Artist Series

Last night was Artist Series, and the program was a concert by the Philharmonic of Poland. The orchestra was quite good. The conductor wasn't very clear, and I think the orchestra would be absolutely mind-blowing if he would just give a clear ictus and make them stick to it. Like he would give the downbeat and be halfway to his next prep beat before they played. What . . . ? Dr. McCashin would have had a SERIOUS hissy fit if we had ever done that. But I liked them anyway:) They had a solist with them . . . Marta somethingorother with 72 consonants in her last name like any good Slavic person. She was 19. Yes, 19. She played the Wieniawski second violin concerto (I think it's the D minor one) with the orchestra and it was STUNNING. I love that concerto anyway, but she really did play so well. And she's only been playing violin for 12 years! Crazy! Just goes to show what you can do if you've got a great teacher. It was gorgeous. I'll even forgive them for playing Mozart (it was his op. 39 Eb symphony, so it wasn't AS bad as it could have been) in the first half, since they played the Wieniawski in the second half. :)

     This weekend I have quite a lot of homework and studying to do, as usual, and on Monday I'm chaperoning a freshman double date off campus. I'm not sure why I thought that would be a fun thing to do. Oh yeah. I didn't. I'm just doing it because I like these kids. Right. And they can't go if I don't go, and I don't want to make them stay on campus on their first Valentine's Day together. How mean would that be. So we're going. And I get a free dinner out of it, so what's not to love about that? :D 

     My mom always says Valentine's Day is an excuse for unthankful women to guilt-trip their husbands into buying them jewelry. Not cynical at all:) She also always says that she'd rather have a husband she knows is faithful, like my dad, than all the diamonds in the world. I have to agree with her there! What do you think of Valentine's Day?

 

 

Leah

The weekend.

This past week I was working late and trying to get a bunch of homework done because I was going to Charleston. Friday morning I got up at an ungodly hour of the morning, finished packing my little bags, and went to Charleston with three friends to the SCMEA conference. That's the South Carolina Music Educator's Association conference, for you non-music ed people. It was just tons of fun. On Friday I went to a couple sessions, on everything from non-verbal communication to starting an orchestra program at a brand-new school. Friday night we all went out for dinner at Red Lobster (a serious splurge for this girl) and then over to one of my professor's hotel suites. He won 4 days in thepresidential suite at some super ritzy hotel last year, so he used it for a vacation with his wife this year:) So he invited all of us (which included 5 or 6 undergrad music ed majors) over and we ate more food and played Signs. If you've never played Signs, you really should. It is hysterical.     

     So anyway, we were up way too late (which the undergrads thought was really cool, it being past their curfew, haha), and dragged our pathetic selves out of bed the next morning for more sessions. I went to one on teaching general music, one on beginning string players, and one on classroom management. It was lovely. Over our lunch break we went to an outlet mall, which is where I found my awesome jacket:) (see previous post!)

     After two afternoon sessions, we skipped out and came "home" to school. I didn't feel very well on account of low blood sugar and too little sleep. So I made myself work on homework for a couple hours and then went to bed at 9:30. AMAZING. Best idea ever. *pats self on the back*

     It was a lovely weekend, and it was really nice to wear pants for two days:)

 

 

Leah

This is very exciting.

I have wanted a NorthFace jacket for YEARS. Literally, years. But they're so flipping expensive! Like over $100! And this little white girl is not paying that much for a jacket. Unless it makes my breakfast in the morning for me too. So anyway, I have been eBay stalking for ages and haven't been able to find one, but today I found one just like it (only a different brand, obviously) at Eddie Bauer for $35!!! YAY!!! Good things come to those who wait!!


(real blog about Charleston coming soon to a computer near you.)



Leah

One of my favorite things

is this here Bible.

Not that exact one. I googled an image for that one. :D But my Bible is almost that worn out and falling apart. And it's also a KJV.  :)


What's one of your favorite things?



Leah

Wisdom from Tea

     So I love herbal tea. I know. I'm such a hippie. But today my throat was kind of scratchy and I'm paranoid about getting sick because everyone here is getting the REAL flu. Not the stomach virus that they all say is the flu, but the real, out-of-commission-for-two-weeks flu. So I may or may not have had four cups of tea by 3:00 today. This tea is the Traditional Medicinals Organic Throat Coat tea, and it is delish. So as I was drinking one of the many cups of tea I had today, I noticed the little tag thingie on the tea bag said, "The choices you make can change the world." Huh. Isn't that interesting. And then I started thinking about it. What if we lived like that? What if we really lived like the choices we make will change the world? What if you encouraged that moody teenager to do something great - and then she did? What if you invited that jerk of a guy to have lunch with you and asked him what God is doing in his life? What if that started him down the road to being a preacher? What if you took dinner to that young mom with four little kids one night, just to help her out? What if that saved her some stress and helped her marriage? What if the choices you make really did change the world - or just one person's world? Would you do it? Would you quit making excuses and try?

 

Just a thought. All from herbal tea. :)

 

 

Leah

Assorted life news

     This week I have been on a "media fast" at the request of Dr. Jones. He asked the student body to stay off facebook, blogs, movies, news, and any other media sources for one week to sort of refocus on the right things. So I tried it. I've found that I can get a lot more homework done without facebook around :) And my room is cleaner than normal also. Lesson learned: I spend too much time online when I really could be making my life easier by getting homework and cleaning done. I might start limiting my time on there a bit. It's all part of that "being a good steward" thing that I'm working on in my life.

     On Friday I went to see my Bible professor - the one who told our class "You can't just go by what it says in English." I asked him a bunch of questions, since we've been learning all about how we have a sinful nature in class. You know why we have one? Because God imputes Adam's sin to us. Yes, that's right, a just God is holding me accountable for a sin I didn't commit. How that jives with Him being just I do not know. *eyeroll* Anyway, my professor explained how he thinks we got that sinful nature, and I did a lot of listening. I'm more convinced now than ever that there is no such thing as a sin nature, or inherited sin, or any of that nonsense. One thing I will say for my prof is that he was consistent - he did admit that you can't say babies who die go to heaven if we really do have a sin nature.

     

     Next weekend is the music educator's conference, which I'm sure will be an absolute ball:) And then the Tuesday after that is the first Artist Series of the semester - the Philharmonic of Poland. They're really good and I'm pretty pumped for that.

 

     In other news, First Daughter is about the cutest movie since You've Got Mail. You've Got Mail MIGHT be my favorite movie ever. But First Daughter is up there. Katie Holmes was actually pretty natural in that one. Even if she was way too old to be playing an 18-year-old. What's your favorite movie? 

 

 

Leah

 

Happenings in a coffee shop, or, how to ask a girl out, from my perspective

*Disclaimer: the views represented herein are my own personal views and may or may not reflect the views of other women. :D *

     Ok. Today I was out downtown hanging out in a very cool coffee shop and doing some homework. I was sitting on a small couch, in front of me was a coffee table, and there were two chairs on the other side. As I was sitting there diligently studying my Stravinsky notes (don't ask), a gentleman appearing to be about the age of 29 or 30 walked up and asked if it would be ok if he and his little boy sat in the two chairs. "Of course, please do," I said. After not-so-subtly watching me for a few minutes, he remarked that I looked very absorbed in what I was reading. Now I love talking to people, which may get me in trouble someday. So I put down my book and explained that it was Igor Stravinsky (not expecting him to know who in the world THAT is) and he nodded and said, "I never liked his music." Well! Interesting! A guy who actually knows classical music! So we talked for a couple minutes about music and then he said, "Oh by the way, I'm Sam. And this is Isaac." Points to his son. Who says he's eight. Lovely. At this point I noticed that Sam isn't wearing a wedding ring. Not that big of a deal - a lot of married guys don't wear rings, not the least of which is my dad. Then he mentioned "Isaac's mother" offhandedly. Not "my wife." Hm. The thought that he was talking to me "for a reason" honestly never occurred to me the whole time. Continue making small talk. Before I knew it, 20 minutes had gone by. Like I said, I like to talk to people. :) And he was really nice. Anyway, Isaac asked if they could go home because he was tired. Sam says, "Sure buddy." Getting up to leave, he hands me his "business card" that just happens to have his cell number on it, smiles and says, "Call me sometime if you want. I'd really like to get lunch or dinner with you and talk some more." *walks away*

     Now let me just say that getting asked out, even if it's casual like that, is definitely a compliment (unless the guy's a total freak. Unwashed hippies abound in this city, so it's possible). But the divorcee/widower type just isn't for me. Sorry, Sam. It occurred to me that getting asked out in a coffee shop probably isn't weird at all though. There are worse places. And worse ways.

     But for the record, that was the most mature/least weird way I've ever been asked out. I've had facebook twice and a text message once. And over the phone once. And once the guy's mom asked me for him. *awkward turtle hands* Maybe I've just had bad experiences, haha!

     Honestly though, if you're going to ask a girl out, do it like Sam did it. Just spit it out and don't beat around the bush. Yeah I know it can be a little scary to put yourself out there, but I think girls appreciate honesty. I definitely do. That said, don't ask a girl out if you aren't ready for a relationship to go somewhere serious. That's just selfish and immature. And totally inconsiderate of her. Know what you're looking for and don't fool around with the ones who don't fit the bill. Again, the whole selfish-immature-inconsiderate thing comes to mind.

Thoughts? Ladies? Gents?


Leah