I know, it's been a while

Where do I begin? Last semester ended with a bang, our Modernist History final asked us to argue against everything we learned the entire semester. It was quite terrifying, actually. But we all survived, and we're stronger because of it. My piano jury went ok as well, so my third semester concluded in fine form.
From Indy I took a bus to Chicago to spend time with Dean and Ross. It was cold, dark, and snowy when I got there, and for that reason it felt more like home than Indy has in a long time. We pretty much just stayed in the South Side, where Dean and Ross reside, because going outside meant dealing with the blistering cold. One nice find was Dean's roommate's advent calendar. I honestly didn't know what these were until Bad Santa.
Other than that, just the standard shenanigans ensued, with some wii, lots of cool music, and a hipster party mixed in. Take a peek into our lives:

Yeah, that was great. Then I took the train to the airport, waited in a crazy long line, and found out my flight outta Chicago was delayed so much I'd have to spend a night in Atlanta. No thank you! Instead I took the train back to Dean's, we ate some Chinese food, watched Once Upon a Time in the West, and then I flew out the next morning.
Coming back to Boston was wonderful. Christmas Eve-Eve with Momma and Ellie and Ben and Jamie, Christmas Eve with the Ozonoff's, Christmas with the Artertons followed by the Englands, good times as usual.
The other big news way Jamie's exploding belly. I was expecting her to pop around January 6th, so I went to NYC to see some buddies for a weekend, only to find out my little niece was born the night after I left! I hopped on another bus back to Boston to show my support, only to find out she was in the ICU having tests done. Regardless, I got at least one good picture out of the trip:
So I headed back to NYC for New Years in Brooklyn, which was crazy as expected. Then I went back to Boston again to see my niece for reals. It was crazy. Here's the happy/tired/crazy stressed out family:
Then I got my wisdom teeth out. Here's the before shot:
And the after:Obviously you can't see the top ones, but I'll let your imaginations take care of that. The whole process was surprisingly easy, very little pain at all. Do I miss my old teeth? Yeah, maybe a little. Is it weird having several little trenches in your mouth? Sure. But every day is a struggle to forget, and to move on, and I know that my heart will go on.
After a week of soft foods and tv, aka healing, it was back to Butler! I give a guitar lesson once a week, then I've got Composition Lessons with my main man Dr. Schelle, Analysis of Music since 1900, Composers Orchestra, Ensemble 48, my thesis, my graduate recital (Sunday, April 19th at 8pm), and then working on finding some existence outside of the academic world after graduation! It's a lot, but I can handle it.
To pass the time, I hang with my fellow musicians and talk about the important things in life, like baseball and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. For example, we had a big Inauguration Party on January 20th, showcasing the togetherness and unity of our new era as people of all groups got together to share in the celebration. Some people even wore ball room gowns, and of course Josh had to try one on.
Needless to say, this is going to be a great semester. Stressful, but still great. My graduation is Saturday May 9th, and Ensemble 48 will definitely be having a concert either the day before or that day after, so if you can't make my graduate recital in April, I would love to see everyone in May. Let the healing begin!