Monday, June 29, 2009

WELCOME TO THE WORLD!

Late Saturday night (actually it was Sunday morning in my time zone) I became an aunt for the first time! Ben and Jen had their baby, Joel Stephen. He arrived a few weeks early and we are all so excited that he is here, healthy and ready to take on the world. My little nephew is out in Montana with his happy parents - I can't wait to see him in person. To learn more about him click here.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Delicioso

I just got home from my first performance of the weekend and it went well! I was pleased. It took a lot of focus and intensity, so I am pretty exhausted. Plus I have to be up early early for work tomorrow. Ah, the life...

Today was a nice day - I actually did not work, so I was able to get a few things done and rest up a bit for the concert. I even did a little cooking! I mixed up some of my pineapple chicken salad. I have made it a few times and I think it's a great, light, tasty sandwich alternative for the summer. It's nice to make ahead because it takes next to no time to make and can hang out in the fridge until it's needed. I got the recipe from one of my Cooking Light magazines from back in the day. I now access the recipe online here. Yummy! Can't wait to eat it!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

hitting the low notes

I love my bass clarinet. I've had it for a few years - got it when I was in grad school. I played it a semester or so in school after I got it, but unfortunately haven't had much opportunity to put it to use since then. Without a concert or some kind of goal to reach for, it has been hard for me to keep in shape on the bass clarinet. Many things are the same as playing the regular clarinet, but it is so much bigger and takes much more air, making it a whole different beast. Let me remind you that I have had some problems when trying to practice the bass clarinet in the past.

Lately, I have been spending a lot of time with the BC. A group I play with, the One World Symphony is performing a concert version of the opera, Vanessa by Samuel Barber this weekend and I am playing bass clarinet in it. Actually, it is a reduced orchestra version, so I am playing the second clarinet part, which is mostly bass clarinet, but also has B-flat and A clarinet. Basically that means I am carrying a lot of stuff around and it takes me forever to get everything together before and after the concerts. I am looking forward to the performances, which are this weekend. I feel much more comfortable with the BC now and am having a lot of fun playing it. I mostly enjoy playing low notes - they rumble through me - I like it. :)

Monday, June 15, 2009

Do you speak Snacklish?

Snickers, the ever-popular candy bar has been doing some major advertising in New York City. I am curious to know if these cheesy ads are everywhere, or just in NYC. They are very simple, pretty corny, but amusing. They play on current ads by changing normal words to promote snacking. For example, a sign that says "Learn to play the snaxophone" or "Learn to Speak Snacklish". My favorite is super simple and sits on top of taxi cabs. Easy enough, it simply states: snaxi. The genius of logos and advertising is that we don't need to see the word Snickers. We all recognize that label and even though we are looking for a ride, we crave the candy bar. Funny... but smart.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

blah

Oh my - I've been sick, sick, sick the past few days. No fun at all. Now I am just sick of being sick. In 'normal life' sometimes I would give anything for a day to lay around and watch movies. But when several days of laying around are given (forced) the appeal is lost pretty fast. Did I mention: I am sick of being sick! Tonight I plan on venturing out into the world for the first time in a few days. I have a rehearsal that I am going to try to pull off. I had to cancel work yesterday and today and have been doing nothing but drinking juice and eating soup! I've gotten tons of rest and I am feeling quite a bit better than I did when this first started. Hopefully going to rehearsal tonight will send my body the message that it is time to get better.

Monday, June 8, 2009

mood fix

As I was walking around the city yesterday I passed by a Dunkin' Donuts with this sign in the window:
I think that is very appropriate. Whenever I find myself in a bad mood, the first thing I should try is a fresh cup. Often that does the trick. There is nothing like a little coffee break!