Wednesday, February 23, 2011
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
Hi Everybody! In case you haven't heard from the rest of the worldwide web, my quartet has some bad news and some good news. The bad news is that our colleague, Xian Meng, is leaving us to pursue other interests. We will miss him terribly, but we wish him all the best. The good news is that Michelle Lie will be joining us as the Tesla Quartet's new second violinist in May, 2011. We're so excited to have her join us here, as she's a wonderful musician. If you'd like to know more about her, you can head on over to teslaquartet.blogspot.com. Anyway, it's been an exhaustive process trying to find someone new, but we feel like we've scored big time, so thanks for all your support during the last few months! Here's to the future!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Some Days...
I have learned many lessons in my life. One big one was the realization that there will always be someone better than me at whatever it is I'm trying to do. That's a beautiful and terrifying thing to know, but it keeps my head on straight. It's always good to recognize that people can surprise you. Anyway, that is why I love this so very much. Victor Borge was a total genius, by the way.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
I Can Study In My Sleep
That's right folks! After twenty-some-odd years of education, I have at last learned the art of sleep study. I fell asleep studying my notes two nights ago, preparing for a test yesterday morning, and I spent the whole night thinking about aspects of Mozart's Piano Concerto in A, Beethoven's "Pathetique" Sonata, and John Gay's The Beggar's Opera. I went flashcard by flashcard in my dreams, and when I woke up I picked right back up where I left off.
This could come in handy.
Here's hoping my new brain powers extend to important life decisions. Wouldn't it be great if I could get ready for the day in my sleep, prepare meals, and travel? I would be so much better rested.
What would you like to be able to do in your sleep?
This could come in handy.
Here's hoping my new brain powers extend to important life decisions. Wouldn't it be great if I could get ready for the day in my sleep, prepare meals, and travel? I would be so much better rested.
What would you like to be able to do in your sleep?
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Re-Instituting FADCF
which stands for Free and Dirt Cheap Fridays, for those who need clarification. I've written previously about this idea I had while living in NYC. Well, after a month of sickness, lots of stress, and general disgruntledness, I decided to re-institute FADCF for myself. It's more the spirit of the thing, as I actually did it on a Saturday, but it's back and staying.
I celebrated the reinstatement yesterday by driving to Alliance, Nebraska,where everyone goes for fun, right? Well, although it may not be on the same par as Disneyland, it is pretty darn awesome, because it is the home to Carhenge. Like its British counterpoint, Carhenge is a mysterious formation out in the middle of nowhere. Unlike its British counterpoint, it's made out of cars, not large boulders. It is pretty darn awesome, though. Other than that magnificent sight, I also saw the Carnegie Art Gallery (in which the guide followed me around the whole time because she wanted to talk to someone and I was a mysterious stranger), several Mormon Trail markers, and Chimney Rock. It's a rock that looks like a chimney.
All-in-all, a successful road trip.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Another Year
It's my birthday tomorrow, and I'm waxing nostalgic, so I thought I'd do a year in review for myself. I realize this is self-indulgent, but if there's any day you can get away with that, it's your birthday. So, enjoy my life people!
NOVEMBER:
Wow, looking back, I really did this month right. Actually, I'm kind of jealous of myself right now. I spent my birthday performing with my mariachi band, with my parents there, after church, the day after my quartet's first concert in our series here. Well done, Megan. I then flew to Southern California, where I celebrated Disneyland-style, walked on the beach, played with my nephews, went to a knights and princesses birthday party (and I have the crown to prove it), and ate at Crab Cooker. Next on the agenda was a performing trip to the other happiest place on earth (for me), NYC. True lurve. If that wasn't enough, I spent my first Thanksgiving at home since leaving for college. That's six years, people! It was great, although I have amassed some seriously hilarious stories from Thanksgivings spent in MI and NYC.
DECEMBER:
was also good. I got a new viola!!!!, celebrated National Chocolate-Covered Anything Day, and out-Martha'd myself by planning a no-holds-barred international festival of New Year's Eve fun. Did you know that in some parts of the world they throw buckets of water on each other to celebrate the new year? Hooray for google.
JANUARY:
First winter residency for the Tesla Quartet in Aspen. Weird first impression, because the town was deserted! They had some snow issues, but things picked up towards the end of our stay. Our lovely, elderly hosts were another story. The husband kept mixing Kim up with the dog, and the wife let us know in no uncertain terms that we were not invited to dinner. Bless their souls. We did get in a great concert at the Basalt Library, which was broadcast on local tv.
FEBRUARY:
It may only have 28 days, but I swear, it felt like 29. I soloed with the CU Orchestra, had more quartet concerts in Boulder, then headed off to another winter residency, this time in Vail and Snowmass. The best story there was the woman who hired us and was in charge of shuttling us around. One day we had an early lunch at a local Italian (pronounced eye-talian) restaurant. We arrived before they opened, so we sat there in the car, waiting. As the minutes ticked by, we watched a Domino's pizza delivery guy pull up. Then walk up the door. Then actually deliver a pizza inside! I lost all my faith in our host right there. Of course, this loss was compounded when she ditched us the last day to go skiing. Super.
MARCH:
Disneyland, again.
Trip to Michigan.
Orange County Mormon Chorale concert, with a bunch of my buddies... so cool.
Oh yeah, and Frozen Dead Guy Days.
Need I say more? Probably, but I'm going to leave you to ponder that one. It was a month that rivaled November, which as you've already seen is pretty hard to do!
APRIL:
November was my first Thanksgiving with family in a while. April was my first Conference (and Easter) with family. I was still in California, which also produced another first... my first big earthquake! It was nutso! There was a huge boom, like someone dropped a wrecking ball on the house, then the glass started waving, chandelier started swaying, and my two-year-old nephew got really freaked out. So weird. So, I can now cross that off my list. And good riddance. Actually, since there wasn't any damage, it was pretty cool, in an unsettling nauseous kind of way. We also did another Aspen residency, which was lovely other than the fact that we got a foot of snow during the last week of April. Not cool Mother Nature, not cool.
MAY:
I examined the culinary delights and aeronautical wonders of South Bend, Indiana while my quartet competed at Fischoff. Let's just say, I was hungry. I have previously posted the restaurant motto that summed the trip up, "It's a meal." South Bend, "It's a town." I would have been okay, except that they were determined not to let me out of the state! We flew out of the South Bend airport, but they canceled our flight, and of course there wasn't another one until much, much later. Luckily, my persistence paid off, and I was able to get us rebooked on a flight that same day. Ladies and gentlemen, tears work. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It's even more effective if you go down on both knees, wring your hands together, and wail, "Why me" at the top of your lungs. If you can get past the thought of everyone staring, it's so worth it. I did eventually get home to Utah, and it was a rocky month there. We sadly had two funerals, but I got to see everyone in the family, which was an unexpected pleasure. I also reconnected with my PT buddy, Steve. He and I bonded all summer, but he did his job right! At the end, we were actually kind of sad to say goodbye.
JUNE:
I got to do two of my favorite things in combination: road trip + see my nieces. My parents and I drove up to Minnesota, then my mom and I took my four delightful nieces on a road trip up to Lake Superior. Beautiful vistas and lots of laughter. It was so great getting to know these wonderful girls better! At the end of it, I drove back to Colorado and Aspen, which is where I spent
JULY and AUGUST:
These two months are together, because I spent them living it up Aspen style for the Aspen Music Festival. Kim and I lived in a great condo with an amazing pool and hot tubs in Snowmass Village. Oh, the delightfulness of it all! It was relaxing, but we got a lot done, learned, made some excellent contacts, learned the beauty of Aspen bar menus, and made some important decisions concerning the future. All in all, a worthwhile summer. August does need special mention, though. I learned that I'm "mouthy" and that this is a good thing for radio, and I hosted the family reunion, which was fantastic. We spent time at Garden of the Gods, the Airforce Academy, and Boulder, and my mom stayed a couple extra days. It was great to have the time with her before going back to school.
SEPTEMBER:
was not nearly as exciting as I'm realizing the rest of my months were, although I did host a pretty epic 90's party for my roommate's birthday. And in so doing, I realized that no party stores have 90's decorations yet, although they should. It's okay, I just made my own. In other news, Colorado had a gigantic, scary fire that rivaled California, so we all spent time trying to help. It actually changed my view somewhat of Boulder, seeing everyone pitch in and donate whatever they could. The other view changing came when I met my first Freegan. He opened my eyes to the wide world of dumpster diving. Not that I could ever bring myself to do it. Ew. Germs.
OCTOBER:
I went back to NYC! So delightful, although it started out as kind of a rough trip for me. See, they managed to lose my bag on my one-way flight, so I ended up in Long Island for two whole days without anything. Luckily, Kim's mom took care of me. Unluckily, my contacts had to stay in, as I had no case or glasses, and my eyes flipped out. I spent a day crying my eyes out (much like South Bend, only less actual emotion), while Kim laughed at me. No sympathy, in that one. However, I got my fix of my city, which was fantastic, and I spent three hours in Strand Bookstore without spending money! New record on both counts.
which brings us to...
NOVEMBER:
So far, it's been a less than stress-free month. My solo doctoral recital is coming up in four days, so there will be no birthday celebrating until then. But, my folks are coming, and I've heard talk of the Denver Zoo for Saturday, so I think it will shape up to be a pretty good month.
Thanks for indulging me in this. I realize that probably this is all less interesting to you than to me, but it's been quite a year! It was really the first year of my quartet life, and it's been interesting and wonderful and horrible and inspiring and discouraging and worthwhile. Sometimes all in the same day. I don't know right now what the future holds for that or any other aspect of my life, but no complaints. I'm excited to see what happens next.
NOVEMBER:
Wow, looking back, I really did this month right. Actually, I'm kind of jealous of myself right now. I spent my birthday performing with my mariachi band, with my parents there, after church, the day after my quartet's first concert in our series here. Well done, Megan. I then flew to Southern California, where I celebrated Disneyland-style, walked on the beach, played with my nephews, went to a knights and princesses birthday party (and I have the crown to prove it), and ate at Crab Cooker. Next on the agenda was a performing trip to the other happiest place on earth (for me), NYC. True lurve. If that wasn't enough, I spent my first Thanksgiving at home since leaving for college. That's six years, people! It was great, although I have amassed some seriously hilarious stories from Thanksgivings spent in MI and NYC.
DECEMBER:
was also good. I got a new viola!!!!, celebrated National Chocolate-Covered Anything Day, and out-Martha'd myself by planning a no-holds-barred international festival of New Year's Eve fun. Did you know that in some parts of the world they throw buckets of water on each other to celebrate the new year? Hooray for google.
JANUARY:
First winter residency for the Tesla Quartet in Aspen. Weird first impression, because the town was deserted! They had some snow issues, but things picked up towards the end of our stay. Our lovely, elderly hosts were another story. The husband kept mixing Kim up with the dog, and the wife let us know in no uncertain terms that we were not invited to dinner. Bless their souls. We did get in a great concert at the Basalt Library, which was broadcast on local tv.
FEBRUARY:
It may only have 28 days, but I swear, it felt like 29. I soloed with the CU Orchestra, had more quartet concerts in Boulder, then headed off to another winter residency, this time in Vail and Snowmass. The best story there was the woman who hired us and was in charge of shuttling us around. One day we had an early lunch at a local Italian (pronounced eye-talian) restaurant. We arrived before they opened, so we sat there in the car, waiting. As the minutes ticked by, we watched a Domino's pizza delivery guy pull up. Then walk up the door. Then actually deliver a pizza inside! I lost all my faith in our host right there. Of course, this loss was compounded when she ditched us the last day to go skiing. Super.
MARCH:
Disneyland, again.
Trip to Michigan.
Orange County Mormon Chorale concert, with a bunch of my buddies... so cool.
Oh yeah, and Frozen Dead Guy Days.
Need I say more? Probably, but I'm going to leave you to ponder that one. It was a month that rivaled November, which as you've already seen is pretty hard to do!
APRIL:
November was my first Thanksgiving with family in a while. April was my first Conference (and Easter) with family. I was still in California, which also produced another first... my first big earthquake! It was nutso! There was a huge boom, like someone dropped a wrecking ball on the house, then the glass started waving, chandelier started swaying, and my two-year-old nephew got really freaked out. So weird. So, I can now cross that off my list. And good riddance. Actually, since there wasn't any damage, it was pretty cool, in an unsettling nauseous kind of way. We also did another Aspen residency, which was lovely other than the fact that we got a foot of snow during the last week of April. Not cool Mother Nature, not cool.
MAY:
I examined the culinary delights and aeronautical wonders of South Bend, Indiana while my quartet competed at Fischoff. Let's just say, I was hungry. I have previously posted the restaurant motto that summed the trip up, "It's a meal." South Bend, "It's a town." I would have been okay, except that they were determined not to let me out of the state! We flew out of the South Bend airport, but they canceled our flight, and of course there wasn't another one until much, much later. Luckily, my persistence paid off, and I was able to get us rebooked on a flight that same day. Ladies and gentlemen, tears work. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It's even more effective if you go down on both knees, wring your hands together, and wail, "Why me" at the top of your lungs. If you can get past the thought of everyone staring, it's so worth it. I did eventually get home to Utah, and it was a rocky month there. We sadly had two funerals, but I got to see everyone in the family, which was an unexpected pleasure. I also reconnected with my PT buddy, Steve. He and I bonded all summer, but he did his job right! At the end, we were actually kind of sad to say goodbye.
JUNE:
I got to do two of my favorite things in combination: road trip + see my nieces. My parents and I drove up to Minnesota, then my mom and I took my four delightful nieces on a road trip up to Lake Superior. Beautiful vistas and lots of laughter. It was so great getting to know these wonderful girls better! At the end of it, I drove back to Colorado and Aspen, which is where I spent
JULY and AUGUST:
These two months are together, because I spent them living it up Aspen style for the Aspen Music Festival. Kim and I lived in a great condo with an amazing pool and hot tubs in Snowmass Village. Oh, the delightfulness of it all! It was relaxing, but we got a lot done, learned, made some excellent contacts, learned the beauty of Aspen bar menus, and made some important decisions concerning the future. All in all, a worthwhile summer. August does need special mention, though. I learned that I'm "mouthy" and that this is a good thing for radio, and I hosted the family reunion, which was fantastic. We spent time at Garden of the Gods, the Airforce Academy, and Boulder, and my mom stayed a couple extra days. It was great to have the time with her before going back to school.
SEPTEMBER:
was not nearly as exciting as I'm realizing the rest of my months were, although I did host a pretty epic 90's party for my roommate's birthday. And in so doing, I realized that no party stores have 90's decorations yet, although they should. It's okay, I just made my own. In other news, Colorado had a gigantic, scary fire that rivaled California, so we all spent time trying to help. It actually changed my view somewhat of Boulder, seeing everyone pitch in and donate whatever they could. The other view changing came when I met my first Freegan. He opened my eyes to the wide world of dumpster diving. Not that I could ever bring myself to do it. Ew. Germs.
OCTOBER:
I went back to NYC! So delightful, although it started out as kind of a rough trip for me. See, they managed to lose my bag on my one-way flight, so I ended up in Long Island for two whole days without anything. Luckily, Kim's mom took care of me. Unluckily, my contacts had to stay in, as I had no case or glasses, and my eyes flipped out. I spent a day crying my eyes out (much like South Bend, only less actual emotion), while Kim laughed at me. No sympathy, in that one. However, I got my fix of my city, which was fantastic, and I spent three hours in Strand Bookstore without spending money! New record on both counts.
which brings us to...
NOVEMBER:
So far, it's been a less than stress-free month. My solo doctoral recital is coming up in four days, so there will be no birthday celebrating until then. But, my folks are coming, and I've heard talk of the Denver Zoo for Saturday, so I think it will shape up to be a pretty good month.
Thanks for indulging me in this. I realize that probably this is all less interesting to you than to me, but it's been quite a year! It was really the first year of my quartet life, and it's been interesting and wonderful and horrible and inspiring and discouraging and worthwhile. Sometimes all in the same day. I don't know right now what the future holds for that or any other aspect of my life, but no complaints. I'm excited to see what happens next.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Look, the Feel of Autumn... the Seasons of Our Lives
I haven't blogged much lately. This is because, although there is, ahem, an awful lot going on in my life right now, I'm not at liberty to tell you all about it. Mysterious, right? Well, sorry. You'll know soon.
Meanwhile, it's getting to be fall, and I'm waxing poetic. I LOVE FALL. I love the smell and feel of the air, how the wind changes, crunching leaves, drinking apple cider, wearing sweaters, and starting the Megan Mason calendar year. Yes, my year still revolves around the fall, because as a friend pointed out, I haven't had a fall without school since I was five. Possibly four. So even though I'd love to be done with my institutional learning at this point, I still am filled with excitement when I walk back onto a college campus for the first time that year. I love the anticipation of each holiday, each semester ending, and each degree I work towards. I've had good years and bad years, but none of them have ever been boring. And I think this will be a good one. I have a lot to look forward to, and I can't wait to see how things sort themselves out. Little (and big) frustrations aside, it's good to be here.
One good piece of news I can tell you is that my quartet was invited to stay at CU for a third year. Certain imminent events will determine the outcome of that invitation, but it's great to have it. Yay for a place to be, plus health and dental and Takacs.
I hope you're all enjoying the late summer/early fall. I'm missing Michigan right now, because it's the scene of cider mills and Halloween parties for me, but I'm trying to create that upper-midwestern friendliness right here in the mountains. And if any of you feel like visiting, cider and donuts are on me.
Meanwhile, it's getting to be fall, and I'm waxing poetic. I LOVE FALL. I love the smell and feel of the air, how the wind changes, crunching leaves, drinking apple cider, wearing sweaters, and starting the Megan Mason calendar year. Yes, my year still revolves around the fall, because as a friend pointed out, I haven't had a fall without school since I was five. Possibly four. So even though I'd love to be done with my institutional learning at this point, I still am filled with excitement when I walk back onto a college campus for the first time that year. I love the anticipation of each holiday, each semester ending, and each degree I work towards. I've had good years and bad years, but none of them have ever been boring. And I think this will be a good one. I have a lot to look forward to, and I can't wait to see how things sort themselves out. Little (and big) frustrations aside, it's good to be here.
One good piece of news I can tell you is that my quartet was invited to stay at CU for a third year. Certain imminent events will determine the outcome of that invitation, but it's great to have it. Yay for a place to be, plus health and dental and Takacs.
I hope you're all enjoying the late summer/early fall. I'm missing Michigan right now, because it's the scene of cider mills and Halloween parties for me, but I'm trying to create that upper-midwestern friendliness right here in the mountains. And if any of you feel like visiting, cider and donuts are on me.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Freeganism, and Other Ridiculous Boulderisms
The other night I went out to dinner with some friends. We were in two cars, and my group arrived a little before the other. We waited for what seemed an extreme amount of time, and then my friend Jen came bouncing in, waving what appeared to be a flag of some sort. In reality, it was a scrap of fabric with Freegan mottos written on it in black magic marker. Freegan, you ask? No worries, I'm getting to it.
From my Boulder posts, you probably know by now that it is often appropriately called "the People's Republic of Boulder." In the words of my sister-in-law upon a recent visit, "Wow, I've never seen so many granola people gathered in one place." I concur, but even I didn't know the extent of it until Jen told me what happened when she parked her car. Apparently, as she was turning off the engine, she saw a man pop his head out of a nearby dumpster. If it were me, I would have gone out of my way to avoid eye contact, but one of the girls in the car recognized him for what he was... a freegan. So, we return to freeganism. A freegan, you see, is someone who dumpster dives for foods and only eats what others throw away. The idea is that we humans have a tendency to trash perfectly good food, and freegans want to eliminate all that waste.
Dumpster Dan was thrilled that someone knew what he was doing, and he spent the next twenty minutes explaining his rules for picking out food. He never takes fruit from the bottom of the pile, he never takes meat, and he only takes canned/bottled goods that are less than a few days past their expiration date.
Fascinating. I have to give the guy props, although I find his lifestyle shudder-worthy. If I weren't such a germaphobe, I might even test it out. But, seeing as how I'm nervous to eat a piece of fruit from the local farmers' market without soaking it first, I don't think I'll be taking up freeganism anytime soon.
Viva la Boulder!
From my Boulder posts, you probably know by now that it is often appropriately called "the People's Republic of Boulder." In the words of my sister-in-law upon a recent visit, "Wow, I've never seen so many granola people gathered in one place." I concur, but even I didn't know the extent of it until Jen told me what happened when she parked her car. Apparently, as she was turning off the engine, she saw a man pop his head out of a nearby dumpster. If it were me, I would have gone out of my way to avoid eye contact, but one of the girls in the car recognized him for what he was... a freegan. So, we return to freeganism. A freegan, you see, is someone who dumpster dives for foods and only eats what others throw away. The idea is that we humans have a tendency to trash perfectly good food, and freegans want to eliminate all that waste.
Dumpster Dan was thrilled that someone knew what he was doing, and he spent the next twenty minutes explaining his rules for picking out food. He never takes fruit from the bottom of the pile, he never takes meat, and he only takes canned/bottled goods that are less than a few days past their expiration date.
Fascinating. I have to give the guy props, although I find his lifestyle shudder-worthy. If I weren't such a germaphobe, I might even test it out. But, seeing as how I'm nervous to eat a piece of fruit from the local farmers' market without soaking it first, I don't think I'll be taking up freeganism anytime soon.
Viva la Boulder!
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