 15min by car) but I haven't received an e-mail response back from anyone, and seeing as it's nearly 10pm, I think the chances of this happening any time soon are close to nil.

Well I'm off to head for bed I think. Let's all hope that everything seems clearer in the morning.

GTs

Well good times with the last post. I appreciate your thoughts.

Many of you will probably be encouraged to hear that today I'm trying something I've never done before: fasting. It should be an interesting experience as I really enjoy feeling not hungry at all times. I have a few books I want to finish before school starts up again on Sunday but I think my brain could also use the extra time to think/pray some more. First up book: Blue Like Jazz. I was attracted to the author's [Donald Miller] comment: "I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. But sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself... I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened." I can identify with this on a musical level but also on the level of God not "resolving." John Ortberg (a great philosopher I heard several years ago in Chicago) has given him good reviews and the book was a New York Times Best Seller. I'll be sure to share how this book on "nonreligious thoughts on Christian spirituality" turns out!

Cheers,
HH

P.S.

P.S. Reader #2000 didn't identify themselves!

Let's try again with reader #2020... should be coming up tonight/tomorrow morning sometime.

Don't by shy!

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Vacation Time

I have to say I am *quite* impressed with all of this vacation time. I have slept, exercised, cooked, etc, etc, all more in the last few weeks than the whole months of October-November-December combined. My practising has been going very well too, probably largely due to my restedness and increased relaxation. The one thing not going so well though is the heat. My apartment is downright cold. Adam, my roommate Lucy-Ana's boyfriend, has been joining us here for the last few nights and I think we finally have some confirmation that this is not just a girly "I'm cold all the time" thing -- he probably talks about it more than we do! Last night I definitely slept with a heating pad at my feet because they hadn't warmed up all day. Any other freezing (or once freezing) students have any suggestions out there? Doing the dishes is about the best chore in the world right now because the water is so warm :)

I've had two really good practice sessions in a row now and am feeling pretty good about this NYO audition on January 12. You can read more on the NYO here if you're not familiar with it: www.nyoc.org.

Nothing too new or exciting to report. Some of you have been asking if I'm bored yet and the with-out-a-doubt answer to that question is a hands down no. I've been pretty good about making sure that I meet up with someone different everyday and so far so good -- I've got to hang out with a lot of people who are normally as busy as I am! I'm sure you'll all be surprised to know that yesterday's hang out was with engineering boy [see posts from the summer for the story about him] whom I went out for hot chocolate with. Neither of us have had the time to sit down, at the same time, not over MSN, and have a heart-to-heart since April! That seems soooo long ago, especially given the weather. Anyhoo, we had a nice visit and perhaps our schedules might allow for us to meet up sooner than August (another 8 months from now).

Anyhoo, I can sense that I am rambling on so I am going to stop writing now...

2007

It is hard to believe that it is 2008 already. 2010 is just around the corner even though it feels like 2000 happened so recently. A lot of big things have happened this year:

• I learned how to stand on my own two feet spiritually
• I won my first set of auditions (for a summer program and two orchestras)
• I went on my first overseas mission trip (to Scotland in Feb/Mar)
• I spent the entire year without really dating anyone seriously for an extended period of time (first time since grade 11 I think?!... and this is a good thing... trust me)
• I started playing the contrabassoon
• I ran more in the last year than I probably have 1986-2006 combined
• I've had a more relaxed and happy demeanor than probably ever before

With all of the extra thinking time that comes with the holidays, I think I am getting a clearer sense for what 2008 and beyond might hold. I have concluded that I value having a spiritual impact on the world around me more than I care about succeeding financially, musically, or otherwise. I may have said this in previous years, but I can truly say that I believe it wholeheartedly this year, enough so that I am seriously questioning whether or not my plans to do a masters and then to perform professionally really fit with this change in rank of values. In the last week, I have been able to say for the first time that I would feel so satisfied with leaving the career world to have a family & influence the world through that.

This thought process is by no means finished but writing on this blog has most definitely helped me to sort out my thoughts while receiving feedback from those I love and trust, even if I don't talk to you everyday. Thank you all for your friendship & support this year and I pray that you will all have an awesome 2008 with many experiences leading you towards becoming more like Him!