Last Jazz Tour

I am currently on the bus on my way back from my very last UWEC Jazz Tour. It has been hitting me over the past few days how much I will miss this stuff. I know when I go to grad school it won't be the same. I also know that to the 'real world' outside of Eau Claire will be different too. Kind of difficult thing to grasp; partially because I get so attached to the people/things I love. I tend to get very attached to traditions and value them a lot.

Speaking of traditions; we pantsed Will Horn. Nobody has felt like doing the 'pantsing' thing for awhile. It seems to be one of the many traditions that have kind of changed since I got to UWEC. (not really a bad thing, but its just watching a tradition die is kind of sad.)

I'm trying to catch up with everything...my meeting with the school of ed faculty is coming up early on Friday morning. Nervous for that, even though I know that I haven't done anything to intentionally show that I don't care about teaching. I DO care very much about being a great teacher, which is why I am in the program here. Lucky for us our bus has wi-fi. I've been able to finish up most of my homework stuff while on tour. I've never been on a bus with internet before. Even though it was pretty slow, it was great to be able to get so much done. :)

We are watching "HOUSE" right now. Its pretty interesting, I've seen all the episodes we've watched thus far, but I still like them.

I'm sleepy; 4 - 5 hours of sleep each night is not enough. :/

Time to sleep a bit before we get back to Eau Claire; Trombone Choir concert tonight immediately when we get back. WHOOOOOO!

Love,
Rachel Catheryn

Time for Turkey, Trombone and Cohort...

...three things that should never go together. This post will be very trombone/grad school heavy; so stop reading now if you're not interested. (Seriously...stop now). :)

I just mailed in my grad school supplementary materials for Eastman and Indiana, however it says on the University of Iowa site that their applications aren't due until July 15th. For some reason that seems off to me...anyone else?

Anyways, I am gearing up to head home for Thanksgiving. Done with classes, took care of lots of little details in the past 2 hours, and now I'm going home to nap. Because of the thematic unit for Cohort I was up until 5 a.m. working my butt off in the 24 hour computer lab; an experience I never wish to repeat. EVER. Good news is now I have that out of the way. The bad news is I still have a LOT of work to do for FED 490, since I haven't done ANYTHING for that class yet. I also have to catch up on a few other Cohort things...it never seems to end.

Jazz tour is Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week; I'm excited; it'll be nice to get away for a bit. Becker will be home the following week; I'm also very excited about that! :)

We had studio class on Monday and Kyle played and sounded great on the Martin Ballade. It convinced me that I have to really keep pushing myself so that someday I hopefully will be able to sound like he did; just really consistent and controlled with his playing. Baby steps; one day at a time. :)

I'm beginning to look ahead at where I'll be next year. Honestly, it is a little scary realizing that I don't know what lies ahead. Usually, I have a generalized plan to follow, and right now everything is up in the air. SCARY.

Enough blogging, time to nap and then head down to see the family. :)

Love,
Rachel Catheryn

Wow, so true.

You Feel at Peace With Your Family

You like to persuade your family that you are right about things. You like to be the leader in your family. You feel like some members of your family are too unhappy. These family members tend to create unhappiness for everyone else. While your parents made mistakes, you forgive them and accept them for who they are. You are honest and very outspoken with your family. You sometimes hurt feelings by saying things they don't want to hear.

How Do You Really Feel About Your Family?

Blogthings: A Fine Line Between Insight and Stupidity

Grad School Update

Eastman application: CHECK.
Indiana Part I application: CHECK.
Indiana Part II application: CHECK.
U of Iowa application: In progress


:)

The Most Glorious of Sunsets...

...is in but 2 short days. I really enjoy the Bone Dinner. It reminds me of the great memories/people from my freshman year. Hopefully, these kids will have some of the same memories, just without having to deal with Colin. :)

Tonight I'm working hard on the homework; catching up on everything and hopefully making a trip to the gym. My side feels better today after a horrible relapse yesterday where it hurt to hold up my instrument. One day at a time, and ibuprofen = amazing.

Tonights goals include:
-Finish PDP for Cohort
-TTC Classroom Management
-Research "Academic Festival Overture" for the conducting competition
-Work on my solo for the Bone Choir concert in early Dec.
-Begin my Eastman "Personal Statement" for my application
-Work out

Its going to be a long night, but I'm excited to tackle all of this. On that note, its time to go!

Love,
Rachel Catheryn

p.s- I get to see Becker again in 27 days!!! WOW! :)

Annnnnd I'm here.

I'm in Houston. It was REALLY good to see Becker again. He looks great; has lost some weight since I last saw him. Sounds equally amazing on trombone....wow, I have lots of practice to do to get where I need to be. Made some MAJOR strides trombone-wise since I've been here though...so that is very exciting.

More later...I fly back to Wisconsin tomorrow afternoon. I don't want to leave.

Love,
Rachel Catheryn

Ooooooh!

You Are Red

You are lively and fiery. You embrace the world and live passionately. You are moody but generally enthusiastic. You love so many things. You are able to have a lot of drive and focus. Some people would call this obsession. You are aggressive about getting what you want in life. You look out for yourself first.

What Primary Color Are You?

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

And here....we...go.

Cohort today was really fun and interesting. I expected to be nervous to get up in front of the class again, especially knowing that students would be intentionally misbehaving for the sake of working on 'Classroom Management'. Instead it turned out to be a hilarious day. Some of my favorite moments were Koble tripping and dropping the F-bomb loudly, Mike Renneke and Amy Stanfield falling in love and Mike sneaking over to sit by her during class, Steph Benson getting a note and bursting into tears (very convincing) and Jake Baus getting up to go look at the 4th graders playing kickball outside the window. Twas fun.

Tonight is going to be a busy busy night for me; I'm mostly packed for Houston; just need the essentials that I can't pack until the morning of. I have about a billion things due for Cohort tomorrow, so I'm going to be tackling those one at a time. They'll get done. Luckily there is no Chip Valley tonight, so I'll be able to dedicate lots of time to getting everything organized so tomorrow will be as stress free as possible.

Here is my next few days:
Tomorrow (Wednesday):
8 a.m. - Cohort
10 a.m. - Pack the car
11 a.m. - Music History Seminar
12 p.m. - Jazz
12:55 p.m. - Brass Tech make-up playing exam
1:05 p.m.- Brass Tech with PAO (WAYYYYYYY better than Ormsby; we've only had 1 class too!!!)
2 p.m. - Wind Symphony
3 p.m. - Leave for Madison
7 p.m. - State Honors Orchestra performs at Madison
9 p.m. - Out for drinks with Sandra & Andrew!!!

Thursday:
7:15 a.m. - Routine
8 a.m. - Seminar "Lessons to Successful Sightreading/Sightsinging"
8:45 a.m. - Music Teacher Education---At a Tipping Point? Seminar
9:30 a.m. - Lesson with Mark Hetzler
11:30 a.m. - Jazz I Performance at WMEA (Monona Terrace---come check it out!!!)
12:30 p.m. - Leave immediately for Minnepolis
7:15 p.m. - Flight leaves from Minneapolis
9:50 p.m. - Arrive in HOUSTON

I'm SO excited....really can't wait. (Minus the plane flying part; I'm going to HATE that).


In other news, I bought a new pair of jeans last night. BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: I am now a size 4 jeans at American Eagle. Don't laugh!!! This might seem like a silly thing to some people, but to me it is a big accomplishment. I know I probably am also a size 6 or an 8 there depending on the style of jeans....but the fact that I can comfortably wear a size 4 is a nice reminder that my hard work has paid off. Can't wait to start working out again since I've been sick lately.

Alright friends; I'm out of here! I'll probably write either from Houston or post-Houston trip.


Love,
Rachel Catheryn

Oh Tuesdays...

Sick again? How can this be?!?!? I somehow am now fighting off a cold-type thing. Really difficult to swallow and kind of tricky to breathe. :/ Hopefully this is a short lived thing.

On a lighter note; only 9 days until Houston! While I am completely dreading the flight itself (I HATE flying) I can't wait to see Becker and spend some quality time together. That'll be awesome...these 9 days can't go by fast enough. It sounds like we might go to see the opera (Lohengrin) which would be a perfect date night. I loved seeing "Faust" up in Minneapolis; my first opera experience. :D

Slowly getting things done for grad school auditions; I spoke with Mark Kellogg on the phone last night and I had a very favorable impression of him. He seems to be a straightforward guy and had some really fantastic info for me about the studio. Conducting opportunities seemed to be available as well. Through email correspondence I think I have my graduate schools narrowed down a bit.

-Eastman
-Indiana
-U of Iowa

Madison is still in the mix pending my lesson with Mark Hetzler. I'm just not so sure about the school itself; so close to home and there are going to be so many Eau Claire trombonists that will probably be going there within a year or so (Rosevold, Will and Bader), and I would like to get out and experience new things with new people. That being said, if my lesson with Hetzler is really great, I'll still consider Madison, but we'll see.

U of Austin, TX is boarderline because of the lack of conducting opportunities available to me. I need to be somewhere where I'll have a chance to conduct a group (large group) if needed. Not sure if I can find that there. I am also unimpressed with the speed of the correspondence compared to other schools. All the other professors contacted me quickly and took their time sending me information. I felt that my messages from TX were a bit "Thrilled you're intersted. Studio here is great; taking a few masters students for next year. Not many conducting opportunities. Let me know if you'll be in town." Very short; informal, and for some reason I'm just not feeling impressed by the correspondence thus far.

I'm looking into Northwestern, but haven't heard back from Michael either. That would be a less expensive school to audition at (travel-wise) and I know all the excerpts but one. The downside is that this school is extremely competitive, difficult to get into and I would need to learn the entire Martin Ballade PLUS all the rest of what I'm working on. Kind of a lot to go through for a school I'm not sure about. I'll keep you all posted.


Time to warm up for my lesson; hope it's another good one; I worked REALLY hard on things this week!!!! :)


Love,
Rachel Catheryn

Oh yes...AND...

I get to see Becker in 16 days. Can't. Wait. (seriously). :) :) :)

The Life and Times of...

Okay. Things have been set in motion so I can begin narrowing down my grad school list. I have a lesson set up with Mark Hetzler-UW-Madison (Oct. 28th), Nat Brickens-U of A Texas (Oct. 30th or Nov.1st), David Gier-U of Iowa (Nov.20th), and I'll be playing a masterclass for Carl Lenthe AND a lesson with him on Oct. 24th. Still waiting to hear back from either Marcellus or Kellogg from Eastman. Will update you as I go on that one.

I have emailed all the wind ensemble directors to inquire about their conducting opportunities for non-conducting majors. Hopefully this will help narrow down my choices so I can travel a bit less. I'm considering adding Northwestern onto my list because its a great school and is closer so auditioning would be cheaper too. Downside is that school is REALLY tough to get into. But I'm not afraid to try. :)

I'm getting excited for my trip to Houston, even though I HATE flying in planes. If I didn't love Becker, I would NOT be doing this. Planes = ANXIETY ATTACK. So we'll see how my first solo flight goes. I'm not anticipating good things on my behalf. Probably a bit of a freak out before I can settle in. Is it weird that landings are my favorite part of flying in planes? :P


I have my Cohort Reading Presentation tomorrow. I like the content that I'll be teaching, so I feel that if I just relax it will go very well. I need to get up in front of people more. I lost that confidence sometime throughout my college career. I used to be able to perform without being nervous, but now I am generally nervous in any situation that involves being in front of people. I wonder why that is? I think it might be because I have such high expectations of myself that I'm afraid if I don't do a perfect job people will judge me and that will hurt my self-esteem. I'm working on doing things soley for me and not allowing anyones' opinion sway the way I go about things. Work in progress for sure.

Ok. Time to work in the music library, since I somehow successfully wasted the past 2 hours of my shift online. FAIL.

With love,
Rachel Catheryn

So many things...

I have so much going on now, but wanted to write quickly to update all:

1. Grad schools. The list keeps changing for me based on what I hear. I think I need to cut 1 or 2 out because I won't be able to take all that time off student teaching to travel. So I'm not sure what to do about that; if I cut one, it will probably U of Austin, TX or Indiana. I feel like I might be going to Iowa next year. Hope I'm not selling myself short of the 'big name schools'. We'll see though.

2. Haunt @ VScare. I like it. I do wish there were more people there
http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/trip-reports-travel-tips-48/56436-photo-tr-valleyscare-opening-night.html

(Scroll down to the bottom and then go up 6 from the end). Thats me. Being a creeper. :P HAHAHA.

3. Trombone- kind of crappy as of late; I think I'm just burned out and not confident anymore. Don't know why that is...it only seems to be on routine stuff that I suck. When I play solo lit or excerpts I sound great. So who knows?

4. COHORT. I like this class. I'm starting to feel a bit more comfortable, however I do get frustrated when the same people always jump in to take the lead with everything. It makes the rest of us (who process a bit slower) look kind of bad when 3 people are running the show for the class. I feel that some people wish they had more opportunities to help. Not me, necessarily, because I'm very busy and dont' want to overcommit, but others in the class have expressed that to me. So we'll see. Not much time left for us all to be together, so I'm not terribly concerned.

5. Working out. Its going to start happening again. My nights are pretty busy, so I'm going to find a time to work on 5 days a week for an hour. 40 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of abs/weights. Its going to happen. I lost 15 lbs this summer and I refuse to gain it back because of a busy schedule. NO WAY.

Time to get music library stuff done. Wheeeee.

Love,
Rachel Catheryn

Graduate Schools

Hi all,

I hope if you're reading this and you've been through the graduate school thing that you'll leave some comments with your thoughts on my school choices/imput about the schools. After meeting with Ostrander today about grad school stuff, I'm more confused about where I'd like to go for grad school, but I also have a bit more direction as to what places might be good for me. Here are the schools I'm looking at; the plan right now is to persue a degree in trombone performance AND wind conducting.

1. University of Iowa
2. University of Indiana
3. Eastman School of Music
4. University of Austin, TX
5. University of WI-Madison

Initially Rice University was on this list, but after talking with both PAO and Becker, it would seem that the opportunity for conducting at Rice is very very limited and I wouldn't be getting closer to my goal for teaching. Performance opportunity would be great, but that isn't my entire goal (I REALLY want to teach high school or college). The performance degree is just to keep me on track with my playing. So it sounds like Rice will probably be off the list, even though that will mean more long distance dating.


The U of Iowa would be great because I have heard good things about the trombone prof there (hopefully I'll be getting a lesson sometime around Thanksgiving-time) and I know the quality of Dr. Heidel's ensembles and conducting techniques. There are multiple ensembles in Iowa, not just orchestra like Rice, and there is a good chance I could get some scholarship money or a TA position. The down side to Iowa is the floods have destroyed the music building so the facility isn't great, and also the fact that I've already worked with Dr. Heidel for 4 years at college. It might be good to get a different experience/conductor.

Indiana was highly recommended by Dr. O for me; although I'm not sure how I'd feel about playing in a studio with SO many trombonists. The school has a good reputation for musicians and the players who come out of there sound really good, however it is expensive and I don't know how I would respond to Carl's teaching (I've never taken a lesson with him before).

Eastman was recommended to me by PAO and Megumi, so I've begun seriously considering auditioning there again. Pros to Eastman are the name (GREAT music school reputation), and the trombone choir/studio has always been strong there. Not as many gigging opportunities here though, and it is VERY expensive to go to school. Don't know if I'd like to study with Marcellus enough to justify paying that much each year; plus the cost of living.

University of Austin is one I've recently been looking into. Their trombone choir sounded GREAT at ETW; lots of very strong players there. I also like that there are endless opportunities to teach down in TX, which isn't the case with some of these other schools. The name of the school isn't great compared to the others; plus I'd be living down in Texas (not great).

Madison is one that Dr.O mentioned today. I heard back from Hetzler immediately after emailing him and he told me a bit about the studio and his mentality. Lots of opportunities to play in many different settings and scholarship money available. Downside is its UW-Madison; not a great school for music anymore (compared to many), there are no TA positions available for music and it is really close to home. Not sure how I feel about this one...

So there is my situation; I'd appreciate any feedback anyone might offer.


With love and grad school planning,
Rachel

One more...

I forgot to mention that I washed my bedsheets today. I can't WAIT to go home and sleep in fresh sheets....best feeling ever.

Quick Update

Hi all!

Lots to do, so I'll keep this fast.

1. I'm still sick; the steroids I'm taking to get the swelling of the tonsils down aren't helping AT ALL. (It's been a full week). Halloween Haunt starts tomorrow night. I'm very excited to do that; hopefully getting away will help me recover....

2. Trombone is going rather mediocre; I just need to boost my confidence a bit and know that I sound good. ***Goal for the week; don't doubt my playing ability*** (Someone hold me to this, please ;)

3. My parents are renewing their wedding vows in December. YAY!!!!!!!!! :)


4. I began applying to graduate schools yesterday and scheduling lessons. Right now it looks like: Rice, University of Iowa and potentially the University of Austin, TX. Not sure what I'm looking for yet really...

5. I am flying to Houston in 5 weeks! (just 35 days!) CAN'T. WAIT.

6. Cohort is starting to slip away from me, since I have been sick lately. I need to really focus and take accountability for what I need to learn. Time to get serious and really get things figured out.

4. I miss people. Especially the older people who graduated; Becker, Justin, Mary, Kailyn, Monica, Brad etc....mostly just not seeing people around is weird and makes me sad. BUT...I know that I'm about to start an insanely busy time in my college career, so maybe its good that people aren't around much so I can focus on other things too. But I still miss people. :)


Time for me to get some music library stuff done; peace.

Love,
Rachel

Whooo-eeeee!

Your Name Comes From Neptune

You are able to adapt to any situation, surroundings, or groups. You are highly flexible. You tend to hang back and observe before you show your cards. Because of this, you are often seen as mysterious. You are very intuitive and sensitive. You have a deep understanding of the world, even though the world doesn't understand you. At times you feel like you could be psychic. You read people that well.

What Planet Does Your Name Come From?

Blogthings: We'll Tell You The Truth... Someone Has To!

Houston Trip...T-Minus ? days.

Found out some very frustrating news today. Mr. Baca just told Jazz I that we have another concert that wasn't listed on the schedule on October 29th. Unfortunately, Becker has already booked me a flight to Houston to spend a few days with him and take some graduate school lessons from Oct. 28th - Nov.1. Now I have to pay $150 to re-book the flight and I also must try to find a way to get my teachers to allow me out of class. Just kind of hard for me. I almost cried when I found out about the concert because I thought my trip might have to be cancelled entirely. I guess $150 isn't bad in the long run....just wish I didn't have to spend that money.

On a lighter note, I feel that school is going really REALLY well this semester. I'm keeping up with everything generally speaking and have a positive outlook on things overall. Now I just need to be a bit more confident with my trombone playing; sometimes I get down on myself. The pressure is on for me to get into Rice this spring; I want to get accepted there. Iowa is another possibility while the U of Houston is a distant 3rd. Baby steps.

This week is SAI and PMA Rush Week! Meet n Greet was Monday, yesterday we grilled and played frisbee outside Haas, tonight is free bowling at Hilltop, then there is movie night and our formal dinner on Friday.

Friday will be sweet, because I will also be going to OKTOBERFEST! I LOVE LEINE'S OKTOBERFEST!!!! Sounds like a bunch of people will be coming up for the lovely event...it'll be nice to see Brad, Lauren and Vernie (?) again. :) This will be my last weekend as a Benchwarmer at Valleyfair for the year. Hopefully next year I can be a seasonal manager; I could definitely use the hours and I feel I'm about done with the Benchwarmer thing. 4 years is a long time to do the same summer job.

Next weekend is the HALLOWEEN HAUNT at ValleyScare. I'm going to be a dead babydoll (or something to that extent). Pretty pumped for that...but I have a crap-ton of work to do on learning the Thriller dance in its entirety. Time to hit up the YouTube and watch some MJ.

Sorry for the long post, hopefully my next one will be soon and not quite so long. :) Only 4_ days until Houston!!!

Love,
Rachel

Not a great start...

Just found out that I have tonsilitis. I won't be able to work today, which blows because I need the money. Also, I can't get ahold of my parents to get my medical info. If I don't have that, then I can't get steroids to get the swelling down. (my tonsils are almost completely touching they're so swollen).Not a great start to the school year....especially since my trombone is at Valleyfair so I can't even practice while staying home sick. Boo.

On a lighter note; had lots of fun last night riding coasters with Ryan. We hit a bunch of rides that I've never been on, even though I've worked at Vfair for 4 years. Excaliber, hot air balloons (extreme, I tell ya ;), Supercat, Chaos, High Roller and Steel Venom. Was really fun!!!!


Thats all for now; I'm really tired even though I was able to get in 11 hours of sleep last night. Time for a nap.

Love,
Rachel Catheryn

Epic = Epic Night

This will be another short post since I'm not feeling well, but wanted to update everyone on what I've been up to lately! :)

Went to Epic last night (nightclub in Minneapolis) with Rudy, Heather and Jonathon. I really enjoyed it aside from us having to leave early because the bouncer had a problem with Rudy apparently enjoying Carl Cox's mad dj skills too much....it was pretty dumb.

I worked at Valleyfair today for extra hours and was completely exhausted from last night's endeavor (slept between all the morning appearances). Think I'm coming down with a cold or something. My throat hurts whenever I swallow anything; and my tonsils are really REALLY swollen. :(

I'm going to practice my audition materials and then go to bed very very early.

Love,
Rachel Catheryn

:)

Just a quick update; I'm really tired and think I'm getting a cold (sore throat).

Here's the speedy version of how I've been:

1. Becker made it safely to Houston!!! Long drive, but now he's there for awhile and can relax and enjoy grad schools.

2. I won the Valleyfair Scholarship ($2,000). That means I'll be able to comfortably attend my grad school auditions this upcoming spring!!!

3. Ran my recital program fully today for the first time. Overall went well...some work to be done on the alto trombone piece which I've been neglecting.

4. I'm excited for school in a week. :)

5. I've lost 14 lbs this summer. :) :) :) (even though I haven't worked out in a month...whoops).

6. Tomorrow night I'm going to Epic in Minneapolis to see a really great DJ. Excited to get out and do something different; I'll let you know all know how it goes.

7. I'll be in the Halloween Haunt at ValleyScare this year as a dead baby doll who is actually alive and creepy. Couldn't be more excited!!! :D

Thats all for now.


Much love,
Rachel

Running off to join the circus...

Sometimes I just want to mix things up. To do something totally crazy, dangerous and just unexpected. Sometimes I just want to get away from my 'professional' and 'structured' life; I always try to act so mature and sometimes I just want to get away from that...I guess I just want something crazy to happen.

Summer is winding down. I wish I would have disciplined myself to work out more. I will start again tomorrow. I also want to just really nail my recital this fall. After my lesson with Ostrander on Friday, I think I'll be able to do it. I still have 5 weeks left to smooth over the rough edges. I want to be successful. I want to be as thin as I used to be and I want to be healthy. So I have a few goals for the school year....

1. Work out regularily---> to keep my body strong and healthy. If I lose weight, great.
2. Love playing all the time.
3. Start focusing on graduate school auditions.
4. Spend time working on maintaining my relationship (keeping things as good as they are).


Might seem simple, but I think they are good goals which will make me happier.

Time for sleep; I'm really exahusted. If anyone has anything exciting to do...call me. :)



Love,
Rachel

P.S.

I LOVE Jason Mraz. :)

And life goes on...

Needless to say I've been having a difficult time at work this year; mostly as of lately. Today I came upon the realization that I will never be able to please absolutely everyone; and I decided not to kill myself trying. I've made MANY adjustments to how I approach leadership with the group over the past week or so, and I'm really proud that I've been able to do a complete 180 with the way I handle things. Changing attitudes just won't happen with some people; so I'm determined to just do the very best I personally can. In that regard, I'm having a great summer.

Luckily (and unluckily at the same time), Valleyfair has been losing money due to the economy, so Stauff had to cut some extra days of us working this summer. As a result, we have Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday off this week. I'm pumped that I'll be able to have some real time off to gear up before school starts. I'm driving ALL THE WAY down to Milwaukee after our 6 p.m. show tomorrow night. Long drive, but hopefully it won't be too bad. I hope my car makes it too; its not doin so hot. :/

Trombone hasn't been great lately; mostly I haven't been motivated to play. I just want to relax and spend time with people. I haven't even done much of that; but not having to do stuff feels good sometimes. I'm hoping I'll be able to get back into my intensive practice/workout routine very soon....I always feel better when I do that. :)

Time for some sleep. Loooong drive tomorrow.

Love,
Rachel Catheryn

Reboot

I've decided its time for me to get back on track. I've been doing so well all summer with eating healthy and working out on a regular basis and practicing well, that I'm not willing to give it up. Kind of hit a rough patch the past 2 weeks where I'm in a standstill with my playing (except my routine has DRASTICALLY improved recently) and I've been eating really crappy foods and not working out. I believe this is what most people would call getting into a funk. So I'm up, dressed, have laundry in, ate breakfast and am about to step out to the gym right now at 8 a.m. WIN.

I'm starting to freak about little things...I sometimes get scared that Becker will find someone else while he's out at Aspen, or that he doesn't feel the same about me any more. I don't really know why I'm starting to feel this way all of a sudden, but I hate it. Maybe its just the whole thing with my family is creating this underlying mistrust or something, but I often feel that there is something wrong when we talk on the phone,I hope to God that isn't the case. I think what set me off this morning was seeing that he never even mentions me in his blog anymore, while I'm thinking about him all the time here. Call it silly and reading too much into things, but its how I feel and I need to write it. (blog therapy). So that has been the cause of lots of emotional stress for me lately.

Anyways, just wanted to update on my life....I need to get to the gym before it gets any later.

-Rachel

Summer is juuust flyin by...

I can't believe it is already mid-July. So much to do and so little time to do it! I'm a bit bummed since nobody from my family has been able to stop by to visit me at all this summer. Its been kind of lonely. Hopefully Bex and Andy will be able to make a visit sometime before the end of the month; that would TOTALLY make my summer amazing.

Yesterday I lay out in the sun for, oh lets say, about 40 minutes. I even wore sunscreen because I am so fair skinned. After I got inside I discovered that I was HORRIBLY burned all over my stomach, upper legs and part of my chest. Today was so difficult to work at the park while feeling so uncomfortable. Last night was rough too; I ate some bad chicken and ended up throwing up from around midnight until approximately 4 a.m. :/ Looong night, to say the least.

I didn't practice much today; but I feel like I'm just ready for a lesson on the material I have so I can start working on bigger picture concepts. I can get through all my music at this point; which is a relief. El Alacran is just a chop buster; but if I can pace myself and relax I should be able to get through it pretty well. :) The multi-phonic stuff in Basta! is really tough though; since I'm a woman and my voice is higher than the pitches written. Unusual challenges; but I'm up for it!

I've felt restless lately; so if anyone wants to go party it up this summer; I'm not going to be doing much of that this upcoming year (Cohort in fall and student teaching in the spring). Last summer of freedom!!! :)

Love,
Rachel Catheryn

Life goes on...

This summer has been pretty difficult for me thus far. While lots of things are going well, I really miss Becker and my family a lot. I've been lucky to have good friends from last summer still in my life (aka the whole band at Vfair) and I've also been lucky enough to meet some cool people who add some new interest to my life like Jonathon and Justin, while still keeping up with old EC friends like Brad and Mary. :) So all in all I should be ultra happy and perky but lately I've just been depressed. To avoid this post from getting long and dramatic; I'll just stick with the good stuff for today.

I like working at Valleyfair; I love the people there. I love playing trombone; even when I don't sound perfect all the time. I love coming home to a place where I am cared about and comfortable. I love my family and am happy that my parents are working things out. I love my siblings and am happy that they are achieving their dreams. I love Becker and am glad that he did well on his New World Symphony sublist audition. This is getting mushy; so I'm done. :)

If anyone in the Minneapolis area is looking to hang out at all during these last months; I'd love to see people. I'd also like it if anyone has time to listen to some of my recital material. Picked a difficult program and need to play for people so I can get some good feedback. I'll have a lesson with John Tranter soon (if he ever gets back to me) and I am almost set up with a lesson with Dave Werden for the end of July. Very much looking forward to it.

Bought a brand new laptop from Colin (thanks, friend). He only had it for a month or so and discovered it didn't do all the fancy, advanced things that he needed for online poker. So he passed it along to me at an incredibly affordable price and I'm so thankful. This past year sans computer was a difficult one.

Anyways, time to get some sleep in; another long day at the park tomorrow (I'm picking up as many extra shifts as possible to pay for school this semester and grad school auditions).

Love,
Rachel

Its about dang time! :)

Hello friends!

I know it has been a REALLY long time since I last posted on my blog, but so many people seem to be getting into it again, I figured it was about dang time that I do as well. I need to start this blog by saying that I really miss people this summer. The past few summers have been, to say the least, easy mostly because Becker has been around the whole time. Now that he isn't around anymore I'm realizing how much I just miss being around people all the time. I'm a social person; I don't like just sitting in the basement watching movies. I want to be out with PEOPLE! So that being said, if you're in the Minneapolis area and want to hang out, please give me a call! Always looking for new exciting things to do after a long day at Valleyfair!

Trombone is going well this summer...I have a recital coming up in the early fall.

Sept. 21st, 2009

5 p.m.

Phillips Recital Hall (UWEC)

So far I've put together the following for my recital, but I feel like it might be a bit more than I can do in these few short months. (If I do decide to cut some, I'll probably cut a movement or two of the Albrechtsberger Concerto).

1. Basta! (Rabe)

2. Concerto for Trombone (Albrechtsberger)---Alto Tbone

3. "Piece for Trombone and Piano" (subject to a title change). This piece was written for my recital by my friend Greg Ellis...so my recital will be the world premiere I guess. :)

4. Of Clowns and Dreams (Harmon)

INTERMISSION

5. El Alacran (Cutler)

6. Ave Maria (quartet piece)

7. One other quartet piece; TBD

My whole goal with this recital is to mentally and physically keep me on track this summer so I can't slack off. Thus far, my plan is succeeding. I am also freaking out, because I chose lots of difficult music. I still have about 3 months....BREATHE. :D

Family = fantastic; things seem to be going well for everyone. My little sister's boyfriend lost his mother somewhat unexpectedly the other day though....so if you are the praying type, please keep his family in your prayers; this is a very difficult time for them.

Valleyfair = good enough. I wish people would care during the second three shows. We seem to get really tired as a group and lots of dumb mistakes happen during these shows. I think (HOPE) this gets better as time goes by, otherwise we'll have to figure something else out. The most important thing is that people don't act like they are above the gig, especially when they keep messing things up. I feel that we all have yet to accomplish a 'perfect' show, and maybe thats what we should strive for.

Living at Becker's parent's house without Becker = fine. Lots of people keep asking me how it is. "Is it awkward living alone with his parents?" or "don't you feel really weird?". The answer is no. I do not feel weird or uncomfortable. His parents have been great in welcoming me into their place and its been great so far.

Me = motivated. I'm doing a really good job of getting my life in order (aside from a few days where I wayyyyyyy overslept my original goals). I am running at least 2 1/2 miles per day; a big step up from the last few months where I did no physical activity whatsoever, and I am eating much healthier overall (with the exception of today). I've been trying to drink tons of water and to break a good sweat once a day, and I've already lost 8 lbs this summer!!! Feeling good, strong and powerful.

Grad school stuff = coming up really fast. If anyone has any good teachers in Minneapolis/Apple Valley, please let me know! I need some summer lessons to keep on track with my recital materials and my grad school excerpts:

-The Ride

-Tuba Mirum

-La Gazza Ladra

-Saint Saens III

-Hungarian March

-Bolero

Back-up excerpts:

-Till Eulenspiegel

-Rennish

-William Tell

-Tannhauser

This upcoming spring I will be applying to: Eastman School of Music, University of Iowa, Rice University and Indiana University (Shepherd School of Music).

And now I'm realizing that this post is WAY too long. My apologies, friends. I'll keep my updates shorter from now on, but now you know what I've been up to for the last year or so. :P

Love,

Rachel