Wednesday, April 28

Maybe more quizzes will make the ad go away...or maybe I'm just procrastinating...

Rainbow
Lady Fairy of the Rainbow


What Fairy Lady are you? (Ladies)
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I'm Charles the Mad. Sclooop.
Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.

Ironic, isn't it.
Which Survivor of the Impending Nuclear Apocalypse Are You?
A Rum and Monkey joint.

Raphael
Raphael: The angel of healing. Raphael is drawn to
injured souls which cry out for kindness and
patients. You are a sweet and caring person,
and make a great friend.


Which Angel Lays Within You?
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Morpheus
Morpheus


?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
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cute but psycho
you are the cute but psycho happy bunny. You
adorable, but a little out there. It's alright,
you might not have it all, but there are worse


which happy bunny are you?
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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre


What GOOD movie are you?
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HASH(0x8a64890)
You're Brigitte Bardot!


What Classic Pin-Up Are You?
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Wow, I feel really mindless now.

Tuesday, April 27

I noticed that the ad banner on my page had something about "family values" or something on it...I plan to remove it right now.

HASH(0x8abe284)
obsessive compulsive


Which Personality Disorder Do You Have?
brought to you by Quizilla

I've been working on the Wagner. Wagner. Wagner. The Wesendonck-Lieder. I love the Wagner. They're working so much better than the Strauss were. I can actually SING the Wagner, whereas with the Strauss I was just phonating in rhythm. :) Instead of doing the crazy-hard Mozart aria, I'm doing a few of William Bolcom's Cabaret Songs. They're really funny.

Oh, and I did the laryngeal-scoping thing this morning. According to the speech pathologist, I have an "extraordinary larynx". Isn't that cool? Wagner.

P.S. Wagner. Opera. Wagner. Wagner. Ring Cycle. Diva. Soprano.

Hopefully that will make the evil ads go away... :)

Friday, April 23

From Erik:

Abortion?:a woman's choice (as I squirm...)
Death Penalty?:no way
Prostitution?:exploitative
Alcohol?:in moderation
Marijuana?:in more moderation, under controlled circumstances
Other drugs?:dangerous and scary
Gay marriage?:the government should grant civil unions to everyone--get rid of "marriage" altogether
Illegal immigrants?:my grandfather was one...
Smoking?:far away from me
Drunk driving?:unacceptable
Cloning?:creepy
Racism?:evil
Premarital sex?:probably a good thing
Religion?:whatever makes sense to you
The war in Iraq?:probably inevitable, but certainly for the wrong reasons
Bush?:nitwit puppet of some far nastier characters
Downloading music?:for individual use only
The legal drinking age?:19? That's what it is in Canada...
Porn?:for laughs, or if it's tasteful
Suicide?:"don't do it"

What is your stand on..... brought to you by BZOINK!
Another Friday Five from the vaults...

1. As a child, who was your favorite superhero/heroine? Why?

Why, Wonder Woman, of course. Because she had big boobs and an invisible jet. And she could kick ass.

2. What was one thing you always wanted as a child but never got?

Ballet lessons! All my elementary-school friends took ballet, but I thought we couldn't afford them. I was probably right...

3. What's the furthest from home you've been?

Madrid, for several hours' layover.

4. What's one thing you've always wanted to learn but haven't yet?

Violin.

5. What are your plans for the weekend?

Many recitals to attend, and I'm working with a coach from New York Sunday. Plus I think we're washing the car. How exciting...

Sorry to be brief, but I have music to learn....


Tuesday, April 20

So everybody seems to be slacking on their pages lately... I will try not to let this happen here. I'm sure my entries will decrease a bit once I'm not in school anymore, but I'll do my best.

The big news here is that we've decided to postpone my recital for a few weeks. Things were just not going as smoothly as we thought they would, and (as you know) I've been freaking out since my rocky recital jury. Yesterday in my lesson my teacher brought it up (she assumed I was a bit too fragile to bring it up before, which was astute of her) and we had a serious discussion about it. As long as I do it before the summer sessions are over it's not a problem, but I'd like to get it done in May (my accompanist will be gone during June). So we're laying the really hard, scary Strauss aside and doing a Wagner set that I really wanted to do anyway. Now all I have to do is learn a handful of new songs in the next few weeks...

Friday, April 16

An archival Friday Five...

(December 7, 2001)

1. If you were to go to a movie this weekend, which one would you pick?

Perhaps the sneak preview of 13 Going on 30, if only because it's basically a remake of Big...

2. What movie would you like to rent this weekend?

I know they show them on TV a lot, but a Mel Brooks movie would be nice. High Anxiety, maybe.

3. What one TV show do you always try to watch?

I've been into watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns on FX lately...

4. If you (and your S.O.) were cool with it, what five celebrities (at the most) would it be 'ok' for you to have a fling with?

Yum. Okay. This is actually harder than I thought it'd be! In no particular order: the two Colins (Farrell and Firth), Jon Stewart (he would be really funny in bed), Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp (why not?). Subject to change.

5. How do you plan to spend your weekend?

I have three recitals and a Verdi Requiem to go to. My friend's mother is driving in tonight from up North, and a group of us is supposed to have dinner. Hopefully Mark will be able to make it.

And that's it. Yesterday was a crappy day for several reasons, but I'm trying to transcend that. Singing is frustrating right now because I have a $hitload of neck tension. Well, I think I always had it, and I'm just now really noticing how much it affects my singing. I guess that's sort of a good thing, but I'm annoyed about it...


Tuesday, April 13

I feel obligated to post, since I haven't done so in a week, but I really don't have much time. (Slept late--allergies.) The main news is that I found out last week that I didn't get into the certificate program I auditioned for--but I'm not too broken up about that, because it means Mark and I can finally live together! I think some tiny, puritannical part of me doesn't like the idea of "shacking up", but what have we been doing, anyway? I know it'll be a HUGE adjustment--I've never been good at sharing, you know. It's really exciting, though. Anyway, what this means is that I'll be getting a part-time job and will try to start a private studio (unless I can get a job with a private music school, which would be ideal). In the meantime, I keep studying (without the pressures of school to get in the way) and audition like mad in the fall. Plus one of these days I'll have to start planning a wedding, so that'll keep me busy. :)

I'm still a bit freaked about my recital, but things are better than they were. My first dress rehearsal is already next Thursday--scary, but I know I can do this. I just need to, um, DO it.

Tuesday, April 6

And this is HILARIOUS.
From the lovely Helen:

Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says.

"...provided the audience with an overview of the development of Brazilian music." From a report on the Tulane University Center for Latin American Studies' 1977-78 Festival of Latin American Music, in Current Musicology 27 (1979). I'm in the library. It's from the stacks.

Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?

Cubicle wall.

What is the last thing you watched on TV?

An episode of The Nanny which featured Jon Stewart as a hot ENT who Fran really hits it off with until she finds out they're cousins. It was a huge coincidence, because I had just been watching The Daily Show, with special guest Jerry Seinfeld. And I realized that I would like to link to the show. So I will.

With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?

Quiet talking, coughing, occasional beeps from the library scanner.

When did you last step outside?

Before I came in here. It's pretty nice out.

Before you came to this website, what did you look at?

My friend was Googling this particular opera summer program, but instead a German-language Matrix fansite came up. Funny...

What are you wearing?

Blue sweater with bell sleeves and asymmetrical cowl neck, black pants, black socks, Skechers.

Did you dream last night?

Yeah, but I don't remember what it was about...

When did you last laugh?

A few minutes ago, at that goofy Matrix site.

What is on the walls of the room you are in?

Clocks, fire alarms, abstract paintings by Miles Davis.

Seen anything weird lately?

That Matrix site was pretty weird. And I saw a guy talking to himself walking down the street before. Not very exciting.

What do you think of this quiz?

I'm glad it's not "What's your favorite food?", etc.

What is the last movie you saw?

Two minutes of one of the Harry Potter movies on HBO. The last thing I've seen all the way through was What a Girl Wants last week.

If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?

Does paying off my student loans count? :) Probably a house, or a laptop.

Tell me something about you that I don't know:

Yesterday morning I was rubbing my shoulder in the shower, and my hand slipped and I scratched myself really hard. There's a long mark, like I was attacked by a werewolf or had some kinky $ex or something...

If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?

I have to agree with Helen: make sure everyone has something to eat. Mark and I were talking about his undergrad communism class last night...

Do you like to dance?

Yes, but I'm not particularly talented.

George Bush:

Indictment. Him and the rest of them. And I hope they someday realize how much they've damaged our society, and repent for it.

Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?

Annabelle, I think.

Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?

Jonathan or Andrew.

Would you ever consider living abroad?

The more people I talk to, the more I understand that I'll probably have to move to Germany if I really want to have a big career. Granted, I don't know if I really want a big career, but whatever.

I'm just going through some crap right now. Somehow I've developed this horrible, self-defeating performance anxiety. Well, it's anxiety in general. And it's really affecting my singing as well as my health. My teacher is now convinced that it's a chemical imbalance, and I might just think so, too. How many chemically stable people had panic attacks as children? I had them all the time. Everyone had temper tantrums, but mine were always grand mal, happened relatively frequently and were usually accompanied by hyperventilating. I need fundamental changes in my life, and nothing I've tried to do alone or in therapy has ever helped. If I'm happy, it's because things are going well and I've momentarily forgotten about the next deadline or event or four-hour drive in the dark. Maybe Zoloft and BuSpar didn't work for me, but that doesn't mean something else won't. I hate the fact that I might need to rely on medicine, but it doesn't seem like anything else is working. The issue is that I don't have insurance right now--and if I can't afford to pay a doctor, I certainly can't afford individual insurance premiums that are over $100 and high copays. After consulting with my favorite singer forum, I bought some 5-HTP last night... I still want to e-mail the campus vocal health expert (I wanted to be scoped again anyway) to see if she has any ideas for things that won't affect my folds, but in the meantime it's worth a shot. Anyway, I'm sorry to bring everybody down, but what else do I have to talk about?

Oh, by the way, no precious--he says he's still getting the money together, which makes me worry that he's buying something "investment quality". Doesn't he know how bad I am with losing jewelry? But it'll only be a few weeks, in any case. He gave me a heart-shaped necklace with both our initials on it. Very high-school and very sweet. Just when I was feeling really OLD...

Monday, April 5

Gregor's Semi-Automatic LiveJournal Updater™
Your entry is as follows:

Today was really difficult.
I got out of bed really late because I've been so tired.

I feel sad, because Sarah and Britney are complete bitches. They told everyone I have an STD, just because I slept with both of their boyfriends on Saturday night.

I'm so sad. My kitten got run over this afternoon. I found him when I was coming home from school. His head was all squished. I took some photos. I'll miss him. Poor kitty.

Last night I had to masturbate twenty times. I'm so horny. Click here to see my website.

I want to tell the world that I love you all! You're all so special to me!

I am sharpening my knives before I go to work today, because I'm going to cut out Robert's heart and feed it to him for losing my mail.

Today, I got a digital camera! Yes! Here's some photos of my girlfriend in the nude (but don't tell her that I've posted them here - she'll kill me! Har har.)

I want to say thanks to the academy for giving me this award.

I went to the doctor yesterday, and he said I have bipolar disorder, just like my mom.

You should all do this quiz! It's amazingly accurate. You just put in your name and birthday, and it will tell you you're a moron.

For real now: this has been a challenging few days. I'll update here when I feel like I can put things into some perspective...

That's enough for now. But I'll leave you with my favourite Buffy fan-fiction piece I wrote last year when I was in hospital.

Created with the Gregors's Semi-Automatic LiveJournal Updater™. Update your journal today!

Friday, April 2

Recital jury in less than an hour! My intestines are already churning... Wish me luck.

Tuesday, March 30

I was listening to NOT A PRETTY GIRL this weekend, and I forgot how much I like this song...

Light Of Some Kind

I wish I didn't have this nervous laugh
I wish I didn't say half the stuff I say
I wish I could just learn to cover my tracks
I guess I'm not concerned with getting away

'Cause every time I try to hold my tongue
It slips like a fish from a line
They say if you wanna play you should learn how to play dumb
I guess I can't bring myself to waste your time

'Cause we both know what I've been doing
I've been intentionally bad at lying
You're the only boy I ever let see through me
And I hope you believe me when I say I'm trying
And I hope I never improve my game
I would rather have these things weigh on my mind
'Cause at the end of this tunnel of guilt and shame
There must be a light of some kind
There must be a light of some kind

I must have blown a fuse or something
It was so dark in my mind
She came up to me with the sweetest face
And she was holding a light of some kind
And I still think of you as my boyfriend
I don't think this is the end of the world
But maybe you should follow my example
And go meet yourself a really nice girl...

In the end the whole world comes down to just a few people
But for you it comes down to one
But no one ever asked me if I thought I could be
Everything to someone
There's a crowd of people harbored in every person
There are so many roles that we play
And you've decided to love me for eternity
I'm still deciding who I want to be today...

A quiz from Erik:


Which poem are you?

Sonnet 17 by Pablo Neruda

Aw, you're a romantic. You believe in true love and all that sort of stuff. How cute are you? To you, love is incredible and amazing.

Personality Test Results

Click Here to Take This Quiz
Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.



This morning I watched this movie because it was yucky out and also because the luscious Colin Firth is in it. You know you're getting old when you watch teen movies because you think the FATHER is hot... ;)

And speaking of movies with hot people in it, last night I watched The Haunting, which was kind of scary, kind of goofy, but featured a bisexual Catherine Zeta-Jones wandering scantily-clad through a castle. And she makes a CITIZEN KANE reference. She even comes on to Lili Taylor...who proves herself to be completely INSANE by getting scared by it. There is no sane reason why ANYONE, gay or straight, male or female, would EVER in real life kick Catherine Zeta-Jones out of their bed. I mean, there's suspension of disbelief, but PLEASE... :)

...And this was a blog containing no original content.

Friday, March 26

I should have updated before now, but I've been busy working on music and my program and stuff. And I do have to leave in 20 minutes, so I'll be brief:

I haven't heard anything definite about my comps yet--although my voice teacher said she was really impressed. In fact, she considers it proof that I'm "one of those freaky-smart people". In case you didn't already know. :P So I guess she's going to pass me.

This afternoon I had lunch with E., and then we went to this consignment store where I purchased the most amazing item: a plastic hanger with a huge picture of Tom Selleck's head on it (a la Magnum, P.I.). It cost four dollars, but it was worth it. It's in mint condition.

B.J.'s already at my parents' house, and he's driving up to Mark's tomorrow. We're going to the state art museum and then we'll have dinner somewhere. I'm really curious about this girlfriend. I'm sure she's nice... Oh, yeah, and did you know, Helen, that he's living with your brother and Rich M. and his girlfriend? I did not.

Last note: I only have about a week before I find out about that certificate program I applied for... I really, REALLY want this. But I know that it's a real long shot. I'm trying to stay positive, but not get my hopes up too high at the same time. Difficult... If I don't get in, there's this opera outreach program in Charlotte I'm interested in. It's for about five months in the fall and spring. That would also be a great experience. Mark seems increasingly more convinced that we need to live together. He is quite willing to change jobs. I guess I always thought he wanted to stay with his company, but he keeps telling me that the only way for him to advance is to move to other papers. Honestly, I think he's kind of frustrated with his editor, so he might welcome the change. I really think he ought to stay on through the election, but that's just me. And I'm pretty sure he will. But it's still pretty sweet that he wants us to live together. Though I don't think he's thought much about the logistics--last night I asked him where I would put my clothes, and he seemed pretty resistant to sharing his (HUGE) closet. Well now, he'll have to deal with that... :)




Friday, March 19

Friday Five

If you...

1. ...owned a restaurant, what kind of food would you serve?

Probably a mishmash of cheese, curry and peanuts. Oh, and chocolate. So I guess that's Indian, Thai and Italian, with a great dessert menu.

2. ...owned a small store, what kind of merchandise would you sell?

Sunglasses, little purses and body products. Possibly earrings. Because these are things people buy on impulse, and they'd spend a lot of money... :)

3. ...wrote a book, what genre would it be?

A Harlequin romance? That couldn't be too hard...

4. ...ran a school, what would you teach?

Voice and diversity training (whatever they call that class they send cops to when they do something racist or stupid).

5. ...recorded an album, what kind of music would be on it?

Mozart and Strauss, probably. Maybe I'm just copying off of Jane Eaglen. :)


Thursday, March 18

I heard about this yesterday. Well, that's mildly upsetting. Completely unconstitutional, of course. Why can't these jerks just fill potholes and give parking tickets, like they're supposed to? Whatever...

My friend gave an INCREDIBLE recital last night--really difficult music handled well, great energy and intensity. Wonderful overall--we're so proud! Unfortunately my other friend had her recital jury yesterday, and did not pass. She'll have to reschedule it for over the summer or in the fall. She is very talented and works really hard, but she and her teacher just aren't sure what music she should be singing. She has to switch teachers anyway (hers is going abroad for a year), so hopefully this is all for the best and her new teacher will get her on the right track. It's just really upsetting. AND it got me freaked out about MY recital jury, which is two weeks from tomorrow. I really have no reason to worry--I'm musically and technically prepared (with a few minor issues), 90% memorized and feel ready to perform 60% of it right now. And I still have six weeks before my recital. Of the last two pieces still in development, one is pretty much spoken (with LOTS of text to memorize) and the other one is probably the hardest piece musically I've ever done. Harder than the Strauss. This thing is insane. I don't know what key it's in.

Anyway, that's boring. I have news! B.J. is driving down from New York next weekend, and I'll get to see him on the 27th. I haven't seen him since...I don't remember. Probably more than a year. And he's bringing down his girlfriend. This is apparently the first time my parents have EVER met one of his girlfriends. It must be pretty serious. Jeff's had some high-profile relationships, but I haven't seen B.J. with anyone since high school. When I think of my brothers' girlfriends, I get this one composite image in my head, of a very short, petite girl with short brown hair dyed purple. I don't know where this image comes from--if one of them actually dated somebody that looked like that. Jeff's first girlfriend had blonde hair with pink streaks...but they didn't go out for very long. In any case, I'm very curious and looking forward to the visit.

It's after three! I have to eat lunch.

Tuesday, March 16

Finished! It only took seven hours. And I spent most of the first hour playing Microsoft games on the exam computer. Total of fourteen pages, with 10 1/2 for the dance/opera question and 3 1/2 for the pedagogy question. The art song composer matching, which I was freaking out about, turned out to be a breeze--it only took about five minutes.

I'm just glad to be done. Going home now...

Monday, March 15

From Todd:





I think I've taken that second one before...and I got Bill Clinton that time, too? Does that mean I'm a chubby chaser, too? In a word, YES. I'll admit it. And I like Big Macs as well. So sue me! :)

The next time you hear from me, I will have completed my comprehensive exam. Wish me luck...

Friday, March 12

Taking a little break...

Things aren't going too badly. I've spent most of the week researching one question (the dance as a signifier in opera one), and I feel like I've got a pretty good grasp on it now. I do need to get started reviewing my pedagogy question, but I only need to review my class notes and textbooks from last semester to prepare for that one. (Granted, it's a hundred pages and a month of class notes, but that's not too bad.) And the artsong question from my voice teacher? Straight cramming of that song list. I'll just read over it a few times, then study it on Monday... But after spending the entire week in the library (though I did have two evening social engagements) I really feel like I should have more done than this. Whatever. All I can say is, come Tuesday afternoon I will be completely relieved. (Other than that recital jury thing, and the fact that I'm supposed to have a voice student for Ped class, and the teacher hasn't found me one yet...but let me enjoy the small victories!)

Oh, and we've been talking about Deborah Voigt lately...By the way, a stone is 14 pounds, which makes her estimated weight 210-280 pounds. The people I've talked to say she's probably about 300 pounds. No difference--it's just a damn black dress! She probably has one in her closet that will suffice. I don't know what to think here.

Thursday, March 11

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary:

RINGER:...(Slang) 1. A race-horse, athlete, or the like entered in a competition under false representation as to identity or ability. 2. A student paid by another to take an exam. 3. Any person or thing that is fraudulent; fake or impostor. 4. A substitute or addition, as a professional musician hired to strengthen a school orchestra. [1375-1425; late Middle English]

or:

(Australian) A highly skilled sheep shearer. [1815-25]

So they were kind of a mix of the two...

Back to work...


Monday, March 8

I only have a minute, as I am supposedly busy doing research...

I did sing on Saturday--I wasn't at my best, and the acoustics totally sucked in that room, but I did pretty well considering everything. If these two RINGERS hadn't come I might even have won some cash. But my friend Sandra--who I carpooled with--won third place. We were so excited! She works so hard and totally deserved it.

The application materials for the certificate program I auditioned for in December (incidentally, the same one the ringers above are currently enrolled in) are due on Friday. I would have sent them already, except that my director hasn't given me his recommendation letter yet. He already has one on file for me--all he has to do is tack some comments about COSI on the bottom and change the date. It would take ten minutes, max. While it's true that he's busy, I'm getting a little antsy about this. There are two other people from here that applied--they were also in COSI. I wonder if they've gotten their letters yet--they both kiss his ass hard-core, so probably so...

Oh, speaking of which--Friday morning, as I walked into the music building, someone stopped me and said they liked my picture in the paper. Indeed, I had a six-inch color picture on the front page of the features section (with my face on the fold, but whatever). It was an action shot from the Tuesday morning COSI performance--during the last duet, right before I give in to the tenor. It was pretty cool, actually. I haven't told my parents yet, but I'm sure they will be thrilled.

My plans for the rest of the day: learn a lot about DER ROSENKAVALIER and EUGENE ONEGIN and the dancing therein, go to the gym after the library closes, shower, make dinner, and type up the long song cycle-composer list I made last night and this morning which I could not do here because the computer lab is closed. Great fun.

p.s. Todd: you can listen to "The Search is Over" here. I'm sure you've heard it before. The best part about that link is the "customers who bought this also like" section: Asia, Loverboy, Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon and Foreigner. Ain't no denyin'. Oh, and I have also added this CD to my Amazon Wish List... :)