In the past few weeks, there's only been one thing on my mind: my audition at Juilliard. It's finally here! Well, almost. Next week. But Chad and I are leaving tomorrow for New York City. The only time that worked out for both of us to go and have some time for site-seeing is this weekend. It's too bad that I won't be able to enjoy any of it. If the weather's cold, I don't even think I'll want to go outside, I'm too paranoid of getting a cold or sore throat or something right before the audition. The audition is Monday, and we're not leaving until Wednesday morning, so I guess I'll have a day to unwind and take everything in. As long as I don't totally screw everything up in the audition. Then I may as well just drink my sorrows away.
I'm performing the "Queen of the Night" aria, from Mozart's The Magic Flute, as my chosen piece. I know that it's one everyone knows and does, but I think I can impress them with it. I can get those high notes pretty well, so I'm hoping they'll see it. Who am I kidding, of course they'll notice, it's not like I'm singing for Chad. Not that he doesn't appreciate the music, he just doesn't quite get the difficulty of some things. I do adore him for trying, though, and putting forth the effort.
The second selection is one chosen by the jury, "Vissi d'arte," from Puccini's La Tosca. I've done this one once before, years ago, so I feel alright with it. But when I think a little bit about it, I get nervous that I haven't focused on it enough in the past couple of weeks, and then I get into this whole spiral of worrying again. So I'm going avoid doing that from now until after the audition. There'll be plenty of time for worrying after that.
Well, time to start packing. While I'm not usually a "girly girl," I'm getting very excited to get all dressed up, both for the audition, and for the nice dinner that Chad's promised me. I told him we could just get a pizza and check out some places, but he is insisting on taking me out to a fancy-pants place. We'll see how things go!
February 27, 2008
February 04, 2008
The semester so far
Things are busy here in Sheffield, and by busy I mean ass cold. Seriously, you'd think we live in freaking Minnesota or something. I’ve been staying warm by never leaving the house except when I absolutely have to and by making lots of trips to Brews Brothers for hot cocoa and hot apple cider. Plus, Brews Brothers is about the only time I get to see Heather. I’m trying not to get too worked up about it, since she is following a dream and come March all this stress will be over, it just sucks not getting to spend any real time with her.
The radio station where I interned last semester called me and offered me a job a couple weeks ago. Can you believe that shit? They must be desperate. Regardless of the reason, I accepted it and am now assistant producer for the morning show. Luckily, this all happened early enough in the semester that I was able to rearrange my class schedule a little bit to work around it. The hours kind of suck – I have to be there at 5:30 a.m. – but it pays pretty decently (this would obviously increase exponentially if I were working full-time) and it will look great on my resume. It’s basically like another internship, only this time they’re paying me.
This weekend is Crazy Dayz in downtown Sheffield. Maybe they should have hired me at the Chamber of Commerce so I could veto “Crazy Dayz.” All the businesses are having huge sales, and they’re having a chili cook-off that Wyatt and Wendell are participating in. Yesterday I was in Brews Brothers around lunchtime and they offered me a bowl to taste-test. I never pass up free food, and it was pretty delicious. The credit union is doing giveaways and since the ladies on the teller line are going to be participating in the chili cook-off that leaves yours truly to hold down the crazy credit union. After being at work at 5:30 a.m. every single weekday I am not looking forward to being at the credit union at 8 on a Saturday, but I’ve been told there will be balloon animals so it might be fun.
The radio station where I interned last semester called me and offered me a job a couple weeks ago. Can you believe that shit? They must be desperate. Regardless of the reason, I accepted it and am now assistant producer for the morning show. Luckily, this all happened early enough in the semester that I was able to rearrange my class schedule a little bit to work around it. The hours kind of suck – I have to be there at 5:30 a.m. – but it pays pretty decently (this would obviously increase exponentially if I were working full-time) and it will look great on my resume. It’s basically like another internship, only this time they’re paying me.
This weekend is Crazy Dayz in downtown Sheffield. Maybe they should have hired me at the Chamber of Commerce so I could veto “Crazy Dayz.” All the businesses are having huge sales, and they’re having a chili cook-off that Wyatt and Wendell are participating in. Yesterday I was in Brews Brothers around lunchtime and they offered me a bowl to taste-test. I never pass up free food, and it was pretty delicious. The credit union is doing giveaways and since the ladies on the teller line are going to be participating in the chili cook-off that leaves yours truly to hold down the crazy credit union. After being at work at 5:30 a.m. every single weekday I am not looking forward to being at the credit union at 8 on a Saturday, but I’ve been told there will be balloon animals so it might be fun.
January 28, 2008
Finally, a few minutes
Right now I'm in between my practice studio time and my shift at Brews Bros, and should probably still be at the studio. I can only take so much singing at one time, though, especially if I'm going to be working all night long. Now that school has started back up, the place is busy again, all those kids who didn't do as well as they had hoped for in their first semester classes are already hitting the books. And already cranky. Luckily, I don't spend much time thinking about that, because my mind is usually elsewhere.
The last time that I was able to really relax was Christmas. I spent a couple of weeks at home with my family, not doing anything. That was amazing. Something else that was amazing was the necklace that Chad got for me! I love it! He better not have spent much on it, though, because I just got him a couple of the books he wanted and a decent sweater. I'm not sure if it lives up to the necklace I got.
January 18, 2008
Happy new year
Heather and I weathered the Christmas storm and I went against all my better instincts and the advice of friends and bought her jewelry. I really think Brett made a bigger deal of it than it was. Buying your girlfriend of a few months jewelry for Christmas is not exactly the same as running off to Vegas and eloping, nor is it like being engaged. I didn’t even put a ring of any kind on her finger, since I didn’t want her to get too many ideas. Instead, I got her a necklace – the pendant is an open gold circle with diamonds all around it on a gold chain. I’m sure she likes it because she gushed about it to everybody after we exchanged gifts and I have actually seen her wear it, and not just on days when she knows she’s going to see me. I think I did well.
She spent Christmas with her family and I spent Christmas with mine, although my family bugged me the entire time I was home to meet her, and evidently her family was doing the same to her. I guess meeting the parents is inevitable, and I’m sure hers are great and I know mine are too, it can just add unnecessary stress.
School started Monday – T minus five months to go before I graduate. As much as I disliked my internship last semester, it’s going to be really weird having all that free time. Heather is starting to think about what happens for her after graduation and apparently that is going to be grad school. Not just any grad school...Juilliard. It's not a done deal, but she sent in her application with a demo CD at the end of November and is going to be going to New York for a live audition. She asked me to go with her, so we’re going to take a few days off school and work and head out to NYC at the beginning of March. I’m sure it will be nerve-racking for her, but she is so excited about it. She’s worked really hard and she definitely deserves something like this. It’s evidently an honor even to get a live audition, so she’s already cleared one big hurdle. It’s an incredible opportunity for her, and it really makes me wonder what the hell I’m going to do with my life. And, what's going to happen to us in the future.
I would imagine, though, that the next few weeks are going to be pretty busy for her. She really thrives on that, whereas when I get that busy I just get frustrated and want to hide out in my living room with a bottle of Jack Daniels and my PS2.
She spent Christmas with her family and I spent Christmas with mine, although my family bugged me the entire time I was home to meet her, and evidently her family was doing the same to her. I guess meeting the parents is inevitable, and I’m sure hers are great and I know mine are too, it can just add unnecessary stress.
School started Monday – T minus five months to go before I graduate. As much as I disliked my internship last semester, it’s going to be really weird having all that free time. Heather is starting to think about what happens for her after graduation and apparently that is going to be grad school. Not just any grad school...Juilliard. It's not a done deal, but she sent in her application with a demo CD at the end of November and is going to be going to New York for a live audition. She asked me to go with her, so we’re going to take a few days off school and work and head out to NYC at the beginning of March. I’m sure it will be nerve-racking for her, but she is so excited about it. She’s worked really hard and she definitely deserves something like this. It’s evidently an honor even to get a live audition, so she’s already cleared one big hurdle. It’s an incredible opportunity for her, and it really makes me wonder what the hell I’m going to do with my life. And, what's going to happen to us in the future.
I would imagine, though, that the next few weeks are going to be pretty busy for her. She really thrives on that, whereas when I get that busy I just get frustrated and want to hide out in my living room with a bottle of Jack Daniels and my PS2.
December 10, 2007
A no-win situation
Well, somehow I managed to survive November (National Novel Writing Month, or National “My Girlfriend is Kind of Acting Like a Self-Centered Bitch” Month as I came to fondly think of it) Thanksgiving, my internship and the semester, and have arrived at finals week. I’m not too concerned about finals, but Heather is naturally stressed to the max. She spent all of dead week studying and rehearsing for her recital, which is going to be Wednesday night, and I spent it all working, drinking and eating too much.
Speaking of eating too much, my mom was feeling pretty good around Thanksgiving so she decided to go all out with Thanksgiving dinner. And I mean all out. I kept eating far beyond the point I first felt like I was going to explode, then spent the rest of the day on the couch, miserable and unable to move. A few hours later I got up and ate some leftovers, then returned to the couch. My brother and I were in such a food coma that we were too exhausted to even play video games. It was good to be home, though. I left Sheffield after work on Wednesday (Heather went home on Monday, saying she needed to get out of town to clear her mind and work on her manuscript) and got hammered with my high school friends, then stayed through the weekend. It was nice, and tough to come back, but the little break really refreshed me for the last couple weeks of my internship, which is officially over as of last Friday. I officially learned nothing, but my supervisor gave me rave reviews and it will look good on my resume, so rock on. Now I have just one semester to go before graduation and the real world.
I spent my fair share of time at Brews Brothers last week, trying to see as much of Heather as I could since she was pretty busy when she wasn't working. Wendell and Wyatt have developed what they said was a ‘groundbreaking’ new flavor of latte – egg nog. I was delighted to be the one to tell them that Starbucks thought of it first. Heather told me that Brews Brothers’ is way better and I believe her, but even though I love egg nog I still don’t love latte and I won’t be trying it anytime soon.
Since I’m not stressing out about finals and I have a lot of free time this week because I requested this week off from the credit union months ago, I finally have the chance to get Christmas shopping done. My brother is taking care of gifts for our parents, which is nice, but I still have to buy something for Heather. Brett keeps pestering me about what kind of gift I’m going to get her, but I haven’t really decided. I asked her to make me a list and she wrote down some pretty generic stuff, like DVDs and whatnot, but I’d like to get her something a little more meaningful. At the same time, if I get her something too meaningful it could change the entire dynamic of our relationship. For instance, I really like to pick out jewelry, but if I get her jewelry this soon what does that say? Does a necklace mean more than earrings? What about a bracelet? I could play it safe and just stick to the list, but if I do that then I look like an inconsiderate asshole.
Women. You just can't win.
Speaking of eating too much, my mom was feeling pretty good around Thanksgiving so she decided to go all out with Thanksgiving dinner. And I mean all out. I kept eating far beyond the point I first felt like I was going to explode, then spent the rest of the day on the couch, miserable and unable to move. A few hours later I got up and ate some leftovers, then returned to the couch. My brother and I were in such a food coma that we were too exhausted to even play video games. It was good to be home, though. I left Sheffield after work on Wednesday (Heather went home on Monday, saying she needed to get out of town to clear her mind and work on her manuscript) and got hammered with my high school friends, then stayed through the weekend. It was nice, and tough to come back, but the little break really refreshed me for the last couple weeks of my internship, which is officially over as of last Friday. I officially learned nothing, but my supervisor gave me rave reviews and it will look good on my resume, so rock on. Now I have just one semester to go before graduation and the real world.
I spent my fair share of time at Brews Brothers last week, trying to see as much of Heather as I could since she was pretty busy when she wasn't working. Wendell and Wyatt have developed what they said was a ‘groundbreaking’ new flavor of latte – egg nog. I was delighted to be the one to tell them that Starbucks thought of it first. Heather told me that Brews Brothers’ is way better and I believe her, but even though I love egg nog I still don’t love latte and I won’t be trying it anytime soon.
Since I’m not stressing out about finals and I have a lot of free time this week because I requested this week off from the credit union months ago, I finally have the chance to get Christmas shopping done. My brother is taking care of gifts for our parents, which is nice, but I still have to buy something for Heather. Brett keeps pestering me about what kind of gift I’m going to get her, but I haven’t really decided. I asked her to make me a list and she wrote down some pretty generic stuff, like DVDs and whatnot, but I’d like to get her something a little more meaningful. At the same time, if I get her something too meaningful it could change the entire dynamic of our relationship. For instance, I really like to pick out jewelry, but if I get her jewelry this soon what does that say? Does a necklace mean more than earrings? What about a bracelet? I could play it safe and just stick to the list, but if I do that then I look like an inconsiderate asshole.
Women. You just can't win.
November 14, 2007
It's the most something something time of the year
It's getting to be that frustrating time of the year. Midterms, cold weather, and the wonderful stress of holidays and family. This is the busy season for us at Brews Brothers, people walking past our store always stop in for some sort of coffee drink, or, our biggest seller, our specialty peppermint hot chocolate. I don't know how the W's came up with it, but people freaking love that drink. I'm not going to lie, it's a delicious drink. But some of these people act like it's Manna from the Gods. I guess it's kind of like me and the Shamrock Shake. (hmm, I wonder if it's a coincidence that these are both mint-inspired drinks. . .)
To add on to everything, I've decided to do NaNoWriMo. Yes, I've decided to write 50,000 words in one month. Maybe a few of them will make sense. Most likely, though, it'll be a bunch of crap. Why do I do it? Because, it's something that I've wanted to try to finish for a while, and maybe something to kick-start my creative juices. No one is going to read it, I'll be sure of that. Even though that's becoming a point of contention between me and Chad. He thinks I'm wasting my time, that he should have a right to read it, blah blah blah. What makes him think he has a right to read MY crap? I know it's not good. I don't need him to try to give me reassurance that it doesn't suck so hard. And I sure as hell don't need him to tell me that it sucks. Either way for him, it's a lose/lose situation, so really, I'm helping him out by not allowing him to read. But, we'll get into our usual fight about it, once he sees me pecking away at my laptop.
Aside from that, though, everything is going well for us. We're officially "boyfriend/girlfriend" now. I wasn't really planning on asking him in the manner that I did, but it was a really emotional moment that I don't need to get into right now. I think the main reason that I did it was to make it easier for both of us for Christmas. This way, neither of us is confused about if we should get the other a gift. Now we have to.
It's about bed time for me. I'm fighting a cold, I've had a headache for the past week, and my throat is constantly sore. I don't get sick that often, but when I do, my body goes all out. Of course it has to happen this time of the year. It couldn't wait for when I have 3 weeks off next month.
To add on to everything, I've decided to do NaNoWriMo. Yes, I've decided to write 50,000 words in one month. Maybe a few of them will make sense. Most likely, though, it'll be a bunch of crap. Why do I do it? Because, it's something that I've wanted to try to finish for a while, and maybe something to kick-start my creative juices. No one is going to read it, I'll be sure of that. Even though that's becoming a point of contention between me and Chad. He thinks I'm wasting my time, that he should have a right to read it, blah blah blah. What makes him think he has a right to read MY crap? I know it's not good. I don't need him to try to give me reassurance that it doesn't suck so hard. And I sure as hell don't need him to tell me that it sucks. Either way for him, it's a lose/lose situation, so really, I'm helping him out by not allowing him to read. But, we'll get into our usual fight about it, once he sees me pecking away at my laptop.
Aside from that, though, everything is going well for us. We're officially "boyfriend/girlfriend" now. I wasn't really planning on asking him in the manner that I did, but it was a really emotional moment that I don't need to get into right now. I think the main reason that I did it was to make it easier for both of us for Christmas. This way, neither of us is confused about if we should get the other a gift. Now we have to.
It's about bed time for me. I'm fighting a cold, I've had a headache for the past week, and my throat is constantly sore. I don't get sick that often, but when I do, my body goes all out. Of course it has to happen this time of the year. It couldn't wait for when I have 3 weeks off next month.
November 12, 2007
The daily grind
Well, November has been a busy month here in Sheffield. I'm busy getting the life sucked out of me at my "internship," and Heather is participating in National Novel Writing Month, or "NaNoWriMo" as the insiders call it. I had no idea Heather was even interested in writing until she informed me that she would be spending the month of November forcing out a 50,000 word novel. It's about quantity and not quality, so it's not like she's been asking me to edit it, and I've been told that I'll "never be able to read it" because she says it's so terrible, which makes me wonder why she's continuing to write the thing at all, and she says the whole point is to make it to 50,000 words, not write the next War and Peace, and then we stop talking about it.
We're both starting to get sick, too, which is so pleasant.
In news totally unrelated to Chad and Heather...is there any news totally unrelated to Chad and Heather, or "Cheather" as Brett has taken to calling us? Dana refers to us as the "Brangelina of Sheffield." I'm not sure whether that's a good or a bad thing.
My mom is doing well, still doing the chemo thing, but hopefully kicking some cancer ass. I can't imagine how she manages to be so upbeat about the whole thing, but she is. It's like, "Cancer? What?" She's still working full-time. I don't even want to work full-time now when I'm completely healthy.
Back to the grind now - I'm closing at the credit union tonight and my break is almost over. Nothing like going to work after you get off work.
We're both starting to get sick, too, which is so pleasant.
In news totally unrelated to Chad and Heather...is there any news totally unrelated to Chad and Heather, or "Cheather" as Brett has taken to calling us? Dana refers to us as the "Brangelina of Sheffield." I'm not sure whether that's a good or a bad thing.
My mom is doing well, still doing the chemo thing, but hopefully kicking some cancer ass. I can't imagine how she manages to be so upbeat about the whole thing, but she is. It's like, "Cancer? What?" She's still working full-time. I don't even want to work full-time now when I'm completely healthy.
Back to the grind now - I'm closing at the credit union tonight and my break is almost over. Nothing like going to work after you get off work.
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