March 2008 Archives

Ah, my spring break has finally drawn to a close.  Unfortunately, as has always been the case, Carrie and I did not have the same week off, so I was left to my own devices.  With a recital coming up in 13 days, 11 hrs and 48 mins, I did have some practicing to do, but let's see what else Andy has been up to.

First, this was pretty much a perfect week for some March Madness action.  Aside from Texas not advancing to the final four, I've been doing pretty well with my bracket, to the extent that if UCLA wins it all, I should win at least one pool (sadly, no money involved).  Today's KU game was the absolutely hardest to watch.  I'm a big KU fan, FYI (my dad is a KU grad), so this game with Davidson was brutal.  I'm pretty sure the largest lead either team had was six points.  Neither team could pull away and it literally wasn't over until that final buzzer sounded.  Woof.

Second, I did do some practicing, but perhaps not as much as I should have...

Third, I finished the first major revision of my post-minimalist paper, weighing in at 65 pages.  Now just to wait and see what the prof thinks of it this go around.  (And for those of you keeping score at home, yes, it was supposed to be finished last semester.  I did get a rough draft in, though :)

Fourth, I played hours and hours of Hordes of Orcs, a silly Mac strategy game.  I think Carrie summed it up perfectly when she said, "You actually find this fun?"  I'm pretty sure that's all I did on Monday while Carrie was gone.

Fifth, I filed our KC taxes.  Ugh.

Sixth, and finally, I posted some things on craigslist for sale.  I sold an old keyboard, and after getting that cash in my hands I started raiding the house for other stuff.  Anyone interested in an old Sega Genesis? 

So, now that the break is over, I suppose it's time to really practice tons and get geared up for the end of the semester.  Also, a bit more blogging.  I've been a bit lazy lately.

 

Just wanted to pass along some good news.  First, I passed my recital hearing, so my recital is officially on for Sunday, April 13, at 7:30 pm in Grant Recital Hall for those of you near the UMKC campus.  Expect facebook invites soon.

Second, during the hearing I was apparently eloquent and enthusiastic when I talked about William Duckworth's Time Curve Preludes, which in turn led my professor to say that if I wanted to pursue similar pieces that it'd be good.  Sensing an opening, I mentioned that I thought a lecture-recital about interpretive decisions in post-minimalist music would be good and he gave me the early green light.  Now, what to program...  I'm thinking about maybe some Duckworth Imaginary Dances, David Borden's Double Portrait and James Sellar's Sonata No. 6 (Patterns on a Field), but that's just what I thought of on the drive home.  :)

Last night Carrie made a suggestion, to which I whole-heartedly agreed, but it ended up being a terrible, terrible idea.

Carrie had taken a nap yesterday and wandered over to my side of the bed.  She said it was quite cozy, and thought a switch of sides was in order.  Given that I had compromised early in our marriage (read: gave into her) and abandoned the side I desired, I was all over it.

Unfortunately, neither of us got any sleep last night.  It was awful.  I hadn't thought that one of our cats likes to sleep by Carrie's face.  At first, said cat was very confused that I was over there and slept between us, but then around 2:00 am she decided that she preferred her original spot, i.e. by my face.  This was bad, because I like to sleep on the edge of the bed, which I could no longer do, and I also felt trapped between that cat and Carrie, unable to move freely.  I, like Carrie, got basically no sleep last night.

Luckily, Carrie is on Spring Break this week, so she was able to get some real sleep after I left in the morning.  Me on the other hand... well, I'm thinking nap time is in order.

I almost forgot.  (Of course, it isn't Pi day for our European brethren who prefer the DD/MM/YYYY format, which, when you think about it, is quite logical.)

On a related note, the world record for digits of Pi memorized is 67,890 digits.  That's sick.

I was just doing some thinking today about the economy, weak dollar, inflation, etc., and realized that I'd probably be a rather unpopular President.  (Note: I don't even pretend to be an economist, these are just some of my ideas...)

So here's what I've been thinking:

1) The economy / recession:  I think I'm among the few that actually think this would be a good thing.  The primary reason being that I think everything on this planet is governed by cycles, and to fight a natural downturn in the economy only hurts in the long run.  Think of it this way - a recession is a way for the market to correct wrongs such as failing business models and spurious investments.  Without these times where it is necessary to prune, the economy risks becoming riddled with hideous problems that may cause much worse problems than a little recession.  Just a thought.

2)  Fed rate cuts:  Stop killing my savings rates and driving down the value of the dollar.  Granted, I want to go to Europe this summer, so I'm not really happy about the current exchange rate, and yes, I understand that there are many benefits to having a weak dollar.  What bugs me more is that my wife and I work hard to build up savings, part of which are invested in a high-yield savings account.  Well, our APY went from 5.5% to 3.3%.  Thanks.

3)  Market downturns:  If you are a long-term investor, and that should be pretty much all of us, the way this market has been plunging since Jan 1 only means one thing:  BUY!  I only wish we had more money to pour into our retirement plans right now, though I will say we bumped out monthly contributions to as much as I thought we could feasibly handle.

4)  Gas prices:  As I see it, there are a few different reasons for the continued rise in gas prices.  First, surging demand from China and India.  As those economies grow, people are making money, and lots of people that never had cars before can now afford them.  (That, and growing economies need crude oil in lots of different ways).  Second, we Americans love to drive, and we love to drive big cars.  Don't blame Detroit or even those Japanese (Toyota makes a lot of SUV's and trucks).  People only buy what they want, and a good business gives them what they want.  Third, the weak dollar hurts the prices we pay for crude.  Fourth, exploration and excavation is getting increasingly expensive.  So what to do?

Well, I'd tax the heck out of gasoline, I'm talking $7-8 a gallon, which I think would have lots of positive benefits.  Of course, this would hurt the poorest the most, so to compensate the government would have to issue flat checks to families under a certain income level.  This tax money then could be used not only to develop more eco-friendly, efficient fuel tech (sorry, I don't see ethanol fixing anything, but that's another idea that wouldn't float well in the Iowa primaries).  I also think we need a new interstate system, only instead of cars rail systems.  Think about that.  I'd be a fan of high-speed railways that run parallel to the interstates, but I don't know if others would be on board.

Oh, so the benefit I think would also be a move to much more fuel efficient cars and alternative energy vehicles, because it'd be a consumer-driven shift.  CAFE standards are nice, but if people keep buying big trucks and SUV's, they don't help as much as I'd like.  Also, demand for public transit should also increase, and then hopefully some of the stigma that is attached to public transit would also diminish.  (Us midwesterners ain't used to those fancy underground trains.)

Also, did I mention that I think our dependence on middle eastern oil is one of the single greatest security threats to our country?

Ok, this post has gotten long enough.  If you made it this far, pat yourself on the back, and maybe even go get a cookie while you're at it.

For you facebooker's, here' a link - Food Court Musical

Something that is a part of my nature is that I like to know what I am capable of.  My wife tends to think I'm a bit crazy, so I know that not everyone feels so inclined.  Ok, so I've jumped right in, perhaps I should give some examples.

Last summer I tried to run a marathon.  Got up to 19 miles in training before my ankle decided I had had enough.  I'm going to try again this summer, and hopefully do a duathlon as well (think triathlon minus the swimming).

I working toward a terminal degree in music.  If I had decided to pursue math as an undergrad instead, I'd still be working on a doctorate right now.

I've never really observed Lent in the past, and while I won't get into what I'm doing now, suffice it to say this has been one of the more difficult things I've ever done.

Anyway, there is something about the way I work that makes me want to test my boundaries.  Part of what has gotten me thinking about this is the piano literature I'm working on at the moment.  To be more specific, Liszt's First Concerto.  Now, I've played Prokofiev sonatas before (with varying degrees of success), and I can safely say that they're a bit harder, but I don't think I worked on them as much as I'm working on this concerto.  There's something about this piece that is really pushing me to the limits of my technical abilities.

Which makes me think, am I starting to reach a limit?  How far can I really expect to push myself.  Obviously I'll never reach the heights of those who make a living touring internationally, but what about something respectable.  What about as good as some of the UMKC faculty?

I certainly hope to grow as a musician until I can no longer be a musician, whether due to death, maiming, or other loss of sense(s), but once I settle into a job (knock on wood) and am teaching, how much time will I really be able to devote to practicing my craft?  If I don't push myself technically now, when can I?

You'll have to forgive my rhetorical questions.  I've just been rather pensive lately as I struggle to get ready for my upcoming hearing (which may be moved to Wednesday instead of Monday).

So am I the only person really interested in how far I can push myself, or am I just one of the few people daring/stupid enough to try?

Carrie and I enjoyed two different things this evening, and I think they're both great and frankly both great together.  So here they are.

Ok, so for all of my whining yesterday, I have actually been allowing myself a few pleasures.  I've been going back and re-reading Shogun, which has to be one of my favorite novels.  Originally this began to help me sleep, as I was unable to get my mind off the cares and worries of the coming days.  In the end, though, it has been rather disruptive to my sleep, as I've read close to 700 pages in a short span of time (1152 pages all together).  So if you're wanting to find a new book, and don't mind length, I'd heartily recommend Shogun.  Though I have to say that I like Tai-Pan just about as well.

Shoot, I missed a few days of blogging there.  Well, I can only blame the increasing business I'm experiencing.  Here are just a few highlights.

The biggest thing I have coming up is my recital hearing on March 17th.  For those of you outside the conservatory (i.e. the sane), a hearing means that about a month before my scheduled recital I have to play all of my pieces for the piano faculty.  Very stressful.  To make time for this, I only play excerpts--of their choosing.  At first I thought that they'd only ask me to jump between movements at worst, but I even had one hearing where I was asked to start in the middle of the movement (the g minor instance of the aria in Beethoven's Op. 110 sonata, mvt. 3 to be exact).  So you never know exactly what to expect.

So I'm furiously trying to get everything in tip-top shape for a week from Monday.

I also have two chamber ensembles this semester, which is new considering I still only signed up for one credit (which has always meant one ensemble).  So in addition to Ravel's Mother Goose Suite, I'll also be accompanying a double horn concerto.  So that means extra rehearsals.

I've also applied for a few different jobs lately, and am awaiting news about fellowships that I applied for earlier this semester.

I just finished filing our taxes, have a piano studio website that I'm trying to design, and I'm sure there is something else looming over my head I just can't think of what.

Ooooh yeah.  That paper I was supposed to finish last semester.  Still need to get that final draft finished.  Ahem.

Now, I hate to get into these "I'm busier than you" contests.  I know that Carrie for one has been very busy with several concerts over the last week, so please realize that this is just something I needed to get off my chest.

Oh, and I'm helping a friend move this weekend.  Also, I don't seem to be grasping Schenkerian analysis as well as I might have hoped.

Ok, I'm done now.  :)

Who knew?

Last night Carrie and I went to see my brother in the national tour of The Wedding Singer, the musical.  (John played the part of George, the keyboardist in the band.)

Anyway, after the show we went out for drinks with some of the cast.  Since they were already downtown, we went to check out the Power and Light District and see what was going on.  Some bars and restaurants were already open, with some due to open soon and others still under construction.  Still, with a lot of work to do it was a really cool place.

Unfortunately, as is often the case with things that are really cool and really new, there was a line and a cover, so John, Carrie and I decided to go to the JP Wine Bar.  This has still got to be my favorite place in Kansas City, unfortunately we can't afford to hang out there every weekend (especially with my tastes).

The nice thing is that you can do all sorts of different wine "flights," which run from $8-$30 and give you decent-sized samples of 3-4 different wines.  For my taste, though, there are also a few different scotch flights.  In previous tastings, I've settled on the Bowmore Dawn single malt.  It's really quite nice.  Carrie smelled it (wouldn't taste it), and found that the aroma was physically painful to inhale.  That might have something to do with the 51.5% ABV (103 proof) rating.  John tried a drop and said even that was enough to fill his mouth and make him feel warm all over.

Mmm.  I love scothc. I love scotch. Scothcy scotch scotch. Here it goes down, down into my belly. Mmm mmm mmm.