Mmmmm Morning

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

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!!

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

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.

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

Baby got Back (to School)

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

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...)