"Are you a chicken or a pig?"

What sort of commitment do you have regarding the activities in your life? To your major? To the people you love? How much of your time and energy do you devote to things that you love? What about the things you find less enjoyable? How does your energy and effort compare to the people around you?


All these questions boil down to one:

Are you a chicken or a pig?


Your first reaction may be of confusion. Yes, it's a weird question... Are you a chicken or a pig? And I don't mean: are you a coward or do you like to eat to excess? That's not it at all!

Picture yourself at breakfast. The food is hot and steaming, and you are hungry and ready to eat. Directly in front of you are two plates. One is filled with fluffy, golden scrambled eggs and the other has strips of hot bacon, still sizzling from the skillet. You help yourself to both the eggs and bacon and begin to eat as soon as the food is cool enough for you to swallow.

As you imagine yourself eating this breakfast, think about the two animals you are eating... What sort of commitment did they have to this breakfast? The chicken only had to lay a couple eggs, but let's face it... The pig had to die so that you could eat bacon. The pig had a much bigger investment in your breakfast.

Now let me ask the question again:

Are you a chicken or a pig?

Has your answer changed? This isn't meant to guilt-trip you about the food you eat, only to make you think. What is your level of commitment to the things in your life? Do you give 100% all the time? Are there instances when you are a chicken and other times when you are a pig? Have you ever found yourself being a pig when the people around you were chickens and vice versa? Have you ever wanted to change your level of commitment?

Think about it....

...And whatever you do... What ever you choose... Whether it be band, choir, the theatre, your family, or your chosen area of study. Be passionate about the things you love.

"Have a good rehearsal."

-Lourey M., Band Devotion 3-25-08

Don't forget that:

1. Each person changes band and band changes each person.
2. It doesn't matter if they are in the audience that day or not. Always play for someone you love.
3. You never know who is in the audience listening to the music we are making. You never know how what they hear will affect them.

It's finally Spring in Iowa, so of couse it snowed...

Happy Easter everyone! If you live in the Iowa area, I hope you are enjoying the snow! [/sarcasm] The robins have migrated back and are all hopping around like "Whaaa-at the crap is going on??? What is all this cold white stuff???" It's kind of funny.

I have written 2 out of 6 music history papers. I should really practice my flute. :-P But I haven't... I hate practicing at home.

My siblings are watching Charlton Heston's The Ten Commandments for the third time since last night.... *holds head* So much Moses......

Masterpiece Theatre is showing Emma is on PBS tonight! Yay!

Here are two photos from the day:

Easter Spoils... Plus breakfast, dad's computer and Mary reading the morning paper...



Pretty Easter Eggs!

Something that reminds me that I live in Iowa...

I don't know why exactly I find this picture so hilarious... Maybe it's because my dad is a game warden... Maybe it's because I live in Iowa and deer are EVERYWHERE. Maybe it's both. But I love this picture!

ALSO, I found this on wikipedia today.... Because I'm a nerd and look up random stuff while I'm supposed to be doing homework....


U.S. Justice

In 1971, Gerald Mayo brought a civil rights action in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against Satan and his servants who allegedly placed deliberate obstacles in Mayo's path and caused Mayo's downfall. In this U.S. court's written opinion, the court did not deny the existence of Satan; rather, the court asserted that it was unlikely that Satan was ever present in the geographic area included in the Western District of Pennsylvania, stating, "We question whether plaintiff may obtain personal jurisdiction over the defendant in this judicial district." In what was clearly a jocular reference to The Devil and Daniel Webster, the court implied that Satan might live in New Hampshire, stating, "While the official reports disclose no case where this defendant has appeared as defendant there is an unofficial account of a trial in New Hampshire where this defendant filed an action of mortgage foreclosure as plaintiff." This appears to be the only published legal case in the United States regarding the existence of Satan and, at present, the United States' official position would seem to be that Satan may exist and, if so, Satan might be found in New Hampshire.

Bwaahahahaha! Got that? Satan might be found in New Hampshire..... Too bad I don't know anyone from there... I could ask if they've seen him...

Finally an update...

Okay so I'm home on Easter break... I finally have time to update my blog about what's happened since two Mondays ago... Get ready for the longest post in my blogging history...

Tuesday the 11th was the housing sign up for next year's seniors who want to live in Knights Village. What a mess.... I wasn't there, because I had to work, but I heard that is was a pain. Very cutthroat. I'm not going to go into much detail, but Rachel V., Me, Emily D., Jill W., Kristine S., and Elsa, C. got the LAST 6 person single apartment. And we even kicked people out of it... They had skipped ahead of us in the sign-up line as our group figured out the hellish housing situation... We got the room because we had a lower lottery average. Emily D. was on fire that night, since the housing people were being ridiculous. This summer I'm going to call ResLife and tell them that I want to fill my room "over capacity" and Rachel D. and I will be roommates. :-) Elsa C. is going to do the same thing with this girl named Chelsea. So in total we'll have 8 people living together... It should be a blast! :-)

Wednesday the 12th I met with my Ed Psych teacher about my grade. That did not go well. Really. At all. I was already nervous about meeting with her. I went in and sat down and asked her what I can do to improve my grade and she basically told me that there were about 181 points left in the semester for me to earn to bring my grade to at LEAST a C-. I asked the professor if I could redo the two papers that I failed and she said no. I tried to explain some of the issues I had with field experience which carried over into my papers and she told me that everything that had happened that week before break were all "things that I had control over." (Like my roommate's car breaking down... Which is total BS.) I asked her if I could turn in a draft of my next paper on Friday so she could go over it and tell me what I need to do to improve and change and she looked at me and said that that's not her job and that I need to take the paper to Pathways. (The reading-writing-speaking-language lab on campus. They have practice tests for various graduate school requirements, information about resumes and they help with paper writing.) So that was the end of our meeting. It was utterly useless. I really felt like the professor was telling me "fend for yourself, 1-2-3 go."

Before I got the papers back I had achieved a solid C in the class and was improving. These papers pushed me back to a D, and I have to have at least a C- to pass the class. If I don't pass this class, I can't student teach next fall, and if I can't student teach, I'd have to go for an additional semester. My scholarships run out at the end of 4 years. So, if I don't pass Ed Psych, I can't go to Wartburg. Getting those papers back felt like 2 steps forward and 5 steps back. Now I have to work five-times as hard to get my grade up to at least a C-.

By the time I had finished the meeting with the professor I was completely in tears and I was late for my flute lesson. In the FAC lobby Rachel D. gave me a hug as I quickly explained what went on in the meeting and I grabbed my stuff for my lesson. I walked into my flute teacher's office and she took one look at my face and asked me what was wrong. I explained to her what had happened and she canceled my lesson, so I could talk to my adviser. She also gave me two hugs... Which was very unexpected, in a "it must be the end of the world" kind of way. Shortly after, Doc saw me crying in the lobby and came over and talked to me. He did a good job of putting my focus back into perspective, because right then I was so exhausted and so upset that I couldn't grasp the idea that a C- is still obtainable and that the world was not going to end. He told me that he knew I was a good student and that just because I was working to earn a C- instead of an A, no one was going to think any less of me. This class is just something I need to get through.

I spent the rest of the week working on my next paper for Ed Psych and studying for the next test. I finished the paper Sunday around 8 pm and spent an hour and a half at Pathways revising it, and another half hour going over it on the phone with a classmate. I turned it in on Monday but I haven't gotten it back yet. I'm really crossing my fingers that I do better on this paper than the ones before. My next test was Wednesday and I got a B- on it, which pushes my overall grade up to a 70%. Which is a very very very low C. It's really scary to be so close to not passing at all. It's the idea that I can't afford to mess up anymore that's the worst. I really just want to be done with this class.

Friday, late afternoon my dad stopped by campus on his way to a Boy Scout thing in Janesville and dropped off my prescription for Tamiflu... (A medication that helps prevent the flu. It also stops the virus from spreading if taken within 48 hours after the first symptoms occur.) My whole family came down with it after I went back to school... I was really scared that I was going to come down with it as well, and then be bedridden for a week. Which I do NOT have time for! but I've taken the last of it, and I haven't had any symptoms!

Saturday afternoon, I took a break from my paper writing and went to a very awesome, very dorky meeting. A meeting about starting a Quidditch team at Wartburg College. And I am totally completely and utterly excited about participating! Middlebury College in Vermont (called the Middlebury Mollywobbles) started it and "Muggle" Quidditch has spread. There are videos on YouTube and an Intercollegiate Quidditch group on Facebook. The people in charge of the team at Wartburg are working on getting inter-mural status. We also still need a team name and assigned positions. (I want to be a beater.) Sarah V. and I have volunteered to come up with a team logo. Our first skirmish is planned for next Saturday. After I told mom about it she asked me if I was going to be athletic for Quidditch. Oh, yes. I most definitely am! :-D

Next Thursday our composition project is due for my 20th Century music class. The requirements were that we compose at least 10 measures based on Schoenberg's Twelve Tone Technique (where all the pitches of the chromatic scale are used in any order so as to not indicate a tonal center) with both melody and harmony. We were allowed to collaborate with other people if we wished. This assignment has so much freedom with it... We can compose for any instrument (as long as we can perform on it) and things like performance area can even be used to create different effects. Since our professor didn't give us a limit on how many people were allowed to collaborate, our WHOLE class, (about 30 people) got together and decided to write a multi-movement work, for 2 organs, 2 pianos, saxophone, flute, bass guitar, voice, percussion, basketball, and tap shoes. We divided our class up into 3 groups and each worked on a specific movement. I was in the group working on the first movement. Our class practiced for a while the other night. It's going to be spectacular! It sounds so weird and crazy and if you get lost while performing your part, it's practically impossible to find where you are, but it's going to be so cool! If you're wondering how we're going to get 2 organs, and 2 pianos, we are performing this on the second floor of the FAC, using the 2 organ practice rooms and the piano practice rooms across from that, with the percussion in the hall and the vocalists all around.

Our professor is not going to expect anything like this... We're thinking of turning in the score with a giant bow on it... :-)

Last Wednesday, the 19th, I got to conduct a junior high band for my conducting class. It was only for 12 minutes, but still it was a good experience. I learned afterwards that they were sight-reading the music I was conducting... (This explained why they weren’t getting any of the dynamics I was trying to show... They were still learning the notes.) Overall, it went pretty well. In my head I planned and imagined myself being more friendly and personable towards the band, but I ended up being very down to business. I got up on the podium, introduced myself, stated where we were going to begin and gave the downbeat. Doc videotaped the whole session, so I assume we are going to talk about it on Wednesday when we have class again. I know I need to work on getting my head out of the score and looking up, and I need to stop saying "alright" after every time I stop conducting to talk to the band.

Also! Some happy news! I got my student teaching placement for next year! :-D The town where my school is located is a suburb of Cedar Falls. It's a 5-12 band program with a strong jazz band and show choir. I'm really excited! It'll be about a 40 minute drive, which means that it will be very much like this past summer... Getting up at 5:30 every morning and getting back around 5pm. I can handle it. ALSO! Do you know what the best part of my assignment is? The mascot of the school is: the pirate. How perfect is that??? :-D It makes me really happy!

This afternoon I went shopping with my Dad. Back in August I had given him a gift certificate so he could get some new dress clothes. So we went to Kohl's and he got two new ties, a new dress shirt and I bought myself new shoes. It was a good trip, and now my dad is set for dress clothes for the next 20 years. ;-)

So now I'm home for Easter. Tomorrow I'm going to spend all day working on my music history stuff... I have 6 one page papers to write and some listening journals to do. It's supposed to snow tonight, which is just crazy.... It's finally spring! The snow is actually starting to melt! I can see grass and now it's supposed to get covered up again? No! No more snow!

One last thing... The soundtrack to Disney's Broadway production of The Little Mermaid is absolutely breathtaking... Even though Alan Menken once again stole from himself... You can definitely hear stuff that was used in Beauty and the Beast and A Christmas Carol. Oh, well... He wrote, like 12 new songs for the show so I guess he is forgiven... Prince Eric is one of my favorite Disney princes... And he has a couple songs.... :-) (Speaking of The Little Mermaid, has anyone else seen this? Oh, Disney... Just stop with the prequels/sequels. Please?)

Okay… That’s the update on my life for now… I’m going to bed!

Just moving forward...

Hey Jude don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better...

And any time you feel the pain, Hey Jude, refrain
Don't carry the world upon your shoulders
For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder...

So let it out and let it in
Hey Jude begin
You're waiting for someone to perform with
And don't you know that it's just you
Hey Jude you'll do
The movement you need is on your shoulder...

...

...I just failed both Ed Psych papers that I turned in before break...

What am I going to do??????


To the people who've asked me how I'm doing... I'm sorry I that I lied to you and said that I was fine... I not really fine. It's just easier and less awkawrd. I hate crying in front of people.

Tentative schedule for 2008-09

I'm almost a senior... Holy crap! Where has the time gone? Pretty soon I'm going to have to find a job and rent an apartment. SCARY! But in a new, adventurous sort of way...



Here's my tentative schedule for next year:

Fall:

ALL DAY - Student Teaching
TBA - Half-hour Flute Lessons

All week long:
4:50 pm Wind Ensemble

Winter:

Monday-Wednesday-Friday
10:45 am Music Capstone (1st seven weeks, no class on Fridays)
1:15 pm Christian Ethics
6:30 pm Beer and Society (Monday night only)

Tuesday-Thursday
1:00 Orchestration (First 7 weeks)
1:00 Arranging (Second 7 weeks)

All week:
4:50 Wind Ensemble

TBA:
Hour long flute lesson
Senior Recital

May Term:
Instrumental Repair Methods

Forgotten English Day-to-Day Calendar

In case any of my suitemates, both current and future, are interested in what the word of the day is, for the past two days... (Copied verbatim, excluding any obvious typos... sorry.)

March

Saturday 1/Sunday 2:

Starry-gazy-pie: A pie made of [herring-like] pilchards and leeks, the heads of the pilchards appearing throughout the crust as if they were studying the sky.
-James Halliwell's Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, 1855

Feast Day of St. David,
the patron saint of Wales, He cleverly employed leeks to defeat the fifth-century Saxons by fastening these tasty members of the onion family to his warriors' hats to distinguish them from their enemies in hand-to-hand combat. Heroics aside, William Turner's Herbal (1568) cautioned would-be consumers of the leek's dark side: "The leek breedeth wind and evil juice, and maketh heavy dreams; it stirreth a man to make water and is good for the belly. But if you would boil a leek in two waters, and afterwards steep it in cold water, it will be less windy than before." William Bullein's Book of Simples (1562) mentioned another use for leeks: "Protective against lightening, and useful to cure burns, is the succulent-leaved houseleek, once carefully cultured on our roofs. Old writers do call it Jupiter's Beard, and hold opinion superstitiously that is what house soever it groweth no lightening or tempest can do any harm.

___________

1. That pie sounds disgusting. I would not want to eat something that was looking up out of the food.
2. The mental image of men running around fighting each other with small onions on their heads.... There are no words...
3. There's a guy in the 16th century by the name of William Turner. Brilliant!
4. I want to grow leeks on my roof. Not because I'm scared of lightening, but because how many houses do you see nowadays that have onions growing on top of them?
___________

Monday, March 3

Comstockery: Excessive opposition to, or censorship of, supposed immorality in art or literature; prudery. From the name Anthony Comstock (1844- 1915), member of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice.
-Sir James Murray's New English Dictionary, 1893

Hey, Mr. Postman
Passed unanimously on March 3rd, 1873, the yet unrepealed "Comstock Act" made it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" publications by US mail. Included was the censorship of various printed materials, even including educational handouts on birth control and condoms -- a policy that hamstrung well-meaning doctors and pharmacists. Stiff fines and five years' imprisonment could be meted out for each "obscene book, pamphlet, paper, writing, advertisement, circular print, picture, drawing or other representation, figure, or image... of an immoral nature, or any medicine, or any article whatever for the prevention of conception." That same year, zealot Comstock became a "special postal agent" with the power to arrest violators and the privilege to roam the country free of charge on all mail trains. In 1913 he boasted that his work had led to the convictions of enough people to fill a sixty-one-car passenger train.
_____________

1. New York used to have an organization for the suppression of vice? That. Is amazing.
2. He sounds like a bit of a creep.
3. I think he got all his bases covered in which "lewd" material could be printed. Good thing the internet didn't exist back then.

Fun with iTunes...

Copy this form, erase my answers, and set your iTunes to shuffle! 1, 2, 3 go! (It's crazy how some of these things match up!)

Family

What do I think of my mother?: Rockin' on Top of the World, from Polar Express
What do I think of my father?: Wake Up Call, by Relient K
What describes my siblings?: I'm Stuck, from Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
Did I have a happy childhood?: Suite for Flute and Orchestra Op. 116: III. Valse, by Benjamin Godard. (I guess this means I did...)
What kind of person was I?: Dancing on Your Grave, from Christmas Carol

High School

What was high school like?: Who I Am Hates Who I've Been, by Relient K
Was I a good student?: Soulfire, by 12 Stones
Did I party a lot?: Your Eyes, from RENT

Love

What describes my first love?: Bicycle Race, by Queen
Do I have a boyfriend/Girlfriend?: The Contender, by Hans Zimmer
Do I like someone?: Bless the Lord, from Godspell

Life

What was today like?: Reunited, from Van Helsing
What are most days like?: Your Work - And Nothing More, from Jekyll and Hyde the Musical
Whats my life like?: Woman to Woman, from Pirate Queen
What is in store for this weekend?: Someone is Waiting, Company 1995 revival cast
What song describes my parents?: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, sung Placido Domingo
How is my life going?: The One that Got Away, by Adam Pascal
Do I act my age?: Thinking of him/I miss the music, from Curtains
What song will they play at my funeral?: Beautiful Things, from Doctor Dolittle
Wedding?: Let Freedom Ring, from Riverdance on Broadway
How does the world see me?: Mission Theme for NBC, by John Williams
Will I have a happy life?: Double Trouble, from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
What do my friends really think of me?: Will and Elizabeth, from Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.
Do people secretly lust after me?: The Point of No Return, from Phantom of the Opera (BWAHAHAHA!)
How can I make myself happy?: The River Cruise, from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Whats my family think of me?: Eric to the Rescue, from Disney's Little Mermaid
What should I do with my life?: Peter and the Wolf, by Sergei Prokofiev, narrated by David Bowie
What is my signature dancing song?: "The Box" (Theme from Boondock Saints), used in The Swordsmen
What do I think my current theme song is?: Pop Quiz and the Time Machine Montage, from Meet the Robinsons
What does everyone else think my current theme song is?: New York Interlude (Concerto in F), from Crazy for You, by Gershwin
What is my life theme song?: The Little Things You Do Together, from Company, the 2007 revival cast
What best describes my life?: Doctor Who Theme - TV Version, by Murray Gold
What best describes my friends?: Everybody Loves the Blues, as performed by BLAST
What best describes the person I like?: Tour of the Kingdom, from Disney's Little Mermaid
How will you die?: Over Thinking, by Relient K (I probably will... haha...)
What describes my worst enemy?: Another Bag of Bricks, by Flogging Molly
Do I enjoy life?: 1941 March, by John Williams
Am I a good person?: In the Same Boat #2, from Curtains
Do I make others happy?: The People versus Horton the Elephant, from Seussical the Musical

Home on break!

Okay, so I am finally home on break, and after the stress of the past week this break has been long awaited. I slept for 11 hours and 45 minutes last night. It was amazing! :-) I've barely been home for 24 hours and I already feel so much better... I can sit and breathe.

Over break, I need to work on my 20th Century Music listening logs, reach chapter 10 for Ed Psych and make note cards, and practice for conducting, and practice flute.

While I'm here I also want to actually read Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer, and go see a couple movies. I just noticed that Atonement is still playing in the area, so I might go see that.

The only downside to being home is that I'm hungry all the time... And cold. And there were spider webs all over the headboard of my bed. And I only found one spider.... Yechhh...

I just discovered this video..... It's pretty much hilarious! Both are for older audiences, for language.



And I love this character as well....