As I write this I'm at Len's house in the GTA where I will be spending the start of the Christmas holidays. This will be the first Christmas I haven't spent at home but so far so good I suppose: I've had to spend the last two days by myself! :P Lenny's been working at a job continued from the summer and his family has been busy too. I've had a good time playing with their dog, Dakota, though, and have spent some time running, practicing, and watching TV. It has been a most welcome break after a hectic fall semester.
School
School has gone fairly well. While it has been busier than I anticipated, it has been so wonderful to have Len's support through everything. Italian has been a good challenge but it's been very helpful with my music studies too. I'm very thankful that my French background is as strong as it is -- it's definitely been helpful!
My business class was called "Compensation" and dealt with various forms of how employers can communicate their values to employees. It was more interesting than I anticipated but in spite of feeling like I learned a lot, my marks haven't really well reflected that. Hopefully my final mark (still not out yet) will turn out OK though... the final exam did go really well thanks to a lot of studying.
I've been really enjoying the graduate "seminar" class where we've been learning all about the different types of scholarly resources available. It is taught by someone who has been teaching for a loooooong time and I love the stories. It's been a while since I've had a more seasoned professor, so it's been a good experience.
My contemporary techniques class has been interesting. I've mastered flutter tonguing and have been doing OK at playing multiphonics. Right now I'm working on a Xenakis piece called Anaktoria and a Chris Weait solo piece. I'm a little anxious about the concert in February but hopefully I'll get some good practicing in between now and then.
Lessons have been going OK. I'm not very motivated to work on solo rep these days -- there seem to be so many other things to work on and my solo recital seems so far away (early March). My chamber music rep (piano trio with flute, bassoon, piano) has been consuming the majority of my practice time as I much prefer the ensemble-y stuff. Ditto with orchestra and chamber orchestra. I got my bassoon repaired this past weekend and also purchased a new Bona case. Already the sound has been SO much better that I'm feeling more inclined to play. Hopefully my reed adjusting goes well... It's definitely time to finish a few new ones.
Work
Work for the school has been pretty rough. It's taken way more hours than I bargained for and so I've committed to cutting back for the new year. I will continue my website master duties which I do really enjoy. Work at the convenience store has also been going ok although I will be very thankful for the day when I have a steady, well-paying job, and will be able to put my chocolate-bar-selling & clothes-folding days behind me.
I'm currently teaching the Bassoon Methods class for music education majors. It is a second and third year course and I have about 14 students per semester. It was a lot of work to set the course up (making handouts, preparing a lesson plan, creating tests and exams) but it has been a pretty enjoyable experience.
Future Plans
I'm still not very sure about what my post-masters life will consist of although I'm increasingly hoping to move to Toronto. I'm not exactly sure why but today, I think I'd like to get an HR job at some sort of music organization here -- maybe the TSO, or the National Ballet or something. I've toyed with the idea of doing a Masters thesis and doing a critical edition of some sort of harmoniemusik. David Bourque seems to think doing something like this would take at least 1000 hours. That is a lot... I'm kind of thinking of backing out and just doing the second solo recital option instead of the thesis... Decisions decisions.
Well that's probably enough for now. Perhaps I will post again sometime over the holidays -- we'll see how entertained I aim now that Lenny's all done his work now :)
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
A post a month isn't bad right?!
Well here we are; mid-October. Things are going pretty well... in fact, things are going very well. Compared to all of my other university years, I have to say that having someone to de-stress with and to remind you to smile a bunch really does make life a lot more enjoyable. It has been tricky balance school (x2), work (x3), cooking, and exercising, but all-in-all I am still in pretty good spirits.
My first orchestra concert in over a year went really well. It was a lot of fun to play again albeit the first concert of the year is always considerably more shaky than any of the others. I'm hopeful that despite having a more difficult line-up for the next concert, we'll continue to improve.
This week is mid-term week -- probably why I'm procrastinating on the Blog! Tuesday I have an Italian Test, Wednesday I have a Seminar midterm (basically about how to write bibliographies, how to write with "Scholastic Grammar," and how to properly generate an outline), and finally on Saturday I have a midterm for my course in Compensation. Here are some tidbits about those classes:
Italian - It is really fun; my teacher is Italian and makes very funny English errors that amuse me. The other day we had a conversation about why Italian-Canadians say "close the lights" instead of "turn off the lights" when they use the verb "to turn off" when they use the expression in Italian. I got no conclusive answer, but he ended up announcing the "close of class" at the end of the lecture and I had a good chuckle inside.
We've started to learn regular verbs now which is vastly increasing my ability to communicate. I look forward to spending part of the Christmas holidays with Lenny's family; I'm curious to see how much more I understand!
Seminar - Again my professor is a great source of enjoyment here. It is really nice, as a new professor, to have the opportunity to be simultaneously taking a class given by one of the great music professors here. The content we study (mainly things related to scholarly writing) is also most helpful. w00t. I am a nerd. :)
Compensation - I'm taking this class for part of my business degree components. It is not so much fun. It has one of the those textbooks where there are no pictures and all the text is in black and white with few study aids. Probably the worst textbook I've ever had in university, which is saying something... I'm now up to taking over 30 courses. Man I am getting old for this sort of thing. Ugh.
Speaking of old, Lenny and I were at a party chatting with other university-addicts, and we figured out that if we were to do PhDs or DMAs, we would graduate in 2015. 2015. That sounds really far away. :S
Well that's about it for now. I'm going to try to get to bed early so that I can be all ready for the onslaught of reading and studying I'm going to inflict on myself tomorrow. Hopefully something exciting will happen in the next little while and you'll all get a post soon :)
My first orchestra concert in over a year went really well. It was a lot of fun to play again albeit the first concert of the year is always considerably more shaky than any of the others. I'm hopeful that despite having a more difficult line-up for the next concert, we'll continue to improve.
This week is mid-term week -- probably why I'm procrastinating on the Blog! Tuesday I have an Italian Test, Wednesday I have a Seminar midterm (basically about how to write bibliographies, how to write with "Scholastic Grammar," and how to properly generate an outline), and finally on Saturday I have a midterm for my course in Compensation. Here are some tidbits about those classes:
Italian - It is really fun; my teacher is Italian and makes very funny English errors that amuse me. The other day we had a conversation about why Italian-Canadians say "close the lights" instead of "turn off the lights" when they use the verb "to turn off" when they use the expression in Italian. I got no conclusive answer, but he ended up announcing the "close of class" at the end of the lecture and I had a good chuckle inside.
We've started to learn regular verbs now which is vastly increasing my ability to communicate. I look forward to spending part of the Christmas holidays with Lenny's family; I'm curious to see how much more I understand!
Seminar - Again my professor is a great source of enjoyment here. It is really nice, as a new professor, to have the opportunity to be simultaneously taking a class given by one of the great music professors here. The content we study (mainly things related to scholarly writing) is also most helpful. w00t. I am a nerd. :)
Compensation - I'm taking this class for part of my business degree components. It is not so much fun. It has one of the those textbooks where there are no pictures and all the text is in black and white with few study aids. Probably the worst textbook I've ever had in university, which is saying something... I'm now up to taking over 30 courses. Man I am getting old for this sort of thing. Ugh.
Speaking of old, Lenny and I were at a party chatting with other university-addicts, and we figured out that if we were to do PhDs or DMAs, we would graduate in 2015. 2015. That sounds really far away. :S
Well that's about it for now. I'm going to try to get to bed early so that I can be all ready for the onslaught of reading and studying I'm going to inflict on myself tomorrow. Hopefully something exciting will happen in the next little while and you'll all get a post soon :)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
When October Goes
So even though October is only coming, I will forever think of James singing this song *ahem* six years ago in my first year of university. I have to say, I still prefer James' voice to this song over Barry Manilow's, but maybe if I heard Barry sing it in person I'd feel differently.
In any case, I have officially made 1/16 through my masters degree. It has been incredibly busy, but all around OK. I think I'm gonna make it!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Coupons!
This summer I have become a bit of a coupon fiend. Today's best one? A free 8x10 print from Blacks' Photography. This is the picture I had done:
Turns out I did have to spend a little money to buy a frame but nonetheless, my first Heather and Lenny picture in print. For free :)
Turns out I did have to spend a little money to buy a frame but nonetheless, my first Heather and Lenny picture in print. For free :)
Sunday, August 9, 2009
43 degrees & $20
Today I said goodbye to my three sisters who came for a visit stay over with a trip to Niagara Falls in the middle. You can visit http://www.niagarafallsphoto.ca/ and enter code B285079808 to see a picture we had taken in front of a green screen. The day was definitely way more gray than in the photo but we managed to avoid getting soaked (from the rain anyways). We had a wonderful time at the Ripley's Museum as well -- lots of very interesting funny things.
This morning I had Keely drop my off at one of the malls on the way to the 401 so I could maximize my AC time for the day-- with the humidex it was supposed to reach 43 today! I managed to only spend about $20 and was able to get a t-shirt, two camis, two pairs of sunglasses, some socks, and some Niagara Falls post cards (one for my grandpa and one for my sponsor child). I was hoping to practise today but since arriving at home, I not really feeling like doing much of anything. The apartment could use some serious tidying and I think that's the most likely course of action for this afternoon.
This morning I had Keely drop my off at one of the malls on the way to the 401 so I could maximize my AC time for the day-- with the humidex it was supposed to reach 43 today! I managed to only spend about $20 and was able to get a t-shirt, two camis, two pairs of sunglasses, some socks, and some Niagara Falls post cards (one for my grandpa and one for my sponsor child). I was hoping to practise today but since arriving at home, I not really feeling like doing much of anything. The apartment could use some serious tidying and I think that's the most likely course of action for this afternoon.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
What I'm Up To
So the birthday celebrations were fantastic. Lenny organized a weekend full of exciting things including two steak dinners, a bbq (with truffle cake!), a trip to Casa Loma, a run in a pretty park, an epic trip to Ikea, and of course lots of other visiting time. I'm so thankful for all he does to make me feel special :)
I'm starting to get into the swing of things work-wise and there certainly is a lot to do before September. I'm looking quite forward to seeing a paycheck though. It should be goooooooooooooooood.
In other news I picked up my bassoon today. My first thoughts were "well that sounds pretty" so I suppose that's a good sign. It was physically more tiring than I anticipated but what chya going to do.
That's pretty much excitement-wise. This weekend I'm heading down to the Niagra Falls area with the sistas so that should be fun.
I'm starting to get into the swing of things work-wise and there certainly is a lot to do before September. I'm looking quite forward to seeing a paycheck though. It should be goooooooooooooooood.
In other news I picked up my bassoon today. My first thoughts were "well that sounds pretty" so I suppose that's a good sign. It was physically more tiring than I anticipated but what chya going to do.
That's pretty much excitement-wise. This weekend I'm heading down to the Niagra Falls area with the sistas so that should be fun.
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