Snow Day!

Remember when you were little and it snowed a lot and they cancelled school? We used to get up super early and watch the news, praying that we wouldn't be able to get to class. Then, when it was cancelled, we stayed inside sipping hot cocoa, then played in the yard, digging out snow caves, building snowmen, then going inside to watch movies and play games.

Best days ever.

So, it turns out that nothing much has changed for me. I got up this morning, sorely disappointed that school wasn't cancelled. I went to quartet rehearsal and then suddenly, we got the call. Campus closed at 2:00! I promptly went home, put on pajamas, turned on my lovely fireplace, watched Gilmore Girls and ate all sorts of junk food. It was delightful. I'm such a fan of snow days.

I Try So Hard...

...to stay on the straight and narrow. Tonight= utter failure. It all started when we set up a small house concert for some friends of our teachers. When we showed up at 5:30, my 2nd violinist and I immediately groaned... drat! A cat. We are both super allergic, and so our 1st violinist gave us both an Allegra, which he takes for his allergies. About 20 minutes later, my heart started racing and things got blurry. Then I started giggling uncontrollably. Then I started crying, then giggling again. My quartet-mates began to be concerned when I stopped being able to stand up straight without swaying, and my eyes got really bloodshot. And then we played a concert. For total strangers. And my teacher who I hadn't seen in a month. Who were sitting three feet away. Wow. Then we mingled and I had to answer questions that were barely making sense to me. I really hope I didn't say anything too weird, but I have no idea. As we were deciding whether or not I was safe to drive home, I sobered up a bit and just got really tired. Don't worry, this blog post is proof I made it home. However, everyone in my quartet, as well as my viola teacher and academic advisor, have decided it's rather hilarious that I played a concert high as a kite tonight, so I don't think this will die down anytime soon. Well, at least I stayed away from the champagne!

Inspiration Hits

From now on, I'm doing things the John Cage way. Who is John Cage, you ask? Well, he was a 20th C composer who is famous for such works as 4' 33", where the performer comes out, sits down, and proceeds to sit in silence for 4 minutes and 33 seconds. Cage also pioneered the experimental composition techniques of flipping coins and drawing things out of hats to see what happens next in the piece. One of his pieces is a continual organ piece written for a small church in Germany. The piece is to last for 100 years, and it consists of someone coming in and pressing a key on the organ every few days. The organ keeps playing that until the next switch.

So basically, John Cage is the Andy Warhol of music, and I am not a fan. At all, really. I have, however, recently decided he was on to something. There are just too many decisions to make each day, and my brain is tired. Thus, I hereby relinquish any responsibility my brain has to make said decisions. From here on out, it's John Cage, baby. Really, I think this could work. For instance, I wake up in the morning: what do I eat? Answer: Open the cupboard, close my eyes, and eat whatever my hands touch first. Another-- where do I go on vacation? Answer: Write "left," "right," and "straight" on 3 pieces of paper. Draw at each intersection and go wherever the fates take you. I've already tested this method several times, mostly with good results. Also, I'm thinking the 4' 33" principle could be applied to many situations: bad dates, boring classes, lessons where I want to appear intimidating.

Yep, it's going to be a whole new world.

Lately

1. My gmail theme is ninjas. They are awesome.
2. Today I saw a man dressed as a chicken, skateboarding across the street while wildly waving a sign saying "Halloween Megastore."
3. The movie "Babe" came up in two completely different conversations with two completely different sets of people in one day the other day.

20 Years of Musical Training

Today I spent three hours playing random noises into a microphone while a computer guy manipulated my viola's random sounds on his laptop to sound like other random sounds. I'm so glad I'm doing something good with my life.