Sick, getting better

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

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.

Updates

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.

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!

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...

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...