Saturday, March 31, 2007

I'm playing some pretty sweet pieces in a recital today.
2:00 Linsday Recital Hall.
I mean, these pieces are WAY COOL. You wouldn't understand till you heard them.

You should come if you can spare an hour out of the day.
I'd really, truly appreciate it.
Norah Jones, you makes my life better.
You lift up my spirits when I am down,
and you raise them even higher when I am up.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

"I don't like opera, Oprah, or okra."
-dad
You know, I was just thinking about how important teaching is. Any kind of teaching. Without teaching, nobody would know anything. I mean, think about it. You aren't born knowing any card games. At some point, someone has taught you every game you know.

I was thinking about how much people really help and teach me. It's crazy to think it. In the last couple months or so, I have learned so much. I've learned to play pool, to play Risk, to play chess, to solve a Rubix cube, to play piano (better). I've gotten help on german and music theory. People are out there, just waiting to teach you something interesting. All you have to do is ask them to teach you, and I bet that they will. My theory is that most people inherently enjoy passing on knowledge.

I remember back to the time when I couldn't play ping-pong worth my life, and then Amanda patiently taught me how to hit the ball. Now I can keep up with the average player, and it's much more fun. I remember the time I wanted to learn to moonwalk, so Kevin taught me the basic move. Now I have a nice party trick. So many times people have used words that I don't know. It's not bad to ask what they mean. You have to ask to learn!

I love learning. I try to soak up as much knowledge and skill as I can from my surroundings. People are very interesting. There's something unique, something to gain from every person.

But that's not enough. We need to pass on our knowledge as much as possible. Make the world a much more interesting place. You may think you don't know much about anything, but you do. I know a lot about music, obviously, but did you also know that I know a heck of a lot about baseball? It's because I ask a lot of questions.

Ask questions, and you'll get answers.
Heute ist mein Geburtstag!

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Life is good. Life is good. Life is good.

I thought if I only wrote it once, you might not believe me. Life is good.

Man, Past Ashley is getting owned. Pwned, even.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Well, I don't have much to say, but things are going well. Really well.

Oh, flute drama.
Have you ever seen that SNL sketch where they keep saying, "simma down now?" Well, that's what the flute studio needs right now.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Sometimes I'm not too excited about upcoming performances, but I am pretty psyched about my recital on Sunday. I played the first and second movement of the Taktakishvili in a masterclass today, and they were well-received.

Don'tcha just love life sometimes?
My life just keeps getting better and better.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Economics is really okay. I don't mind it...until I get to sentences like this:

The real interest rate in the loanable funds market will move towards the rate that will bring the quantity of funds demanded into equality with the funds supplied, including the net inflow and outflow of capital.

::snore::
Did anybody else know that the Odyssey of the Mind had a collegiate division?

Friday, March 23, 2007

This is too good.

(don't read it until the sounds loads)

Thursday, March 22, 2007


Well, I'm feeling a little down because the sextet decided to cancel our Poulenc concert. I was totally against cancelling it, because I thought that the music was ready. Eventually, though, we had to make a decision, and I suppose it is better to not let someone do something that he wants to do it than to force someone to do something that he doesn't want to do. If that makes any sense. So I backed down in the end. I shouldn't have.

I don't understand. We've put so much work into this sextet. Every week this semester, we've had an hour long rehearsal at 8:00 in the morning. We've rehearsed on weekends and late at night. We've brought our professors in to coach us. That's dedication! I don't know why they wanted to just throw that all away. The music was ready, the program was ready, the hall was set. And I know that I've personally been pretty excited about the recital ever since the conception of the idea.

I kind of feel like Christmas has been cancelled.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

We had a speaking test in german today. The teacher pairs people up and we have conversations on preset topics with each other. Something funny always happens. Here are translations of a few of the funnies this time:

"My birthday is in three people." (meant to say three days)

"What is your grape?" (meant to say dream job)

Me: "What do you want to become?"
My partner: "I want to make bread"

A pair of guys:
"What is your mom's name?"
"Do you have a sister?"
"What is your mom's telephone number?"

---------------------------------------------

I talked to my mom today. She told my grandparents that I have a boyfriend, and my grandma's reaction was funny.
"Wow," she said, "That's a lucky guy. There aren't many girls like Ashley out there."

Darn tootin'.
Oh yeah, I can't forget to add that my accompanist for the half recital can't make the dress rehearsal we had planned for the half recital, and someone in the sextet can't make the dress rehearsal we had planned for the Poulenc recital. So now we'll have to change the times for both of those, go throuh the process of reserving halls once again, and try to find a time that works for everyone. And probably we will have to have a dress reheasal either like 7 in the morning or 10:30 at night. Because the hall is all taken for all other hours.

Recitals are such a pain to plan.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Life is so stupid sometimes. This is going to be a rant post.

Okay, here's what you guys get to look forward to when you start doing recitals:

I am playing in two major recitals this semster. One is a half recital with Daryl, where I'm playing the Taktakishvili sonata and Robert Dick's Lookout. The other is a Poulenc recital with my quintet, where I'm playing the Poulenc Sonata and the Sextet. Someone in the group set up the date for the Poulenc recital, and I set up the half recital date. They happened to fall on the Monday and Tuesday of the same week. So what, I thought. I can take it. It was even a good thing, because my mom could come for a couple days and see my two recitals. This was all about three months ago.

About 4 weeks ago, I had just confirmed an accompanist for my recitals. Everything was going pretty smoothly, and I was on the right track with my pieces. Then I got an interesting call from my TA teacher. She said that I had to change the date of my half recital, because it is during a wind orchestra concert. She is in wind orchestra, and therefore she could not attend my recital. She has to be at my recital because she is my teacher.

This didn't make me happy.

I talked to the hall manager, and the only time we could change the recital to would be two weeks earlier. I was not cool with two weeks earlier, because 1) I hadn't started rehearsing with my accompanist yet, and 2) My pieces still had a long way to go. Along with the fact that my mom was going to come, and the fact that my accompanist was okay with the date already.

So I made an executive decision, and I decided not to change the recital date. My TA teacher couldn't be there. Oh well.

About two weeks later, I sent an email to my other teacher (prof Amsler, who is in London) to keep her up-to-date with my flutings. She sent an email back, and in it she asked me to change the date of my recital because it conflicted with a lecture from a guest artist that the flute studio was bringing in. She worded it pretty strongly, so I had no choice but to change the date of the recital.

Of course, when I checked back with the hall manager, the date that was previously open had been taken by someone else, so I had to wait for another date to open up. After a week, there was an opening for April 1. I grabbed it, and my recital date was changed.

My TA teacher later told me that she was going on tour with her band during that time.

My lesson teacher informed me today that the time of the guest artist lecture had been changed.

So, with the other date, my TA teacher wouldn't have been there, and the time wouldn't have conflicted with the guest artist.
With this new date, my TA can't be there, and the time doesn't conflict with the guest artist lecture.

I SEE NO DIFFERENCE.

FURTHERMOMRE, I rehearsed with my pianist today. Some of the other players in the Poulenc recital still need an accompanist, so they had asked me to ask my pianist if he could accompany them too. I asked him, and he frowned at me.

"The 27th?" he asked. "I thought you changed the date of that recital."

No, I only changed the date of my half recital, not my Poulenc recital. He didn't know that though, and he scheduled an interview during the Poulenc recital.

I lost my accompanist for one recital because I changed the date of the other one. AND I DIDN'T EVEN NEED TO CHANGE THE DATE.

So now the Poulenc recital is in a week, and out of the three Poulenc sonatas being played, none of us have accompanists. And it's because I unneccessarily changed the date of my recital.

I spend a couple hours today badgering pianists to accompany me. I must have asked more than 15 pianists, including one faculty member, and I'm not even kidding. Nobody wants to do it. Nobody wants to learn three sonatas in a week, and really, and I can't blame them. I don't know if they realize, though, that I am PAYING them to play their instrument.

Life is so stupid sometimes.

/rant

I don't even know if that made any sense.

In other news:
Mein Freund ist wunderbar!
Wir essen kuchen.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Krank

Sunday, March 18, 2007

I have always liked duets.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

The campus smells like alcohol.
wowowowowowowowowowowowow
wowowowowowowowowowowowow
wowowowowowowowowowowowow
wowowowowowowowowowowowow
wowowowowowowowowowowowow
wowowowowowowowowowowowow

Friday, March 16, 2007

Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Ugh...10 hours at school, and I am not going back tonight (sorry Craig and Shannon, I just can't do it).

250 pages to read, two one essay to write, some german homework, and a theory test to study for. Also, finish up my applications to Masterworks and the Sunflower music festival. I've got 4.5 hours. Think I can do it? I don't.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

All I'm gonna say is, good things can come when you least expect them. Don't give up hope. Don't be afraid.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Was kann ein Baby machen?

Apparently, this means both "What can a baby do?" and "What can make a baby?"

Also, one of the conductors auditioning today began her rehearsal with, "I'll tell you a secret about this piece. Whenever I conduct it, I eat, like, six cookies before. I want to feel the weight."

...weird.

Monday, March 12, 2007

I'm really happy.
:)

Sunday, March 11, 2007


Bright and shiny--this is me and my future and this semester.

(Incidentally, I took this picture yesterday).
You're great, Jonny!

Saturday, March 10, 2007

I just crossed 5 things off of my to-do list, and that makes me happy.

Of course, I still have 10 items yet to go.

Friday, March 09, 2007

Me: I have to go home on Friday.
Brandon: Why?
Me: I have a gig.
Brandon: You play jazz flute?
Me: Noo..
(other person): What do you play, then?
Me: the...regular flute.
After a short but sweet stint at home, I return to the land of school. Thank you to all my friends who made my short time back a good one.

Here's my best Balderdash definition of last night:
mopus--something that people say when they are not sure if they want to say the word "opus"
I'm gonna do better this half of the semester. I will. I will practice more, study more, try harder on homework and papers, and be nicer to people. I will raise my grades. I will not wait until the week of a recital to start rehearsing with a pianist. I will be prepared for my lessons. I will not spend ALL my free time playing Zelda or watching The Office. I will attend recitals. I will get into a regular sleep schedule, and I will not take so many naps. I will use my time wisely. I will communicate more often with Ms. Clew, Prof. Amsler and all my friends. I will write letters. I will listen to recordings and start caring about studio class.

I'm turning over a new leaf. This half, I will try harder.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

I am so lucky. I don't think I could have better friends or family. I really don't think it's possible.

There's such a support group beneath me, and I love them for it. It's mutual love--that's the best kind.
So, um, I met this boy...

Monday, March 05, 2007

Sometimes, I just wish that life would do what I want it to do. Behave for once!

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Today I drove home. As usual, it took about 5 hours, but this trip in particular (at least the first half) wasn't so bad. The sky was just stunning. I mean unreal. It wasn't all colors this time; that's what usually says beauty to me, this time it was the clouds. They were like a watercolor painting covering the whole sky, as far as the eye can see. There's really no use in describing it, because words cannot describe sight, but all I can say is wow. I was thinking to myself, people pay a lot of money for paintings that look like this, but paintings are just a recreation. I am looking at the real thing for, and it is beautiful, and it is free. No painting could ever look like this.

I was also thinking, I wonder how many people bother to look up and notice that this much beauty is just a head turn away. I know I've always had some amount of abnormal fascination with the sky, but seriously, nobody could look at that spread today and not have some part of their heart melt.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

A few words from a person you trust can change the world.
To all the women out there:
Don't watch House on Haunted Hill at night when you are alone in the house.

In fact, don't watch House on Haunted Hill at all.
My life has been so crazy for so long, that I still can't believe it's all over and that it's finally spring break. It's finally spring break. I can't believe it. I really can't believe it.

I had seven tests last week.

Friday, March 02, 2007

"Only children know what they are looking for," said the little prince. "They spend their time on a rag doll and it becomes very important, and if it's taken away from them, they cry..."
"They're lucky," the switchman said.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Recitals are pretty funny concept when you think about it. Reed players blow air onto a piece of wood, and then people come and watch them do it and get pleasure out of watching.

I am really good at blowing into a metal tube.
I miss my teacher.