lessons and uni

well, csuf is bustling with students. i drove to fullerton to a lesson but i stopped by campus to find out when i would be receiving my diploma. faculty meetings, students lined up for parking passes, book purchases, etc. looks like summer is over.

not for me! i still have a month of summer. woop woop. yesterday my sister asked me if i would have to take math or science classes at royal holloway. i told her, "no! i did all of that already." i am very glad i don't have to take GE courses anymore. many of them were interesting, sure...but sometimes they were a pain and i wish i could have just picked any courses i wanted to take on the side instead of being forced to take certain ones. instead of making you take 51 GE units, you should be able to pick a minimum of lets say...21 units of whatever you want outside of your degree. it isn't a minor and it isn't a major, just any courses you find interesting and that might relieve a little stress from your really important classes. futhermore, you should only be allowed to take those courses for credit or no credit. that way you can enjoy them better without the stress of worrying that you might ruin your gpa. i am not saying you shouldn't try hard in those extracurricular courses, but that you should try hard but even if it is only C or B material, it won't mess you up and you'll still come out having learned something.

i had a counterpoint lesson today. it went pretty well. i love how lloyd can rip your work apart and then go back and complement what you did so you don't feel totally incompetent. basically, i left a lot of mechanical errors that i know not to make but i did anyway. anyhow, i won't do them ever ever again. however, on the upside of things, he said that i have a good handle on the melodic lines...so...at this point, he told me, i should really strive to be error free even if it weakens the melody a bit.

haven't received anything in the mail from rhul yet. i e-mailed the music department the otherday asking if i am supposed to be getting something from them soon. no response as of late but i am hopeful. my 'application status checker' tells me that something should be coming in the mail about the accommodation stuff. oy oy oy!

look forward to tonights show....just wish it was so late. yay for pbe.

rhul updates

since this blog is really about my take on the musica academia, i thought i should give an update on my status with royal holloway in london.

i have my UK entry student visa stamped into my passport. i purchased my airplane ticket. i will be flying out on the 22nd of september at around 3pm from LAX. i'm flying virgin atlantic--premium economy (woop woop). they give you a complementary glass of champagne upon take off. i have also sent my financial aid information to royal holloway so that it can be processed. about a week or two ago i was notified that i have been offered a place in one of the on-campus accommodations. i will be living in highfield court, which is, i believe, mostly a postgraduate accommodation. i get my own bathroom, yay!

as for registration and courses, that is still up in the air. i have been checking the enrollment site everyday now for about a week and the status is still the same "we will be making enrolment available in mid-august"...i have no idea what i am supposed to register for but i am hoping that i should get something from the music department telling me what to do. if i don't get something by the end of the week, i am planning on e-mailing the head of the ethno department to find out.

so, from the looks of it, i'm about 80 percent on my way. on the less than academic and adminisration side, my mom bought me a new set of luggage (it's really nice) and new clothes. i've been wearing clothes that i've had since sophomore year of high school and she claimed that i didn't have anything to wear...am i going to say no? yeah right.

as for the issue with airport security, all i can say is that i hope they loosen up by the time i go through check-in and customs. i'm annoyed by the choices our government makes but i can do very little to sway anyone in power.

all of my friends are going back to school next week. i can't believe summer is already over for them. i don't know what i am going to do for a month. i have a feeling i'm going to be following carl around fullerton because i'll be so bored sitting at home.

impluse

i forgot to mention that my sister finally came home early this morning (2am) from her nearly three week tour around the mid-west of america. she travelled with the drum and bugle corps known as 'impluse' and apparently they one first place in their division. it is 11:26am and my sister is still asleep, medal around her neck.

if you are wondering what she played in the group, she was the vibes player. one of the youngest members of the corps.

things that are going on in your neck of the woods

couple of things going on this week. one, thursday night at MR. T'S BOWL, the paul bailey ensemble (pbe) will be performing a fun set of music. the bar/club is located in Highland Park. i believe they go on at 11pm and there will be two bands performing before them, so come by to listen to a wide variety of styles.

on sunday night at 8pm, i will be performing in an improv show. this is my second show and i'm hoping it will go well for me! our shows are pretty good. it costs 5 dollars to get in but the money goes toward the rental of the space and that is really about it. we are going to be performing at a place called "wordspace" in los feliz it's off of russell and you can get there by vermont. i think they have a website with better directions.

me versus bach

so today i met with the guy who hired me to read through scores and tell him what's happening. it went quite well, i thought. he knows nothing about music so he thought i was amazing with all the information i was giving him. he mailed me a copy of bach's six partitas for harpsichord and a copy of the recordings (on harpsichord and piano).

the nicest part about working with him is that he is so excited about the music. i never get that excited about music but it was nice to work someone who has so much enthusiasim. this guy loves bach. i listen to bach and then i can't take it anymore. i think bach is so heavy-footed. he is such a german.

it is interesting to talk to someone who has no musical training. for them, you are opening up so many doors into the way the music works. i take that ability for granted.

oh yeah.

i forgot to mention what kind of ipod i got.

my mom bought me the ipod 60gig with video, black shell.

technology!

well, i got an ipod.

my sister was converting our dvd's into ipod compatible format so that she could watch them on her ipod on her three week trip cross country with implus drum and bugle corp. i thought, "hm.. that could be good for my plane ride to england." i mentioned it to my mom and she said she was going to surprise me with an ipod for my trip.

it's fun. i've been putting songs on it. i guess i could get used to it.

i got a bunch of scores in the mail for my job. i have to analyze the bach partitas. i think i am just going to do a reduction of them and just go from there. real simple. it's like form and analysis all over again. i'm meeting with the guy i'm working for on saturday of next week in pasadena. we'll have a nice chat. i'm really excited. i love talking about music. this guy does not know a lot of the 'technical' aspect but he has read up on some of the scholarly material out there so i know we'll have plenty to talk about.

i've been a bit bummed, i'll have to admit. while i am excited about my trip to england to begin my career as a postgraduate student in ethnomusicology, i am also saddened by the fact that i will be saying goodbye to my good friends. i've made some wonderful friends and some of them have only been over the last few months. i've really grown up with these people and it's sad to let go of them for so long. it is hard to have to make new friends, especially when the ones you have right now are really great.

it's an interesting experience to realize that you are changing and growing as a person. life is something!