LaPhil

Tomorrow night, Jared and I are going to the LaPhil! Jared got me tickets for my birthday. This will be the first concert I get to see this season as well as the first time I will get to see Dudamel! They are playing the same piece that I saw the Boston Symphony play 4 years ago....Schubert Unfinished. This is one of my all time favorite pieces!
I also have a new dress for the event bc I went to the friends and family sale at Banana Republic. My friend works there and gave me a 30% off coupon! I got 2 dresses for $50! Here is the one I will probably wear tomorrow with tights! Too short without!

This is the first thing I have purchased in 2 months. Sorry Katie, I broke the shopping hiatus for the 30% off! I feel like I have made progress on this front, though. Not buying something just because you wanted it or walked in the store and the store "made you buy it", but rather going in with certain things that you are looking for. I feel really good about putting this part of my life in to perspective. I just realized many more of the things that are more important and worthwhile to spend our money on. Thoughts??

You may have noticed...

...that I haven't blogged in a while. There has been too much going on that I didn't feel right about blogging about, so I haven't. I will give you an abbreviated version of everything that has happened in the last month...

We found a new awesome place in Culver City, we rented it, we moved in, we love it! I have more space to practice, entertain, etc. I also have my own washer/dryer!!!! Now I can tell my grandma that I don't share laundry with 10 other people. She was not a fan of that! We also have two parking spots and Jared can walk to work! I am just trying to get used to driving more now that I have to commute to teaching down south. But no biggie, only 3 days a week! Just an adjustment.

Our good friends have canceled their wedding. We are dealing with all that comes with that. One was living with us, and now the other is. Trying to figure out how to be Jesus to both of them. We were friends with both and still are, so dealing with the complicated mess that it is. Wanting to fix it, but can't.

I am also frustrated that I haven't been able to practice and pursue flute related things recently because of all that is going on.

Because of all of these things, I am stressed. My body has not been this tense since college. I thought I had learned to let go of stress when I moved to Cali, but my body is telling me otherwise. Also, trying to get rid of stress is not easy! Playing the flute helps, even writing about it helps, and I am usually the type of person to say, hey I am just not going to be stressed, and I won't be anymore. However, I have not been able to do that this time. I have to move on with some of my goals bc they have been put on hold for over 2 weeks!

You know when you hear moms talking about taking care of their kids and not getting a break for themselves, that is how I feel right now, but without the kids part. I am learning that the world does not revolve around me, slowly, and that my personal goals and ambitions may not be what God has for me right now to pursue with all of my efforts. People are His first priority, and I am learning what that looks like. I don't think that God wants us to always put all of our dreams and goals on the back burner, but I think He is trying to show me how important people are to Him.

For now, deep breaths....
And pictures of the new place coming soon!

Mutemath at Club Nokia

Jared and I went to see Mutemath at Club Nokia on Saturday day night with our good friends Katie and Andrew Feistel.

We went to an awesome restaurant/bar called The Must before and Katie and I split chicken sliders and Mac and Cheese! So delish! It was a really cool atmosphere. Going out to cool places in downtown always reminds me of how I need to do it more often! It just adds up with parking and food, etc.

The concert was AMAZING! If you don't know Mutemath, please check them out here! At the end of the show the drummer threw his tom out in the audience, he jumped out and stood on it while people were holding it, then, he jumped off of the drum in to the audience! I don't think they were ready for him, because it took a while for him to come to the surface. Haha! The singer sounds just like he does on the CD, which makes me happy bc I hate when singers suck live! They also had a ton of cool instruments they incorporate in the show, and they have a lot of jam sessions on stage. This also makes me happy, bc I know they can ACTUALLY play their instruments as opposed to memorizing a few cool parts. Go see them live, you won't regret it!

Time to go practice while my laundry is going! Lesson with Jim Walker in a week!

Friday!

I am so glad it is Friday bc I have been waiting for this master class with Robert Dick for a couple of weeks now and have been stressing a little about performing his crazy piece in front of him tomorrow. I have a pretty good handle on things, but today is the last day to practice for the class. I just need to get the second movement faster and work on some of the awkward fingering transitions in the first movement!

On another note, I listened to the live broadcast on KUSC last night of Gustavo Dudamel's season opening concert in the WDCH last night! It was incredible. I am a huge fan of Adams' new work City Noir!

I asked for tickets to go see Dudamel and the Phil for my b-day, and I think someone might have purchased them!!! <3

Get out there!!!!

Please be inspired by the following!




I stole this off of a friends' blog and couldn't resist sharing!

I love LA and all...

BUT until today, it still felt like summer. I think I was having a hard time transitioning in to "work mode" from "summer mode" because it has been so warm. I was not focusing on my flute practicing like I should have been and did not prepare enough for the two youth orchestra auditions that I had this past month. In turn, I did not play the best that I could have. This is so disappointing after the fact because I really want to have an orchestra to play with. This is my own damn fault and I hate being aware of this! I have just been so distracted!!!

Jared pointed out to me yesterday that now I have a clear gauge of if I did well or not, where as few years ago, I didn't know if I played well or not at an audition. It sucks way more now being able to tell when you didn't play something up to your potential. It also sucks knowing that the judges excused you because you didn't play well, and you knew you were wasting their time while you were playing and should have excused yourself!!! YIKES!

I am turning over a new leaf, just as the seasons are turning. The following is more for me to write this out than entertainment value for you! Continue if you wish!
I am not going to schedule time to see friends until I have scheduled my practice time in for the week. This way, I will not get distracted by hanging out with people or even running errands or doing chores. I love all of those things, so it is hard for me sometimes to separate out my work time vs. chill time. I am also going to focus on the things that motivate me!

LIKE...
Listening to one classical piece every morning through our PS3, which can stream naxos.com while I eat my breakfast and drink my morning coffee! Listening to quality music always inspires me, no matter what it is! Then, I will get ready for the day and warm up (Taffanel and Gaubert, Monroe book, scales...even some piccolo!). Then, I will asses the pieces that I need to practice, and then include some that I want to as well. Some Jazz standards with improv and some Bach sonatas for fun and sight-reading purposes. I am also memorizing the Mozart Concerto in G right now. Definitely some orchestral excerpts and some flute and guitar music!

All of that to say, I need this new spurt of motivation! Thanks for reading!

:)

Flying Lessons

I have to learn two of Robert Dick's Flying Lessons from Vol. II by Saturday the 10th. I just got them in the mail today and realized how difficult they are. There are so many ridiculous fingerings that I have to learn! I always love these extended technique pieces after I figure them out and they sound pretty...BUT, until then, they are sooooo painful. I want to pull my hair out! I think it is so interesting that a composer can hear something so bizarre in his or head, write it out, then have it be so complicated that the person learning the piece can't hear how it goes until he/she learns everything perfectly. When sight-reading other pieces, you can hear the melody right away, even if you aren't expressing it the way the composer intended.

P.S. I have an audition for Debut Saturday that I need to practice for too. Anyone want to take it for me?