Listening Session

Today I listened to:

Barber's Violin Concerto

and

Mahler's 3rd Symphony

For this impromptu concert I sat in a big fluffy chair on the upper level of the student center. Through the east-facing panoramic windows I watched heavy clouds race through the sky, sending sunlight playing over the lake and creating a patchwork of multi-green hues on the water's milky surface. The wind picked up and it started to snow--a blizzard over hills of still-green grass. The first flakes of the season, like blowing sheets of down, obscured the brilliant yellows of autumn leaves still clinging to branches that swayed in time to the music in my ears.

Forgive me for the sappy run-ons.

It's been a while since I was so swept away by required listening.

More Photos

I took a pre-practice-session walk this afternoon and, as usual, had much fun with my camera along the way. Most of the photos didn't end up being all that memorable, but here are a couple that stood out to me...



As the sun set in the west, the moon was also climbing high in the eastern sky. I made about 5000 attempts at photographing it, but with little success. Still, I found that with a little doctoring in iphoto, what starts as a mediocre photograph...

Can sometimes end up being a rather charming artistic improvisation...

Jonathan Livingston at Dawn

"You will begin to touch heaven, Jonathan, in the moment that you touch perfect speed. And that isn't flying a thousand miles an hour, or a million, or flying at the speed of light. Because any number is a limit, and perfection doesn't have limits. Perfect speed...is being there."

--Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull

I first read Jonathan Livingston Seagull during my 3rd year at the University of Utah. A friend had recommended it and I remember devouring the inspiring text in about a day. It's a book I should probably take some time to reread and apply to my life now.

Speaking of inspiration...

Scenes from a Georgian Bakery

...and that's Georgia the country...so I'm not talking about southern caramel cake or cornbread.

Yesterday afternoon my ethnomusicology class was held at a tiny traditional Georgian bakery on Devon Street--a long thoroughfare a few miles south of Evanston that is home to a dizzying array of international vendors.

A few paces from the bakery you can step into a Russian bookstore, window shop for hijab on the next block, cross the street to fantasize about opulently bejeweled Pakistani wedding saris, and step in for dinner at an Indian restaurant where masala and vindaloo are conspicuously absent from the menu, and instead deliciously spiced traditional dishes are served with cheap plastic spoons onto styrofoam plates, and a dessert case full of bizarre looking sweets beckons from across the room. Devon offers a surprising pastiche of culture and was an intriguing backdrop for our class debates and discussion.

Not wanting to appear too much the shameless tourist, I only took photos at the Georgian Bakery. Here are a few...

Kachapuri (cheese bread) fresh from the oven...

How could I resist...



Georgia is known for its wine which is traditionally served in bull-horn flasks. The bottles are often beautifully hand painted.

Completing all my class/trumpet requirements still has me stressed to the point of exhaustion, and I often push through the final hours of every day feeling like a physical, emotional, or mental breakdown is imminent. This sensation was compounded yesterday when I was informed of the passing of Craig Bumgarner, a good family friend--a message I received shortly before heading down to Devon.

I wish that all of these experiences could have been spread out over about twice the time--that I'd be able to immerse myself completely within each one. Somewhere behind all the stress and frustration I realize I'm being given many opportunities I'd previously only dreamed about, and I hope that when this quarter ends in a few weeks, I'm able to remember more of the good its providing me, instead of the overwhelming difficulty.

Sunrise this morning was awesome. Long before the sun's rays broke the horizon, a pillar of light shot heavenward and set the clouds afire.

Though I never did know him well, I thought about Craig. About life and death. About friendship and change. And about the inexorable passage of time.

Just another sunrise

Tradeoffs

Two consequences of getting a parking ticket last week:

On one hand, I had to take valuable time out of my busy morning schedule to head over to the Evanston Civic Center, pay the ticket, and buy (at full price, I might add...even though there are only a couple months left in 2011...jeeze!!!) a 2011 city sticker.

On the other, I had to drive to school today (to avoid getting another ticket) which had the happy consequence of allowing me to both sleep in AND make it to the lake shore in time to watch a lovely sunrise...

I really wish I could've avoided shelling out such a meaningless $120, but at least the collateral benefit to all the hassle and expense offered some momentary refreshment.

Saturday Sunrise

I went out to my car this morning and discovered a bright orange parking ticket protruding from the driver's-side door.

A neighbor walked by with his dog, "They gave you a parking ticket?" He said.

"Yeah," I replied, puzzled, "It says 'vehicle without Evanston parking permit', but I obviously have a current permit."

"Is it your license plate number? Maybe someone moved it over from another car as a prank."

"Nope...it's my number, but it's obviously a mistake...I can't figure out how they could have missed seeing my permit."

I figured out the problem a couple minutes later as I drove to school. When I got my new Illinois plates I didn't update that information with the Evanston parking authority.

ARGGGHH!!!

I'm going to at least try and beg for mercy.

I have proof of the license plate transition. It's an honest mistake...right?

I hope they think so...sigh...

Well, sunrise was awesome anyway...a reasonable distraction from my embarrassing (and costly) oversight...I guess...

Absent

For anyone wondering about the prolonged absence of new posts, I want to reassure you that yes, I'm still here, still as swamped as I've ever been in my life, and still somehow managing to make it to most sunrises...

(of course it helps a lot that sunrise is happening later and later every day!)

I'm doing well in my classes--well enough that my ethnomusicology teacher tried to talk me into pursuing a doctorate in the field yesterday--but the amount of work I been having to do in order to keep up at this high level has me nearly at my breaking point. After much thought, I reminded myself last night that though I thrill at every bit of praise given by admired superiors, though I have a broad range of interests and--given the time, opportunity, and desire--could convincingly pursue any number of them at a high level, and though becoming a professional musician continues to be one of the most challenging, competitive, and insecure career goals a person can have, I'm still here at northwestern expressly to become a trumpet player.

I've been letting my selfish (and arguably unnecessary) desire to take the most difficult classes and still maintain a 4.0 GPA interfere with my readiness to work in the practice room, my ability to take soul-healing strolls along the lake, and the freedom to spend some spare time exploring my imagination and creativity. I'm no better off than I was back in SLC--trying to survive a full time job AND stay active as a successful performer. Just as it was then, my attention is currently split...and I came here SPECIFICALLY for the opportunity to focus well on one thing.

I'm going to continue to do the best I can with this demanding schedule through the end of fall quarter, but for next term I plan to be a bit kinder on myself and try to recoup some of the positive vigor I had at the start of the school year. Right now, my time at NU is for the trumpet. If I find down the road than I do in fact want to pursue an advanced degree in musicology, I believe the opportunity to take up that goal will still exist.