I feel almost foolish writing something about my life right now. Things have changed so much in the past 9 months (or whenever my last post was) and I don't feel inspirational or witty or punny . . . hmmm. I was thinking a lot on my way home from dropping off a loan payment to APU this afternoon, and finally came to a couple of conclusions about my somewhat dissappointing career as a violinist. As most of you know, shortly after I made my decision to pursue music history, a very enthusiastic friend tried to give me a hug and a kiss when we got together after not seeing each other for a long time. In my efforts to curb (or participate in - no one will ever know for sure) the enthusiasm, we both fell in a heap on the sidewalk, and I broke my left wrist. I'm so glad that she didn't get hurt too! The fracture itself was not terrible, but one month later it was not better, and rather had pulled apart more. After three months of disability, I relly missed my violin, but to this day have not been able to get back to the skill level that I was when I left it. This brought me to my thought process today! I realized for the first time that my biggest fear in playing was that I would fail. That was probably the thought that held me back the most, the thought that kept me from looking honestly at my flaws as a violinist and fixing them, and also in my mind, the worst thing that could possibly happen was that I would never be able to play the violin again. Guess what . . . the worst thing that could possibly happen . . . well it happened! Now it didn't happen in the fullest sense that I can't ever play again, but it was taken away from me completely for a season, and I learned that it wasn't so terrible. Now I am excited to go back to it (because the worst has already taken place) and practice without fear, without caring what other people think so much, and without blinding myself to the technical things that are really holding me back. So what was my conclusion? If I practice well this summer with this new kind of mindset, I wonder what kind of violinist I will be in the fall. Food for thought.
I bought another fish last week, but he is at work so that Kringle won't eat him. His name is Leonard. I hope I don't kill him too.
In other news, Peter and I (Oh yes, I have a boyfriend now too . . . we became official in the doctor's office when I broke my wrist) went to the Laughlin River Run last weekend and had a BLAST!!! I saw some country that I had never seen before and almost got to see the Grand Canyon. I did get to see Hoover Dam instead of the Grand Canyon, and that was fun too. The biker community is interesting. I feel strangely both a part of it, and completely unable to relate. I did buy a shirt though . . . and helmet, and chaps, and riding boots. Ok, I'm a crazy biker chick now! I love riding a Harley!
I miss my friends, and everyone should come to my birthday party. It's not until July, but I'm giving everyone early notice. Hey, I'm always down for coffee on the weekends too . . . just call me!
Take care everyone!

Oh, I forgot to mention that I've been having some issues in my studio. I returned from Colorado to find that the washers in both the sink and bathtub hot water faucets had broken and the water had been running full force for a good week, if not longer. I'm afraid that a lot of things were ruined by mold, including all of my textbooks and notes from my music history classes, and the entire bathroom had to be renovated. Several of you have asked me how that situation is going and I can gladly say that it is finally getting back to normal around my place. I'm grateful that I had a dress bag from being in UCO or all of my formal dresses would have been ruined at best. As it was, I had to throw out my old violin case cover, my notes, a few clothes and other books and I couldn't sleep in my own home for three days. Thank you to all of you who offered to help me and provided a place to stay for me and my cat during the interim repairs. Without you, I would have been sick and homeless all over again.

I know that I've been sadly remiss in journaling the events of my life - mostly because I've been too unstable physically to have anything good to say. Plus I lost my internet bill and was kicked offline again. There! The truth of my lack of responsible behavior comes out. I'm so glad that I got that out of the way.
In effort to move forward with my life, I've made several drastic decisions in the last few weeks. Those of you who know my indecisive nature will also know that these decisions may swing right back around again, but as of right now I'm pretty stoked about the new plan of action - to stop pursuing violin performance.
Now, before shoes and tomatoes are thrown let me make it extremely clear that I'm not giving up the violin. I will keep playing, and I will keep moving forward as much as possible in my career as a musician. However, I don't like the person that I have become in pursuit of this goal. I'm angry, bitter, jealous of my friends, unhappy and frustrated. It's become something that I don't enjoy, don't love, and don't have any excitement or desire to pursue. It takes all of my effort to drag myself in the practice room and work for a half an hour, all the while thinking how much I hate it and how my life is on hold until I get it together.
What has been a desire of mine for several years now is to pursue a masters and doctorate degree in musicology, so that I can teach music history in a University. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that no matter what I do, I'm always going to want to have those degrees and that career anyway, and I am wasting my time being frustrated about something when I could move forward now in my life goals. I also figured it was about time to be justified in scaring off first dates by going on and on about the new Indie film about Farinelli (he didn't call back for a second date, and in retrospect I can see why).
The day that I made this decision, my entire perspective on my present situation changed. I wanted to practice - simply because I love to play, not because I'm striving for something. I started reading my textbook on music history and began thinking of topics that may be good for a dissertation. I also started research for a paper about French music which was inspired by a comment from my violin teacher in Colorado, and have spent a few days at the APU library. It's official - I'm now on the road to being a crazy music history professor with frizzy red hair and glasses.
Anyway, that's the biggest news at the moment. There are other changes in the works too, but I dont feel like writing about them at the moment. I'm currently looking for another job and continuing to get my strength back after having mono. I'm starting to feel like a normal person again, but I still need at least 10 hours of sleep a day to feel anywhere close to being human. I love it when I start crying like a baby at work simply because I'm so tired. I have a great understanding for children right now.
Miss everyone and hopefully we can hang out soon.

Most of you have heard of the charming guest that visited Kringle and me this week. Kringle had the pleasure of entertaining him first, and was left with a prize of a tail. Last night our guest returned, much to Kringle's delight, but was unfortunately met with Mr. Broom and escorted back outside. All in all, he was a cute little gecko though, and I am sorry for the loss of his tail which will make it difficult for him to maintain his rank in the gecko world! Kringle is a good cat and received a treat for his efforts, as he was very upset when his prize (which he ardently informed me of) was taken away. It was amazing to watch the gecko squeeze under the door with a crack that was no bigger than a quarter inch wide. I'm glad that it was Mr. Gecko, and not Mr. Mouse!
In other (and more important) news, I was finally able to meet with Bob last week. Training starts anew, and the best options at the moment look like Rice University and the University of Washington. Although both options are exciting, I dread uprooting again and leaving the friends and church that I've come to love - as few and far between as they are. Because of that, the UW looks more appealing simply because I would be closer to my brother and sister. I dislike not having any family here and friends who live so far away. I don't like the idea of leaving LA though, and two years away from the place that I've made my own is not attractive to me. Still, my undergraduate experience has taught me that the years go by quickly, and that I will be happy anywhere that I am truly supposed to be. I will be scheduling a lesson with Mr. Patterson as soon as I can get my training up to par, which includes starting my running regime and going off coffee for a while, as well as practice of course!
So, all my Washington buddies, I'm coming home for a visit!!! Let's hang out!

. . . is that Mary is back online!!! I now have a high speed internet in my apartment. Now all I need is a couch and a few more dishes to make my house a little bit more homey. My job is going well, although I'm not sure how I'm going to make budget with the kinds of hours they are giving me. I know that I am going to have to get a studio of scary young violinists here in a few weeks. Le *sigh*!
My life is fairly boring right now. I just got over being deathly ill . . . again. But that shouldn't surprise anyone by now.
I get to see Bob this week. I'm looking forward to it.

Just WAITING for my post? Actually, I've come to realize that nobody really cares whether I post or not . . . except my faithful stalkers in Montana. So, in honor of those few (and those who actually still might be interested), here's what I've been up to since I left y'alls last!
I arrived in California with a much delayed flight due to a bomb/terrorist threat or something of the sort on my connecting flight from Portland. The scenario was not happy, with quite a few security and airport police trying to whisper as casually as they could something about something in the baggage claim, the announcement that the flight was cancelled, and me having to fly with an ear infection back to Seattle (when I had just flown from Spokane) and then down to LA. The rest of the week was happy however, and I was able to settle into my new apartment in Alhambra, find the sweetest kitty ever at the Baldwin Park Animal Shelter, and receive a promise of a renewal of my work situation at Whole Foods.
Since then, things crashed just a bit - my cat was sick, my car broke down, I lost my job at Whole Foods (They didn't have a "place" for me) and I got sick with a nasty head cold. However, a new job is in the works (as of tomorrow), Kringle is feeling a lot better and Mary's nose has stopped running profusely and issuing projectile snot when she least expects it.
The best part has been being able to reconnect with friends and church family here in LA. I will be playing with the Golden State Pops Orchestra next week and am also excited to start meeting with Priscilla, a wonderful woman from my church for some one-on-one time before the services on Sunday morning. Since I'm still commited to Lake Avenue's services twice a month, it will be a bi-monthly thing, but I'm excited for my new start and the possibilties of establishing a "mom" mentor from my church.
I'm still researching Master's programs, and will be meeting with Bob later this week to find out his perspectives on things. That will be good.
Things are quite lonely living alone. I am grateful for Kringle - he keeps my head on straight most of the time. That being said, I need a lot of phone calls and visits, since I don't have a computer anymore. Yeah . . . call me sometime! Love!

I dont' want to pay for it! Besides, my friends are all doing it and I wouldn't want to conform - or rather, my friends on Xanga wouldn't be able to hear it. Unless I converted them to LJ . . .

Anyway, I've been having a fantastic time out here in MT and have been rather remiss in staying up to date with the dear little journal. First of all, my parent's new house is absolutely amazing! I was concerned before I came that it wouldn't be like home, since it was a house that I had never seen. That could not have been less true and the only way that I can describe it is that it's a true Cummings home! It has beautiful carpet, hardwood floors, stone tile in the bathrooms, an awesome new HD tv (that only plays movies of course), a ginormous (that's our own word)kitchen and dining room, lots of windows and a big deck that faces the glorious mountains! Walking in was like I'd never left, even though I had never been here before. Mom and dad had scripture put inside all of the walls while it was being built and it is an incredibly peaceful home.
So, we've been having a great time! My brother and his wife arrived with my favorite girl (Ebony, the dog!) a few days before Christmas, and Esprit and I put together a few musical selections for the Sunday morning/eve service, as well as our own version of the scene from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" where Linus tells Charlie Brown what Christmas is all about. My brother was a PERFECT Charlie Brown and we had the most pathetic tree that ever was to use as a prop.
We played a lot of games together as a family, which is something that we haven't done for a while, and even though I lost miserably on the Farming Game (I kept missing the cow harvest after I had invested 50,000 in cows), I still enjoyed myself.
Now that they are gone, I've been occupying myself by having tea with Mama Hall, seeing Ellen, Practicing and looking for a new kitty since the one previously offered fell through. OH . . . I forgot about the shopping! Well that's been good too. :)
I'm looking forward to getting back to LA and hanging out with my friends and getting settled with some good direction. As much as I enjoy it here, I'm ready to be an adult again. The food has been really good though!

Happy New Year! (I get to blow things up tomorrow!!!)

For each month of 2006, go through your LJ and post the title and the first sentence (or paragraph if it helps the context) from your first post for that month.

January
More Fireworks Than I Bargained For
A house just blew up five blocks away, but I didn't do it.

February
So Blest, So Tired
I haven't slept in a few days, but I got my paper done, and am only slightly worse for wear.

March
Let it Go . . .
I had coffee with an old friend tonight. We had really meaningful conversation, which is what I crave and miss so often. We both had the same advice for each other - Let it Go!

April
Recluse . . .
This next week, I am turning my phone off and will not be responding to many of my messages unless it is a business matter. IM is going to be out too. You are welcome to leave comments and messages and I will read them just in case something is urgent; and by urgent, I mean descriptive of something that requires immediate attention or else the world will come to an end.

May
Ok then . . .
Yeah, my housing for the summer fell through, which means I have approximately four days to find a new place to live.

June
Me 'n' John hangin' out backstage . . .
Disney Hall was incredible as usual!

July
4th of July . . .
I had to work most of the day. I was not able to perform my typical pyrotechnic antics or be with family, but I had a good time after work anyway.

August
Ok Ok . . .
Results are in! I have a normal brain.

September
Long day . . .
We had our first six-hour rehearsal for symphony today! I am really encouraged that we got more accomplished in those six hours than we have in any full semester of my academic career.

October
The Secret is Out . . .
So I tried to post a few days ago, but it wouldn't let me. So I'm posting now, since I have a paper due in an hour and have massive writer's block. I write in hopes to encourage some form of coherent thought.
That secret that I mentioned . . . well it's the unknown and well-hidden fact that I am a very shy person.

November
If I may wax poetic . . .
I woke up this morning with my body protesting the hour . . . 5:30 and counting! I knew it would protest more later if I allowed it the stress of undiscipline to creep in. Grumbling through my morning routine, one thought continuously crossed my mind, "Today's going to suck!". I finally made it to my door, heavily laden with books and violin, and when I flung open the door a pink fluffy sky met my vision and the cool, crisp air filled my lungs with life. Maybe "today" wouldn't be as bad as I thought.

December
Chairman Meow?
Call me crazy if you will, but I am now the proud mommy of a Siamese/Linx kitty!

As our guest missionary said this morning - "I can get DSL in Panay, but it hasn't made it to Missoula yet??". Go figure . . .

So I'm enjoying being at home. The ride home from the airport last night was breathtaking and beautiful as it was perfectly clear with a million stars shining through. The new house is absolutely gorgeous and so peaceful! I'm really happy for my parents that God gave them such a wonderful home, and I'm really looking forward to spending Christmas day here with the family. Aaron and Esprit arrive on Thursday and Esprit and I will be working out the glitches from our specials for the Christmas Eve/Morning service which will include some violin/vocal duets, some violin/piano duets, and a live production of the scene from "Charlie Brown Christmas" that we'll use my brother (I hope) and one of my dear friends from the church for.
It was good to see my friends from the church here this morning, and I found to my surprise that mom and dad have been much better about not posting my life as a bulletin board for the entire community to read. It was nice to be able to tell people what has been going on myself, rather than have people assume that they know everything, which sounds arrogant and cold, but is refreshing after 26 years without much privacy. I know that it is because people love me here, and that was made very evident by the welcome that I received this morning. I was excited to make arrangements to have tea with Mama Hall next week (my mentor/discipler) as well as plans to see the Merwins (my second brother and sister and their four kids) and KC and Cindy (who have my horse that I get to ride).
Tomorrow, dad and I are driving to the city to go Christmas shopping. Readddyyy . . . set . . . BUY EVERYTHING IN FOUR HOURS!!!! I'm excited - I'm one of those weird people that actually enjoys Christmas shopping in a mad rush!
I miss everyone in California! I don't have the ability to get AIM here (AIMExpress is doing something weird) and my LiveJournal won't show up as normal script because of the massive amounts of filters that Dad has on his computer in order to prevent a virus from destroying his PC. Oh well - I'll have to crochet, practice, and watch movies a lot, which is what I planned on doing anyway!

P.S. I just found out that if I use a different web browser I can post to LJ. Maybe I won't get to practice as much as I need to. Bummer . . . JKS!

I just graduated!!!!

I've had an awesome number of weeks! I need to remember that so that when the pressure of not having a place to live and feeling unstable starts to get to me, I can remind myself of how much God loves me. My recital was everything that I ever coudl have hoped for, and ended with an idea to continue to study with Bob here at APU for a Master's degree. In reviewing the idea with Bob however, we both agree that while I still need to study with him, I need to start researching some other schools. He's going to call some of his friends at the more advanced schools, explain my history to them and see if they will listen to me with an open mind based on my history and the fact that I'm one of his that he believes in. THAT was a totally humbling conversation! Sunday I spent the day at church and hanging out with Tim and Shelvy. Tim helped me look around for a place to live on Saturday, and we had a good time. Sunday we all killed a bunch of zombies on his X-Box and then Tim went ahead to the annual Metro Christmas party, which I joined later after a long conversation with my dad about housing concerns. I am so encouraged and excited to be independent from school and able to join a community of believers and not have to worry about studying for a test or doing homework! I love my church and feel like I am home every time I am able to spend time and fellowship with them.
While I was hanging out with Shelvy, he invited me to join him at Molly Malone's Irish Pub in LA to hear a friend of his named Reeve Carney perform. My roommates joined me and it was an AMAZING time of really good music and hanging out! It's always fun to hang out with . . . well . . . all of them!
I was notified today that I have possession of a cute little studio in Alhambra that will be perfect for me and my cat! It is
in Alhambra and managed by wonderful Christian landlords. They fell in love with me at the very beginning and so even though the unit that she showed me was rented before I could apply, they decided not to advertise one that is opening up in the beginning of January to let me have it, which works out better for me anyway because I'll be in Montana over December.
I have two more finals and then I will be finished. I'm looking forward to having a degree! Hooray for me!

Call me crazy if you will, but I am now the proud mommy of a Siamese/Linx kitty! Now normally I hate cats, but I have always loved Siamese and wanted one. Recently I have been considering getting a cat after graduation because I enjoy the company of a pet and often need something to cuddle that won't take it the wrong way. *cough*
So, I mentioned the idea to my mom who instantly cringed at the idea due to the financin, and the time and energy that would be involved with training a puppy or a kitten. Over Thanksgiving break I thought about the idea a lot and I decided that I would (great Christian answer) pray about it. I literally told God, that if he wanted me to have a pet that He would have to give me one. The following Wednesday I got an e-mail from a friend at church saying that she had found an abandoned Siamese that is really sweetly tempered and cuddly, and needs a good home. I e-mailed her immediately to find out the particulars, and it turned out that he was two years old, fully domesticated, had shots, vaccinations and the works and only needed someone to give him a good home. Because he had already been at the shelter for three weeks, he was on the list to be euthenized on Friday. She picked him up for me, and I am only waiting to hear from my friend (who just got two kittens) to see if he can take him for the week that I will be without a place for Mr. Meow. Chairman Meow is the name we (my future roommate and I) are leaning towards, but without seeing him I can't say for sure what his name will be. I'm really excited though. The whole thing makes me go "Squee"! I'll post pictures as soon as I have any. I can't wait to meet my new kitty. :)

I had a good time with my family here in Oregon for Thanksgiving, and it was especially meaningful for us since we have not been able to celebrate this holiday together for about six years. It was interesting to see how the extended family has changed. My cousin who is closest to my age is expecting their first baby, and the cousin that I was closest to (as in, we played together a lot growing up) showed up at the house with his wife and 8 kids! The kids were really well behaved, and it was neat to see how he and his wife are nurturing some kids without parents. They have four of their own, two foster children and his sister's children right now. It is quite a handful, especially when you added the dog and a puppy to the equation. Needless to say, it was mildly chaotic, but still nice to be with everyone.
My brother and his wife arrived from Seattle this morning, and I'm definitely looking forward to spending more time with them at Christmas. My sister and I spent some quality time working on our friendship today, and at the end of it she surprised me with a wonderful graduation present and bought me a recital dress that is absolutely beautiful. I only wish that she could be there for the recital.
All in all, I have a lot to be thankful for, and I'm eager to get back to finish all of the millions of tiny things that I need to do, which have been invading my dreams of late and making it impossible to get any kind of decent sleep. See y'all!

Today the tears finally came. All weekend I fought them. All morning on my way to class I struggled to keep control. But during chapel those stubborn little tears forced their way out of my eyes and spilled out, releasing the tension of the weeks that have led to this day. Pastor Steve's face was ever before my eyes during worship and during the speaking. His influence and passion for Christ were things that I will never forget. He was the kind of man that you just wanted to be near - not necessarily for conversation, just to listen and learn from. I will always remember him saying to me, "Don't call me 'Pastor' Steve, or I'll start calling you 'Violinist Mary'". He held our family together in the most difficult times, sheltered my parents, supported their ministry and challenged me in my walk after the blow up of Polson. We thought that he was healed . . . but the leukemia took him unexpectedly and very quickly.
"Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me."
I know God is moving other places - I am not offended that He took Pastor Steve and chose not to heal him. I just miss him, and I'm very sad.

On a happier scale, I passed my pre-recital today, although my favorite piece was cut because it wasn't up to par, and a little bit heavy for the already heavy recital. I'm ok with it, and actually a little bit relieved. Now I can rest a little bit before the next big push. And I get to go to Portland for Thanksgiving!

Thank you to all that have prayed for me this week!

My dad just called to let me know that Pastor Steve Valentine passed away this morning. He was my pastor in Montana and I can't begin to describe the empty hole that his death leaves for me, my parents and their ministry. I'm going to miss him so much. Please be in prayer for my family and our church.

I woke up this morning with my body protesting the hour . . . 5:30 and counting! I knew it would protest more later if I allowed it the stress of undiscipline to creep in. Grumbling through my morning routine, one thought continuously crossed my mind, "Today's going to suck!". I finally made it to my door, heavily laden with books and violin, and when I flung open the door a pink fluffy sky met my vision and the cool, crisp air filled my lungs with life. Maybe "today" wouldn't be as bad as I thought.
The one thought that pervaded my morning walk was this: "It's been a year".
The remembrance of pain still catches me sometimes. The tears, and the brokenness, disappointment, and confusion went deeper than I ever could have imagined and still meets me in points of exhaustion. But as I thought about it this morning at that hour, I began to think of what God did! Empowering me with the ability to forgive, using a non-Christian to bring healing to my life (and theirs as well), restoring the joy of friendship, bringing me to a church family, and allowing me to continue in fellowship and life were things that I would have stood up and said, "Impossible" this time last year.
All of these thought led to gratitude towards Him, and as I walked and pondered all I could help doing was to say, "Thank You for all that You have done to work all things together for good!".

Today I realized . . . my recital is five weeks away.
My senior thesis is due in two weeks, and my senior defense is due four days later.

I wish I knew what I was doing after I am finished! :(

I'm ridiculous! I had a paper due by midnight tonight and just finished it around 12:30. After that I was so brain dead that I haven't even been able to get up to go to bed. Plus, I'm kind of hungry since I had dinner a long time ago on the run! So in the midst of exhaustion and famine, I am prepared to give a brief account of my week.
This week was one of the most challenging I've had yet! It began with a 14 hour day on Monday which ended in an hour of having Bob yell at me in my lesson. It was the only lesson to date where Bob has made me cry from frustration and left me feeling so discouraged that I wanted to quit. I decided that I had two options however, quitting or sucking it up and trying again. I chose the latter, even though everything in me screamed that there was no point. Add to that the extreme exhaustion of the day, the fact that my body hurt all over and the need to rest so as not to end up in the hospital again and I knew that the rest of the evening plans would not be wise. I called my friends to let them know that I would not be able to attend an 11:30 pm shindig on the mountain. The eruption of Mt. Megdrew followed with devastating consequences, and I wound up not getting to bed until 2 am anyway. Sheesh, I might as well have gone to the mountain!
Although the situation was very aggravating, I was glad to see the change in my mindset from last year. While being unhappy that I hurt someone I care about, I did not feel guilty, and I knew that I made the right decision. This was a huge step for me, and when I stopped being mad about stuff, I was able to see it and thank God for how He has worked in my life.
This week I also was able to share meals with two very important people in my life. I had dinner with Scott and lunch with Colleen. Both always encourage me so much with their wisdom and love. I hope that I might be able to model both of them in some way some time in my life.
Friday I had several kisses from God! I had a somewhat redemptive lesson with Bob this morning, in which I was challenged more than ever to keep him in my prayers. I had an excellent visit to the grocery store in which I found out that my highly favored peppermint ice cream is on the market for the holidays. This ranked right up there with the wonderful Maple Frappucino that I got from Starbucks. Neither of these were nearly so wonderful however, as the tiny booming sounds that I heard while I was in the middle of writing my sixth page. It didn't take me more than a minute to realize what it was, and startled my friend Russel excessively by leaping off the couch screaming, "FIREWORRRKKKKKSSS". I ran outside (accompanied by mild hopping) and had a perfect view of the fireworks show hosted by the Citrus College homecoming game. A lot of people came out into the courtyard of UP, and most of them that I knew asked if it had been me screaming about the fireworks. What can I say? Any day is a good day that includes colorful explosions!
Tomorrow, I've  been invited to OC to hang out with Gene and pick up my skates which have been sitting at his place for a month now, but I've also been invited to go see Dracula with Russ and Allison. I don't want to decide . . . can I just crawl in the closet and hide? Maybe I should go pull covers over my head instead . . .

Yesterday began in a completely normal fashion . . . my alarm went off at 4:45, I snoozed every ten minutes for the next hour until I turned my alarm off and got up at 7. I went to class where I didn't have my homework completed, and then I went to the music building and waited for Bob to arrive 20 minutes late for my lesson. I popped my head in Alex Russell's office and gave him a hard time for a while, tasted my moldy muffin (It was blueberry . . . I thought the mold was blueberry) and was suddenly startled by the fire alarm. Although the fire alarm is very loud, I did what we normally do . . . I ignored it for a few minutes and hoped that it would go away. After all, I'm sure somebody just opened the fire door again, right? The problem was, it didn't go away this time!
I decided that it was about time to mosey on downstairs, and Alex came out of his office with his fiddle and said, "I didn't hear about a drill, so just in case this is real, I'm taking my violin with me". I arrived outside to mass chaos - the entire international chapel had been evacuated, as well as the Ronald Building and the Warren Music center. Campus Safety was running around yelling for people to get as far away from the building as we could. After about two minutes waiting with the music faculty in the parking lot (none of which knew what was going on), Bob drove up and asked me what the chaos was all about. Campus Safety informed everyone that the area would be closed down until 12:30 that day, and yelled at Bob to move his car as fast as he could. I promised Bob that I would let him know as soon as I knew anything and went over to be with my heart to heart/accountability partner Colleen from the music office. Right when I went over to ask her what to do about the exam that I was supposed to proctor for Dr. Claire, the lead officer came over and informed her that Campus Safety had just received a bomb threat for Munson Chapel. It sounded like they were lookin to evacuate the entire campus, and I made some phone calls to see if I could crash anywhere for the day. I finally decided to just go home and risk being evacuated later. 
After making the appropriate phone calls to inform family members that I was safe I proceeded to fall asleep for the next five hours. When I woke up, I heard the news that the bomb squad had found the "suspicious package" and detonated it with no secondary explosion and no damage to the surrounding areas. I never thought I'd have to deal with bomb threats against the music building at APU. 

In other news, the symphony had it's first concert last week and it was really wonderful. I already miss our conductor, but I'm excited for the potential for Shosty 5. Otherwise, all I've been doing is homework. No really . . . that's all I've been doing!

Why is it that you always feel better AFTER you go to the doctor. This week I was unfortunate enough to land in the emergency room with what turned out to be a migraine that wouldn't respond to medication. My roommates were awesome and took fantastic care of me, even after being poked with an IV (an event that seriously traumatizes me) and being doped up with a mix of Benadryl and Compozen (or something like that). By the time the doctor got to me, I was in a lot less pain than what drove me there in the first place and felt like I probably didn't need to be there at all. Go figure . . . I don't want to see the bill. 
I am greatly enjoying the fact that I have Saturday free now to do as I please! No more Jamba Juice and it's citric acid that makes me look like a hardened criminal who has purposefully burned off their fingerprints! I am still on a seasonal status with them, so I get to keep my discount card, and I can go back to work any time I please. Until then, I plan on enjoying myself by making muffins, doing my homework AHEAD OF TIME, visiting Dan et al in OC, watching Trojan football, practicing, doing laundry and watching movies. 

Are these entries still boring? Maybe my life will be more interesting sometime soon . . .