Day 252: TGIF

Finally, just what I needed: an awesome day. After two really bad days I really needed it. There were several factors that made it great too great to explain. Part of it may be that today is Friday but even still it was just a great day. Tomorrow I'm playing for musical theater auditions here. I can't wait to introduce some students to an awesome school.

Day 250 and 251: Bad Days

"Well you had a bad day, da da da da..." is the chorus to a popular pop/country song. Every now and then, after you have a long, long streak of great days you have to have variety and get stuck with a bad day or two. Well that has that been the case for me for Wednesday and Thursday of this week. I've been sick and overwhelmingly exhausted. Even though they are cliche, I will quote the song and movie. The sun will come out tomorrow. After all tomorrow is another day.

Day 249: Aftermath

Sometimes there are consequences to actions but in the case of weather there is what can be called the aftermath. Whether it's a snow day, bad roads, illness, pretty sights or all of the above there is some type of aftermath. After the snow earlier this week my car got frozen until yesterday and I was under the weather today but even though there were two pieces of bad effects the beautiful sight of aftermath that lay over the landscape is stunning. It's pictured below.

Day 248: Snow Day

If you've been looking at the weather forecast in Winchester then you would know there is on and off snow all week. I woke up this morning when my alarm went off on my phone, but my phone said school was closed and like most students did today, I went back to sleep. The snow came back tonight so there might be another snow day. I'll keep you posted. Here are pictures of today.

Day 246 and 247: Delivery

Sorry I'm a little bit behind. The show has kept me so busy. Over the weekend I discovered a great concept called delivery. It doesn't just apply to mail but that's the first use it had for me. Mom was able to send me a package on Friday. The next day I ordered a pizza from a local place called Roma On the Go. They had some really great which is pictured below and it was delivered in fifteen minutes. Sunday night after a long day of rehearsal, I had Jimmy Johns, a gourmet sandwich place. Of course, they delivered. Now, I know what you're thinking. Aren't there fees and tips when you could just pick it up? That's the best part. While they don't have student discounts at these places, students get the delivery fee waived if it's delivered anywhere on campus even to a dorm. Delivery: it's a great concept.

Day 245: Theory

As many of you have read, last semester I had theory at 9, then it moved to 8, and then I got myself moved back to nine. This semester I was thrilled when it worked out that my theory would be from ten to eleven. Not only that, but it would only be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Last semester theory wasn't a successful course in terms of attendance, but with this new schedule after two weeks of school, I have attended every class not just in theory but all times. I have a busy schedule but because I don't start my day till 10 I feel very productive and successful. That is all.

Day 244: Together

High School Musical may be the cheesiest, dumbest musical of all time but it's finale song preaches the truth: "We're All in This Together." This definitely applies to the theater. We are a group of people that make up one cast. Nobody is more important than the next and everybody has to do their part. I talked about the collaboration a few days ago but I can't emphasize it enough. We ran two scenes tonight and then after we just sat around and critiqued it and complimented it. It wasn't about the director saying what to do or each actor doing their own thing. It may be a cliche but there really is no I in Team. So today in my college adventures I learned always work with others and don't let your pride get in the way because a collaboration is more creatively productive then a solo project anyday.

Day 243: Hump Day

Wednesday in the 21st century has coined the term hump day because it's the difficult day to get past in the middle of the week. Because it is hump day I'm exhaustingly numb so will let this post be passed by on this tiresome hump day Wednesday.

Day 242: The Curse

Last night, the curse that calls itself laundry returned. That is all.

Day 240 and 241: Double Dose

No Mom, the title of this blog doesn't mean that I accidentally took my meds twice. Also, it doesn't have to do with the previous blog about seeing Into the Woods twice. Instead, it's about how over yesterday and today, I got a double dose of theatrical excitement. Working on The Elephant Man through the early table read and blocking phases, there has been a whirlwind of innovative ideas and creativity. You could just feel the creative energy bouncing off of the walls and from everybody. Ideas are encouraged and everyone is in it together giving 110 percent. Dr. Albert told me to always feel free to give musical ideas for the transition music or underscoring. Before the first read, I was so afraid that I would have no ideas or that my ideas would be stupid or dejected. However, after the first table read with the designers hearing the actor's take on the dialogue and the play, the creativity just flowed so naturally from everybody and I had already come up with two ideas the first night. While my first two ideas wasn't used, it wasn't dejected. It was used as a learning moment of why it wasn't the right idea for the moment. However, ideas continued to flow over the week and my ideas started to be slightly genius and Dr. Albert and I were just feeding into one another's creativity. I can't wait for this show to open. I'm so excited and we are still only in the first few stages, and I'm only in my first year. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I LOVE IT HERE!!!!

Day 239: Into The Woods Again... and Again

One thing I've talked about in a past blog is the Alamo Movie Dinner Theater. Saturday night i wanted a day off from my busy schedule and I wanted to escape "Into the Woods." The movie was playing at 7:45 and 9:55. I had a crazy idea that I wanted to see it twice. Why? Because it's an incredible movie musical. I just can't get enough. If it starred Barbra Streisand as the witch instead of Meryl Streep, I would have seen it three times in a row. When I got there though it was sold out. I went to the bar to subtlely whine to the bartender that I wasn't able to see it. I had bought a ticket for the 9:55 but the guy accidentally sold me an adult ticket instead of a student ticket. The bartender checked if it was really sold out. He brought the manager and she agreed that because I was there early and sold out still includes three available seats, plus the fact i was by myself, she let me change my ticket time. Then I told her I wanted to go to both and gave me the early movie ticket for free to make up for the fact that I had been sold an adult ticket. Therefore, I got two movies for the price of one and some awesome food. Into the Woods is an awesome film and I would recommend everybody see it. Maybe I'll go into the woods one more time before it goes out of the theater.

Day 238: Auditions

A year ago today I was going to sleep knowing the next morning I was going to be auditioning for SU and now I'm sitting here tonight preparing to accompany auditions tomorrow that I was once on the other side of. It's very surreal and feels very full circle. I'll be playing for classical vocalists tomorrow and I can't wait to help encourage people to do well in their audition, to stay calm, and promote or represent my school. The audition is the start of it all for people and is filled with endless possibilities. I can't wait to help people tomorrow gain admission so they can be where I am now next year.

Day 237: AMT II

Sorry again for the delayed post but this applies to Thursday. Dr. Albert, my favorite professor, teaches part one of American Musical Theatre as well as part two. For the majority of the course we will be discussing my favorite time period, the golden age. On the first day we learned about Jerome Kern. There's going to be a presentation on Sondheim. Then my favorite of the semester will be the week when we study Rodgers and Hammerstein. I've said it before and I'll say it again, that's not class, that's entertainment.

Day 236: Roarin' Romine

Sorry that this post is late but I have been very busy with rehearsal. My biggest challenge last semester was the fact that my theory class was incredibly early. Early classes aren't good for college students and are definitely not for me. However, if I had had my theory teacher this semester teaching last semester's early class, it could have been at 6 AM and the teacher could have kept we wide awake. My theory teacher this semester is a brilliant man named Dr. Romine. Not only is he smart when it comes to music theory higher education and double reed performance but he is the funniest teacher I've ever had. He is such a character with such a witty personality. He tells stories, compares triads to snowmen, makes hilarious musical jokes, uses props, and so much more. However, at the same time he teaches the theory but a student would never know because they are having so much fun. One thing he did in class today (Wednesday the day this post applies to) was explain why the tritone is called a tritone. It's fascinating and funny. I can't wait to continue my theory journey learning from him. Every class period I'll be roaring with laughter with the Roarin' Romine.

Day 235: Speechless

My second day of school was just as great if not better than my first day. I'm so shocked by the success of the first two days of the semester that I am speechless.

Day 234: Day 1

I have been going to school for years and have had several first days, but none of them could possibly compare to today. There are so many elements to what made it so extraordinary that I have to explain some of the parts over the next few days. So stay tuned for that and I'll stay tuned for great days to come here at SU!!

Day 231 to 233: The Return

After a long weekend, I'm back in my dorm bed, moved in, at school in virginia, and ready to start my second semester at SU. It's been an incredible journey so far and can't wait to see what the future here as in store.

Day 230: Change

Every new year people make resolutions to change their lives in positive ways. Most of them never last, but hey, we try. However, my school conservatory lobby made a change and it is the best new year event change ever even though it's not really a resolution. The lobby in our main conservatory classroom building was remodeled and it looks like a Hilton Hotel lobby. Its being referred to by the students as the new nap lounge because there are two new sofas with blankets. It's incredible and the school really needed it. People had been asking the dean to fix it and he followed through with the best Christmas gift ever and a great welcome back surprise. It was leaked to social media before the first day of school but it just makes us want to come back even more. Here are the before and after:

Day 229: Pecking Puzzles

For the longest times as a child and a teenager, I loved to do jigsaw puzzles and I thought that phase had ended. However, the time I was home for the holidays resulted in the rekindling of that hobby. I finished about 8 holiday themed puzzles while I was home. Also, one time when I was taking a break from the puzzles I got lunch at Zaxbys and the birds pictured below decided to eat more chicken.

Day 227 and 228: Snow

While I was home for the holidays in my final week before I came back Winchester had tons of snow. This made the school campus a gorgeous winter scene. I love snow and winter and all of the beauty that comes with it. As the frozen song says, the cold never bothered me anyway. I have jackets and scarves to stay warm. I love enjoying the snow and seeing the nature covered in it. The school takes some photo of the snow and they are below:

Day 226: Mountain Methodist

I had a leap year church visit today. By that I mean I visited my grandpa's church for the first time in four years. I was at my church every week that I couldn't make it to the mountain Methodist church in Tallulah Falls, Georgia. My grandpa asked me to visit but I was also excited to see the place again after such a long time. It was a swarm of emotions because I knew my grandpa wasn't there because of his health but I know he's so proud of me. I played a lot of hymns and we even had a little song request time. It also reminded me of my home church Sunday school class because of it's size and congregation demographic. Also, I was taken to a local family BBQ business called Hawg Wild and I had catfish for the first time. I hope that I can go back before another four years and see all of the mountain Methodists again. Here are some photos from today:

Day 225: Into the Woods

The day has come. Movie musicals are back. In the golden age of history, the popular genre of movie was the movie musical. Now, it's become action and horror films and maybe an occasional animated or romance film. However, the good days of the movies have returned because for the past few years awesome movie musicals have been released. From Les Mis to Frozen to Jersey Boys and now Into the Woods and Annie, plus The Last Five Years coming in February, the movie musical is back and thriving just as much as it was in the days of the sound of music and the music man. In regards to into the woods which I finally saw this past Saturday, it was phenomenal. It was just brilliant. If the movie musicals that are planned to be made actually manifest then my prediction will be correct. The movie musical is back and taking over the cinema. Hallelujah. That's one of the greatest Christmas gifts ever.

Day 224: Nice and Niece

The nicest thing my sister has ever done was giving birth to the nicest baby I have ever met, my niece Katelyn. She is the most adorable toddler ever and she is almost two. I still remember the day when I was cutting the cord in the delivery room and now she is sitting on my lap at the piano which she loves. She has gotten to visit a couple of times while I'm home for the holidays and you can't help but love her. She is smart, musical, and adorable. Here are two really cute photos from today's visit.

Day 223: January 1

Last Thursdays blog can be summed up in three words. Happy new year!!!

Day 222: Tradition

My family doesn't have many traditions when it comes to the holiday but there has been one that has established for about five years. Every New Years Eve we create a gingerbread house from a kit (maybe one day we will make one from scratch). It's fun, it's messy, and a great decoration as we bring in the wintery new year. Below are pictures of this year's house:

Day 221: Not so Happy Holidays

I don't mean to sound like a downer in this blog post but there is a part of the holidays that needs to be addressed. Not everyone has a happy holiday. One of my good friends lost their father on Christmas Eve. My family still misses my grandfather, and we have to watch my other grandfather not do well this year. Sometimes the holidays can remind people of loss or make them realize what they don't have. This year I played for an interesting service that addressed this holiday sadness. It's a real tragedy among families that have struggles during what should be a happy time. I say all this because there is hope especially on the new year's eve that this blog post applies to. We are about to start a new year, a day of new beginnings. Life is good and we may have challenges but there is always hope in Christ and in the view of a bright tomorrow.