I've decided that usually I'm a huge fan of being a graduate student. The schedule isn't too bad and I have a fair amount of flexibility. Most days I'm satisfied with my practicing, and normally I stay on top of assignments enough that classes don't catch me off guard. But this week might do me in :-( The opera opens on Thursday, which means we are rehearsing a lot, in the evenings - and we all know that I'm secretly an old woman and go to bed early. So this is not panning out well for me. Luckily coffee still works like magic, and I might be able to tweak my sleeping pattern for the next few days.
Other than that, things are going pretty well for me out here. I'm getting close with a few people and actually hang out. I know. Lindsay hangs out, doesn't just sit at home crocheting or something. Yes there is still a fair amount of that of course, but I've "grown down" a bit too.
I have purchased my tickets for winter break. I will be in the 804 Dec. 17th to Jan. 7th. I won't have a car, so if you want to see me it will probably fall on you to drive to Varina. Unless Daddy let's me use the Integra.... mmmm....
Honey is doing well. She gets mad sometimes when Elise and I are both gone for long periods of time, but somehow she quickly forgets all that when we give her massive amounts of attention.
It's beginning to get uber-cold. I don't mind the cold if I get snow too. Cold weather without snow just seems cruel and unusual. We had some flurries on Friday and I got overly excited and it went away :-( Alas.
The most exciting news I have is that I'm getting a visitor. Lauren is flying out for my birthday. This is the golden one you know. Turning 23 on the 23rd. I am so anxious!!!
I guess that's it...
love,
lindsay
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Honey :-)
So yes. It is true. I am not usually a cat person. But, I don't want a dog in an apartment with little yard space. And I wanted a pet. Because I have so much lovin' to give! Here is Honey. Elise and I adopted her yesterday. She's 5.5 years old and is so loving. She just rolls around for you to play with her and rubs her face against corners. It didn't take her long last night to get comfortable at all! We tried having her in the bathroom all night, but at 5am I was awoken by her attacking the door and meowing like crazy for attention. So I gave in. I'm such a softy.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
I'm sorry Virginia.
So even though I'm not a huge fan of everything Virginia offers... I was very sad to say goodbye to my VA driver's license. I guess the true sadness went with the pnkrtn license plates. I was just bombarded when I got plates here and didn't get to sign up for the "SWT TEA" ones I had dreamed of. Alas. A few pennies saved I suppose...
Other than the increasing ocean withdrawal I feel, things are great here. Classes started yesterday, and I had a lesson last Friday. Over the weekend... well two weekends ago now... my parents drove all my crap... actually not my crap. THEIR crap. And my Grandparents' crap out here. Of course, Elise and I love crap so it was much welcomed. We now have two coffee makes, a panini grill and a George Foreman, a few thousand pieces of serving ware and coffee cups... and oh the list goes on.
This weekend Elise and I did a little painting. I will post apartment pictures soon, including the one piece of furniture we worked up the energy to pain. Just know we were going for subtlety...
The schedule of graduate student sans assistantship so far is pretty nice. Of course ensembles and lessons haven't been scheduled yet so all this could change. I'm able to bike to and from all the classes, after a very expensive but necessary trip to deck out the bike. Now fully equipped with lights, reflectors, racks, helmet, etc. Eventually I'll probably stay on campus more, brown bag it to save on time. Especially once there's snow on the ground and my warm-bloodedness has begun to fade. I'm just worried about practice rooms. Maybe it's not so bad here, but I don't want to spend the day waiting for a room instead of playing.
Tonight we did a yoga class at CREC (goodbye UREC). I miss UREC already, because classes were free. And you can use the facilities in the summer even if you don't take classes. But oh no. Those luxuries have passed. This week is all free classes at CREC, so it seemed best to check it out before dropping the money for a semester Yoga pass. The good thing though is they have pretty regular discounts on masssages. It looks like I'll be able to get at least one a month at 20% off. After not having one the whole time I was in England, and not as regular senior year with the student teaching and recital giving my body is in desperate need of the rejuvenation.
Well, time to hit the books. Classical music history... it's totally going to kick my ass.
love,
lindsay
Other than the increasing ocean withdrawal I feel, things are great here. Classes started yesterday, and I had a lesson last Friday. Over the weekend... well two weekends ago now... my parents drove all my crap... actually not my crap. THEIR crap. And my Grandparents' crap out here. Of course, Elise and I love crap so it was much welcomed. We now have two coffee makes, a panini grill and a George Foreman, a few thousand pieces of serving ware and coffee cups... and oh the list goes on.
This weekend Elise and I did a little painting. I will post apartment pictures soon, including the one piece of furniture we worked up the energy to pain. Just know we were going for subtlety...
The schedule of graduate student sans assistantship so far is pretty nice. Of course ensembles and lessons haven't been scheduled yet so all this could change. I'm able to bike to and from all the classes, after a very expensive but necessary trip to deck out the bike. Now fully equipped with lights, reflectors, racks, helmet, etc. Eventually I'll probably stay on campus more, brown bag it to save on time. Especially once there's snow on the ground and my warm-bloodedness has begun to fade. I'm just worried about practice rooms. Maybe it's not so bad here, but I don't want to spend the day waiting for a room instead of playing.
Tonight we did a yoga class at CREC (goodbye UREC). I miss UREC already, because classes were free. And you can use the facilities in the summer even if you don't take classes. But oh no. Those luxuries have passed. This week is all free classes at CREC, so it seemed best to check it out before dropping the money for a semester Yoga pass. The good thing though is they have pretty regular discounts on masssages. It looks like I'll be able to get at least one a month at 20% off. After not having one the whole time I was in England, and not as regular senior year with the student teaching and recital giving my body is in desperate need of the rejuvenation.
Well, time to hit the books. Classical music history... it's totally going to kick my ass.
love,
lindsay
Monday, July 14, 2008
I might lose a love for corn.
This past weekend Elise and I met up in Lincoln, NE to get things squared away for August. We are so incredibly excited to get things started! Over the summer we have developed Lincoln obsessions. The co-ops have been located, the bus routes memorized, the farmers market scoped, I joined the UNL facebook network and we have emailed current and former students.
We found this oasis of an apartment for a great price. The owner and property manager are both great people and it's in a nice area (far enough West of "meth alley" and South of where the prostitutes like to hang - in daylight). We're a little further than we'd like to be from campus, but still within a mile which is definitely bike-able and there are some bus routes available too for the months of blood freezing cold.
Most importantly we visited the bookstore to begin our attempt at understanding the cornhusker football obsession. Of course we are not there. And probably will never be there. But we did make a brave attempt.
What is that on our heads you might ask? Corn hats. That's right. Some poor unsuspecting bookstore customer was tortured by the visual we presented. Two mighty woman duking it out for cornhusker bookstore champion. Who won? We will never tell.
love,
lindsay
We found this oasis of an apartment for a great price. The owner and property manager are both great people and it's in a nice area (far enough West of "meth alley" and South of where the prostitutes like to hang - in daylight). We're a little further than we'd like to be from campus, but still within a mile which is definitely bike-able and there are some bus routes available too for the months of blood freezing cold.
Most importantly we visited the bookstore to begin our attempt at understanding the cornhusker football obsession. Of course we are not there. And probably will never be there. But we did make a brave attempt.
What is that on our heads you might ask? Corn hats. That's right. Some poor unsuspecting bookstore customer was tortured by the visual we presented. Two mighty woman duking it out for cornhusker bookstore champion. Who won? We will never tell.
love,
lindsay
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
holy moly
So I just went through and fixed all the picture links. Not sure why a lot weren't working... whoops! It is MOST important that you look at the Croatia photos. It was an amazing weekend in a beautiful country. I will never forget it, especially the tour guide :-)
Currently I'm in Greeley, Colorado (AKA "the center of the universe!"). Matthew has been here for about a year working on his jazz studies degree. After the long months apart we decided to have the summer together to promote sanity (individual and in the relationship). Living scantily and enjoying the company. I'll be here until mid-August when I will move to Lincoln, Nebraska for my graduate program. That's right. The land of the cornhuskers. If you send me money I'll send you a corn on the cob foam hat.
I miss being in the UK a lot. Although it's not so much the location, but the lifestyle and the friends. It has been difficult trying to keep up with practicing, healthy eating and exercising when there are so many distractions! I can't imagine how difficult it will become in Autumn...
I miss the other students everyday. There's always something that reminds me of them, and some reason to miss the company. We have a dream of meeting in August 2009 at the flute convention, it's being held in New York City. The non-Americans have never been to the States before, and it seems like the perfect excuse to come! Maybe we will only see a few parts of the convention...
love,
lindsay
Currently I'm in Greeley, Colorado (AKA "the center of the universe!"). Matthew has been here for about a year working on his jazz studies degree. After the long months apart we decided to have the summer together to promote sanity (individual and in the relationship). Living scantily and enjoying the company. I'll be here until mid-August when I will move to Lincoln, Nebraska for my graduate program. That's right. The land of the cornhuskers. If you send me money I'll send you a corn on the cob foam hat.
I miss being in the UK a lot. Although it's not so much the location, but the lifestyle and the friends. It has been difficult trying to keep up with practicing, healthy eating and exercising when there are so many distractions! I can't imagine how difficult it will become in Autumn...
I miss the other students everyday. There's always something that reminds me of them, and some reason to miss the company. We have a dream of meeting in August 2009 at the flute convention, it's being held in New York City. The non-Americans have never been to the States before, and it seems like the perfect excuse to come! Maybe we will only see a few parts of the convention...
love,
lindsay
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
lambs are fun
It’s lambing season here. I promise I’ll be going to the farm again soon to take pictures, and you will die over the cuteness of these animals. Andy is the farmer and he has been explaining different logistics over lambing. But in the end I just want to take them all home with me and snuggle. Really they look like puppies, but very disproportionate. They have long legs and a pretty long tail with this itsy bitsy body, all very cute. Hopefully the next time we go to see them we’ll be able to witness a few births too.
Last night was “Pancake Night” in the village hall. As I understand it, most villages do this. I guess lent starts today? Ash Wednesday? So this is something they do here to get rid of materials you can’t use during lent… maybe. Obviously I’m not too familiar with this lent thing so the details are pretty hazy. But for £2.50 I got 5 crepes and got to meet a few more villagers, including the children! This was the largest number of humans under the age of 50 I’ve seen in one place since I’ve been here.
The weather keeps confusing us. We’ll have a few days of rain, and then it’s beautiful, then incessant rain, then sunshine. I don’t mind the rain as long as we don’t have to walk anywhere (Trevor says he’s “gone soft” because he always picks us up when it’s raining, I can’t imagine having to do the hike to his house in rain… and wind). The sunshine is distracting though because when it’s so beautiful outside who really wants to stay indoors and practice all day? I’ll try and go out for a little while, but then once I come back in it’s even more difficult to be motivated with flute.
I’m in shock over how quickly this term is going by. We really only have about 11 weeks left here, and for 3 of those Trevor will be gone in Japan. A few guests are coming, so we will still have class, which is good. But he decided that our big projects for this term are be due to him by the time he returns from Japan. I’m trying to gain the motivation to work on this project, but I’m still catching up on listening projects and I’ve been slowly losing my ability to multi-task since I’ve been here.
Other than those few things, not much else is really happening here. Just the usual routines and issues with class and staying on Trevor’s good side. I am getting anxious for the end though, and am ready to return to the US. It’s great to be in another country, but it’s so difficult to be away for so long without constant contact with loved ones. I never realized how amazing cell phones really are.
Love,
Lindsay
Last night was “Pancake Night” in the village hall. As I understand it, most villages do this. I guess lent starts today? Ash Wednesday? So this is something they do here to get rid of materials you can’t use during lent… maybe. Obviously I’m not too familiar with this lent thing so the details are pretty hazy. But for £2.50 I got 5 crepes and got to meet a few more villagers, including the children! This was the largest number of humans under the age of 50 I’ve seen in one place since I’ve been here.
The weather keeps confusing us. We’ll have a few days of rain, and then it’s beautiful, then incessant rain, then sunshine. I don’t mind the rain as long as we don’t have to walk anywhere (Trevor says he’s “gone soft” because he always picks us up when it’s raining, I can’t imagine having to do the hike to his house in rain… and wind). The sunshine is distracting though because when it’s so beautiful outside who really wants to stay indoors and practice all day? I’ll try and go out for a little while, but then once I come back in it’s even more difficult to be motivated with flute.
I’m in shock over how quickly this term is going by. We really only have about 11 weeks left here, and for 3 of those Trevor will be gone in Japan. A few guests are coming, so we will still have class, which is good. But he decided that our big projects for this term are be due to him by the time he returns from Japan. I’m trying to gain the motivation to work on this project, but I’m still catching up on listening projects and I’ve been slowly losing my ability to multi-task since I’ve been here.
Other than those few things, not much else is really happening here. Just the usual routines and issues with class and staying on Trevor’s good side. I am getting anxious for the end though, and am ready to return to the US. It’s great to be in another country, but it’s so difficult to be away for so long without constant contact with loved ones. I never realized how amazing cell phones really are.
Love,
Lindsay
Sunday, January 20, 2008
I suck as a blogger.
It’s official. I am a terrible blogster, or whatever the term is. I’m not at good at this whole updating thing. I have accepted it, and so should you. Now we can move on.
A lot has happened – including an almost three week trip back home! I got to see lots of friends and family, but of course there’s never enough time to do everything. Maybe it’s better that way, then you’re always left anxious for more.
Since we’ve been back not much has changed. In some ways we feel as if we never left. We fell back into a routine with classes, walking and cooking pretty easily. We’re all struggling a bit getting back into a practice schedule. I’m waking up later which annihilates the previous semesters hard work. It doesn’t get light out until around 8, which means it’s impossible for me to get out of bed any earlier. But there are flower buds appearing in the fields, so a glimmer of spring is approaching which means more sunlight!
After having a bit of time home it’s a little harder this semester to be away. The three weeks was just this huge tease filled with text messaging, phone calls, driving, restaurants and movies. I will never again take these things for granted!
Some sad news: a car hit one of the village cats that we visited nightly on our walks two weeks ago. Fumfey (not sure on spelling) was much loved by Trevor. He would meet us anxious for food and affection.
More cooking experiments have already occurred in these two weeks. We decided that although we made great things last year, it’s time to have some additions to get us out of the rice/pasta routine. We’ve done pizza, eggplant parm, black bean soup, quesadillas, and maybe some others that I’ve forgotten already. As always it all turned out fantastic and I’m always anxious to try even more recipes. It makes us all feel a bit more grown up.
Last semester I stumbled upon a few British bands that I like, and was able to buy their Cds on Saturday. Now I’ve opened a gate and have developed a full on personal British invasion for music. It’s nice to be enjoying music other than what we’re studying, which is the trap I got into last semester. I’m trying to find a better balance, so that I’m listening to things I really enjoy because I want to and things I enjoy because I have to.
In addition to music, I’m trying to find a few British television things to watch. I’m having Dot keep me informed of what might be good to watch. Since we started watching the ‘tele’ it’s just been Friends… so a nice BBC production would be good for the culture I’m trying to envelope.
I suppose that’s all for now… only 3 months a 1 week until it’s over!
Love,
Lindsay
A lot has happened – including an almost three week trip back home! I got to see lots of friends and family, but of course there’s never enough time to do everything. Maybe it’s better that way, then you’re always left anxious for more.
Since we’ve been back not much has changed. In some ways we feel as if we never left. We fell back into a routine with classes, walking and cooking pretty easily. We’re all struggling a bit getting back into a practice schedule. I’m waking up later which annihilates the previous semesters hard work. It doesn’t get light out until around 8, which means it’s impossible for me to get out of bed any earlier. But there are flower buds appearing in the fields, so a glimmer of spring is approaching which means more sunlight!
After having a bit of time home it’s a little harder this semester to be away. The three weeks was just this huge tease filled with text messaging, phone calls, driving, restaurants and movies. I will never again take these things for granted!
Some sad news: a car hit one of the village cats that we visited nightly on our walks two weeks ago. Fumfey (not sure on spelling) was much loved by Trevor. He would meet us anxious for food and affection.
More cooking experiments have already occurred in these two weeks. We decided that although we made great things last year, it’s time to have some additions to get us out of the rice/pasta routine. We’ve done pizza, eggplant parm, black bean soup, quesadillas, and maybe some others that I’ve forgotten already. As always it all turned out fantastic and I’m always anxious to try even more recipes. It makes us all feel a bit more grown up.
Last semester I stumbled upon a few British bands that I like, and was able to buy their Cds on Saturday. Now I’ve opened a gate and have developed a full on personal British invasion for music. It’s nice to be enjoying music other than what we’re studying, which is the trap I got into last semester. I’m trying to find a better balance, so that I’m listening to things I really enjoy because I want to and things I enjoy because I have to.
In addition to music, I’m trying to find a few British television things to watch. I’m having Dot keep me informed of what might be good to watch. Since we started watching the ‘tele’ it’s just been Friends… so a nice BBC production would be good for the culture I’m trying to envelope.
I suppose that’s all for now… only 3 months a 1 week until it’s over!
Love,
Lindsay
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