10. As much as working for Express Employment Professionals has been a blessing over the years, a bit of break has become extremely necessary in order to maintain my sanity.
9. I get to sleep in a place with real central air conditioning... ALL SUMMER LONG!
8. I can see all the DC sights - all of them! ...And all the parts of the Smithsonian that I'm interested in. There will ne'er be a boring lunch break!
7. Becki Byrd Wilson, my old (and maybe favorite) mission companion lives near Richmond. Thats only a couple hours away! This will be the first time I've got to see anyone from the mission since I've been home.
6. I'll find out if a career in Arts Management is really as cool as it sounds (and it sounds pretty dang cool!).
5. I get to meet Placido Domingo (I think)! The Three Tenors, the Metropolitan Opera -- Yes, that Placido Domingo! He is the General Director of the Washington National Opera and the namesake of the Intern/Apprentice Program.
4. Two road trips with mom. I've been on many a road trip with my mother, but never just the two of us. I'm anticipating some great bonding and great memories.
3. I get to work for a REAL OPERA! I'll be on the inside, in the nitty-gritty, behind the scenes, experiencing it all! Is it just me, or is that the coolest thing ever!?!
2. I get to spend a lot of real, quality bonding time with Nancy and her family. By the time the summer is over I will know the kids' routines, languages, quirks, etc. Actually, I'll probably know some of Nancy's and Richard's too! I am so excited to be able to really get to know the whole family. Plus, Naomi is actually old enough to remember it!
and the number 1 reason is... drum roll please....
1. What has become a quite complex and involved day dream (and don't think I came up with this all by myself): I go to my first day of my internship only to find out that one of the other interns is a member of the church too. And this other LDS intern just happens to be male, single, and have cute dimples. He has just graduated so he is fully able to move to Texas for me and he even knows how to two-step. One pleasant evening after work we go for a leisurely stroll around DC and have our first kiss on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial (ok, that part I came up with myself). We then fall madly in love, get married, and immediately begin a life of opera-loving prosperity.
Yep. I'm a girl.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Would You Care to be an Ogre or a Smurf Today?
Sometimes I feel like my life isn't all that different from that of my nieces and nephews that my siblings blog about. Today my roommate, Heather, and I had our last Sunday dinner together before I leave for the summer - poppyseed chicken, corn, a failed attempt at fried green tomatoes (yuck!), and for dessert...
Vanilla ice cream with cinnamon and food color of choice. Mine was blue. Heather's was green (she ate all of hers before we thought to take a picture). We decided hers was ogre ice cream and mine was smurf ice cream. Then we discussed how cool this would be for a Family Home Evening treat. Thats when I realized that I'm not all that different from a four-year-old in many ways.
Vanilla ice cream with cinnamon and food color of choice. Mine was blue. Heather's was green (she ate all of hers before we thought to take a picture). We decided hers was ogre ice cream and mine was smurf ice cream. Then we discussed how cool this would be for a Family Home Evening treat. Thats when I realized that I'm not all that different from a four-year-old in many ways.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
the contract is out
Its official. At least two of my professors really are trying to kill me. I just can't come up with any other explanation for this madness. I am overwhelmed, stressed, and tired!
The bright side? In less than three weeks it will all be over. And, in exactly three weeks I will be in the middle of a fun-filled, memory-forming road trip with my mom, on my way to what I'm anticipating will be the coolest experience I've had since my mission. And, while the two professors in question have been haunting my dreams now for two semesters, I do not have to take any more classes from either of them!
So while I have oober amounts of work to do in the next few days and will probably be here at the library until at least 10:00 tonight, I just spent the last 45 minutes reading the blogs of just about everybody I know.
What can I say? You gotta have a break some time. Now back to Debussy.
The bright side? In less than three weeks it will all be over. And, in exactly three weeks I will be in the middle of a fun-filled, memory-forming road trip with my mom, on my way to what I'm anticipating will be the coolest experience I've had since my mission. And, while the two professors in question have been haunting my dreams now for two semesters, I do not have to take any more classes from either of them!
So while I have oober amounts of work to do in the next few days and will probably be here at the library until at least 10:00 tonight, I just spent the last 45 minutes reading the blogs of just about everybody I know.
What can I say? You gotta have a break some time. Now back to Debussy.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Pizza, Relief Society, and Ants on a Log
This week was one of the rare occasions when my roommate doesn't have to work on Friday. So, we decided to make it an official roommate hang-out day. This is what we did:
Lunch at DoubleDaves Pizza (famous for their pepperoni rolls). I had coupons for a free lunch buffet.
A one-hour time out from roommate hang-out day for me to have a Relief Society Presidency Meeting. This was my first meeting with my newly sustained counselors. They are amazing and I am so excited to see what they will bring to our sisters. Also, these are the daring two who will run things while I am gone all summer, but don't get released.
A very leisurely trip to the grocery store for supplies. Our Bishop is the manager so half the ward works there. A routine trip to H-E-B has become quite the social experience.
Heather made strawberry freezer jam. I watched.
A couple other girls from the ward came over and we watched the new movie "Becoming Jane" while snacking on ants-on-a-log, chips n salsa, fresh cantaloupe, pretzels, and popcorn.
After the movie we spent a couple hours girl talking. It was so much fun! I love being able to go a whole day without worrying about homework!
Lunch at DoubleDaves Pizza (famous for their pepperoni rolls). I had coupons for a free lunch buffet.
A one-hour time out from roommate hang-out day for me to have a Relief Society Presidency Meeting. This was my first meeting with my newly sustained counselors. They are amazing and I am so excited to see what they will bring to our sisters. Also, these are the daring two who will run things while I am gone all summer, but don't get released.
A very leisurely trip to the grocery store for supplies. Our Bishop is the manager so half the ward works there. A routine trip to H-E-B has become quite the social experience.
Heather made strawberry freezer jam. I watched.
A couple other girls from the ward came over and we watched the new movie "Becoming Jane" while snacking on ants-on-a-log, chips n salsa, fresh cantaloupe, pretzels, and popcorn.
After the movie we spent a couple hours girl talking. It was so much fun! I love being able to go a whole day without worrying about homework!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Silver Taps
Last night was one of those special times when I truly feel proud to be an Aggie. My roommate, Heather, and I attended (both of us for the first time) one Texas A&M's most solemn and honored traditions, Silver Taps.
Silver Taps was first held in 1898 for former Texas Governor and Texas A&M President, Lawrence Sullivan Ross. Since then it has been held for any A&M student who passes away while enrolled. It is always on the first Tuesday of the month when someone has passed away the month before (fortunately not every month).
Around 10:15 pm all lights on campus are extinguished. As hymns ring out from the bell tower, hundreds of students silently gather in Academic Plaza - an outdoor quad-like area in the center of campus, in front of the Academic Building. The Academic Building is built on the site of the A&M's oldest building that burned down in the 1920's and houses the Department of Performance Studies (and consequently all of my classes). Members of the A&M Corp of Cadets arrive with the rest of the students dressed in their formal uniforms and stand at attention throughout the ceremony.
Around 10:30 a faint sound begins to gradually emerge from the silence - the sound of cleats on concrete. It is the firing squadron slowly making their way towards the plaza in formation. After what seems like ten minutes, they finally arrive in the plaza and perform a 21-gun salute. After the shots fire, the sweet melody of Silver Taps is heard from the dome of the Academic Building. It is played three times, facing north, west, and south. It does not play to the east because the sun will never rise on that Aggie again. After the third Silver Taps is finished everyone silently leaves the plaza and returns to their homes to the even chimes of the bell tower.
There is an oft-repeated saying about Texas A&M: "From the outside looking in you can't understand it; From the inside looking out you can't explain it." Perhaps its true. I'm proud to be an Aggie.
Silver Taps was first held in 1898 for former Texas Governor and Texas A&M President, Lawrence Sullivan Ross. Since then it has been held for any A&M student who passes away while enrolled. It is always on the first Tuesday of the month when someone has passed away the month before (fortunately not every month).
Around 10:15 pm all lights on campus are extinguished. As hymns ring out from the bell tower, hundreds of students silently gather in Academic Plaza - an outdoor quad-like area in the center of campus, in front of the Academic Building. The Academic Building is built on the site of the A&M's oldest building that burned down in the 1920's and houses the Department of Performance Studies (and consequently all of my classes). Members of the A&M Corp of Cadets arrive with the rest of the students dressed in their formal uniforms and stand at attention throughout the ceremony.
Around 10:30 a faint sound begins to gradually emerge from the silence - the sound of cleats on concrete. It is the firing squadron slowly making their way towards the plaza in formation. After what seems like ten minutes, they finally arrive in the plaza and perform a 21-gun salute. After the shots fire, the sweet melody of Silver Taps is heard from the dome of the Academic Building. It is played three times, facing north, west, and south. It does not play to the east because the sun will never rise on that Aggie again. After the third Silver Taps is finished everyone silently leaves the plaza and returns to their homes to the even chimes of the bell tower.
There is an oft-repeated saying about Texas A&M: "From the outside looking in you can't understand it; From the inside looking out you can't explain it." Perhaps its true. I'm proud to be an Aggie.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
The View From Within
I am often amazed at the deep insights of composers as they discuss their music and their lives. I love to read about what was going on in the composer's life while he was writing a particular piece, what he had to say about it, and what he had to say about music in general. It always increases my understanding and appreciation of a piece, even if I don't particularly care for the music itself.
Such is the case with Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony, written between 1888 and 1894. The entire symphony is meant to illustrate man's struggle with the idea of death bringing either salvation or destruction - we don't know which. As I was recently studying the background of this work I came across the following commentary by Mahler describing the third movement:
"What is expressed in the Scherzo can only be illustrated like this: if you watch a dance from a distance through a window, without hearing the music, the gyrations of the couples seem strange and senseless because the key element, the rhythm, is lacking. That is how you have to imagine someone who is destitute and unlucky: To such a person the world appears as in a concave mirror, distorted and mad. The Scherzo ends with the terrible outcry of such a martyred soul."
Later he wrote to a friend on the same subject:
"When you finally wake up from this melancholy dream and again have to face this confused life, then this endlessly moving, never resting, never-to-be-understood hustle and bustle of life may seem dreadful to you, like the surging of dancing figures in a bright and illuminated ballroom into which you look from the dark night outside - from so far away that you can not hear the music that goes with it! Senseless is how life seems to you then, a cruel nightmare from which you might jump up with a cry of disgust!"
While it is sad to even think of feeling this way, reading Mahler's comments reminded me of the great privilege it is to enjoy the blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. As members of Christ's church, we are the ones inside the ballroom dancing and blissfully enjoying the blessings we have. To the rest of the world we look strange doing the things we do. But we can hear the music. We know that death will bring joyous salvation to all who remain faithful. We know exactly why we do the things we do, and we are happy because of it. Perhaps we should look out the window more often to lend a hand to those helpless souls outside, crying in anguish because they need so desperately what we have.
(quotes taken from MUSC 312-Music in Modern Western Culture course packet, Dr. Alan Houtchens, Texas A&M University, Spring 2008.)
Such is the case with Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony, written between 1888 and 1894. The entire symphony is meant to illustrate man's struggle with the idea of death bringing either salvation or destruction - we don't know which. As I was recently studying the background of this work I came across the following commentary by Mahler describing the third movement:
"What is expressed in the Scherzo can only be illustrated like this: if you watch a dance from a distance through a window, without hearing the music, the gyrations of the couples seem strange and senseless because the key element, the rhythm, is lacking. That is how you have to imagine someone who is destitute and unlucky: To such a person the world appears as in a concave mirror, distorted and mad. The Scherzo ends with the terrible outcry of such a martyred soul."
Later he wrote to a friend on the same subject:
"When you finally wake up from this melancholy dream and again have to face this confused life, then this endlessly moving, never resting, never-to-be-understood hustle and bustle of life may seem dreadful to you, like the surging of dancing figures in a bright and illuminated ballroom into which you look from the dark night outside - from so far away that you can not hear the music that goes with it! Senseless is how life seems to you then, a cruel nightmare from which you might jump up with a cry of disgust!"
While it is sad to even think of feeling this way, reading Mahler's comments reminded me of the great privilege it is to enjoy the blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. As members of Christ's church, we are the ones inside the ballroom dancing and blissfully enjoying the blessings we have. To the rest of the world we look strange doing the things we do. But we can hear the music. We know that death will bring joyous salvation to all who remain faithful. We know exactly why we do the things we do, and we are happy because of it. Perhaps we should look out the window more often to lend a hand to those helpless souls outside, crying in anguish because they need so desperately what we have.
(quotes taken from MUSC 312-Music in Modern Western Culture course packet, Dr. Alan Houtchens, Texas A&M University, Spring 2008.)
Monday, March 24, 2008
Just Another Manic Monday
7:00am - Alarm rings. I'm tired! I hit snooze.
7:05am - Alarm rings again. Snooze again.
7:10am - Alarm. Snooze.
7:20am - Second alarm rings (across the room). Time to really get up.
8:00am - I rush into work. On time - barely!
1:00pm - I walk out the door from work. I check my cell phone. A missed call! (202)... (202)... I know that area code... Thats Washington DC!
1:01pm - I dial my voice mail. "Hi Ruth. This is--at The Washington National Opera. I'm calling because I'd like to offer you the HR Internship for this summer...." What? Did I hear that right? Me?Really? HOLY COW!!!!!!!!!!
1:03pm - I do a happy dance in my car and say a little prayer of "Thanks" and "You're amazing."
1:05pm - I call mom to tell her. No answer. I leave a message for her to CALL ME BACK!
1:20pm - I arrive home from work. My roommate isn't there. ARGH! I'M DYING TO TELL SOMEONE!
1:22pm - I sit down at my kitchen table with my planner and call them back to say yes. No answer. I leave a message.
1:50pm - My roommate comes home. I tell her. We do a happy dance together. I leave for school.
1:55pm - Mom calls me back. I tell her. We do the phone version of a happy dance.
2:30pm - I go into rehearsal with my accompanist/voice coach. I tell her. Anther happy dance (more reserved this time because we must be professional). She picks up the phone and dials the Department of Performance Studies office. "Hello Dr. [Department Head]. I have Ruth --, one of our Music Majors here with me, and she just received news that she has got an internship with the Washington National Opera this summer in Arts Management at the Kennedy Center in Washington..." From across the room I hear a shreak of joy on the other end of the line. She hands the phone to me. "Congratulations Ruth! I will always remember the day you auditioned for our program. You were the very first audition that day and you arrived thirty minutes early. I was very impressed and knew from that moment that you came prepared and were capable of doing something like this. I am so happy that they noticed that in you as well." She then asks me to send her an email telling her more about it so that she can inform the faculty in their meeting on Wednesday. Wow, do you think this will make any of them want to give me an "A"?
3:02pm - I leave my rehearsal and head for the library. My phone rings. 202 again. I answer. Its her! We talk some details: I am the first intern to be selected and informed this summer. They would like me for as much of the summer as they can have me. Wow, I feel special! We nail down the dates: May 12th through August 15th. My exact availability dates. I will be working full-time hours (subject to change if I decide I can't survive without a second job -the stipend will really only cover gas to get there). She tells me more details will come as they select the rest of the interns and get things organized.
3:10pm - I get to the library, sit down at a computer, check my email, log into blogger, and start writing.
7:05am - Alarm rings again. Snooze again.
7:10am - Alarm. Snooze.
7:20am - Second alarm rings (across the room). Time to really get up.
8:00am - I rush into work. On time - barely!
1:00pm - I walk out the door from work. I check my cell phone. A missed call! (202)... (202)... I know that area code... Thats Washington DC!
1:01pm - I dial my voice mail. "Hi Ruth. This is--at The Washington National Opera. I'm calling because I'd like to offer you the HR Internship for this summer...." What? Did I hear that right? Me?Really? HOLY COW!!!!!!!!!!
1:03pm - I do a happy dance in my car and say a little prayer of "Thanks" and "You're amazing."
1:05pm - I call mom to tell her. No answer. I leave a message for her to CALL ME BACK!
1:20pm - I arrive home from work. My roommate isn't there. ARGH! I'M DYING TO TELL SOMEONE!
1:22pm - I sit down at my kitchen table with my planner and call them back to say yes. No answer. I leave a message.
1:50pm - My roommate comes home. I tell her. We do a happy dance together. I leave for school.
1:55pm - Mom calls me back. I tell her. We do the phone version of a happy dance.
2:30pm - I go into rehearsal with my accompanist/voice coach. I tell her. Anther happy dance (more reserved this time because we must be professional). She picks up the phone and dials the Department of Performance Studies office. "Hello Dr. [Department Head]. I have Ruth --, one of our Music Majors here with me, and she just received news that she has got an internship with the Washington National Opera this summer in Arts Management at the Kennedy Center in Washington..." From across the room I hear a shreak of joy on the other end of the line. She hands the phone to me. "Congratulations Ruth! I will always remember the day you auditioned for our program. You were the very first audition that day and you arrived thirty minutes early. I was very impressed and knew from that moment that you came prepared and were capable of doing something like this. I am so happy that they noticed that in you as well." She then asks me to send her an email telling her more about it so that she can inform the faculty in their meeting on Wednesday. Wow, do you think this will make any of them want to give me an "A"?
3:02pm - I leave my rehearsal and head for the library. My phone rings. 202 again. I answer. Its her! We talk some details: I am the first intern to be selected and informed this summer. They would like me for as much of the summer as they can have me. Wow, I feel special! We nail down the dates: May 12th through August 15th. My exact availability dates. I will be working full-time hours (subject to change if I decide I can't survive without a second job -the stipend will really only cover gas to get there). She tells me more details will come as they select the rest of the interns and get things organized.
3:10pm - I get to the library, sit down at a computer, check my email, log into blogger, and start writing.
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