today i'm leaving for iowa for a little over a week. according to reports, weather there has been quite cold and snowy lately, which i am greatly looking forward to. florida is great, but it still feels like summer, which just isn't right. :P hopefully we'll get to go skiing sometime while i'm home, but i don't think we have any specific plans just yet.
well, sounds like we're starting to board now. ooh, there's a "weather advisory" for chicago, which means snow. exciting! except for the part where we might get delayed, diverted, or crash. i'll let you all know when i get home safe.
just because i'm losing
doesn't mean i'm lost
doesn't mean i'll stop
doesn't mean i would cross
just because i'm hurting
doesn't mean i'm hurt
doesn't mean i didn't get
what i deserved
no better and no worse
i just got lost
every river that i tried to cross
every door i ever tried was locked
ohhh and i'm...
just waiting 'til the shine wears off
I'm ok with the crash scenario--just remember what your favorite Wierd Al song recommends: "The the plane down in a giant ball of fire and flame and everybody died! ...Except for me. Becuase I had my tray table up and my seat back in the full-upright position." and you'll land in Albaqurque *ahem* chicago soon enough.
I just hope when you get to Iowa that the guy behind the counter at the donut shop who says, "Yeah? Whaddaya want?" is in fact out of boxes of one dozen starving crazed weasels.
That song, by the way, is eleven minutes and twenty-three seconds of sheer greatness.
And the line is actually "And we went into a tailspin and crashed into a hillside and the plane exploded in a giant fireball and everybody died...except for me. You know why? 'Cause I had my tray table up, and my seatback in the full upright position!"
Yeah, that's right. I've had that song memorized for at least the last eight years. :)
well, i'm starting to settle into my job at chick-fil-a. i didn't like it very much at first, and the actual work still isn't that great, but getting to know the people i'm working with has proved to make it at least a tolerable experience. and getting paid certainly doesn't hurt. i work with quite an interesting cast of characters; perhaps i'll tell you about some of them sometime. i've also acquired some six or seven nicknames since starting there, oddly enough. i could wish for more hours (in fact, i do), but i have a few ideas as to where else i might find work that would fit in with my schedule at CFA if i can't manage to squeeze any more hours out of my boss.
the situation at the store is somewhat peculiar. the previous owner-operator retired a couple months ago, and since then the store has been under control of a manager from CFA corporate- Brad, the guy who hired me. his job is to make sure the store is up to CFA standards while they search for a new permanent owner-operator. shortly after i was hired, the new owner-operator was selected, and he will be taking over in january. apparently there will be a re-hiring process to go through in the next week or two, complete with applications and interviews, in which the new owner-operator will select his new staff. what this implies (along with the fact that at least a dozen new employees have been hired by Brad), is that some of us will not be re-hired. so, there's a chance that i may not have a job come january or so. but i think Brad likes me pretty well; i can't stand not doing anything while i'm on the clock, so i'm often cleaning or looking for other things to do when i'm not busy with my primary duties- which is something he's very big on. also, at least two of my nicknames have been bestowed directly from Brad. hopefully that's a good sign. so perhaps i'll be one of the ones he recommends to the new owner.
well, that's enough of that. this thanksgiving was my first spent away from home, and my first spent in florida. it was certainly unusual to be wearing short sleeves on thanksgiving... even more unusual was the fact that my brother had to point that out to me before i realized anything was out of the ordinary. i'm afraid i'm getting more acclimated to tampa weather than i'd like. :P but that's a topic for another time. i spent thanksgiving day with my brother at the greiving's house. i didn't really know them at all, only adam and (vaguely) tim, neither of whom were there; but it was a very enjoyable time nonetheless. they had other guests too, some of whom i did know. the food was really good and it was good to get to know the rest of the greiving family. we spent a lot longer there than i had expected we would; we were there from noon to about 11 PM. that was probably due to the fact that most of the other people there were staying the night at the house, so there wasn't really a set time for it to be over.
Coldplay recently released an EP to go along with Viva la Vida, called "Prospekt's March." it's a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. on the one hand, there are some excellent new songs; however, the remixes fall a little flat. in the first category are Postcards from Far Away, Glass of Water, Rainy Day, Prospekt's March/Poppyfields, and Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground. Postcards is a nice brief little piano flourish that seems like it would be worth it for me to work out by ear (which isn't something i often do). Glass of Water is a catchy song that fits in well with the sound of Viva la Vida, with a driving piano rhythm in the chorus. Rainy Day is a little quirkier sounding, but definitely fun, and its string section is unquestionably connected to Strawberry Swing on the main album. Prospekt's March/Poppyfields is definitely more classic Coldplay in sound, maybe more so than anything else on this EP or on Viva. however, it still shows the same energy that is evident in Viva, just a little gentler. Now My Feet... is also reminiscent of pre-Viva Coldplay; it reminds me a lot of Kingdom Come in style, at least up until the horn section enters at the end. these new songs were meant to be included on Viva la Vida, but weren't quite ready for release on time. the rest of the album is made up of remixes of a few tracks that were on Viva. Life in Technicolor II is actually very satisfying. hearing lyrics put to the already excellent instrumental opener of Viva is most welcome. Lovers in Japan (Osaka Sun Mix), on the other hand, seems hardly worth having on the EP at all. it's almost exactly the same as the version found on Viva, save the addition of background vocals in one or two spots and its detachment from Reign of Love. finally there is the (to me, at least) utterly inexplicable inclusion of a remix of Lost, featuring the rapper Jay-Z. i hold nothing (intrinsically) against those that produce or enjoy rap, but i absolutely cannot stand it, in any form. Lost was just fine on its own without this incarnation. it certainly won't tarnish my listening to the original version, but i will forever wonder exactly what was going through the heads of the members of Coldplay when they agreed to this.... overall though, Prospekt's March is certainly worth listening to if you liked Viva la Vida. just... tread carefully.
all my music rehearsals are on hiatus for now. FC's string ensemble and the tampa bay symphony will resume in january. from what mr. moore said to me at the string ensemble recital, i expect to be involved in the FC's spring musical production again, which is always an interesting venture. i'm looking forward to it.
well, since i've been typing for over an hour now, i guess i'll end this update. hopefully it's been worth reading.
don't you wish that life could be as simple
as fish swimming 'round in a barrel when you've got the gun
Our thoughts on Prospekt's March are pretty much identical. Though I connected the strings on "Rainy Day" (my personal favorite, just ahead of Glass of Water) more with the song "Viva la Vida" itself moreso than "Strawberry Swing." Just sayin'. :)
and then i'm going to sleep, because i'm really tired.
1) the clarinet recital that i am in is tomorrow (11/15) at noon. it is at USF in FAH 101. if you wish to come and need directions, give me a call (but not tonight please, i'll be sleeping :P ). i would be happy to see you there.
2) i have a job! i'm working at chick-fil-a on fowler. the past few days i've been in for a few hours to fill out paperwork and do orientation stuff, an today was my first hands-on training. i'll be working in the back at first, so no promises on free chicken. :P it's not the most fantastic job, but they tell me i should be able to get 30-40 hours a week, so i don't really have anything to complain about. in fact, i now have a great deal to rejoice about!
have a wonderful evening/night/day. whatever it happens to be for you. time for me to get some sleep.
tonight was the last concert of the tampa bay symphony's first concert series of the year. it went pretty well, if i may say so, and i'm looking forward to the next series. we'll be playing An American in Paris (Gershwin), Symphonic Dances (Grieg), Andante e Rondo Ungarese (Weber), and Alborada del Gracioso (Ravel). i've never listened to any of these works (at least not closely), but i'm definitely familiar with the composers, so i'm looking forward to it.
i have two more concerts coming up next week. i'm playing with the FC string ensemble on the 13th (if i remember correctly), and on the 15th at noon at USF for the brahms trio that i've been working on. i would highly recommend coming to the clarinet recital. i've really enjoyed getting to work on the trio; it is a beautiful piece of music, and mr. payne and emily (the clarinetist) are a pleasure to work with. i haven't heard any of the other pieces that emily is playing, but if she's anywhere near as prepared on those as she is for the brahms, we're in for a treat.
also, can i say again how much i love getting paid to play cello. i could get used to this.
thirdly,
still no job. unfortunately, as much as i would love for it to, freelance cello playing doesn't quite pay the bills (not like that was the plan in the first place). the search broadens, and continues.
fourthly,
why does nobody write like this anymore?
We fight not for glory or for conquest. We exhibit to mankind the remarkable spectacle of a people attacked by unprovoked enemies, without any imputation or even suspicion of offense. They boast of their privileges and civilization, and yet proffer no milder conditions than servitude or death. In our native land, in defense of the freedom that is our birthright and which we ever enjoyed till the late violation of it; for the protection of our property, acquired solely by the honest industry of our forefathers and ourselves; against violence actually offered; we have taken up arms. We shall lay them down when hostilities shall cease on the part of the aggressors and all danger of their being renewed shall be removed, and not before.
—Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Causes and Necessity of Taking up Arms (July 6, 1775)
I shall not die without a hope that light and liberty are on steady advance... And even should the cloud of barbarism and despotism again obscure the science and liberties of Europe, this country remains to preserve and restore light and liberty to them...The flames kindled on the 4th of July, 1776, have spread over too much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of despotism; on the contrary, they will consume these engines and all who work them.
—Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John Adams, Monticello (September 12, 1821)
Yay for getting to play cello! I've run out of weddings to play for this year. I'm hoping more come my way next year. I hope you enjoy all of the concerts!
In order to write like Mr. Jefferson, one must understand the meaning of words and use them in their proper perspectives. "freedom" and "liberty" are no longer understood in their proper perspectives by the modern audience and most modern writers. In order to write worthy writing, on must treat words as if they had worth.
