Two Weeks

Two weeks from yesterday is Graduation! I'll be singing the national anthem and the alma mater with other graduating music students at the ceremony.

Two weeks from today is my friend Anna Morris's senior recital. I'll be singing with her for two numbers. I'm excited to support her in her final project as an undergraduate music student!

Two weeks from tomorrow is my senior recital. Anna will be singing with me on my recital, as well. I'm really excited for my parents, peers, and community members to attend and hear the results of all of my hard work.

Two weeks from Tuesday (the day after my senior recital) I leave for Florida. My dad and my husband will be driving me and practically everything that Mitch and I own to our new apartment in DeLand.

I'm freaking out! I have to make my recital PERFECT. I have to pack up EVERYTHING. I have to get my hair cut, make an appointment for my hair on my recital day, get my car fixed, sign the lease for my apartment and give them my deposit... Well, that's just the beginning of my list. I'm not going to allow myself to go crazy!

*knock on wood*

~bê~

#3

On May 15th I was driving my 2008 Mazda 6 to Evanston to see my cute cousin Timmy's jr. high choir concert. I didn't make it. Instead, I sat on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck to pick me and my car up. For any of you out there keeping tabs, this is the car that I got in December after my Audi (which I had for just over a year) decided to break down irreparably before someone ran into it when it was parked at the mechanic's shop. A year before that my Dodge Avenger overheated on I-215 after choir retreat.

I found out yesterday that this will probably cost me around $2,500 to fix. I haven't cried yet, but I've been questioning my sanity. Am I cursed? Do I drive in a different way than everyone else? Are my feet transmitting evil thoughts to the car through the pedals? Do cars hate pale people? Are my cars getting mad at me for singing all of the time? Is there someone out there cursing me with some voodoo car doll?

Now that I have that off my chest, I can focus on figuring out how to pay for this. And maybe I'll actually be able to continue working on my senior recital as well as packing up my entire life for my move to Florida in 3 weeks - you know, the other things that were already on the verge of becoming overwhelming!

~bê~

Ronald McDonald House

Today we had the privilege of singing at the Ronald McDonald House in San Diego. We had done a show the night before, but this morning we returned to do a longer performance during their lunch hour. It was amazing!!!

When we first walked in this morning a couple of the kids we sat near the night before started waving at us and yelling "Hello, friends!" It was so heart warming! We sang a few numbers, and some of the kids were conducting while we sang, so Dr. Quinn had them come up and gave them a pseudo conducting lesson :-) They "conducted" two different numbers with Quinn and were ADORABLE! After that they wanted to show us that they had learned how to do the twist, so we all danced the twist with them before ending with our final number. When we finished a bunch of nurses showed up and were bummed that they had missed our singing, so we sang "Seasons of Love" as an encore for them - they loved it! It was so great to feel that positive energy and share something so wonderful with everyone :-)

When we were finished singing, one of the volunteers told us that she was surprised that one of the little girls in particular was actually smiling. Apparently her sister was probably not going to survive through the end of the week. The little girl had been devastated about her sister, and when she was doing the twist with us and conducting with Dr. Quinn it was the first time that any of the volunteers had seen her smile in months. I think we all had a good cry after that experience.

I feel so lucky to be a singer. I love it when my music can do something positive for others, and I'm so glad that today I was able to have such an amazing experience because of my choice to be a musician.

~bê~

Halfway Through Choir Tour

Last Friday the Westminster Chamber Singers left for our week long tour! We started out by performing in St. George on Friday night, going to Zion National Park on Saturday, singing in Henderson, NE, that night, and then having a free day in Las Vegas on Sunday! Dustin Points At Him, a good friend from high school, lives in Vegas now and was able to get me and a few friends into "V the Variety Show" for $8 a person - it was so cool!

After singing in Vegas at a high school for the performing arts on Monday we went to the Tournament of the Kings at the Excalibur. This morning we left smoke-filled Vegas for beautiful San Diego, and we just got back to our hotel after singing for the sweet people at the Ronald McDonald House. We are lucky enough to get to sing for them again tomorrow (and make some fun crafts with the kids!), spend the rest of the day at the San Diego Zoo, and then drive to our final location: Disney Land in Anaheim!!!

I've had a blast so far, and I'm looking forward to another amazing day tomorrow :-)

~bê~