Guess where I am?

I'm in the basement of my dorm, where it is kinda stuffy and which I've never seen before. However, it is much safer down here because there are no windows and we're below ground.

We're hiding from tornadoes.

There's no rain or anything, just some wind. I'm hoping it's an over-precaution. Growing up in Florida, I've experienced lots of hurricanes and all that jazz. Every now and then, you'd hear about a tornado or water spout. We always evacuated during hurricanes, though, so I don't have a lot of near-death stories (thank goodness).

However, one Christmas Eve I was in my room with my puppy already in her crate, ready for bed, when all of the sudden the wind changed tone. I don't know how to describe the sound. It sounded like the roof was about to be ripped off.

My mom burst in and dragged me to the living room. I was yelling about the dog, because she'd been left behind helpless in her crate. She was yelling about how we had to get to my sister's bathroom, which doesn't have windows. My whole family was in the living room, chaotically trying to assess that we were all there and trying to find the bathroom. Of course, then the power went out. Now we were all yelling in the dark.

And by that time, it was over.

It was terrifying, and it was all over so fast. Hardly any time at all to react, especially if your initial reaction is to panic.

So, that's why I'm in the basement. Just in case.

Also, classes are over now. My first exam is on Monday. I can't believe I've almost made it through one year of college...

Op. 10, No. 1

Ballade in D Minor, "Edward". Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

"Brahms was a romantic composer. The piece I'm going to share with you today is the first of four ballades composed earlier in his career, which was characterized by a very thick texture. This piece is unique in that it was based on an extramusical program, an anonymous Scottish ballad recounting a conversation between a man named Edward and his mother. The first notes you will hear pose the mother's question to her son: why is your sword covered in blood? As the dialogue unfolds, you will hear two very distinct voices: the mother asking questions and Edward making excuses. Listen carefully for the moment when Edward finally decides to confess that he has just slain his father."

They...laughed.

It's a very strange feeling to stand on a stage when the audience is laughing and you don't understand why. It feels very much like being made fun of. Now, I guess I can see why they would laugh. I tried very hard to be somber and serious, but maybe I was too over-dramatic. Maybe I was too nonchalant when I described the conversation. Maybe I surprised them too much with the last sentence. I don't know...but they laughed, and I didn't see what was funny.

It's a terrible feeling to stand in front of a crowd that is booing. About a year ago, I was graduating from high school and my church was holding a ceremony to honor all of their grads. I wanted them to cheer. I wanted them to be proud. At first, I didn't understand the noises I was hearing. I was so confused, and when I realized, I was so hurt. They were booing because I was going to Auburn, a football rival.

How silly.

It's a silly reason to boo, but I also know it's a very silly reason for me to be so upset. Just a joke, all in good fun. Maybe if I'd understood, I wouldn't have felt so shaken.

It should be noted, though, I've gone the past three days without ANY caffeine. :) I wonder if that's affecting my range of emotions...hmm...

Silence

Sorry for the long lack of posts. I just got caught up in lots of things, everything that is college. There was so much that I wanted to tell you, to share with you. I saw snow fall for the first time (it only lasted about five minutes, maybe less) and my family drove up to visit me. I played in a master class, and had one rough week feeling like a fraud. I've had successes and failures, wrote papers, took tests, and I spent a restful spring break at home with my family.

One thing about college that is so very different from high school is that experiences aren't shared the same way anymore. Back then, you spent the vast majority of your days with the same small group of people. But now, high school friends are in new places that are completely foreign to you, and your family is celebrating birthdays that you used to celebrate with them. Even friends that I've made here only have so much in common with me.

It's difficult to share everything.

So, what do you decide to share?

Well, here's one thing I thought I'd share with you: my spider friend died. He came down from the ceiling. On the microwave, he looked a lot less friendly.

Suspense

My spider friend is on the ceiling again. Apparently, he hasn't starved yet. Only, he is positioned right above my bed which makes me very uncomfortable. So, instead of trying to sleep, I decided to blog.

So, funny story. This week, before my piano lesson, the professor had to step out for a moment. At which point, I remembered I had forgotten something I deemed vitally important in another part of the building, so I burst out of his office in search of this essential object. I wasn't gone long, and as I rounded the corner on my way back, I found my teacher standing outside his office with a confused expression on his face. He had been knocking on the door, which was closed and, I soon realized, locked.

I hadn't meant to shut the door behind me, but apparently I had. And my teacher had been wondering why I wasn't opening the door for him. I felt terribly guilty, but my professor wasn't too upset about it, so then I just felt a little guilty. And after the fact, amused.

Anyway, he eventually tracked down someone else who had a master key and could let him in. My lesson was only delayed by fifteen minutes or so. I decided I would wait inside the office while he returned the borrowed set of keys.

Well, I've finished writing everything I wished to tell you tonight, but my stubborn spider friend hasn't budged an inch. I think I'll sleep with the covers over my head tonight.

The Overflow of the Heart

Right off the bat, we get a three day weekend. I'm going to be spoiled. What will I do when I actually have to work again?

So my first few days of school haven't been too bad. Granted, most of the real work hasn't started yet. So given the long weekend and the lack of assignments, I had some extra free time today! I went to the Student Act with some other piano majors and tried out the elliptical machines there!

Now, this was a grand adventure for multiple reasons. First of all, I have never been to the Student Act so I was exploring a little bit. Secondly, I have never used an elliptical machine before. It took me a while to warm up to it. And finally, I hardly ever volunteer to sweat. I hate sweating. You can just imagine how much I enjoyed this excursion.

In retrospect, I feel very accomplished and I'm glad I went.

Also, there is a spider on the ceiling of my dorm room. It's the first spider I've seen here, and I want to kill it because I don't really like spiders. But, the thought occurs to me that it might be here because it has things to feed on. If that's the case, I would like it to continue. If there are bugs in my room, then I want the spider to eat them. If there aren't bugs, then the spider will leave or starve.

Besides, I can't reach it.

Let it Snow (please!)

Guess where I am? Back in good ole Auburn, the home of this year's BCS CHAMPIONS!!! Just sayin'.

Can I tell you a secret? I didn't want to come back. I really didn't want to come back. Partly because coming back meant being responsible again. It meant hard work, early mornings, late nights. Partly because I got pretty homesick last semester, and I didn't want to have to deal with that again. There are many reasons why I feel like I should be home (my great-grandma, my little sisters, my parents, my dog...)

It was really hard to leave.

But now that I'm back, I remember how much I love it here. I love the new people that I've met. I'm still unsure how to define them (close friends? Friends? Buddies?), but maybe you don't have to define each and every relationship you have. Life isn't always so cut and dry, and words mean different things to different people.

Not only do I love the people here, but I love what I do! Volunteering with the international students, being in the music department. I feel much more purposeful here than back home.

So, that's that. It's also quite a bit chillier here than it was in Florida. Back home, I was wearing short-sleeved t-shirts a lot. Sunday night welcomed me back to Auburn with freezing rain. I don't think I've ever experienced freezing rain before, actually. It sounded like thousands of tiny beads were falling from the sky. The next morning, all of the trees were covered with ice. Luckily for me, most of the brick pathways were not frozen over, so I didn't slip and fall everywhere on my way to the piano practice rooms.

As cool as frozen trees are, snow is much cooler than ice, any day.

And here's another not-so-private secret: I've never seen it snow. I have never witnessed snow falling from the sky. I've seen a mountain sprayed with fake, man-made snow (I went skiing at a weird time in the season, before real snow had time to fall). But I have never seen the actual event occur.

I'm hoping that will change soon.

Here we go again...

Another year!

I am heading back to Auburn this weekend. I am not ready for the next semester. For one thing, I don't have my songs learned yet. My piano professor and I met last semester to discuss what pieces I would work on this year, and I was expected to have prepared them over the break. I had a month off. Well...

I did practice, but I mostly practiced the songs for a Christmas Eve service where I was part of a small ensemble. (That service went really well, by the way. I really enjoyed the rehearsals and the performance aspect of it, but not so much having to practice on my own, or getting the music for Friday on Monday. I need more time than that.) My family also traveled a good bit. We visited most of our extended family, which basically means we toured Florida. Now, within my family, our house is the only one with a piano, so it is impossible for me to practice while we visit family.

Still, I was home enough to learn the pieces better than I have.

It's raining right now. Really heavily, as though each rain drop is a bullet. I'm slouching on the couch blogging, my slippered feet propped up on the coffee table in front of me. My littlest sister is next to me, also on her laptop. We'll probably play The Sims 3 together later today. My mom is to my right, on her desktop replacement, which makes my little Toshiba look like a matchbox. Our dog, who is terrified of bad weather, is cowering on the couch between us.

I like having them near, so easily accessible.

Tomorrow, my sisters start school again. We'll all resume our responsibilities. The pace will pick up, and rainy days will still have to be productive in some way. Such is life. Starting tomorrow.