whoa

While sifting around on the Internet for something about viola camp, I discovered a pretty cool fact: I am the only non-school employee in the state who has received the honor of being nominated for a Rotary Century Scholar Distinguished Educator award every year since the program began.

That's pretty cool. First, the student has to be in the top 15 of their class. Then, they have to nominate a teacher who impacted them in some way. Most kids pick a school teacher.

The odds there are pretty staggering. Go viola studio kids! You rock.

viola camp!

I've spent a really happy afternoon planning stuff for viola camp. This year, we have a gig in Roseberry, which is this funny little town south of McCall. It should be pretty excellent.

Fun highlights for this years viola camp include:

1) One ensemble (mostly the high school kids) playing the 1812 overture! I don't we have quite enough time to learn the whole thing, but we'll see how much they can get together in 5 days. I'm still thinking of how to do the cannons with the remaining viola camp members.

2) The exciting canoeing adventure. It'll be pictureworthy to say the least.

3) Someone who wishes to remain anonymous is sponsoring our pizza dinner this year! Thanks, awesome person!!

4) A piece written by our local teenage composer and bassist. As a reward, we're going to play an all-viola accompaniment to the Dragonetti bass concerto.

5) There is NOT a fire ban this year! Awesome!

Alright! Only one week til viola camp! YES!!

ups and downs

Thursday was very surreal. Within a 12 hour span, I

1) Received an interesting job offer. We'll see how that plays out.
2) Found out one of my best friends is moving. To Upstate New York.

So I'm in this odd state of suppressed excitement/extreme sadness. I haven't figured out which one will win.

More details will be forthcoming as events transpire. Stay tuned!

stormy

It's a stormy day here in Oberlin. It went for being overly sticky to being rainy and chilly in a period of about an hour. The weather changes student's moods too, from lethargic to grouchy to hyper. I've had to mediate more than one situation today between campers, including sending one to his room for making unkind remarks. It's not very cool.

This year has been a little different than all my other years here. I'm not getting fed at all. I usually show up, receive a spiritual and musical boost, and am therefore inspired for a big part of the year. This year feels bogged down in unnecessary complications and menial tasks. I love coaching my group and visiting with the students, but that seems outweighed by other stuff. I'm pretty sure I'd really love to just show up and teach for the two weeks and read scripture and study. Instead, I'm wrangling kids out of the piano lounge at 7:30 in the morning and looking for scissors. I'm sure I am not feeding anyone, either. I still love this program, and am enthusiastic about most things, but it feels as if something very fundamental is missing.

There was a guy here from InterVarsity Fellowship. I would have enjoyed talking with him about stuff. I gave him three very clear cut openings to start a conversation, but he seemed distracted and uninterested in talking to me. And I don't really think I can talk to the program director, either, because he is way too busy and distracted. The faculty that I know are all doing their own stuff, and I don't get to really talk to them much, either. So, you, happy blog readers, get to feel most of my angst. Hooray!

substitution

Hello from Ohio!

It's really humid and gross. I hate humidity.

Jim finished my new viola suite! Chad is going to fax it here today, so I can have a go at it. I'm really looking forward to it.

Things are OK here. I feel a little more micromanaged this year, and while I'm trying not to let it bother me, it kind of is. I just need to get over it, I guess. I'm also disappointed not to be doing large ensemble. That was really fun last year. It's hard not to take these things personally. So, I'm a little discouraged. But I'm sure everything will be fine.

Must get back to wrangling campers.

12 stories in 12 words or less

1) I'm all packed, except for my glasses. I'm very blind without them.
2) Merissa and I went to the zoo to see absentee animals.
3) Le Cafe has become overpriced and nonfun with a new uninteresting menu.
4) Lisa C. from Credo was in town. We had milkshakes and conversation.
5) Allison bought me lunch. We talked about fun stuff. It was nice.
6) Can't find my flip flops. They ran away. No Ohio for them!
7) I'm perplexed by having my opinion asked, and then advice proffered ignored.
7a)That statement has nothing to do with any blog readers.
8) I can almost see my desk in the studio. Sleeping tonight optional!
9) I biked from the house to the church in under 30 minutes.
10) I received another viola camp application. Hooray!
11) Shopped for shorts, finding only ones resembling underwear or overpocketed.
12) The plane leaves in 3 hours. See you later!

pinky

So yesterday, after going to see "Get Smart" I discovered I have pinkeye. $10 worth of eyedrops, 4 chammomile tea bags and half a bottle of sterile eye solution later, the eye is almost back to normal. 3 The chammomile tea bag thing does work, for all you home remedy types out there. The thing is that pinkeye is supposed to be way contagious, so I was basically under house arrest all day. I think I'm also fighting a cold or something, because I went to read a book for a minute, and woke up 3 hours later. It's that post-long haul flight generic illness that gets me just about every time.

I'm slowly getting all my pictures from Europe organized. Go to http://picasaweb.google.com/boiseviola8 to see updates on pictures. If you've been looking for my pictures on Facebook, they are not all there. It'll probably be a few weeks before they are all organized.

Friday morning, I head off to Credo Opus 1. It's always a good time. There's always a few things that bug me about the whole set up, but I've long since realized that while I might be free to express my opinion, it really doesn't matter one bit to how things are going to be run. I'm still kind of pissed that I don't get to conduct the large ensemble, but whatever. It was fun last year, and I think it went well.

I'm kind of frustrated with my workout regime. I work out a lot. Probably more than anyone else I know. But I look really fat. I think I've actually gotten bigger, due to all the weightlifting and such. I'm hoping that my personal trainer will be able to help with this.

On a musical front, I'm very excited about the new piece Jim is writing for me. As soon as I get it, I'll plan a recital. I haven't done a solo recital since I've been in Boise. I could also program the piece on a Darkwood concert. I need to get my practice routine back under control. It's been such a wretched 18 months that I can't say I've done anything other than survive. I need to start looking for more educational things to do, getting some lessons, setting some goals.

I flunked another blood test. Hopefully, they'll figure out why my estrogen levels are though the roof, and start doing something about it.

lag tastic!

Good morning! It's about 4:30, and I'm up and awake! I really have to get over this jet lag pretty quick, because I need to be awake and ready for Opus 1 in a couple days. I'll try to go back to sleep after this.

Yesterday was pretty good. I taught some lessons, went to the fruit stand, spent some time at the gym. All the usual stuff. Today is basically the same. Except I'll try not to fall asleep at 8PM.

Whilst in Vienna, we were able to take in an opera. It was pretty fantastic. We saw "The Force of Destiny", a Verdi opera which is fairly short on plot, but long on male arias. Which was good, because they were the strongest singers in the show. It was done in what I like to think of as the European High Concept Style, with a minimalist set and war scenes pointing out the greed of the US government. There was an entourage of Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, all equipped with lassos and hats. It was pretty funny, actually. Anyway. we were in the Standing Room area, for which we paid 3.50. Where in the US can you see an opera for 3.50?

Vienna was probably my favorite big city. It has a life outside of the tourism industry. The day we were in Vienna was also the day of the Poland vs. Austria soccer game, so you couldn't walk more than 3 feet before you ran into a pack of drunk Polish guys singing the Polish National Anthem, or yelling "POLSKA!!" at the top of their inebriated lungs.

Chad and I spent most of the day at the art museum. We rented those little audio guides where you press a number, and a happy little recorded voice spews information at you. What was really funny was the recordings about some of the Egyptian artifacts. All of these recordings basically started off "We don't really know anything about this artifact! But here is a bunch of general information about Egyptian art!" Anyway, the Fine Arts Museum in Vienna is a must see. I could have spent many more days in Vienna. There were lots of great museums to see, concerts to attend, and most importantly, meals that were not veal or pork to eat.

Every place we went to had this idea of having us 'enjoy a traditional Austrian or Italian meal!" which meant every place served us the EXACT same thing. Dessert was the only variation. It varied from the extremely scary to the moderately OK. My favorite restaurant was one where we had to hike up to the top of a hill for dinner. It was a lovely setting in a building with multiple windows so you could see out. They also had some very average house wine, which one of the trip leaders managed to consume an entire bottle. This wasn't me, btw. I'm pretty well known in my circle for my extreme lightweightness in this area. It was pretty funny, though.

Blood test today, Not excited about this at all.