everytime i talk with my friend deb, she's heard of the coolest new band. check out stephen speaks. :) she also recommends ari hest. (both are on the aware records website if you're trying to find them.)
i graduate! in december! it's official! :) :) :)
no more pencils, no more books....
yay!
my sister and i got my mom a turntable for her birthday. they spent the evening calling me to reminisce over all the kids lps that we wore out when we were little. at least, as i told my sister, mom doesn't have a mariachi record. mom found some of her dad's records - original 78's of benny goodman and bing crosby among others. ( i want!! ) she said they're still in great shape, too.
and the love affair continues...
i'm actually playing real songs now - not just liza jane. ;) fanny poer (powers) by turlough o'carolan is one of my first attempts at real music. i think that peggy carter (my instructor) was impressed that i actually knew who he was. yeah, like me, the person who loves celtic music, wouldn't know who he was...
speaking of music, call me crazy, but i'm beginning to wonder what flamenco would sound like on a dulcimer.... hmmmm.... :) i know, i'm weird. but hey, i was attemping to pick out beethoven's moonlight sonata on it last night. *shrugs* i guess you could say i'm a certified music-a-holic.
speaking of - the cds that have been my constant companion lately: (not all of them are new stuff - when i moved, i rediscovered some old favorites...)
-- Norah Jones / come away with me (currently in the cd player in the car. to die for. i wish i could sing like that!)
-- Nickel Creek / take your pick: i've got their first and the newest (this side) rotating through. i think this side is just coming off a constant week in the car. :)
-- Paul Simon / take your pick: graceland or rhythm of the saints. my best guess as to why these are favorites is the african influence. too cool. great car-trip music.
-- Toad the Wet Sproket / p.s. a retrospective. rediscovered after i heard john mayer's live version of walk on the ocean. (speaking of - i'm a little sick of john mayer. too popular now *sighs* ticket prices have doubled over the last 4 months. :( :( but nickel creek and john mayer in NY? now that's almost enough to make me hop a plane....)
-- Sean Watkins / let it fall. i was so sad when i lost the cd somewhere in my travels between ca and tx. but i have another one now and am happy again. :)
-- Ottmar Liebert / innamorare. yes, yes. it's where the name of my webpage came from. but he's just so awesome. i finally saw him in concert last year at stubb's in austin. wow. :) this one's very summer afternoon, windows rolled down in the car, driving down the highway at 70 - mellow but not.
I'm also beginning to dig through my turlogh o'carolan and hammered dulcimer cds looking for inspiration. :) hey, a girl can dream, right?
forced vacation
ok, so maybe not really forced, but if i don't take a day off, i'll probably go nuts. so, wednesday i'm trekking to the day spa for some much-needed relaxation. :)
why would i go nuts? well, it all goes back to last week, a badly designed (not by me!) web page design that i got in photoshop, an imminent college name change and deadline, and a 570-page website. *shudders* need i say more? oh, and did i mention that after i busted my rear end to get it done, the new site couldn't go up on friday as the name change had one more loop to jump that they didn't know about? i'll just bite my tongue right here so i don't go off on another hour-long rant. anyway, i just finished the site and all its formatting today. good thing i'm not responsible for content. :)
and i'm looking forward to wednesday...
one more thing - picture!
we stopped by the brazos river last weekend (see the last post) so i could indulge my picture-taking quest (i'm playing with the new digital camera and its macro setting lately), and i managed to take a reasonably good picture despite having a full-blown cold. will miracles never cease? find it here.
ok, enough spammy-ness for now. i'll return you to your regularly-scheduled activity.
i hate colds. every time i lean over to do something, my nose drips. *argh*
i hate stress at work. especially when it's stress dealing with something i've volunteered for - stress that's basically self-induced. stress no more, i guess. i'm not going to volunteer to continue in this particular organization. internal politics are icky, and i don't need this for my resume or anything.
the love affair with the hammered dulcimer continues. i have to wonder what my teacher will think when i show up next week. i'm getting better at reading music. it still takes me quite a while, but if i recognize the song, i'm able to pick it out faster. i've added "eleanor plunkett," "good king wenceslaus," "god rest ye merry gentlemen," and "oh holy night" to my growing repetoir. yes, yes. christmas music. but i love christmas music, especially since i got my john rutter/cambridge singsers cds from amazon. i've two more on the way - another rutter and a boston choir as well.
busy weekend ahead - if i feel up to it. kolache festival in caldwell tomorrow, power layouts in the afternoon (scrapbooking), swing dancing tomorrow night. sunday has church, dinner with a friend, and more swing dancing. all subject to change of course if I feel lousy... :)
who thought that i'd be taking hammered dulcimer lessons one day after the last post?! not me. so now i'm taking lessons in houston from peggy carter. very exciting!
i rented a dulcimer for six weeks (before I go spending $1000 on something i won't play). you know how i said i wanted a dulcimer from dusty strings? i've changed my mind. (this is where the fickle part comes in.) now i want a rick thum dulcimer. master works sustatin too long, but the rick thums have a beautiful sound. ok, so i won't be able to get a black soundboard on this one, but the soundboard on this one is made of adirondack spruce. what's that, you ask? think martin guitars. it's excellent wood.
so yeah. i've had it just under two days and i'm playing "let all mortal flesh keep silence" and a simple "ode to joy." who knew re-learning to read music would be so hard - i usually do things by ear. hopefully at some point those two things will mesh. we'll see. :)
for now, the dulcimer sits in my room, calling softly "play me" each time i walk by. and i do. and i look up and a half hour has passed with me just doing scales and chords. ah, time that passes when you're unaware. that's true bliss. i think i'm in love. ;)
why? 'cause this is my homepage and i was sick of looking at it.
bad things: tripping into the building this morning on the way into work and taking a chunk out of my toenail; not being able to go to ca to see my mom for her b-day
good things: getting to go see nickel creek in austin instead (keep your fingers crossed that i might have an opportunity to say hi to sean?); swing dancing twice this weekend - austin and houston; getting a friend (hopefully?!) hooked on swing dancing; i might be buying a hammered dulcimer. i really want one.
re the hammered dulcimer - find it here: http://dustystrings.com/building/d35.shtml. i want the optional black soundboard - you can see that here: http://dustystrings.com/building/black_finish.shtml. now to find an instructor....may have to go to houston, but i still want one!
nick calculated that we each climbed a 60 story building-equivalent of stairs while moving. it took three days...i have too much stuff. currently i haven't put out pictures of what the place is starting to look like, but if you'd like to see the "before" pictures, they're available at http://reya98.badkarma.org/apt.htm.
on the other hand, i'm *so* glad to be in my new place. talk about a difference between night and day. i also realized that (besides having too much stuff) my couch and chair are really ugly without the slipcovers. *really* ugly. :)
so, classes have started. negotiations seems like it will really be fun. requirements elicitation is tomorrow. really, what is the deal with 2 1/2 hour classes? i do good to sit through the 50 minute ones!
