OK, so my posts lately just seem to go on and on and for fear of losing readers (and/or commenters), I'm going to attempt a brief post! I don't do this blog thing solely for my own reading pleasure, so I will try to acquire the art of "concise"-ness. It may be a long shot, but I'm willing to try- wish me luck!
For starters on this new quest of mine, here are some quick tidbits on the life of the Masons lately:
* Great, albeit, short visit with my folks this weekend- as a result of selling their house (yeah!!!), we are now the proud owners of their beautiful kitchen table, and proud sitters of their sweet pug, Gracie, while they vacation in Maine next week.
* Stressful times for Steve at work:( and lots of reading/sightsinging/eartraining for me during the slow periods at work as I try and prepare for school this fall- aaah!!!
* Lots of practicing and going through pieces I learned as an undergrad as I prepare to teach undergrads this fall- aaah!!!
*Lots of busy evenings- enjoying dinner and/or just spending time with friends, Community Group, an NY Phil Summertime Classics concert, to name a few.
*Lots of celebrations- the birth of our Pastor's third child, beautiful baby Korey (congrats JR, Ginger, Neeley, and Judson!); birthday celebrations for Kristian, and then baby Kate , Jackie, and Desiree coming up; a fun summer fiesta party this weekend and...
*Celebrating that my brother, Daniel, has recently decided to move back east! Such an answer to prayer and we are sooo excited! More on this to come.
OK, time to stop before the rambling begins. Ha! Let's see how long I can keep the brief blogs going.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Whittling down the Wordiness
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Happy Father's Day to a Dad and a Too-Dad
And Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!
The first and foremost awesome quality about him is that he is a man of incredible integrity and deep faith. I pick his brain about in-depth questions I have about the Bible, God, and what it means to be a Christian, and he's always patient with me, answering with truth, conviction, and clarity. He reads dozens of books on the subject, the Bible in particular, and would even listen to the Bible on tape during his commute (something that always kinda cracked me up). He served as an elder at his past church for years, giving selflessly and generously of his time and money. My parents are great stewards, and have highly influenced Steve and I in how we handle (and spend) what God has entrusted to us. My dad is a man who loves God, and I respect him greatly for this devotion.
OK, to make sure this post doesn't turn into a mammoth length novel, I'll just keep this at a small sampling of a few other characteristics that I deeply respect, but that also kinda make me giggle, about my dad:
* I have never, let me repeat, never heard my dad swear in my 29 years of life. You know he's mad when "fiddlesticks" crosses his lips.
* I remember with fondness when my parents and I were driving back from seeing the musical, "Beauty and the Beast" in DC and my dad got pulled over for going about 10 miles over the speed limit. That was hysterical to me- my dad getting pulled over for speeding! Even funnier however, was the officer asking what my dad had to drink that night. I couldn't resist- I responded, "maybe some milk and cookies!" My mom and I couldn't stop laughing and dad got by with a warning.
* He wears his baseball hats on top of his head, not on his head. They kinda rest gently on top of the head and my personal favorite of his is the red and white hat, that reads "Physics" in felt across the top. He's also particularly fond of his newsboy style caps, and has them in just about every color.
OK, that'll do for now. Dad, you've been an awesome father and I love you. Happy Father's Day!
Again, where do I even begin with this wonderful man I'm privileged to call my grandpa? This post could seriously go on for days and I'm not sure how to limit this, so maybe to honor my Too-Dad, I'll just do some free thinking/writing and see where it goes.
My dad's father died two years before I was born, so I never had the opportunity to meet him. I hear he was a great man, deeply devoted to his faith and family, and it saddens me that I never got to know him. Partly for this reason, my mom's father, my dear Too-daddy was especially dear to me. My only grandfather. And with a brother and two male cousins, I happen to be his only granddaughter. I'd like to think we share a special bond.
Too-dad used to push us along in the "frogger" (a small toy vehicle in the shape of a frog), and let us ride on the back of the moped. He even had a name for all of us- "Posty's Team." Neily-Pealy, Sam-the-Man, Super-Dan, and Beck-a-beck. We even had shirts inscribed. Seriously. We were too cool. Where'd it all come from you may wonder? Well, "Posty" was the name I gave the teddy-bear he gave me when I was five after Too-dad's last name, "Postlethwait." Yeah, try learning how to spell that as a kid!
Like my dad, my grandpa is one of the most generous people I know. Boy, does he spoil us, but we never take it for granted. He doesn't want the government to have his money :), so he graciously bestows it on all of us and loves doing so. He's also very wise with his resources and spends it where it counts most to him- his family.
My Too-dad is a spectacular man- at almost 84, he's going strong and doesn't look or act a day older than 65. I treasure the special relationship we share very deeply.
This post can't even attempt to do justice in describing the way I feel about my dad and Too-Dad. I love them both and hope they have a very Happy Father's Day!!!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Silverware and Wood=Five Years of Matrimony!
To celebrate five years of marriage, the contemporary gift suggestion is "Silverware," and the traditional gift suggestion is "Wood." Happy Aniversary, my love- here is a silver spoon and a wooden spoon, to show how much I love thee. What???
I've actually attempted to loosely match my previous anniversary gifts to Steve to the year's recommendation, and will probably stretch this year's gift to somehow fit, but really, I don't get these contemporary/traditional gift things (unless it's diamonds of course!).
Anyhow, if I were clever, I'd use this post to try to come up with some sort of symbolism about silverware and wood, and how they relate to marriage, but I'm not that clever, and I think it would probably just end up being pretty lame anyway. I just thought the title was cute, so moving on...
Since I'm not even going to attempt to be deep, I'd just like to instead honor my husband with five things in particular that I love about him as we approach our big day this Saturday, June 14th.
1. His commitment to his faith. I love that he wakes up over an hour before me and over two hours before he has to leave for work to have time in the Word and in prayer. Even when he could really use the extra sleep, he makes his quiet time with the Lord a priority. It is such an inspiration and encouragement to me, and I respect him so much for this. I also love how selfless he is in his commitment to our church, Apostles, and the load-in/out duties he co-leads, and leading our community group. When he's scheduled to pick up and drop off the van that carries our church equipment to our morning location on Sunday mornings, he leaves our place just after 7am and normally doesn't get back home after church until 1:30-2. But he never complains. I might, but he doesn't. He gives of his time and talents joyfully. I also love how he thoughtfully prepares our CG discussions with a printed sheet containing questions, "business items", etc- too cute. He loves the Lord, and it is very evident through his dutiful and joyful obedience to Him, an obedience I am proud of.
2. His commitment to me. Steve puts up with a lot being my husband. I'm quite a handful, to say the least. He deals with my whackiness, moodiness, flutie-ness, and somehow still manages to love me. In regards to my profession, no matter how much practicing I do and how much schooling I go through, it's just not a lucrative field. But, it's my passion, and I love it, and he knows that, and he supports me in it 100%, regardless of how much it ends up costing us financially, (and the costs in time...) or how little it contributes financially. I also love the little things- how he makes me breakfast in the morning and gets my lunch ready, how he writes me sweet poems and always gets creative with my birthday gifts, how he does the laundry because he knows how much I hate it, and just how he makes sure I always feel safe, secure, loved, attractive (to him, at least) and appreciated.
3. His commitment to his research. I believe my husband is absolutely brilliant. The things he tells me about his day at work just totally floor me. I mean, he's researching brain cancer- how cool is that? (Not cool as in brain cancer itself, of course, but cool as in he's working towards learning more about its causes, effects, possible cures, etc!). I think it's pretty awesome at least, and I hope he knows how much I respect his career choice, and his commitment to its greater good. Again, he could've chosen a field that comes with a much higher salary, more prestige, less work... or even if he still stayed with science, he could've gone into the medical field or biotech, BUT, he deeply cares about researching cancer, and it's worth it to him. An almost flawless straight "A" record through undergrad (he got a B in drama... hehe) and a PhD at age 27 after just five years- he could've gone into just about anything, gone just about anywhere, but he chose a field that means something dear to him and means something dear to others, regardless of the pitfalls, and I'm proud of that.
4. His "all or nothing" passion. Steve doesn't really do anything that's important to him less than 100%. For example, he's recently gotten very into photography. He'll spend hours on a picture making it just right, seeking out comments and suggestions on how an image can be improved upon, investing in better equipment- and this is just a hobby! He also really enjoys to cook, but rarely has the time to do it. So when he does have the time, he loves to surprise me with a carefully planned meal. Not just any meal, but dinners that require special trips for special ingredients, and take hours to prepare. He's even printed menus to match, on occasion. Makes me melt :)
And finally, enough of the sentimentalk talk, here's one final quality that I love about Steve...
5. He's hot. I'll spare the elaborations here ;).
It's been a great five years, my love, and I hope this didn't make you blush too much;). Happy Anniversary and I LOVE YOU!!!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Museum Mile - Love it here!!!
In one of the in-flight magazines during our flight out to Spain, we read that the 30th annual "Museum Mile Festival" in NYC would take place on Tuesday, June 3, offering free admission to nine different museums from 6-9pm. Huh! What a great opportunity for us take a chunk out of No. 1 on my "Thirty by 30" list,
"Hit the major NYC museums- Met, MoMA, & Natural History Museum for starters"
AND enjoy our awesome city with another reason why we love it here. Last night, it was off to the Met- we came, we saw, we didn't conquer...
We obviously weren't the only people to think a free museum night was a great idea, so it was pretty packed. And only the first floor was open to visitors. But, it was a fabulous, albeit short hour and a half whirlwind through one of the world's greatest museums. Lots of cool stuff to be seen, and was seen, in that brief period, and we're really looking forward to returning and enjoying another one of the incredible aspects of NY.
So, to mirror last week's post, here are some other things that rock about our city, state, and/or country that struck us while we enjoyed a different city and country a couple of weeks ago:
* Drinkable tap water and free bread. It's not that the tap water was unsafe or undrinkable in Spain, BUT, we weren't able to get it anywhere! No matter the type of restaurant/cafe/bar, tap water was just not an option. And all of those bottles of water at the equivalent of $3-$5 each really added up, not to mention the waste of throwing away all that plastic! As environmentally friendly as Spain was in many other ways, mentioned in the previous post, this was one area where they could learn a lesson from the US of A. And the basket of bread that is given before meals would show up on the bill at the end! This happened at just about every place we dined so we eventually had to specifically decline the bread, much to the waiter's shock and dismay.
* Faster service. Don't get me wrong- I love to take my time at a nice restaurant and really savor the food, ambiance, and company. But, when it's just lunch time, and I'm sitting indoors with a beautiful day outdoors and lots of sight-seeing to be done, my time could be better spent than waiting for my next course. In general, our dinners in Barcelona would last at least a couple of hours- sometimes we thought it was a bit excessive, but we were on vacation and it was late in the day so it was somewhat of a luxury to just relax and take it all in. We could let the slow service slide. But on our last full day, we decided to do a prix-fixe lunch with yummy paella, and ended up being indoors at that place for over two hours! Not exactly how I intended on spending that time on a gorgeous afternoon, but alas, thus is the lifestyle.
* NYC's abounding musical performances. Granted, most classical music concerts/recitals take place during the evening, with matinees on weekends, but, if I searched really hard, I have a feeling I could find some type of performance going on during the day on any day of the week here. I desperately tried to find some type of concert, any concert, during my one day by my lonesome in Barcelona; I did internet searches, asked tourist info kiosks AND the locals, and visited several music halls, finding nothing. There certainly were tons of things going on in Barcelona, but let's be honest, you simply can't top NY in this regard, which is another huge reason why I, in particularly, absolutely love it here! (* Related sidenote- saw the ballet last Wed and am seeing another one this Sat, going to the Phil tonight, then I'm playing with the worship band for church and in the orchestra for an opera company's concert this Sun, too- love that!*)
* Nude beaches here are the exception, not the norm. Nude beaches there are the norm, not the exception. Going topless was more common than baring it all, so while most of us American ladies don't appreciate seeing a multitude of other ladies showing off what their mamas gave them, even worse were those who did think it was acceptable to bare all. I mean, power to them for having the guts and self-esteem, but come on, put your clothes on, I don't wanna see that.
Of course, we could go on and on about why we love our city, state, and country, but I'll keep the list short with the aforementioned items that stuck out in particular during our trip. We had a great time in Spain and truly loved it there, but there's no shortage of reasons why we simply love it here, too!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Loved it there!
There are certainly ups and downs to being the wife of a scientist, but I recently had the opportunity to enjoy one of the awesome perks of my husband's job- international travel. Conferences in the research world tend to take place fairly regularly and tend to take place internationally (much to my excitement at this revelation), and last week Steve was fortunate enough to attend the Metastasis Genes and Function Conference (one of these days I'll have a post attempting to explain what is it "I think" my husband does...) in Barcelona, Spain. Now, obviously I won't always be able to take advantage of this luxury, but with our 5 year anniversary fast approaching, and Steve's portion of the trip covered, we couldn't pass up the chance to bring me out there for an early celebration. We arrived last Friday morning, returning this past Thursday afternoon, so with his conference only taking up the equivalent of about two days, it turned out to be a great vacation.
The story of our trip can be told in pictures found here:
Pics with us
Pics without us
Therefore, I'll limit this post to some things we noticed and particularly liked about Barcelona (or in some cases, even more broadly, European) living. Next week, I'll share some thoughts on some things we noticed and particularly like about US of A, and sometimes, particularly, NYC living. Neither posts are intended to bash either city or country in any way- they're just some interesting observations we made. So... here is a small sampling of some random reasons why we loved it there:
* Greener transportation!!! Case in point- our car ride to the Newark airport (~30 miles away) took almost two hours!!! Why? Because of all the cars, and all the big cars, with hardly any carpoolers!!! We noticed that Spain was full of scooters, bikes, and small cars, and loved that!
* Greener toilets- ha! Yes, such a thing can exist! Toilets literally had a double-flush. That's right, two different types of flushes - one if just a little flush is needed and one if... well... you get the drift. Water saving at its best- brilliant!
* Greener lights! Ok, this was just our first hotel (yes, we stayed at two hotels- one that we had to cover, and one the conference covered, but hey, we're certainly not complaining!), but the idea was too cool; the lights are set so that you can't leave the room without the lights turning off- once the key is taken out of the slot that it is placed in upon entering the room, the lights go out. Awesome.
* Siestas- enough said.
* Incredible architecture, feel, and views. There's something about a place that has the beauty and charm of old Europe, the vibe of a big city, and the scenery and landscaping of the Mediterranean. Gorgeous!
* Paellas, and Tapas, and Wine- oh my! All good Spanish yumminess. Mmm. Yes, I did mention Spanish wine (and more specifically Catalan wine, as we learned Barcelona was considered to be), and it can give France a run for its' money.
Ok, that'll do for now. It's pretty evident from our MANY pictures the various reasons why we loved it there, so I'll keep it at that. We had a wonderful trip and early anniversary celebration and we feel incredibly blessed to have had the experience.
Nosaltres amor Barcelona!!!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Happy Mother's Day!!!
And I also have to give a shout-out to a few of my sweet friends who are wonderful mothers that I can't wait to pick their brains about the joys and trials of motherhood once my time comes :)-
Happy Mother's Day Christian, Cindy, Desiree, Melanie, Shawna, and Summer!!!
* Eating pizza in the white van overlooking the ocean in Monterey, CA
* The many tasty and creative cakes mom would make for my brother's and my birthdays- "Strawberry Shortcake", "My Little Pony", a telephone cake during my tween years, and a cake with one of my favorite pieces of music decorated on top... just to name a few!
And to all the mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Mommy and Me, and No. 11 is complete!
I'll focus this post on the fun we had Friday evening, which also includes the completion of No. 11 on my "Thirty by 30" list:
"Go to a diner after midnight."
My mom got in late Thursday night so we slept in Friday morning, then headed down to the Seaport to get some Broadway tickets at the "tkts" booth. Even though I initially headed the opposite direction out of the subway, we eventually made it (after I swallowed my pride and double checked our new direction with a security guard), and were lucky enough to get tickets to Curtains without even standing "on" line for more than a couple of minutes! It was a beautiful day so we enjoyed a wonderful lunch overlooking the river and Brooklyn Bridge , and spent the rest of the day shopping and relaxing. After some yummy Thai food for dinner,
we took a bus to the theater, taking in the sights along the way- something we especially appreciated about the buses (wink, wink Mom!) .
The show was excellent- very funny, tongue-in-cheek type humor, with great choreography and acting, starring David Hyde Pierce, Debra Monk, and Edward Hibbett. We thought we were hot stuff as we leapt out of our aisle seats at intermission in a mad dash to the ladies room, with NO line, straight to the toilets, beaming at ourselves as we saw the outrageous line that had already formed when we finished. For some reason, that was quite comical to us.
And then after the show ended, feeling particularly giddy, we attempted to take pictures of ourselves in front of one of the signs of D.H.P advertising the show, which resulted in more fits of laughter with people giving us more strange looks.
I just about lost it.
I'm telling you, my face and my stomach actually hurt. Seriously. You would've thought we were at a bar, not a diner, kicking back shots of tequila, not sipping a milkshake by the way we were acting. I don't know what it is, but we just crack each other up. We gave up on trying to take our own picture and finally asked the waiter to take one- he was a bit hesitant because of our craziness, but it worked out.
We got home a little after 1am and were very proud of ourselves. It was definitely a fun "challenge" to complete and my mom was the perfect person to share that with. The rest of our weekend was awesome with more eating (Alice's Tea Cup, Hudson River Cafe, Beyoglu, Crumbs, Rosa Mexicana, Jacques Torres Chocolate, to name a few of our stops), more walking, and more shopping. I love you, Mom, and thanks for the unforgettable memories! :)
Monday, April 21, 2008
No. 19 - Completed!
So the great "Thirty by 30" Challenge is underway and I can now cross #19 off of my list:
"Read the Bible at least 30 minutes every day for an entire week."
I started in the New Testament with Matthew and am now midway through the book of Luke. I haven't decided where to go from here... I think I'll finish up through John, and then do some research into finding a devotional guide that will both advise me with what to read, and also provide more in-depth insight and understanding into what I'm reading. Any and all suggestions are very welcome!
I really did enjoy this challenge, and while I'd love to keep up with thirty-minutes of reading every day, I am disappointed to say, (but must honestly admit) that I probably won't be able to keep it up :( - every day for a full thirty minutes each time, but I'd like to come close! I have learned many things over this past week that I hope remain with me, however.
What impacted me most was changing my thinking about how I read the bible. Like I said before, I got into the habit of making 1-2 chapters my goal, so I would end up reading through those as quickly as possible and didn't really let anything sink in. Now, no matter how much time I have (30 minutes or just 5 minutes), I want that time to be purposeful and to let the words really soak in- whether it's a half a chapter, or ten chapters! For me personally, by setting aside the time to read, it wasn't about just getting through the chapters, it became intentional reading. I read slowly. I read aloud. I re-read passages that I didn't understand. This was a pivotal realization for me- I need to stop being preoccupied with how much I'm reading and I need to start focusing on how I read. The famed "quality over quantity" saying does have it's merit, that's for sure!
I'd like to share one passage that particularly stood out to me throughout this past week concerning Jesus' parable of the seeds that were scattered either along the path, the rocks, the thorns, or the soil. I love reading the gospels as they share many of the same stories in their own words because I felt like these stories were really sticking with me, and each time I read that specific parable about the seeds, I had the same thought. I worry that too often, I am like the seed that is spread along the thorns becoming choked once it grows up-
"they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature" Luke 8:14.
I get so caught up in the day to day of life, so caught up in worldy things, so concerned with what others think of me, etc, etc, that I know my "fruit" is not maturing as it could or as it should. I don't boldly share my faith with others at work because of my fear of what they'll think of me- I'm choked by the cares of life and of this world; I enjoy shopping maybe a little too much, and must "keep up appearances" with how I look and how my home looks- I'm choked by the riches of life; I like to be comfortable and am not always willing to give up some of these comforts even when it means I will be helping others or even bettering myself- I am choked by the pleasures of life. And the list goes on...
Thankfully, we have a gracious and merciful God who still loves me and is willing to work in me and change me, because there's a lot of work to be done! I am thankful for the opportunity I had last week to help pinpoint some of those areas in my life that so greatly need to be healed and changed. While I missed Steve terribly (and am so glad he's back!!!), I am glad for the extra time I had to be in His Word and am happy to say that I have grown closer in my relationship with Him through this challenge! :)
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
30 Minutes and Spouse-less
What do you do when your husband is gone for a week leaving you with extra time on your hands cause for some reason it makes you feel lazy to watch tv on the couch at night all by yourself? Well, for me, I decided what better opportunity to tackle one of my "Thirty by 30" challenges and commit myself to reading my bible daily for a week for at least thirty minutes, than while my husband is out of the country. The purpose of my challenge isn't necessarily that I'll do many of the items on the list just one time to reach my goal, but that with some of these items, I'll be encouraged and inspired to continue. For instance, I'm sure it would only be to my benefit if I regularly took notes on JRs' sermons, but it seems I need some sort of jump start to get me in that habit. However, that's for another time.
As for my daily (or at least weekday-daily...) bible reading, I've lately been in the habit of reading a chapter or two and then patting myself on the back for making that commitment. Obviously, the pat on the back is completely missing the point and not what these devotionals should be about, but I also recently noticed that reading these 1-2 chapters take only an average of just five minutes of my time! I knew it would be a challenge for me to then commit to a full thirty minutes of bible reading, but knew I needed to take that plunge to help me in my understanding of God's word and grow my relationship closer to Him.
I'm happy to say that I've been consistent with this thirty-minute bible reading challenge for the past three days and am enjoying the book of Matthew. I figured a good place to start was in the New Testament and hopefully after this challenge, I'll be inspired to become more intentional with an actual devotional guide. I'm taking my pastor's recent advice of reading aloud, too (well, whispering aloud at least for my voice), and have noticed that also makes me read more slowly and get more out of the passages. There are several things I'm noticing in Matthew now that I don't really "get" or understand that I've never noticed before, so I'm excited to take note of these questions and spark some good conversation with my hubby when he returns.
Speaking of my sweet hubby, Steve... he is in Stockholm, Sweden for the week- the lucky guy. Why you may ask? Well, his prof from UCSD works fairly closely with people at the Karolinska Institute, http://ki.se/ki/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=130&L=en, and goes there frequently as well (he's got a bit of Swedish blood in him in fact); while we were in San Diego, a grad student from KI, Helene, came over to UCSD for a couple months and worked with Steve on one of his projects. Helene is now giving her thesis defense on some of the material they worked on together so she graciously invited both of us out there to attend. So sweet, sigh... but alas, it wouldn't work out for me to go so I'm all by my lonesome. Steve gets to give a talk while he's there which is awesome for him, plus it's an all expense paid trip to EUROPE which is even more awesome for him, so I am happy for him.
But, I am unhappy without him. :(
Life in the Mason household is just not the same with half a Mason gone. Even Parker seems to notice. Luckily, it's a fairly busy week so I'm not at home much with nothing to do, but when I am home, his absence is definitely felt. He spoils me in the mornings making me breakfast and getting my lunch ready and, well, just being there, so I'm not quite as inspired to get moving when I wake up. And falling asleep without him by my side seems to invoke less sweet dreams. I am blessed to call him my husband and miss him when he's away. I could go on and on with this, but will save that for a post of "why I love my husband" for another time.
For now, the first "challenge" begins and I'll return with a report upon its' completion! :)
Friday, April 11, 2008
Tan Dun, Lang Lang, and Firebird
Thursday, April 10th, 2008 at 7:30pm
The New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall of Lincoln Center
First half- Lang Lang in world premiere performances of the Chinese composer Tan Dun's "Piano Concerto"
Second half- Igor Stravinsky's, "The Firebird," the complete work written for ballet
What a concert! There are several performances throughout April that I'll be attending, so I didn't intend to write about each one, or any of them for that matter, but I had to get some thoughts out about last night. We always feel so fortunate to benefit from the "free tickets" perk of my part-time job with Lincoln Center, and yesterday was no exception. We sat on the aisle, just slightly off of center with a wonderful view of the pianist and conductor in the 12th row from the stage- normally $106 each!!! We haven't been able to take advantage of this perk very much this year, and are now inspired again to make it a priority. As Stravinsky is one of my all time favorite composers, we couldn't miss this particular concert series. I also had the opportunity to play a piece by Tan Dun for solo "water percussion" and orchestra when I played with the La Jolla Symphony in San Diego, so I was looking forward to hearing his new "Piano Concerto" played by none other than the incredible, 25-year old (sigh...) Lang Lang. I don't want to ramble on and on about my thoughts on this performance so I'll try to keep it brief (but you know me...) by just expressing some of the emotions I felt.
Where to begin... Stravinsky's music can in one moment bring me to tears with the lyrical, soaring melodies and lush harmonies underneath, with hints of folk derived themes and chromaticism; then in the next moment, I want to jump out of my seat like a mad woman, dancing in some type of modern, interpretive dance form as I listen to the pounding syncopated rhythms, harsh dissonant chords, and triple forte tutti orchestra. Aaaaaaaaah... what this music can do. I highly recommend listening to some Stravinsky- either "Firebird," "Rite of Spring," or "Petrushka" should do it :). One of the things I particularly enjoyed about Tan Dun's piece, in fact, was the resemblance it had to Stravinsky's music. It also contained these gorgeous, soft melodies, with hints of exotic orientalism that truly took my breath away, and then in an instant turned to a heart racing mix of sounds with heavy percussion, glissandi strings, and thumping winds and brass.
Of course, the fact that this is the New York Philharmonic playing this music, only enhances these feelings. I mean, this orchestra is incredible, both with its' individual players (the principal trumpet and horn players, for instance, can enter in pianissimo sections without even a hint of cracking the note; the piccolo player plays in tune with a round, full sound in all registers- not an easy feat!, etc, etc.) and as an ensemble, where an entire string section of several dozen players can sound like a single violinist. It was also pretty cool that Tan Dun, himself, came out after his piece was performed to a crowd on their feet as it's pretty rare to see the actual composer of a work you just heard in the flesh.
Last night was nothing less than an experience and it truly affected me. I love this kind of music, and it sort of broke my heart to think that there were some people in that audience who weren't even moved enough to stay awake... sigh. So my encouragement to anyone reading this- listen to some Stravinsky, or some Bartok, or Shostakovich, or any "classical" composer writing music in the early to mid-20th century. I believe you will be glad you did!!!
And if you do accept this challenge, let me know what you thought of it :)
Monday, April 7, 2008
Pruning
"I am the True Vine."
I've always loved those seven "I am" statements that Jesus makes throughout the book of John, but have seen them in a totally different light after our pastor JR's series entitled "Jesus according to Jesus."
JR has such a great way of using metaphors to illustrate his point, and I loved the illustration he used in describing how Jesus is the true vine and the Father is the vine dresser this past Sunday. He comically told us of a video he found on "YouTube" of a woman pruning shrubbery- (yes, they actually have videos of that... crazy) and how important it is to cut off the dead branches, and even the living branches that are somewhat getting in the way and aren't contributing to the greater well being of the entire plant. While picturing some woman describing how best to prune a shrub on "YouTube" is pretty funny, applying the metaphor to our own lives is actually kinda scary.
We, too, have so many areas in our lives that are like these dead branches that need to be cut out and pruned so that we may live the fullest life that God intends for us. What a beautiful picture it is to think of Him working in our lives to rid us of these "dead branches"- no matter how painful it may be in the moment for us to realize, accept, and then change these areas- for our own greater good. He always has our best interests in mind; sometimes we just need to let Him in and prune away to reveal it! It was such a sweet picture to me- God being the vine dresser and taking out our "dead" areas, and Jesus being the true vine that we need to let in and take over our lives- such a great reminder. I definitely cannot do this sermon justice so if you missed it and are interested in more, check it out at www.apostlesnyc.com !
Thursday, April 3, 2008
The "Congrats Cookie"
I've long debated the idea of going back to school for a DMA. After grad school in San Francisco, I was pretty sure I was done for good with papers, classes, etc. but while living in San Diego, the idea would occasionally cross my mind. I was getting pretty burned out with the monotony of the beginner/intermediate flute lessons I was teaching and also missed the performance opportunities that abound when associated with a university, college, etc. More and more people in the music world would stress the importance of having a DMA if I ever wanted to teach at that higher level so the idea would continue to waft in and out of my thoughts. Even though there wasn't a school in SD that would've fit my needs, I knew our time there would be short lived and that our next stop may include a city that might have options for this kind of degree.
Well, after three wonderful years in San Diego, Steve was offered a position at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center located in none other than New York City. Our first year was quite a whirlwind as I was busy trying to advertise for lessons, practice for competitions and auditions, etc and find a somewhat stable part-time job while I attempted the "freelance musician" lifestyle, so I didn't start considering more school until, go figure, it was too late to apply for that following fall. Beginning last year (2007) I started to seriously think about it and knew the person I wanted to study with would be Carol Wincenc at SUNY Stony Brook. She's a world renown, INCREDIBLE flutist who has been a soloist throughout the world with major orchestras and teaches at The Juilliard School in addition to Stony Brook. I'd taken a few lessons and masterclasses with her and the rapport was great. I knew Juilliard was not an option: 1. my chances of even getting in there would've been slim to none, and 2. their program is much more academic based, lasting up to 4-5 years, versus Stony Brook's performance based program which is feasible (albeit not easy...) to get done in 2 years.
I talked to Carol about starting the program in the fall of 2008 and she was very encouraging about it but I was nervous to find out last fall that she may not have any openings in her studio. I applied anyway and nervously awaited whether or not she'd be accepting new students. I prayed and prayed that God's will would be done and I would be accepting of and at peace with that will- I just asked that He would open or close the door depending on what He had in store for me. So, boy was I excited when Carol called me several weeks ago to ask if I'd be interested in being her Teaching Assistant!! The acceptance letter arrived this past Saturday offering admission with a full scholarship and the teaching assistantship, which includes a stipend! Praise God! Boy, was that confirmation that this idea, this dream of mine, might also be in accordance with His plan for me :) .
What is a DMA you may ask? It stands for Doctorate of Musical Arts and will be a performance based program consisting of many recitals including a lecture recital, a couple of papers, and a final oral dissertation of the final recital. My hope is that it will equip me to some day have an affiliate or adjunct faculty position at a university or college where I can teach more serious students, but also have more opportunities to perform!!! There will be quite a big change in our lives starting this fall, and it will be a challenge, but I am excited to begin. There will be much more to come on this adventure!
As for the cookie, which was the whole reason behind this post- my parents are the greatest. :) It arrived yesterday with a sweet note from them congratulating me on the acceptance letter. How sweet are they? We still have some yummy Crumbs cupcakes left over from our community group from Tuesday night so we are going over to the Sullivans tonight to share the yumminess. And if you actually read this entire post, you deserve a cookie, too!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Welcome to my BLOG!!!
This is exciting for me! :) As most of you know, I have a weird aversion to the "MySpace"/"Facebook" phenomenons, but I've had no real excuse for not creating some sort of web page to post pictures and keep people updated, so here goes!!!
Bare with me as this is all very new to me, but I hope you enjoy my various thoughts, ideas, happenings, pictures, memories and milestones ...
The idea to get this site going at this point in time, stems from a recent conversation I had with my good friend, Christian, about "bucket lists." We were talking about her mom's list in particular and I mentioned how I should start a list of things I'd like to do before I turn 30. As I just recently turned 29, I've gotta get going with this list! Christian came up with the title "Thirty by 30 " and we figured what better time to get started with a blog than to use it to chronicle this adventure!
So without further ado...
The Great "Thirty by 30" Challenge!!!
Thirty things I'd like to do, see, hear, experience before I turn 30!
In no particular order, organized in groups of things dear to me-
For the love of my city...
1. Hit the major NYC museums- Met, MoMA, & Natural History Museum for starters
2. See the Cloisters in Washington Heights
3. Bike ride and paddle boat in Central Park
4. Go to a Yankee's or Met's game
5. Take the tram over to Roosevelt Island
6. Watch the sunset from the Top of the Rock
7. Hit all 5 burrows in one day and sample cuisine from each
8. Finally take advantage of Restaurant Week
9. Go to a Shakespeare in the Park performance
10. See a concert in Carnegie's Stern Auditorium
11. Go to a diner after midnight
12. Prepare a meal using all fresh ingredients purchased from a farmer's market
For the love of music...
13. Spend an entire practice session focusing on sound & playing long tones with a tuner
14. Learn a piece that I don't like and see if I still don't like it after learning it
15. Listen to my mp3 player during walks to/from work for an entire week
For the love of my God and the betterment of myself and those around me...
16. Share a meal with a homeless person
17. Help someone in need even if it makes me feel uncomfortable
18. Spend my walks to/from work in prayer for an entire week
19. Read the Bible at least 30 minutes every day for an entire week
20. Share my faith with someone at work
21. Take notes on JR's (or Kenny's) sermons for a whole month
22. Spoil my husband for a whole day- not his birthday!
23. Call my closest friends and family just to say I love them within one week's time
24. Send flowers to someone special for the simple reason of "I'm thinking of you."
25. Avoid shopping for anything I don't need for one month
26. Go a whole week without eating out or ordering out
27. Avoid petting cat for one day (if you know Parker, this could be for my betterment!)
For the love of my sanity...
28. Rent a car for the day for some chain restaurant eating and suburbia shopping
29. Go on a romantic weekend getaway with my husband
30. Take a day off of work for no reason
