Edit: I'm playing 2nd/picc in Tombeau and 1st in Proko! Weee!!

I leave for Las Vegas tomorrow! EEEEE! (That was very Erin). I'm having trouble fitting everything in my suitcases. I need to take 14 days worth of clothes (I'm not sure if there will be a washer or not, so I'm playing it safe), including clothes for the two concerts I'm playing in and the 4 or so that I'm not playing in, bedsheets, a pillow, a blanket, all my towels, a music stand, all my music, any food that I want in the room, and a lot of other stuff. I've never had to take so much for a trip before.

Anyway, I am still very excited about being in LAS VEGAS and studying with RENEE SIEBERT! Yayayay! And I just found out that the orch rep is going to be Prokofiev's Classical Symphony, Ravel's Tomberau de Couperin (or however you spell it), and the Eroica Symphony (Beethoven 3). I'll probably only play in one or two of those pieces, but really! Why can't philharmonia play stuff that awesome?

So yeah, I won't have Internet access (I think) till I come back on the 13th, so pray for me, and hopefully I'll come back with more musical experience than I could dream of (in a good way) and I won't come home married (what?).

No more work this summer either, so I'll be free to partay every day till I go back to Tallahassee (notice: every day, not all day. I still need my four golden hours).

Okay, that's all for now. Viva Las Vegas (whatever that means).

I found these at a facebook group. Hilarious.

Well, I'm playing Steve Reich's Eight Lines at the Las Vegas festival. I'm playing the flute/picc part. And I have to confess, after hearing about 7 minutes of the 17 minute piece, I am pretty excited about playing it. I've never played a minimalist piece before (unless you count those petty performances in theory class, I don't), and it's exciting--I've been playing flute for 9 years, so I welcome anything that I haven't done before.

Okay, I'll admit it, I just really like minimalism.

I love my mom.

Big day tomorrow: LSO concert, last day of work, and the kickoff of operation girls weekend. Unfortunately, Jacqui won't be there, that makes me sad :(. Oh well, many flute lunches in the future, right?

"Spinning Wheel" by Blood, Sweat and Tears is a really cool song.

Well, the recital is over and I'm sorry to everyone's messages etc. I have ignored this past week, but I have been preparing for the recital and in New York and very busy. I hope that is a good excuse, but if it isn't, well, it's my only one.

The recital went pretty well. There were the some mistakes, the usual suspects, but overall it went pretty well. It accomlished exactly what I wanted it it to, to push me and get me to practice for something. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn't have bothered to find time to practice while at New York, and I certainly wouldn't have practiced as much as I have this month...

There were a lot of people there! A lot of people that I didn't know, too! But to those of you that forgot or didn't show up....well bleh on you. You missed some good music.

New York was a good time! I went with my family, we stayed with my uncle in Connecticut, he has a boat, it is pretty cool. We went out once in the boat and saw the most beautiful sunset...

We also went to the empire state building and TWO Yankees games! I got a Yankees LUNCH BOX for FREE!! Wooo!!! It was amazing being in a place where everyone actually likes the Yankees...I am so used to everyone hating the Yankees, I had forgotten that there's a whole city out there in their favor.

Gotta feel sorry for the Mets, though--I didn't see one piece of Mets merchandise while in the city. The Yankees are obviously more popular in New York, at least in the places I visited.

New York, man. Every type of person there. It's just amazing. Every shape, size, color, gender (hehe), walk of life, and all meshed together in no definite pattern. I could just sit there and watch the people walk by.

By the way, my uncle has this parrot, and I swear, he is the funniest person or animal I have ever met. Freddie is his name. He just sits there and talks to himself all day, mostly saying "hello" with different inflections. Sometimes he'll make these real cute coo-ing noises and just when you think he's calmed down, he'll go "PAAAAUUUL!!!!" squakin like a madman. He also imitated me playing my flute, which was funny. Makes me want a parrot of my own. I could teach it to say "I want to suck your blood, blah blah, blah blah."

I also finished Harry Potter. No spoilers, though. :)

Back from NY.
Yanks took 3/4
21-4 second game. sweet.
recital tomorrow.
almost finished harry potter.
bout 50 more pages to go.
I need to practice. :(

I was talking to my mom about Harry Potter today, and I realized that she says almost every name wrong and/or does not remember who characters are. It was a VERY funny conversation. For example:

Malfoy=Malfus
Snape=Snap (Professor Snap)
Dobby=Doby
and my personal favorite: Peeves=Pevious Pete
(what?)

"Do you remember who Crabbe and Goyle are?"
"Oh, they are bad kids."

"Do you know who Luna Lovegood is?"
"Yeah, she likes Harry."

"Who is Corelius Fudge?"
"He's the teacher of...I can't remember..."

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

I spent the whole day at work yesterday tearing up boxes with my bare hands. I felt like an animal.

I leave for a trip to New York tomorrow. I'm gonna see the Yankees!!! WOO!! Go Yankees! I'm getting back on Tuesday, going straight from the airport to my dress rehearsal, and then having my recital the very next day. Should be..interesting.

Why do people smoke? Why? I don't understand. They know that it's bad for them (in several different ways), they know it's bad for the people around them, it smells bad, it's NOT attractive, it costs a lot of money, and it's addictive. Why the heck would you start smoking in this day and age, when we know all that we know about smoking? How could you possibly go through DARE and even consider it? Why the heck would you do it?

Oh, and by the way, I have never once been offered to smoke anything (okay, that's not true, I think I was offered to smoke a pipe once...but that apparently is different, according to some people I know), so I'm pretty sure it's not peer pressure. Don't pull the peer pressure card on me. I was a teenager, I know exactly what it was like, and I know that's it's not very difficult to stay away from drugs.

I understand that smoking is addictive, and that it may be hard to stop once you start, but what I wonder is...why would you start?

What is my point here?
Don't freakin' smoke!
There's no reason for it!

Life has been short and sweet. Went to Atlanta for a DCI competition, had a great time, met some very cool/funny people, hung around with those I usually don't get a chance to hang around with, saw Jon, was awed by the professional level of the corps (goosebumpers all the time). It was a very good weekend.

Today I went to the Solas concert. Their lead singer wasn't there! What is that all about? It was good anyway, though. That guy. He sure can play the irish flute. And the girl can play the fiddle and that other guy plays the accordion like a madman. It made me feel very good.

P.S. Just another reason the Atlanta Symphony is my goal in life:

(It's a mailbox).

I'm going to Atlanta.
::cue banjo::

Every day at work, I dream about practicing when I get home.

By the time you read this, most of you (if not all of you) will be notified through facebook that I am giving a summer flute recital. It's July 25 at 7:00 at the Indian River United Methodist Church on 50. In the chapel. I picked out all the music myself, so I'm not playing anything crappy. I love the music (except for maybe Carmen, which is there to be a showpiece and a crowd pleaser for the finale, but whatev, it still has moments of greatness), and I think that you'll love it too if you go.

By the way, Dan Klintworth (he's accompanying) has gotten REALLY GOOD. You should go just to see him play.

Anybody have any info on:
1) Who the new freshman flutes are this year, and
2) What the orchestras are playing this year?

Well, I've been hosting Star Wars week this past week. My friends and I have watched a different Star Wars movie almost every night for a week (just in case you were wondering, we ordered it by episode, not by release date). Much laughter was created, much knowledge was gained, and many cookies were consumed in the process. I think we all enjoyed it; it was a good week.

Erin: "I just don't understand how these are Star Wars cookies."

Here's Vader. He was the most terrible of sinners (I mean, uh, sith lords), but because he was on the good side when he died, he gained eternal life. He even defeated the devilish emporer himself. There is hope for even the most hopeless.

It's my mom's birthday.
It's Ashley's birthday.
Today I learned how to throw a football.

Some people say that miles make no difference
Miles are the distance
Between me and you

Happy Independence Day!
Go out and watch fireworks to the 1812 Overture. It's the way it was supposed to be.

I'm still proud and lucky to be an American, even with all the stuff going on. Sure, our leaders may make some bad choices, but overall, I'd say that we're pretty well-off. It's the land of opportunity.

Happy birthday, America!

Gigs at sea

I'm not gonna complain about the other choices, but you all know that Jorge Posada should have been the all-star catcher.

Lawnin' the mow in da rain.

It's Star Wars week! Wahoo!!