It's Hot!!

As of yesterday afternoon, I'm officially on my own until Christmas!! I'm spending the week in Valencia, @ Kathy & Mike's, and then next week, moving into my room I'm renting out in Castaic. I just hope my car gets here before then so I can move w/out too much trouble. Other than that, there's not too much going on. I just miss my car!! Oh, and of course, the weather is beastly hot this time of year in southern California...oh, why can't it be that way in July, when I'm not here? Ai...

I miss Monterey, but love Los Angeles...

Music: Beethoven Oboe Trios ('La ci darem' variations and Op. 87) and Cher

I can't believe that this week is already over!! Time has really flew by this week...Since the 'rents are here and I don't really have a place to live yet, we, of course, spent the better part of the week looking for reasonably priced places to live, and I think I'm going to end up renting a room from this guy over in Castaic - it's not cheap, but it's a nice place and it's a little more than what we'd be paying for in the dorms, and since I'm 6 on the waiting list, I may not live there that long...however, @ the house, I would have lots of privacy...Anyway, things have been a little tense, and I then remember why I like being independent...I just hope something is solid by tomorrow. I've called my friend Heather, from school, to see about sharing her loft, but haven't gotten through yet...

To brighten things up, one of my most recent dreams recently came true this last week - we drove up to Monterey and went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was sooo cool - it was a little different than I had expected, but it was good, nonetheless. I can't really put the whole experience in words, so check out their website: www.mbayaq.org
I can say that we did see the kelp forest and sea otter feedings, got to touch a lot of things, and generally had a blast - the octopus wasn't out, but I finally got a glimpse of an arm in the corner of the tank...oh well...
The first night we were in town, I walked down to the aquarium from the hotel, which was about a mile or 2. It was a nice tme for myself to just chill, get some exercise, and enjoy the beauty of Monterey in general. However, I did get a lttle depressed because of all the hotties; why does it always seem that whenever see a beautiful man I suddenly get really down, especially if he's with someone? Grr...Anyhoo, for anyone who's reading this, if you've never been to the Monterey peninsula, take a weekend and go - it's so worth it to get back in touch w/ nature and learn things you've never learned and just chill. The drive up the PCH, which is essentially through the mountains is gorgeous and if you're smart, you'll stop in Cambria for a break - great little town; it's artsy and touristy, but I might be able to live there and start a chamber music thing, since it's too small for anything bigger...very homey, but in a good way. One can't go wrong living on the coast. Oh, and the he weather in northern California is also perfect for me...
On the way back, we stayed in Ventura, and yesterday, after lunch, I managed to make through the mall, and particularly Macy's and Robinson's May w/ out buying anything...

So, the 'rents are leaving tomorrow sometime and I'm on my own until December - I'll be staying w/ Kathy for a week and then I'm not sure what will happen. We ('rents and I) are pissed, however, because my car HASN'T EVEN BEEN PICKED UP yet by the stupid car carrier...I was supposed to have it by now...another grrr...can't something in this other department of living/transportation arrangements go right?

In personal news, I'm still avoiding the dating and general social scene and plan to for this year especially, since I have a ton of things to get done, like my recital, and just my general education. I know what I want, am a little frustrated, but hope to get things worked out smoothly. To return to the aforementioned dating/social topic, it's very simple how I'm thinking:
A.) All the double reed players, except for myself are female.
B.) My concentration will suffer and ergo, my production/quality output if I'm distracted.
C.) In today's male world, who would want me, mentally or physically?

I am, however, planning on working out, but for other purposes than dating and such - I'm tired of looking like crap, to be completely honest. The plus side to this is that I get to be more healthy and such. Hopefully by the end of this year, I'll be where I want to be, or very close to.

In the present, I'm not doing much of anything - there have been rolling blackouts in the area, and today, the place we're staying at (Extended Stay America) has no hot water throughout the ENTIRE building - this doesn't make me happy, as I need to shower!! I'm also getting cabin-fever; I just can't stand sitting around all day...grrr...curse the TV!!

Oh, before I forget, I'm curious to see if anyone actually reads this, so leave a note for me, if you would please...

Untitled II

Music: Enya

A few notes on the latest happenings in my world:

~ The final concerts @ Idyllwild and Disney Hall: The final concerts @ Idyllwild went really well - a bit long, but very well indeed, especially a good thing since they were recording them for DVD. I was surprised to see the 'rents @ the Poulenc concert - we then moved me out of the dorm and left for some real food down the mountain in Palm Desert, where our Holiday Inn Express awaited us. I did some laundry in the crappy laundry appliances and tied on another blank. The next day, we drove to Los Angeles and made it to Valencia for lunch and then back down for my rehearsal. I never knew that Disney Hall had such an expansive backstage area. Those next few hours were such a blur - so much going on, but so much fun @ the same time - like hanging out w/ the oboes for the last time and me getting lost trying to find the way to the lobby and such. Dr. King came and saved us by applying her magical touch to our reeds. The actual concert is worth another paragraph itself, but it went well - the hall literally plays itself, which is a good and bad thing...During the Bernstein, I hung out backstage w/ Heather and Christoph - lots of good fun - I'm going to miss Christoph - he's soooo gorgeous and is such a nice, fun guy...too bad he's younger than me. Anyway, after that, Kristen, HighSchool (Chris), and I explored more of the hall and ended up on the gardens on top of the hall. Very cool and beautiful views of downtown and we had some great talks. What's really cool is that throughout the entire building, one can hear the concert, as the music is played through the PA system. After the concert was the sad part of saying "goodbye" and then leaving for Burbank for the hotel. I didn't cry this time during the Bernstein, to my surprise. I think the fact that Bernstein himself was gay and then him writing a love song ("Somewhere") somehow connects to some deep, inner feelings - it's such an emotional piece, and it was played so beautifully...ah, it's times like that and other moments that I've experienced these last 2 weeks that remind me why I love music and why it's important to not lose my focus and not give up, like I feel like doing so much of the time...I know I'm blabbing on and on about this, but it really meant a lot to me - like Blue Lake did and that's what's important...
To wrap it up, it was definitely a crowning achievement in my budding musical career and those two weeks have made up for such a shitty summer prior. It was also cool to know that the 'rents thoroughly enjoyed the concert. Many good memories remain and abound, to my delight. To any of the Idyllwild oboists who might read this: "Thank you so much for everything - your friendship, advice, and general support has meant so much to me and I hope we can remain in touch!"

To get back to reality, I'm now in Stevenson Ranch, and we've been "room hunting" for me for the fall, as I'm #6 on the waiting list @ school...we just met w/ a guy named Mike who has a great offer - I'd have no problem staying there... Ai...just very tense right now; I miss music and for some reason, doing the rest of my laundry @ the VERY nice laundromat yesterday was very soothing and chilled out - call me weird, but there's something relaxing about watching one's laundry tumble about in those awesome front-load machines...just add some music...we also went and saw the IMAX showcase: "Aliens of the Deep" tonight - VERY cool stuff...a definite go see if one is interested in either marine biology or astronomy, or both, as they are discussed in tandem, with the connection of searching for other life.
On a more personal level, I'm re-reading my two favorite stories: "Working it Out" and "Evil is a Man." I sometimes wish I could be in the stories myself for a variety of reasons. Maybe in my next reincarnated lives, lol...Not much else going on, as odd as it seems. I feel like I have sooo much to get done for some reason, and I do, it's just killing me that it's going to take so long. I just really hope that we can get up to Monterey this week so I can have my indulgence of the aquarium and completely delve into my other love of marine biology.

Untitled

I've had a pretty good day, so far:

~Seeing Christoph & John @ the pool. I actually saw their backs, rather than the front, but that was hot, anyway.

~The free time I have now, chillin' out online.

~Sitting w/ Karen @ lunch, and then having Christian (the HOT German trumpet player, who's packing...) sit w/ us and right next to me...

~I have good reeds that Dr. King likes and fixed.

~I talked to Jordan.

That's about it for now. Oh, I forgot; the long rehearsal this morning and the Poulenc rehearsal went well.

What a day to take to a wild child...

Another update:

~ At the faculty recital last week, Dr. King played 3 of the Silvestrini etudes and blew EVERYONE out of the water - she got a standing ovation and everyone now knows that she is the oboe goddess...breathtaking performance...

~ Last Saturday, we had our first concert. Things went pretty well, but it was HOT and LONG (from 1 to around 3:30ish or maybe even 4ish). The Festival Choir sounds wonderful, and I loved the one piece they performed: "Surely on this Shining Night."

~ Last Sunday, Kristin and I went to Universal Studios Hollywood w/ Dr. King and her sons and a GREAT time was had by all...I don't even know where to begin. To start, the way down the mountain was GORGEOUS - so beautiful with the clouds and everything. I also learned that Dr. King loves Cher, so we listened to a good portion of "Living Proof" on the way down the mountain. The ride to L.A. wasn't bad - it was about 2 hours and we almost didn't make it, because I forgot that the 101 turns into the 170, which would've taken us right to Hollywood, so we were on the 10 for awhile, heading towards Santa Monica until we turned somewhere in the Beverly Hills area and saw the Hollywood sign. Parking and Admission were expensive: $17 for preferred parking and $53 for general admission, but I think that with the CocaCola discount, the admission was much cheaper. We went to EVERYTHING that day, from Shrek 4-D, to The Mummy Returns ride, to Animal Planet Live, where this dog peed on this poor kid...We also got Dr. King on The Mummy Returns roller coaster, which was fun. As an inside joke between Kristin and I, Spiderman is fat...but the park actor in the skin-tight outfit was soooo yummy with a butt from the gods (which Dr. King agreed with!!) We ended the day with eatng REAL chinese food @ the citywalk. To be honest, there's so much to tell, I can't really put it all here =all I have to really say is that Dr. King is just amazing, oboe and without. We had sooo much fun that day and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to go.

Those are pretty much the standout things of the last week and a half. Sure, I've been having a blast, but it would take too long to try and put it all here. I'm sorta sad that the festival is almost over, but I'm looking forward to school and such, and am smiling for the good things that have happened. I've enjoyed the stargazing, many conversations with everyone, hanging out, and just having fun and making music in general. More to come...

Idyllwild

So, get this - I can check my email!! Since this is an academy, they have a library and computer lab...so, right now, I'm taking a break...

I should probably start with the flight: not bad, except getting up insanely early. They changed the damn gate on me, after I walk to the end of the terminal (gate 76), I see that the flight listed goes to Phoenix, rather than Minneapolis. I ask the nice lady @ the counter and she tells me my flight has been moved to gate 20...talk about frustrating. I walk back and they're preboarding. So, after awhile, I get on the plane and we're off. I relax and chill out to some Enya for awhile. We then land in Minneapolis, where the fun really begins. I have approximately an hour and a half before my flight is scheduled to leave. I get a bite to eat, buy a novel, and then sit down and read for awhile. The flight is supposed to leave @ 9:26. Well, we didn't leave until about 10:30 - 11ish, from what I'm told, due to some people being late and the airport only using one runway...grrrr...

Finally, we're in the air and I read and let Clive Cussler take me on another adventure - good times. We land in Ontario about an hour or so LATE. I find that there's another oboist (Kristin) who was on my flight who is from UofM. We then proceed to wait too long for our luggage. Talk about being slow...we then met up w/ the guy who had the Idyllwild Arts sign and then struck up a fun conversation for awhile outside about oboe stuff.

Long story short, the van ride was full of people and we had an interesting experience @ In & Out Burger...the ride was actually quite short, IMHO, and the way up the mountain is gorgeous. Finally, we get to Idyllwild where we register and get our things put away. It's then time for auditions...I catch up with Kristin and we walk to the site, where Dr. King yells, "Kristin!" and then runs up to us and gives us both hugs. The auditions go well and such and then we're off to dinner. Idyllwild food is like Blue Lake food, so that's all I'll say.

I'm in the Wind Ensemble and Chamber Orchestra, which is great because I get to do both, and I realy didn't think I'd get into the Festival Orchestra anyway. We're actually playing REAL band music and the Poulenc "Gloria" in orch., where I'm playing English horn. I did run into Mark Menzies the first night, as he was waiting for Doug to get out of a faculty meeting. Awww, how sweet...from what he told me, things should be very interesting this year @ school.

As far as social things are concerned, it's awesome. I've met (and probably still will meet) some of the coolest people, ever. It's so cool to have real music friends and to be able to just laugh until I have tears in my eyes and my muscles are sore. I've also never seen so many gay musicians in one setting - not even @ school or Blue Lake...very cool. I'm going to Universal Studios w/ Dr. King on Sunday, too - I mean, can things get any better?

As far as oboe jargon goes, I'm in heaven. Dr. King is AMAZING!! She is the oboe goddess (along w/ Gretchen) and is one of the best people I've met, all musicianship aside. I know that I will definitely study w/ her in grad. school...even if it means moving back to Michigan...

It's lunchtime, so off we go. More to come...

Just a quick update on what's going on:

~ On the 22nd of July, I took the train to Chicago to see Doug and Kristina. A great time was had by all, as we walked about downtown and looked @ various, humorous books in Barnes & Noble, escapting the brutal, humid heat. We then traipsed off back to Kristina's house and hung out for awhile and then went to a mall, where we talked about gay porn and light politics over dinner. During the discussion about the porn, these guys @ the table next to us were apparentely curious about our conversation...
We then killed some time in FYE and in a really cool clothes store, where I window-shopped for Doug and myself - he would look very classy and sooo yummy in some of the outfits they had...After that, we headed to the arcade, where Doug and 'Stina danced away on this dance game thing - very cool...it was then time for Doug to go back home via train, so we dropped him off @ the train station and the 2 Pearson ladies and I discussed my fondness for Doug and his asexualness...when we got home, Kristina and I watched "Law & Order" and talked about hot men for the rest of the night; it was great. Kristina also confessed her love for Dr. Wong to me, and we both agreed we would love a night w/ the one detective named Elliot. Good times there sorta cuddling on the couch - I told her (and realized myself) that she's the only girl I will let get that close to me - I felt so completely comfortable w/ her and I don't know why. I guess that's the sign of a good friend.
Saturday was spent chilling out again @ Kristina's house and watching "Sprited Away" just for the Radish dance, which was quite amusing, although IMHO, the movie is just weird...Doug and I also looked @ each other's musical work and the three of us played a little violin and piano for fun. I also learned that I'm ipod illiterate...
At the Metra station, we had fun looking at dirty books ("The N.Y.C. Taxi Drivers' Book of Dirty Jokes") and 'The Far Side" and then we bid goodbye @ Union...time really does fly when you're having fun. I miss them both so much!! I also had Kristina tell Doug how I feel about him, and he had picked up on it anyway. I recently wrote him a loooong email explaining everything, though I have yet to hear from him about his feelings toward the situation...I'll probably call him tomorrow or something. Hearing about his mini-escapades w/ the female gender is interesting. I just...well, to be completely selfish, I wish he was gay, but then, I'd still be in the position I am - he's untouchable @ this point...ai...
Doug, the man I love and probably always will (if not love, he'll always have a special place in my heart and mind) but cannot have for a myriad of reasons. Why is it the guys I like always end up being unattainable. I'm curious about dating but don't really want to risk my music for it...yes, it gets lonely, but such is life. I'm just going to have to deal w/ it.

~ Sports Camp started this week and so far, has been going well. Balance is better, but I wish we could have our own earpieces (aka. get rid of moniters) w/ our own custom mixes...Not much to say about the subject...I do know that I won't be participating next year - I just feel really burned out from this year for a few reasons:
Professionalism (I'm in music school, they're not, etc. It's NOTHING personal.)
Music styles (I'm NOT a rock musician.)
Equipment (My elitist mode kinda kicks in here, unfortunately.)
Sprituality (Do I really need to say anything?)

~ Idyllwild music: AHHHH!! Those parts are SO hard...I had my last lesson for the summer w/ Gretchen today and she said I was sounding pretty good on them and to just keep working - I really want to be in the orchestra, and I think that knowing the English horn parts will definitely help in that area. I just...I can't say much @ this point because my thoughts on this are scrambled @ the moment. On Friday, we're taking Gretchen out to dinner @ Cheddar's like we did in January, so that should also be a lot of fun.

~ I'm staying w/ Kathy the week after Idyllwild and then it's time for school. The interesting thing is that I got my school registration stuff today and filled it out, ready to mail, however, I don't know if I have a place to live this year...wouldn't it be ironic if I ended up living w/ the Pisaros...

Not much more to tell. If I don't update for awhile, it'll probably be because of Idyllwild. Doug, I miss you.