Awkward Moment #02

The day started out like any other day.  A mini-heart attack caused by my loud alarm on my phone.  Tripping over my guitar case as I leave my room.  Black Coffee because I'm too tired to think to put milk or sugar in it.  Rushing to class because I didn't leave when I wanted to.

But it's okay, I was right on schedule to arrive at my 8:00 at my standard 8:01.*

Through the glass doors I see some one getting ready to leave.

In a grandiose gesture, I fling the door open

Due to the ice, I slipped and went along with the door

I let out a rather unladylike noise.  Something between a squeal and a grunt.  Is that even possible?  I used to wonder, but no alas, no longer.

So I'm done opening doors for people.  I'm sorry ... I tried.

I hope this is my last post about doors!

Be safe out there ...
Amanda

*Hey, at least I'm consistent ... and I'm pretty sure there's a rule somewhere that you are only late if you arrive after your prof calls your name during attendance.

the most wonderful and dastardly dreadful productivity thing ever

Okay, so I my already busy life has been complicated lately by a little something called the Internet.  I swear,  I could spend hours on it.  It's becoming the milk to my cookie, the cheese to my cracker, the olive to my oil ... you get the picture.  We spend a lot of time together.  But, now all of that is going to change!

What's that you say?

How could this be?

I'm glad you asked ....

I present to you Stay Focusd!

This is a chrome plug-in/extension* thing that only allows you to spend a certain amount of time on whatever time sucking websites you use.  Unfortunately, this only works if you use Google's Chrome browser.  But you should download it and use it because it is awesome :)  Plus you can download AdBlock and get rid of those stupid ads on your Facebook ... not that that really matters anymore because I won't be spending much time on Facebook.

It's super easy, and you can only find it in the Chrome web store ... all you have to do is click the little +Free button and you're in.  Now, you have to add your  list of websites in the box.  Goodbye facebook, etsy, and pinterest ... I love you all.

I increased my time from the standard 15 to 30 minutes.

And of course they guilt trip you about increasing your time :)

THINK OF THE KITTENS!

But when you do reach your time limit, at least they're nice about it ...

Bam!  So that's all there is to it.  Lent is starting tomorrow ... and if you happen to be limiting or giving up Facebook, I would recommend this to you!  Especially if you don't trust yourself :)

Good luck!

Amanda 

*sorry, I'm not tech-y enough to know the difference

**StayFocusd is not giving me compensation in return for saying nice things about them, I promise!

Can February March?

Hey, remember me?  I'm still here, I promise!  The past three weeks have been a whirlwind of tests, picking up extra hours at work, and most importantly: practicing ... i swear my fingers twitch in their sleep :)  But I am a survivor ... and I can't believe that only two weeks of classes are between me and spring break!

degreed.com

I'm sitting here drinking Chai tea, listening to the Les Misérables soundtrack, and looking out the window at our latest snowstorm ... this lazy Sunday afternoon is perfect for blogging!  I was thinking about writing about how I fail at time management, or how social media is ruining females' perception of beauty, or how I am stricken with wanderlust ...but I thought I would ease back into blogging with a list of things that I am excited about in March!  :)

I'm seeing Les Misérables live!! For those of you who don't know, they came out with a movie version of this in 2012. Basically, it's a depressing musical depicting poverty during the French Revolution. Well, technically it could be considered an opera because the story is told through song ... but the music is incredible :)

I applied to be a CA (community assistant, aka resident assistant in other colleges).  I had an interview, job shadow and I have a group interview this Friday!  The job shadow was really helpful because I got to see all sides of the job.  I don't know when I will find out if I got the job, but I think my chances are good :)

I can't wait for weather like this:

I want to run through a field of wild flowers wearing white clothes and waving lightweight bed sheets!  Who's with me?  But instead, we're stuck with below freezing temps.

Alas, I'm forced to ask for extra buffalo sauce on my wrap and drink large amounts of tea and hot chocolate.  It's a struggle, I know :)

Most importantly, I can't wait for spring break!  I'm not doing anything crazy ... just spending time with my family, boyfriend and friends!  Oh, and I hope to sew a lot of doll clothes for my Etsy shop.  Besides, I can't even imagine going to the beach in March ... It sounds too c-c-c-cold!

So that's my list, it sounded a lot more impressive in my head!

Thanks for reading, and don't worry ...

http://i.imgur.com/

Sorry, I couldn't help it ... 

Hang in there - spring is coming :)

Amanda

I Dislike Doors

Entrance.

Portals.

Exits.

Revolving Doors.

French doors.

Dutch Doors.*

You can call them whatever you want, but that won't change how I feel about them.  I dislike them because they are the source of many awkward moments.

I'm a polite person ... I like to hold the door open for people.  But how long is too long?  I mean, sometimes it just makes the person mad because they have to hurry up.

Or what about this scenario ... It's 7:45 and you are just leaving your dorm for your 8 am.  You've got coffee in one hand, and a bagel in the other.  You step out into the hall.  Someone comes up behind you, so you hold the door for them as you enter the stairwell.  They thank you.  Even though you are still half asleep, you have the sense to be polite and tell them that they're welcome.  Normal, right?

Here's where my predicament comes in ...

Let's say they follow you through the next two doors out of the building and they continue to thank you every single time.

Do I really have to tell them that they're welcome every single time ... Or can my first "you're welcome" be like a blanket statement ... covering the rest of the time they're following me?

Even worse, what do you do if you're the one following someone out the building?  Do you see my moral dilemma?  I would love to be polite and thank you for holding the door open for me ... but every thirty seconds?  I might need another cup of coffee for that!  But if I don't say thank you, then I just feel like I'm being ungrateful.

Let it be known, that from this day forward that I am always grateful for when you open doors for me ... even if I don't say thank you every time!

But most of all ... for some reason the doors in the music building all open in different directions.  I'm pretty sure ... and they don't have normal hinges!  I'd say I have a 60% success rate at door opening :(

You're luck I still have homework to do tonight because I didn't even get started talking about the danger of glass doors, two people trying to squeeze through one door way or stepping through doors onto ice.

Maybe I'll just boycott doors ... there's just too much at stake.

Be careful out there...
~Amanda

*According to google.com, this is one of those doors that is split into a top half and a bottom half

A Day in the Life of a Music Therapy Major

I found this sign on the soda machine beside the practice rooms. :)  

I thought it'd be fun to go through an average day ... that way you can kind of get a feel for what it's like to be a music therapy major!  

I took all of the pictures with my phone camera ... so I'm really sorry about the awful quality.  I'm going to take you through a typical Tuesday.  

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I have class at 8, but Tuesday and Thursday class only starts at 8:30.  However, my alarm goes off at 7:00 both days because I've been trying to get into a regular sleep schedule.  I wake up, start my coffee maker, shower, eat ... bored yet?  

And now the journey to the Music Building.  I have guitar class today, so I'm dragging her along.  Yes, my guitar is female.  Thankfully, it's not too far and it only takes around eight minutes.  My first class is called Assesment, Measurement and Evaluation for Music Therapy ... or AME if you're lazy like me.  This class deals with the nitty-gritty paperwork and record keeping aspects of Music Therapy.  After this class, I have a forty minute break.  I usually use this time to practice piano.

This is MY practice room.  Actually, I just like to think that it's mine.  It's gotten to the point where I get annoyed if I want to practice but someone's in "my room".  I like this room because it's bigger than some of the others ... think walk-in closet vs. broom closet.  Even more importantly, this is one of the few pianos that I actually like.  The pedal isn't squeaky, all of the notes are relatively in tune, no keys stick.  It's the little things in life that make me happy. :)  

After my quick practice session, yes forty minutes is quick, I shimmy over to guitar class for an hour.  Then, straight to voice class.  Voice is over at 11:45, so I eat at the cafeteria with friends.  I have just under two hours before Child Development at two.  I've used this time to pick up books and print off stuff at the library, but sometimes it's just nice to take a break from running around.  

But alas, soon it's time to make the 15 minute uphill hike up to class.  After this class, it's another 15 minute hike back down the hill back to the music building for Women's Ensemble.  Actually, our record is 12 minutes ... but that's probably because the temperature was in the negatives!  Either way, we're always a couple minutes late because we only have 10 minutes between classes.  It's cool, though because our choir professor is pretty relaxed. 

As soon as choir is over, I have fifteen minutes to change in the bathroom and punch into work.  Thankfully, it's only a seven minute walk!  I work until 9, but this is the only weeknight I work.  After I get back after work I eat supper, and do my homework for the next day.  Other evenings include practicing guitar and singing, homework, chilling with friends, going to bible study on Wednesdays, or music performances (I'm required to go to fifteen a semester).

So that's my Tuesday!  Everyday is different, but I would say that Tuesdays are my busiest day.  Although, now that I stop to think about it ... they're all pretty busy!  I'm usually away from room between 8/8:30am to 6 or 7 pm ...  I usually try to fit my piano, guitar and voice practice in while I'm in the music building.  I aim for two hours of piano a day, and an hour of both guitar and voice.  Realistically, I usually practice an hour and a half on piano and an hour total of guitar and voice.  This is more than some people, and less than some people.  I always feel like I never practice enough, though.  But I'm not sure I could ever practice enough!  It all comes down to setting priorities.

 My other classes include Musicianship Skills (sight-reading), Music Theory, Music Therapy Skills, Interpreting Literature, and individual piano lessons. When I write it down, my schedule seems kind of overwhelming ... but if you take it a day at a time, it's not bad.  I write down all of my assignments in my planner, so that helps to keep everything straight.  But now, it's Friday and I have a weekend to catch up and relax!  :)

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

PS: I just found out the other day that I have official credentials!  That's right, you can call me Amanda MTS (Music Therapy Student)

Brumal Temperatures

Brumal: of or relating to winter; wintry.

So I wanted to do a post chronicling my day as a music major.  But today was a really bad day to do it because two of my classes were canceled because we got snow overnight ... and I randomly worked for two hours. It was just a weird day.

But yeah, it's kind of cold out.  9* actually.  Yeah, you read that right.

Not 39. 

Not 29. 

Not even 19.  

Just 9.  

That's Fahrenheit, my friends ... 9*!

This morning I was running late* and I thought to myself It's not really that cold out, I don't need to find my hat.  Lies!  It was cold.  Then, class turned out to be canceled.  But it's okay because I needed to practice piano before my lesson ... which I hadn't practiced as much as I should have.

See, this is the problem with being an optimist.  You're never prepared for anything.

It can't rain when we're taking prom pictures.  

I can wear white pants ... I'll just be extra careful where I sit.

My professor wouldn't dare give us a pop quiz the second day of class.

I'll just study extra tomorrow morning before class, maybe put my textbook under my pillow.

Sure, memorizing 10 guitar songs a week before the final is completely possible.

-__-

I rest my case.  In my defense, I usually know how much I can get away with.  My secret?  It's all about working smarter, not harder.  And calculating the lowest grade you need on your final to get the letter grade that you want.  :)

But I guess I can be okay with the cold ... because there's a campus-wide 2 hour delay tomorrow because the temperature is supposed to drop even more.

Rant over.

Huddling for warmth,

Amanda

*This is a normal occurrence ... so really, I guess I shouldn't have been surprise

Ps: I know I sound really whiny, but I would just like to say that I think it's justified a little bit because right now in Alaska it's so much warmer!

6 things that I wish I knew

Okay, so I've been here 2 1/2 weeks and I feel like I've learned a lot!  Which is good, I guess.  But I spend a lot of my time in class stressing out because I feel like I know absolutely nothing about music.  Even the things that I thought I knew, it turns out that there's so much that could be expanded on.  But anways, I've made a list of general things that I wish someone would have told me ... or things that people told me and I didn't believe until I got here!

Carry an umbrella ... always.  It's not fun walking ten minutes to class in a downpour.  Did I learn the first time?  Apparently not, because today I waltzed into class looking like a drowned rat.

Expect to spend $100 EXTRA in books that your professors decided you needed when you showed up on the first day of class ... and $80 on a black chiffon feed sack masquerading as a dress for choir.  Hopefully this is just me!

It doesn't matter how thoroughly you think you packed, there will always be something else you discover you need.  Sugar and silverware, really?

Everyone shows up to class early.  Seriously, I walked through my classes the day before and still sat down in the wrong classroom on the first day of class!  I still showed up to my class five minutes early, but I was one of the last ones there.

Call your family once a in a while, your mom gets lonely.  And expect it to take, on average, forty five minutes.  I love you, mom! :)

It's okay if you doubt everything you've ever known about playing piano and music after the first day.  It will get better.  Then again, it may take a couple days and you might seriously start regretting being away from your family and your friends and your wonderful boyfriend who you haven't seen in four months and especially your mother who did your laundry for eighteen years and your nice job that paid you enough to actually increase your bank account every month and your comfortable life where you actually knew what to expect and ... yeah.

But I think I'm adjusting.  Then again, I had a good day ... despite the fact that it was a Monday and I had classes from 9-1 and 4-7:30.  On a bad day, my attitude would be completely different!  But soon the good days will outweigh the bad days.  I know when I've been holed up in my room too long because then I start getting all lonely and sad!  And I'm sure by now that you've figured out that this turned out to be one long pep talk to myself.  I hope some of it applies loosely to someone out there in cyberspace ... or I hope I at least made someone laugh from my conundrums :)  Maybe my next post will have some relevance to music therapy.  Or, maybe not.

I am quite fond of you all!
Amanda