September 4, 2004 at 5:41 PM

Ah. It is Saturday. I have a little time to breathe and sleep and think about my crazy/intense/wonderful/stressful/successful
and exhasting week. I really feel like I have grown and learned this week as I have come to conclusions and rebounded from slaps in the face and re-aligned my priorities. I've grit my teeth and poured myself all-to-all into making myself achieve product, sense, and reputation. I don't know if I can continue at this pace, but I can try. At least for a few weeks until I feel as If I have proven something or that people are no longer astute with thier watchful eye wondering if I can handle, well, myself in addition to the workload. I know I worked overtime this week (40+ hrs) but only get paid for 20 hours. ANd I don't care...because it is not about the paycheck right now. So...on my one day off (have to drive in to Mrfbro on Sunday for a Sextet rehearsal), what am I doing for fun and relaxation? Well, I'm studying for my comps...getting ready to re-type my answers to all the possible questions that were generated for me last year for my Analytical Techniques course so that I can send them via attatchment to the graduate co-ordinator/past A.T. instructor/member of my comprehensive exam committee. I think he was honored that I asked him to be on my committee. He is a cool guy. Cellist/composer. Anyhow. Doing that. And going to Vanderbilt to show my masterpiece of hte wee small hours of last night to my orchestra director, Dr.N. There is a fine art of finding free, downloadable music on the internet and making it work for your purposes. I compiled a book of orchestral excerpts for the orchestra to use for auditions. It is a good compilation, too, because I checked out many, many websites of different professional symphony, youth symphony, School entrance audition, etc. excerpt requirments and found the 15 most frequently asked-for ones. Some websites even had the excerpts on their site for download, which made things easier....I spent at lEAST three hourse yesterday on campus looking for excerpt books. We have none. We supposedly had the three volume Gingold set, but a bygone professor...ahem...took 55 (yes, FIFTY FIVE) items from the music library home with him, never to be seen again, and these were one of them. Anyway. So last night I decided hell, I'd make our own compilation. And every excerpt would be a really important one. I looked through numerous catelogues online and hard copy, and there were so many of them that were filled with irrelevant excerpts. Anyhow. So. My day off is filled with work, but since I'm doing it on my own free will and out of enjoyment, and then I can't wait to practice....violin and cello (I'm learning the first Bach suite on the cello and I'm super excited about that...too bad I can't quite get the string crossings right yet on the instrument....I keep hitting more than one string or thinking I'm switching strings when I'm really not...quite a problem). And of course, I have a violinnist's left hand hold, no matter how hard I try to get it into a cellist's position (my poor teacher....being a beginner on a stringed instrument is extremely helpful for reminding me what it is like for my own teaching purposes). So playing the cello is slightly painful, but getting better, and I'm being careful. No more than an hour a day on it. I mean, I have a grueling violin recital in November...K. Enough for now. Hope you guys are all doing well today. This fine day.
JW

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September 4, 2004 at 5:41 PM

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