Roma

I didn't think I would have the opportunity to write my first blog entry in Italy so early in our trip. I was sure that I would be far too busy doing things and seeing the sights. However, jetlag has produced a great opportunity to use my morning on blogging, since even in Rome there isn't much to do between 4 am and 7:30.

Besides getting 4 hours of sleep last night,  I am pretty excited! The flight over went better than I may have suspected it would. Our layover in Heathrow was uneventful, and I slept through most of the trip, also the airplane food was nice and kept me alive. 

I knew that Italy, and in particular, Rome was not going to be the cleanest and most orderly place, so I was prepared for the sight that met me at the airport. Don't get me wrong, it's not like there is garbage everywhere, but it's just much more crowded and less of a value is placed on general cleanliness in public areas. However, aside from all that I immediately noticed and began to enjoy the greenery and climate. Few things are as refreshing as seeing plant life that has been allowed to grow for more than 4 months, especially if you have been in Canada for a while. I would also like to note that it is a BEAUTIFUL climate here, its humid, but not uncomfortably so, and I am sitting here writing this blog post on my bed at 6 am with the window open directly beside me, at the perfect temperature.

The drive to our hotel was again proof that this is a very different country, and I was immediately brought back to my childhood in Indonesia when we entered the traffic. Everyone drives here without shame, and if you want a space on the road, you take it. It's a little frightening at times, but I have lived overseas long enough to know that for the most part, people understand this system of driving, and it is nearly as safe as a far more regulated system, just because thats how people in vehicles operate here.

Aside from the motorcycles weaving in and out of cars and lines, it didn't take long for us to drive past our first ancient piece of architecture. I actually cannot remember how many old and decaying gates, hotels, churches and other buildings we passed, however I can recall very clearly the Coliseum.

It was breathtaking, even in the darkness, perhaps even more so because of the lights that were streaming out of the arches on all levels. The stones of this building absorbed the lights of the city and drew all attention to themselves, proving their historical and aesthetic worth beyond any other nearby structure. 

The hotel is not exciting enough to warrant any space here. However, one event of note is that while I was showering our shower stopped working. The bathtub is tiny =[

After becoming clean we went to a restaurante down the street. I had pizza, and it was delicious. It was a very large plate, however it ended up being just right for my appetite since the pizza here has very thin crust. It's crunchy, but not uncomfortably so. I had the 4 cheese pizza, which didn't look like a lot of cheese or even exciting cheese, as it was brought to the table. However I discovered that it was a beautiful blend of flavours, neither boring nor overwhelming! I also had some bread with vinegar and oil, which was delicious. Something else we discovered was that wine is incredibly cheap here in Italy, four of us shared a half litre, and it was only about 6 dollars! It was also very good. I don't pretend to be any kind of expert on wine tasting, but it was far better than cheap wine in Canada. I also had a domestic Italian beer, which was tasty as well, though I still prefer a Guinness or Big Rock.

After our meal I went with a couple people and we walked to a nearby church/monastery/cathedral? we had driven by earlier. It was gorgeous, I won't even try and explain it, but soon I will update my facebook with pictures. 

Its 7 now, and I think its time to get ready before we go for breakfast and get our Roma transit pass. We are going to visit the Coliseum today, and we will be performing in a church tonight. I will do my best to faithfully update this blog.

My little sister graduates!

Okay so I lied. my big sister graduated today, but technically I can call her my little sister, since I am a freak and grew to be 6'8', even though she is only 6'1'.

All height differences aside, I am so so proud of her, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English Literature and she graduated Summa Cum Laude!!! for those of you who don't know that is the highest honors that can be conferred on someone (correct me if I used that word incorrectly) for their grades during their degree.

I just want to take a moment to say how much my sister has inspired me academically and personally in school.

I think there can be a stigma or assumption about academic/hardworking/reallyfrickensmart people, and that stigma is that they are snobbish or perhaps sort people into categories based on their grades, social skills, and/or their academic intelligence. However my sister has exemplified to me and many others at this school how refreshing it is when you look at a person as someone of worth, regardless of what insecurities and/or personal difficulties they are operating out of. She is the first person to try and understand someone when they do or say something that is hurtful or immature instead of simply writing them off, and while she doesn't stand for injustice or abusive behaviours, she always approaches conflict with a willingness to look at where the other person is at and try and communicate any issues with love and respect.

I think this behaviour goes hand in hand with her values when it comes to Christ's approach to community. And I also think that her approach to other people in seeking to understand is something that heightens her ability to learn and be excellent in her studies. This open-mindedness that fosters curiosity and wisdom is something that builds into our faith in God and our wonder at his creation.

This wonder is something that I've seen her acquire and that I've begun to experience myself. The great thing about academics is that it allows us the opportunity to delve so deeply into a subject that we get lost in the infinite complexity and beauty of the subject. As people of faith we need to see how God has created these things to have us lose ourselves in them.

I think that good grades on her part are not a result of needing the highest GPA for prestige or even to open more doors in future education, but instead because of the inspiring beauty of God's creation. I'm not going to pretend that I always do my very best in school to achieve the highest marks, but I think the more I have connected my studies and pursuits in school with the bountiful character of our creator the more excellent I do anyway.

Today after her grad I was reading a book on Vivaldi, and there was a chapter on some background history of Venice, and at that moment I was reading about the art and architecture and literature and music that emerged in the Baroque period. We got talking about the pursuit of understanding and knowledge of that period, and the realization that emerged of the vast incomprehensible scope of God's intricate creation. Art in the church was considered worship simply because it was becoming more and more complex, a reflection of God's glory and power. I say that this is still true today, that in music and literature and other forms of art it should be less important perhaps what the logical message is that is being communicated; and more important what the beauty and excellence of the art is communicating about the character of God. This is why I don't understand it when someone says "well how can that genre of music be glorifying God?" or "how can that literature which has nothing to do with Christian beliefs be glorifying God?". I am not saying that all paths lead to God, but that all things that are excellent in some way represent his characters, and that he is in the business of redeeming those things that have been twisted or perverted, even in their excellence.

Thank you Celine, for in a sense paving the way for some of my thought patterns and goals and ambitions, and I wish you well in your future studies and what God has for you.

my zipper broke

yes... it's true, the zipper on one of my oldest and favorite hoodies is broken. also apparently spell check does not recognize the word "hoodies", which makes no sense to me, it is a perfectly fine word.

I am tired and I have a final exam tomorrow, as well as the day after, and then my jury on friday, and then I am free! although I plan to make a trip back home to Spruce Grove before I run off to Italy and then dive into working for the summer.

I have no more energy to type tonight and I don't know why I'm making this blog post. I was going to blog about a chapter I read today in Tolkien's "The Silmarillion", but I think its too late at this point. You'll all have to wait for that one. I hope you all have a wonderful sleep, or wakefulness, depending on when you read this!

Also, for those interested, the virtual choir 2.0 has launched! I saw the first one back last year, and I decided that if Eric Whitacre ever did another one I would be part of it. He is one of my favorite composers (either living or dead) so I was thrilled to hear that he was doing a second one of his piece "Sleep".

In December I learned my part (Bass 1) and practiced it in my sisters house during Christmas break, sitting in her kitchen watching the conductor video on youtube that Mr. Whitacre had uploaded trying to imagine the multitude of voices that should be surrounding me on this piece. After many arduous takes I finally got one that I was happy with.

Four months later, the finished video arrives! featuring over 2000 singers from across the world, my name is in the credits! enjoy... it is by no means perfect, but I think it sounds splendid and I am glad to have had the chance to be a part of this. Unfortunately my video is not seen at any point since there are so many singers, but my audio is in there somewhere =]

the end of the semester and Italy

Well... this is it, the end of my first full year in the music program. Needless to say (due to me spouting about it on here) I have loved it, and I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing than studying music, but that doesn't mean that I feel no intimidation or stress. Thankfully I've been able to work hard and do well (for the most part) and I am not approaching a jury full of songs that I barely know, but this jury is a special one. I am auditioning to switch from the BA music major to a Bmus (Bachelor of Music). Obviously this is a more concentrated program, and they have higher standards, but I am confident that I can meet those standards. Only next friday will really tell what happens, but so far I have my 4 songs memorized down pat, and now I can spend time polishing, ironing out small fingering issues, and furthering my artistic interpretation of said pieces.
Also, I am making some headway on my own arrangement of "Aerith's Theme", which is really exciting, its from my favorite movie, and I have a lot of emotional connection with it. Hopefully I can finish it during the summer, and have it learned for next semester.
This summer I have a bit of "homework" as it were, since I have been selected for the position of Residents Assistant next year. This involves reading several books, writing on them, and planning floor meetings for at least the first semester, as well as selecting ARA's and small group leaders. I am going to need to put a lot of thought and prayer into all of this, but I am actually quite excited to see what is going to happen, and to have the ability to be this involved.
Further than that however I have some musical goals for the summer. I am going to begin piano lessons next semester and I dont want to go in knowing next to nothing. The main reason for this is that Edwin Gnandt will be teaching me. For those of you who don't know Edwin he is a faculty member at the school and he went to Julliard. For those of you who don't know what Julliard is, go look it up. Needless to say I will not allow Edwin to teach me the very basics, I plan to acquire a few piano books and work on that some over the summer so he can hopefully teach me something of actual consequence. we'll see where that goes.
I also want to continue to conduct during the summer. I doubt there is any opportunity for me to conduct in any actual ensembles, but I'm sure I will be making a trip to Rideau to pick up some scores to analyze and conduct silently.
Also, I am hoping to buy a 7 string guitar this summer. I don't know if that will really happen, but I am always saddened by my inability to drop tune to a low B or A. The metal must be unleashed.
Besides all this, I'm joining the Jazz ensemble next semester, so while i know some basic jazz chords and two of my modes, I will need to get my hands on "the real book" and start immersing myself in the structure of the songs.

Italy is going to be amazing. we are leaving in just under a month, and I can't wait. However I need to go shopping for some new shoes, and other clothes. I could just take the clothes I have but I feel as if I want to buy a whole new wardrobe for the occasion (this is an exaggeration, hopefully). I should probably also invest some time in researching the historical sites we will be visiting so I can more fully appreciate them when I go there.

Also.. there are rumblings and rumors of Radiohead having a second part to their album that they have yet to release... go to www.thekingoflimbspart2.com to see what all the fuss is about.

Also also I am getting a headache, so I should finish reading this guitar pedagogy article and go get some food. Enjoy your exams! or your usual life..

warmer weather

well, the cats out of the bag... I have been chosen to be the RA (Residents Assistant) for Zion Hall next year! I am incredibly excited. after having lived on such an awesome hall for 2 years, I am more than overjoyed to be given the opportunity to lead and serve the people who will be living here next year.

A little bit about the awesome place called Zion Hall: we are a safe and secure city, a place of trust and brotherhood. It might sound cheesy, but this has really been a place where I can share anything and where I can challenge others and be challenged. from my understanding it has been the same for the others who have lived here. The other great thing about Zion has been the relationships between many of us who have lived here for more than a year or two, and the values that we take from each year on the floor to the next year, as we step into leadership and just shape the environment of the floor. Even though people move off the floor we have many off-campus brothers who still come to floor meeting each week, and in fact there are already 3 houses within a 3 minute walk that are inhabited by guys who have lived on the floor and are still a part of the community.

Okay, I'm done bragging.

LYC is this weekend, and I'm super excited to be part of the prayer sub-team this year. It promises to be a busy and exhausting weekend, but I think it will be incredibly powerful and I'm excited to see what God will do and hopefully be a part of it.

I also cleaned my room today. Crazy I know! the reason: I will be having 8 youths staying in my room over the weekend. 8. for the last two weeks my floor has been almost completely covered so its a relief to be able to safely cross it.

I should get some sleep, and get ready for another busy day! goodnight

the breaking point

Everything is crashing down around me. my student loan application somehow got filled out wrong, and I have been on hold for almost an hour waiting to talk to someone at the student financing office to sort it out and clarify that I do not make $2700 a month while IN SCHOOL. not to mention the due date for signing up for my royal conservatory guitar exam being today, and having no method of paying since they only accept credit card. not to mention the CRA sending me a letter telling me that they gave me too much money on my tax return, which I already spent on textbooks... not to mention that I haven't practiced in 2 days and havent practiced conducting in nearly a week...

I usually reach a point where there is so much stress coming down at once that I kind of just shut off and ignore it. I am at that point now, and its actually not that bad. I'm doing my best to handle each situation one at a time, and I know there is nothing more I can do. I also have an interview for the position of RA in an hour, so I won't let myself freak out until at least after that interview.

also my choir folder is missing..

I wish I had an "on the bright side" comment, but I really don't. I guess the bright side might be that I don't have to get up early tomorrow?

inspirations

Today I went to the rodeo in Kansas, it was definitely interesting, but I don't think I really fit in or understood most of it... but on to the things I actually wanted to share in this blog!

I am incredibly inspired today by Eric Whitacre, as my love for his music probably borders on obsession. I decided to give some composition a shot since I have more time on my hands during the break. I don't claim to be much good but I like the little I've done so far. I've got some cool ideas for recurring themes and polyphonic movement in what I'm working on, its just almost entirely new territory for me.

I decided to attempt to compose a choral piece based on the poem "On Walking" by John O'Donohue

here is the poem:

I give thanks for arriving

Safely in a new dawn,

For the gift of eyes

To see the world,

The gift of mind

To feel at home

In my life,

The waves of possibility

Breaking on the shore of dawn,

The harvest of the past

That awaits my hunger,

And all the furtherings

This new day will bring

you can check out information about the author here: John O'Donohue

also, been listening to a lot of Skrillex lately, and I stumbled across this video of a new track of his, I can't wait to hear this monster in its entirety, and what he does really inspires me to get into electronic music. I think some year in the future when I have more time and money on my hands I will invest in the necessary equipment and train myself to create this kind of stuff, its really amazing.

here's the video of the new track: 

also, the new Radiohead cd is still amazing.

verdict

The King of Limbs.... is SOOOOOOOO good!!!

to be expected of course, my only slight complaint is the length.. 8 songs, but they are all nearly 5 minutes long, and the quality is so great that it doesn't worry me. besides, they will probably release a special edition down the road with another 6 songs or something... and I will happily pay them for it!

biggest thing I'm glad about at this point: the amount of guitar work on the album. I love all their stuff, but I kind of wondered if they would do a Kid A kinda thing, where it was mostly synth or programming, but they managed to give this CD a very ethereal sound while still using a lot of guitar. love it.

Kansas is pretty cool.

uhmm... now that I'm done ranting about the Radiohead album I don't really know what else to say.. so I'll leave with that. have a good one, and don't talk to too many strangers!

Coldplay always hits me where it matters.

I had a nap tonight from 8 to 9 before I worked. needless to say I'm not tired at all now... I plan to spend my late night hours packing for my trip to Kansas... I'll be sure to update my blog again soon, hopefully with my impressions of the new Radiohead record coming out tomorrow! I hope you all have a wonderful spring break!

geeking out

well you might all expect me to be blogging yet again about my obsession with all things Radiohead this week. But in fact I won't bore you with any more geeking out over them.

I just had a coffee date with a fantastic friend of mine, it was such a pleasure and I'm really thankful for the conversation we had! following that I think I should probably shower.... my hair looks like a birds nest since i woke up...

I hid it pretty good with a toque when we went for coffee but I'm going to have to deal with it before I go vote for student council members and go to my guitar lesson..

I put new strings on my classical guitar last night, and it will be a treat to play with them today =] but I also need to pack, since I will be Kansas-bound in just about 24 hours! READING BREAK!!

see you all later, remember to comb your hair, unless its short enough that it requires no maintenance...

two more days

Meeting in the Aisle....

they wrote this before Kid A even came out.. I just respect so much how they pushed themselves even as their record companies and fans were screaming for the same thing over and over again.

Reckoner

Reckoner
You can't take it with you
Dancing for your pleasure

You are not to blame for
Bittersweet distractor
Dare not speak it's name
Dedicated to all human beings

Because we separate like ripples on a blank shore
(In rainbows)
Because we separate like ripples on a blank shore

Reckoner
Take me with you
Dedicated to all human beings

the ceaseless happenings

First things first, Im beside myself with excitement because of an announcement that was made just yesterday. Radiohead have just announced their new full length album The King of Limbs will be released this Saturday. I have already ordered the "Newspaper Album" edition which includes over 600 pieces of artwork and the album on both vinyl and digital. I have been waiting for this album for over a year now, since they entered the studio in late 2009? I had been checking their website nearly daily for the last year or so in hope of some news and then they dropped this on me less than a week before the album will be released. I have a feeling that a significant portion of my semester will be spent listening to this album...

Aside from that, the last couple days have been crazy. also several unexpected expenses have come up. I went to Mount Royal University tonight to watch Brad teach some guitar lessons for my music practicum class, and I didn't realize that their parking lot is NOT free parking. it was not very well labeled, and I ended up getting a ticket. poo.

Also, lots of other things seem to be crashing down at once. the strange thing is that I'm hardly stressed about it, I think that the last year of my life has really conditioned me to just give these things up to God, do my best, and carry on. I think there's also something to be said for the value of pulling back to the big picture of things. 40$ in the long run isn't going to mean much to me, I'm really living for much more.

I feel like I'm making significant progress in my studies. My note reading and technique in my classical guitar repertoire feels like its making a big climb upwards, and today I started diving a bit deeper into the jazz stuff that Brad has given me. I'm looking forward to playing my electric more after this semester, and hopefully getting my shred on at some point too. Also with this music practicum class I'm actually making significant steps towards being able to make some money with what I'm studying. I'm going to finish the course with a document written up of my own teaching philosophy, which I can use when I apply for teaching jobs! and it goes without saying that this excites me =]

I hope you all have a fantastic night! tell me whats going on in your life =]

moments

I was browsing through some pictures today and I just love seeing some of the little moments that happen when people are writing music or performing that music. Wether its an "aha!" moment or one of intense passion while performing I think that we have all have experienced moments similar to these, in whatever creative activities we have been a part of. Here are a few of my favorites...

edit: you can click on the pictures to blow them up and look at them in detail ^_^

I hope you guys all enjoyed these pictures, I know I did. Also, happy Valentines Day, I hope its a good one! I'll try to be more faithful to updating this thing... I know you are all dying to know what I'm thinking ;)

I'm back! it's been great to see people in residence today move back in, and it's exciting to know that within a few days time we will be starting classes once again. I'm very excited for all the things this semester holds, and I guess I just felt that it would be good to express my excitement in a blog.

I had an awesome time on holiday, spending some quality time with my family (both immediate and extended), getting to see some friends back home, practicing and spending time on my guitar playing as well as other musical endeavours, picking up a few new games with some friends (Starcraft II and Lord of the Rings Online, which is now free to play), and finishing it all off with a week and a half in Calgary moving between my sisters house and some friends houses, just relaxing with a couple people whom I care for dearly. (Thanks to Jon, Garrison, Adam, Joshua, and Andrew if you are reading this for putting up with me being in your space and housing me during that time =])

I am honestly more than excited to begin school again, it was good to have time off, but 3 weeks just feels like too much. not to say that I was anxious, I could have spent a large portion of my "down time" worrying about the future and where I am going (as is so unfortunately natural for me to do) but I think that I have learned more of trust and peace, for which I am glad. The outcome of many things is out of my hands, and I'm fine with that, there is someone far more capable who will be taking care of those things anyway. This is not to say, however, that I don't want to work hard or strive to achieve what I'm passionate about, so I'm excited to be challenged and have things to do again.

Also, an unexpected blessing came in the form of my hard drive becoming faulty right before the holidays ended. I went to partition it, so that I could install windows XP on the separate partition (so that I could run the Windows OS on my Apple Macbook and play Lord of the Rings Online, which is only supported on windows) when I discovered that my hard drive was faulty. 

Remembering that I had purchased a 3 year warranty at Best Buy I went into the store hopeful that it could be fixed. I came back a day later to pick up my macbook with a brand new hard drive of 250 gigabytes! twice the size it was before, AND with the new Apple "Snow Leapord" operating system (an upgrade from my previous "Leapord" OS), FREE OF CHARGE.

since then, I have successfully partitioned my hard drive and installed windows XP and LOTRO, so I am now the proud owner of a "hackintosh".

I should probably get back to transferring my backup files back onto my hard drive....

edit: also thanks to my Dad for buying me an external hard drive last year which I used to back up my original hard drive, including my entire music collection of 3000 songs...