6:31 AM

Oh the places you'll go

If anything, this "easy A" Geography survery course (hah. the last grade I got in there was a 70) has made me realize that there are so many places in the world that I want to see. The list below is just a start since we've only covered 1/3 of the world so far.

  • Egypt
  • Belize (ancient Mayan temples and such)
  • Greece
  • Czech Republic (oh wait, my best friend is going in 3 months... hmmmmm....)
  • The Netherlands
  • Denmark
  • Spain
  • Germany

I have this thing for ancient civilizations. They fascinate me. I'm trying voice what exactly it is that draws me to their history and culture, but the right words are failing me, so you'll just have to trust me on this one.

For some strange reason, I have no inclination to see Russia. Perhaps if I learned Russian, my opinion would change...

9:53 AM

It's official...

I love Asian food. But most especially, I love the Asian-food-that-comes-from-smaller-Asian-countries, like Vietnamese and Korean. If you live in Chapel Hill, you should check out Lime and Basil on Franklin Street; delicious Vietnamese food. I'm in Ann Arbor (aka Middle of Nowhere) Michigan, but I just had a wonderful Korean lunch complete with kim chi and stir-fried chicken that could clear anyone's sinuses out. Oh and some appetizers of seaweed with sesames, a different type of kim chi and some fried egg with vegetables goodness. It was just what I wanted, and if you know me, you know that this fact is crucial to the enjoyment of my meal... (I promise, I'm not high-maintenance)

On a side note, I love staying in hotels. I thought that I wouldn't enjoy travelling by myself, but I can do whatever the heck I want whenever the heck I want. It's quite freeing. I forsee either the hot tub or a long bath in the near future.

9:57 AM

Tutti Frutti

This is a random entry to share the wonderful world of Gunther with you. Actually I find his music ridiculous, but also extremely amusing.

Warning: If racy music videos make you uncomfortable, then don't click the link below. I find this particular one absolutely hilarious. It's a song called "Tutti Frutti Summer Love" by Gunther. I don't know much about him, but you have to ask yourself, "Is he serious???"

I think my favorite part is the flying fruit. Oh, and of course that ridiculous mullet.

http://mfile.akamai.com/9139/wmv/stream.wmg.com/wmi/sweden/video/gunther_tuttifruttisummerlove_hi.wmv

6:54 PM

I could live in Cincinnati

I just got back from a wonderful weekend. Here's a list of everything that I loved about it:

1. I stayed with a girl that was the perfect hostess. She just really made me feel like I was welcome.
2. I made friends with her cat, Iggy, and he slept on me every night. We totally bonded over a huge, life-size, pellet-filled rat.
3. I got to go to a florist appointment with Colleen for her wedding and act like I was the maid of honor, giving advice and such.
4. We went to Aveda and got haircuts, mini-massages, and mini-facials for $13. And they were all quality - worth much more than what I paid.
5. I bought a sweater and a ring at New York & Company for $12 total. Basically like shopping at Goodwill or Wal-Mart.
6. My last night was spent with 4 other girls watching Sex and the City, drinking girly drinks, and eating a box of chocolates and chips and salsa.
7. It snowed (and stuck)!!
8. 3 auditions down, only 1 more to go.

12:34 PM

Oh, saxophonists.

It is insanely easy to make me happy. A hug, a touch, a willingness to listen, even a gorgeous day like today with warm sun and Carolina blue sky will put me in a better mood.

Example:Today I talked on the phone with my mom for half an hour. Generally, I call the parents, check in, find out what's new in their life, and then we hang up. Today I needed my mom like I was 6 years old again. How lucky am I that I can just call her up and she'll be there for me?

The flip side of the coin is that it is just as easy to hurt me or irritate me. Gosh, sometimes I wish I could turn off the emotion button in my body.

Example: One of my biggest pet peeves about Hill Hall is the sucky practice rooms. I don't mind when I'm down there and all I can hear is a cacophony of sound - violins, singers, pianists, clarinets, flutes all screeching away doesn't bother me. But what does bother me is when I'm smack next to either a) a non-major pianist who is an aspiring rock star/song writer and thinks that the key to getting the most sound out of a piano is banging the keys as hard as possible or b) a saxophone player. I just don't even have the words for a loud saxophonist. You just have to hear it yourself and you'll understand why I seriously contemplate spending 10 minutes packing up just to move down the hall.
Isn't it ridiculous that it irks me so much? Oh well, yet another fun little quirk about me.

... On another note, I have my most important audition this weekend. Think of me on Saturday at 3!

12:54 PM

Learning about myself

Well, I caved. I've had so much going through my head the past few weeks and I've been wanting to get it all down, so I've decided to get on the blog band wagon. I never saw myself blogging, but here I am, so we'll see if I can keep it up. This really is more for myself, but if it amuses others or gives them another reason to waste time, so be it.
For those of you that have recieved an email from me at any point, you know that I can be extremely verbose, so be prepared for some long entries. That's just how I am. I definitely express myself infinitely better (at least in my opinion) on paper - or, in this case, in type - than in speech.

So, for an appropriate first blog, here is what I've been learning about myself recently:
1. My favorite flavoring (not actual fruit, mind you) is raspberry. My favorite fruit is pineapple. I hate artificial pineapple flavoring and I'm not especially fond of canned pineapple, but I could devour a whole fresh pineapple (minus the core and prickly stuff). I'm not kidding. These are important things to know about yourself.

2. Probably my biggest character flaw is that I let people walk all over me/use me. I tend to give and give without caring if I'm getting anything in return. I guess the second sentence makes it sound like a good thing, but it can be a real problem. The best part is that in the end, I'm really the only one that gets hurt, so I guess there could be worse character flaws. I'm sure I have more, but that's one that seems to come up a lot.

3. I have gradually come to the realization that I want and need God to be a daily part of my life. Before I just relied on prayer when I was having a tough time, but I know that making God and religion something that I think about every day, so that my spirituality can grow, will make me a better person. This is a huge step for me. All through college I've sorta been on the fence about religion - just going to whatever church my friends were going to, "doing" religion half-heartedly. I want that to change. Any help, support, prayer, etc. in that area is much appreciated.

4. I am a very emotional person. I generally share the mood of whatever person I'm around and I can change emotions in the blink of an eye. This might make me a little hard to figure out sometimes, but I think it also makes me a very sympathetic friend. Ironically, I'm a rock during movies. It has to be a REALLY touching story to get me to cry. Go figure.

5. I conform to other people's personalities. I have always wondered why I don't have some trait, some word, some way of talking that others pick up on, and I think it's because in a way, I'm a mixture of all of my friends. I have different voices for all of my friends on the phone, and am very easily persuaded to change my likes and dislikes depending on the convictions of someone that I spend a lot of time with. I used to get annoyed that I am this way and wanted to develop my own personality and my own likes and dislikes. Now I'm getting to figure out who I am more and I think that this certain trait makes me a very easy person to get along with.

6. God has blessed me with amazing friends. I am most definitely in my right place and am loving every conversation, every shared time with each person that is special in my life.

7. 7 is a complete number, so I just had to add one more. I am scared to death and at the same time extremely excited about the future. These next few weeks decide where I will be living next year and what my career in music will be like, and yet I feel calm and ready for each audition. That is a blessing in itself. If you made it to the end of this, wow you really have a lot of time on your hands, don't you? Welcome to what goes on inside my mind :)