Blogging is the only sensible activity when I should be reading a frighteningly tedious book on apologetics, a book that needed an editor almost as badly as my blog posts do. Maybe more.
So I shall blog. I've gotten a lot done this week though not nearly all that I would've liked. My room, however, has been completely overhauled, CD inventory taken, every last thing cleaned out and thrown out or organized. The result is all sorts of space I never knew I had and a good 6x6 floor space to boot.
Practicing has been pathetically scarce. Composition is much on my mind and I've completed an impressive total of 2.5 minutes of music in the past two weeks. Amazing how long it takes. I have about 7 more minutes of music to write for my comp class in the next two weeks to finish up before deadline.
I'm starting to miss school life a lot--not so much the people as the lifestyle. I miss a few of my friends--my Christian buddies--but for the most part I miss professors more than classmates. Go figure. I'm also excited because, one year accomplished, I know what amazing almost-daily concerts are in store for me again and I miss having that as a regular part of my life. Most of all I'm ready for the directionless feeling of summer to be over so I can go back to the lovely rhythm of college days: small daily accomplishments that slowly and comfortably add up to so much, not to mention the peaceful beauty of the St. Olaf campus.
Meanwhile life at home is good--if a little weird with such a "small" family. This week there are only six of us. One day mom and I were the only ones home all day. I'm playing a lot of Scrabble with mom, teasing AJ almost enough, working with Grace on piano, playing on Sundays for the new OP church plant my family is involved in, and helping some with the rearranging of the house that's been going on the past couple weeks.
My favorite thing about this summer is the amazing chiropractor I've found. I'm seeing him twice a week and he is helping me more than I thought possible. He's a good doctor because he really knows what he's doing and has a philosophy that diagnosis/labelling isn't important but "where are you now, where do you want to be, and how can we get there?" And on top of that, he is careful to explain, teach, discuss, listen through everything so I'm learning the all the whys and hows. Through a combination of manipulations, electrostimulation therapy, and now slowly building up a stretch program and later exercises as well, he is helping to realign years of misalignments and loosen tight muscles. My upper back and shoulder pain is almost constantly gone. My lower body is taking longer but it is coming.
Also fun is Friday nights, teaching four kids ages 4-6 for 45 minutes in preparation for their joining our children's choir in August. It confirms even more how much I want to start a "covenantal children's music education" program in whatever region I live after I graduate. If I can only maintain sanity for three more years in the face of feeling pressure because of my major from the maniacal secular composition sphere, I will graduate eager and equipped to write hymns, curricula, sacred music, teach, direct... I can almost taste it.
I'm excited for this fall because of all the good studies in store. Besides the two constants of organ and choir (and Christmas Fest again!) I'll have instrumentation/orchestration, 3rd semester theory (getting more into 19th century harmony), and early music history (I'm planning for my research paper this semester to be on the development of the early Latin church's liturgy of the daily offices.) And best of all, no composition class. I hope that will mean I can do some good composition work toward the end of the semester and through interim and get a little more comfortable with the endeavor.
I'm also thinking more about the next three years and how I might tailor-make some things to fit my well-defined goals and interests through independent studies and the like.
And now I'd best read more about natural theology and see if I can't finish another 30 pages without falling asleep.
So I shall blog. I've gotten a lot done this week though not nearly all that I would've liked. My room, however, has been completely overhauled, CD inventory taken, every last thing cleaned out and thrown out or organized. The result is all sorts of space I never knew I had and a good 6x6 floor space to boot.
Practicing has been pathetically scarce. Composition is much on my mind and I've completed an impressive total of 2.5 minutes of music in the past two weeks. Amazing how long it takes. I have about 7 more minutes of music to write for my comp class in the next two weeks to finish up before deadline.
I'm starting to miss school life a lot--not so much the people as the lifestyle. I miss a few of my friends--my Christian buddies--but for the most part I miss professors more than classmates. Go figure. I'm also excited because, one year accomplished, I know what amazing almost-daily concerts are in store for me again and I miss having that as a regular part of my life. Most of all I'm ready for the directionless feeling of summer to be over so I can go back to the lovely rhythm of college days: small daily accomplishments that slowly and comfortably add up to so much, not to mention the peaceful beauty of the St. Olaf campus.
Meanwhile life at home is good--if a little weird with such a "small" family. This week there are only six of us. One day mom and I were the only ones home all day. I'm playing a lot of Scrabble with mom, teasing AJ almost enough, working with Grace on piano, playing on Sundays for the new OP church plant my family is involved in, and helping some with the rearranging of the house that's been going on the past couple weeks.
My favorite thing about this summer is the amazing chiropractor I've found. I'm seeing him twice a week and he is helping me more than I thought possible. He's a good doctor because he really knows what he's doing and has a philosophy that diagnosis/labelling isn't important but "where are you now, where do you want to be, and how can we get there?" And on top of that, he is careful to explain, teach, discuss, listen through everything so I'm learning the all the whys and hows. Through a combination of manipulations, electrostimulation therapy, and now slowly building up a stretch program and later exercises as well, he is helping to realign years of misalignments and loosen tight muscles. My upper back and shoulder pain is almost constantly gone. My lower body is taking longer but it is coming.
Also fun is Friday nights, teaching four kids ages 4-6 for 45 minutes in preparation for their joining our children's choir in August. It confirms even more how much I want to start a "covenantal children's music education" program in whatever region I live after I graduate. If I can only maintain sanity for three more years in the face of feeling pressure because of my major from the maniacal secular composition sphere, I will graduate eager and equipped to write hymns, curricula, sacred music, teach, direct... I can almost taste it.
I'm excited for this fall because of all the good studies in store. Besides the two constants of organ and choir (and Christmas Fest again!) I'll have instrumentation/orchestration, 3rd semester theory (getting more into 19th century harmony), and early music history (I'm planning for my research paper this semester to be on the development of the early Latin church's liturgy of the daily offices.) And best of all, no composition class. I hope that will mean I can do some good composition work toward the end of the semester and through interim and get a little more comfortable with the endeavor.
I'm also thinking more about the next three years and how I might tailor-make some things to fit my well-defined goals and interests through independent studies and the like.
And now I'd best read more about natural theology and see if I can't finish another 30 pages without falling asleep.
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