Updates

So I just realized I haven't updated anything on my blog in a few days.  I keep thinking of things that I think, "That would be fun to blog about," but then I'm not in a position to do it, and by the time I am, I don't think about it anymore.  Well, I'll just give you a few highlights from that past little while.  Enjoy!  :)

• The weekend before last was, of course, President's Day weekend.  I did a lot of fun stuff that weekend, and I really enjoyed it, but there was only one problem with it: Tuesday was Monday instruction.  That meant I got my two longest, hardest days right in a row.  Ugh.  But I survived, and I never have to do that again!  Yes!  :)


• The Symphony Orchestra performed their first of two concerts this past Wednesday.  It was a concerto concert featuring seven soloists.  I think it went really well, and I received a lot of compliments from my family and friends who attended.  I love orchestra!


• This past weekend I visited Bridal Veil Falls with my roommate Jill.  It was beautiful!  Not many people visit there at the end of February, so we basically had the location all to ourselves.  We spent several hours there just enjoying the beauty and serenity around us.  What a lovely, peaceful place!


• On Sunday I had a minor panic attack when I realized that stake conference is this coming Sunday and that I don't feel like I'm ready to conduct the stake choir in the numbers we've been preparing.  I feel a little more calm about it now, but let me tell you, my nerves are probably going to be as taut as a bowstring this coming Sunday!  :)


• I mailed my acceptance letter for my mission call to the Office of the First Presidency yesterday.  You know that moment when you realize that something is happening to you that you never, ever thought would happen to you?  Yep.  :)

So those are just a few little tidbits for the few brave souls who actually read my blog.  I hope you enjoyed them!  :)

Finding "Joy" in the Journey

I just returned from a memorial service for Melissa Joy Dietzel (http://www.dailynews.com/ci_19954344?source=most_viewed#.TzodyLyr7ro.facebook).  I found out about her untimely death on Tuesday and have been going through alternating stages of shock and sadness ever since.  Today's services provided a great deal of closure for me.

I didn't know Melissa all that well.  She and I were in the same ward from September of 2009 to April of 2010.  I was her visiting teacher.  During our visits, I'm pretty sure she uplifted me more than I uplifted her.  That's just the kind of person she was.  During the service, four people gave lengthy talks about what an amazing person Melissa was, and even from my limited experience of knowing her, I knew they described her well.  Hearing all of the incredible eulogies given about Melissa, I couldn't help but hope that I will be able to live my life in such a way that people will give such glowing remarks about me at my funeral someday.  Melissa truly lived up to her middle name, finding joy in the simple things in life and bringing joy to others, and I hope that I can do the same.

And the Verdict is...

I have been called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I have been assigned to labor in the Texas McAllen mission, preaching the gospel in the Spanish language.  I report to the MTC on June 20th.

That’s what I’ve been saying in dozens of texts and phone calls for the past four hours.  I just can’t even believe it!  This is really my mission call!  I’m really going to go to Texas in four months!  I just…it really hasn’t sunk in yet.  Every couple of minutes I just stop and think, “Wait…I just got my mission call…I’m going to Texas!”

I guarantee I won't be sleeping tonight.  :)

The Waiting is OVER! (Almost...)

There is a large white envelope sitting on the kitchen table in my family's house.

It's addressed to me from the office of the First Presidency.

Today cannot go by fast enough!

Success!

Today during my cello lesson, I played through one of the two songs I've been working on so my teacher could see the progress I'd made.  I'd kind of been feeling like I hadn't gotten much out of my practice this week and that it would show in my lesson.  But apparently I'd made more progress than I'd thought, because my teacher was super complimentary about how I'd done!  Not only that, but she pointed out a specific measure and told me that I'd played it in a different way from how she played it and that it was different from any way she'd ever heard it but that she really liked the way I'd done it and is planning to play it my way from now on!  How cool is that?  :)  So that made me super happy.  That's all.  :)

"Nice filter"

So today, I was chatting with some fellow ComD students, and one of them suddenly said to me, "You have a really nice filter!"  Now, my initial reaction was to wonder what on earth she was talking about.  But it only took me a nanosecond to realize that she must be in Speech Science and was therefore talking about my vocal filter.  In Speech Science, you learn about how the larynx (i.e. your vocal folds) is the source for your voice---it provides the sound.  And you learn that the vocal tract and articulators (i.e. throat, mouth, tongue, teeth, lips, etc.) are the filters that shape the sound into what we hear when someone speaks.

So when all was said and done, this girl was complimenting me on my voice.  And she went on to clarify as such.  She told me that I just have a beautiful, clear voice and that she's always noticed it and liked it.  It was one of those "you know you've been in ComD too long when..." moments: the fact that she gave the compliment by saying "you have a nice filter" and that I actually understood it.  :)  She seemed a little embarrassed after she said it, but honestly, I really appreciated it.  I don't know that I've ever had someone compliment me on my voice, at least not on my typical speaking voice.  It made my day.  :)

Transitions

I’ve decided that I really dislike transitions. They take so much time out of my day! Take, for instance, the little two-hour window that I have in between mission prep and orchestra on Mondays and Wednesdays. I use those two hours to practice my two instruments, the cello and the organ. I also, ideally, like to have lunch sometime during that two-hour period.

So here’s how it runs: I walk from the library to the fourth floor of the HFAC to pick up my organ shoes and books from my locker, then walk down to the third floor of the HFAC to practice. I have to take five minutes to change shoes and set up the organ before I can actually start practicing and then another five minutes to pack up before I can move on. Then I go down one level and spend another five minutes collecting my cello and music from their respective locations, scouting out an available practice room, and setting up before I can begin practicing. Once I’m finished, I have to pack up and put everything away, and somewhere in there I walk back to the fourth floor to take my organ shoes back to my locker. Then I walk over to the Wilk to have lunch and walk back to the HFAC in time for orchestra.

All told, I’m pretty sure nearly a half hour of my precious two-hour window is taken up in transition time. I really wish I could just zap myself from one activity to another and eliminate travel and preparation time in between. I’m sure I’d get at least one extra hour out of my day that way. What could I do with it? Well, the possibilities are endless! What would I do with it? Probably crash from exhaustion because I didn’t have a break between activities during the day. :) So, in reality, those transition times are probably a good thing so I’m not just constantly going. But I really wish I could use those little five to ten minute intervals to relax rather than spending them constantly running from one place to the next.