I went to one of those 'you have to hear once in your lifetime' concerts today. Christopher Herrick, a former organist for Westminster Abbey & St. Paul's (in London, England) did a superb recital tonight. I was guiltily spending some time on Facebook today in the music library when I should have been studying and saw that Steven (one of Jordan's roommates)'s status was "is going to the Christopher Herrick recital tonight and thinks you should too." Seeing as I was already looking for something to do with friends today, this worked out rather nicely. And I have to say this was one of the more enjoyable concerts I have attended in a long time; no modernistic-I-can't-understand-it music. If you've ever heard the notion of "white-people jazz" describing pleasant but not terribly musically awesome jazz, well this concert would very much fit into the "white-people classical" genre; some Buxtehude, Bartok, Bach, and a little George Shearing to keep the old people happy. I'm not sure exactly what was my favourite piece but the Minuet by Boccherini (find it on youtube or something... I promise you that you've heard it) and the See-ah-hum-bah (not sure how you spell that) pieces certainly put a smile on my face :-P.
The Alcan presentation wasn't too horrendous today; my portion definitely kicked some butt with fancy pictures (taken from their annual report) and a video, courtesy of youtube, promoting their commitment to sustainability in the bauxite mining industry. Good times.
Ok I'm going to hit the sack early so as to not fall asleep at random inappropriate times during my almost solidly-packed 9:30am-12midnight day tomorrow!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
A little bit of dis und dat
It amazes me that still so many people are reading this blog on a regular basis despite my inability to write about very much. Anyhoo here goes the general run down of new newsy items for Hutch.
I FINALLY found out that I DO qualify for the BMOS Internship today. Basically this means that providing I interview well, I will be taking 16months starting May 1 and working somewhere for pay. I am considering looking into positions with the Canadian Opera Company, National Ballet Company, Stratford Festival, and Warner Brothers Music. If you guys have any other ideas for music-related businesses that have a history of hiring co-op students let me know; I'm pretty open to just about everything. I have to say I still have some hesitations with moving to a new city, adapting to a new routine, having a life that doesn't revolve so much around playing but I am warming up to the idea with each passing day. The notion of being debt-free, owning a vehicle, replacing my aging computer with a laptop, purchasing geeky bassoon accessories all excites me very much.
After a few weeks of wondering if something strange is in the water here at the apartment, it has been confirmed this evening that alas I am the last single lady standing in our ghetto house. Times like this are always fun in a sarcastic sort of way. Thankfully though my eyes have been very open to how uber-good God is to me with respect to providing me lots of people to chat with so I don't ever feel alone instead of single. God is good and does provide for our every need if only we would recognize it.
Time to log some zzz's so that I don't look all cooky-eyed for the Alcan presentation tomorrow!
I FINALLY found out that I DO qualify for the BMOS Internship today. Basically this means that providing I interview well, I will be taking 16months starting May 1 and working somewhere for pay. I am considering looking into positions with the Canadian Opera Company, National Ballet Company, Stratford Festival, and Warner Brothers Music. If you guys have any other ideas for music-related businesses that have a history of hiring co-op students let me know; I'm pretty open to just about everything. I have to say I still have some hesitations with moving to a new city, adapting to a new routine, having a life that doesn't revolve so much around playing but I am warming up to the idea with each passing day. The notion of being debt-free, owning a vehicle, replacing my aging computer with a laptop, purchasing geeky bassoon accessories all excites me very much.
After a few weeks of wondering if something strange is in the water here at the apartment, it has been confirmed this evening that alas I am the last single lady standing in our ghetto house. Times like this are always fun in a sarcastic sort of way. Thankfully though my eyes have been very open to how uber-good God is to me with respect to providing me lots of people to chat with so I don't ever feel alone instead of single. God is good and does provide for our every need if only we would recognize it.
Time to log some zzz's so that I don't look all cooky-eyed for the Alcan presentation tomorrow!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Sunday... A day of ... Alcan?
This morning was spent researching the four business groups that together make up Alcan Inc. I decided that it'd be best to be prepared for a meeting that I had with my finance group this afternoon as opposed to going to some churchy group that is still yet to be determined. We spent a few hours on it today and I think it's going to be ok. Things certainly would have gone more smoothly if a) there was wireless internet on campus (it decided to cut out today) b) everyone had more of an idea what they were talking about. All in all I feel quasi-ok with how this presentation is going to turn out. We're meeting with our prof tomorrow afternoon to get the official "it's presentable" sticker so let's all hope that goes well.
Tonight I finally made it out to my first Through the Roof. I was *super* excited at the sheer numbers (the Wave probably would've only held 30 or so more people) & more specifically the sheer number of people I did not recognize (well over 80%). It's always encouraging to know that there are soooo many more Christians on campus than you realize :). The speaker really hit a Holy Spirit nerve for a lot of people I think too as he felt really called to speak about how we'd rather be busy then spend still quiet time with the Lord. I cannot tell you how thankful I am that that message is being preached to the masses. Please join me in prayer that this message will not be forgotten.
Seeing as it is 1am already and I usually try and be in bed by 11pm on Sunday nights, I'll close out with a few prayer requests & explain more later:
- "Congo" Andrew has arrived safely in Mexico for a 4ish-week stay. Pray for safety/usefulness/health/ the usual ;)
- pray for the people that have heard my testimony; I've told it four times in the last three days... God's up to something
- for Rob & Ada (Ada is Andrew's sister in-law and is having some pregnancy complications)
- PRAISE GOD that He answers even our tiniest of prayers; I've been having a LOT of exciting and awesome spiritual conversations lately, just as desired :)
Nighty night night
Tonight I finally made it out to my first Through the Roof. I was *super* excited at the sheer numbers (the Wave probably would've only held 30 or so more people) & more specifically the sheer number of people I did not recognize (well over 80%). It's always encouraging to know that there are soooo many more Christians on campus than you realize :). The speaker really hit a Holy Spirit nerve for a lot of people I think too as he felt really called to speak about how we'd rather be busy then spend still quiet time with the Lord. I cannot tell you how thankful I am that that message is being preached to the masses. Please join me in prayer that this message will not be forgotten.
Seeing as it is 1am already and I usually try and be in bed by 11pm on Sunday nights, I'll close out with a few prayer requests & explain more later:
- "Congo" Andrew has arrived safely in Mexico for a 4ish-week stay. Pray for safety/usefulness/health/ the usual ;)
- pray for the people that have heard my testimony; I've told it four times in the last three days... God's up to something
- for Rob & Ada (Ada is Andrew's sister in-law and is having some pregnancy complications)
- PRAISE GOD that He answers even our tiniest of prayers; I've been having a LOT of exciting and awesome spiritual conversations lately, just as desired :)
Nighty night night
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Woe is me
So during my jam-packed Friday, I was made aware that a Finance Report on Alcan Ltd. is due on TUESDAY... I thought it was due sometime in November. Arg... Now I have to figure out what/if I'm doing anything churchy-wise tomorrow or if I'm going to allow myself to spend my time right here in front of my computer calculating liquidity ratios. Haha it is times like this I wished I had someone else (i.e. a husband) to make this decision for me :P dooo doo doo doo doooo *shifty eyes*
Ok, well apparently I am overtired (I'm doing shifty eyes on my blog page)... Perhaps I will make more of an effort to write during the day so that you guys get more substance to these posts.
Ciao
Ok, well apparently I am overtired (I'm doing shifty eyes on my blog page)... Perhaps I will make more of an effort to write during the day so that you guys get more substance to these posts.
Ciao
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Business
To get this out in the open, "I'm too busy right now for xyz," is one of my most pet-peeved statements. Busy means I'm the President of the United States; I'm an astronaut and I'm on another planet; I'm in a really successful rock band touring the world. I do understand that we're all busy people in this world but to say you're too busy to make time for friends or reading a book or doing your devotions isn't so much of a case of being busy as it is with having a different set of priorities. Next time you're "too busy" for something, think about how you can explain that better, particularly if I'm the one you're explaining it too; I promise you that you'll learn an important lesson from it.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Awesome Day
Today was a really great day overall. It started out with a pretty good rehearsal with my accompanist, Rudin. Words cannot describe how thankful I am for having a musical accompanist that works so hard to learn the part. He's such a pleasure to play with.
After a nice break we headed into my lesson and for the first time in a while, the McKay we all know and love made a break through the extreme business and overwhelmed Jim that has been present for the last little bit (working the equivalent of 3 full-time profs this year, it's no wonder he's so different!). I got a lot of really good ideas for what to do with the Hurlestone piece I'm doing and also really appreciated his excitement for how I'm progressing along. We also chatted a bit about the '5-year career' thing (see the previous post) and he had the same 'hmmmmmmm/ thinking' look that I had when I first thought of it. His response was kind of two-fold in that a) I really should consider having kids before 30 (he's recently a grandfather & has been newly reminded of the energy it takes to raise a young child) and b) that's why you get involved with administration. So go team! Music admin all the way! Don't let me quit!
After a rather not-prepared-enough-on-my-part rehearsal of L'Histoire tonight, I had one of those purely God-ordained visits. I was hoping to go and see a concert that Zach Havens (a friend from Brockville) was doing at the Spoke (a campus bar) with a good friend of mine, but alas, turns out he couldn't make it/didn't want to go. Anyhow, as God would have it, I was able to go with Jordan (the 6'6" violinist that I'm sure almost all of you have heard me talk about) and chat with him. We haven't really talked since Thanksgiving-ish and there was so many new things to share that we ended up talking for close to three hours! Before you get all concerned about me talking one-on-one with a boy, there were so many moments where I was sooooo thankful to have someone to talk about whatever with that I was moved to almost-tears. We have had such similar journeys faith-wise with similarities in our family upbringings, relationships, decisions for schooling, housemates, and friendships. There are so many times, moreso in the past than now, that I think I'm the only one around here who's had to deal with xyz and it is SUCH a blessing to find someone else strong in the Lord who's able to fully understand and share similar experiences back. We're both incredibly grateful that the Lord has allowed us to develop such an awesome friendship to help each other through the battlefield that is school.
OK, seeing as it's 1:30 and I'm in a fantastic mood, probably a good time to head for bed.
After a nice break we headed into my lesson and for the first time in a while, the McKay we all know and love made a break through the extreme business and overwhelmed Jim that has been present for the last little bit (working the equivalent of 3 full-time profs this year, it's no wonder he's so different!). I got a lot of really good ideas for what to do with the Hurlestone piece I'm doing and also really appreciated his excitement for how I'm progressing along. We also chatted a bit about the '5-year career' thing (see the previous post) and he had the same 'hmmmmmmm/ thinking' look that I had when I first thought of it. His response was kind of two-fold in that a) I really should consider having kids before 30 (he's recently a grandfather & has been newly reminded of the energy it takes to raise a young child) and b) that's why you get involved with administration. So go team! Music admin all the way! Don't let me quit!
After a rather not-prepared-enough-on-my-part rehearsal of L'Histoire tonight, I had one of those purely God-ordained visits. I was hoping to go and see a concert that Zach Havens (a friend from Brockville) was doing at the Spoke (a campus bar) with a good friend of mine, but alas, turns out he couldn't make it/didn't want to go. Anyhow, as God would have it, I was able to go with Jordan (the 6'6" violinist that I'm sure almost all of you have heard me talk about) and chat with him. We haven't really talked since Thanksgiving-ish and there was so many new things to share that we ended up talking for close to three hours! Before you get all concerned about me talking one-on-one with a boy, there were so many moments where I was sooooo thankful to have someone to talk about whatever with that I was moved to almost-tears. We have had such similar journeys faith-wise with similarities in our family upbringings, relationships, decisions for schooling, housemates, and friendships. There are so many times, moreso in the past than now, that I think I'm the only one around here who's had to deal with xyz and it is SUCH a blessing to find someone else strong in the Lord who's able to fully understand and share similar experiences back. We're both incredibly grateful that the Lord has allowed us to develop such an awesome friendship to help each other through the battlefield that is school.
OK, seeing as it's 1:30 and I'm in a fantastic mood, probably a good time to head for bed.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Finito
Yay! My finance exam is finally all done with! Now I can go back to resuming a more regular lifestyle for the next few weeks :) All things considered, the exam went fairly well.
The rehearsal with Symphony Hamilton went *much* better this week; funny how having a working instrument makes such a large difference. I have to admit though, I'm getting pretty frustrated with myself and these rehearsals. I am making too many stupid mistakes for my own liking and the only thing I can really blame it on is tiredness (Wednesdays are very long days for me). Tonight I made special point of counting like a madwoman & it did help considerably but I was still doing STUPID things like throwing in random G-sharps where they CLEARLY would never exist. 'Tis nice that I get a chance to work through all these "new person in the industry" kinks before I start bigger gigs.
Speaking of bigger gigs, it's kind of neat that I noticed the ticket prices for this upcoming concert ($5-$28). $28 is the most I think I've ever had anyone to pay to come and hear me play (in some form or other... it's not like I have any huge parts). Neato, eh?
Well it looks like another long day lies ahead for me tomorrow; 9:15am rehearsal through to a 10pm concert at the Spoke put on by a Christian guy friend from Brockville (Zach Havens anybody?). I'm in pretty chipper spirits though.
The rehearsal with Symphony Hamilton went *much* better this week; funny how having a working instrument makes such a large difference. I have to admit though, I'm getting pretty frustrated with myself and these rehearsals. I am making too many stupid mistakes for my own liking and the only thing I can really blame it on is tiredness (Wednesdays are very long days for me). Tonight I made special point of counting like a madwoman & it did help considerably but I was still doing STUPID things like throwing in random G-sharps where they CLEARLY would never exist. 'Tis nice that I get a chance to work through all these "new person in the industry" kinks before I start bigger gigs.
Speaking of bigger gigs, it's kind of neat that I noticed the ticket prices for this upcoming concert ($5-$28). $28 is the most I think I've ever had anyone to pay to come and hear me play (in some form or other... it's not like I have any huge parts). Neato, eh?
Well it looks like another long day lies ahead for me tomorrow; 9:15am rehearsal through to a 10pm concert at the Spoke put on by a Christian guy friend from Brockville (Zach Havens anybody?). I'm in pretty chipper spirits though.
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