2014 Moratorium

It doesn't seem fair to do a moratorium in a year I'm still living in, if just for a few more hours, but I felt the urge to scribble a post.

2014 had a lot of good moments. It was a kind of relief from everything that had happened over the previous two years between Matt's mom dying and losing our dogs, Buddy and Zak.

Accomplishments: This one is not my own but I consider it a pretty major deal that Matt not only completed his Bachelor's Degree through Houghton College but he maintained a 4.0 the entire time!

Matt and I also celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in July. It doesn't really seem like it has been 10 years!

Travel:

• Four-day trip to Washington D.C. in March to see our friends, Brian & Tim as well as getting to see M. (long time friend and shenanigans associate) and Brandy (Jamestown transplant)
• Overnight to Cleveland, OH in May to take part in an alumni orchestra rehearsal at Baldwin-Wallace under Dwight Oltman's baton one last time. Saw many old friends.
• 10th Wedding Anniversary trip to Burlington, VT with a day trip to Montreal in September to finally meet Maurice.
• plus numerous trips to Rochester, Buffalo, and Erie, PA.

Books: I read at least 15 books according to a scan of my Goodreads list in 2014, which is a marked increase from recent years.

Movies: Between Netflix, movies at The Reg, and our local theatre chain, we saw some good flicks including The Monuments Men, The Way Way Back, We Are The Best!, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Le Week-End, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Frozen, Mrs. Brown, A Single Man, Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, The Trip, Funny Face, Slacker, New York, I Love You; Coffee & Cigarettes, Don Jon, Blue Is The Warmest Color, Geography Club, and The Interview.

Music: My top ten artists according to last.fm for 2014 have a lot of overlap when you consider that Johnny Marr and Morrissey both were part of The Smiths and Adam Schlesinger is writing/singing/performing songs for both Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy.

1. Fountains Of Wayne (132 plays)
2. U2 (126 plays)
3. Morrissey (99 plays)
4. Taylor Swift (62 plays)
5. The Smiths (59 plays)
6. Ladyhawk (52 plays)
7. Enya (51 plays)
8. XTC (48 plays)
9. Johnny Marr (47 plays)
10. Ivy (44 plays)

Violining: My violin was attached to my neck most of this Fall but for overall ensembles/concerts that I performed with this year, I offer this:

• March - "Annie Get Your Gun" at Falconer High School
• May - Jamestown Area Community Orchestra Spring concert at Jamestown High School
• October - Jamestown Area Community Orchestra Fall Concert
• November - "Les Miserables" at Jamestown Community College
• December - The Living Christmas Tree at First Covenant Church

Random Bits: I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in October and have been on medications since that seem to have stabilized my levels so far. Matt made the decision in 2014 to get Lasik surgery on his eyes, but that won't happen until 2015. We bought a fancy, new convection oven, 5-burner gas stove in December after another pecan pie filling failure on Thanksgiving. I also bought a Pono device after buying Neil Young's pitch hook/line/sinker. It really does have great sound quality although I will admit I'm still mad at Apple for discontinuing the iPod Classic as that probably would have been my music player replacement for my iPod Touch, which is old and doesn't hold nearly enough music for my liking.

Looking Ahead to 2015: Who knows what could happen? It's going to be a year of some change with my office being moved to City Hall, Matt being able to see without glasses, and the fact that it's an election year for our Mayor. I've never been a fan of resolutions because they're far too easy to break, but I'm hoping that we go into 2015 with an open mind and patience for what lies ahead.

Stealing & Recovering a $5 Million Stradivarius in Milwaukee

It's easy to put a romantic spin on a story about the theft of a Stradivarius violin, but it was anything but for Milwaukee Symphony Concertmaster Frank Almond when he found himself tasered and his $5 million "Lipinski" Stradivarius stolen just before he got in his car following a concert.

Indulge me with a moment of levity. I can't help it. I imagine that there are many in my age group who automatically hear the pronunciation offered by Vincent Furnier, known professionally as Alice Cooper, in this movie scene:


Done? Done.

Almond recently told his side of the story to The Violinist's Laurie Niles.

Fortunately, the tale ends positively with the recovery of the violin and the arrest of the two individuals suspected in the case. Almond was back on stage with the "Lipinski" in concert a week after it was recovered.

One of the things I appreciated is that the value of both of the bows that resided in the violin case along with the Stradivarius were divulged: $20,000 and $30,000. Stradivarius violins are so desired because they produce an amazing sound, are rare, and still retain some mystery in terms of the exact combination of materials that work to give the instrument its sound. But every violin needs a bow if you are going to realize the instrument's potential. A bow's construction is just as important as its larger partner. Of course, a bow isn't much without a violin where you can still make music on a violin in the absence of a bow.

My public service announcement for the day to any parent who has a child who is becoming more serious about being a violinist and who is playing on a full-size instrument, is that it's worthwhile to invest in owning a violin and it's worthwhile to buy a quality bow. Your wallet may be unhappy in the short term, but your child will enjoy playing on a better quality violin versus struggling with a violin-shaped-object. The goal of purchasing a violin is not just to save on rental costs but to give your child the opportunity of a lifelong enjoyment of her instrument. Here are some other thoughts on the topic.

There Is Violins in "Annie Get Your Gun"

I did my first run through of the music with the pit ensemble for Falconer High School's production of "Annie Get Your Gun" last night. Initial ensemble run-throughs are always interesting because you're not only getting a chance to hear how your part fits in with everyone else but you also get to find out just how different some of your music markings are from the Conductor's score. The only issues that seemed to come up tonight were whether we were in 4/4 or 2/4 time since it wasn't always written in the instrumental part if the time signature had changed. Our conductor loved that one!

The fun thing about playing in musicals for high schools is that there are usually a couple students on in the ensemble. FHS's pit orchestra is hampered this year by a lot of would-be-pit members being part of the actual stage show. Still though, it was good to see the return of one of the flutists who had performed in the pit for "Cinderella" last year. As the students move up in grades, you can start to hear them grow as musicians both in confidence and musicality. 

This year's show will run the weekend of March 14-16th. Here are some numbers as done in the Broadway revival of the show.

Tipping The Hat To Summer 2012

While there are actual seasons blowing in and shining down, the constant pace of my life has hardly seen a break in years. But seasons come and go regardless of whether I'm occupied or not.

This summer..

- We hosted this year's "Cousins Weekend" which saw the arrival of cousins from Albany and Boston, aunt from Buffalo, and my parents from Rochester to our house. Somehow in just a weekend, we visited Southern Tier Brewing Company, Panama Rocks, Bemus Point, Chautauqua Institution, Forte, Lily Dale, and Dunkirk. It was a bit of a whirlwind for me as the host but I was so glad to see everyone!

- My parents came down to visit a couple times to help with some household improvements and to celebrate Father's Day. My grandmother came the latter visit and we had fun going to the Yassou! Festival and finding bargains at some of the local thrift shops.

- Matt and I worked on some household projects. The downstairs bathroom saw a makeover with the old vanity being ripped out, new flooring being put down, a new-to-us toilet being installed, new lighting, a pedestal sink, and wainscoting installed on the walls. The room still needs a final bit of wainscoting and a final paint job before accessory installation can happen.

- I finally got to see Fountains Of Wayne, for free even, as part of Buffalo's Thursdays In The Harbor. It was a wonderful show even though there were only a handful of us who were familiar with a greater range of their songs beyond "Stacy's Mom."

- The end of June included the arrival of a puppy in our lives: Sammy. Sammy is a German Shepard-Lab-Mix we adopted from Northern Chautauqua Canine Rescue. Matt says he's one of the best puppies he's ever had. The little guy is quite cute and quite a handful. I never had a puppy before so I was definitely not prepared for the lack of sleep, the time commitment, and the patience needed. Even so, I like having him around. He has a lot of the traits of Buddy to the point where we joke that Sammy is Buddy reincarnated. I didn't blog about Buddy dying back in April. I don't know if I ever will. I still miss him so much and probably always will.

- On the health front: Matt and I have been eating a diet that follows the Paleo Model. We were strict for the initial 30 days of the diet (started day after Mother's Day and continued until June 8th), but have relaxed to the point where 70 to 80% of our diet is paleo. The diet is a "real food" diet that is gluten free (no rice or corn even), legume free (no peanuts or soy), and dairy free. As it's anti-inflammatory, I've seen my rosacea calm down and I lost some of the stubborn weight (around 5 lbs) that had been hanging on for the last year despite all my exercise/calorie counting. Matt lost 16 pounds he had gained back after his big weight loss competition last year and saw his allergies settle down as well. I don't miss bread as much as I thought I would although lunch is a bit more complicated because there isn't the easy fall-back of sandwiches. Eating romaine wraps does get old. I also am not missing cheese as much as I thought I would either. That doesn't mean I haven't had a cheeseburger here and there over the last few months!

And forward...

- I submitted my resignation from my teaching gig at Infinity Visual & Performing Arts. Part of it is because I will have a rehearsal on Wednesday nights most of this Fall which would have made it impossible to teach the one day I'm available. Also, while I really enjoyed teaching and I liked the small group of students I had, sometimes you need to step back and refocus.

- Refocusing doesn't mean I've given up being busy. The rehearsals I will have are for JCC's production of "Legally Blonde" in November. It has been 3 seasons since I've done a musical at JCC and 2 years since I played in the pit for "Chicago" at Lucille Ball Little Theatre of Jamestown. It was time for a challenge of a familiar, but different variety.

- Busy also includes: Playing in a wedding this Saturday and enjoying Local Music Showcase, a couple trips to Rochester to celebrate my mom's birthday and my parent's 40th wedding anniversary, a Fiona Apple concert on October 9th, a Morrissey concert on October 19th, a Jamestown Community Orchestra concert on October 21st, three weekends of "Legally Blonde" performances, and Matt's 40th birthday. You'll need to check back in with me sometime in January before I have free time again, in other words.

Sun & Blue Skies in February

It's a rare sunny and blue sky filled day today in Western New York.  We've had more than our fair share of cloudy grayness for the past couple months.

Zumba

I decided I enjoyed taking the class so much that I signed up for Instructor Training with my friend, Ali.  We head up to Rochester after work tonight for an all day session tomorrow.  There's a serious need for evening classes in the Jamestown area with only one being offered at the Y after the 5 o'clock hour.  I'm hoping Ali will be able to fill the gap, with me filling in if needed.  On a related note, I re-joined the Jamestown Y since as long as I make it there at least 3 times a month, it pays for itself in terms of the cost of adding me to Matt's membership. 

Violin

I won't be performing in any musicals this Spring as the school I usually play for doesn't have a violin part written into the musical they are doing.  This means I won't be playing again until the Spring concert for Jamestown Community Orchestra.  On the non-performing side, I still have 2 students at Infinity.  After almost 10 years of prodding, T.R. McKotch finally got me to write a violin part so one of my students could accompany an ensemble that's covering "Back To The Earth" by Rusted Root.  I can't really say I'm writing the part as all I'm doing is transcribing the background vocals so my student can follow along.  It's still more than I've dared to try in years.

Radio

I'm still faithfully recording the news every Sunday through Thursday night for WRFA.  I've also been voicing a segment called "This Week In Metal" whenever I'm sent scripts by Len Barry.  It's a goofy segment, but it's fun to do something different than straight news reading.  For the past month, I've also been mentoring the Public Affairs coordinator at the station to give him some pointers, story ideas, and delivery tips.  He has some radio background, but he's left to his own devices a lot of times so I thought it would be helpful to offer some guidance.

Health

I've had a cold/sinus drainage issue for over 5-weeks now.  I was knocked down pretty good for 2 of those weeks but my doctor didn't recommend any kind of medication.  I'm hoping it will go away soon since it has been keeping me from being as active as I'd like.  Otherwise, I keep trying to eat healthy, get enough rest, get enough fluids, run the humidifier at night and exercising.

2010 - Is It Over Already?

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
I began teaching violin at Infinity Visual & Performing Arts

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Not much of a resolution making sort of person, but I did pinky swear with a few friends that 2011 will be the year we're more positive.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My cousin, Rachel, had a baby girl in May.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
My Grandfather died October 5th. He had been sick since this summer, but took quite a turn that first weekend of the month. Just by chance I was able to be there in the room with my family when he died. In an odd way, being there helped bring a lot more closure than I've had when other family members have died.

5. What countries did you visit?
Matt and I went to Hamilton, Ontario to see Star Wars In Concert on our 6th wedding anniversary.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
The feeling like I can move forward with things I want to do.

7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Losing some fear to do the things I want to do.

8. What was your biggest failure?
Still not saying no enough.

9. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I'm still a pretty healthy gal.

10. What was the best thing you bought?
PlayStation 3, which enabled us to "cut the cord" on the upper tiers of cable.

11. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Matt still gets high marks.

12. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
It would not be polite to name names.

13. Where did most of your money go?
Mortgage and house related stuff such as replacing the foundation on the backside of our house, fixing the furnace, and having to get our sewer line roto-rootered twice.

14. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Signing up for a Zumba certification class that will take place in February 2011.

15. What song will always remind you of 2010?
The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition



16. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? I am happier. I feel more even going into the New Year than last year.
b) thinner or fatter? I think I gained a couple pounds from where I was last year. Hard to say since I KNOW I gained some "holiday weight" over the holidays last year.
c) richer or poorer? Edging toward a little poorer after some hard home maintenance costs over the last year.  We're still on course though to try to purchase a car to replace my beloved Toyota Tercel.

17. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I think I should have written more.  I had a nice streak going at the beginning of the year, but lost focus.  I always wish I had taken more time to read, and that continues.  You know it's bad when you have a monthly magazine that you still haven't read and the next issue is probably in the mail today.

18. What do you wish you’d done less of?
I wish I had stressed less.

19. How did you spend Christmas?
We went to Cheektowaga for Christmas Eve dinner with my family.  Much to my joyous excitement, Matt gave me my big Christmas gift of tickets to see New Kids On The Block/Backstreet Boys with Ali in Pittsburgh this June.  After opening presents, we headed off to Midnight Mass at Queen of Martyrs where the service actually began at 10pm and only lasted 42 minutes.  We left Christmas morning after eggs, toast, and copious amounts of coffee to come back to Jamestown for Christmas day with Matt's parents.

20. Did you fall in love in 2010?
I stayed in love.

21. What was your favorite TV program?
Paranormal State, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Psychic Kids, and the news.

22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No. I'm not big on hate because it wastes so much energy. There are people who disappoint me, but I don't hate them.

23. What did you want and get?
Some pure joy.

24. What did you want and not get?
That sense that I can change some things in order to be more happy

25. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I worked and later went to the Brick Room for dinner with Matt, TJ Maxx, and then ice cream at The Big Dipper. I turned 34.

26. Who did you miss?
I was sorting Christmas decorations when I came across a box from my grandmother's house that hadn't been opened since she died 5 years ago.  When I opened it, all the linens smelled like her house and reminded me of how much I still miss her.

27. Good Things About 2010 (a list)

When I Grow Up, I Want To Be...

I had the discussion with some friends not long ago about what we wanted to be "when we grew up." Of course, that always leads to the inevitable, "I'm still asking myself that question every day because I STILL haven't grown up!"

Even if you're fairly satisfied in your job, I think it's always good to look back at where you thought you would go in life and the dreams you had as a child. Consider it a lesson in grounding yourself, perhaps?

So my list of all the things I thought I could be was so varied that I thought it might be fun to list them all off:

1. Witch - Some of the first books I read on my own were about a little girl witch, Dorrie .I think I thought I could become a witch too and make potions to help people. It wasn't until years later that I learned that there were actual witches in this world
2. Artist - My mom signed me up for a variety of art classes through  Rochester's Memorial Art Gallery's Creative Workshop when I was younger.  Most of them involved some sort of water color painting and drawing.  There might have been one class where we made pottery items, but I could be confusing that with art class in middle school.  My mom was an enthusiastic supporter of some of the stuff I produced which I suppose led me to believe that maybe I could do that art thing.
3. Ghost Investigator - Before I became afraid of everything bloody, violent, and gory in films, tv, and books, I read many books about the paranormal.  After I exhausted the children's section of the library, I moved onto the rest of the library to find books with ghost stories and other horrors.  I think my idea about becoming a ghost investigator was primarily fueled by seeing Ghostbusters.
4. Meteorologist - Meteorologist Kevin Williams visited my school when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. He had footage of tornadoes and other weather phenomena.  It looked exciting and something I could
5. Archeologist - The Indiana Jones movies are solely to blame here although my parents did have a habit of taking me to every historic village they came across while on vacations.  I still love history.
6. Musician - Before the next notion came about, I decided that maybe I could be violinist professionally because how cool would it be to play violin in an orchestra and get paid for it??
7. Music Teacher - The performer idea track was derailed when the idea to become a music teacher was presented to me just before 8th grade.  I think it sounded reasonable and something I might like to do so I spent the next 6 years of my life dedicating my studies toward this goal.
8. Music Historian- Almost 3/4 of the way through my freshman year in college, I realized that maybe I didn't want to be a music teacher.  I loved music and thought perhaps the music history route was the way to go.  I even met with the music history department head at Baldwin-Wallace College to try to feel him out for what possible careers in that field could be.
9. Radio Music Director - Ultimately, I switched majors to broadcasting with thoughts that maybe I could be a music director for a radio station since I had so much fun doing it in high school.
10. Radio Programmer - That led to thinking maybe I could program a whole station.
11. Radio News Person - And then I took that news writing course my Junior year in college at Buffalo State and it was all over from there.

What were some of your dreams of what you wanted to be when you grew up?  How true did you remain to those dreams?

2010 Summer Run Down Thus Far...

I'm going to say summer started at the end of April because we've had some seriously nice weather these past few months. So what have we been up to? Ready, steady, GO!

- A Dos De Mayo Party at Shannon Mac's house kicked off the season. There was delicious food made by one of the chefs from Hutch's Restaurant in Buffalo, a DJ, and a slip'n slide on a hill.

- "This Week In Metal" was revived on WRFA-LP (podcasts available). Leonard Barren and Julia Tesla can be heard weekly giving you random cool facts with a metal theme.

- I played in the Spring concert for the Jamestown Community orchestra. We rocked out to Chuck Mangione's "The Children of Sanchez."

- The foundation on the south side of our house was replaced so that we no longer feared the back-end of house falling over because of crumbling blocks.

- Memorial Day weekend my parents visited, installed a motion detector light on the back of our house and went on the Chautauqua Art Trail. We all watched the Memorial Day parade down Lakeview Avenue and later hung out at a friend's house on Chautauqua Lake.

- We attended the Yassou! Greek Festival with friends and some of us attempted to drink the Southern Tier Brewing Opa! kegs dry.

- We celebrated the marriage of NickDean and Lori in Bemus Point. It was a super hot and muggy day that was met with lots of chair rocking on the front porch of the Hotel Lenhart.

- A orange tiger-striped cat we named McKinley came to live at our house. Matt wrote the whole story here.

- We revisited our high school years by attending Forte's Surprise Prom Party - Enchanted Shipwreck Under The Sea.

- More hanging out on Chautauqua Lake for Fourth of July.

- Spent as much time as possible hanging out with Shannon who was in town from Pontiac, Illinois. Plenty of beer was consumed.

- In theory, I began teaching violin lessons at the Infinity Performing Arts Center. Of the two students I have, one had car trouble and the other forgot to show up. We'll see how the second week goes!

- We joined some cousins in Rochester to head off to the wineries for much merriment. Crowning touch on that visit, besides all the excellent food consumed, was clogging a Wegmans' aisle while looking at beer.

And that's just through this past weekend! Stay tuned...

High School Musical - 2010 Edition

I put on a pair of dressier jeans that look just like another pair of dressier jeans I own this morning. At first, I thought it was the older pair because they were slightly loose on me. Then I realized it was the newer pair and that I must be experiencing the joy of "musical weight loss" already even though I had only been to one rehearsal.

I'm playing violin in the pit for Falconer High School's production of "Once Upon A Mattress." I rehearsed with just the pit last night as the cast wasn't quite ready to do a joint rehearsal. That will come in bits and pieces this Sunday for Tech Day. The pit members watched the cast run through parts of songs last night before we escaped to the band room to do our part.

I was glad to recognize a few faces from last year's production of "L'il Abner." One of the cool things about high school plays is that you get a chance to see how students change over their 4 years and hopefully grow into new parts. The kids who are playing in the pit band are great. They have a casual approach to rehearsals but clearly know their stuff. We lost a trumpet player to the part of the Minstrel in the play, so he is missed but the group still seems tight. I just need to make sure I nail my part since I'm all by myself.

Doing a musical this time of year involves a little bit of insanity, but I think I've found there's never a good time to play for a musical when you have a day job. This is a compensated gig, not that the money is important. I'd probably do it for free, but given how precious my free time is, I also have to know when to say no. Fortunately, I don't have to in this case.

Performances are in the Falconer High School auditorium on March 12, 13, and 14th. Not sure about times or ticket prices just yet. Should be a nice time!

Miscellaneous Madness

It's crunch week for the musical with Opening Night this Friday. It's worth mentioning that opening night for Jamestown Community College Uncommoner's production of "The Producers" is sold out! Tickets are still available through the JCC Box Office (aka the bookstore) for November 7-8, 13-15th, and 20-21st.

What's the news? Let's break it out headline style:

Swine Flu Hits Home

Matt has been battling something stomach bug-ish that included a fever, achy muscles, and lots of reading time in the bathroom. We don't know if it was the swine flu or just some random bug. On the other hand, our friend's daughter was officially diagnosed on Friday with Swine Flu. I'm playing keep away the best I can.

Halloween Eve Brings Out Some Ghouls

Friday night, some hooligans rifled through both of our unlocked cars in our driveway. I was initially unconcerned because I don't keep anything of value in my car. Unfortunately, Matt had left his book bag in the car overnight and that would be the one item that was stolen. It contained some old computer coding books, our joint checking account check book, and our digital camera. Fortunately, Matt had recently transferred all the pictures off the camera to his computer. Unfortunately, we had to put a freeze on our checking account until we can figure out what checks were taken so we can have those flagged by the bank. At least we can still do bill pay electronically. Live and learn.

Halloween Fun Fest a Success!

I spent most of the past few weeks finalizing plans for the city's annual Halloween Fun Fest. Aside from swine flu, a marching band trip to Syracuse, and other events making my pool of volunteers dwindle so that I was in a near panic right up to the day of the event, everything went great. We had a record crowd at the Allen Park Ice Rink. We know how to improve things for next year. Most of all, it seemed like everyone had fun.

The Producers Opens Friday!

As mentioned, this is crunch week. We had a very long tech rehearsal yesterday and are back at it every night this week. It's going to be a fun, but challenging show. There are some pesky transitions to iron out, but that's what the next few nights are for. I'm nervous in the sense that I woke up in the middle of the night mildly panicking about music I don't have under my fingers yet. That should come. I hope! My parents and a Great Aunt will be coming down for the show, which is great because they haven't seen a musical I've played pit for since I was in high school. There are other friends who are coming in from out of town to see it as well. Between that and having friends in the show, it's been a lot of fun. You can't ask for more, right?

A Break

It was just about a year ago that I "trimmed back" my performance schedule. I use the word "trim" lightly when I consider that I only dropped one ensemble.

This past year has been rough. I started the new job just when the busy season for the job hit. With how my contract is set up, I won't get vacation time until I've been there a year. This means my vacation time will kicks in at the same time as our busy season, so I'm looking at next Fall for when I can probably take a truly long vacation.

I finally let this reality sink in and made the hard decision to truly take a break. That meant dropping both the Jamestown Community Orchestra and The Living Christmas Tree concerts. Besides the needing a break in general there also was the fact that I was going to miss quite a few of the Living Christmas Tree rehearsals due to the musical. Plus, when you're at a rehearsal for one ensemble, that's time when you can't practice for the other ensembles. It was leaving me very few moments to just breath.

I feel extraordinarily guilty. I feel like I'm letting people down, even though another violinist showed up tonight who will be able to take my seat without any difficulty. I think it's the feeling that I'm not living up being able to call myself a musician because I'm not taking every opportunity that comes my way to play. I know that's bullpucky, to steal a Rachel Maddow-ism.

The relief that I'm sure will come is that I will be able to relax a little and concentrate more on the musical. I might be able to finally read the books I have on extended loan from the library. Undoubtedly, I'll probably feel slightly less harried than I have been. I'm looking forward to finding out what that kind of feels like for a little while at least.

Getting The Best of Myself

I have a habit of letting myself get easily frustrated. Everything could be absolutely fine, but I'll let one little thing work me into a complete tizzy until I'm a sulking mess. Most of my personal drama comes from this.

Tonight, the frustration started as I tried tidying up the house. I kept seeing a million things that probably could be taken care of but I couldn't tend to right at that moment because I had other stuff on my to-do list to accomplish. And when I came across something that had to be done that wasn't on that to-do list (putting dog's bed in washing machine because he had an accident), I let that get to me too.

Naturally, going into practicing violin with this attitude was grounds for FAIL. I dutifully popped the Broadway soundtrack of "The Producers" into the CD player, opened my book to the first in a list of songs I wanted to practice and hit play. My determination turned to confusion as I tried to figure out why my notes didn't sound like they were in the same key as the CD, and then I found a spot where everything sounded "right." By that time, I had run out of music but the song was still going merrily along in the CD player. I flipped forward and back and tried to see if I could hear where the hell I was supposed to be. I decided after no success to try the next song. That went better but I still was having trouble following. The next song, I simply listened to see if I was nuts and still had a hard time following.

Of course, by this point I had decided I was a total hack of a violinist, was wondering why no one had told me before, and then started getting mad at people for not being honest and just telling me I suck. See? Totally unreasonable.

Matt gave me that look when I went upstairs to pout, "You know you just need to practice some more. You're not going to get it the first time or third time off. I thought you said rehearsal had gone okay."

I stomped away at this point and did some menial task to calm down. Then I decided that since writing seemed to be going well for me the past couple days that I'd blog.

I really need to find a way to not let myself get this frustrated. It's counter-productive and childish. The last time I had one of these moments was when I had to teach myself how to use Audacity to create the music soundtrack for the Labor day Festival Fireworks. That time, I kept at it. I made myself go back to the project and just keep at it. In the end, it worked out. I just need to find that inner push to not let the negative thinking kick in and throw me off course.

The Producers - Casted

If you're a Facebook type and want to see the full cast list for JCC Uncommoners' production of "The Producers" then click here.

A very short list:
Max Bialystock - Tim Smeal
Leo Bloom - Gary Peters Jr.
Franz Liebkind - Len Barry

I singled out these three because they have main parts and they all have the distinction of having worked together before in the local improv group, The Unexpected Guests. While I bet it's not unusual to have a cast where people have worked together before, I'm guessing that this kind of collaboration doesn't come along all too often unless you're talking about the Christopher Guest movies.

They're also friends of mine so I'm unabashedly biased. Congrats to them and the rest of the talented folks who were cast! Performances are scheduled for the first three weekends in November. I'm sure there will be more to come.

It All Starts After Labor Day...

The subject line is a bit misleading since I'm going to backtrack a little to say, "Hey! This is what we've been up to!" Fortunately, I don't have to go into many details because I've had my cell at ready to transmit pictures from wherever we've been this summer.

My parents came down for a visit/house work last week. My mom wanted to finish sewing seat cushions for a window bench in our dining room along with the dining room curtains. To give you an idea for how long the latter project has been in the works, we had bought the fabric for those curtains around the same time that my grandmother died in August 2005. Since my dad is unemployed, he tagged along figuring he could work on other house related projects for us. The impressive list of what happened over a four day period includes:

• seat cushions sewed


• curtain rod hung


• curtains sewed and hung


• new-to-us screen door installed on our back door (previous one busted)
• railing installed on back steps


• moisture barrier laid down in basement crawl space

In turn, we took my parents out for dinner to Forte last Friday and also provided them with musical entertainment (King Rail in Allen Park) and tasty beverages (Beer at Forte and Beer at the Empty Pint at Southern Tier Brewing). I'm really fortunate to have parents who are as crafty and handy as my mom and dad.

On the downside, while working on the crawl space project, my dad came across some troubling issues with several of our foundation blocks. We have a call into the guy who worked on our garage to come look at our situation. I'm not feeling too optimistic about how much this will cost us right now.

On the positive side, once I get past the city's big Labor Day Festival on September 6th, the craziness takes a turn toward crazy of my own making. I've signed up for Tuesday/Thursday sessions of Zumba that start September 9th and go until December 22nd. I decided that keeping good health is important and I've enjoyed the weight I've lost over the past couple years (over 17 pounds!!).

The Wednesday after Labor Day will be the first rehearsal of the pit orchestra for "The Producers" at Jamestown Community College. I have the music and Broadway soundtrack to guide me. I just need my violin back from the repair shop where I sent it to get a new bridge put on. Other music endeavors for the Fall will be the usual Jamestown Community Orchestra and The Living Christmas Tree. Non-performance items we're looking forward to include the Elvis Costello concert at Chautauqua Institution this Saturday and the Chautauqua Region Word Local Music Showcase on September 12th.

Throw two more weddings in there, including one where I'm supposed to play violin, and it's a full Fall. Possibly a little less crazy at work, but I don't think anything ever really slows down. It should be fun!

Beginning the Winter Months..

Winter can be a long ordeal in this part of the country if you're not equipped to deal with endless days of snow, cold, and sunless skies. I usually try to keep the doldrums at bay by immersing myself in the things that sometimes get pushed aside during the flighty days of Spring and Summer.

I don't concern myself with trying to find ponderous material to stretch my brain cells. If it comes my way and I welcome it, so be it.

The first book of the new year that I've read is Dedication by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. It's chick lit from the same duo that gave us The Nanny Diaries, however I liked this story better.

Part of what grabbed me and had me laughing throughout the story was that the character is the same age as me and the book featured flashbacks to the main character's youth. The authors manage to mostly accurately capture the era and the trials of junior high and high school. Plus, the main driver of the story is that a girl finally is given the opportunity to tell off a guy who hurt her. I had the guts and opportunity to do this a few times in my previous dating career. There is a certain satisfaction when the telling off is deserved.



Pictures And Sound's self-titled album is something I downloaded from eMusic a month or two ago, but just started listening to more frequently. Yes, the lead singer sounds a bit like Chris Martin of Coldplay, but I like the simplicity of these songs. My favorite so far is "It's You" (Behind the scenes on recording this song starts at the 1:19 point).




Now that I've had a few weeks off from my dizzying schedule of performances, I realized I should replace my strings on my violin before rehearsals for Warren Orchestra started up this month. I decided to try a new brand per Violinist.com's Guide to Choosing Violin Strings.

The Pirastro tonica set for violin seemed to fit my needs and the price wasn't bad on Shar. Unfortunately, I didn't quite have the funds to purchase a back-up of the same brand. For that reason, I've been saving the old set of strings I take off my violin just in case I'm met with a breakage.

A Wednesday Update

Matt wrote a great post that is a good other-person's-point-of-view of my life for the past two months.

I survived weekend #1 of Peter Pan quite well. The Jamestown Community Orchestra concert went very well too. I start the whole process again tomorrow night when we have a "brush up" rehearsal for the musical leading into weekend #2 of performances. While I only have one performance on Sunday, I will have a "Living Christmas Tree" rehearsal in the evening. I'm confident at this point that I will make it there.

From the non-music side of my life, there isn't too much to report. We used the Veteran's Day holiday to take care of some house clean-up.

I went to a Zumba class at the Ice Arena last night that has left me a teensy bit sore. It was great fun though, and I'd be willing to try it again. Between the exercise class I took in September and October at the Arena, a weird ailment that left me with no appetite for a couple weeks, and the constant activity where violin playing is concerned, I've dropped about 8 pounds. This is great news aside from the fact that my budget doesn't include funds to buy pants in a size smaller than what I have on right now. Still though, hooray for weighing in at a number I haven't seen appear on my scale since 2001! Let's hope the holidays don't kill it.

Come See the Jamestown Orchestra Sunday Night!

If you're plum tired of the feel-good stuff on ABC like Extreme Homemakeover on Sunday night, why don't you drop by First Covenant Church in Jamestown to hear the Jamestown Community Orchestra play?

For music selections, check out the article in the Post Journal: Orchestra To Hold Concert.

And the girl wearing black in the picture is me at our rehearsal last Monday. I thought that was nifty.

Peter Pan: A Review

The opening performance of Peter Pan got a great review in the Post-Journal today. Read it here.

Every show has had some bumps, but overall it's going really well. I'm having a hell of a good time even though I'm completely exhausted as I write this following two performances today. We do a matinee tomorrow and then repeat the whole process again next weekend.. and the next.. with possibly one more show being added depending on ticket demand.

It's worth the price. Trust me.

Altered Awakenings

Yesterday was the kind of non-stop day that I'm glad to rarely have. I honestly don't know how people who have schedules like this stay sane.

I started it at 9am, like any other work day. It kept a pretty pace from then until 10:30pm. Instead of a lunch break, I went to my exercise class during the noon hour. Lunch was eaten at my desk while I returned some phone calls. Dinner was a quick sandwich at my desk before I went to a radio station advisory committee meeting directly after work. I ended up leaving that meeting before it ended so I could stop quickly at home to change into jeans and grab my violin. The next two hours were spent wrapping my head and fingers around some new music at a rehearsal.

Finally, I made it home but that only led to sitting down at the computer to edit news scripts. Once that was taken care of, I left again to record the next day's news cast. A friend tried to coerce me into having a drink with him, but by this point I was at a point of exhaustion where my stomach threatened to upheave itself.

Then blissful bed finally at 10:30. What? What's happening? It's 2am? For some reason I've awoken and the first thought I have after looking at the clock is,

"Four hours of sleep? No. I must get back to sleep. That wasn't enough time to process all the music from tonight. Must sleep so I can digest some more. Must learn."

Three hours later, sounds of my husband moving around the house before he went to bed after a marathon session with a new computer game woke me again. I drifted between dreams and consciousness for the next 2 hours, hearing the garbage trucks beeping outside, or the gentle snuffling by my dogs as they slept.

Method for Crash Learning

By the end of this week I will have picked up three different sets of music for upcoming concerts. While the performances aren't until November or early December, I still am faced with a somewhat monumental task of not just becoming familiar with, but being able to play all this music with some sort of magical competency.

Fortunately, there are some tools I can use to help me along the way. Since I was taught mainly using the Suzuki method, I usually try to find a recording of the music to listen to first. After iTunes or eMusic fills that need, I make a cuppa tea.

After the tea has steeped for the appropriate 3-5 minutes, I settle back down in front of my computer with my violin and the sheet music. For the next undefined space of time, I can be found wearing headphones, frowning at my music stand, invariably plucking my violin strings, and swearing under my breath.

By the time I'm done listening and frantically trying to find where the hell I am in the piece of music, my aggravation has made it necessary for me to check what blogs have been updated in my Google Reader. You can now usually safely assume I've given up trying to make sense of the chicken scratch note transcription on my music stand for the night and that I'm hoping not to embarrass myself too much at the next rehearsal where I'll find out how the music is really supposed to come together.

Add a few dozen more cuppa teas, more swearing, dogs hiding in corners when I just can't figure out what that note is in the stratosphere on my violin, and you've got a rough sketch of my practice regime. Here's to the next three months!