Before we begin, let me preface this entry with the fact that my C key is messed up and a lot of times it may not work. So if there are typos, that's why. Sorry!
Senior regionals was uneventful, except for me missing the Yo-Yo Ma playing Shostakovich fellowship. Our conductor was nice, and of course it was fantastic being stand partners with Bo-Min.
The next day was the college fair, which basically consisted of me frantically running around trying to find various quartet members to coordinate our rehearsal later that day.
On the 14th was Daniel's solo with orchestra. It was great, except that as a result of going to that I got to my horn lesson 20 minutes late. Whoops...
We had VMEA on the 18th. It was pretty boring. On the way there, I did AP Gov homework the entire way. On the way home, Lee Lee and I listened to techno, etc. the whole way because it was too dark to do anything else, really. We left school at 6:00 AM and arrived back in the parking lot at 6:01 PM. 4 hours each way. We played for like 50 people. It was quite sad. Then we had Free Time, in which we could look at the overpriced stuff in the shops at the Homestead, and hypothetically we could buy food. Except there were no food stores in the entire stupid resort. So we had to go to Pizza Hut on the way home instead. Ting and Anna didn't come on the bus home because they were bus sick. It was sad without them.
The next day we had our first AYP concert of the season. Let's just say it was Interesting. But I do think we sound better than last year anyways.
The next week was Thanksgiving! I didn't go to school on Wednesday because instead I did sectionals at my dad's school. It was pretty uneventful, but it means that I'm almost done with my 24 hours of community service for NHS already. Then I got lunch with Marisa at Chipotle, and then we were going to get Coldstone, except that would have resulted in major stomach overload, so instead we wandered the mall. I saw like 4 random people I know, plus a huge group of orchestra kids from school, who were filming for a movie to send to the Germans. I made a huge walrus noise in the middle of the mall. It was amazing. Then, since Rachelle was home, we watched Love Actually and Garden State that night.
Thursday, Thanksgiving, was very boring. Basically, I slept the entier way to Richmond, and practiced while we were there. But it was a bad practicing situation because it's hard to practice in someone else's house when they don't really have closed rooms and people are carrying on with their conversations practically right next to you. It was very exciting though, because it was the first time since becoming a vegetarian the summer before 8th grade that I actually had a good Thanksgiving dinner! I'm glad I'm becoming less picky. That night Rachelle and I went with Chris to see Stranger Than Fiction, which was a strange movie. Rachelle was amazed by the vibrant colors and the clear picture on the screen.
On Friday we were supposed to get home right after lunch, but what time did we get home? 5:30 ish. So then I went to hang out with Marisa, Brendan, Chris, and Ben for a while. We went to see the Tenacious D movie, which was amazing OF COURSE but very short. I didn't want to go home because I don't like home, so instead we all went to Marisa's house, where I was exposed to South Park for the first time. It was interesting. That made five movies in three days, a record for me if you don't count the time I watched all three old Star Wars movies in a row because none of us had ever seen any of them before, and Rachelle was teased for not knowing who Darth Vader was (this was probably when she was in 8th grade or so).
Last Thursday was my birthday, and it was an extremely normal day. I didn't go to school. We had fellowship, then a very instructive duet coaching with Jennifer Mondie. And then we went to about five minutes of the practice seminar, followed by the traditional fellowship lunch. Then I went home, taught a lesson (somehow my student knew it was my birthday and gave me $60 instead of $20!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), and then went to quartet sectionals. I was in a really really weird mood, so it was very fun. For my birthday, I got some lovely presents. First, I got a new cell phone. Well, it wasn't really a present since it was free (becasue I'd had my old brick phone for so long). It's really nice . I also got a Beethoven action figure (I guess now I have a matching set?), COMPLETE SHOSTAKOVICH STRING QUARTETS PLAYED BY EMERSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!, this really pretty earring hanger thingy that I needed, and all three of the golden compass books. My mommy also gave me a "coupon" for a cello bag, but she needs to look at Erin's pattern first and we have to go pick out material. I'm excited.
I got my NFAA competition results back. I didn't get anything :-/ but it's not like I was expecting to. I really want to know who did, but the website's down. Still.
Friday our duet had a concert playing for trustees of the national symphony. It was fun, of course. I got out of theory and half of gov , which is an added bonus.
Today we had the Landon competition. Finalists are me (:-O), Daniel, Erin, Max, and two people I don't know. One of them, though, beat me at the WPAS competition last year, I think, even though she's really young. Interesting... So the finals will be AMAZINGLY fun They're not until April, but everyone should come. (We all play with orchestra in the final round.)
Tomorrow's going to be a fun day. I have performance class all afternoon, then we're going to the Miro SQ concert at the Rockville JCC. Yay! And looking ahead, everyone should come to my Millennium Stage performance (or watch it online if you can't come). It's on Friday, December 8, at 6 PM. You can just go to the Millennium Stage in the Kennedy Center, or you can go to
http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/artist_detail.cfm?artist_id=NSOYOUTS There will be a link to watch it live. The program will include Ron Shalom, bass, playing a movement of the Koussevitzky concerto and two movements of Bach, Sara Schneider, violin, playing two Kreisler pieces, me, (cello), playing the Beethoven A Major sonata, Dacee Chimgee-Parr, xylophone, playing a piece by some guy with the last name Green, and Daniel (viola) and me (cello) playing our Eyeglasses Duet! So come!
Last item! I've only gotten one audition date so far, and that's January 19 for Northwestern. When I get all my dates, I'll post them and we can compare so we can figure out when/where to meet up and/or travel together! Yay!
~Lauren