The Adventures of Batilda Muffintop

Apology

2011-08-22T08:50:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry if you are my friend and I haven't hung out with you much, and I'm sorry that I will not be hanging out with you much until 2012. Just let me get all of this "life" stuff out of the way first.

While the repair guy does his thing...

2011-06-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, just remembered a really nice moment two years ago when I sang Porgi Amor for Michael McCraw and learned SO MUCH about music in just 5 minutes.

Distracted

2011-01-21T12:42:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted for a really long time! It's because around the time I last posted, Frank and I started a food blog. I KNOW, everyone and their mom already has a food blog. I get it. But the food blog is way more interesting than anything I could put out over here (hehehe, "put out").

kissthecook.org

Do you know what I love right now?

2010-11-19T09:04:00.001-08:00

I love that the ivy growing up the side of our house is turning red with Autumn, so when I look out our bedroom window I see these beautiful orangey-red leaves clinging to the panes. Yeah, that's what I love right now.

Frank Bought a Camera

2010-11-11T09:12:00.000-08:00

This post would be sooo much more effective if I would have included photos from said camera...

BUT, Frank bought a camera and just got it in the mail yesterday! He was very cute all night when he came home and couldn't stop playing with it. He even took it to bed and took portraits of the stuffed animals while I fell asleep. Hehehe.

So, you know what this means? It means Frank is going to have a photo shoot with me on Saturday. I'm totally excited. What could be more fun than that?

Bahh, don't worry

2010-11-09T09:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry for all my recent depressed posts! It's really not all that bad here. But it's impossible to find a job. And, when I DO find a job opening, I'm usually too lazy to jump on it right away. But we'll see what happens with all that.

In terms of the tooth, I just went in for the final appointment today. Haha, yes, it took 4 dentist visits to fix this puppy up. But now it's all good and maybe someday I'll be able to bite into an apple again! The crazy thing is, I think I developed some TMJ issues that stemmed from all of the tooth trauma. I normally tense up my jaw a lot, but all that jaw tension has been worsened when I've been trying to isolate that tooth when I've been chewing. You know, messing with my bite and stuff like that. Well, not my jaw is suuuuuper sore, so I'll try to get that figured out. Man, I am a HOT.MESS.

But things are going well despite those two issues. Frank and I have been having a lot of fun here: cooking, baking, singing, goofing, etc. And I've been trying to make more time for things I really love, like knitting, singing, baking bread, and things like that.

So just really wanted to let you know that NO I'm not hanging myself in depression. NO my life is not terrible. It's all okay... And hopefully it'll be a lot better soon :)

D-d-d-d-d-downer

2010-10-28T08:46:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong and all. The Frank part of my life is awesome.

But everything else... Hmmm...

Yup. That's it.

The Epic Tooth Saga

2010-10-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

Let me warn you, this entry is merely therapeutic for me and is NOT well-written or interesting or funny.

This time of the year is always one of the worst for students. I remember this time two years ago--I had my first breakdown at IU. I went back for a gig last week and everyone was in the middle of a busy semester, bogged down with coursework and performances, stressed to the max. And for the first time ever, I'm not in the middle of it...because I'm not a student anymore!

The avoidance of mid-October mania was a comfort to me until I had my own mid-October, non-school-related breakdown last week.

As I said, I went to Bloomington for a gig with Vox Reflexa. It was a little weird to travel to Bloomington this time around, I think mostly because I used to do it so many times last year after having visited Frank for a weekend or so, and every time the voyage back to Bloomington was bittersweet. But now this was a business/recreation trip. It was nice to make the drive at a more leisurely pace and see all the leaves changing in Indiana (they haven't changed here very much yet), and stop at places like Traders Joes--I even bumped into Matt on i70 and we had dinner at a Sonic in Vandalia, IL. I stayed with Laura (as she is my only friend without cats...that and she has a spare bedroom) and Joel, and Laura was in the middle of the most stressful semester of her life. It felt like all of Bloomington was like this. The only people who seemed to be getting along well were Brian and Amanda, who just had their baby a week earlier. I had knit him a little pumpkin pie hat with matching booties and got to hold him for two hours while he slept. I could probably write a whole blog about that, but I won't. :)

Anyway, I sang the gig (it went well, big crowd), met up with a few friends I hadn't seen in a while, caught up on the latest EMI gossip, and had breakfast with Laura and Arwen before hitting the road on Friday morning.

I called Frank from the road to tell him I had left, but I had to cut our conversation short because of an atrocious toothache. Thinking it was merely my sensitive mouth's reaction to Bloomington allergies, I bought a few advil and kept driving. But the pain got worse and worse. Frank had grilled a whole meal for me for when I got back home, but I showed up on our doorstep in agonizing pain. That night I couldn't sleep and kept waking him up as I grabbed more pain pills, so I finally moved myself to the guest bedroom and put a frozen bottle of gin on my cheek.

Let me explain: I am ridiculously afraid of the dentist. I think because my parents didn't really take me to the dentist much as a kid, and as a result I only went for serious problems, not normal check-ups. My most recent visit was two years ago when I had a terrible toothache that needed a root canal, but I didn't have insurance, which resulted in a filled cavity instead. And now, this recent toothache was that SAME tooth. And because of my previous problems with it, I knew it was going to be a big issue. Frank and I spent all Saturday calling dentists in Kansas City, calling our parents to ask them to call their dentists, calling friends for their recommendations, but for some reason we couldn't get in anywhere for emergency treatment. Finally, we got a tip to go to an urgent care clinic and ask for pain meds so I could make it through till Monday when dental offices were back open. So we spent two hours waiting at the Urgent Care in the Shawnee Mission mall (I know, it was really awkward) and I ended up with some crazy pain pills and a bunch of amoxicilan. I was drugged up and sick the entire weekend, with puffy chipmunk cheeks, and was only able to take small sips of milkshakes for food.

Monday I went to a dentist that Alan recommended and got a root canal. It turns out I had a huge infection behind the cavity in that tooth from two years ago. Everyone says a root canal is really awful, but I've had bad pain before and didn't believe it could be so terrible. OH MAN, it WAS! The root canal procedure was horrible and I felt so much pain during it (probably because the novacaine didn't work very well on my infection) that afterwards I was almost in tears. They left the tooth open for a day to drain the infection (GAHHHHHH!!!!!) and then filled it in temporarily on Tuesday. Now I'm doing a lot better, but I'm still on antibiotics and have to go back again in a week. There was such drama with this whole situation, but I'm really indebted to Frank for everything he did to help me out. Not just during the pain, but it's his insurance I'm on (as his "domestic partner" hehehe), and we just set up my plan a few weeks ago. If it wasn't for this, I wouldn't have been able to afford the care I needed in this emergency... And, come on, Frank was REALLY sweet too :)

So now I'm back in the pain-free real world, right in the middle of concert-week for the Chorale. We had our first concert yesterday, and it was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life. Seriously. I don't know why... it's not like I'm an amateur choral singer or anything. This should have been a breeze. But it was so hard. I didn't sing my best, and the concert wasn't all that amazing...so I keep blaming it on myself (which is dumb, by the way). It was all ooey, gooey, sustained, "filtered" singing--none of this laser-pointed, consorty early music stuff. And since I spent the past two years of my life doing almost exclusively the latter, I felt sufficiently out-of-shape for this concert. We have another one tomorrow night and hopefully that will be better for me and for the group.

But the funny thing is, I'm still having that huge mid-October stress fest all of my school friends are having. The parallel is somewhat interesting to me, but I'm sure it's not to you, so congratulations if you made it to the end.

Who knew...

2010-09-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

...that you had to be a full-time student to get music jobs in this world.

Wedddddddding

2010-08-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

So, my big sister is getting married on Saturday. For some reason, the only thing I can think of is what I'll be wearing to the rehearsal dinner... Being the maid of honor for my posh, sylish, successful older sister freaks me out a little bit--I have to really up my game in the wardrobe department...

So clothes are on the brain. Unfortunately, there is no money to be spent, and somehow none of the dresses in TJ Maxx actually fit. I don't think they really fit anyone. It's weird. Maybe that's why you shouldn't shop at TJ Maxx...

So I suppose I'll have to wear something I already have. I mean, I have about a hundred dresses. But this is the big time, people. If I'm gonna wear that purple one, I have to stitch up the tear under the boobs. Cuz it's a fricking wedding...

Ohhhhh no.

2010-08-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

Okay everyone, I have a confession.

I am addicted to yahtzee.

I played it for the first time in the bed and breakfast with Frank less than a week ago. And now I feel the need to play it all the time. Monday I made a pogo.com account just to play yahtzee, and now I find myself playing it all.the.time.

I even like to play on the laptop so I can take it with me when I go to the bathroom--never gonna miss a turn!

I'm serious.

The last game on pogo, I got 375 points. And three of the five members in my little yahtzee game room were like "gg linds!" which I guess means good game? And I enthusiastically responded "ty!" which, of course, means thank you! Oh man, that just makes my day.

The One-Year Wonder

2010-08-17T07:57:00.000-07:00

Frank and I celebrated our one-year anniversary this weekend. Actually, the anniversary isn't until tomorrow... but we celebrated early, and it was one of the best weekend adventure's I've ever had!

We spent Friday night at a sweet Bed and Breakfast in Pleasant Hill, MO called the Mulberry Hill Bed and Breakfast. It was a in a huge Victorian house in a small town a few miles south of Kansas City. Even though our room was decorated like my grandparents' house, we absolutely LOVED it there--we watched Food TV for the first time in months (no cable here!), played Yahtzee (my first time--can you say "addicted?!"), and watched a movie on our new MAC BOOK PRO while playing in the jacuzzi! They also had a hot tub right outside our room, but it stormed all night and we just spent the evening in.

We went to dinner at a little Italian restaurant in Greenwood (a few miles away) called Perazelli's. You wouldn't think that you could order the best Italian meal of your life in small town Missouri, but this place was amazing! Our breakfast was provided at the B&B, of course, and it was ridiculously amazing (oh, forgot to add that we got complimentary dessert in our room before bed, and this innkeeper KNOWS how to make brownies!!!!).

We drove back to Kansas City on Saturday and spent the 100+ degree day at Oceans of Fun! Unfortunately just about everyone in KC had the same idea, so it was a little packed... but we really enjoyed ourselves! After spending six hours at the park (no joke!) we made a take-n-bake pizza at home and watched the sixth Harry Potter movie (which ended our marathon...). I, of course, sobbed like a baby for about an hour afterwards. Poor Frank...

Sunday started off normally with the typical four hours of church choir, but afterwards we had lunch at Sweet Tomatoes (literally across the street from our backyard--score!) and bottled our homebrew. Then we went to a pool party with Frank's chorale friends, drinking beer and basil mojitos in the water until we couldn't stand the cool evening breeze (WHAT? Finally!) any more.

Of course, in a party for chorale folks, my month-old chorale audition was foremost in my mind. I still hadn't heard yay or nay and after a month's worth of waiting, I was worrying it wasn't going to happen. BUT, strangely, as soon as Frank and I got home that night, I had an email from the group's assistant that I had been offered a position in the choir! Talk about coincidence! And good news! I am now officially a professional choral singer--I get paid for this gig--in a grammy-award-winning chamber choir! With my boyfriend. Woot!

Wednesday, for the actual anniversary, we have to go to church choir rehearsal... But we're making the best of it by going out for fondue afterwards. I think? What a great weekend--I'm happy with it all. And what a nice relaxing break, probably the only time to relax before Cortney's wedding in less than two weeks... wish me luck on THAT rollercoaster!

Peace-out!

Woody Strikes Again

2010-07-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

I love that even if a Woody Allen movie is absolutely terrible, I'm always bawling by the end. Because somehow Woody has managed to wrench a beautiful ending out of every circumstance--good, bad, or poorly acted.

I'm saying this because I spent the past two hours watching one of Woody's recents (Whatever Works, which, by the way, stars the amazing Larry David) with my newly-sprained foot icing on a pillow. Frank and I decided to check out a sushi bar across the street, and after an amazing meal, in the euphorea that ensued, I stepped in a hole on the way home and sprained the BALLS out of my ankle. I have terrible ankles and have sprained each one quite a bit, but this was one was particularly painful. And poor Frank, who has to be out of his apartment by tomorrow, went by himself to clean and move his stuff out...

I feel awful. The poor thing. There's so much work to be done, and I can't even stand on my own! But he just called and agreed to bring me home ice cream. And I realized, even if the day ended in a sprain, poor luck, and even this terribly-written blog, it was still beautiful in the end.

Thanks Woody.

In Which Lindsey Slowly Loses Her Mind:

2010-07-26T07:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, here comes a rant. I think...

I have been officially living in Kansas City for two weeks, now! As in, I am living with ALL of my stuff in my new residence, with an actual Kansas City address!

(By the way, when I just typed Kansas City, I typed "cansas city". Seriously).

I started the moving process four weekends ago, over the weekend of July 4th. It was exhilarating to pack up and move out of Bloomington, and Frank and I lit a fire under ourselves to make the move really efficient. I was crazy proud of us.

What we forgot, however, was that Frank also had to move out of his place. So, after we were completely moved in with my stuff, we realized that Frank had a whole other apartment of HIS stuff waiting to be packed and hauled. And neither of us wanted anything to do with it.

Fast forward to this week, almost a month later: have we packed Frank's apartment yet? Not really... We STARTED last night, and gave up when I saw just how many cups he has (yes, Frank has a LOT of cups). We have to be out by Saturday. And Frank works an insane amount this week. But then, once we DO pack it up, where are we putting these boxes? In our adorable living room? Uh, no. Does this mean we're shoving the 20 lb boxes of kitchen ware in the basement until I know what to do with them? I suppose so. Thank god we have a basement.

Last night we were so frustrated by the prospect of MORE MOVING, that we went to the garden instead. And spent an hour or so there, weeding, picking, rearranging pumpkin vines... Pumpkins, by the way, take up a LOT of space. I mean, we planted 4 pumpkin plants, and now they've taken over our entire garden, wrapping around tomatoes and crushing peppers. No one even knows what to do. But our garden is awesome and is now supplying us with endless cucumbers, adorable patty pan squashes, cherry tomatoes, okra, and enough other goodies for us to get excited about SOMETHING during the mess of this move...

Hopefully next weekend we will be DONE. And I will take a thousand pictures because this townhouse is too gosh darn cute not to document on the internet.

I write like...

2010-07-14T10:24:00.001-07:00

I write like
James Joyce

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

...as was determined by analyzing one of my blog posts. So, there you go.

It's amazing what technology can do. During one of our many road trips to and from Indiana for our big move, Frank and I got really in to Radio Lab. You NEEEEED to listen to it. It's interesting, funny, provocative, ecclectic. I can't say enough about it. Anyway, we were listening to a short about a computer program that is being used to analyze whole books and use this data (about word usage, vocabulary, etc) to infer things about authors' brains. And basically a study was done about Agatha Christie and her magnum opus of mystery novels, and the data showed that at a certain date her vocabulary took a sharp drop and kept getting more sparse until her career ended. And using this information, researchers inferred that she developed Alzheimer's at this time. She never went to a doctor for these symptoms and therefore was never diagnosed, but sources say she was sure something was deeply wrong with her and she was becoming lost.

This example is poorly written, but it's amazing to me that computers can be used for these things. And what an interesting Radio Lab! Go listen to it, and others. And call me :)

Any way, Frank and I have officially moved in to our new townhouse/duplex in Kansas City. We LOVE it here, despite the outrageous temperature in our master bedroom. It's huge, all hardwood floors, two bedrooms/two baths, a basement, two garages... and, just like Frank's old place, there's chipmunks who live outside our front door. It's a dream. Maybe pictures later for anyone who actually reads this.

So, now I'm here. So long Indiana. It was fun while it lasted... kind of...

Corn Chowder.

2010-06-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

I went to Berkeley and San Francisco for the first time about two weeks ago. I suppose I won't really blog about that (at least yet) since I haven't blogged at all in a few months... but what I really wanted to say was I went to the best restaurant EVER.

We were rehearsing in Berkeley for the afternoon and needed lunch, and Dominic stopped in his tracks when he saw a Smart Alec's and begged us to go in. It boasted great soups, which made me a little weary, because I almost never crave soup. But whatever. Dominic was about to have a heart attack, so we went in.

Thank God for his palpitations, because it was one of the best meals I ate in California. Smart Alec's advertises itself as a healthy fast food place with amazing burgers and sandwiches and its famous air-baked french fries (sweeeeeeeet). But when I saw corn chowder on the menu (AND it comes with fresh baked bread!) I knew that was the route I was going to take. Well, I also got a half a sandwich. But that's not the point.

Us chowing down.

The point was this ridiculous corn chowder. Right after I ordered it I realized it was vegan. How can a chowder have no dairy? I freaked out a little, but MAN was it amazing. The best texture I've ever put in my mouth. Not too creamy/watery, BURSTING with sweet corn flavor. This thing was my new boyfriend (sorry Frank).

And the first thing I cooked when I got back to Missouri was what I hoped would be a replica of that amazing bowl of chowder. I searched online for "dairy-free corn chowder" and got a lot of weird-looking things, but then I stumbled upon something that looked a little more like what I had. And I cooked it (omitting the greens). And it was fabulous. And here it is.

One pot of this stuff made about 6 servings and it kept for about 5 days in the fridge. Each time I warmed it up I added some more soy milk. Warning: Frank tolerates it, but doesn't really like it. But then again, he's not really a soup person, or a vegan person, or a polenta person. But man, it's my new favorite thing.

Spring Meal Extravaganza

2010-04-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

Despite all its beauty, Holy Week was ridiculously exhausting. I've never worshiped through this holiday as an Episcopalian, so this past week of singing at Trinity was unexpected to say the least. At the end of a very busy Easter day, after each taking extended naps, Frank and I decided to cook an Easter meal together (over the phone, of course).

For some reason I was craving red meat BIG time, so I thought Lamb would be the perfect protein to cook up. I found some cheap, beautiful lamb chops at Kroger (who knew??), but Frank couldn't find anything he'd want to sink his teeth into after going to two different stores and settled for pork loin instead.

At a farmer's market last year, a lady selling locally-raised lamb told me that the best way to cook it was to sear it with apple cider vinegar until it was thoroughly caramelized on both sides. Having done it several times since, I can confirm that it's my FAVORITE way to cook and eat lamb. So I did just that, and served it alongside mashed potatoes and fresh asparagus.

Frank did the same thing to his pork, and rumor has it, it turned out pretty good.

After the amazing food I returned to reality and somehow made it through an insanely busy week of school. Yesterday I randomly sprained my ankle and made the mistake of walking on it all day, thinking it was okay. Well, by the afternoon it was the size of a watermelon and I couldn't put any weight on it... And seeing as how when I wrap it, my foot won't fit inside my rainboots (I can only wear open flats), the past two days of monsoon rain were very unpleasant for me. And tonight I rewarded myself and my ankle by cooking up the rest of my Easter asparagus into a creamy asparagus soup. I used this epicurious recipe and pretty much followed it exactly, except not making as much.

The PERFECT bowl of soup. I want it every day. Maybe I will when Frank and I start up...our new garden! Well, we won't be able to grow asparagus, but that was really just a transition into my exciting news! I feel like I'm announcing that we're having a baby, but really it's just a garden. But the anticipation is just as intense. We searched for weeks and weeks and couldn't find a community garden. In Bloomington it's easy to rent a garden plot--you just contact Parks and Recreation. But in Kansas City you have to call around and search through cryptic internet postings and blogs. Finally a kind man at the Kansas City Community Gardens center suggested we check with an Episcopal church (now the story comes full circle, eh?) a few blocks from where Frank lives. And sure enough, they had one more half plot, and we're going to start planting when I'm in Missouri for the Bach B Minor in two weeks. I'm ridiculously excited. Taking care of my garden last year was one of the most gratifying and amazing experiences I've ever had, and I can't wait to share that with Frank (who seems a little scared!). I hope to be a little more daring this summer with my vegetable-growing. Hopefully having a year of experience will help me get more out of the plants! So just wait, in a few weeks this blog will officially turn into Garden Blog!!

Well, I'm off. Gotta borrow some crutches from Brian and Amanda to take with me to Saint Louis tomorrow. Meeting Frank at the Best Western--how romantic!--and spending about 24 hours with him until I have to drive back to start an even busier week...

Vivaldi

2010-03-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

I did a concert a while back for my friend Go (an awesome Baroque violinist) of a virtuosic soprano motet by Vivaldi, "In Furore Guistissime Irae." I don't do Vivaldi very much, so the piece kind of freaked me out. I personally think his music is a little too acrobatic and aggressive for my voice... But Go posted the videos from the concert and I actually think they're pretty good!

Here's the third of the four movements. I like the end a whole lot. If you're looking for something more impressive, check out the last movement (or the first, I suppose). And, if you like it, you should listen to the other pieces from the concert, like the Bach triple concerto.

Ahh... don't you love the Baroque??

Lasagna Date

2010-03-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

Frank and I decided to make the world's most extravagant and labor-intensive lasagna EVER last night. Used this recipe from Food Network and decided to get more protein and veggies by adding brined and boiled chicken and sauteed zucchini. Oh my gosh, so decadent and so amazing, although I think it would have been better by ditching the tomato sauce and adding something creamier and less acidic to work with the spinach and chicken. Soooo good, though. It was funny because we both made out own while talking over speakerphone, so we ended up with pounds of lasagna! How will I ever be able to finish? Anyone hungry?

My lasagna, fresh out of the oven.

The ooey gooey first slice.

Frank's first homemade lasagna experience--it looks great, I'm so proud! Do you enjoy the mountain dew in the beer stein?

New Kitchen Gems!

2010-03-23T18:07:00.001-07:00

While in Bloomington I try to cook as much as possible to save as much money as possible, (and I freaking love to cook!) but usually I get home from a long day and watch south park on my computer and consequently cook up the same thing over and over. I mean, it's awesome food (sauteed black beans, onions, and brown sugar over rice, anyone?) but I'm often too tired to be adventurous. As of lately, however, I am absolutely smitten with the smitten kitchen blog, and after cooking all week for my honey over break, I came back to Bloomington rechargedand ready to try new things. I'm one of those cooks who scoffs at recipes (cuz I'm just so darn creative) but sometimes a cook's gotta have guidance, so I've been embracing the smitten kitchen inspiration and trying her awesome dishes. And I've GOT to get you to make this amazing chicken salad. Okay, okay, I know chicken salad sounds lame and boring, but this stuff has walnuts, cranberries, shallots, tarragon, and of course juicy, brined chicken. You have GOT to make it, and eat it. I am obsessed. And you will be, too!!

Speaking of cooking, I just got back from Spring Break, which was spent with the Frankster (and a freak spring snow storm) in Kansas City.

He was crazy busy the whole time, so I cooked for him almost every night (he even cooked for me!!), and the visit culminated with our collaboration meal, pictured here:

On the plate was the orange honey mustard chicken breast, Lindsey's famous mashed potatoes (they really are famous), and Frank's newest creation, which I will call the broccoli surprise--the surprise being that the broccoli is actually sauteed with prosciutto and shallots and topped with asiago cheese. He made it up all by himself, and I couldn't be prouder!!

Mmmmm Morning

2010-03-04T08:39:00.000-08:00

I think that iChat is basically the coolest thing ever, and Frank and I found out that video chatting makes missing each other 20 times better. And because he's a computer genius, he set up our iChats to automatically video chat with each other without the other's consent. So that means surprise popping in on each other whenever we're at home. It's kind of the best idea he ever had!

So this morning I slept in a little and then roused myself out of bed to make banana nut pancakes and fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. Such a great morning!! And I plopped down in front of my computer to pop in and share my breakfast with Frank, who looked so cute I couldn't help but take this picture!

In less than 24 hours he and I will be spending a busy weekend together--our first visit in a month!

Conversation at 4 pm CST

2010-02-28T14:23:00.000-08:00

Me: Hellooo!!

Frank: ...Hi...

Me: Uh? Are you asleep?

Frank: Yes...

Me: I'm sorry!

Frank: Yeah, I love you tooooo.

Me: Frank, I didn't say I love you.

Frank: Mmmmm...

Me: Do you want to go back to bed?

Frank: Mmmmmm. Goodnight.

Happy Valentines!!

2010-02-14T20:27:00.000-08:00

For the first time in a looooong time I was with someone on Valentine's Day. Not just anyone--a REALLY special person. And as I've neglected to tell Blogger, we're moving in together this summer! As in we're getting our own place. It's very exciting.

Being with someone so wonderful makes me feel lucky that I didn't end up with anyone else, especially all those creepsters and crazies I was always trying to hook-up with the past five years. I don't date very much, but I most certainly have pursued some f'd up guys. I'm not naming names, but I remember spending about six months of my life casually dating a guy who bailed on me so much that we really only went on 4 real dates in that half-year span. He was nice--always walked me to my car after opera rehearsal and kissed me on the cheek...but come ON. How could I have wasted so much time on that? Dozens of teary evenings, being stood up again and again--a new excuse each time. Lost phone. Grandma in hospital. Grandma had stroke. Grandma lost phone. Lost phone while visiting Grandma in hospital...

And then there was the guy that Dominic teases likes to sleep with she-males (which is probably true). I mean, I pursued that hot mess for an entire semester. And he was a douche!! He seriously shushes my collegiate choir when we talk too much in rehearsal. Yes, he shushes. Constantly. And wears pleated pants.

It's not like when I was pursuing these guys I didn't recognize these undesirable traits. Trust me, I NOTICED she-male's shushing. And in my heart of hearts I knew it was annoying, but I just kept convincing myself that it was something I could put up with.

But really, in a successful relationship, you don't have to compromise THAT much. If the guy shushes, by all means (unless you like that stuff) don't settle! What is wrong with us--women, adults, humans in general--that we ignore the unforgivably terrible traits of our potential mates. I mean, we ignore this stuff for months, or even years. And then when we break up or stop pursuing or whatever, our friends always ask "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING??" And really, what WERE we thinking? Why could my friends see he slept with she-males well before I could, and more importantly, why weren't they telling me?

And this brought about two serious questions: 1) At what point do you tell your friends that their boyfriends/crushes are douches? and 2) How can you be sure, when you think someone is really good, that they really ARE a catch?

I'm going to be honest here. I usually don't approve of the people my friends date (luckily, however, most of my friends are currently dating good people that meet my stamp-of-approval and they are all very happy). I most certainly don't tell them I don't approve. I learned that the hard way when I tried to interfere too much in BFF Mark's relationships. To be honest, I think the reason I don't let my friends know their dates are spazzes is because I really WANT them to be able to put up with those terrible traits. I really WANT my friends to be in a relationship, which often means settling for a while until the right one comes along. It's sad, but I encourage my friend to date shushing she-male-lovers. And when they break up (and they always do), I always ask what the HELL they saw in these freaks.

So if no one is speaking up about their friends' trashy dating choices, how do we know when we've found someone worth spending our time with? This is going to sound cliche, but you just KNOW. I just KNOW that Frank is amazing. And boy is it nice to know that he'll never stand me up on a date and never shush a group of his peers. I'm not settling. What a weird feeling, eh?

Bach Christe

2010-01-20T06:06:00.001-08:00

Here is a video my friend's husband took of the B Minor back in November. This duet it surprisingly good, despite the fact that it was the 5th time we'd performed the mass in 6 days... Never again.

2010-01-16T07:50:00.000-08:00

Dude, Edgard Varèse always seems to pop up on my iTunes Party Shuffle at the most inopportune times.

Baby got Back (to School)

2010-01-12T11:49:00.000-08:00

Hello, dear blog-that-nobody-reads! I'm back. Back in Bloomington over a spectacular break. Back in school, brought here almost kicking and screaming. Back in my busy schedule already with a concert this week, and a concert every subsequent week after (that I can see). It was a stressful beginning to the semester, as I hadn't registered yet. And I'm still not registered, but I atleast KNOW what I'm taking. No one knows how I get myself into these messes!

Just got an email as I writing this that the IU opera needs a female super to play the part of Lucia di Lammermoor's ghost. What an odd request, and how amazing would that be? Getting paid to be Lucia's ghost? Too bad she needs to be tall(ish)!

As I already said, break was amazing. I'm not going to turn this into Frank-blog, but he was the reason it was so great. How weird that I met him in Prometheus in August, and traveled to KC on a whim to visit him two weeks later... Who knew that he'd be buying me soup and spaceheaters when I got the flu, or letting me borrow his car to drive to Columbia safely during a Christmas eve snow storm. The whole thing is hard for me to wrap my head around (in a good way). It was cool doing the second VOP tour with him as my boyfriend, although I suspect it probably freaked Dr. C out a little ;) You know, this guy is a keeper! He bought a plane ticket to visit this weekend, which is really great--with MLKJ day we both get a Monday vacation, and he's going back on Tuesday (a day on which I miraculously have no classes!). That's almost four whole days of him in Bloomington, enjoying a bit of the calm before the storm. Hopefully he'll be back for V Day, as cliche as that is, but that's the weekend of the Monteverdi Vespers.

Oh MAN, the Vespers! That is one big stress attack after another! I have a lot of solo work in it (including the Pulchra Es), which is a good thing, but I just found out about it yesterday and coachings start tomorrow. I don't have a lot of experience with Monteverdi. I have a bit more with Schütz, but he's a completely different animal really... And there's a lot of tension around this production. Whatever, that's not for blogging... But you get the gist.

I have a dress rehearsal in an hour, and I'm singing a Hildegard chant. It's one of the hardest things I've ever had to sing, for reasons that I can't really figure out. I guess it's just really taxing and I'm never sure where the phrases go... but I've got to figure that out in an hour. So I'm off? Okay.

Recap

2009-12-21T09:37:00.000-08:00

I'm at Frank's right now, with just four (FOUR?!?!) days until Christmas, and I'm having an awesome time. An albeit BUSY time, but awesome none-the-less. Frank's at work right now, and I'm sitting in his apartment, trying to figure out where the nearest Hobby Lobby is so I can make some cheap-o Christmas gifts (in FOUR days). Still no idea on what to get the BFF...

We decorated Frank's apartment last night after finding our perfect tree with Mitch and Hillary. The tree pretty much looks amazeballs, but still needs a star... And the apartment is covered in greenery and ornaments. It looks homey and warm!

I finished out the semester with okay grades, despite my horror after the German final. Looking back, I think the whole school ordeal was a little more tolerable than I would like to believe. SO many wonderful opportunities! The semester in recap (the good stuff):

-Met Frank and formed an AWESOME relationship with him. Frank is so amazing, and I'm lucky to be with him and be a recipient of his generosity! Plus, it's fun to date a tenor.

-Formed a relationship with several semi-professional ensembles in Bloomington, meaning monthly gigs and paychecks!

-Sang my first B Minor Mass, even though it wasn't the experience I had hoped it would be. Looking forward to the Crabb B Minor come April.

-Learned how to sing a few key phrases in German. "Few" is the key word, but maybe I can order a beer in Germany some day...

-Got several favorable reviews in the paper. This is really only exciting to me, I realize, but it's nice when people write good things about my singing :)

-FINALLY figured out some huge things about my voice and my singing: finally tuning better, finally a better legato, finally a more relaxed tone, and I finally can sing both soprano and alto without faking either one! This is huge!

-Developed an awesome relationship with my new family at Trinity Episcopal in Bloomington. It took me a little while to feel comfortable there, but now I do, and it's great! I am SO lucky to have fallen into that opportunity.

-Performed in EVERY gig known to mankind. It was funny because last week I had a rehearsal with my newest endeavor, an all Telemann concert, and Janet, the harpsichordist, introduced me to the gambist as "Lindsey--you know, she's in literally every concert at the school of music." And this is true! Pretty much. While it's scary and hectic at the time, it's wonderful to look back at all the career-building, rep-building opportunities I've been given. And even though I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to pay my tuition next month with room for living expenditures, I think IU has been invaluable for me...

But, on to the holidays! Christmas with Frank, then the family, some Voices of Prometheus the next week, and then a final week of relaxing (hopefully productivity) before treking back to Bloomington for the final round of classes before I start my real life (definitely NOT doing another degree this time...)

Another Handel Post

2009-12-10T18:34:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry. I'm too busy to be inspired to write creative blog posts.

But had an amazeballs lesson with Paul today. No one knows what brought it about. But he gave me a rep suggestion (which he never does, so I took note).

Gentle Morpheus from Alceste. And then he said "Of course, you'd sound better than Emma on this" and I didn't know what to say...

I wonder if anyone else enjoys these beautiful slow Handel arias as much as I do.

Pity

2009-12-03T08:22:00.001-08:00

I'm sooooooooo sick. Last week was Thanksgiving, and maybe I'll blog about that sometime. But the reason I brought it up was that I spent it with Frank, and on the last day of our visit he started to feel a little sick. And sure enough, the next day I was sick, and he was better. And now I'm still sick.

Unfortunately it's nothing dramatic so people can't pity me too much. It's just a flu or a bad cold or something. But what really sucks is I have no TIME to be sick, no time to lie in bed and enjoy the perks of trying to get better.

I have two concerts this week, one of which I have a pretty hefty solo part... and unfortunately it's soemthing I've been rehearsing without any kind of understudy, so if I'm not able to sing it (the voice is gone today, btw) some one will have to sight read it (Andy?). I feel bad, like there's all this pressure on me to be able to sing. I don't like that.

And because I have no money and a two bedroom apartment and heating bills to pay, I have to find time to fit odd-jobs in to my schedule. So this week I'm dressing the Nutcracker. It's a fairly easy job for minimum wage payments, so that's cool. But it is NOT fun to show up to work every night until 10-ish, running around and lacing ballerinas into corsets with a runny nose and fever. It kind of kills the inherent magic of the Nutcracker.

So, balls.

Really?

2009-11-08T20:36:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Dame Janet Baker (don't we all, especially terrorizing us in Handelian pants roles?), but I just heard her singing Trois Poémes de Stéfane Mallarmé (which I loooove), and she sounds totally like balls. It's really bad. And it ruined the dream a little bit, you know? Maybe I was just spoiled by Anne Sofie's version, and I we all know I would make love to her in a second (sorry Frank).

Speaking of love (making), here is my recent obsession, this clip by Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. Such a crafted sound, such passionate singing. It blows my mind. And really, there's nothing better than slow Handel arias.

I'm a nerd.

By the way, we are doing B minor next week (the 11th, 13th, and 14th) with Pro Arte. I'm very scared. That's a lot of B minor, and everyones' larynxes are freaking out. (Can larynx be pluralized? Well, I just did. Boo yah)

Timely Turnips

2009-10-26T17:30:00.001-07:00

Frank visited again this past weekend, and it was amazing. Crazy amazing. Crazeballs, even? But the real point of this post is the turnips we harvested from my garden on Saturday. Here's me pulling one of the little babies from the cold soil, courtesy of Frank:I don't know about you, but I've never really eaten a turnip before. But these puppies are so beautiful, I just HAD to cook them up.
And tonight I came up with this recipe:

Turnip Green and Lentil Soup

-Turnips (roots and greens, I used four little ones. But the more the merrier).

-1 potato, chopped

-1 onion, chopped

-1 apple, chopped (I used a gala, but whatever)

-apple cider vinegar

-stock (either chicken or vegetable, whatever is on hand)

-lentils, cooked

-brown sugar

1) Separate the turnip roots from the greens. Coarsely chop the greens, and cut the roots into large chunks.

2) Saute the onions until golden, then add the chopped greens. Cook until greens are soft and wilted--season well.

3) Add turnips and potatoes and a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Cook approx. five minutes.

4) Add apples, and season with the usual suspects, along with a tablespoon or two of brown sugar.

5) Add as much broth as you desire. This doesn't make a lot of soup. Not to insult your intelligence, but add more broth if you want the soup to be brothier... Cook until the potatoes are fully cooked. Add the cooked lentils in at the end.

This soup is crazeballs! Like Frank!

I'm in the paper! Sweet!

2009-10-20T08:07:00.000-07:00

(Herald Times, Oct 20, Peter Jacobi):

For its debut concert of the new music season, the IU Baroque Orchestra on Sunday afternoon rushed St. Cecilia’s Day by a month. The patron saint of musicians isn’t supposed to be honored until Nov. 22. But who cares when the result of the decision is an opportunity to hear portions of Handel’s “Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day?”
...
The concert’s opening was strong, that being the Overture to the St. Cecilia Ode, with its mellifluous lyricism and invigorating counterpoint. Ritchie also chose two arias from the Ode, settings from John Dryden’s “A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day,” for which the orchestra was joined by a pair of soloists: a sweetly toned tenor, Ben Geier, to sing “When nature underneath a heap of jarring atoms lay,” and Lindsey Lang, a resolute young lady with a secure and rangy soprano voice, to contribute a lengthier, more demanding “What Passions cannot Music raise and quell!” The two arias, indeed, seemed to raise the passions.
...
Instrumentalists distinguishing themselves were oboist Christopher Morgan; Everett Burns and Sarah Williams on horn; and an unidentified harpsichordist. Was the woman on keyboard Hsuan Chang or Dawn Kalis or Maho Sone? Whoever: She played with notable refinement, as did cellist Inha Kim earlier, in lovely collaboration with soprano Lang during that solo from “Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day.”

Brad

2009-10-19T09:52:00.001-07:00

These past two weeks... I don't even know where to begin... Or if I even want to talk about it...
So today I'm giving Brad Mehldau complete reign over my mood. So far he's totally what I'm needing right now. I'm also needing to find where I left my wallet and ID because this is getting ridiculous.

Shane Returns!

2009-10-02T07:55:00.000-07:00

Good news, everybody! Shane is back on YouTube!!

He was my favorite internet sensation back in 2005, only to disappear for several years and reemerge, just as clueless as ever! You might remember him from such classics as "How to sing a C an Octave above a high C" and "Away in a Manger" where he creatively (unknowingly) replaces "Jesus" with "Jahushua."

I love him so much. So, SO much.

Domesticity!

2009-09-27T20:04:00.001-07:00

So I had this whole weekend free. No plans. No one to see. Just me and my free will!

Yesterday I made Magnolia cupcakes from scratch. It was probably one of the best decisions I ever made. The recipe called for a mix of all-purpose and self-rising flour. I kind of improvised the self-rising part and the cupcakes turned out pretty dense and compact, but the icing more than made up for it...

And then today I came home from church and decided it was time to start knitting again. Hoping to start a hat for Frank but finding myself without proper materials, I taught myself to crochet instead. The end product of today's craft session is this super-cute, mildly-wearable headband (which I'm sure would look better with more than a half-ass attempt at styling, and maybe freshly washed hair):

And, since the weather was so gosh darn cool and perfect, I decided to usher in fall (i.e. soup season) with my famous Thai Chili (which isn't really MY recipe as it was invented by Mark a few years ago). You really need to make it. It's incredible.

I think the best thing about fall is soup. This is strange for me to say because I'm not a huge soup fan, but when soup is good, it's REALLY good! I love that you can spend a lazy Sunday in the kitchen and miraculously the wonder soup keeps for a week and feeds you meal after meal. A poor foodie's dream!

But so-long to this domesticity for a while. I'm gearing up for a really busy week culminating with a 16 hour (total) drive to see Frank for... about 16 hours...

Obligatory Post!

2009-09-21T04:40:00.000-07:00

Frank came to visit me in Bloomington this weekend. It was sooooo wonderful having him around. It made me finally feel like he's my boyfriend. So, now it's official on facebook! Which is a pretty big deal!

It pretty much sucked to drop him off at the airport. How lame. But this morning I was making toast for breakfast and was pleasantly (exstatically) surprised to find that he had closed off the bread bag with a twist-tie. Now, I'm the type of person who loses the twist-tie within five seconds of opening the bread for the first time, and I don't think I've really ever used a twist-tie to seal something a day in my life. So seeing this was like he left me a little present with a card on it that read "I have life skills--I'm a keeper." And it made me very happy.

Banana Nut Muffins

2009-09-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

Things I enjoy:

1) Creating things. I love to knit, cook, paint, sew (even though I'm not good)...anything like that. I like making something by myself that ONLY I can make. It makes me feel special.

2) Researching things. Let me emphasize this does NOT mean I enjoy writing research papers. But I really like investigating topics and learning new things.

3) Cold weather. There's nothing more fun than layering a sweater with a shirt with a coat with a scarf, and then adding a hat and knee socks and boots and jeans, and maybe even a skirt over that. I look like a crazy hobo, but I'm proud of my outfit combinations. When it's hot you can't wear anything at all, so I like to savor when it's cold.

4) Singing. Duh. It's what I do. But it constantly surprises me. I mean, sometimes I'll be singing, and I'll disappear into another place. And when I'm done, I'll come back to reality and realize that something very special just happened.

5) A clean house, and being able to keep it clean for over a week.

6) Textures. Mark can make fun of me all he wants, but I love to TOUCH things. Whenever I go to the craft store, I always make a detour through the fabric section to feel all the fabrics. I'm weird. I also like the spot on the remote between the buttons. Touch it sometime--you'll be surprised how it feels.

7) Mint tea. I love it when it's hot, but it's even better when it's verging on cool--you can feel it go down your throat and makes you more aware of your insides. I like to drink it before I sing because I feel like I am more aware of the mechanics of my voice that way...

8) This scene from Stardust Memories:

Entertaining, slightly annoying, sexy. All I love about Woody.

9) Well, while we're on that note, I've always loved Hitchcock's Notorious with Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant. It was one of the few films I ever watched with my grandma, and then of course there's the famous kissing scene on the balcony. Oh my god:

10) A little glass of port at the end of a long day. There are few things better.

Things DON'T enjoy:

1) Facing things I know are going to be unpleasant, like checking my email when I know I'm going to get a nasty message

2) The dentist. Because despite the nice outward appearance of my teeth, the dentist always lets me know that my teeth are absolutely terrible. It's a Lang thing.

3) Cereal with milk. Oh man that's bad.

4) Organization. Or, rather, my lack of it.

5) French Grand Opera. Maybe I'm going to hell for saying this, but I don't think there's anything worse.

2009-09-11T02:51:00.000-07:00

I just woke up to study for my God-forsaken test. I'm so cold I might die. Like the little Match girl...

My Favorite Crazies, Part 2: Sir-Ma'am

2009-09-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

I met Sir-Ma'am at my first trip to the Bloomington Recycling Center back about a year ago. Eric and I loaded up our boxes and boxes of recyclables and made a trip south of town to drop off our stuff. The Recycling Center has several large bins with really detailed descriptions of what is allowed to go INSIDE the bin. It's a big hassle, and that's probably why no one ever recycles. Sir-Ma'am, an employee at the center, was standing against the cardboard bin, which is hooked up a compresser of some sort. His arm looked like it was inside the bin, and the machine was running, so at first glance it looked as if the machine was crushing his arm. The matter was made worse when he made eye contact with me and started uttering "Ma'am! Ma'am! Ma'am!" over and over. I immediately surveyed the situation--here is this worker whose hand is being consumed by a machine, and he's asking me for help! What do I do! And then I calmed down and realized that his hand was not being crushed, and he was not calling out for help. He was just saying "Ma'am" over and over to ask if I needed assistance. Which I didn't. The next time I saw Sir-Ma'am, I was prepared. When he repeated his catch-phrase I just smiled and shook my head (which doesn't really silence him). I reasoned with myself that he had some kind of disorder, whatever it may be, and appreciated his offers for help. In May, I hosted an Arrested Development party with Kelsey and Miyo, and they came over straight from the recycling center. They started to tell me the story of a worker there who kept yelling "Sir! Sir! Sir! Sir!" at Kelsey. I freaked out and told them about my Sir-Ma'am experiences. Kelsey told me that he overheard Sir-Ma'am talking with a co-worker, having a completely normal conversation, with absolutely no affected speech or social difficulties. I told him I didn't believe him--there was no way Sir-Ma'am had a normal conversation with someone. So we did a google search of "Bloomington Recycling Center Sir Ma'am" and found this. Look at the third paragraph of this person's blog. SHE TOO has experienced the Sir-Ma'am phenomenon!

At the end of the summer I made yet another trip to the center. Sir-Ma'am was no where in sight. I remember I had deposited all of my recyclables, except for an orange juice carton. I was wandering around, looking for where to put the carton, when I hear a voice say "Sorry, we don't recycle orange juice cartons here." I look up, and there is Sir-Ma'am, sunlight illuminating his glowing face. He continues "We only recycle those cartons using curbside service." I was at such a loss for what just happened, that I don't even think I responded. I just stood there with an empty carton in my hands. Two minutes later, as I was putting the carton back in my car, I overheard Sir-Ma'am yell "Sir, Sir, Sir, Sir, Sir, Sir, Sir, Sir" at a middle-aged man recycling cans with his young son. And I smiled.

My favorite crazies, Part 1: Bus Crazies

2009-09-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

As inspired by a recent blog post by Ed, I have decided to create my own list of my favorite crazies. As a preface, one of my favorite pasttimes is crazy-watching. I think this is a genetic trait inherrited from my mother, which was developed by Matt and Neil (bizarro-sightings), and then ultimately Mark. Mark and I would go to WalMart and Ryan's to watch the crazies in their natural habitats, most of the time as a way of feeling better about ourselves.

At Ed's request, I will eventually compile an MU music school crazies post... but that requires a bit of stealth as some of those crazies could possibly have access to this blog. So my first crazies posting concerns the crazies on public transportation here in Bloomington:

1) Creepy Guy Who Hits on Girls at the Bus Stop. For most of you familiar with public transportation, this guy is everywhere, in every bus stop in every town. MY Creepy Guy waits at my apartment bus stop, and has recently begun hitting on someone who appears to be a photography enthusiast. He began by commenting on her camera, with non-specific remarks that indicated he doesn't know anything about cameras. I think he threw in something about aperture, but who wouldn't? The next day he talked about photo-developing, again in non-specific terms. And after a week or so he made the bold move of sitting next to her on the bus. Here, it was apparent that they had absolutely NOTHING to talk about, and she was clearly uncomfortable with this closeness. So, he begins to talk about swine flu. Swine flu. He was using swine flu as a flirting mechanism. I haven't seen him on the bus since.

2) Asian Opera Star. Most people know that if you talk on the bus, people will hear you. If you're on a cell phone on the bus, people can and will listen to your conversation. And, if you SING on the bus... well, you know. There is this crazy Asian kid who sings Italian arias on the bus. He doesn't just hum them, he full-out PERFORMS them. And this is clearly something he thinks other people can't hear.

3) Tiny Woman. Tiny woman lives in my apartment complex. She is, quite literally, a tiny woman. I think because of her size she looses heat quickly, so she's usually bundled up in a puffy coat regardless of the season. An interesting (yet unimportant) thing to know about Tiny Woman, is that she is married to Giant Man. At my bus stop at my apartment, a line starts forming about ten minutes before the bus comes. And, as lines often imply, people go to the back of the line when they get to the stop. Tiny Woman believes she is exempt from this rule. No one's going to stand up to her because, well, she's tiny, which is intimidating. So tiny woman marches up to the front of the line and waits there. EVERY TIME she's at the front of the line, Tiny Woman freaks out about something in her tiny head, yells "EEK!" and runs away like lightening. You can always tell the new-commers to the bus stop because they are noticeably perplexed about what is happening, but the veterans remain unphased. About 45 seconds after she runs off, Tiny Woman always comes back to the front of the line and waits, as if nothing ever happened.

4) Pacing Guy. I usually find Pacing Guy waiting for the 4:45 bus by the music school. Pacing Guy is always REALLY nervous about catching the bus. I mean, for the first few days of riding the bus, I was nervous as well. But Pacing Guy has been nervous for a long time. People waiting for the bus outside of the music school all line up alongside a waist-high stone wall. Some people read books, others talk on cell phones or listen to iPods. Pacing Guy paces. It doesn't matter if the bus isn't scheduled to come for five minutes, or if the bus is five minutes late. Still pacing. When the bus finally arrives, Pacing Guy rushes on the bus first and gets a seat about 1/3 back. Pacing Guy always gets off the bus at the corner of High and Hillside. It's the BIG drop-off point on High, at the light. And you can see it for miles away. But Pacing Guy is always really nervous that he's going to miss his stop, and as soon as we turn on to High, he's Eagle-eyes on the watch for his stop. Sometimes I feel like telling him that he can sit back and relax, and I'll pull the stop-cord for him. But I realized you've just got to let Pacing Guy do his own thing. He pulls the stop-cord at the first availible instance (about a block away), and then leaps to his feet to walk to the front of the bus. The bus is moving at this point, and he inevitably has a really hard time walking to the front--he's swaying all over, almost falling, grasping for the support rails along the cieling. When the bus finally stops at the corner, he RUNS off as fast as Tiny Woman. The weird thing is that once I saw him at a bus stop for another bus line, along Kinser Pike. And he wasn't pacing.

Cucumber Madness!

2009-08-30T10:45:00.001-07:00

So, this is the recent cucumber from my garden. I don't know why it's so long or why it curves around to form almost a full circle. I have NO idea what kind of cucumber it is--I remember Elise and I bought the fastest-maturing cucumber seedling. But I've never seen anything like these things!

But it's pretty cool that when you turn it on its side it forms the letter C... for "cucumber"!

And thinking outside the box, the cucumber functions pretty well as a necklace. Don't ask how I came up with this, but if I was feeling more avant-garde than usual, I suppose I WOULD wear it outside... I guess it's too interesting to eat, at least for me as I am not a particular fan of cucumbers...

Back to Bach

2009-08-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

Despite the cliched title, I am finally going back to Bach. That's the one thing that's getting me through the school year.

It's going to be a year full of Bach, which excites me to no end. You probably already know this about me, but if I have one obsession (besides Woody Allen movies), it's the sacred music of J.S. Bach. I remember two years ago I took a Baroque history class, and I read an article about the Universality of Bach. I didn't agree with a lot of the points made, but I felt a little changed for the better when I read that Bach appears to be to be such a universal composer (i.e. his musical ideas stimulate similar thoughts in different generations and cultures) because he firmly rooted himself in the ancient traditions of the church and functional harmony and whatnot, but at the same time really fervently explored new musical territory. Thus, this Janus-like position helped him define and era and also pave the way for a new one. And while Beethoven can also be said to have done the same thing, I much prefer Bach for his exquisite vocal writing which conveys so much sacred passion.

I am trying to put together Cantata 199 for my recital this fall. This cantata is for solo soprano with obbligato oboe lines. This morning I was stressing out pretty hardcore about the idea of trying to present this work with just a month or so of rehearsals, when I found this phenomenal video on youtube.

"Tief gebuckt" is the second aria in the work. Although it's not the most outwardly beautiful piece in the cantata, it's easily my favorite because the text and music are so humbling. Usually I have trouble paying attention to music--I often get to carried away in aurally recognizing patterns of intervals and dumb stuff like that. But when I found this clip my attention was on it the entire time it was playing. In fact, I tried to start this blog entry while listening, but my attention kept going back to the music... You know, I've got to admit by the end of her performance I was agitated with excitement and eager to test my chops at it as well. Why is she so good and so riviting?! AGH!

And in addition to the cantata, my year is full of the B Minor Mass. I get to do it twice. The first is with Pro Arte here at IU. But the second (April 23) I'm MUCH more excited about, because it's a professional gig with Dr. Crabb, and I'm the soloist! And on top of that, I get to sing with some of my favorite singers (Stephen Swanson and Steven Spears, even Emily Bennett!). It really makes me feel like a kid to be singing with those guys, but at the same time I feel like this is the beginning of my non-collegiate, adult career. How scary is THAT? I think I'm lucky that I get to sing the Agnus Dei--what a fantastic piece of music!

Interesting tidbit: my friend Koji used to be an apprentice under Masaaki Suzuki and still visits him for advice. How weird and cool is that?

Anyways, I'm so excited to be getting back in the game of Bach! Was talking with Frank last night about how it was strange that my resume only has music jobs on it--those are the only jobs I've ever had! I feel like I live in a different world than most people...

Garden Woes

2009-08-26T17:03:00.000-07:00

Well, as if the terrifying approach of the new school year wasn't a sign enough of the end of summer, my garden is also signifying the season change. Almost everything in my plot is dying. I don't think it's my fault as much as it is the unpredictability of the weather lately in Bloomington, or just the end of the growing season. It's very sad, though. The few remnants of my prolific crops are bountiful cherry tomatoes, sacred basil, and peppers (I predict that in two weeks I'll have about 10 bell peppers and 10 jalapenos to look forward to).

It's sad to walk around the park and look at everyone's dying plots. 7-foot tall sunflowers are almost all wilting, tomatoes plants are sagging and turning brown, and the vine crops are all grayish. It looks like most people are tearing up the plants to get ready to evacuate for fall, but I'm planting a few new crops before I lose reign of my 10x10 patch in October. I tore up the radishes and planted carrots and turnips a few weeks ago. In fact, the hunt for turnip seeds turned out to be a wild goose chase around Bloomington, but ended successfully.

I'm awfully sad to see the garden wither away. It was such a huge part of my summer... But it's nice that the few things that are left are doing very well and I can still use them in my kitchen tonight!

On Cynicism

2009-08-24T18:21:00.001-07:00

The guy sitting next to me in the library has tuberculosis. I'm sure of it...

You know, the past two weeks have been really great for me. Despite a lot of problems and stress and what not, I feel like I'm finally getting over a lot of that baseline bah-humbugness I described a while ago. I have to admit, most of it has to do with the goings-on in Kansas City and how they renewed my faith in me and, well, guys. That's a good thing.

God, I need to stop reading Twilight, or at least need to stop having the author write my blog entries...

But seriously, today has been REALLY great! It's my first full day back since the fam's trip to Michigan, and I feel like I have a newer, more positive take on things. I got stuff squared away for my recital, had a great talk and dinner with Lizbee, the weather's great... blah blah blah...

I stopped by Brian's on my way to the library tonight to pic up the newest Twilight book from his wife and we had a great conversation, which was much less cynical than usual. Something's in the water. Maybe that "something" can get me a job...

Blast from the Past!

2009-08-19T18:18:00.000-07:00

Having a great, quick trip to Kansas City this week. My cynicism seems to have been cured... But more on that as it progresses.

The real reason for this post is that I've been in Danny's house today, stealing pictures from his computer. I'd like to post them here for your pleasure:

Danny in the Bratz tee we bought Brandon. Brandon refused to wear it. So Danny did.

A gross picture of our NATS roadtrip senior year to Illinois. Danny bought all the girls spider rings from the gas station. Amelia had been eating cheese puffs...

Danny and Brandon in a time of crisis. This is the day after the ninja and the crackhead story.

Danny trying on everything he could at Walmart. Over his suit. Me being a babe in the background.

We find a spooky house in Illinois.

Me being a crackhead in the restaurant at the beginning of our Illinois roadtrip. There's a long story to this, having to do with somehow involving the whole restaurant in a picture-storytelling game...

Me and my Grandma, one of our last pictures, after my senior recital. One of my favorites--on my piano!

Rachel and I after my senior recital. This is our first performance together, with the Mahler set. Rachel, I live for singing Mahler with you.

Tetris Party

2009-08-11T16:17:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a whirwind two weeks and despite CRAZY car troubles, I'm feeling very refreshed and ready to tackle this next year.

So instead of unpacking my two suitcases worth of dirty clothes or throwing out the dead flowers from Whitney's wedding, I've been glued to my wii, playing Tetris Party.

Brian and Amanda bought Tetris Party at the beginning of the summer, and they've been OBSESSED. Every time we break out the wii, we inevitably play Tetris Party. They're so obsessed that they practice all the time, and they've gotten really good! So all of our group of friends has been downloading Tetris Party on their own wiis so we can try to be as good as them... Since my internet has been gone all summer I never had a chance to download my own copy...UNTIL I brought my wii to Matt's place a few weeks ago. And you KNOW that's all I've been doing in my spare time.

There's a game in Tetris Party called "Field Climber." Basically it's this guy (specifically "The Guy") about the size of a Tetris block, and he's in the Tetris game, and he really needs to get out of the game by climbing up Tetris blocks. My job in playing the game is to provide him with one-block steps to climb out, occassionly providing a path to goals along the way. Sounds simple. Even FUN. But today I played it for HOURS and just couldn't seem to get the hang of it.

There’s a few things I don’t really understand about field climber. First of all, I’m not really sure why sometimes I squish The Guy, and other times I don’t. I have theories about what constitutes a game-terminating squish. But honestly, in the moment of field climber, I lose all rational thought, logic, and forsight and I inevitably squish The Guy.

I also don’t know what the items on field climber do. And because I don’t know what they do, I tend to ignore them. It’s typical in a game of field climber for me to rack up several items on the side of the screen. I suppose they’re all beneficial but I'm too afraid to try...

What I also don’t understand is why The Guy is so erratic. I’ll be waiting to put a block down, and he’ll run underneath it and stand there, and I know in my elementary knowledge of the game that if I place the block on him, I will squish him. You know, it almost seems like The Guy is just as confused about field climber as I am. I don’t think The Guy realizes that if he would just calm the f**k down, he wouldn’t get trapped or squished and I would be better able to help him climb the blocks. The Guy and I are in this together, and when The Guy doesn’t cooperate he screws my game up.

But when I succeed in helping The Guy to his final destination, I feel a lot better about myself. I feel like somehow I've commited kindness along the level of ending poverty or war. It's a good feeling.

Bizarre Weather, Bizzarre Moods

2009-07-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm sitting in Matt's sunroom here in Ann Arbor. The weather has been really weird-- malicious rainstorms all day long, with patches of bright sun and a cool breeze, then a rain storm two seconds later. My hair hates it, so I'm tempted to hate it as well.

I'm in a really weird mood. I have been for quite some time. I don't know if I can chalk it up to my failure to keep up with my thyroid pills, or lack of sufficient funds for anything, or missing Mark, or what. I've been crafting a lot, gardening perfect veggies, exercising, eating brown rice, straightening my hair, doing all the things that usually make me happy, but there's this lingering base-line "bah-humbug" feeling creeping into everything I do. And it's driving me nuts.

There's a busy next two weeks on the horizon. Stressful and exciting at the same time. Next weekend Whitney and Neil are getting married, which isn't particularly stressful for me, but stressful for me to think of everything that goes in to a wedding. The morning after the wedding I drive back to Bloomington and pack up for my newest endeavor, a small chamber choir tour lead by Dr. Crabb, and a reunion of sorts for some of my favorite singers from MU. The tour, August 4-9, is gearing up to be an exciting week with wonderful music. I'm excited and nervous to work with Crabb again, hoping I can sing through some allergy problems I've been having.

Rather annoyedly, though, I'm going through a strong "anti-relationship" phase. It's come at the complete worst time as everyone is either beginning new relationships, or getting married, or something. It kind of sucks to be cynical when everyone else is so happy. I suppose that might be a good reason for the mood...

At least my garden is doing well. HUGE cucumbers every few days, beautiful green beans, round tomatoes almost ready to harvest, peppers!, tiny radishes, all of which make it the bright spot of my day. Here's some more pictures if you care to look. And you should care, because they're awfully cute.

Welcome to the Earring Party!

2009-07-16T18:40:00.001-07:00

We made these.

And why is everyone in the library at 9:45 pm a crazy face?

Scenes from a garden

2009-07-16T18:33:00.001-07:00

Presenting a huge cucumber and some very cute harvests.

Gardens and Encouraging Internet Network Titles

2009-05-20T18:06:00.000-07:00

Summer break! I currently on my break, and have been for about two weeks. It's been SOOOOO nice. But, I've had some unpleasant things to deal with:

1) I don't have any internet at the apartment. I had been stealing from a network entitled "Steal Me" all semester. It was amazing. But Steal Me up and moved away over night at the same time I started break. So I've been sitting around in my apartment with no internet AND no cable (but that's not new), and only two PBS channels to entertain me (thr

ee if you count the all Spanish channel). It's been pretty lame at times, but I discovered Blockbuster's wii rentals, which is totally amazing.

2)BLEMF. The Bloomington Early Music Festival. It's a little lame (sorry, BLEMF). Well, maybe BLEMF is not as lame as is my involvement with it. I did a repeat of the Cantata 161 concert last night and am signed on to sing a Vespers concert on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Everything about this concert is a mess. And I feel bad about it... But I'm not very enthusiastic about participating in a hot mess, so the experience is pretty bad. This is my second experience this year with putting together a Spanish Baroque concert in less than a week. Which is weird...

BUT!

I've also had some great developments:

1) Got a church job at Trinity here in Bloomington. I've lusted after the job for a while, and now I feel really priviliged to be singing there! Yay to a new church home!

2) I just planted a garden with my friend Elise! We're both first time gardeners, so we don't know much... But it's so exciting! We planted tomatoes, peppers, green beans, lima beans, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, eggplant, herbs, and flowers. Brian is determined to prove to me that the cucumbers will not survive. And even though I think he's right (I don't think the majority of our plants will survive), I'M determined to prove him wrong!

3) My birthday is coming up, June 4th. Get ready.

4) I dyed my hair blonder.

A Love Affair With Jimmy Stewart

2009-05-02T21:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was pretty terrible, so I decided to spend tonight by myself. I ate homemade steamed pork dumplings and drank a Gewürztraminer while watching Harvey.

I've always been kind of in love with Jimmy Stewart, and watching him while tipsy I couldn't help but feel a little sentimental.

I suppose that's also why I love A Philadelphia Story so much. Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart in the same movie. I always finding myself fighting the entire time with who I love more, and that's why it works for me.

On another note, Mark and I decided he'll be coming for my birthday (and his) either later this month or in the first few days of June, and staying with me in Indiana for a few weeks. I can't wait. I also can't believe it's been so long since I've seen him. Apparently he and Oscar are wearing red dresses tonight to a party in Portland. It's sad he couldn't have borrowed my red and white polka-dotted tulle dress. Although I'm not sure he'd fill it out quite as well as Ed:

I guess this was his birthday last year around this time? Ah, the memories of being drunk in the old place...

Spring is Icumin

2009-04-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

The weather the past few days has been unbearably wonderful. I'm one of those people who worships the Winter, and I get really upset when the weather warms up and the sun comes out for Spring. But, every year, I realize I'm a crackhead and Spring is actually really wonderful. I mean, the sun's been out, the grass is green, there's a steady breeze that ripples said grass, and people seem on the whole a lot cheerier. Maybe that's just because school's almost out...

But one thing about Spring that frightens me is the crazy crackheads who emerge from their winter domains to enjoy the sunlight like everyone else. You know? The people with severe social disorders, crazy cat ladies with no bras and mumble as they walk... those people. They're EVERYWHERE. I mean, they scare the crap out of me, but they also make me miss Mark and our Saturday morning dates to WalMart to see the crazies.

Last night the weather was too perfect. It was about to rain, so there was a breeze and the grass was dark green. I drove to a friend's house for game/wine night with the car windows down, and Bloomington NPR was playing 1940s piano jazz ballads with commentary from two old jazz crooners (probably an old couple reminiscing). They reminded me of the parents from Hannah and Her Sisters. And even though I'm claiming to the rooftops that I'm no longer a romantic, this really got to me. So today I broke out my Woody Allen "Classics" cd and I'm listening to "You Made Me Love You" with Harry James and His Orchestra. I'm a sucker for this shit.

Maybe this calls for an evening of dim sum and Annie Hall?

Busy-ness Business

2009-04-14T18:54:00.000-07:00

A busy week. But it's going well so far. Instead of prepping for the tidal wave of concerts at the end of the week, I've been drinking some great wine, sewing a skirt, and cooking galore. My apartment is in shambles. Apparently cleaning it didn't make the cut.

I've been getting a little sad lately because Sunday is Pro Arte's John Poole Farewell concert (the Haydn Mass). It makes me sad because this is Mr. Poole's last concert at IU. It makes me sadder to know that I only just met him on his last semester. He's a wonderful man, with terrific energy, and a vast knowledge of he choral repertoire. I would have liked to work with him much longer, but I am very privileged and thankful for the opportunity to sing the Creation Mass with him. It's funny, by the way, to think back to when I first found out we were doing the Mass instead of the actual Creation. I was very upset and felt almost cheated, but now I think it's an amazing piece of music and I hope everyone that CAN come does, in fact, attend.

If you got past the poor grammar in that last sentence, I applaud you.

But enough about how busy and stressed I am! I mean, my emotions are pretty predictable (I'm happy to be here but IU is stressful, blah blah blah) so I don't know why I blog about them so much.

You know what I really love now? Classical music. Yes, that's right. I'm taking a Classical performance practice class and have discovered that, if performed correctly, classical music can be incredible. And I also discovered, sadly, that I had never heard classical performed correctly.

I always hated Mozart, and found Haydn bearable. I know it sounds like blasphemy, but I always found it so boring. Especially with recordings of divas singing all the operas and masses from the late eighteenth century in the same style they would sing Strauss. And then I heard this, which is life-changing:

(It's even better with Sylvia McNair)

And now I want to snatch up all the classical music I can find and sing it as long as I can.

Good timing for the Haydn Mass, eh?

Stressin'

2009-04-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

Hmmm... Last week was beastly. This week is beastlier. Next week? I don't even want to think about it right now, but let me just say that I have three concerts in four days. Last week I had a concert, and it was stressful. This week I had two concerts. It's been crazy stressful. I don't even want to know how next week will be. Plus my parents will be in town...

Last night was the American Choral Scholars concert in Indy, with us performing Lassus's Lagrime di San Pietro, conducted by Brian Schkeeper. The concert was kind of a hot mess, but it was a great opportunity for me to sing with some musicians I really respect, so not a total mess. We all got trashed last night to celebrate.

Tomorrow night is the EMI Chamber Concert, where I'll be singing a solo cantata by Caldara. It's on the verge of sounding like either a hot mess, or a hot FEST. So we'll see how it turns out.

I uploaded a my recent performance of Shepherd on the Rock onto my myspace, if you're interested in hearing it... The first phrase is god awful because it was the first time I'd sung in that space ever and my breath was all messed up, so don't listen to that. And I breath in weird places because I was kind of whack. But I like the recording otherwise... Take a listen.

And don't make fun of the fact that I have a myspace! I know nobody actually visits it, but it's there for fun. So don't judge.

Kinda Blonde

2009-03-31T18:48:00.001-07:00

BEFORE:

AFTER:

So, I'm kinda blonde now. I'm totally liking it. Back to my roots, you know?

It's been such a crazy week since I came back from Spring Break, but maybe the blonde is improving my quality of life, because things have been totally okay. Busy, but good.

My apartment is a mess. Atrocious. OMG.

Singing and Chardonnay

2009-03-11T17:21:00.000-07:00

Still haven't decided about my hair... hm... The dying of my hair from blonde to brown four years ago was kind of ritualistic, as it aided in a huge life change. So I feel like the dying-back needs to be ritualistic as well. It's hard when I've put that kind of pressure on a dye job.

I've had a long day. I think I learned how to sing today. Recently I've been surrounding myself with Youtube videos of Edita Gruberova and I think somehow something clicked. Yesterday I went to the practice room and sang for two hours, and today I did the same. And I sounded like a different person. So I got home at 7:30 and was exhausted. I'm making curry and just opened a bottle of Charles Shaw chardonnay, and nothing seems like a better reward.

It seems like the secret to singing is confidence, inspiration, and a clear idea of what you want to sound like. God, I've been having so much trouble singing lately. And I think it's because I've had strange ideas of what I need to sound like. And when I heard Gruberova I heard the voice I wanted to sound like, and had the potential of sounding like (uh, I by no means think I'll ever be able to sing Zerbineta or even sing as high, but I'm talking about her general sound...). And as soon as I had a new sound ideal in my head, everything about my singing changed. And how long has it been since I've spent two hours in the practice room two days in a row?

By the way, some day I'll post about my fab New York trip with Kyle. But now I'm too uninspired :)

Blonde Renewal

2009-03-10T20:50:00.001-07:00

Me, a few months ago--with brown hair. This is what I look like.

Me, four years ago with blonde hair (and Matt).

Should I dye my hair blonde again? Suggestions?

No Drama!

2009-03-04T17:46:00.000-08:00

Lord knows why I'm sick all the time... ugh. It's pretty ridiculous. This semester I had a brief cold to jump start February, then I got extreme food poisoning on Valentine's, and now I have the cold virus of death. Sunday I threw a Pro Arte Potluck (otherwise known as "No Drama" Potluck, because drama wasn't allowed!), and by the end of it I had completely lost my voice and felt like death. Ah well, it was a success. But Monday I woke up with an over-the-top fever that lasted the entire day, and it's kind of morphed from sore throat to fever to sore throat to runny nose to sore throat to horrendous dry cough... it's been absolutely ridiculous. So I'm sitting at my computer with my nose as red as a rudolph (that's the oldest comparison in the book).

Oh well, that's a shot of the Pro Arte Potluck, with absolutely no drama. And plenty of sweaty, sweaty drunkenness on a school night.

Speaking of Pro Arte (and drama), there is drama with me and the choral department, and none of it is my fault. It's a long story, but the basic jist is that one choir wants me in their concert, and so does Pro Arte, but they both rehearse at the same time, so I was snatched from Pro Arte and put in the EMI choir and now there's drama. You know, I just want to sing and I don't want to make people angry. I just want the whole world to be a No Drama Potluck.

Ah, everything at IU is drama. Choir, my singing, my PERSONAL LIFE, money, my health... oh God I could just go on and on. But I won't.

Because I'm going to visit Kyle in New York tomorrow! Yes, after a full week of HARDCORE stressing due to choir drama and its schedule conflicts with my trip planning, and after + $300 in fees to change a plane ticket for a later time in the day, and hours of hotel searching over the phone with Kyle, not to mention lots of time spent crying in my bedroom because my life is too stressful, I will FINALLY be spending the weekend with Kyle away from Bloomington, spending money I certainly don't have in the big city, eating cupcakes and watching Natalie Dessay. I guess that's the life. But what I neglected to consider was that Sunday is Daylight Savings... and my flight out of Newark is at 6:50 in the morning...

E Vivo Ancor...

2009-02-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

What a week... I don't even know what to say. But, vivo ancor...I still live... Which isn't necessarily good or bad...

I found this on Erika's facebook. It's about a woman who found a cell phone in her potato chips and freaked out. Why would you freak out? She's all like "It makes you not want to eat a chip ever again" and "What would have happened if a child put it in his mouth?" If a child opened up a bag of chips and found a cell phone, I don't think the kid would try to eat it. Maybe her kids would, and that's because her kids are dumb.

OMG Marshmallows!

2009-02-21T13:36:00.001-08:00

Bloomington has a Winter Farmer's Market, and it's the best thing in the entire world, hands down. I bought sweet potatoes, a leg of lamb, and...gourmet, organic MARSHMALLOWS! They are literally the best things I've ever had. I mean, right now they are. They're salted caramel marshmallows. Can you believe it?

I had an absolutely terrible Friday, which ended with me drunk pulled over on the side of the road in my car and sobbing to Mark on the phone. Yeah, a hot mess. And surprisingly, I woke up, bought marshmallows and other goodies, picked up some gray brushed alpaca at the yarn store, came home and fixed some macaroni and cheese, got an unexpected email, and...my terrible Friday turned into a wonderful Saturday! Funny how that happens...

Hate Blog!

2009-02-19T14:51:00.001-08:00

I'm in a bad mood!
I'm just frustrated with a lot of stuff, particularly my singing. I feel like I don't know how to sing. Which is kind of awkward, because I think knowing how to sing is a prerequisite to getting a master's in singing. Whatever.
So I'm going to make a list of things that make me mad:
-Group back massages. What is that about? Why does every choir in the world think that it's appropriate to give group back massages as a warm-up? I don't want random people touching me, and I don't like giving massages, especially to random people.
-Bloomington's local stations. Basically, Bloomington doesn't get local stations unless you pay for cable. So cheapo me can't get local channels on my tv. Which is dumb, because isn't every person with a tv and a converter box supposed to be able to get local channels so they can at least see the news and the weather? All I get is THREE PBS channels. Who knew that PBS has three channels?
-Early music. Why am I studying this stuff? No one knows. It's annoying. I guess I like the music, but I don't like people going around saying that people who sing anything after Mozart are "modern singers" and that A=440 is WAY TOO HIGH.
-The "reply to all" feature on email. I never remember to press "reply to all" and so I never send out group responses when I'm supposed to. And I hate that. Why is this a skill I have not yet mastered? (and by "skill" I mean pressing a button)
-Paying bills. I don't like bills. I think they're dumb. And I don't have money to pay them. And sometimes I forget to pay them. I am retarded. But so are bills. So we're even.
-Travelocity. Travelocity is dumb because it says "Fly to Portland for only $150!" So I go to their site and they say "Sorry, that price is no longer availible. EVER." So it makes me mad. Why do they send me emails letting me know that I can go fly to see my best friend for an affordable price, when it's just a big lie?
-People who are not on facebook. Okay, facebook is dumb. But everyone is on it. Parents, teachers, junior high students. EVERYONE is on facebook. So when someone isn't on facebook, I have no idea how to contact them when I need to. Or find out if the guy I like has a girlfriend.
-Animal Crossing. Now, some of you are probably like "Lindsey LOVES Animal Crossing." But I hate it. I really do. It's a dumb wii game that has ruined my life. I give it so much love and affection and it gives me nothing back! I hate Animal Crossing. I really do.
-Competition. I hate competition. I hate people who think that music is a big competition. Seriously, did I not get the memo? Who randomly decided that singing was a game, and why did everyone at IU decide to follow this person in thinking that we must be competative in order to be successful? Because it's not true.
-I also hate the person who decided that dating was a game, with rules. Because that's dumb and we all know it.

2009-02-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share a picture from the DDR party I threw in January with my friend Lizbee (that's Dominic in the background).

Lizbee is totally one of my best friends here at IU. I remember when I met her at the beginning of the year. We sat next to each other in Pro Art and I thought "Geez, this girl is the best sight reader I've ever heard!" And she seriously is. She also has a cd coming out, which you should check out.

Well, I guess that's it. The semester's going better. It's quickly busying up, because I say yes to everything anybody asks me to sing. And I'm currently on the search for my own Ira Glass to have an intimate relationship with. But I'm in no hurry.

Hot.Mess.

2009-02-03T19:15:00.000-08:00

So, I find myself wasted on Tuesday night by accident... Hot mess.

2009-01-28T09:57:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd put this up here for posterity's sake. When forced to feed myself with minimal ingredients on this snow day, I improvised. And I must say it's amazing.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

-1 yellow chopped yellow onion

-1/2 diced jalapeno pepper

-2-3 garlic cloves, chopped

-1 Can of Pumpkin (NOT pie filling)

-2 and 1/2 C. Vegetable broth (mixing broth and water is fine)

-1 large spoonful of peanut butter

-Coconut Milk

-Seasonings: salt and pepper, ginger, thai seasoning, any fresh herbs are fine.

1) Sautè the onion, pepper, and garlic in a pot with wok oil until onions are transluscent. Make sure to season the onions with salt and pepper.

2) Add the pumpkin and vegetable broth. It will probably be easiest to add the broth in the pumpkin can--less dishes. It's about a can and a half of broth. Bring to a boil, and then lower to a simmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes.

3) Stir in the peanut butter and season to taste. It will probably need a lot of salt. Simmer until peanut butter is dissolved.

4) Add coconut milk until soup changes color slightly. You'll only need about a 1/2 cup. Stir soup together. At this point you may either blend it or serve it.

5) Top with crushed cashews. It's really good!

Bloomington Hates Snow!

2009-01-28T07:54:00.000-08:00

So, today was a snow day! I didn't know it was so bad out. But I just walked to my front door and saw the mess. Yup. We got a lot of snow. And last night it was sleeting the entire night. I thought the east was prepared for this stuff. And, I mean, we're only a few hours from Michigan. But apparently Bloomington has no efficient snow-plowing capabilities. No complaints here. The snow day couldn't have come at a better time. Yesterday was truly AWFUL. TERRIBLE. HORRENDOUS. Unfortunately, my bad mood prevented me from stocking up for the snow storm, so I don't really have anything to eat. Yet again a repeat of Thundersnow 2006.

Well, whatever. I'm anticipating a day of knitting (mark's sock #1 is done! and I just began my squirrel mittens), and a day of no showering, and a day of Mariokart and Animal Crossing. And maybe even a snowman. We'll see. Maybe.

(See, I don't shower)

Back to Square One

2009-01-20T07:01:00.000-08:00

So I've been in school for a week now, and so far the semester has been going okay. Not great, but okay.

I had been proclaiming to the rooftops that I was going to do one of my two recitals this semester, but I think I'm going to save it until next September. Mainly because I want it to be a spectacle with lots of instrumentalists and whatnot, but I think trying to pull that off during April's recital season would be death (for me and everyone else). Instead I'm trying to fill my time with other things--an audition for St. Matthew Passion (fingers crossed), learning the solos for Haydn's Creation (MORE fingers crossed)... and things like that. I just feel like I spent all last semester trying to prove myself (I'm not very competitive, so that's hard), and here I am this semester trying to prove it all over again. It's frustrating... I've already had several teary conversations with Mark.

Speaking of Mark, my visit to Portland was AMAZING! I love him so much. My two week stay there proved that everything is a-ok in our friendship. The distance has even brought us closer. Which is wonderful. I got to meet his boyfriend (who I adore) and everyone else (the good, the bad, and the ugly). Dawn Upshaw cancelled her concert (she was sick), so we were pretty upset... but the concert Mark and I gave was definitely a success. It was so great to sing with him. It really raised my confidence about my own abilities as well. The goodbyes were crazy hard. I was a mess for a few days up to the goodbye, and a few days after. I just didn't want to leave and go back to a place with so little support...

I also saw Kyle over break. We had a lot of time to catch up. Just like Mark, it seems like Kyle and I have gotten closer since my move as well. I find that odd, but in a good way. We sang a lot together, watched bad tv, tortured my mom with cookie decorating, and even squeezed in an opera.

I also met up with Whitney and Neil a few times--once after Christmas, and then when I got back from Portland. They drunkenly picked me up at the airport and had made a sign. Amazing. Whitney asked me to be one of her bridesmaids! I'm pretty excited because she's one of my only female, non-gay friends so the opportunity to be a bridesmaid might not come again. I miss them--especially how energetic and positive they are about life. I guess because they're both happy...

I also met up with the old Crabbster. We had coffee in the HyVee Starbucks. Lamest thing ever. But it was nice to see him. It always is. He gave me some great advice and seemed really interested in everything that was happening with me at IU.

So far back in Bloomington, besides music, I've been trying to be social (the DDR party on Sunday was a success!), finish Mark's socks, cook a lot, and find a job. The job hunt so far is fruitless. The socks are scary (try knitting something fitted for someone who isn't there to try it on). I'm slowly getting sucked into my Wii and the fictional town of Animal Crossing. But it's one of the only things I can so while plopping down in front of my space heater on days when the windchill is in the negative digits.

Loss of an Idol

2009-01-07T10:44:00.000-08:00

Tessa Bonner, famed soprano of the Tallis Scholars, passed away on the 31st. I just found out. I know it's a great loss to the group and to the early music community...

Love on the West Coast

2008-12-31T07:19:00.000-08:00

So I'm Portland right now. I flew in yesterday to spend the holidays with Mark, and I'll be here until January 9th. It's the best thing ever. It really is. Mark works at Starbucks, and I went to work with him today, getting free drinks. He's working the register and we keep looking at each other when dumb people get up to order.

I'm so glad to be here with him. On the roster: Dawn Upshaw mania in Portland (she's singing here this week and we have tickets and hopefully an inside connection), more free drinks from coffee world, a recital for his friends next week, cooking galore, and much, MUCH frugality.

I love my best friend :)

Lindsey Can't Speak Italian

2008-12-16T20:41:00.000-08:00

I have my Italian final tomorrow. Or I guess really today.

And my heat doesn't seem to be working. But maybe it is. I don't know anymore.

Luckily at 2 pm I will be done and then maybe I'll be able to REALLY assess why I'm getting another master's.

Amazingly Cute!

2008-11-25T08:55:00.000-08:00

OMG this girl is adorable! (the guy too, but he's a little too young for my taste). I want her headwear and blue tulle slip.

Chilly Things

2008-11-24T15:35:00.000-08:00

It's chilly (well, it's COLD) and it's almost Thanksgiving Break! I don't have any homework or anything to do today because it's the week of Thanksgiving. It's silly that we don't get the whole week off because all of the teachers pretty much slack off this week because it's shortened, and a few teachers are canceling class...

So tonight I'm relaxing for the first time in a while. It's been cold and rainy all day, so I decided to make a chilly, rainy day feast tonight. I made apricot risotto (dried apricots, nutmeg, cinnamon, brown sugar, vegetable broth, and seasonings) and sweet and spicy chicken and bell peppers (with hot chilies, apricot preserves, and other thai seasonings). I opened my bottle of Trader Joes Sparkling Pomegranate Juice and enjoyed the feast with "This American Life" in the background.

I could have called friends, because I'm sure they would have liked to partake in my fall feast... but I really just wanted to spend the time alone.

"This American Life" really got to me. The first story was about a woman who lived alone and died alone, and it followed the investigation of a social worker to try to find any living family members. I'm tearing up a little as I write this... The social worker investigated the home of the deceased older woman and couldn't find any sign of companionship besides the two dogs in the backyard (they were supposedly the only things the old lady had). She sifted through mail, documents, and so on, trying to find relatives. She finally found a twenty-year-old Christmas card from someone who had to be a distant family member. The social worker called the sender of the card, but they did not remember the old woman--eventually they came to the conclusion that she was a distant aunt of some sort. The story then jumped to a mass funeral for deceased persons without friends or family. The city cremates the bodies, and if no one collects the ashes for three years, they have a mass burial of all the ashes. Of course, no one but employees attend the funerals, and the remains of thousands of people are all buried at once under a marker for the three-year time period. It's a little eerie and unsettling. The end of the story poses the question: do people live alone by choice, or by circumstance? These lonely people being honored in a mass burial every three years don't have anyone to mourn their deaths... is mourning a privilage left only to those with people left behind to mourn them?

Something to think about.

Snow

2008-11-20T11:33:00.000-08:00

OMG It's SNOWING!

This is shaping up to be the longest day of my life, and I'm typing a paper in a mad rush (it's due at 5...) but I had to take a break to record that it's the first snow of the season.

Steamy, Steamy

2008-11-16T18:39:00.000-08:00

Usually as soon as it gets cold I get a little romantic. Actually, I began dating my last two romantic interests during the late fall... specifically November... which is now. It would be nice to date somebody this month. I mean, to follow tradition and all.

Instead of dating, I've been huddling around my apartment baking cookies and making cranberry tea... none of which are activities that get me a date. Well, I'd much rather be accumulating winter weight than slutting around a bar. But maybe I should stop baking, and put my tea in a thermos and get my ass out of my hermit apartment this week. It would be good for me all around.

Because we all know the best alternative to cuddling in a blanket by yourself is... steamy steamy love.

(I need to stop watching DVDs of Queer as Folk)

Cheers to Woody!

2008-11-10T17:59:00.000-08:00

I think that Woody Allen is the most wildly romantic man I have ever seen. He's not particularly attractive or anything, but his observations about people and relationships are incredibly seductive. Lots of people don't like Woody Allen because they think he's annoying. Well, he's not the most pleasant of all people, but I think once you get past that you're able to see a wealth of beauty through his eyes.

I re-watched Stardust Memories tonight. It's one of his artsy mid-period films that fits into this languid Annie Hall type dreaminess. It's all about a man who constantly reminisces about his past relationships, especially one in particular--a beautiful, dark-haired mess named Dorrie. Every time he thinks about her, he remembers little things, like a particular way she smiled at him one day... and now, in the present, he's with a put-together woman, who's not at all brooding, but he still thinks about Dorrie all the time. The final scene is of him hallucinating his own death (sorry to give it away, like there was anything to give) and he thinks about a short moment with Dorrie, reading a magazine. And he romanticizes it in such a way that it almost brings me to tears. Woody Allen has this way of portraying normal situations as if every moment were the most beautiful and important moment in the world. He makes me fall in love with him, and with people in general, because he shows that in all people there is enormous potential for these perfect, beautiful connections.

This is the clip I was referring to: the part that really gets me is around 2:28.

Woody Allen - Stardust Memories (1980)
Uploaded by sinziana2

I once told Neil that the sexiest moment I ever saw was from this movie, from a scene near the beginning, where Woody Allen is stroking the Dorrie character across her clavicle with his entire hand... you make fun, but you haven't seen it!

Things I Miss About Columbia

2008-11-03T17:39:00.001-08:00

I had the total meltdown of the semester on Friday. I feel completely incompetent as a singer and miss everything that gave me comfort when I lived in Columbia. Here's a few things that I wish I had here in Bloomington:

-The old ladies in the First Baptist Church Choir (well, especially the not-so-old ones like Robbie, Colleen, and Norma)

-The ease in which I used to recycle. I can't find any recycling bins here in Bloomington and have boxes and boxes of recyclables stacked in my kitchen.

-Rachel AuBuchon, who (not-surprisingly) is irreplaceable.

-U Singers comradary

-Living with Mark, for SO many reasons. But specifically for his insistence that I do the dishes and keep my shit out of the living room.

-Reality tv. Bloomington HAS reality tv, but I'm too poor to afford cable right now.

-Gauchos, and how I could get three martinis and a plate of gross food for only 6 dollars...and watching Craig get ridiculously drunk...

-Schubertiads, formal and informal.

-Kyle Stegall and all the hillarity that ensued whenever we got together.

-The inevitability of running in to Dr. Budds (smoking) every time you set foot on campus.

-The comfort of knowing everyone in the music school...and the discomfort of knowing that almost everyone had seen my nipples at some point.

-The Legend of Neil's Uncircumcised Penis.

-The shopping. The mall here makes me depressed.

-The gays. And their innate knowledge that I was their queen.

-Dr. Crabb's ability to say terrible, terrible things when prospective students and their conservative mothers came to visit rehearsals.

-Whitney Reed and Neil Ostercamp, between whom I had so many inside jokes it wasn't even funny.

-Mark Woodward, and all the things we would do together whether it was watching Will and Grace with a plateful of terrible Chinese food, or stylistically interpreting Bach inventions, or annoying each other at all hours so it was impossible to do any work.

Zerfliesse...oh zerfliesse

2008-10-31T08:42:00.000-07:00

OMG. They should never have let this young boy sing this. I can't even sing it. Sometimes I don't think I sound any better.

Hanging in there

2008-10-26T20:30:00.001-07:00

Arg! I had grand plans to get things done this weekend, but I decided to try not being a hermit, and miraculously...things didn't get done. So I'm going to go back to being a hermit this week.

I went to Columbia on Wednesday night/Thursday. It was a stressful trip, but I was reunited with Mark (which was better than I could ever describe in a blog). Portland is lucky to have him, and I'm luckier to have him. ...Since when did this blog become a love letter to Mark?... I also met up with my other friends on Wednesday night. So wonderful to see them, although slightly (VERY slightly) less euphoric as I will have the opportunity to see them more often.

I had two midterms on Friday, plus a lesson. It was not a good day for Lindsey/Batilda. But my hair looked really good, and I guess that's all that matters.

Senator, Simon Cannot Serve in the Senate Because Simon is a Unicorn. I think you KNOW that.

2008-10-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

Oh no they didn't!!!

Lindsey...

2008-10-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

...needs Mark now. Seriously.

Happy Birthday, J L!

2008-10-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

Here's my favorite Lennon song. It gets me every time.

And...

2008-10-05T21:52:00.000-07:00

How could I have updated my blog without mentioning my BFF?

I got very emotional yesterday because I realized that I have the best friend in the world and I'm very lucky that he's in my life. We watched Will and Grace over the phone yesterday, which was completely us...and made me very thankful.

Music Rant

2008-10-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

I'm about 75 % better, and about 65% done with my antibiotics. I think that's pretty good. I've still been pretty stuffy this weekend, so I've been lounging around my apartment, eating Thai chili while drinking tea, and knitting like a fiend. I started a hat last night and I'm almost done, but I think it's given me arthritis. It's super cute, though, so it's worth my crippling hands.

I sang full voice today for the first time in about a week and a half. That's how long I've been out. I sound okay. The voice is really strong, but it's still fairly difficult/painful to keep the sound forward (thanks, sinus infection) and I get this annoying buzzy feeling in my sinuses whenever I sing. Oh well. It's nice to be back.

I spent a lot of the weekend listening to Romantic Opera. Miss Todd recommended Adriana Lecouvreur, and so I listened to Mirella Freni all weekend and dreamed of making sounds like that all on my own. I've had a lot of realizations so far this semester in terms of my voice and I think I finally know what's going on and what I have to do. It's frustrating because I can't listen to old recordings of me anymore--things I once thought were great are now glaring with these vocal faults--but it's exciting because I finally know how to move forward.

I just can't wait till all of this drainage stops wreaking havoc in my face and then I can work on all of this.

Oh, and I finally loaded the files from my last night in Columbia on the computer. I got my ZOOM recorder at the end of the summer and was playing with it at Rachel AuBuchon's before I left and recorded our impromptu music-making. It made me miss her because I remember we were drinking wine and attempting Strauss, and there's a moment in the recording where she pauses just a little longer than expected in Morgen, and it took my breath away. It was nice to hear.

Sick, getting better

2008-09-30T13:38:00.001-07:00

So, I've been crazy sick the past week. CRAZY sick. As in apartment-is-littered-with-tissues-and-glasses-of-orange-juice sick. Today it was getting ridiculous so I went to the doctor and got some meds. Apparently I have a sinus infection. Or will. Or might... I don't really know. But I got drugs, and that's all that really matters to me right now. Last week I was making a breakthrough in my singing and I haven't sung since last Tuesday... unless you call that growling during Pro Arte singing... The one good thing about being sing as balls is that I could actually sing the low Ds and Cs for Josquin.

So, I reacquainted myself with Curb Your Enthusiasm during my death rest. I also discovered Pushing Daisies, which is awesome. And I downloaded Super Mario RPG for my wii, which is probably proof that there is a God. (Thanks for the game, God)

Cheap Wines Part I

2008-09-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

So I don't claim to know anything about wine, but I know what I like and I LOVE what I like. I love to drink Oregon Pinot Noir. Unfortunately we can't all be like Mark and live in the Pacific Northwest where good pinots practically grow on trees...and that shit is EXPENSIVE here in rural Indiana.

So I'm on the search for some good, cheap standbys while I'm here the next two years. Not necessarily Pinots, just good stuff I can get in my weekly Kroger runs, or an occasional Trader Joe's run in the city.

Tonight I opened my Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon. I don't drink Cabs very often, and I know that Barefoot can be risky. But who could resist that blackish-purple liquid schloshing around the bottle?

This Cab was surprisingly pretty good. Good if you like jammy wine, and I do (cannot WAIT for a special occasion to imbibe my August Cellars Marchel Focht). A rich berry flavor, kind of spicy, and surprisingly tangy. I was worried about the tannin overload, so I left mine open on the counter and swished the hell out of it before I tasted.

Caveat: I made spicy Indian food but didn't really think through the whole wine-pairing thing before I planned my meal. Bad combination. Terrible combination. Save this for something MUCH simpler/earthier. Or just drink it alone while watching a shitty ripoff of Before Sunrise (2 Days in Paris, anyone? "Coincidentally" a project by Julie Deply). But Deply is cute, especially with her oversized black-rim glasses, so the Cab and I were content.

2008-09-21T21:26:00.001-07:00

Updates

2008-09-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

I bet you don't know me anymore.

-I am obsessed with Weeds.

-My lucky elephant earring broke.

-I've been listening to Messiaen and Purcell nonstop.

-I'm singing Josquin's Missa Pange Lingua October 12th.

-I have watched the Bro Rape video, like, 20 times in the past two weeks.

-I gave myself bangs on accident.

-It's 1:10 in the morning and I have an Italian exam in nine hours... I bet you know I haven't studied yet.

Late night, bad week, good music.

2008-09-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things: the last 70 seconds of Gotterdämerung. I am having the world's worst adjustment period here at IU and that finale just brings me to tears every time.

I have an audition on Friday for a crappy Baroque opera that I probably won't make it into. I've really got to get my stuff together and knock their socks off.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm going to be EMI's first early music major to be a Wagnerian sop. A nice aspiration.

Never another theory class!

2008-08-27T17:51:00.000-07:00

So, I passed my entrance exams! All of them! That might not seem like a big deal to those of you who coasted through the MU exams, but here at IU they take this shit seriously. The early music history exam was so hard that I was seriously spending my brain power trying to figure out the logistics of leaving IU before classes started next week. And then... I passed! I feel AWESOME! Did I mention to say that I NEVER have to take a theory class AGAIN??? Yes.

So today I met with my voice teacher and we discussed my schedule for this year. I'm taking lessons, a gazillion master classes, choir, accelerated Italian (shit) and the motet (middle ages to 18th century). I'm so excited I could scream. Yes. I'm totally excited about the motet class. Who wouldn't be?

After I got through the entrance exam hell I realized that this is the right place for me. And it's going to be shit hard. I don't know how ready I am for that, but it feels good that I'm giving it a try.

And, I have friends here. I really like them.

Take a peek...

2008-08-22T09:16:00.001-07:00

Except for the piles of boxes of books in my study, I'm pretty much done with the moving process! My painting is done (unless I want to take another weekend to paint brown borders around my living room). Would you like to see?

Last night my new/old friend Eric and I explored Bloomington and I found my new Flatbranch. I dare say Upland Brewery is even better? Am I going to hell for saying that?

Entrance exams are on Monday morning in Theory, then History on Tuesday morning. I'm getting too old for this...

Painting Part I

2008-08-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

I'm moved in! I now live in Bloomington, Indiana...and it's weird. But surprisingly comfortable.

Since my parents left and I was officially "moved in" (Sunday afternoon), I've been locking myself in my apartment and doing random things to occupy my lonely self. My main activity? PAINTING!

Now, I don't know why I'm painting. This place was freshly painted when I moved in, and I have to prime all the walls I paint when I move back out. I guess I was turned off by the dirty cream walls, and ultimately I was in dire need of something to preoccupy myself while I adjusted to Bloomington ALONE.

So I called Mark and we compiled a detailed plan of how I would transform my walls from drab to fab. We decided on a granny smith apple green for the kitchen, a light gold for the living room, and a complex chair-rail-esque multi colored job in my bedroom. We picked out the colors on SherwinWilliams.com and then I was off to my neighborhood Sherwin Williams!

The employees at my neighborhood Sherwin Williams were not what I expected, having been reared on the television commercials... Their jingle is "ask Sherwin Williams!" (or is it "AT Sherwin Williams? Oh well, the first proves my point) so I expected helpful sales associates to great me with color options when I walked through the door. I walked through the door of my neighborhood Sherwin Williams to find... nobody there. I paced around, called out, made noise, but alas no one came to my aid. I awkwardly made my way to the color station to pick out the swatches of my color choices, hoping that my awkward presence there would send a bat-signal to their breakroom to come and get me. But no one came. People came into the store (when the door opens, there's an electric "bing!"), people left the store ("bing!") but no one came out to help me. Finally, a middle-aged woman with a shitty Mia Farrow Rosemary's Baby haircut came out, blatantly looked at awkward me, and IGNORED me! I hrumphed around for a few more minutes, still ignored, and then walked up to the counter to Rosemary's Baby Bitch Whore. RBBW greeted me with a nonchalant something and asked what she could do to help. I gave her my list of colors and asked if I could get a quart of each. She looked surprised, as if she was unaware that this was her job. And then she said "I don't know if I can do that." Now, I don't work at Sherwin Williams, but I think their entire business is based upon giving people the paint colors they want. And they have a nifty computer that does it all for them. So I don't know why she didn't think she could give me my paint. She grabbed my list from me and shuffled around the back shelves, lined with base paint cans. She looks at all the cans, hundreds of those cans, all the same, and says "Well, I guess we can do it." Well, of COURSE you can do it, I thought. She puts some of the base paint cans at the computer and puts in the proper color ratios to make my paint, and then hands them to some guy (no uniform) to put in a mixer. That didn't seem too hard. I don't know what the crisis was. So I caught her in a moment of pause and said "And, I want a color green, the shade of a granny smith apple." Again, she looks at me, surprised I'm asking her for help (the "Ask Sherwin Williams" jingle pops into my head as a plea), and says "I don't know what you want me to do." There it was. That simple sentence explained it all. I replied "Well, I have this apple in my purse. Can you match the color with your computer?" An immediate "NOPE. The computer doesn't read apples." Immediately my mind flashes back to other Sherwin Williams commercials where little girls bring in purple stuffed animals...THEIR colors were matched by the computer... "Well, I have this washcloth that's close." I hold it up, and she replies the same. "Could you help me find a color?" I asked ("Ask Sherwin Williams!"). She just stares at me blankly. This was a "no" stare. I went back to the color table and picked out a green that might work, and I gave it to her to fill in a can.

That was my Sherwin Williams experience.

I went home and tried to paint my kitchen green. I've never really painted before. I mean, I've painted rooms a few times, but I think I was drunk and made a mess each time, surrounded by friends who actually COULD paint. Here I was, sober, and on my own, armed with a bunch of blue painter's tape. Surely I could make this happen.

I eventually completed my kitchen wall. It looks really good. But this was basically a product me of me spilling paint on my tiled floor about fifty times, and frantically wiping it off with a soapy paper towel (which actually just moved the color around and didn't get rid of it...). The green was great. I'll post a picture of it after I complete my entire apartment.

This morning I painted the living room gold. Again, I was not good with the paint, but again it looks great.

Halfway through the painting, I went to Target to get curtain rods and an electric drill. My first drill! Now I feel like a REAL les! After several frantic phone calls to Mark, I figured out how to attach a drill bit and drill REAL HOLES!

Later today I decided to start the complex paint job in my room. Mark recommended painting a 4-in. strip of brown, followed by a 2-in. strip of light pink below, and then followed by a wash of dark pink. He explained that I should paint the light pink in the middle FIRST. I could approximate where I wanted the stripe, and then I could put painters tape on that for the other stripes, and that would help give the light pink a clean edge. Sounds easy enough, but Lindsey can't paint. So I ended up, an two hours later, with a jagged, poorly painted pink line with pink dripping down the entire wall. As I was painting I had my window open for ventilation. There are a bunch of families in this complex with little kids, and kids kept walking by my window and looking in. Now, I KNOW the kids couldn't really comprehend my painting, or the quality of my painting, but I kept getting this eerie feeling that they were judging me. It's kind of like how no one wants the cat to watch them have sex. I mean, the cat doesn't KNOW you're having sex, but it's creepy to have it there, watching you. These kids watching me paint was the same creepy feeling...

When all this painting is over, I'll have to show you pictures. I will. Because I am an obsessed blogger who is living alone in a new city.

Cupcakes Cupcakes Cupcakes!

2008-08-10T22:20:00.001-07:00

I was craving cupcakes BIG TIME during my visit to Portland. I don't know why. But because Mark and I got a little too drunk during wine country day, I never got to venture out to get cupcakes while the shops were still open.

So, tonight I finally quenched my craving by making Peanut Butter Cup-Cup Cakes, which were my own creation. Basically I made devils food cake bater, and while the cupcakes were baking I took them out and inserted a mini peanut butter cup in the batter. When the cakes were done, I frosted them w/ homemade peanut butter buttercream icing (make a regular buttercream and replace half of the butter with peanut butter). OMG THEY ARE SO GOOD!

That's all I have to say.

You should really make them. If you don't have peanut butter cups on hand, it might work just as well to add a small dollop of peanut butter in the middle of batter during baking. Tell me if it works.

Knitting F(r)iends!

2008-08-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

So, my new Seattlite friend Erika introduced me to Ravelry, an online knitting community. Right now I'm grateful to Erika, and also hate her a little bit--Ravelry is my heaven, packed full of knitters and wonderful pattern ideas...but it wastes my life much more than even Facebook.

Well, I'm on Ravelry now, and have been "introduced" to my new knitting muse, this very talented Finlandian. Her works and photography are beautiful. She's my new best knitting friend! She's given me an amazing scarf idea that I won't divulge until I make it myself, but I'll give her the credit for it.

On a different front, I'm packing up the apartment right now. I move in 5/6 days (loading Thursday, driving Friday, officially moving in on Saturday). It's really weird. But I'm excited to make this new apartment a Lindsey Apartment! Who knows what I'll do...

Vacay, Camp, Vacay Away!

2008-08-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

Had a great summer vacation, which consisted of a trip to Portland to see Markie, then a trip to Seattle for Tallis Scholars camp, then back to Portland for more vacation. And now I'm back in Columbia to finish my life here (I move in about a week).

So, trip stories. I'll give the highlights, the abridged yet no-less humorous version.

Thursday: Fly to Portland. Am greeted by my BFF with a game of Marco Polo in the baggage claim and a snickers bar. Enjoy a nice pinot at a wine bar--great weather. Snuggle in bed--really missed that.

Friday: Eat sushi on a train (the sushi was on the train, not us) and "Hike" around town to Rose Gardens and Japanese Gardens. "Hike" was quite literally a balls-to-the-walls 45 degree angle kind of hike, which I did in a skirt. Watched "Crash" on a projector outside. "Crash" is dumb, and I'm the only person in the world who thinks so.

Saturday: Drive to Seattle. Start Tallis Scholars camp. Meet a bunch of crazies, which includes the Tallis Scholars. SO EXCITED!

Sunday: A little worried that camp will be a bust because most people are not as good as I had hoped. But they are dang nice and I continue to be positive. Discovered that Seattle is a huge early music hub. Tudor choir, cool!

Monday: Start to become suspicious of the crazy lady with her Asian daughter (Les and Lili). Suspicions confirmed upon conversation with Mark and a few colleagues about the awkwardness of their relationship. Singing in a small group with Big Mark and company. Meet some amazing singers, especially Erika. I REALLY like to sing with her.

Tuesday: My lesson with Jan Coxwell. Goes really well. Great advice; I really respect her. Sing in the mass service at St. James, and the choir turns around--they sound pretty good! Catered BBQ afterwards, and Mark and I take full advantage of the open bar. We go out with the scholars to get a drink and I learn to love Patrick Craig. We decide that Mark and I are Will and Grace and he and Jan are Will and Karen. Jan is excited that she's the drunk one.

Wednesday: Free day in Seattle. Mark and I walk to Pike's Market, then to Nordstrom Rack and buy shoes. We huff and puff our way to Pioneer Square, and then literally run up the steepest hike back to the University for a rehearsal. I thought I was going to die. Very reminiscent of our hostel in Nice... But Mark was a good friend about it and waited for me every five feet when I stretched out my calves.

Thursday: Small Group Sharing Concert. Every single person there psyched themselves out. Our amazing small group bombed, and I'm still very sad about it. Mark and I learned we need more mental preparation before we sing Tallis.

Friday: We heal our egos in time for the Gala concert. But my ego suffers another blow when Jan tells me I'm sharping my high notes on her piece. I develop a huge complex, which almost ruins my outlook on life. Later she senses I'm freaking out and calms me down, so I performed pretty well in the concert. At Compline, Sam and I spy on Les and Lili (as imitated below), having another awkwardly inappropriate mother-daughter moment. We all go to the after

party with an open bar and karaoke and Mark and I steal the show with our drunkenness. As we always do.

Saturday: We have an informal photo shoot with the Tallis Scholars and our friends, check-out, then eat lunch on the roof of Andrew's condo. Mark and I go shopping for hats in Seattle, and then we all drive back so Mark can practice for his church audition. An evening full of crappy hymns. SERIOUSLY CRAPPY hymns.

Sunday: Mark's audition at the Unity Church. He does great. I sing for him at communion and lick the bread before I dip, which upsets the hippies. Afterwards a hot Asian lesbian hits on me and wont leave me alone--I somehow get her phone number. What am I going to with it? Mark and I vintage shop and get crepes and eat leftover Chinese food outside while we talk about all kinds of things (namely spirituality and the absurdity that the Life Sciences Building covers up the telescope in the Astronomy department at MU).

Monday: Trip to Wine Country. Mark and I get thoroughly drunk and buy six bottles of wine. We stop in a McDonalds on the way back for chicken sandwiches and Will and Grace. We go out on the town back in Portland and get lost for about an hour, then eat Italian and drink at a gay bar. We meet a crazy gay who helps usher Mark in to the gay club scene, but also lectures Mark about devotion (the most vague and undefined word in existence).

Tuesday: The tearful goodbye. Really tearful. A tear-filled MAX ride to the airport, a tear-filled check-in... Really nice :)

Were there lessons learned? Every trip has to have lessons learned. So here they are:

1) The only thing the Tallis Scholars love more than singing Renaissance music is getting shit-faced and singing Karaoke at shady bars.

2) The best way to get "noticed" in the music world is to be humble and talented. No one needs to talk themselves up as much as they do.

3) Good friends are hard to find, but easy to keep (I'm sure that's on a bookmark somewhere).

2008-07-24T05:48:00.000-07:00

Deconstructing 1340 B

2008-07-22T11:24:00.001-07:00

Jesus, there's a lot of stuff to do to this apartment before we move.

Mark and I thought it would be an amazing idea to tack up yards and yards of fabric to the walls, even creating a border in one the rooms made out of brown fabric. Cute, huh?

Well, taking it down is not cute. For the past hour I've been trying to take the fabric DOWN so I can give it back to Mark when I visit. And there's plaster in my hair, on my face, on the couches...

And HUGE holes in the wall! When you nail fabric to a wall, the nails go straight in. The fabric is so thin, that the nails almost bury themselves in the wall. So it's impossible to pull the nails out with the back of a hammer. So I've been pulling the fabric off the walls and ceilings (yes, it was nailed to the ceiling as well) hoping that the nails will come with it. Sometimes the nails were nailed into the ceiling at an angle, and when I pull, if it's not the perfect angle, huge chunks of the ceiling come out WITH it. And some of the nails don't come out at all. They're buried into the wall. COOL.

So, you're probably saying "Lindsey, there is a better way to do it." And my response to you is "No there's not. I've tried all the ways. And simply damaging the apartment to pull away the fabric is the best option. If you disagree, come over and do it yourself. You're welcome."

And no, mother. I have NOT started packing.

Transitions

2008-07-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

It's very weird and unsettling to be in a transition right now. I'm here in Columbia, just kind of hanging out and waiting to start my new life in Bloomington. I'm leaving in less than a month (and spending a week and a half out west) and I don't have any time to move FORWARD. So I'm just here, wasting time until the next portion of my life starts. It's kind of upsetting. Mark always calls with stories about his new life and I'm so excited for him, but he's moving forward and I'm just waiting. By myself. It's a weird feeling.

It's like, the only emotions I have time for right now are excitement and sadness. I'm excited about the future, but so sad about what I'm leaving behind.

Apparently Mark is eating tofu coconut smoothies. Who is my friend? It's weird that he's already started a new life. Kind of depressing for me as I sit on my ass and watch Will and Grace by myself.

But don't feel bad, readers (I'd be lucky if there were two of you). Tonight I made a good dinner and mixed lemonade with iced tea and picked myself up.

In the Midst of this Sunshine-Breathing Earth

2008-07-14T23:30:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder why I'm going into early music, because the world of music is so vast and I love it all. Rachel and I are going to try to get together before I leave and work up some music for fun, so I've been going through new lit recently to find the perfect rep for us.

Would you believe that the only lieder I did in my college studies was Mahler? A LOT of Mahler, but nothing else. And I love Mahler, but there's so much out there. I like Brahms, but it's not my favorite--a little too folksy. So, I got some Strauss and went through it this evening.

What have I been missing? Of course I know his operas, and I know his virtuosic lieder. But there are a lot of understatedly beautiful pieces I had never heard that I can't wait to do. "Morgen" might be of the most beautiful pieces I've ever heard and I can't wait to put it in Rachel's hands.

And tomorrow the sun will shine again

And on the path that I shall follow

It will reunite us, fortunate ones,

In the midst of this sunshine-breathing earth...

How he sets that is so fitting and perfect, and it makes me wonder if Strauss was human to write it. Or if humans are allowed to make music so perfect...

If I had Money...

2008-07-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

...I would buy more clothes.

I shop at Anthropologie. I am an Anthropologie girl. Unfortunately, my wallet is not an Anthropologie wallet. So I am limited in what I can buy.

Sometimes I like to go to their website and browse and pick out fake outfits for Anthropologie Lindsey. Here are some finds:

This top with the brown skirt, tucked in:

This skirt with a tank:

This dress. Enough said:

And this dress, for when I'm feeling crazy and kind of frumpy (which is a lot):

Filling the Void

2008-07-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

So Mark moved out. He officially left our parking lot at 5:15 yesterday evening with a car filled to the brim with everything that "made the cut." His move was long, tedious, emotional, difficult, and wonderfully fulfilling at the same time. As a result, I was a schizophrenic mess when he left, which could only be quelled by my anti-gay-but-kind-of-gay-best-non-gay-guy-friend Neil (Neil, by the way, is NOT anti gay as in "I'm gonna kill me some gays today," but anti-gay in his "I'm obviously a top" macho-ness). We cooked, drank, ate, drank, talked, drank, played wii, and drank, all of which were very straight-gay activities that helped me deal with the passing of my gay-gay best friend.

I spent today by myself in my mess of an apartment, trashed with Mark's leftover belongings he tossed aside while packing when he realized his little Prism wouldn't hold it all. I spent much of the day wandering around and avoiding cleaning up the multitude of unorganized piles. I straightened my hair, edited my recital mp3s, discussed moving logistics with my mother, warmed up leftover salmon... And after stuffing my brain with as much Bravo reality tv as I could take, I decided to deal with the loss of my beloved gay in a

more proactive manner.

When your best friend packs up and heads off on the Oregon Trail to pursue an unknown career on the west coast and return indefinitely, it's easy to fall into a state of zombie-like shock. But I caught myself early, dried my eyes, made a craft-run to Walmart, and watched Kathy Griffin while crafting. As this was a favorite activity for me and Markie Jean, it seemed an appropriate homage to him. Since the beginning of time, I have been stealing the book covers from the bulletin board on the top floor of Ellis Library that have ANYTHING to do with music and I have been hoarding them in my room while I wait for an idea of how to use them. I found a stack of unused picture frames Mark left behind, and an idea popped into my head--why not crop the book covers and frame them, to be used as a decoration in my Bloomington apartment! It seemed like a unique idea--framing a bunch of visually interesting covers from a bunch of boring music books. So I did it. And to up the interest, I used different frames and I'll hang them seemingly unordered. After literally hours of cutting, rubber cementing, and centering, I ended up with 10 cropped covers and a sense of accomplishment.

Mark would be proud. Critical...but proud.

Realizations

2008-07-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

I just went to Addison's with Whitney and crew. Sometimes I think I am a bit of an alcoholic, until I drink two beers and get drunk, and I realize I'm a regular consumer. So I'm a little drunk. (does that make sense? It doesn't, really... but it doesn't matter because I'm the only person who reads this)

Last week I ran a summer camp for COMP and was also the chorus master for Pirates of Penzance with the Missouri Symphony. What a week... Yesterday I sang a Bach aria from a lost cantata with members of MOS for their chamber concert. It was kind of thrilling to perform with professionals (even though I'm not happy with my performance), and it convinced me that I'm getting into the right field.

Mark is leaving next week (presumably). It's kind of weird. I'm not thinking about it. I'm not sad yet, but I'm not allowing myself to be. I imagine when it actually DOES happen that I'll be a mess. Ice cream and supportive friends welcome at this time.