Mayo

Nothing makes you feel quite as powerful as when your roommate asks you to open a jar of something, like mayo, and then you open it with ease. Lesson learned.

Music

I've realized this in the past, but there is nothing like one of your favorite songs (that you are personally attached to on a deep level) to motivate you and push you in the right direction. There is power in these songs that makes you think you can conquer things you didn't think you could. They open your mind and promote an optimistic outlook. There IS power in music! Lesson learned.

Flying

I looked out the window as much as I could today on my flight home...The awesomeness will never wear off. Have a sense of wonder and enjoy those things you learned when you were seven. Lesson learned.

Spray Bottle Fights

Random spray bottle fights are fun! Spontaneity makes everything more enjoyable ;) Lesson learned.

Out of Bread?

So I'm kind of running low on food right now so guess what? It gives me an excuse to be creative! Frosted Mini-Wheats, peanut butter, and honey are a GREAT snack! Lesson learned.

Laundry

Well...when you are doing your laundry, make sure you come back when your stuff is done. Otherwise, when you return, your wet laundry will be on the table and the dryers will be full. Lesson learned :)

Sometimes You Just Get Lucky

100% on my Book of Mormon test today. A combination of skill and luck. Mostly luck.

Mute

Buying a violin mute makes me feel like a real violinist; no matter how much you stink at playing an instrument, when you have all of the accessories, you just feel a little better about your skills.

Senior Recitals

Senior recitals are awesome! I will have to go to more of them! Also, no matter what happens with my prospects in getting into any kind of musical major, I am committing at this moment in time to have a senior recital. That is all.

Racquetball

I lost my intramural racquetball game today. But I tried SO hard! The score was 9-0, with myself winning, but my opponent came back little by little. I just made this process take as long as possible...I learned today that it's okay to lose as long as you make the victor suffer as much as possible before they win. Hang on for as long as you can; make them EARN it!

Deer

Sometimes awesome things can happen when you least expect them. Today as I was walking to the JFSB, two deer popped out of the bushes and bounded right through the middle of campus! Spontaneity makes life so much more interesting!

?

I have no idea what I learned today. Really.

Piano

So I went to Dr. Holden's piano concert tonight, and it was so awesome! (Twice!), I got to hear this one piece for a ten-pieced piano ensemble called "Entrada" by Stephen Scott; apparently, Dr. Holden got to spend some time with the composer and got specific instructions on how to do it. Why would he need specific instructions? Because the way that this piece is played is with 8-pound fishing line: the piano strings are BOWED! So today, I pretty much learned that when you do something differently from the way it is "supposed" to be done, like bowing the piano strings instead of hitting the keys, it can turn out amazingly! Plus, awesome side-note, I got to sit next to Paul Pollei, the founder and artistic director of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation. You don't get to do that every day...

Names

Today I learned that it isn't a good idea to name two very similar things in close proximity by the same name. I was looking for the Benson Building today, but there was a severe problem: there are two Benson buildings, and they are on the same side of campus! One is called the Ezra Taft Benson Building, and the other is called the Ezra Taft Benson Agriculture and Food Institute. This is great evidence for why you should not name two of your kids the same thing...George Foreman, how do you do it?

Bach Menuets

Today, according to Professor Jennifer Williams Brown, I learned that many Bach menuets are supposed to be played at 70 beats a minute, which IS fast, but is most likely how they were played in Bach's time. As exemplified by this specific example, it is just as important to study the history of music performance as it is to study the history of music composition.

9/8

Today, the life lesson I learned was that using a whole note in the time signature of 9/8 is "grammatically incorrect." Thank goodness for educated music class TA's! In 9/8, instead of tying a whole note to an eighth note to equal nine beats, the proper "grammar" is to connect a dotted half note to a dotted quarter note. Ta-da!

Life Lessons Entry #1

So I've decided that for now, I will blog about a life lesson that I learn every day. Maybe they will be deep some days and other days, they may be totally and inexplicably random. Today I tried Top Ramen Chicken Flavor for the first time. I have been a Top Ramen Oriental fan for many years, but I kind of like the Chicken Flavor, I gotta admit. So today, I learned that it is good to try new things, even if it is just a new flavor of Top Ramen.

Numero Dos

My last entry sounded pretty pessimistic, so I decided that I would try to sound more optimistic today :) So today, I did NOT spill my oatmeal on the counter and my rice did NOT boil over and I did NOT eat three brownies. Ok, for reals, I got a 90% on my biology test! So that was something good that happened today. Now...back to work!

My First Entry (This Week is Going to Be Crazy)!!!

Sensory overload!!!!!!!

Pretty much that is how my life has been...I procrastinated SO much over the weekend that I will have a majorly crazy week this week. MAJORLY...Here goes: tomorrow I have to do some major studying for a bio test because that's the last day I can take it. ( This test is going to be a doozy, too; you can't make up or guess any of the answers. You have to know them! Question: At what light frequency is photosynthesis optimal? Answer: between 425 and 675 nm.) And for the first time in my BYU history, I will have to pay the $5 late fee to take the test. Also tomorrow, I have my weekly volunteering at Wasatch Elementary and then three and a half hours of class. To add to that, I'm supposed to go the library and watch Modern Times before my Humanities class. Additionally (can you tell that I have written one too many college papers?), I have a duet piece to write so that I can collaborate with my partner on Tuesday. I haven't even started on it yet; it's in A minor, 30 bars in 9/8 that sound like an earthquake. And I'm supposed to write it using Finale, which my partner showed me how to use, but I've never actually used the program before...If that isn't enough, I'm going to start my diet again tomorrow because I pretty much fail at keeping myself healthy without staying on it. I can't go half-way on anything; it's either all or nothing! The past couple of days, I haven't exercised at all and I ate an entire box of Swiss Rolls (Saturday) and 1/3 of a Betty Crocker Party Chip Cake today! I'm FAT!!! But do I care? That is tbd.
The same thing has happened to my piano practice; things can get so hectic here at college that I haven't gotten around to practicing since I finished auditions at the end of January. All or nothing...not a very good concept...I think that my brain isn't wired correctly. Speaking of auditions, I found out at the beginning of the week that I didn't get into the School of Music here at BYU. I went and had a chat with my piano professor, Dr. Hancock, after I found this out. (That was not a good day for me; I looked like a wreck and in fact, that was the first time I cried about anything (besides leaving my family) since before fall semester started in September.) Anyways, Dr. Hancock decided to ask the administrators if there was any way that they could fit me into the general Music B.A. degree here, which I have come to think would be a very good fit for me. No word yet on if they will let me in or not, but it seems that they may be the last hope for me to get a degree in music of any kind. Dr. Hancock really petitioned them hard, so I am grateful to him, whether or not I actually get into the program. And this week, I'm going to try and meet with the head of the Media Music degree, the degree which I didn't get in to, and see if I have any other options. I want music to be my life, but if I can't even get this far, is it really meant to be?

The rest of the week is not going to be any easier. I have a mid-term in Humanities that I haven't even started studying for yet and a major project in Biology that I'm going to have to completely re-work. I wanted to study the times and conditions at which crickets start chirping at night, but as it turns out, there are no crickets where I live. So I think that I'm going to change it to a study of what times and conditions at which birds start chirping in the morning. Which means that I will have to get up at sunrise for the next couple of weeks...AAAUGGGHHH!

On top of all of this, I'm still looking for a job. I've interviewed for four different ones over the course of a few weeks, but I didn't get the job each time. I've applied on-line, too, but still, nothing has come up.

And right now, I'm mad at the library, too, because I have a major fine on my card for something that I returned and they lost. So I also have to go and file an appeal at the library so they can fix it.

I think I'm going to die...