God is so amazing! I went tonight to see Shane Bernard in concert -- and it was awesome! I didn't know any of the songs, and usually that makes me so self-conscious that I can't enjoy anything. But it's ok -- I didn't even understand the words most of the time..I just prayed that they would play one song that I knew so that I could join in the worship. And not only did they play not one, but two -- they were my current favorite (I'm desperate for you) and one from childhood that I haven't heard in ages! It was wonderful, and the opening band was from Seattle! So exciting! And God sent someone to pray for me...and what was prayed was exactly what was on my heart -- isn't He wonderful? On that note -- I'm going to bed! Must be up early for church...

Going through books like a weavil in a library

I have two tests on monday. Polisci and Italian. How do teacher do that -- its a conspiracy! Its probably because of our pending "fall break." (Actually a glorified three-day weekend). Here you go kids! Live it up! If they really wanted to help us out with a whole day, they should have stuck it to an actual holiday (ie thanksgiving) so we'd have one more day to travel without missing classes. Ah well, the idiosynchrisies of Baylor never cease...and God wants me to stay here longer? Well, actually I have no word on that one way or another....We'll find out soon enough I guess -- but if wanted to send down fire from heaven and burn up our music school -- fine by me. It would be the fastest way to get rid of the rats..kill em with burning asbestos.

I have a canker sore. Ouch. And so I coudln't get the numby stuff open, so I bit on the tip of the tube to get it unblocked. And it squirted everywhere. So now the left side of my mouth is numb. Kind of fun really...

Coaching with Kathleen Kelley (no seriously that is her name)

For my first real coaching, I think it went very well! I sang Beth's Death Aria from the new and wonderful opera Little Women (for those of you who I subjected to a lecture on the merits of this opera already, I'll spare you a repeat). I was very worried, because I forgot to get the coordinator the music ahead of time, and this accompaniment is not easy...but I showed up, and she looked at the music and said, "Little Women! Oh wonderful! I love that opera!" It was so much fun! We made it all the way through the aria (odd for a coaching), and she had so many suggestions! I'm the only person here that even knows the show, so no one could tell me what to do with it! Oh so cool -- told me to change my characterization in a few places -- and it WORKED! For most of the vocal stuff it was things that my voice teacher has told me over and over -- but did I do them? no. Now I will. Anyway! It was great -- my voice stayed with me (after all that hell yesterday I didn't have much of one this morning) and I learned a lot. It was a great way to get my feet wet in the field of master classes and coachings. Next time maybe I'll have one in front of an audience!

My time in Hell

So we had the dumbest choir concert last night! May I just stress ho dumb it was. It was all hymns and church anthems for some symposium. Now, I must say, I like hymns. I love the message, and the content, and the melodies. But did they make us sing the good ones? No they did not. They made us sing the dumb, homophonic ones. And the one good one we sang was an arrangement (aka -- we took away the melody, changed the harmony, and shamelessly conformed the whole thing to our own melody that has nothing to do with the original song). I hate those. There was a high point -- we got to learn an African summons by rote (I love doing that -- even if I am a good presbyterian and can't clap and sing at the same time). Then we had to sing choir anthems. Not the good, moving, stirring, passionate ones. Of course not. We sang the cheesy, overemotional, sappy "Marching to Zion" ones (more on that later). Anyway, the music was all easily sight read-able. Were we allowed to sight read? NO. We had to rehearse it. During choir (fine). Then we had to meet at 5 to rehearse it some more. The concert didn't start until 7:30. Then did we get to sit -- NO because we're doing the whole darn show standing up. So, instead of just telling us that we'd be standing up the whole time.....we PRACTICED standing the whole time. And every time we stopped, some idiot choir police had to open their big trap and say "Um....there are some (key word -- some = everyone but me) sopranos on measure 34 that are singing an F, and it should be an F# . I could have killed them. The rest of the choir would have helped at that point. And after a two hour rehearsal, they gave us snacks (the least they could do I'm sure)...and the cheese crackers weren't the peanut butter kind. (That really isn't that bad in and of itself, but it capped off the misery). The concert itself was agonizingly long. Every tempo was slow to begin with (Randall Thompson's alleluia alone took 15 minutes). Then having the whole "congregation" joining in slowed the tempo even more. And in the end, we weren't "Marching to Zion" -- we were trudging, plodding, limping to Zion. Anyway --that heavens that is over. And do we get a day off from choir after a 5 hour night last night? no........

I'm so homesick! I don't know where it all came from, but BAM! Here it is! My mother thought that she might be able to come down sometime in the next few weeks, but now can't. I'm not going to be able to afford to go home for thanksgiving unless Ebay picks up. I miss my family. Is that absurd for a 21 year old? Probably. But I've always loved hanging out with my parents. They were chaperones for my Senior Party, and I hung out with them when my friends got dull (one of them got depressed and hung around the prize table all night begging to win so that "something would go right in her life"). I envy people who can go home for weekends. For the last four years its been "bye folks, see you at christmas." My little sister almost got me crying two days ago. She got all excited because I'm graduating and can come home and go to the fair with her next fall. I had to tell her that I'm probably going to be back in school again. (excuse my while I grab kleenex) Anyway -- I'm now going to go drown my sorrows in the new veggietales movie. I've been wanting to see it for a long time!

I'M IN CLASSES!!!! Finally! I went to the financial aid office today and fought with the lady. She tried to convince me that one of my classes was full, and I was going to have to get permission from both the music dean and the instructor to get in....but it wasn't the polici class I'm signed up for. I kept trying to tell her that it wasn't my teacher or section, because it would have conflicted directly with another class, and the teacher was wrong. Anyway -- she got on my case and got defensive until she realised that she'd typed in the code for fall semester 2001. Aaargh. Then i played musical departments for a while, and I think I'm finally back in! YAY! So I do indeed get to take my finals legally! Yay! Now I actually have to study

I am feeling very domestic today. I have chicken and dumplings on the stove, and I'm baking fresh bread. I think I'll make cookies too -- needing a dessert-y sort of a thing. I didn't know I could cook. It suprises me every time something comes out right (although there are lots of times I kill things too -- for example, who besides me can kill a DiGiorno?) I need to clean my house too -- and study for an italian quiz, but that's the great thing about bread. It has all of that "rise time." Which leaves plenty of time where you are house bound, and have nothing else to do but study or clean or read. Oh, and make a bible study. I'm leading my very first. Surely Mary Beth or Mary would be much better at it than I am...I'm afraid that it'll be trite, or that the kids won't understand it, or that they'll laugh or think its dumb. But, where would Israel be if Moses had kept whining, so I guess I'll just shut up and do it...and beg God to supply words. Raarrrrgh. Anyway -- off to make bread!

Masterclass

I was apparently nominated by VC (my voice teacher for those who don't know) to be in the pool for those chosen to have an hour private coaching with some lady from the Metropolitan Opera. The Baylor Faculty picked me! I'm so suprised -- I never would have expected it! And the kicker is that the thing is next tuesday. That gives me a week to whip myself into shape...and I won't have a voice lesson before the coaching -- so I'll have to work extra hard with Matt or Glenn or somebody. I have no clue what to sing to fill up 50 minutes worth of time. Well, I guess that will all work itself out. I'm so excited!

Ebay Update

I have 15 brand new (to me) items on eBAY these days. It hasn't turned into the cash cow that I was hoping, but so far I've sold $67 worth of stuff on it, and even after I've subtracted the fees to put the stuff on there in the first place, its still better than nothing. I have hopes of making a relatively lucrative income off it. As long as I keep getting up early enough on Saturday Mornings. 5:45 is a ghastly hour to be up!