September 29th, 2006 ~ Friday

1:07 a.m.

Hodge Podge

Sleeping is good.

Since break has begun, I've slept 10 hours every night.  Correction.  A minimum of 10 hours every night.  Last night I slept from 2am until noon.  I then woke up, and fell back asleep at 3:00 until 7:00 in the evening.  And now I'm awake because I slept 14 hours in the last 24 hours.  Heh.

The unthinkable has finally happened.  I FINALLY GOT MY CAR BACK!  6 1/2 weeks after my tire exploded, I FINALLY got my car back.  It's about time.

Have you heard AIR on the "Living Furniture" commercial?  Where the couple is dancing on the floor?  It's strange, but every time I see that commercial I think of my students =D

My friend got married, hence my lack of blogging.  Longest wedding ever. 

I've discovered backgammon.  A new addiction has begun.

I painted my kitchen wall so it looks like their are fake bricks on it.  It looks a little bit weird, but makes me happy nonetheless.

Other than that, just the same usual stuff.  Sorry I'm not updating this site very often.  I'm feeling rather lazy =) 

September 14th, 2006 ~ Thursday

6:06 p.m.

Can I Have Your Autograph?

I was never able to relate to people who get star struck.  Since I went to college and lived in Los Angeles for a while, I actually met my fair share.  I forget who, now.  Oh, Reese Witherspoon.  I saw Reese Witherspoon at Ralphs.  And I saw a lot of obscure celebrities.  And I saw a lot of celebrities from a distance (like John Williams, Rupert Grint, Coolio...).  I NEVER understood people who got autographs.  What do you do with that autograph?  What happens?

And then I decided that there is one person's autograph I'd want: Yo-Yo Ma.  And I'd want it on my cello case.  On the FRONT of my cello case.  How cool would that be?  Everywhere I'd go I could say, "Hey, check out my cool Yo-Yo Ma autograph."  And fellow music nerds would go, "WOW!  Can I touch it?"  And I'd say, "NO!  Go away!" 

=D

I can't think of anybody else's autograph I'd want.  And if they were cool enough for me to want their autograph, it would have to be on a permanent really cool surface.  Like my cello case.  

Just a thought.

September 7th, 2006 ~ Thursday

11:20 p.m.

I Amuse Myself

I have spent the last hour and a half going back through my computer and listening to old pieces that I "composed".  Okay, well, I suppose I actually DID compose them, so I shouldn't put them in quotes, but mind you...I make no illusions of greatness when it comes to composition.  In my life, I have composed for 3 reasons:

1.) To amuse myself (this is really the most important reason)

2.) Because I was assigned to for class (but still tried to amuse myself)

3.) For my classes, because there was nothing appropriate for them to play (but still amusing myself)

All my pieces have similar qualities.  They are all pretty simplistic.  They are all cheerful in some way.  And they all have elements of cleverness hidden in them.  Hence my amusement.  Again, I want to stress that nothing I wrote is fabulously brilliant.  I'm not the next Beethoven or anything, nor do I pretend to be.  I just enjoy making myself laugh.

It made me think of my first week of college, when I met The Other Naoko.  I made it until I was 18 without ever meeting another Naoko.  Ever.  And then, on my first day of college, I showed up in my music theory class for music majors, and sat NEXT to The Other Naoko.  When she introduced herself, I was shocked.

And then we got kicked out of class because we had scored too high on the entrance test, and therefore we had to go to the Honors Music Theory class for composition majors (even though we weren't composition majors).  It's the only time in my life where I've had the experience of people saying my name...and it wasn't about me!  And that horrible feeling when the teacher says your name....and the relief when it's not you.  I don't know how all you do it!  All the Michaels, Johns, Jeffs, Jennifers, Tiffanys, Alans, Jessicas....all of you.  I don't know how you survive with so many people having the same name as you.  It's so confusing.

I've gone off on a tangent.  But that's okay.  I'm surprisingly awake at this late hour, and am cheerful and amused.  And I have Fiesta Blues in my head.  Thanks Mr. G.

September 3rd, 2006 ~ Sunday

10:58 p.m.

I'm too drained to think of something clever to put here.

I have spent the last 6 hours grading reflections.  Correction: grading 1st period's reflections.  This is after an hour or two yesterday.  I'm starting to understand why my music teacher didn't give us anything to do, ever...because it takes so much time to go over it.  Well no, that's not why.  It's because he didn't care enough to do so.  This is the same man who read Little House On The Prarie WHILE he was conducting us.  I promise, that happened.

I am happy to say that after a lot of grading...most people have an A.  And by most, I mean...like...58 or so of you have an A.  HOORAY!

I have to say, 1st period...I'm thoroughly impressed by you guys.  You have become such articulate young people, that it really does make me proud.  It makes me feel better about the world.

On another note, I just watched Ella Enchanted on tv...because it was on.  I really like that Anne Hathaway.

I feel drained.  I love reading your stuff, but after awhile my brain gets groggy.  And I insist on reading and grading with a crisp mind, so every now and then I had to take quick breaks that usually involved an Otter Pop.  Those things are seriously awesome.  Sugary water frozen in a tube.  Who knew?

Nothing else, really.  Well, there was...but I can't remember any more.  My brain has turned to mush.  I must replenish myself.  Mmmm...otter pop =D