Semester: SURVIVED!

And cue the "Hallelujah Chorus"! ;)  I feel like I basically dropped off the blogging planet these past few months, but more importantly, I was wading through towering piles of scoolwork and schores. Having come out alive, I can sincerely say that this has been the most challenging semester of my academic career. We will find out in January how well I fared grade-wise.

Unfortunately, I woke up yesterday with all the comings on of a nasty head cold...and a performance to be sung in the evening. ACK! Thankfully, the voice held out. But I was forced to cancel my lesson today because it has now taken over my throat and resonators! What a glorious note to close out my semester... :*(  On a positive note, though, I ought to be counting my blessings that that is all I had to cancel. Not a huge deal, because this can be made up; not usually the case for a performance. Just frustrating because I really could have used that lesson. (Flying home tomorrow morning will be a treat with all this head congestion... Ha!)

Since it's been like 7 years since my last post, here's the run-down of some highlights:

▪ Murder Mystery party for Rachael's birthday!

▪ Rehearsing the seance scene from The Medium starts to influence your life...almost burnt the apartment down at 6:30am on a Monday...then had a rehearsal where I sang about burning things at 9am.

▪ Also having dreams about "Doodly" and "Mother, mother, are you there?" Creepy. 

▪ Harvard boys can't count. 

▪ I got a job teaching voice lessons!

▪ Dawn Upshaw at Symphony Hall

▪ Birthday party at my vocal coach's house (his own party) = AMAZING way to spend my Saturday night. So much laughter, dance party in his kitchen, "Sound of Music" sing-along. Awesome!

▪ Flying home for Thanksgiving, my hair got a pat-down at airport security. Yes, this is real life. Actually happened. Apparently, my hair looks suspicious or dangerous. And my opera coach, Dr. D, has reveled in this to no end. (He cannot wait for the Facebook updates when I fly home tomorrow.)

▪ My hair has become an out-of-control source of humor, jokes, and teasing. I find it just as hilarious as everyone else. I actually make half the jokes, myself. haha! It's got a mind of its own! Dr. D is relentless on the commentary. Hilarious!

▪ Spent a few days hanging out with my nephew Xander, who showed me his robot skills with an empty Sam Adams box that my dad gave him to play with. 

▪ TWO new pairs of glasses because mine broke over Thanksgiving. AND I chose and ordered them all by myself! My friend Edwin brought to my attention that the one pair look like Karen Walker's. It's true:

▪ This conversation actually happened at Thanksgiving dinner:

Aunt #1 (whilst interrupting Aunt #2, who was talking about the Erie Otters hockey team...but wasn't listening): "Did you know that otters hold hands when they go to sleep, so they don't float away?! Isn't that sweet?!"
Aunt #2: Are we talking about the same Otters?!"
Ladies and gents, THIS is what happens when you weren't actually listening.

▪  Mom rode the train back to Boston with me and hung out for a few days.
▪  Edwin and I got engaged. (Not for real! That would be way too dysfunctional. haha!)

▪  This is Edwin and me:

▪ After all these years of late nights, I have found that I am actually more of a morning person and far more productive then.
▪ Whipped out a 25-minute presentation in two days.
▪My roommate and I went to dinner one night, and the host at the restaurant legitimately asked, "Uh...What's with the 1980s hair?"
▪ Dr. D thinks I should write a book about the adventures of my hair.
▪ My voice coaching sessions are highly amusing and usually consist of me, to no end, singing quirky vowels and my coach asking if I am testing him. Ha! You have so much patience for me, Mr. M!
▪ Sang Dvorak's Gypsy Songs and a couple Beethoven folk tunes for piano trio and voice.

▪ Been discovering crazy cool things in my voice! (Being sick makes me sad right now because I can't play around with my new resonance discoveries.)
▪ Observed the future of classical music during choir rehearsal for community programs:

▪ I have succeeded in losing and finding my watch countless times.
▪ Christmas party at Rachael's!
▪ Auditioned for SongFest...
▪ Baked candy cane cookies with peppermint schnapps frosting and topped with crushed candy canes...instead of writing my two hefty papers.

▪ Whipped out paper #1 and turned it in a whole week early! (That's only because I had another due the same day that was even bigger, so I had to start chipping away at the work pile somehow.)
▪ Procrastinated on paper #2 some more.
▪ My roommate and I threw a little dinner party for her birthday/Christmas. I officially had no time to do that, but I am so glad we did! :)
▪ Spent this past Friday night...and Saturday night...and Sunday night conjuring up paper #2 and ended up submitting it two days ahead of time! (How is this happening?!)
▪ Opera scenes concert last night was a success! The Medium is super cool...and super emotional.
▪ Now, spent most of the day on the couch/cleaning the apartment, since I had to cancel my lesson, and I leave bright and squirrely in the morning for two weeks in PA for the holidays.

And that has basically been my life. Absorbed in school and trying to stay afloat the workload. I have two weeks to get all illnesses out of my system because come the first of the year, I have zero time to deal with this nonsense. I have an entire recital to memorize by January 15...and four songs still to learn... :-/ Plus preparing for a few more auditions (that, of course, do not all have overlapping repertoire), and two - possibly three - other recitals following my own. Here we go, crazy and exciting six months! But first, some much needed and deserved rest and repose. I'm not sure I remember quite how to let myself do nothing...

See you from the PA side of life! ;)