Ode to Penicillin

My goodness am I ever thankful for penicillin and the doctor that would prescribe it for me without swab results confirming strep. SO thankful. I love you like 10th grade math class :)

Nothing terribly epic has happened in the last 24 hours. Yesterday I hemmed 1 1/2 of my 3 pairs of new dress pants from that infamous shopping trip. Not surprisingly that was enough to wear me out to the point of just vegging on the couch opening mail, folding laundry, watching tv, and eating sorbet (mmmm, I love sorbet! Thanks mom!). I tend to "zone out" quite well when I'm sick and not noticing that my bedroom had indeed been painted (courtesy of my landlords) is good evidence of that I'd say. I did vaguely notice that the room smelled different but I had been told that they were coming on Monday or Tuesday so I didn't bother to pay close attention after they finished prepping and left Friday morning. They must have come back while I was working Friday afternoon because I am now the proud owner of a big mean beige bedroom! Hazzaah! On a somewhat related note, I have decided that when I own my first house, painters beige is going to be one of the first things to go.

Well, the librarians are going to kick me out mighty soon as the library is closing in 13 minutes. I won't be able to post tomorrow because they're not open on Sunday's but here's for checking out other people's posts for a change! http://renosfortimothy.blogspot.com chronicles the renovations at the house I was staying at. The concrete pouring is particularly fun to watch!

Ciao for now.

And back to Ontariario

What a wonderful time I had in Edmonton. It was honestly one of the best vacations I have ever had. I will do a photographic diary at a later date when I get internet at home (sometime in August). Some of the highlights include:

• Traveling to Jasper by myself. I've never traveled solo before but I honestly loved it. It was so nice to take my own pace at things and spend a little extra money for one meal and hardly anything for the next and not worry about anybody else. I took the tramway up Whistler Mountain and then hiked to the top (about an hour's hike). The scenery was stunning. Words cannot do it justice. Driving home from Jasper was beautiful too although there were so many bugs I had to stop twice to clean my windshield at the gas station. I also got quite lost coming back into Edmonton and got a nice 45min tour of the outskirts... Whoops :)
• The Edmonton Mall was greeeat. My favourite part was finding the Jacob Outlet where clothes were 50% off what I would normally pay in a Jacob store. To make things even more awesome though, everything in the store was an additional 70% off that! I got 3 dress pants (normally around $80/each), 3 dress shirts, a pair of gloves, and a velvet blazer (normally $70) for all under $80. Take into account that they also do not have the PST and this trip officially becomes my most epic shopping trip ever. Fun times.
• I was staying at Steven's family's home with Mark, another one of the boys in the "boys house." Their family was so awesome at helping me decide which places to visit, providing wonderful food, and keeping me entertained with one of the most difficult puzzles I have ever tried to do.

My flight back also proved to be ethic but sadly, in a more frustrating way. Arriving in sunny Toronto at 6:00pm, I discovered that my flight to "home" was canceled due to Thunderstorms. I had the option of sleeping in the airport and taking a 8:50am flight or paying $50 for a Robert Q bus that was leaving at 11:30pm. I opted for the Robert Q route and thankfully was able to slip onto the 9:30pm bus instead. By this time I was also noticing a sore throat but attributed it to the lack of proper meals. Yesterday, however, it got really sore so today I went into the doctors (I know, gasp!), and sure enough I have strep throat.

Anyhoo, I want to run back home and attempt to eat some lunch before my work shift at 1:30, so off I go. I work quite a bit at the store this week so I should be checking my e-mail / blogging more regularly.

Edmonton-bound!

If all goes well, I should be in Edmonton tomorrow night at 4:49pm Mountain Time! YAY MOUNTAINS!

Your advice is most welcome

Next on the agenda for me is planning things to do once I'm in Edmonton. I'm taking any and all suggestions here. So far people have told me to look into:

• Shakespeare in the Park
• The Westmount Science Centre
• The Provincial Museum
• Fort Edmonton Park
• The West Edmonton Mall (well duh!)

It should be tonnes of fun :)

This morning I attempted to get glue (kind of like super-glue or clear contact cement) off of my bedroom wall so that when the painters come they don't just paint over it. Unfortunately nothing I have tried has worked. This includes nail polish remover, soya oil, a hairdryer, sand paper, and creativity with a knife. Again, recommendations are most welcome. Perhaps I should try paint thinner?

The Western-Needs-A-Hall saga is coming to a close. You can visit this news article for more information. I am so excited for this. It seems somewhat surreal.

This afternoon I'm working at the corner store for the first time in six or seven weeks. I'm *really* looking forward to earning some extra spending money but I'm not looking forward to the heat -- apparently the air conditioning is not working and it sometimes gets upwards of 40 degrees in the store... groooooooooosssssss.

Well I'm off to have fun in every students' favourite place, the registrar's office: the "weakest link" of the school's administration where the average student wait-time, in the summer, is 45min to be seen (for which you have to stand up in yet another non-air conditioned space). Yippee! At least I should get some free money at the end of this visit.

On and Off and On the Road Again

Wow. What a sparse summer for blogs, eh? The program in Quebec proved to have very little Internet access (i.e. one computer for something probably like 100 people, and it was also up an additional 100 or so stairs from the 168ish that you took from the dining hall to my apartment complex. Factor in that I did that on average three times a day (one time, an astonishing six or maybe even seven) and suddenly, blogging became very low on the priority list.

Well now those 200+ stairs have been replaced by a 15-minute walk to the library, a much preferred physical activity even if it is 26 degrees out. I've slowly settled into my new apartment and am excited for what the next few months have to come, including:

• A trip to visit my friends in Alberta July 17-23... I've never been out West/seen mountains/been hiking since I was 13... I am very excited and grateful for my Alberta friends who are taking the time to show me their stomping grounds :)
• Working a full-time job at the music faculty. I am still somewhat shocked that I've walked into this wonderful job so quickly.
• Settling into a non-ghetto apartment. I went for a run last night in my new neighbourhood to find wonderful, beautiful homes and even, *gasp, a woodwind quintet rehearsing! Exciting times we're living in my friends, exciting times :)
• Practicing with relatively little deadlines in sight. I have never done this for an extended period of time on bassoon. I'm really excited to fart around :)

I have taken many photos and videos of my journey and hope to post them sometime in August when I will have Internet access at home. I've tried to upload them at school, but, surprise, surprise, the Information Technology Services has made sure that this isn't possible.

I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone again and hearing your stories. Don't hesitate to call me (my new phone number is my cell phone number... if you don't have that, just e-mail me); I really like talking! This weekend, I'm totally free as well, if anyone wants to get together for a meal.

'Til next-time.

3 Down, 2 to Go

Well I've nearly finished my first three weeks of summer programming here in Ontariario. I've got a lot of new musical ideas and have really enjoyed the party time with my fellow musicians. I have taken a few recordings (not sure if it's legal but hey, we'll find out!) that I should be able to post sometime near the end of the summer.

Tomorrow I will be leaving at 6:30am to prepare for an earrrrrrrly flight to Quebec where I will be spending the next two weeks entertaining mosquitos and other fine French inhabitants of the East Quebec region :).

Ciao!

June Update

Summer program numero uno is going fairly well. It is always quite a joyous occassion to play and learn from such talented musicians from far and wide. Last week I did the Krommer Partita op. 69, Druschetzky Partita – sextet (if you ever have wanted to shoot yourself due to high instances of voice leading errors, I highly recommend you avoid ever hearing this piece :S), and Strauss Suite op. 4. This week I'm working on the Mozart Octet K. 375 and Myslivicek Octet #3.

While the musical quality here is enough to excite the bassoon geek in me to high levels, the 2-5 2 1/2 hr rehearsals per day, filled with bickering, differing musical opinions, and sheer s-t-u-p-i-d-i-t-y make me want to quit professional music all together. It is also very mentally demanding to spend 7 hours a day performing at your very highest abilities.

I have got some really encouraging comments about my playing but at the same time I am also noticing that my love for the bassoon really isn't at the same level of some of the others. And I'm not sure I would fit in with an orchestra per se where my desire to be there would be less than my colleagues. On the otherhand though, not being obsessed with bassoonery (all things bassoon) is one of the reasons why I've been able to get so far without any injuries, major playing burnouts, etc. .

Changing subjects slightly, Alex Klein did a masterclass and concert on Monday. Not only was his oboe masterclass extremely informative and helpful, but his concert was top notch. Beginning with the Bach Suite No. 1 (S 1007 -- guaranteed you'd all recognize the first movement) on the bass oboe, I was so brought into his musical mind; it was fantastic :). He is definitely one of the best performers that I have ever seen in terms of stage presence and musicality. I would post up a youtube video to demonstrate my point, but for the umpteenth time, there are no quality performances of him on youtube (as a case in point of how important it is for artists to have their own videos put up on youtube, here is Alex Klein in a GEIKO advertisement?!?!?! found by searching his name...





... seriously, musicians, it is time to invest some energy into promoting your musical abilities on youtube...).

Well that is probably enough ranting from me for one day :P

Two more weeks here in Ontariario and then on the 15th I fly out to Quebec with my technically oversized (by 1 1/2 inches) bassoon case as a carryon item. Should be fun times :D