Today, I read an article that identified my life. (Gratitude 307)

Okay, more what my life will become, but even now, in different circumstances, this is already my life...and becoming evermore apparent as I follow this imminent pursuit of a city of considerably farther distance from home. The title: "Festing: The Sometimes Lonely Realities." (Unfortunately, the article is not archived on the Classical Singer website yet, as it is in the February issue, so I cannot provide a link to it.)

No, of course, I am not currently a Fest singer in Germany, but maybe (hopefully!) someday I shall become such. Regardless, the realities of my chosen career path begin and endure in such emotional tug-o-wars as described in the words published by Jennifer Porto. She states right out in the forefront as the subtitle of the piece, "A full-time American Fest singer in Germany shares the realities of the hard days when contractual obligations mean missing out on once-in-a-lifetime family events and living in a foreign country means always feeling like an outsider. Are the trade-offs for doing what you love worth it?"

Honestly, I wish I could publish this article here for you to read (and for those who are still gaining insight into this somewhat distant world I've chosen and what its gains vs. sacrifices really mean), however, I do not possess the license to do so.

Somehow, this post has become unavoidably melancholic. (I apologize for the slight "Debby Downer" air.) And in answer to the question of whether it is worth it, I shall leave you with Ms. Porto's bittersweet closing remarks:

"...I remember going home from that rehearsal so angry and upset. It's not an easy decision to make to stay here, and that day made me really want to go home... And then I realized that if I were at home with my family, I wouldn't be doing what I'm lucky enough to get to do every day here. Yes, in a perfect world, I'd have exactly this job, but near my family...But we don't live in that perfect world. There's no uplifting end to this column. In the midst of loving what I do, there are days when I miss feeling at home and at ease. Today is one of them. Such is the life..."

C'est la vie...

**All quotations are credited to Jennifer Porto and Classical Singer magazine.

In my life...

Ridiculous, sometimes unexplainable, and overly ironic things happen. Seriously. Ridiculous.

So last week, I was unbelievably sick. :( I was in bed ALL week. Luckily, I didn't have many work shifts scheduled, but I still had to call the ones I did have off. Awesome to not have to go to work, very not cool for my bank account. Because I didn't have much work scheduled, I intended to spend the rest of my time that week studying and doing research. Obviously, that was all down the drain. To top it off, this scenario took place (and yes, it actually happened):

The heat went out in my apartment. It was literally 48°F in there. An icebox. I lost my voice, so my mom had to call Jerry the landlord for me. The maintenance guy came. Couldn't fix it. Furnace repair guy came. Circuit board was fried. Ordered a new one but wouldn't be in till the next day. Grrrreat! So Jerry brought up space heaters. He leaves, we plug them in, not even ten minutes later the electric went out. But, of course, not all the electric because when he came back, the kitchen and the bathroom still worked. So...we plugged the heaters into the kitchen with an extension cord while he went to the basement to reset the breaker...which wouldn't reset. Awesome. Maintenance guy is called to replace the breaker board. He and Alexa (my roommate) and Jerry leave. Ten minutes later: the rest of the electric EXCEPT for the microwave and the bathroom. Fantastic! Needless to say, we ended up going out to Alexa's parents' house to spend the night. I was a miserable mess and hadn't gotten any naps from all the chaos at the apartment that happened throughout the day. When we got back in the early afternoon the next day: still no heat. Really?! Thankfully, though, the heating dude showed up shortly thereafter. Hallelujah! Electricity and heat!

This is my life. haha! Finally doing better, too. By Saturday, I was doing much better and just was congested. Jeni's Ice Cream has this stuff called Influenza Sorbet that came out on Friday. It has orange juice, lemon juice, honey, ginger, cayenne pepper, and whiskey. It is some wicked stuff! I bought a pint on Friday and ate the whole thing! It seriously knocked a lot of it out of me. So I bought two more pints. haha!

Started some singing on Tuesday minus my entire top octave, but it's slowly coming back and still working on getting rid of the rest of this gunk. Coaching session and a voice lesson was had today. Boston in 12 days! Nerves, here they come! ;)

Gratitude 305
PG Tips tea. :) We have it at the bakery, and I sat over there this morning doing some studying with a cup of that tea before my lessons for the day.

Gratitude 306 (because I have some catch-up to play!)
Last night on a whim (what's life without whimsy? hehe!), my friend Lindsey from the bakery and I went to see The King's Speech. OMG! SOOO FREAKING GOOD! I seriously LOVED it. British humor plus an amazing performance from Colin Firth plus ridiculous yet hilarious vocal exercises during the elocution lesson portions equals one incredible film. I think it struck a special chord with me, coming from the vocal perspective. I have never had a speech impediment, but I understood the physicality of it and empathized with him in the sense of vocal production and its frustrations. Definitely going to watch this one again and again. :)

I live in an igloo.

Someone please tell me why my apartment is 56°F (13°C)!! Ridiculous! Feeling a bit better today, but the voice is a hot mess. Mmm sexy frog...just what I always wanted to sound like! haha!

I've done a lot of mindless TV watching the past couple of days. Three seasons of The Big Bang Theory for Christmas...3/4 of the way thru season 2...   (So much for that productive study week I'd anticipated! A little difficult when you can't even focus enough to read a title page or an email!)

Gratitude 304
Warm blankets! 

Now, please give back my soprano tessitura...and make my apartment's heat work, again!

The wrath of illness has struck!

Ugh. It hit me yesterday like a Mack truck. I have barely left my bed all day and had to call in a replacement for work. :*(  I don't know what's wrong, and I don't care...I just want it gone! It has also capsized my voice. :( Boston audition in 3 weeks and Chicago in 6. I'd like to be preparing for auditions and getting things accomplished rather than curled up in bed feeling so yucky. *sigh*

Gratitude 303
Email communication can be both a curse and a blessing...right now, I'm counting it as a blessing. ;) I have a feeling that exciting things are to come in the next few months!

Also, you should totally check out AniMusic because it is pretty sweet:

Check this kid out!

Look at me, getting holiday photos up before St. Patrick's Day! haha! ;) Check out the photos (and a video!) that I just added into the "Holidays in the Country" post. :)

Yup, I'm back in Ohio... *sigh* I am ready for a move...just don't know exactly where that will be quite yet...
Q is back in my life after his semester abroad. I missed that crazy kid. ;) And just like always, he's a whirlwind...he told me two days ago that he needs to record that new piece he wrote for me...like tomorrow. haha! Oh, Quinton! Gotta love the boy.

Gratitude 302
I actually really enjoy working with Geri and the gals at the bakery. It's like being in your own kitchen. Good times. (We don't need to even discuss my other job...ugh.) Plus, it's snowing right now, so finally it is beginning to look like January, again! Yay! Now, if my new snow boots would hurry up and arrive, we'd be all set. ;) 

Happy 2011!

I thought I'd start the new year off right by posting a quick little blurb. Here's to hoping 2011 brings exciting new adventures! ;)

Gratitude 301
Late nights watching TV or movies with my little sister...even though I've fallen asleep on her every night this holiday! haha!

The Soprano: A Year in Review

Well, technology has suddenly taken a rushing return to my life yesterday, despite my attempts against it. I'm still in PA for the last of the holiday festivities, but a realization that I actually have...*ugh* "Real Life"...to attend to, once again, in just a few short days. haha! Oh, well. I'll survive! ;)

As I always do on this day of every year, I fall accustom to the trite nostalgia of another year come to a close, and the bits of life that occurred over that chronicled chapter. So...I absurdly flipped through the pages of my blog (quite a feat to even give it a thought while on dial-up! haha!). There they all were: the excitement, the laughter, the successes, the heartbreaks/face-smacking moments, the tears, the courage, the stubborn independence, the defiance, the drastically over-dramatic, the weird anecdotes that probably only I found humorous...and the continuance forward despite the vast unknown.

Gratitude 300
It was like physically reliving each and every moment...and so many times I wish I could do exactly that... ;) It is incredible thing us, humans, can do — attach full emotions to experiences, both happy and painful. That's the beauty of life. And this is how we grow. Each experience and episode that we witness or take part in throughout our lives contributes to some facet or another of our being. (It is also very difficult, I have found, to condense an entire year of one's life into one page...)

Now, in lovely Facebook "My Year in Statuses" fashion (that in itself is a completely ridiculous statement!!), here is a brief montage of the published moments of Samantha's 2010...

I'm going to write a novel. (Still need to figure out about what...haha!) ♦  Read the ridiculous Twilight series ♦ A million hours of rehearsal last night scattered with short tempers (myself included), but we survived... ♦ Dance party at Katie, Caite, and Bryans! ♦ Coconut does not go down the garbage disposal. ♦ Katie and I decided to take an adventure to The Mad Greek, and it was the BEST decision ever! ♦ Smile. ♦ "I hate when I just miss a call on the last ring, but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and then goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and then run away?" ♦ Fencing is so sweet! I can't wait till I get my sword! Right now, we are working on footwork, aka What-you-need-to-know-before-I-give-you-a-weapon 101. ♦ Sang Phyllis last night in Iolanthe. ♦ Missing Europe a lot today. :( ♦ Only now exists. ♦ Strength of character is found in the standing up after smacking your face on the carefully-laid bricks. Keep the spirits high, a smile on your face, a bounce in your step, and take heart in the world of possibilities that surround you. ♦ Need to write that poetry paper sometime...due Monday at 6pm...plenty of time! ♦ My spontaneity and adventure are ready to roll! =D I love my life! ♦ New York, New York! ♦ Life as I know it...this week! ;) ♦ Hungarian music recital ♦ Bought my cap and gown for graduation today...EEK! ♦ Recital preparations have taking over most of my brain capacity. ♦ Sang Handel's "Let the Bright Seraphim" on my friend Haley's trumpet recital. ♦ RECITAL DAY!!! Beautiful dress. Beautiful music. In good voice. High heels. Chad carefully matching his tie choice to the color of my gown. (Gotta love him!) Watching Gilligan's Island for nearly three hours to keep my mind off of my nerves. ♦ The Soprano invades YouTube! ♦ How my life turned into an episode of "Grey's Anatomy"...and Herman called me "Sunshine." ♦ Alexa locked herself in the bathroom... ♦ Somehow, I got talked into presenting research at Undergraduate Symposium. ♦ Friday was my last Chapel Choir concert! ♦ Awarded the Sigma Alpha Iota Scholastic Award! ♦ Espresso and Sarcasm ♦ College is over?! ♦ Q called, said he'd be there in 10 minutes, and we were going to a Renaissance fair. Me: What?! I'm not even dressed ye---" Q: "Just do it." Me: "Okay." ♦ I booked plane tickets to Europe! I am totally psychotic, and I don't know how my family puts up with me and goes along with my craziness. ♦ B.M., Magna Cum Laude! ♦ I can't stop myself from feeling that my life is suddenly turning into the movie Post Grad..."Everyone say over-priced education!" ♦ I shall kicketh booty with my made diva kung fu skills. ♦ Katie's bachelorette party was Iolanthe fairy-themed. (Need I say more?! hehe!) ♦ After all these years and a college degree, I am still a terribly ADHD studier! ♦ Katie and Bryan's epic wedding. ♦ Second start to the right and on till morning... ♦ Mirabell Gardens. ♦ Today was: the most agonizing and stressful day of my life thus far. ♦ This is my adventure. ♦ A bicycle ride in search of Schloss Frohnberg... ;) ♦ Munich, Germany...during the world cup... ♦ Diana Damrau's Liederabend! ♦ The Deutsches Museum and Neuschwanstein Castle ♦ "Ich habe die Aschkarte gesorgen." ♦ 20 hours in Vienna...*sigh* ♦ A return to my lovely Magyarorszag. :) ♦ The World Cup Finals on a terrace. ♦ Kecskemet, Kecskemet! Allomas! ♦ Bienvenidos a los Estados Unidos de America. ♦ Continuing to kick my little sister's butt at Scrabble. ♦ Maybe, I'm just going to end up on a gay tour of Tuscany, impulsively buy a fix-it-upper villa, and learn to speak Italian. ♦ Oh yeah,...I almost joined to Coast Guard...that's funny in and of itself. ♦ 4 more weddings... ♦ Jeni's...I drank that Kool-Aid... ♦ Q signed me up to sing at a Gospel Methodist church. ♦ Record-breaking phone conversations with Katie. :) ♦ If you give a 2-year old a pickle, approximately 30 minutes of entertainment has been provided for a mere 40 cents. ♦ Year 23. ♦ The Adventures of Sarah and Samantha. ♦ A brief hiatus from singing. ♦ "Jesus loves me...so it's all good!" ♦ The Grad School application process. ♦ Laryngitis. ♦ Rainbow promises. ♦ Grad School applications submitted. ♦ "Never regret anything because at one point, it was exactly what you wanted." ♦ A new computer. ♦ A random Facebook chat catch-up with an old friend. ♦ Chicago, Chicago! ♦ A lovely lesson with Ms. Sunny Joy. ♦ Christkindlmarkt and mulled wine! ♦ Goodbye, Great Grandma in the Mountains. ♦ A charming letter from Janos and a Christmas greeting from Agi. ♦ Home for the Holidays. :) ♦ Welcome to the roller coaster of my life. ;) 

On to 2011! Bring it on! It's going to be a crazy year, some big changes and decisions, and a whole lot of ridiculousness, but we'll make it through! ;)

Cheers!

Gratitude 299

The DVR. A recent luxury in our house...and one that I certainly don't have at my apartment. (Although that would be nice! haha!) Last night when I got home, PBS was showing Great Performances. It was of the LA Philharmonic's opening gala, featuring the beautiful Juan Diego Florez. :) Since it was past 1am, of course I fell asleep, but thanks to the DVR, I can now finish watching it and listening to his gorgeous voice! Mmm! ;)

Gratitude 298

Dad likes to take Xander outside for snowmobile rides, and Xander freaks out about it. He does a whole happy dance and everything. That kid is like a little snow puffkin or something. haha! It seriously cracks me up to watch "the boys" together. It's pretty adorable. And hysterical.

Holidays in the Country

This could also be titled as "Hello Hello Hellooo From the Land of Dial-Up"...or "Samantha's Semi-Vacation from Constant Technology"! haha! It seems to happen when I come home that I all but completely abandon the cell phone, the constant Facebook livefeed and status stream, and checking/responding to the email inbox every 12 minutes. Part of it is because of the lovely...dial-up...connection, and also from some sudden I-don't-really-care-who-just-opened-a-box-of-mac-'n-cheese-and-whoever-sent-the-email-can-wait-to-hear-my-responses-next-week attitude that takes hold when I enter back into the Snowbelt. 

I think I will recount a record of Christmas through pictures and a particular media clip or two, but those will have to be inserted later when I am back on the hi-speed side of things. (Provided the internet at my apartment decides to actually work! Argh! Paying a lot of money for it to stop working!) So for now, I will just leave this post with a gratitude, and check back to this one at a later date when it will be revised. :) Who knows...I might get brave and work on some of them here in Timbuktu...but don't count too much on that! hehe!
 

Gratitude 297
There's nothing like having Christmas with a 2-year old in the house...  ;)