My mom came to visit for two days this week. :) We didn't do anything too eventful, but that's quite alright. It was nice to have nothing pertinent that had to be done and a day off work. We spent all Wednesday night watching the rescue of the miners. Talk about claustrophobia! It's pretty remarkable, though.
Voice still being stupid. *sigh* It'd be nice if it would just stop that. So. Much. Tea! Ginger, honey, Mucinex. Blech.
On the bright side, I found a sweet new blog surfing the web: Leonardo Vordoni (which just so happens to be Joyce's husband!). Very inspiring and insightful. One of my new favorite reads.
I also found this cute video.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
The Mute Soprano
I'm sure this is for the betterment of the world, one less soprano (haha!), however, slightly tragic in my life. An acute case of laryngitis. Wunderbar. :-/ It'll come back soon, though. For now, minimal talking and lots of fluids...I might float away from all the tea and water I've been chugging! ;) No lesson tomorrow; it's best I let it rest rather than unhealthily force the voice to do its thing. All the more reason to spend some time delving into everything that makes the music what it is, all its inner-workings. :)
Gratitude 277
The Internet.
Gratitude 277
The Internet.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Health Update: I was doing so much better and felt practically perfect yesterday...then today, I woke up sounding beautifully raspy. Laryngitis?! Fabulous! *sigh* Hopefully, it'll be back to normal tomorrow...otherwise, there may not be a voice lesson in store for me this week... :(
My new creative endeavor: baking bread! hehe! First, it is soooo easy! Second, finally bread like you buy at the markets in Europe...looks like perhaps no more American "squishy" bread for me! ;) Third, if a recipe tells you NOT to grease/spray the pan, DO! Basically, my first attempt lost the bottom of the loaf because it stuck to the pan. *sigh* Guess that just means I have to give it another go! Mmm...cinnamon, perhaps?! :)
My most recent scheming: I kind of really want to move to Boston. :)
Yesterday was a fabulous day. I started it off with a cup of chai tea and toast with jam, a charming video by the lovely Joyce Didonato, and started a grad app. (All of my applications are now underway and at least half-way complete...now for those recordings...) It was a very long and exhausting day, but it was a good one. Work, listened to a bit of Ella while getting the shop ready to open, practiced, made some good progress in my German lesson, went to hear the university rock band perform, and then Bible study. Three outfit changes and whizzing around in a bit of a tizzy was a bit much, though. ;)
Today, I called it before it even happened: an eclectic mix of happenings and emotions and a sprinkling of "Are you kidding me?!" moments. Okay, so the latter was a bit more than a sprinkling, but it wasn't a terrible day. Babysitting those...kids...actually wasn't too awful, either!
Gratitude 276
This evening, I met with the director of admissions for one of the schools in Boston. He just happened to be in Ohio this week and asked if I'd like to meet and chat over coffee. How awesome is that?! We talked for an hour and a half! I really like so much about the place, but of course, I won't know if it's "the one" until I see and experience it in person. Sounds wonderful...I've got my spies out... (I have a friend that is currently there.) I'm totally sold on the city, though!!! Ah! Sounds like a quintessentially "Samantha" place. :) A little bit of Europe in the States. Yes, please! Can I just go now? hehe! Also, the school is apparently surrounded by Harvard...um...get me a Harvard boy? Sounds good to me! haha! ;)
P.S. Mommy's coming to visit tomorrow!! :)
My new creative endeavor: baking bread! hehe! First, it is soooo easy! Second, finally bread like you buy at the markets in Europe...looks like perhaps no more American "squishy" bread for me! ;) Third, if a recipe tells you NOT to grease/spray the pan, DO! Basically, my first attempt lost the bottom of the loaf because it stuck to the pan. *sigh* Guess that just means I have to give it another go! Mmm...cinnamon, perhaps?! :)
My most recent scheming: I kind of really want to move to Boston. :)
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Yesterday was a fabulous day. I started it off with a cup of chai tea and toast with jam, a charming video by the lovely Joyce Didonato, and started a grad app. (All of my applications are now underway and at least half-way complete...now for those recordings...) It was a very long and exhausting day, but it was a good one. Work, listened to a bit of Ella while getting the shop ready to open, practiced, made some good progress in my German lesson, went to hear the university rock band perform, and then Bible study. Three outfit changes and whizzing around in a bit of a tizzy was a bit much, though. ;)
Today, I called it before it even happened: an eclectic mix of happenings and emotions and a sprinkling of "Are you kidding me?!" moments. Okay, so the latter was a bit more than a sprinkling, but it wasn't a terrible day. Babysitting those...kids...actually wasn't too awful, either!
Gratitude 276
This evening, I met with the director of admissions for one of the schools in Boston. He just happened to be in Ohio this week and asked if I'd like to meet and chat over coffee. How awesome is that?! We talked for an hour and a half! I really like so much about the place, but of course, I won't know if it's "the one" until I see and experience it in person. Sounds wonderful...I've got my spies out... (I have a friend that is currently there.) I'm totally sold on the city, though!!! Ah! Sounds like a quintessentially "Samantha" place. :) A little bit of Europe in the States. Yes, please! Can I just go now? hehe! Also, the school is apparently surrounded by Harvard...um...get me a Harvard boy? Sounds good to me! haha! ;)
P.S. Mommy's coming to visit tomorrow!! :)
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Germs!
I hate them! :( I have a feeling I am getting a sinus infection. And you know who I blame...!! Argh!
Needless to say, my Friday night was spent on the couch watching random television with chicken noodle soup and hot tea and cider. :-/ This makes me grouchy.
Some DayQuil and echinacea tea seem to be clearing the fog a bit today, but I would be ever so grateful if it would just stop pestering me altogether. Please and thank you.
Gratitude 275
Candy corn. My favorite American treat that is only available this time of year. :) And it has to be Brach's. Yum!
Needless to say, my Friday night was spent on the couch watching random television with chicken noodle soup and hot tea and cider. :-/ This makes me grouchy.
Some DayQuil and echinacea tea seem to be clearing the fog a bit today, but I would be ever so grateful if it would just stop pestering me altogether. Please and thank you.
Gratitude 275
Candy corn. My favorite American treat that is only available this time of year. :) And it has to be Brach's. Yum!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Mr. & Mrs. Jones
Last Saturday, my dear friends, Matt and Amber, tied the knot in a beautiful and quintessentially "them" ceremony. Everything from the day's beauty yet simplicity; it's half-hour late start (Matt is never on time for anything! But we love him anyway!); singing to each other before the exchange of vows; reading each other their several-page, hand-written, personality and story-filled vows; and a photo booth at their reception. Plus, they are just too perfect and cute together. :)
In the church, my friend Haley and I had to keep reminding ourselves that we were still in Ohio, because that church reminded us so much of the numerous cathedrals and churches we've wandered in throughout our travels. (Someday, Haley and I are going to travel in Europe together, and it's going to be the most ridiculous, misadventure-filled event of our entire lives! Those anecdotes will scream best-seller! haha!)
Even better, it was road-trip day with the one and only Chad. Fabulous! Endless gossip, anecdotes, chats, and even a few heart-to-hearts over those several hours driving to and from the wedding. I've missed that man! Actually, it lasted while we were at the wedding and the reception, too. haha! We are like the two little kids in the movie theater that no one wants to sit by...esp. when we're sitting in the church for nearly an hour waiting for the ceremony to begin! Oh, boy! ;) And at the reception, we were sitting with Jackie, one of the vocal professors, who is a complete stitch, so clearly, it just kept going!
As for this week, it's been quite the something. It's just been long and exhausting, but I'm surviving. ;) Monday was work, a German lesson (Have I mentioned how I've sort of got a crush on my tutor? Yeah...the catch: he's engaged! Bah! Every time...every time...they are all engaged, already married...or, of course, gay. haha! Go figure.), and Bible study. Tuesday was work and babysitting those...children. Can I just say that I just about had a heart attack that afternoon?! In short, the 3-yr old had a head cold I was not previously informed of (great! If I get sick...), an extra (very rude) 5-yr old because of an impromptu play date that was thrown at me, said extra child sneezing a huge snot bogey and wiping it on his sleeve then refusing to wash his hands equals a germaphobe Samantha freak-out. It was all made better by dinner with my friend Caitalin at a great Indian restaurant. Yum! So. Much. Food! haha!
Wednesday was tea and bagels with my friend Caitie who dropped by in the morning, work, a to-do list, a recital to listen to the lovely Lynn sing a piece, and an As Time Goes By/The Nanny night with Haley and her dog Geneva. :) A brilliantly British day.
Then, today was a welcomed reprieve. It was me day. Catching up on some missed television shows. (Glee has redeemed itself from its disastrous Britney Spears episode last week.) Getting sucked into YouTube videos of the incredible Monserrat Caballe. (So much so that I then had to rush to be presentable to society for the actual day...haha!) A great lesson with Lynn...the puzzle pieces are beginning to fit together. :) Babysitting Gretchen and Kate. Then, an evening of "working on things that need to get done" aka wilting on the couch watching television and trying to get myself to actually be productive. In my defense, I did cross of about half the list today. :)
Gratitude 274
The brainwaves that Lynn and I seem to share. Somehow, we never have to actually try to explain something because we just seem to get it. We are pretty much the same person sometimes. :)
In the church, my friend Haley and I had to keep reminding ourselves that we were still in Ohio, because that church reminded us so much of the numerous cathedrals and churches we've wandered in throughout our travels. (Someday, Haley and I are going to travel in Europe together, and it's going to be the most ridiculous, misadventure-filled event of our entire lives! Those anecdotes will scream best-seller! haha!)
Even better, it was road-trip day with the one and only Chad. Fabulous! Endless gossip, anecdotes, chats, and even a few heart-to-hearts over those several hours driving to and from the wedding. I've missed that man! Actually, it lasted while we were at the wedding and the reception, too. haha! We are like the two little kids in the movie theater that no one wants to sit by...esp. when we're sitting in the church for nearly an hour waiting for the ceremony to begin! Oh, boy! ;) And at the reception, we were sitting with Jackie, one of the vocal professors, who is a complete stitch, so clearly, it just kept going!
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
As for this week, it's been quite the something. It's just been long and exhausting, but I'm surviving. ;) Monday was work, a German lesson (Have I mentioned how I've sort of got a crush on my tutor? Yeah...the catch: he's engaged! Bah! Every time...every time...they are all engaged, already married...or, of course, gay. haha! Go figure.), and Bible study. Tuesday was work and babysitting those...children. Can I just say that I just about had a heart attack that afternoon?! In short, the 3-yr old had a head cold I was not previously informed of (great! If I get sick...), an extra (very rude) 5-yr old because of an impromptu play date that was thrown at me, said extra child sneezing a huge snot bogey and wiping it on his sleeve then refusing to wash his hands equals a germaphobe Samantha freak-out. It was all made better by dinner with my friend Caitalin at a great Indian restaurant. Yum! So. Much. Food! haha!
Wednesday was tea and bagels with my friend Caitie who dropped by in the morning, work, a to-do list, a recital to listen to the lovely Lynn sing a piece, and an As Time Goes By/The Nanny night with Haley and her dog Geneva. :) A brilliantly British day.
Then, today was a welcomed reprieve. It was me day. Catching up on some missed television shows. (Glee has redeemed itself from its disastrous Britney Spears episode last week.) Getting sucked into YouTube videos of the incredible Monserrat Caballe. (So much so that I then had to rush to be presentable to society for the actual day...haha!) A great lesson with Lynn...the puzzle pieces are beginning to fit together. :) Babysitting Gretchen and Kate. Then, an evening of "working on things that need to get done" aka wilting on the couch watching television and trying to get myself to actually be productive. In my defense, I did cross of about half the list today. :)
Gratitude 274
The brainwaves that Lynn and I seem to share. Somehow, we never have to actually try to explain something because we just seem to get it. We are pretty much the same person sometimes. :)
Friday, October 1, 2010
And my list just keeps getting better...
I think, perhaps, that book I want to write should be about all these ridiculous things that happen in/to my life. I need to start recording these in numerical order...haha!
"What now?" you are probably asking. Well, I was babysitting little Kate yesterday afternoon, and I sat down at their dining room table, only to find my view out the picture window that faces the local high school is of some high school dude changing his clothes "behind his car so no one can see." Well, guess what, buddy? People could see when you stripped down to your boxers in broad daylight in the middle of the street! I think that tops the cake of ridiculous things for this week! haha! But, I mean, it's only Friday, so you never know... ;)
Gratitude 273
Throat coat tea.
"What now?" you are probably asking. Well, I was babysitting little Kate yesterday afternoon, and I sat down at their dining room table, only to find my view out the picture window that faces the local high school is of some high school dude changing his clothes "behind his car so no one can see." Well, guess what, buddy? People could see when you stripped down to your boxers in broad daylight in the middle of the street! I think that tops the cake of ridiculous things for this week! haha! But, I mean, it's only Friday, so you never know... ;)
Gratitude 273
Throat coat tea.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
You seriously just can't make this stuff up!
Today as I was riding my bike to babysitting, I saw a moving truck with "Two Men and a Truck" written on the side, but there were clearly three men sitting in that truck. Then, I saw a bumper sticker on a car that said "Question Reality." Oh, geez. The irony! haha!
Also, I have a qualm (okay, many qualms) with the American sense of distance and transportation necessity. However, more on this rant when I am not so sleepy. It's been a "special" day...
Gratitude 272
Reusable travel mugs for my tea and occasional coffee. :)
Also, I have a qualm (okay, many qualms) with the American sense of distance and transportation necessity. However, more on this rant when I am not so sleepy. It's been a "special" day...
Gratitude 272
Reusable travel mugs for my tea and occasional coffee. :)
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Oktoberfest! Prost!
Last night, my friends Bradley and Miriam and I ventured to "Oktoberfest"...or the American version of what they suppose Oktoberfest is... haha! ;) It was a lot of fun, though! Yummy Bratwurst and Sauerkraut, delicious giant German cream puffs, huge Biersteins everywhere, Dirndls and Lederhosen, and a "polka" band (aka a band who thought they were playing polka and German music...what they were thinking, we'll never know!) We each had a small German beer, but I felt like I needed to be walking around with one of the giant steins. haha! Basically, the festival was exactly how you'd imagine the American tourist trap "authentic"-but-not-really version of Oktoberfest would be. (Some people were even dressed like super American tourists in Germany!) Highly amusing! Man, I wish I had pulled out my camera to document the ridiculousness. hehe! We wondered what these people who are so into it do the rest of the year when it isn't Oktoberfest? And then, Miriam and I decided that we want to be the families that are all dressed in dirndls and lederhosen. Fabulous! ;) It was pretty much the most ridiculous evening ever.
Gratitude 271
Colgate Wisps for being stashed in my purse when I'm in a rush and realize a little too late that I forgot a very important step in the morning routine! Oops!
Also...Joyce Didonato's blog and vlog posts always seem to be ironically exactly what is needed to be heard...particularly her vlog...
Gratitude 271
Colgate Wisps for being stashed in my purse when I'm in a rush and realize a little too late that I forgot a very important step in the morning routine! Oops!
Also...Joyce Didonato's blog and vlog posts always seem to be ironically exactly what is needed to be heard...particularly her vlog...
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Up, Down, Circle Around
Sometimes, like now, life resembles the bear hunt game we (or at least, I) learned in kindergarten: at every obstacle encountered in your path to find the bear, you have to decide how to overcome it..."Can't go under it, can't go around it, gotta go over it..."
Basically, life since my last post can be summed up as a cycle of "Soprano Moments" and a touch overboard on the melodrama. (My mother told me the other day that I have always been overly melodramatic. Always have been, always will be...and that's how she knows I can make it in this career. Oh, geez!)
Back at my lessons with Lynn and chugging along with a heaping dose of vocal confusion added in just so there's never a dull moment. She makes my heart happy...and somehow deals with all of my ridiculous nonsensical tendencies! haha! My voice has taken a crazy leap in many ways...and a few steps back in others, so we're working on sorting it all out.
My life is now not only filled with ice cream but also with babysitting. First, the adorable Gretchen and Kate...and then the new family of a quiet 3-yr old boy who never knows what he wants, an overly-rambunctious and "I can't do it myself!" 5-yr old boy, and a precocious and attitude-driven 7-yr old girl. Oy vey! Often, I wonder how/why I agree to things that overwhelmingly test my patience.
"Little Miss Social Butterfly" Samantha seems to be reappearing for the next couple of weeks, too. :) Spur-of-the-moment karaoke night with some friends I haven't seen in 4 months last night. (I think I've stated this once before, but I'll say it, again: Karaoke always sounds like a good idea...and then always turns in to a very bad one! haha!) Surprisingly, it was the most fun karaoke adventure I've ever had. We made complete fools of ourselves and probably (okay, definitely) weren't so kind to our painstakingly-trained classical voices by belting Disney pop music, but sometimes not taking music so seriously is good for the soul.
As for the rest of the social calendar: tonight is "Oktoberfest" downtown with Bradley and Miriam (two college friends); Tuesday is potentially dinner on the balcony (weather-permitted) with Carolyn; Friday is Homecoming/Alumni Weekend, and a few of us "new alums" are going to be completely ridiculous and go to the festivities that night and support our colleagues still in the choir at their concert; then Matt and Amber's wedding on Saturday (last one in the marathon...until next season...),which will begin with a road trip with Chad and Haley! Fabulous!.
That just about sums it all up. Oh, yeah, and I almost got smacked in the face by a butterfly while riding my bike. Like I've said, my life is filled with ridiculous things like this that you just can't make up!
Gratitude 270
Sunglasses.
Basically, life since my last post can be summed up as a cycle of "Soprano Moments" and a touch overboard on the melodrama. (My mother told me the other day that I have always been overly melodramatic. Always have been, always will be...and that's how she knows I can make it in this career. Oh, geez!)
Back at my lessons with Lynn and chugging along with a heaping dose of vocal confusion added in just so there's never a dull moment. She makes my heart happy...and somehow deals with all of my ridiculous nonsensical tendencies! haha! My voice has taken a crazy leap in many ways...and a few steps back in others, so we're working on sorting it all out.
My life is now not only filled with ice cream but also with babysitting. First, the adorable Gretchen and Kate...and then the new family of a quiet 3-yr old boy who never knows what he wants, an overly-rambunctious and "I can't do it myself!" 5-yr old boy, and a precocious and attitude-driven 7-yr old girl. Oy vey! Often, I wonder how/why I agree to things that overwhelmingly test my patience.
"Little Miss Social Butterfly" Samantha seems to be reappearing for the next couple of weeks, too. :) Spur-of-the-moment karaoke night with some friends I haven't seen in 4 months last night. (I think I've stated this once before, but I'll say it, again: Karaoke always sounds like a good idea...and then always turns in to a very bad one! haha!) Surprisingly, it was the most fun karaoke adventure I've ever had. We made complete fools of ourselves and probably (okay, definitely) weren't so kind to our painstakingly-trained classical voices by belting Disney pop music, but sometimes not taking music so seriously is good for the soul.
As for the rest of the social calendar: tonight is "Oktoberfest" downtown with Bradley and Miriam (two college friends); Tuesday is potentially dinner on the balcony (weather-permitted) with Carolyn; Friday is Homecoming/Alumni Weekend, and a few of us "new alums" are going to be completely ridiculous and go to the festivities that night and support our colleagues still in the choir at their concert; then Matt and Amber's wedding on Saturday (last one in the marathon...until next season...),which will begin with a road trip with Chad and Haley! Fabulous!.
That just about sums it all up. Oh, yeah, and I almost got smacked in the face by a butterfly while riding my bike. Like I've said, my life is filled with ridiculous things like this that you just can't make up!
Gratitude 270
Sunglasses.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Full Speed Ahead
Good news...first lesson back with Lynn on Thursday! Hope it goes well...
Bad news...sinus headaches returning. :( I hate allergies!!
My practicing today was rough at first, but then it got going really great. The placement was so spot on at times that I even got lightheaded and had to sit down. I know that sounds like it wouldn't be a good thing, but in Soprano Land, it is confirmation that you're definitely doing it right. (You just have to conquer not passing out! haha! I experienced that once during the whole blood drawing incident over Easter this past year...we certainly don't need to repeat that horrifying episode!!)
I also am still baffled by how two arias I pulled out, one new and one old, feel so unbelievably right in my voice at the current moment. I mean, since when do Beethoven's Fidelio and a 20th century American opera be what works when you first return to practicing after a time off?? So weird, yet so great. On a whim, I decided to pull out two other old arias that were okay when I first did them but fit very well now...guess I "grew" into them over the last couple of years. ;)
I've been in such a weird mood lately...small hints of hysteria or something. (Don't worry...I'm not going psycho!!) It's like you can't believe the things that are happening around you and just find yourself laughing. Seriously, the things in my life...you can't make stuff this ridiculous up! That, compounded with a tug-o-war with stress and serenity basically equal my current mental state. Add my melodramatic tendencies...and incessant sinus pressure...to that, and you've got "extra special" emotion in the package. haha!
Gratitude 269
British comedy. Pure genius. :)
Bad news...sinus headaches returning. :( I hate allergies!!
My practicing today was rough at first, but then it got going really great. The placement was so spot on at times that I even got lightheaded and had to sit down. I know that sounds like it wouldn't be a good thing, but in Soprano Land, it is confirmation that you're definitely doing it right. (You just have to conquer not passing out! haha! I experienced that once during the whole blood drawing incident over Easter this past year...we certainly don't need to repeat that horrifying episode!!)
I also am still baffled by how two arias I pulled out, one new and one old, feel so unbelievably right in my voice at the current moment. I mean, since when do Beethoven's Fidelio and a 20th century American opera be what works when you first return to practicing after a time off?? So weird, yet so great. On a whim, I decided to pull out two other old arias that were okay when I first did them but fit very well now...guess I "grew" into them over the last couple of years. ;)
I've been in such a weird mood lately...small hints of hysteria or something. (Don't worry...I'm not going psycho!!) It's like you can't believe the things that are happening around you and just find yourself laughing. Seriously, the things in my life...you can't make stuff this ridiculous up! That, compounded with a tug-o-war with stress and serenity basically equal my current mental state. Add my melodramatic tendencies...and incessant sinus pressure...to that, and you've got "extra special" emotion in the package. haha!
Gratitude 269
British comedy. Pure genius. :)
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