The Great Beyond and All That I Did There
Well hey, everybody, or any of you left who actually sit around waiting for me to post once a year!
Since this past week was spring break, I figured that since I did something amazing with my time at home, I'd talk about it!
I know what you're thinking: "Copious amounts of sleep, while a very admirable activity, hardly counts as amazing, sir."
And, believe it or not, I did not spend my entire week waking up at 3 PM and crashing at 7 AM as I am normally wont to do over breaks such as this...I actually was up and about for most of the week...well, half of the week at least, I should get a few points for waking up before noon, right?
Anyhoo, my week, in all its glory, began on Wednesday. (look, I said MOST. 3/8 is more than half! Look, I'm a Math major, I know these things!)
I decided that after I missed a week of teacher observation since my first guy quit, I would make the day up at home. That's right, for 2 days I was back in High School...except, well, without all the homework and name calling! (Except from the teachers.)
NOTE: THIS EXPERIENCE WILL NOT NAME NAMES OF TEACHERS BECAUSE THAT ISN'T COOL. For some benefit, I will provide you with what they teach (or taught me) so I can convey at least SOMETHING about them. Fellow alumni of my high school will probably pick up on about whom I am speaking.
I arranged this whole shebang with my AP Calc teacher, who was more than happy to help me out, arrange class periods for me to observe various teachers, and allow me to sit in on her class as well.
All in all, I ended up observing 7 different members of my high school Math Department. (Of which, I had only ONE during high school...and one of them started with a W and sits on a bench during passing periods. Hints for various people: Xena Warrior Princess, a Calzone, M&M's, and Ties.)
I was also fortunate enough to get the chance to not only visit some of my other teachers and talk to them about THEIR experiences during my off periods. (Spanish III (MY teacher), PreCalc, English 11, Choir, AP Chem, Creative Writing, and AP Physics. All of them stand up guys/gals.) But I also had access to some of the FORBIDDEN PLACES that students weren't ever allowed.
i.e. Teachers lounges. <3
I got to eat lunch in the Teacher's Lounge with, besides my AP Calc teacher, my AP Gov teacher and my Microbio teacher (BIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BINGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO). It was also interesting to talk to some of the teachers that I HADN'T met. (because they were new and/or I had never had them.) Because while established teachers could tell me about how it was like down the road, the new teachers gave me insight on how things would be right away. (Slightly more practical knowledge?)
All in all, a very fun and VERY helpful experience! The life of a teacher is a really difficult one. But I think I'm ready.
Friday was a completely different type of amazing.
My little sister came up from Lafayette to see a concert with me. (ΤΒΣ not biological little sister, because I will refer to HIM as HE and I don't want you guys getting confused...if you still are, I'll go over it with you later. ONWARD!)
"Oh, how nice!"
CSO concert.
"Great!"
4th row center.
"Even better!"
Main Floor.
"WOW!"
With principal cellist John Sharp playing the Saint-Saens Cello concerto, and concertmaster Robert Chen soloing on Ein Heldenleben by Strauss.
"Uhh. Geeze."
Damn right.
It was a fantastic concert. It started out with a piece by Giuseppe Verdi. (That's Joe Green to you.) The Overture to La Forza Del Destino.
Anyhoo, concerto!
This is probably up there as one of my favorite concerti. I have something like 5 different recordings, and every time I can obtain a new one I get it. In each one, the soloist plays the first movement at, oh...140-160 DuPre's I clocked at 160 on the nose.
Sharp? around 120.
Hm. Different...not bad...just...different. It certainly gave him more freedom to rubato and create an absolutely FANTASTIC second movement.
It did take me a second to get a hold of myself when after that first orchestra hit there was a much longer space before the cello entered...I was not expecting the slower tempo and when he came in, it was awkward for my brain. It took me a second to get situated. By the time I had caught up, though, I was digging the more relaxed tempo. It certainly took the edge off, but it had a different kind of feel to it. Gone was the explosive tantrum that had originally characterized the first movement in my mind, and replaced was a more mournful, heaving opening. Those rising awkward chords that came about halfway through the first movement now were no longer a gigantic fight but a series of heaving sobs, and the cantabile sections meant so much more to me. They now fit with the concerto, when for so long I wondered about their existence.
The second movement, as I said, was fantastic, simply beautiful. Like some dance between two lovers. The mini Cadenza that marks the only deviation from the tune was not overdone, which it can be with an inexperienced hand.
The third movement, as my little sister said, was a chance to pull out all the stops.
The last minute or so, the recapitulation of the third movement (and arguably the piece) represented a chance to say "You thought what we JUST did was cool, watch this."
Apparently, I was leaning so far forward in my chair that people were worried I would fall out of it.
Ein Heldenleben, A Hero's Life, if I got that right.
It actually is a family portrait. The hero, egotistically enough of course, refers to Number One. His wife is characterized by a solo violin, which should get a huge laugh when you actually listen to the solos. They are shrill and naggy.
Strauss' portrait of his family is astonishing in its brilliant detail. You can hear the snarling and hissing of his critics, the nagging of his wife. The battle between him and his critics is supposed to be one of the more difficult spots in orchestral literature. Watching the winds and brass prompted awe from the two of us.
After a walk around the city, a train ride home, and a good meal I returned to Purdue.
Am I ready to face the rest of this year? I don't know, but I'll sure as hell try.
Since this past week was spring break, I figured that since I did something amazing with my time at home, I'd talk about it!
I know what you're thinking: "Copious amounts of sleep, while a very admirable activity, hardly counts as amazing, sir."
And, believe it or not, I did not spend my entire week waking up at 3 PM and crashing at 7 AM as I am normally wont to do over breaks such as this...I actually was up and about for most of the week...well, half of the week at least, I should get a few points for waking up before noon, right?
Anyhoo, my week, in all its glory, began on Wednesday. (look, I said MOST. 3/8 is more than half! Look, I'm a Math major, I know these things!)
I decided that after I missed a week of teacher observation since my first guy quit, I would make the day up at home. That's right, for 2 days I was back in High School...except, well, without all the homework and name calling! (Except from the teachers.)
NOTE: THIS EXPERIENCE WILL NOT NAME NAMES OF TEACHERS BECAUSE THAT ISN'T COOL. For some benefit, I will provide you with what they teach (or taught me) so I can convey at least SOMETHING about them. Fellow alumni of my high school will probably pick up on about whom I am speaking.
I arranged this whole shebang with my AP Calc teacher, who was more than happy to help me out, arrange class periods for me to observe various teachers, and allow me to sit in on her class as well.
All in all, I ended up observing 7 different members of my high school Math Department. (Of which, I had only ONE during high school...and one of them started with a W and sits on a bench during passing periods. Hints for various people: Xena Warrior Princess, a Calzone, M&M's, and Ties.)
I was also fortunate enough to get the chance to not only visit some of my other teachers and talk to them about THEIR experiences during my off periods. (Spanish III (MY teacher), PreCalc, English 11, Choir, AP Chem, Creative Writing, and AP Physics. All of them stand up guys/gals.) But I also had access to some of the FORBIDDEN PLACES that students weren't ever allowed.
i.e. Teachers lounges. <3
I got to eat lunch in the Teacher's Lounge with, besides my AP Calc teacher, my AP Gov teacher and my Microbio teacher (BIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BINGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO). It was also interesting to talk to some of the teachers that I HADN'T met. (because they were new and/or I had never had them.) Because while established teachers could tell me about how it was like down the road, the new teachers gave me insight on how things would be right away. (Slightly more practical knowledge?)
All in all, a very fun and VERY helpful experience! The life of a teacher is a really difficult one. But I think I'm ready.
Friday was a completely different type of amazing.
My little sister came up from Lafayette to see a concert with me. (ΤΒΣ not biological little sister, because I will refer to HIM as HE and I don't want you guys getting confused...if you still are, I'll go over it with you later. ONWARD!)
"Oh, how nice!"
CSO concert.
"Great!"
4th row center.
"Even better!"
Main Floor.
"WOW!"
With principal cellist John Sharp playing the Saint-Saens Cello concerto, and concertmaster Robert Chen soloing on Ein Heldenleben by Strauss.
"Uhh. Geeze."
Damn right.
It was a fantastic concert. It started out with a piece by Giuseppe Verdi. (That's Joe Green to you.) The Overture to La Forza Del Destino.
Anyhoo, concerto!
This is probably up there as one of my favorite concerti. I have something like 5 different recordings, and every time I can obtain a new one I get it. In each one, the soloist plays the first movement at, oh...140-160 DuPre's I clocked at 160 on the nose.
Sharp? around 120.
Hm. Different...not bad...just...different. It certainly gave him more freedom to rubato and create an absolutely FANTASTIC second movement.
It did take me a second to get a hold of myself when after that first orchestra hit there was a much longer space before the cello entered...I was not expecting the slower tempo and when he came in, it was awkward for my brain. It took me a second to get situated. By the time I had caught up, though, I was digging the more relaxed tempo. It certainly took the edge off, but it had a different kind of feel to it. Gone was the explosive tantrum that had originally characterized the first movement in my mind, and replaced was a more mournful, heaving opening. Those rising awkward chords that came about halfway through the first movement now were no longer a gigantic fight but a series of heaving sobs, and the cantabile sections meant so much more to me. They now fit with the concerto, when for so long I wondered about their existence.
The second movement, as I said, was fantastic, simply beautiful. Like some dance between two lovers. The mini Cadenza that marks the only deviation from the tune was not overdone, which it can be with an inexperienced hand.
The third movement, as my little sister said, was a chance to pull out all the stops.
The last minute or so, the recapitulation of the third movement (and arguably the piece) represented a chance to say "You thought what we JUST did was cool, watch this."
Apparently, I was leaning so far forward in my chair that people were worried I would fall out of it.
Ein Heldenleben, A Hero's Life, if I got that right.
It actually is a family portrait. The hero, egotistically enough of course, refers to Number One. His wife is characterized by a solo violin, which should get a huge laugh when you actually listen to the solos. They are shrill and naggy.
Strauss' portrait of his family is astonishing in its brilliant detail. You can hear the snarling and hissing of his critics, the nagging of his wife. The battle between him and his critics is supposed to be one of the more difficult spots in orchestral literature. Watching the winds and brass prompted awe from the two of us.
After a walk around the city, a train ride home, and a good meal I returned to Purdue.
Am I ready to face the rest of this year? I don't know, but I'll sure as hell try.