I wonder if Dufay got to wear the pope hat.

Since my last post, I have had many nights that I really wanted to write something in here about my day, but knew that if i were to write it right then that it would have sounded all emo or whiny.

So here’s some updates.

Relationships

Things with Ryan have taken a step down in intensity, but in the long run that will be good. We still hang out about 4 or 5 nights a week and have a great time doing it. We’ve also taken to openly communicating about things, and this has really eased my mind quite a few times. We’ll see what happens to this in the future, but I think that no matter the outcome, it will prove to be positive.

Massive Migraine

So last week found me more often than not lying in my bed with a pillow over my eyes, or in quartet rehearsal with sunglasses on. Yay Migraines! It was perhaps the most intense on Monday and Tuesday and was still lingering up until about midday Thursday. Lots of excedrin kept me functional, which is always a good thing.

A short word about friends

I’ve come to realize just how much value i place in my friends up here. I really enjoy being around people such as Cassie, Kelsey, Jon, Greg, Jordan, Tracey, Liz, Ryan, Kristi, Monica, Charlie, and Jessi (and the list continues) (wow i actually did keep that short)

The Saxophone

I AM giving a recital next semester sometime. The literature on it will include Mai, the Mucyznski Sonata, Maybe the Cheetham Sonata, a Soprano piece, hopefully a duet with Jordan, and Spectrum Saxophone Quartet playing a piece.

A couple of things lately have been… negative (not the best word for it) regarding myself and professor nichol. The first instance of this was when he was talking in studio about how we at night should think about what we’ve done today to be a good person and to continue making progress in our art, and not about if we made it to the next level in a video game… then he said “right Jon?” and not only is that inaccurate about me, i think that even if it was accurate it is totally inappropriate.

Next, my lesson on monday was not one of my better ones, however it was far from being a bad lesson. The only things we did in my lesson were Minor scales, Mai, and Bach #42. Minor scales were going rather well until i skipped a note in G# minor, but really… until then and even after that, they were really pretty good. We worked a lot on movement during Mai and he kept complimenting my playing on it, and said that he liked some of the fingerings i was using better than the ones he showed me. Then with about 10 minutes left in the lesson we went to Bach (he asked me what i wanted to play and i picked it because i really was proud of the work i had done on this movement the past week and wanted to see what he thought of the articulations i chose for it). I got done with it, and it wasn’t the best peformance of it in the world, i did miss a couple of notes on the second page, but i thought that it was a decent play of it. He told me a couple of things afterward to watch out for style-wise, then we listened to a flutist playing it and then it was time to go.

The next morning in my email i get this: Jon,

You didn’t have a very good lesson, in that I thought you were sightreading again.  Why not practice and prepare a lesson?

J. Nichol
CMU

So this kind of hit me out of nowhere, and as such provided quite a crappy start to my day yesterday. Then in studio he lectured us on how some of us needed to practice more and kept looking at either myself or Andrea (we were sitting next to us and it was hard to tell) he pointed at me when he said that we can never be sightreading in our lessons and at liz about the 4th mvt of something, then asked if we all understood, we all shook our heads, he kept staring at me, and said nod if you understand, so i nodded and he kept looking at me… it was very unnerving. I just don’t see how he can honestly think that i was sightreading, and am quite confused on why he seems so mad at me at the moment.

Later Chelsea said that he mentioned me in her lesson and (i had cancelled my lesson the week before due to the migraine) told her that he thought i was faking a headache to skip my lesson.

I just don’t understand

and that’s how we’ll begin, the wizard and I

So things with Ryan have been going really well. I think that we’ll make it a long way and as a good team. I’ve been spending time with him every day and I’ve been loving life.

Tonight we walked to Lil’ Chef and back holding hands. We were both a little nervous about what people might think when they saw us, but it was worth the one weird look we got. We’ve also been pretty productive, working on homework when we hang out and stuff like that.

I’m really happy with life right now 😀

*creepy voice* Grrreg, Grrreg

So I was going to bed, listening to music … in that stage where you aren’t really sure if you are awake or not… and my phone rang. I, of course, thought it was the alarm for the morning. Luckily, it wasn’t, it was Ryan calling and asking if he could come over and hang out for a while.

So, we talked until not too long ago, and through the course of our conversation brought up such topics as: religion, bugs bunny, hungarian rhapsody, honors bands, blue lake, our sisters (both named megan), as well as a couple of other things.

The great thing about talking to a music major is that there is no pressure to keep the conversation going (and thus it flows more naturally) because if you do run out of something to say, you can just talk about music and it is just as enjoyable, and in some cases moreso.

Tomorrow is a movie night with Ryan and Kristi , I’m looking forward to it 😀

Andantephobia? is that the fear of a ‘walking speed’ tempo?

History and Theory tomorrow are going to SUCK. Luckily there is no EDU 107 tomorrow though, so i’ll be able to nap between 11-3 if i decide to. Then after quartet and marching band, i’m taking my dad to dinner at the dorms (he’s never been) then we’re picking up liz and ethan and heading home.

I’ll be home for a very short amount of time before heading out to Lapeer for the Order of the Arrow Conclave. I don’t think Colton or Carter are going though 😦

I watched moulin rouge tonight with Ryan and Kristi (in Kristi’s room… which is also Cassie, Ali, and Kelsey’s). I didn’t really get to watch much of it though, because there was lots of interesting conversation that was being very distracting.

Not really looking forward to my lesson on monday, since i won’t have the weekend to prepare for it. Maybe I can talk dad into driving me up as soon as we get home Sunday.. then I’d be up here around 4ish… hopefully, and that should give me a good practice session before monday, then i’ll have another 45 minute ish one right before my lesson… that’ll be good (continues thinking about this… but not in typing)

So, as long as I’ve been here… i still don’t quite feel settled into my room yet, i think i’m going to rotate the bed 90 degrees and put it up against the window, then put the dresser on the other side, then i might find a good place for that other poster i have.