I'm scared that this reality is much too heavy for me...
It's been so long that I think I've forgotten how to write an LJ entry...
It's been a really busy couple of weeks from SYTYCD show and Thanksgiving to all the Chanukah craziness. I'm having all of my classes make paper puppets for Peter & the Wolf so that we have a nice, easy, laid-back project and everyone can rest their voices (including me!).
The Chanukah show was nothing short of outstanding, at least according to the fifty people that have told me so in the last 5 days. All the grades sang really well (even if 1st grade was slightly out of tune at one point), all the xylophones and recorders sounded decent... and the debut of the Brawerman Orchestra was such a success that the audience demanded an encore of my lovely little arrangement of Dreidel, Dreidel at both performances.
Nadine "commended" me, among other gushing comments, parents have stopped me in the halls and outside the school every time I step outside my classroom and all the KtJ peoples were impressed. Our clarinet teacher, Tracy, in particular, not only sent me an email, but also cornered me at the holiday party last night to tell me how incredible the show was and how I was obviously "meant to teach" and had "found my calling in this lifetime." Hmm.
All of this praise has not really gone to my head (contrary to popular belief, I am really somewhat insecure about myself as a musician and therefore sometimes as a teacher too) as much as it's made me really melancholy.
Why did I have to find a job I like so much where everyone loves me... in a city I dislike and a place I know I can't stay (really, it's not just that I don't want to, but I don't make enough money either)? When Cantor Gurney started talking to me about a song idea he has for next year, when people ask me questions about the orchestra program, when Aaron tells me maybe Brawerman will finally add another day so the 5th & 6th grades can have regular music again... I have to smile and nod and agree and enthuse... while on the inside, I think I might be crying. Mmm I don't want to write any more about this right now...
I'm glad the Chanukah show is over... hopefully I'll be able to focus on some other things now. School goes a week later this year - I get on a plane the day after we break for the holidays, actually - so I don't have a lot of time in the next two weeks. I'll handle Christmas cards in the next post.
I've really been missing my parents and Travis and Denise lately... missing NY in general. It's been colder here than usual (if you can call 65 cold lol), but it's still not the same chilly nip of a real approaching winter. I miss snow.
To backtrack a little bit... Thanksgiving was okay. I ended up at a Ralphs back in our old neighborhood at 4 AM the day of Thanksgiving to buy a turkey, but that is a long story. Dolpa was pretty cool. Took lots of doll pics. I went to see the SYTYCD tour the night before Thanksgiving, which was amazing. I haven't taken photos off of my camera in a month, but when I do, maybe I'll upload a few. I didn't take pictures during the actual show, but I have some pics afterwards - I got to meet Pasha, Lauren and Neil! Lauren gave me a huge hug and Neil geeked out with me and Jess talking about Guitar Hero and DDR! Speaking of Guitar Hero, we have the latest version and it's a lot of fun. I can rock out Medium mode pretty easily, but Hard mode with its evil orange button kicked my ass to and fro on the one song I played (and barely passed).
I've honestly been thinking about getting a guitar and starting to teach myself again, but that's also a discussion better saved for another day. I've also been playing Naruto: Path of the Ninja RPG on NDS, which is way more fun than it ought to be... or I'm just a great big dork. I do have Revenant Wings in my possession, but it's being saved for the looong plane flights awaiting me.
We leave Friday the 21st at the crack of dawn to fly from LAX to Albuquerque, the least obnoxious of our flights. We're there through the weekend and leave Christmas day at the crack of dawn to fly to Wilmington, NC. Honestly, considering the airport is an hour from Santa Fe, where we're actually staying, and we need to be there early, I probably won't sleep Christmas Eve... the 14 hours of traveling on Christmas Day will still feel like Christmas Eve, so much so that I told my mom to just pretend it's still Christmas Eve when we get there, because we're probably just going to want to crash. We're in NC for a few days and then fly back on the 29th. School doesn't start up again until Monday the 7th, though, so I'll have a week of free time once we return to LA.
Saturday night, Aaron took me to see Enchanted, which was really good and cute. It was fun seeing them craft a new princess, NYC is always a good story location and even the music was really entertaining. Oh and the costumes! ANd Idina Menzel, who was a surprise to me. On Sunday, Aaron and I went to Disneyland for the afternoon - rode Space Mt and Small World, took a bazillion pictures - got to see the parade twice! We didn't stay for the fireworks, but I'm not terribly sad about it, since I might be going again next week.
In TV land, most of my fave shows have been silenced by the writers' strike that continues to go on and on with no end in sight. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who didn't watch the Heroes finale, but that last possible death really bugs me. ANTM finale is tomorrow and I can't decide who I want to win - Heather was my fave til she bombed all public speaking and got booted... Saleisha's a little fake, Jenna's a little lost and Chantal has surprisingly grown on me in the last 2 or 3 episodes. 1 more GG to go enxt week, right before we leave town...
And then, other than AI and Lost, it's going to be like... dead air. Speaking of Lost, OMGWTFBBQ the stills from the trailer currently going around in theaters. CHARLIE?! DOm said he was dead, dead, dead... so is it jsut one of Hurley's hallucinations? ANd island vision a la Boone to Locke? Hmm... Either way, with the promise of more DOm, I miiiight jsut eb tempted to tune in. Especially since, well... very little else is going to be on.
I've got to wrap up this post now, as my recorders are due at any moment...
TODO:
Work:
Home:
annoy Dad for the 11th time to get Nana's # & address, call Nana
buy stamps
Ongoing Projects:
clean-out Itunes playlists
outline of GC outlines
L/Tamaki AU?
rainbow project, Christmas presents
January:
website - cosplay pages, update to FF
Knitting DVD triangle point? Hat?
Upcoming:
12/14 Friday 2:30 eye doctor JC Penney Optical
12/14 Friday 8 PM - Haynes party
12/15 Saturday 2 PM - Dr. Hall
12/16 Sunday 5 PM Clarice's Christmas Party
12/19 Wednesday - Disney?
12/21 Friday fly to Albuquerque
12/23-6 Dolpa 18 entry time
12/25 Tuesday fly to Wilmington
12/29 Saturday fly to LA
12/22 Thursday - LAST DAY (Winter Break)
1/7 Monday - SCHOOL RESUMES
Christmas card post to come soon.
It's been a really busy couple of weeks from SYTYCD show and Thanksgiving to all the Chanukah craziness. I'm having all of my classes make paper puppets for Peter & the Wolf so that we have a nice, easy, laid-back project and everyone can rest their voices (including me!).
The Chanukah show was nothing short of outstanding, at least according to the fifty people that have told me so in the last 5 days. All the grades sang really well (even if 1st grade was slightly out of tune at one point), all the xylophones and recorders sounded decent... and the debut of the Brawerman Orchestra was such a success that the audience demanded an encore of my lovely little arrangement of Dreidel, Dreidel at both performances.
Nadine "commended" me, among other gushing comments, parents have stopped me in the halls and outside the school every time I step outside my classroom and all the KtJ peoples were impressed. Our clarinet teacher, Tracy, in particular, not only sent me an email, but also cornered me at the holiday party last night to tell me how incredible the show was and how I was obviously "meant to teach" and had "found my calling in this lifetime." Hmm.
All of this praise has not really gone to my head (contrary to popular belief, I am really somewhat insecure about myself as a musician and therefore sometimes as a teacher too) as much as it's made me really melancholy.
Why did I have to find a job I like so much where everyone loves me... in a city I dislike and a place I know I can't stay (really, it's not just that I don't want to, but I don't make enough money either)? When Cantor Gurney started talking to me about a song idea he has for next year, when people ask me questions about the orchestra program, when Aaron tells me maybe Brawerman will finally add another day so the 5th & 6th grades can have regular music again... I have to smile and nod and agree and enthuse... while on the inside, I think I might be crying. Mmm I don't want to write any more about this right now...
I'm glad the Chanukah show is over... hopefully I'll be able to focus on some other things now. School goes a week later this year - I get on a plane the day after we break for the holidays, actually - so I don't have a lot of time in the next two weeks. I'll handle Christmas cards in the next post.
I've really been missing my parents and Travis and Denise lately... missing NY in general. It's been colder here than usual (if you can call 65 cold lol), but it's still not the same chilly nip of a real approaching winter. I miss snow.
To backtrack a little bit... Thanksgiving was okay. I ended up at a Ralphs back in our old neighborhood at 4 AM the day of Thanksgiving to buy a turkey, but that is a long story. Dolpa was pretty cool. Took lots of doll pics. I went to see the SYTYCD tour the night before Thanksgiving, which was amazing. I haven't taken photos off of my camera in a month, but when I do, maybe I'll upload a few. I didn't take pictures during the actual show, but I have some pics afterwards - I got to meet Pasha, Lauren and Neil! Lauren gave me a huge hug and Neil geeked out with me and Jess talking about Guitar Hero and DDR! Speaking of Guitar Hero, we have the latest version and it's a lot of fun. I can rock out Medium mode pretty easily, but Hard mode with its evil orange button kicked my ass to and fro on the one song I played (and barely passed).
I've honestly been thinking about getting a guitar and starting to teach myself again, but that's also a discussion better saved for another day. I've also been playing Naruto: Path of the Ninja RPG on NDS, which is way more fun than it ought to be... or I'm just a great big dork. I do have Revenant Wings in my possession, but it's being saved for the looong plane flights awaiting me.
We leave Friday the 21st at the crack of dawn to fly from LAX to Albuquerque, the least obnoxious of our flights. We're there through the weekend and leave Christmas day at the crack of dawn to fly to Wilmington, NC. Honestly, considering the airport is an hour from Santa Fe, where we're actually staying, and we need to be there early, I probably won't sleep Christmas Eve... the 14 hours of traveling on Christmas Day will still feel like Christmas Eve, so much so that I told my mom to just pretend it's still Christmas Eve when we get there, because we're probably just going to want to crash. We're in NC for a few days and then fly back on the 29th. School doesn't start up again until Monday the 7th, though, so I'll have a week of free time once we return to LA.
Saturday night, Aaron took me to see Enchanted, which was really good and cute. It was fun seeing them craft a new princess, NYC is always a good story location and even the music was really entertaining. Oh and the costumes! ANd Idina Menzel, who was a surprise to me. On Sunday, Aaron and I went to Disneyland for the afternoon - rode Space Mt and Small World, took a bazillion pictures - got to see the parade twice! We didn't stay for the fireworks, but I'm not terribly sad about it, since I might be going again next week.
In TV land, most of my fave shows have been silenced by the writers' strike that continues to go on and on with no end in sight. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who didn't watch the Heroes finale, but that last possible death really bugs me. ANTM finale is tomorrow and I can't decide who I want to win - Heather was my fave til she bombed all public speaking and got booted... Saleisha's a little fake, Jenna's a little lost and Chantal has surprisingly grown on me in the last 2 or 3 episodes. 1 more GG to go enxt week, right before we leave town...
And then, other than AI and Lost, it's going to be like... dead air. Speaking of Lost, OMGWTFBBQ the stills from the trailer currently going around in theaters. CHARLIE?! DOm said he was dead, dead, dead... so is it jsut one of Hurley's hallucinations? ANd island vision a la Boone to Locke? Hmm... Either way, with the promise of more DOm, I miiiight jsut eb tempted to tune in. Especially since, well... very little else is going to be on.
I've got to wrap up this post now, as my recorders are due at any moment...
TODO:
Work:
Home:
annoy Dad for the 11th time to get Nana's # & address, call Nana
buy stamps
Ongoing Projects:
clean-out Itunes playlists
outline of GC outlines
L/Tamaki AU?
rainbow project, Christmas presents
January:
website - cosplay pages, update to FF
Knitting DVD triangle point? Hat?
Upcoming:
12/14 Friday 2:30 eye doctor JC Penney Optical
12/14 Friday 8 PM - Haynes party
12/15 Saturday 2 PM - Dr. Hall
12/16 Sunday 5 PM Clarice's Christmas Party
12/19 Wednesday - Disney?
12/21 Friday fly to Albuquerque
12/23-6 Dolpa 18 entry time
12/25 Tuesday fly to Wilmington
12/29 Saturday fly to LA
12/22 Thursday - LAST DAY (Winter Break)
1/7 Monday - SCHOOL RESUMES
Christmas card post to come soon.