I need to put you all out of your suspense… I apparently didn’t
mention that my planner did in fact arrive Wednesday. I had an enjoyable
evening filling it all out with bright color pens J The planner is pretty epic…
and I don’t say that lightly. I am EXTREMELY picky when it comes to planners. I
have a list of qualities that need to be checked off. The most important…. Monthly
views. It’s the only keep my life together. I tried the google calendar on my
phone and HATE it. I need good ole fashioned pen and paper. Kinda like books… I
would MUCH rather read a book than read it on a kindle. Anyways… isn’t it
cute???
I am so good at making friends with old men. Yeah… that
sounds weird, creepy and somewhat gold-diggerish. But it’s true. Remember old
man who liked my mis-matching outfit? Well, I have made another acquaintance.
Lately, everyday when I go to get the mail, I have been running into an old
man. We had just smiled, and said hello while I patiently waited for him to get
his mail with his snail like movements. Well I roll up the other day, (yes,
Lucy and I roll) and follow the same routine. Kick off my shoes, tiptoe to the
mail, and say hello. This time it was a little different…
Old Man #2- “Les Mis”
Me- “Im sorry?”
Old Man #2- “the Epliogue of Les Mis. You were just
listening to it”
Me- “You heard that?!??!”
Old Man #2- “You had it so loud I think your windows were
rattling! Even old people like me can hear it then!”
Me- (thinking Oh Crap…) “Oh Im sorry! I didn’t realize it
was that loud”
Old Man #2- “Don’t worry! I like that song.”
And with that he smiles, shuffles (yes he really does
shuffle) back to his car. I really need to watch how loud my tunes are, and
what songs I am blaring. Yes… I blast Les Mis and sing along to the “Do you
hear the people sing, singing the song of angry men” part at the top of my
lungs. You won’t meet anyone cooler than me J
I am restless. You know that feeling in in February when you
have been cooped up inside for 3-4 very long, dark, cold months?!?! That’s me…
except it is bright, blindly sunny, and HOT. I LOVE being outside, but its torture
unless you are out before 7am, or after 8pm. I am running in the dark now, just
so I don’t catch on fire. I have been bunkering down indoors, watching way too
much Netflix. I cannot wait for Oct/Nov/Dec.
I did something dumb today. I searched my gmail inbox for
Laurie at work… and read our email strings. It was dumb because I couldn’t stop
laughing, and my row is creepy quiet today. I was trying to be quiet, which
made it worse. (kinda like when you try to suppress a sneeze… and it comes out
as a MUCH more awkward sound than a normal sneeze would have been) There were
so many things that I had forgotten. Her spider solitaire prowess, love for Chiptole,
and her slogans to get us through the day (especially towards the end of my
time there. We had codes and everything) I am going to miss the emails, even
the ones that just said “Let's talk sometime...you know how bad I am at
typing!!.” Sorry Laurie, but you sure were!!
My favorite one (that was the cause of my incredibly awkward
laughing) was this picture:
And the words “Saw this and thought of you! Not that you
need one… but take comfort that if you ever do, you can build one!” That was
Laurie for you…
I have playing the piano lately. Nothing special. I don’t play
well anymore… and in order to not want to overturn the instrument in
frustration, I play my old NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association)
audition piece. Goodness that was an awful experience. NYSSMA. I had to them
for Mr. Knight. You didn’t take lessons and not do a NYSSMA. There was
literally no choice. He was an amazing teacher, so I rocked my Level 6 songs
every year on my horn. I would always have Dr. Guy as a judge it would seem.
(nicest guy) The sight reading was always a little rough (nerves), but always
nailed my audition. (the downside of this was that I would have to spend an
entire day at All-County at Chautauqua. Argh I hated it. I know I was supposed
to love it, but I didn’t. Abhor would be more accurate. And we played the
Battle Hymn of the Republic EVERY STINKING YEAR. Pretty sure they still do it.
Is there really no other finale options?)
The piano was a completely different matter. I wont ever
forget that piano audition. I played for fun and didn’t put much work into
practicing. I did practice my NYSSMA song, but I was a little more nervous than
usual for the piano audition. For the French Horn, I was always in a classroom.
A nice, non-intimating environment. That was what I was expecting, so I was
shocked when I walked into the school auditorium, complete with a spotlight. I
think I did well on the song, and tanked the scales (Hate piano scales), but I remember
the judge being evil and walking out of the door with the look of complete
disgust on my face. Probably scared the next kid that was up. The good thing
about the experience… well not much. Can someone tell me the benefits of that
torture? Seriously… the prize was to go to CHQ. What did I gain from that
besides high blood pressure and an upset stomach? Honestly… just that I can play this one song
really, really well. Can’t find any other positive qualities. Just something
else to torture over-achieving high school students….
This is intimating:
While I am loving the love… 95 views over 24 hours? (my time
zone on my Blogger account is still on UK time from my London blog) I get that
I posted twice in the 24 hours so that could be 47.5 people, that is still a
lot of people.
So I guess for the first time, I am "endorsing" something. But
I think it’s really cool so… Amazon Smile. Have you heard of it? If not go here:
If you buy things from Amazon, you need to stop and start
buying things from Amazon Smile! It is still Amazon… with the same prices and
everything… but… a proceed of your purchase goes to a charity of your choice
that is on Amazon Smile! Yes it is little amount, but…. It’s something! You are
paying the same price either way, so you might as well send something to a
charity! I chose to support Six Baer Essentials and you can choose whatever
charity that is registered. There are tons to choose from so go check it out!
I have been so reflexive lately. I think a death does that,
but my 3 year anniversary of being in the USA has too. I re-read my last post
from London (http://www.london-christies.blogspot.com/2012/08/last-from-london.html)
to see what I said that I would do… and it was somewhat of a shock. Some of the
post was right on (I did hear a lot about “common courtesy” when I was living
at home). I thought I was back to being more like the “London me” since moving
down here… but I was pretty wrong. I no longer do things alone, Im not as
outgoing as I was, and Im not as gun-ho (is that how that is spelled?) as I
was. I used to think I could do anything… and somewhere along the way I lost
that. I think sitting at CHQ, filling out endless applications for jobs, took
more of a toll on me than I thought. It was so depressing. Laurie would give me
a quota that I would have to do, and I would groan. Then again, she was tell me
to let a call ring through to her so I could finish my cover letter.
I am flying on auto-pilot and no longer taking
the time to do things that I like to do.
I think I have lost my mojo, and I don’t know how to get it back
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