Saturday, March 27, 2010

So Not Cool.

So, you see, I adore this singer, Megan Washington. And she’s currently touring near by. However, she’s performing at the Tivoli, A MONTH BEFORE MY 18th BIRTHDAY. Not cool. So tonight while I was at work, they were playing one of her live shows on the radio, and of course I listened to it. I shouldn’t have listened. It was freaking amazing. So not only was I teased by this live show of hers on the radio, but I was spending my Saturday night alone cleaning a bakery, and then continuing on to my home where I would spend the evening studying. So not cool.



Life isn’t completely a downer though :) I had my first performance in a con ensemble last night! It was wonderful. Insane industry or not, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life. The people I have the privilege of playing with are so fantastic at what they do, and such lovely people. Everyone seems to know everyone else who is a musician, so I have a lot of meeting to do :) and I love meeting. Maybe one day I’ll meet Megan Washington.

x

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Human Error.


Today, I got excited because I was annoyed at myself for playing a wrong note. Although this may seem like an insane thought process.. okay I can't really justify that it's not. Although this is a very strange thought process, it seems to be a necessary one. In the past month or so, my admiration and respect for professional musicians has sky rocketed. They have a level of skill and concentration that I never thought possible. Until now, in a band situation, it's all been about getting the right notes. We would spend moths, sometimes a year, just trying to have everyone in the ensemble playing what's written on the page. In university, not only are you expected to know your part back the front and sideways before the first rehearsal, but you're expected to play it well. Of course, it's not really a click your fingers and BAM process for first years. Definitely not. For (the majority of) first years, playing a piece with no wrong notes is more of a blessing than an expectation.

This has got me thinking a lot about human error. As we all learned from Carla in "Scrubs", we're all human, and we all make mistakes. This being the case, why do we not allow for this human error? Why do customers get angry at waiting staff for getting their order wrong? Why do we write essays to be graded on their accuracy? Why are we expected to be on time? Why do we aim for perfection, when it's clearly not attainable? Why do musicians spend hours, days, weeks, months, practicing and perfecting, well aware of the impossibility of their expectations of perfection becoming reality? (this, of course, being the case for most professions). It's because we all want what we can't have. Like when you're a kid and you have straight hair, you want it to be curly and visa versa. One of the errors of humans is our desire to achieve the unachievable, to have the inaccessible. Musicians are just unlucky enough to have an unbarringly strong desire to achieve the impossible, and achieve it well. This being the case however, although this unachievable level of accuracy is the aim, it should not be the expectation. It's all well and good to aim above your potential, as long as you don't expect to get there. Why, then, do we expect each other to get there? By putting the pressure on others, we are also putting it on ourselves. The human error of not allowing for human error.

In conclusion, I cannot express how relieved I am that I'm not in the same situation as the majority of my fellow ensemble members. I don't think I could handle the pressure of being a professional musician. I'm so glad I found music therapy :)

x

Thursday, March 18, 2010

There's a fine, fine line.



"There's a fine, fine line between a lover and a friend;
There's a fine, fine line between reality and pretend."

A fantastic combination of Nirrimi's photography and Avenue Q lyrics. Lovely.

Today, was a good day. Breezing through an exam, using a three hour long break as chat time, a spontanious viewing of Avenue Q and indian for dinner. Also lovely.

x

Monday, March 15, 2010

Stocking Season.



It's almost stocking season :)

x

Friday, March 12, 2010

My Diana.



All summer I’ve been saving up for one of these. Well, textbooks as well, but this was the motivation :) Since I brought it last Friday I’ve read absolutley everything I can about them and now I’m just waiting for an oppertunity to shoot to my hearts desire! I’m so rediculously excited. It’s just fantastic that a camera can be as beautiful as the photo’s it takes. In my opinion, with it’s plastic lense and giant (portable!!) flash, it rules the world.

x

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Intimacy.


I wonder sometimes if this kind of intimacy is only possible through art forms. Other times I know it's not.

(Picture by a Frankie artist. I didn't happen to jot down the name)
x

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

All Work, No Play.

When it’s all work and no play, I try to play with the work.



This guy’s head is a book. I thought that was cool. Things have actually been happening in my life that I’d like to blog about, but it’s kind of ironic that this means I have no time to blog. Soon.

x

Monday, March 8, 2010

My Former Self.

I wrote this during block exams in year 11, and I thought it was quite relevant and kind of wise.

As everything gets harder,
We get smarter.
As things become uglier,
We become prettier.
As time becomes more important,
It only goes faster.
So lets not turn this all,
Into an unnecessary disaster.

Of course it's ruined by the rhyme at the end, but I am a lyricist at heart.

Here's a totally irrelevant picture of my friend and I as youngens.

x

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Lone Wolf.



Kudos to Nirrimi x

Friday, March 5, 2010

Undies Man



Pretty colours, good lighting, attractive guy. I really quite like this picture.

x

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Strawberry Feilds Forever.



We spotted this picture perfect strawberry from the bus window one day. How it wasn’t squashed into a red blob, nobody knows.

x

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Audrey.



Unfortunately I'm not sure who took this picture, I just kind of stumbled across it. Kudos to them anyway.

x

A Week Of Red.

Because I have this sort of ongoing obsession with the colour red, for the next week or so I’m just gonna post pictures with red as the feature colour.



(Most of the pictures I’m planning to post, such as this, are by one of my more recent obsessions, photographer Nirrimi. More about her later. For now, enjoy the red)

x