Countdown to Birthday

Above you will see a countdown which inevitably began long ago that would lead me to the completion of my twenty-third year on this planet. Over the next few weeks, I'm sure I will have some wisdom to impart, but for right now I'm just depressed that I've accomplished so little in so much time! And I definitely wanted to have a six-pack before now. Yowsers.

Concert Announcement

This message will only apply to those in the immediate area (unless you just really love me), but I wanted to officially invite my readers to my first orchestra concert of the season. So here's the program:

Indiana University School of Music
Symphony Orchestra
Gerhardt Zimmerman, conductor

Symphony No. 1 in C minor by Johannes Brahms
Russian Easter Overture by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Sunday, September 25, 2005
Musical Arts Center
8:00 p.m.

Hope to see you all there!!

Oops

Today as I was walking to lunch, I happened to notice a snag in the flow of traffic at the corner of 3rd Street and Jordan Avenue. It seems as if two girls (let's just know them as Bambi and Cindy) were not looking and/or obeying the traffic laws established by a series of lights that direct auto drivers through intersections. Nevertheless, we had ourselves a little fender/hood bender. I was fortunately close enough to be able to snap a quick photo with my phone so that everyone could see. If you're so inclined to zoom in on these gals, they appear to be quite calm about the whole situation, but I assure you that not even 15 seconds post-picture-taking, both presidents of their respective sororities were bawling like someone had just stolen their favorite pair of pink shoes. I found this to be quite amusing, but realized quickly that if in the same situation, I would probably be crying also!

Well, it's Friday and I'm going to try to break the mold tonight. I'm getting out of the library (soon) and not coming back until.....well, tomorrow! But Friday night is fun time for me. If anything changes, I'll be sure to let you know. P.S. Enjoy the clock I hung on the wall. It is displaying local time here in Bloomington, so don't get all confused and mess up your sleep schedule if you are in another part of the world. It's not that big a deal, just a clock, so don't freak out on me. Ok, have an excellent weekend, I will try to as well. Ciao :-)

Lump Day

Traditionally I think that Wednesday has become to be referred to as "hump day" by the majority of white-collar working Americans. But for me, Wednesday is lump day. You see, Tuesdays are so taxing for me (see previous post for detailed scheduling) that when my eyes open up and take the first breaths of Wednesday air, the lumpness sets in and there's pretty much nothing I can do about it. Hence, it's only 10:25 am, and although I am at school, I've checked my e-mail like 10 times, read a series of blogs in which I find interest, and now I'm actually able to take the time to talk to my beloved readers. But alas, nothing important will get accomplished in my life today...it's a certainty.

But on lump days, sometimes I get productive in other ways. I usually do make it to the gym where I pretend like my abs are just days away from finally revealing themselves. I'll usually make a stop at the health food store to buy some "ice cream" and then I'll get online and check my e-mail just another couple of times. But I'll most likely go to bed early and wake up nice and spry to tackle the rest of the week.

I suppose if this should contain a moral, the moral is that everyone should find at least one or two lump days in their week. Lump days can be quite nice, and you can still manage to be productive, just in other ways than normal. Ok, being that I'm a lump today, I've actually become exhausted from typing! Bye-bye.

Otis

Otis is a cat. He belongs to my roommate, Travis, but I'm slowly starting to accept the boy as one of the family. Now I'm not usually a cat person, basically because I hate how arrogant they are, but Otis is actually quite friendly and at times can embody that canine-like affection that have earned dogs the title man's best friend. Anyways, Otis is still pretty young...I think just a couple of months old, that's why he keeps confusing my hand for a chew toy. But yes, little Otis keeps the apartment fun. Well, I just wanted to take a minute to say hey and introudce you all to my feline friend. Have a good week!

Techology and Education

Normally when I see these two words together, technology and education, I usually don't think anything and just continue on with my day whistling some melodius tune that for one reason or another has blessed my life with a joy than can only be expressed through a beautiful haiku. But tonight, as I sit in one of the computer labs on yet another Friday night trying to complete my online chemistry homework that is due at precisely 11:59:59 pm, I am finding the two terms highly contradictory. The deadline quickly advances towards me, and due to reasons beyond explanation, I find myself unable for the first time since the fourth grade to complete an assignment punctually. You see, the Indiana University Department of Chemistry thought it would be a nice idea to have students complete their homework through a system appropriately nicknamed, C.A.L.M. Because that's sure what I am right now. I mean, had I not gone to high school with freaking geniuses, I would have easily been valedictorian, and near-valedictorians don't just accept incomplete work. It's atrocious, and believe me, people will be hearing about my technological woes besides the few and far between who peruse the blog periodically. So alas, the night is fading away and I'm just sitting here rabidly anticipating a response from the Associate Instructor (AI) with a little assistance. It just seems a little quirky to me that although I possess the appropriate knowledge, my grade will suffer as a sort of twisted punishment for not having mastered this flawed computer system. Oh well. I just thought I'd take a few moments to emote while I waited for my AI to solve life's problems. Enjoy the weekend, everybody!

Raquel Goes Artsy

So like any good musician, I am extremely supportive of individual artists and I like to say that I do what I can to support their art. So I would like to bring to everyone's attention that our very own Raquel has taken a particular liking to the photographic arts. One of her pieces has been spotlighted on Jeff's Blog in the past, but since then, a spin-off website has been spoken into existence. Raquel's specialty, or preference rather, is flowers. However, the occasional spider crawling around isn't out of the realm of possibility either. So, go ahead, click here and appreciate Raquel's new-found artistry. Rest assured, though, that if Raquel gets too artsy fartsy on us and refuses to shave her legs, this link will go bye-bye. Have a nice night, everyone.

Not Just a Sandwich

Hey there. I have about ten minutes before I need to start walking over to my chemistry class (water is comprised of Hydrogen and Oxygen, like oh my gosh!), so I thought that instead of pulling out books and trying to study, I would tell you guys a little bit about the town I'm living in. Bloomington is a neat town, actually. It's not San Francisco for sure, but it does have its subtle charm. Something caught my eye the other day and I took a picture of it with my phone. Bloomington has a restaurant called Jimmy John's, sort of like Subway with fewer options. Anyways, they feature a sandwich known as "the Gargantuan." I took a look at this thing and all my questions about what caused the obesity of America faded away. I'm pretty sure this sandwich includes every meat that mother earth gives us, mountains of cheese, and then the usual lettuce, tomato, onion, la-de-da. I have to admit that in my bigger days at IU, I probably consumed a least one Gangantuan a week. But those days are long gone! Ok, times up. Happy sandwich, everyone. Wish me luck at Chemistry.

Here I Sit

To save everyone from commenting after they read this entry, yes, I am a dork and I don't have a life, but that's ok. Ok, now that the disclaimer has been adequately placed, on with the show.

I have had probably one of the saddest weekends in the eyes of the multitude of Abercrombians that have infested our beautiful Bloomington campus. On Friday night, I was actually informed by the employees at the music library via bullhorn that it was approaching midnight and that the library would be closing. I guess that didn’t phase me, because I didn’t leave the library until the literally robbed me of that beautiful fluorescent light that I think is actually starting to taint the pigment in my skin. So after I was forced to leave that beautiful center of knowledge, I took my book, Wicked, and went to the 24-hour Starbucks where I continued to inform one of the biggest party schools in America that indeed I am without a life. So I absorbed about 50 or so pages of one of the neatest books I’ve ever read. But nevertheless, someone who has a score and two years of age under their belt should not be shooed out of libraries and be found reading a book on a Friday night.

So onto tonight. I actually did arise at a decent hour (pre-p.m.). So not really having any big agenda, I decided to finish a recording project for my old high school (yes, I stay in touch with my band directors, I told you I’m a dork). After that I went to the pool to swim. Oh, here’s a good story. So I’ve been practicing my flipturns which are worthy of an entire story of their own. But I’ve actually been improving and I had just kicked off from a really nice flipturn and I was giving myself a metaphorical pat on the back, when suddenly my moment of jubilation was interrupted by my right eye being flooded with that perfect blend of water and chlorine. So I had to swim with my eyes closed the rest of the way to the wall so that I could bail the water out of my goggles.

Which leads us up to now. Prior to coming to the main library at IU, which is open 24 hours, I committed an act which I detest. I ate dinner by myself. I personally feel like eating by ones self is one of the saddest things in the world. So now I’m sitting in the Herman B. Wells Main Library telling all of you how lame I am. But there are other people here, which makes me a little happier. Ok, I’m going. I’m going to check my e-mail one more time and go to bed. Take care, everyone and have a great rest of the weekend.

The Day That Will Not End

So hello, everyone. It's been a good while since I have shared anything with you. Unfortunately, there really aren't any fantastical thrills in my life to share with you, mostly because school is consuming every ounce of my being. Take today's schedule for example:

7:30 - Wake Up
9:05 - Music History
10:10 - Aural Skills
11:20 - Meeting with Advisor to find out when I can graduate
11:45 - Practicing
1:30 - Lesson
3:00 - Lunch
4:00 - 2 Hour Orchestra Rehearsal
7:00 - Chemistry Discussion Class
9:00 - Trombone Orchestra Rep. Class

Do you see why I am literally exhausted and technically my 13 hours and 25 minutes school day is still not yet completed?? But, I'm getting my life on track and if that's what it takes, then I guess that will have to do. Of course, I do miss the small things, like lunch at 12:00 and being done for the day at 2:53 (and not a second more). But alas, my day well exceeds 8 hours and I'm positive that no overtime is coming my way.

Oh, right. But good news did come from my advisor today. As hoped, I will indeed be able to graduate by the end of the summer!! I am so elated by this news. Although I am a genius, I'm starting to feel that the academic arena is just not where I best fit. But anyways, enough of my rambling. I hope everyone is enjoying these last few days of summer (Californians: the preceding comment does not apply). If anyone has any fun ideas of what I can do generate intriguing blog material while at school, please let me know.