Back to Music

I will be able to actually get some sleep tonight. yay! Today was a great day. I don't remember much of anatomy this morning. But my afternoon was the good part. My Jazz appreciation class today had a guest artist, Vinny Golia. The first hour he just talked some and played a few of his instruments. This had to be the most assorted collection of instruments I've seen. It included a bass sax, a soprillo (sax), sopranino (sax), some ethnic flutes, and a couple 'normal' clarinets. It was quite interesting to listen and hear what he had to say. Then after most everyone that wasn't in jazz band left (because our class was over), Vinny and the ensemble were going to rehearse some music. I decided to stay and listen for a little bit. As the jazz band was setting up, there was only 1 trumpet there (2 others drifted in). Kris Tiner, my prof and the jazz director, knows I play trumpet and asked me to join in on the rehearsal. So I did. I played flugelhorn, which I hadn't done. It's basically the same thing as trumpet, just a little larger and has a more mellow sound. It was fun. End result: I think I am going to start practicing again and play with the jazz band for the next couple weeks, at least until their concert and possibly afterwards too.

Mammoth

Mammoth was great! We left thursday night around 8:30 or so. It snowed going through Tehachapi, then rained in the desert, then snowed a little more around Lone Pine. We (Robert, Chris, and I) had to put chains on once we got off 395. It was snowing in Mammoth. I think we finally got to the condo around 1:30am. And we were asleep by 3. The forcast for the weekend was cold temps and snow. The forcast didn't lie either. Friday was very cold. It was a high of 32°, but realistically with the wind chill it was probably around 15°-20°, if not colder. Despite the freezing temperatures, the snow was great. There was lots of powder from the storms that had hit the mountain. It snowed all 3 days we were there also. Saturday and Sunday were both similar to Friday. It was sunny for all of an hour in the morning, then the clouds moved in, it got windy, it snowed, and visibility became close to none. The weather didn't keep us off the mountain though. Whats a little chillyness going to hurt? Sure I froze my ass off at times, but the ungroomed Face of 5 was definitely worth it! Aside from snowboarding, I had fun just hanging out with Robert, Chris, and Becca. Puerto Rico (the game) was fun once we figured it out. I think my highlight off the mountain was jumping off a snow bank with Becca. Twice! It's fun being a kid.
My running jump didn't quite work. Instead my front foot sunk as I leapt. What you can't see is that at the bottom of the snow bank is a short drop and the road. Becca's standing still jump worked better. She slid and landed on her feet. Me... not so much. I more or less face planted and slid/tumbled down on my stomach and landed firmly on the road. It might have hurt, but I was laughing and any pain was quickly forgotten. It was a fantastic way to end the vacation.

Bleh

1) Doing poorly on a test sucks.
2) Doing poorly on a test and having to sit through all the correct answers sucks more.
3) Hooray for Mammoth this weekend!

Stuffed

This weekend was good. I don't remember what happened on friday except that I broke open my mom's kahlua (with her permission). But Saturday, or late friday, Robert came home. Saturday afternoon I went to Chipotle for lunch with some friends, and actually ate my entire burrito for once. Then after working a little on english we went to Coldstone. Later that night my family went to Shogans for dinner. It was really cool, not to mention good food. The chef did his nifty cooking stuff on the stove thingy where we were seated. I enjoyed the flaming onion volcano. I was stuffed by the end of the night. Sunday I had a hockey game, which we won 3-0. Then I worked on my english project some more than night. Robert left. And I was soo tired I managed to fall asleep at 9:30. It was a busy, but fun weekend.

Lately...

Sunny and clear = chilly and cold

School/Hockey Update

The joy of school... This semester has started up. I only have 2 classes that actually require a decent chunk of time, but it feels like so much. My music appreciaiton classes are simple. I just take notes (when necessary) and listen to music. It english and anatomy that are killer. English is like 2 classes in one. There is the lecture part where we have quizes and in class writings and a paper due ever 4 weeks. Then in the tutorial we have separate work that we have to do, and separate reading. All the tutorial stuff is geared toward the big research paper that's a third of our grade. Then I have anatomy. I haven't been stressed or anything with the class so far, however after starting the skeletal system I now see the toughness of this course. Today alone we probably got 40-50 terms on the skull alone that we are expected to know by thursday. I'd like to think that I will study more for anatomy... but hmm, probably not. And that is my semester so far.

Now to handle all this stress, which varies from week to week, I have hockey. woohoo! This season is going well. We're 4-1. Our one loss being to the Warriors (green team) who have stacked their roster quite a bit this season. New this season, all the teams have names. Ooooo. We're the gladiators. Now that Robert has a job and is gone my fan section has shrunk down to 1 person. I got my first 2 goals of the season during sunday's game. Boy did it feel good. We won our game 5-1. My second goal, I think, was one of my best. I had two defenders in front of me, so I used one as a screen and shot between his legs. I went high stick side and hit the corner of the post and scored. It was really cool. Part of the reason this season is so much is fun is that this is our 2nd season together with the same roster. However a lot of us have been on the same team for a few seasons now, so we all know each other fairly well. It makes for great locker room conversations, for lack of a better word. Fun times... on and off the ice.

Late Addition- I am not sure how it happens, but somehow I was able to spill chocolate on my shirt today and then it melted. You know, Valentines Day = Chocolate (at least for me, probably cause I'm single) But back to my point, how the hell did I spill solid chocolate on myself today. If it were chocolate sauce or something liquidy that'd be more understanding. But no, a ghirardelli square!

Cathedrals

In my music appreciation class tonight we talked a lot about religion and music. Then we talked about cathedrals (and music), and how when they are built, they're never completely finished. We went from Notre Dame to our national cathedral. Did you know that on the Washington National Cathedral there is a Darth Vader gargoyle? I thought that was kinda cool.