Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Another fine semester almost complete

As my third semester of grad school is winding down, it's time for another update. Last time we talked, I had just finished a string of three performances, and was looking forward to Thanksgiving break. My first weekend in NYC was fantastic, I got to see a bunch of my college and high school buddies, spent time in Brooklyn, played wii, it was beautiful. Here's how much Ted enjoyed it:

Then I made my way back to Boston, got to see the family, some more high school friends, and who could forget my amazing Broccoli Casserole, as well as my first Pumpkin Chiffon pie (with Ben's help.) Needless to say, everything was delicious. That Saturday night was my 5-year high school reunion, which was another memorable night. I can't seem to find any good pictures of it online, but if I come upon something tasty I will share it.
Then it was back to Butler, working on my compositions, piano lessons, and some more Modernist Music History. I finished my paper on Louis Armstrong, and presented it to the whole class, and it went really well. Ensemble 48 did another performance, a piece written by Matt Smart imitating a choir rehearsal, except all of us singers eventually drift off into our own little worlds. My "character" would daydream he was playing baseball, so I'd run to the side of the stage, catch a fly ball and try to throw out the runner at home. I also hit a single and stole a base, in case you were wondering.
On that same Composers Orchestra concert, a group of us performed a piano piece by Josh for 9 performers, 88 fingers for all 88 keys on the piano. It was lots of fun, except my back really hurt after each rehearsal.
As you can see, I am literally on top of Josh. It was fun.
Other than that, I've got my History final tomorrow, as well as my piano jury. I'm not too worried about either, we've got another review session tonight, and I've been working on my piano pieces for so long, they sound good enough. Then I'm off to Chicago for the weekend to see Dean and Ross, and flying back to Boston on Monday for winter break. Can't wait!
Oh, and in other news, right now I've tentatively scheduled my Graduate Recital for Sunday, April 19th at 8pm. I apologize for the inconvenient time, but all the Saturdays were already taken, it's a vicious fight for time slots. Hope you can make it, but if not, no worries, there will be a recording. See you soon!

Friday, November 7, 2008

We're Out of Control!

Ensemble 48 is on a roll. Our Halloween Nosferatu concert was great. We all had phenomenal costumes, the performance space was very cool, people showed up, and we played great.

I called my costume "Failed Bearded Lady," got the gorgeous dress at Goodwill for $5. I tried making my scarf into a bow, didn't work. It was freezing! Here's NUVO's review.
Then two nights later, Scott's rock band/solo project "Cheap Nothing" had its CD release party/concert, and I was his bassist. It was also a lot of fun, we had a few mistakes, but overall, another great time. Then last night was the Composers Orchestra concert here at Butler, which included a million student compositions, including my piece entitled "Brass Debate" for trumpet and french horn, as well as Scott's piece for Ensemble 48 called "Important Piece." There were so many other great pieces, one by Zane for Bassoon quartet, one by Josh involving flashlights and plexiglass, and a bunch of cool pieces by other senior composers. Great time had by all.
Other than that, I'm heading back to the East Coast on November 21st, spending that first weekend in NYC, then taking the bus back to Boston to have Thanksgiving with the clan and make fun of Jamie's belly. The show must go on!

Monday, October 13, 2008

It's Official: We're Famous

So here's the review of our "Man with a Movie Camera" concert. This magazine, NUVO, totally loves us. They're having a big party downtown on Halloween, and Ensemble 48 will be performing our live semi-improvisatory soundtrack to the 1922 classic "Nosferatu." I think they're paying us a bit, too, which is amazing. In other news, I made my broccoli casserole about a week ago and it was a huge hit with all the other composers. I might need to switch to the double-batch again for next time. Also, we all took our intense "Modernist Music" midterm on Thursday, and I feel like we did pretty well. Who knows. Lastly, I still have faith in Josh Beckett, but apparently no one else does. I wanted to see some more curveballs and changeups mixed in, but who am I to judge. Let's go Lester. Oh yeah, and how 'bout those Patriots? Everyone was worried about Cassel, which is one thing, but what happened to our defense? Seriously.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Getting into a Groove

So my former traveling companion Dean came to town a week ago just to hang out as he made his way to San Francisco. We had a great time chilling at my place, watching baseball, and hangin with my music buddies. Then Thursday night was the Composers Orchestra concert, which included Josh's piece "Houses Built Without Walls." It features me as the soloist, playing distorted guitar like a madman while the rest of the ensemble plays quietly and occasionally responds to my lewd actions. Here's what my guitar looked like:
Needless to say, almost everything fell off during the performance as I was thrashing away.
Then two nights ago we had our "Man with a Movie Camera" performance in which Ensemble 48 performed its own semi-improvised score to the classic Russian silent film. We somehow had a huge crowd, and played surprisingly well. For an encore, we reperformed "Shaft" because last time the mics were all screwed up and we didn't really do the piece justice.
As some of you already know, there was an article written about Ensemble 48 recently in NUVO, Indy's cool free arts paper. It's pretty amazing. We've been invited to play on Halloween in front of some horror movie, perhaps Nosferatu, who knows. It's just great to be a part of something so awesome. I love these guys. In closing, I feel very sorry for Cubs fans, but am looking forward to Josh Beckett's performance tonight. Should be an instant classic.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Back from the jungle

As you've probably assumed, I've settled back in Indianapolis for my final year of grad school. Our posse of composers is back in full force, with some new blood to boot. The new grad composers are very cool, and so are the senior composers who are back from their trips abroad. Ensemble 48 has already performed twice, once in late August for the Indianapolis Fringe Festival, and yesterday we did the convocation. It was just us talking to music students about why we love seeing so many live concerts, and then to pay tribute to the recently deceased Isaac Hayes, we played the theme from Shaft. Great success.
Other than that, I've got my composition lessons with Professor Felice, piano lessons with Anna Briscoe, and my Modernist Music history class with James Briscoe. Then we've got Composers Orchestra, and Ensemble 48 rehearsals, and composer salons, etc. It's a great life.
In other news, last weekend I was able to return to Boston to see Gabe during his brief vacation from the Peace Corps. We had a great time eating fancy food, hanging out, watching sports, eating barbecue, same old same old. Big surprise, the only pictures I ended up taking were of mom's new tv. NESNHD is amazing!
So now I'm back in the warm blanket that is music school, totally unprepared for the real world that awaits me in June of '09, but who cares? First things first, I gotta think about when I'm gonna visit Gabe in El Salvador.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

One Crazy Summer

Where do I begin? Granted the summer isn't over yet, but I only have two actual days of work left, and there's a barbecue mixed in there, so it really feels like the end is near.
My last update was right as my Film Music class started, which was a great choice on my part. Waking up early was tough, but the class itself was amazing. Great movies, great soundtracks, great lectures from Dr. Schelle, couldn't have asked for anything better.
Once that was over, I went to Chicago to visit Betsy one last time. We had a blast, and it shouldn't surprise anyone to hear that one of the highlights was a trip to Wrigley Field.
I flew from Chicago to New York City, and saw Drew before he left for India. Then I casually made my way back to Boston, and sat on my butt for a couple weeks before finally starting work at DMH. One great weekend was spent in Providence visiting Charles with Dean and Stephen. Here's the proof:
And wouldn't you know, the Celtics won the Championship the night before I started my summer job. At least I got a great view of the parade. Of course I wore my BEAT LA shirt underneath my button-down that day, and I swear Big Baby pointed at me in the window. It was awesome. Working 9-5, hanging with friends on the weekends, time just zoomed by. A quick trip to DC for a Barcelona reunion, and another to Brooklyn for a Bowdoin reunion are some of the best memories. And then there was the awesome ALS fundraiser bike ride which ended up in New York. I've spent a lot of time with my buddies, helped mom move into her new place in JP, and made a little money which will hopefully go towards me moving somewhere after graduation. Add to that some awesome coworkers and trips to the State House, and I'd say it's been quite a success. I head back to Indy in a couple weeks, and then who knows what'll happen from there.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Just a quick update

So here's a brief recap of what's going on in my life. The last month of classes were fine, Ensemble 48 performed in various concerts, and our reputation is slowly growing, which is awesome. On Earth Day, I dressed up as Abitibi, the paper-retriever dog.

It was seriously a dream come true. I've also been attending a ton of concerts, both by students and by professionals, as well as watching as many Boston-related sports events as humanly possible without buying cable. My home-brewed beer is pretty great after all, and I've been sharing it with my fellow composers, as we've already had two barbecues. My Film Music class started today, and so far so good. To understand just how great it is, all I really need to mention is that we started with a general survey of the course, went on to some silent films and other early classics, but we ended with the great Odessa steps scene in Battleship Potemkin, followed by its direct reference in the Untouchables, and then the timeless spoof in Naked Gun 33 1/3. It's gonna be a great class.

Friday, April 4, 2008

SURPRISE! I'm back

So I know it's been a while, and there's so much to talk about, but let's begin where I left off last time. First off, I went home for the first weekend of March to surprise Gabe during his going-away party, which was awesome. I knew I couldn't tell Dad, because he's a terrible liar, but Ben helped me pull the whole thing off, and it was perfect. I told them that I had a lot of work and some concerts so I couldn't make it, and they totally bought it. That Friday night I got to see a college friend of mine in Davis Square, which involved Red Bones so I don't have to tell you just how awesome it was. Then we had a brunch over at Ben and Jamie's on Saturday morning, but I was hiding in the bathroom until Gabe showed up, and then I casually walked into the kitchen as he was making coffee. It was brilliant, he was completely stunned, as were Dad and Vicki, so all in all, mission: accomplished.
That night we had a big party for Gabe, which involved great food, great friends, and a pseudo-roast in which people shared stories about Gabe and how much he means to everyone, and of course his adventurous personality. As the night progressed, the elders retreated to their beds, and the youngins stayed up playing Wii until the sun came up. It was priceless.

Of course Ben had some classic stories in the vault that he was just dying to share.

That Sunday Ben and I bought some new ingredients for my home-brewing kit, so I could make a new batch of my own beer. I seriously thought it would overflow, but it just barely fit. Look at that beautiful color. It's a Red Ale, by the way.
So after making the concoction in a pot that was clearly too small, you let it sit in a barrel for a week before bottling. Just look at it's gorgeous color:
I wanted to drink it so bad, but after bottling you have to wait about a month before it's ready. Apparently patience is a virtue, so I've got that going for me, too.
Here's the concert hall in Champagne-Urbana, where Betsy performed with a large ensemble in a number of great Vivaldi pieces, including the Four Seasons of course, which was amazing live.
Then Ensemble 48 held its first annual Purim Party, which involved everyone giving their own rendition of the traditional story, and each retelling had some wonderful unique characteristics that made the night fantastic. That and the generous wine that never stopped flowing. As usual, the night devolved into us gathering around a table and playing dice.
Then last week Zach Galifianakis came to town, he's a great comedian, doesn't get much respect or fame or money, but he's really awesome. Here's Betsy as we waited anxiously for his arrival.
So that's a pretty solid update. I still have no idea what I'll be doing this summer or where I'll be doing said whatever, but I'm not too worried. My composing is going really well, as a fellow composer and I performed my guitar duet last Sunday, and it went really well. We've got a bunch more concerts coming up, so I'll try to keep the posts and pictures coming. I recently found Gabe's blog, too, which is awesome, sounds like he's having a phenomenal time. And of course, go Sox and/or Celtics!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

One recital down, hundreds more to go

We all helped out with Scott's concert Friday night, and it was tons of fun. Great turnout, great music, great reception afterwards. Here are his unique program notes, which should give you a sense of what kind of ensemble we've put together.


Commiseration Celebration

“I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.”

- Donald Fagen

“Our little group has always been and always will until the end.”

-Kurt Cobain



Thank you all so much for being here. This recital is for all of you, my friends, performing, attending, here in spirit and those I absent-mindedly forgot to tell about it. Those of you who were present for last semester’s recital may make note of the narcissistic (tongue-in-cheek though, hopefully) focus. This one should be as opposite as a self-obsessed composer like myself can get. It would be easy for me to say something like, “I couldn’t have lasted as long as I have without God or without music.” But I’ve realized that I would certainly not know either without friends. This is why in these notes I will write about the pieces only in writing about the wonderful people performing them. People that deserve to be written about as musicians and composers, but as I’m hardly qualified to write at all, I am certainly not qualified to analyze the complexity of the oeuvre inside those composer/performers present here tonight. I regret not taking any earlier opportunity I may have had to pay tribute to the rest of you who’ve cared so much to attend and encouraged me these past months and years. Let it be an open invitation for cheap commissions, as I would gladly write for you and gush about you as well in the following manner. <<>>

Biljana: someone who gives out hugs soon after you first meet her, my adopted sister, who despite her schedule, has taken time to interpret what may be an extremely abstruse piece of music tonight. It is no small thing to have a performer like her who cares so much about the piece. And she’s doing it for love of her brother, Scott. The original idea for this recital concept was this piece, as a way to pay tribute to someone who has had automatic empathy for me since I met her, calling to make sure I wasn’t lonely, offering rides to the grocery perpetually and a ton of little things that emanate unadulterated warmth, which is keenly included in a kind of half serious instruction about how to treat people. This is a lesson we all occasionally need, and it is impossible to ignore when coming from Biljana, who is as strong-willed as she is warm. She is not shy if she sees an injustice of etiquette.

Nick, first of all, has written the most sublime, wonderful, and thoughtful vibraphone piece I have ever attempted to play or ever heard. I only mention this because it speaks to his emotional generosity when he consoles the performer who just butchered his piece, which happened not too long ago. His honesty can be best portrayed by his utterance regarding I-don’t-know-what not too long ago – “I’ll have an open mind about it, well, maybe not open, but it won’t be closed.” These points of conversation – all things musical and political et al are attacked with a passion both fiery and non-intimidating. He is also the main conduit to my Ashkenazic roots, an extremely important part of my identity, which he not only helps me to understand better, but helps our Semitic-composer contingent explain things to the gentile contingent, such as Zane.

Zane, who has his finger on the pulse of everyone’s neuroses, can be sensitive to the mental/emotional web-work that could be happening inside someone else, unbeknownst to everyone else. This, I’m sure, branches from his honesty regarding his own neurosis, which has always been amazingly forthright without ever being whiny, and is therefore a great comfort to those around him. This aspect of his personality has been paramount to the success of putting this recital together. Of course his adroit musicianship is very much on display this evening as well. His talents as a composer/performer are a great gift to all the composers who might ever meet him, as he is always looking not only for new pieces, but new challenges. I would also be remiss to not mention his excellent word choice in everyday conversation.

Adam has a few favorite words and catch phrases himself. When we think of Adam, we think ‘wonderful’, ‘beautiful’ and ‘prove it.’ Adam must be one of the mellowest people I have ever met. A few of us were wondering just the other day how Adam could possibly act if he was at all angry. No one had any idea, as we haven’t ever seen anything even close come from him. Even when the Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, he was mostly just a little annoyed by the prospect of some kind of 8-month New England Kvel. He projects this as a composer and a performer as well, because his main goal for others is always that they have fun. Despite this positive outlook, or because of it, he is always very capable of appreciating the darker side of artistic expression and/or humour.

Josh, who has an even darker sense of humour, slammed his head straight down on a piano during a performance on yesterday’s convocation with so much conviction that I am still thinking about it now. In performance and compositionally, commitment is paramount in Josh’s work. Personality-wise it is no different. Josh is the master of gesture; he still pays attention to the trees and the forest simultaneously, which is a lesson I could certainly use. In our little group, Josh is my brother in Avant-Garde or performance art, or whatever one might call it, the way Zane is my brother in Jazz and Zappa fan-dom and Matt, my brother in the pop world.

Matt is also my brother in the world of taking a bunch of time off before going to graduate school, though he had a much more substantial respite, playing and writing for musical theater out in Wild West. Hailing from way out there, he shares the laid back style of Adam, but in a particular California kind of way. By that I mean that he doesn’t seem to even possess the concept of neurosis that an East coaster, at best, sloughs off and/or ignores. The one member of Ensemble 48 with whom I could hold a conversation about professional football, Matt’s also the guy with whom I would often talk about the ladies (which Zane found quite amusing as Matt and I are the oldest in the group) –albeit mostly before certain very positive life changing events.

Megan, the only non-composer member of Ensemble 48, is sometimes a little meek, often apologetic and always too humble. A big part of the way this piece is written is to take advantage of her incredible and powerful stage presence, which the rest of our little group has witnessed in the several months we’ve known her. She is yet another friend who, despite her busy schedule (including an upcoming March 6th recital), which in turn is due to her incomparable talent, has not only tackled a very challenging piece of music, but she was also engaged in what is not exactly a normal recording session as part of the piece. I cannot decide if the greatest joy of writing this piece was seeing/hearing how much child-like fun Megan had when we were recording and playing a violin with contact microphones and little super balls, or how malleable and quick she was in rehearsing the piece when I would get a flash and want to change this, that, or the other thing.

Lydia, along with her mother, also let me get the piece to her kind of late and let me work out the composer’s whim on many elements of another very challenging piece. Most of my feelings for Lydia are ineffable. I have witnessed on many occasions, in the short time I’ve know her, people thanking Lydia for helping them through an emotional rough patch and making their day, that much brighter by her very presence. This was, through pure effortless kindness and curiosity on her part, the environment of our first meeting. I have become lucky enough to get more than my fair share of this gift and can never be thankful enough. I have also never met someone who has taught me more about the sacredness of every single thing in this world. She leads softly and by example. What she has taught me about confidence and generosity and thankfulness and perspective will stay with me for the rest of my life.

I can see this generosity of spirit is one of the gifts Lydia has received from her mother, Catherine Bringerud, who was need not put the amount of effort, open mindedness and care in the work of a young composer as she has. As all of us here at Butler witness at least once a week, Mrs. Bringerud is a consummate professional. I am honored, humbled, and thankful to have her wonderful contribution not only to this recital tonight, but to the development of the piece.

There is a reception with sumptuous delights. Some are culinary representatives of the pieces you’ve heard tonight even.

Final Quick Point. I’ve gotten a little flack for my use of the word commiseration. Perhaps we have to take a kind of Beckettian perspective to come to an agreement. (Or maybe I’m full of crap. But let’s give it a whirl anyway). I don’t see commiseration as a negative thing, because one could see all camaraderie as Sympathy (capital S), because one does not necessarily looks at life as a naturally happy predicament. But, like a true Beckettian, we have to accept, be content with and even love this fact. The great gift is that one can talk, kvetch and share with those who share the same experience, and therefore take solace in the camaraderie, the commiseration —Friends.

Sharing the things we know and love, with those of our kind.

              -Donald Fagen

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Celtics Come to Town

Let me know if I'm putting up too many pictures, but I always like having some visuals for my stories. Anyways, the Boston Celtics played the Indiana Pacers last night, so of course I took the opportunity to see my hometown team in all its glory. The Pacers play in the Conseco Fieldhouse right downtown, so I got a ticket for $10 plus $5 service charge, that's not a bad deal where I come from. The arena is beautiful, some people call it the "Camden Yards" of basketball, and it really is a fantastic facility.
I got there early and was able to watch Big Baby and Kendrick Perkins working on their low-post moves, which was awesome.
Later on the rest of the team came out to warm up and do lay-up lines, with the cheerleaders in the middle and the Pacers on the left.
I have to admit, the intro was pretty cool. Not quite as cool as the Bull-Riding Championship intros, but still cool.
And here's a beauty of Rondo going in for the layup.
It was a great game, my seat was fine, but some time in my life I would love to sit on the first level, it must be so much fun. The crowd even started getting into it as the Pacers pulled ahead in the fourth quarter, but as expected we were too much for them. Somehow my Red Sox jersey didn't jinx us, so maybe this is God's way of telling me to leave the superstitions up to Nomar.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

From Scratch to Performance in 24 Hours

Last night we finished our inaugural 24-hour Composition/Recital, and no, there are no typos in that sentence. We got together Friday night to draw names and roll dice to see who would write for how many and what instruments. We disbanded around 10:30PM and each set off to our own respective composition-crypts to finish our pieces as quickly as possible, because most of Saturday was spent rehearsing. I finished mine at 5:30AM, so clearly I was full of energy by the time the concert started at 8PM Saturday night. Incredibly, the concert was a great success, as the turnout was fantastic and the pieces came out wonderfully.

Zane conducts his piece entitled "Tiger Driver ‘91" with Scott on the marimba and Aaron on the trombone. Apparently the name of the piece is an old Japanese wrestling move.

Nick sings Meredith's piece entitled "Brain Collector at Cornell"

Josh performs Scott's piece, "Biological Clock's Desperate Endeavor to Manifest Itself Externally." You can't tell from the picture, but Josh's repairman-costume includes a retro Seattle Seahawks cap which I thought was just perfect.

Meredith and Zane perform Josh's "Velleity"

Zane and Tim perform "Drill Bit Steve" in honor of its composer Matt Williams, who had to work during the concert. Tim's face is turning red as he screams through his clarinet for the big finish.
My piece, which luckily has no photographic evidence of ever being performed, is called "Theme and Variations on Something Shitty," and I think that really sums it up. Unfortunately I had to conduct it myself, which was my first and (fingers crossed) last conducting experience of my life. Regardless, everything went great, the crowd loved the whole night, and we should be getting a recording pretty soon. Now it looks as if we'll be doing this type of concert once a semester, so that basically tells you how everyone felt about it, including our professor Michael Schelle, who said in a post-concert email:

"GUYS - SCHNELL!!! BRAVISSIMO!!! MOLTO IMPRESSIVO!!

THE CREATIVITY OF IDEA AND MUSIC WAS / IS ASTOUNDING !!!

. . . YOU GUYS ARE CRAZY - IN THE BEST WAY ;) !!!

SERIOUSLY, TUTTI FANTASTICO !!! SCHNELL!!!"

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

A Time for Mourning

Yes, we lost the SuperBowl. No, we will never have another chance at 19-0. I'm sorry. It was an exciting game, but Bill Simmons expresses everything perfectly in his recent article on espn.com. We were the 2002 Rams, too good to be true, way too cocky, not enough fire and passion. I'm not gonna go on, I don't like talking about it, but I'm glad I'm not in Boston right now, and doubly glad I'm not in New York City right now. You know, Colorado had a parade for the Rockies after they got swept by us in the World Series, but of course we cancel our parade because our incredible football team got outplayed once this entire year. I think we should show a little more pride and thank our players for a memorable year.
Here are some pictures from last night:
My six-layer mexican dip was awesome, thanks for the recipe Ben.
Our TV was pretty small, and the reception was questionable, but at least you can tell that my dip was a hit.
Scott, born and raised in New York, was unsurprisingly ecstatic.
Ok, I can't let this go. They outplayed us, just like the Colts outplayed us last year. And for the sake of football as well as the city of Boston, I think in the long term it's good that we lost. First of all, it just shows how human the Patriots are. If we had won, and been called the greatest team ever, that's too easy. Everyone on the team could retire this offseason, and be totally satisfied. By losing, we solidified football's reputation as a great sport, one that cannot be completely mastered by anyone (although the '72 Dolphins may disagree, but who really cares what they think? Everyone hates them anyway; is that really what we want?). Secondly, I hate to say it, but we Bostononians were getting way too cocky, and I really disliked that. We were becoming obnoxious and arrogant, talking about how great our city is and how this year was just like 1986 when the Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics all made it to their respective Championships. I think we need to experience more losses to truly appreciate the victories (the Bruins don't count), and I hope we don't turn into the Yankees of football by not accepting anything other than a World Championship. The Red Sox winning this past World Series was great, but nothing compares to the 2004 season, and I doubt anything ever will. I'm sorry for rambling, but I try to bottle all this frustration inside because I know we'll be great next year, and I know Brady will win another Super Bowl with the Patriots, but I can't stand the thought of another year of people complaining about this team. The Rams went 7-9 the season after we beat them in the Super Bowl, and I just hope that Tom Brady has the heart to come back next season and not let this loss plague the rest of his career.
One last thing regarding the cockiness: before the game, Patriots players invited Giants players to their celebratory afterparties. The Boston Globe and Herald had books on Amazon.com about our 19-0 season A WEEK BEFORE THE SUPERBOWL. If that's not a jinx I don't know what is. Lastly, the Giants beat the Cowboys, Packers, and us for the championship. That reminded me of our 2004 Patriots when we held the explosive Colts to 3 points one week, scored 41 on the 15-1 Steelers the next week, and then finished off the Eagles for the Super Bowl. The Giants beat all the best teams this postseason other than the Colts, and that is damn impressive. However, it's gonna kill me to hear all those New Yorkers gloating about this for the next year, but it will just make our next Super Bowl victory that much sweeter.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Back to Business as Usual

So I'm just chillin in Indy, trying to get back in my groove, but there's already a big difference between this semester and last semester: now I have things I'm supposed to do every weekday. Last semester I had my weekly composition meeting on Monday afternoons, and my Research in Music class Monday nights. As you can guess, I had a lot of free time. Those were the good old days, though. Now I've got Composer's Orchestra on Monday nights, composition lessons on Tuesday, piano lessons on Wednesday, and electronic composition lessons on Thursday. I know what you're thinking, isn't all this activity going to fry your brain? Aren't you going to need more free time to relax after such a strenuous work schedule? Unfortunately, I have no such luck, especially if I'm attempting to get a job to make a little extra moneyz so I can pay my rent over the summer. But, I must rise above this challenge, attend these anti-slumberous meetings, and maintain my superhuman work-ethic, for nothing, not even my Nintendo Wii, can derail my dreams of holding the first rock concert in space.
On a lighter note, I finally got my new glasses. Here are my backups from approximately 1984:
You may notice they're slightly off-balance, probably because one of the arms disappeared ages ago. Not bad, considering.
And here are my new babies:
Can't wait to use them for this Sunday's game, it's gonna be off the hook. Unfortunately, I can't wear my new Patriots hoodie during this momentous occasion, because of a personal contract with God saying that I can't wear a team's clothing on the day of their game or else they will automatically lose. It's worked with the Red Sox, and it's gonna work with the Patriots. Even so, I guarantee I will be screaming my brains out, replying to ecstatic phone calls from Daryl and other sport aficionados around the country, and savoring this sweet opportunity to jam it in all the Colts fans' faces.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

So it begins...

I spent my New Years in New York City, heading to a party in Chinatown with Charles and a few of his friends from Brown. We had a blast, even though the venue literally looked like it was holding a Bar-Mitzvah party. The only downside of the festivities was losing my glasses, which happened to be my only pair. I've got new ones on the way, but it still leaves me handicapped for the next week or two. Anyways, I spent last night at Charles' new pad in Providence, and here are the pictures to prove it:


Good times.