Things that make me happy...and not so much

Happiness-

• Receiving my excess financial aid check
• Shopping for clothes for France
• No work for 3 days
• Going to Ktown for those 3 days
• Jones Cream Soda
  

Not so happiness-

• Waiting on my bassoon
• Achy feet from work
• People trying to buy my clarinet for $200, I mean really?
• My room and the time it's going to take to clean it
• Packing
• Still waiting on my bassoon

Luckily this list tends to balance itself out. The official France countdown is 16 days!!! I'm purchasing my second round of tickets tomorrow. Hooray, Orbitz. I was really skeptical about travel sites at first, but so far I've had good experiences. I'll post more after I actually get to France.

Well, time so go shopping.

ps. I'm still waiting on my bassoon. :-(

NEW BASSOON!!!! Well, almost...

So I have big news, sort of. haha. After waiting two years, actually 6 if you count high school, a bassoon is finally within my grasp. No really... it's in the living room. There is only one problem. They* mailed me the wrong model. I know right? Sad times. What makes the situation even worse, is that I played the bassoon and absolutely LOVED it. Since I found out about the mix up, I've refused to play aforementioned bassoon anymore to help reduce separation anxiety. Of course I'm sure I will love the new bassoon even more. I mean, come on. The only difference is long bore vs. short bore and really, who can really tell the difference.**

So in about 2 days I should have the new new bassoon of my dreams. Let's hope it works out. I'm really happy because this means that I will definitely have a horn to take with me to France. Believe me, that is a big relief. About two weeks ago I was extremely stressed out about it. I'm pretty sure I would kill myself if I had to go 10 months without playing and there is always the possibility that I would have given it up had I not gotten my own bassoon. Alas, crisis averted.

So I was in Ktown this past week and it was really strange. First of all, I know that eventually I have to get older, but does that mean that the other college kids have to get younger? I mean really... I had 2 kids stop me and ask how to get to Ayres whose combined age had to be about 18. Not to mention the fact that they would randomly stop and ask me when I'm not even in classes this year due to the France thing, much less Ayres. How can you not know where Ayres is? I'm not going to lie, it made me a little sad to see people going to classes and not getting to myself. It was odd. What's worse is that I missed marching band. Well, that is until I heard the new pregame and was like, WTF?! How do you change pregame that much?! oh well. I'm sure 'twill be divine.

Anywho, I will be back in Ktown on Thursday until Saturday for a quick trip. so I'm looking forward to more awkwardness/good times. As for now, it is bed time. Damn you, morning shift. :-(

*American Bassoon Company, Inc.

**Long Bore vs. Short Bore

For decades Fox has built two styles of bassoons: The long-bore models, liked for their warmer tone, even intonation and stability, and the short-bore models preferred by many orchestral players for their greater flexibility and projection.

In the early 1990s Fox added an additional variant: The thick-wall models which sought to
combine some of the most desirable characteristics of each of the other styles, while
providing a brawnier character to the voice of the instrument.

Instrument makers must consider and balance many physical aspects in the acoustic design
of an instrument: bore length, bore size and shape, as well as the diameter, length, shape and
positioning of the tone holes.

29 days!!!!

So it's official. I leave in 29 days. I think the fact that I'm going to be away from my comfort zone- friends, family, school - is finally starting to sink in. Of course I can't wait for the opportunity and have been anticipating this for so long. Yet, it's a little surreal that it is getting so close.

Today I was helping sis put some random crap on eBay and I realized how much contempt I actually have for that website. It's just not convenient at all. We put 11 items on there and it took approximately 4 hours. That's 4 hours of my life gone. Sure, if I hadn't been doing that I would have probably just been watching Top Chef or playing on the Word Reference forums, but still. ;-)

Yeah, Top Chef. Um, if you haven't watched it, shame on you. 'owie and 'ung both drive me crazy. I really can't stand them. I hope either Brian or Casey wins. Casey is my favorite so of course she will win.

Well, I should probably try and be productive now and clean my room. It is for real starting to look like a disaster area and if I don't start cleaning now, I won't be able to find any of my crap to pack for France.

Wow! 2 posts in 3 days. I'm proud of myself. More to come soon.

so here it goes...

ok. so here's the deal. i've tried blogs in the past and they normally last about a week. we're ( by we, i mean i) am going to actually try to be dedicated to this one. so if i'm not dedicated, someone yell at me. yes, go ahead and yell. i can take it.

what's going on here in what i like to call the cultural mecca of the united states?* absolutely nothing. work's a bore, there is almost nothing to do, and i am eagerly anticipating my long awaited departure. T minus 31 days...

so here are the travel plans. i leave BNA on 14 sept. i fly BNA-CLT CLT-FRA FRA-GVA. sad news... i will be in genève all alone on my bday, 15 sept. i stay in genève for 2 days and hop a train to chambéry on 17 sept. orientation is 18 sept and classes begin 20 sept.

hopefully, i will have many new and exciting experiences in the land of the gauls. and with any luck i will remember them the next morning to share them on here. ;-) as for now, it is def bedtime and just let me say that sleeping in is probably my new favorite pastime.

*sarcasm (n)
1. harsh or bitter derision or irony.
2. a sharply ironical taunt; sneering or cutting remark: a review full of sarcasms.
dictionary.com