Should be studying...

Ugghh. Two finals tomorrow. It's already after 11 PM. I've been gone from my duplex since 10:30 this morning, and I've been in the music building since 2. (made a quick trip across the street to acquire food and brought it back with me.) I sat in a practice room for literally 3 hours. Not practicing, I don't need to do that. But I was using the piano to work on learning the leadline for the first movement of Beethoven's first symphony. Yeah, that's right, I have to sing the leadline to the first movement while conducting and cuing an invisible orchestra in front of my professor for my final tomorrow. So yeah, I was in the practice room working on that and marking up my score, but kept getting distracted and played the piano instead. Now I'm blogging instead of focusing on my studying. This is so frustrating. I studied my German (for my other final tomorrow) a little bit while I was at work, but not terrible much. I also studied it a little bit before I locked myself away in the practice room. But I keep ending up on the piano, or online *ahem* or writing completely unrelated stuff. But I still have some final details to add to my score analysis and need to study for German. Sad thing is, I just don't care at all right now. Rather burnt out. But I have determined to stay here until 1 (AM), then maybe study a bit more before going to bed. Then rise and shine early in the morning to refresh the German before taking the final. Blah. I also need to pack..... but I have a final on Thursday I'll need to prepare for after my two tomorrow. But I'm flying home right after my Thursday final. Too much to doooo!!!!

Ok, now that I've wasted some time on that, have to revise stuff with my score and add to it for a while (whilst waiting for midnight to arrive so that I can be the first to wish a friend happy birthday), then focus on German for an hour. Then a walk in the extreme cold back to my duplex, more studying for a little while, bed, early rise to study more, then the two finals. Whoop! Or not.....

A fun night to close off a very stressful week.

My weeks are just a continuous cycle of stress, with this past week being the worst one yet. But last night I had a wonderful time! My professor for my Words in German music class wanted us to go see Die Zauberflöte together next month since we'll be studying it, but there was another opera this weekend called Ariadne auf Naxos. Neither are required, but Die Zauberflöte is highly recommended and Ariadne auf Naxos was just a good idea. Well, the prof didn't bring up the opera this weekend until Monday.... so it was difficult to figure out who wanted to/was able to go, and work out those details. Three of us wanted to go, but none of us have cars and I am the only one with a driver's license. So.... yeah, complicated. One of the girls thought she could borrow a room-mates car, but we found out last night that nope, no car. So... we got out of orchestra rehearsal at 5:30 knowing we would have to leave by 6:30, and had no car. The girl who said she could get the car decided not to go, so the other girl and myself were going crazy trying to find someone with a car that either we could borrow or who wanted to come along. (our prof lives an hour away so we couldn't get a ride from him or anything.) Finally, after a lot of asking and stressing, I was able to borrow one of my room-mates cars. That was 6:30. I then had to run from the other girl's house to go print up directions on my way to my duplex on the opposite side of campus. We both changed super quickly, I grabbed the keys to the car and picked up the other girl and we were off at about 6:45. (according to the directions, it's supposed to take 1 hour 7 minutes, and the opera started at 8. really cutting it close.) I decided I would have to speed the whole way, at least 5 miles over the limit. I don't like to speed. The worst part is that the highways here in Indiana are 70... minimum of 65. I had never gone that fast before. I also have a terrible sense of direction and hate driving when I have no clue where I'm going. But we were a good team. I had a great time getting to know the other girl better on the way. We arrived at the opera just barely in time to get tickets, but had to sit in the back of the ground floor for the first act since we wouldn't be able to get to our seats in the third balcony in time. At the end of the first act, we went up to the third balcony and showed the ushers our tickets, and they told us that if we wanted to, we could go down to the second balcony and take some of the free seats there. So- we ended up sitting in some box seats that would have been really pricey, hehe! We had a great view of the pit, but it was actually kindof awkward to lean over the rail a little bit to see some of the action on stage. But anyway, back to intermission, because this part is important. After we took our seats in the balcony, our prof started talking to us about our past opera experiences. He had already found out that I had never been before, and was asking the other girl what she had seen and where. Then he turned to me and asked where I was from. I told him from CT and he said yeah, I thought so since I noticed that your area code when you called me was 860. At first I thought it was my mom since she still lives in CT. It turns out that he grew up in Storrs and I live in North Windham, mere minutes away! We were both so surprised to find that out about each other and immediately started talking about the area and what we new about it. So cool!

After the opera was over, the other girl and myself headed out to find a gas station and then make our way back. (It was already 11 at night.) On the way back, we looked through some of my room-mates CD's and ended up listening to Michael Jackson.... after seeing a Strauss opera... and then found out we both listened to NPR shows and started talking about Prairie Home Companion, Car Talk, etc. So cool! Once we got back to campus, I watched the end of the Mask of Zorro with my room-mates, love that movie! Very strange sequence to the night though. Dress rehearsal for concert celebrating the 125 anniversary of the school of music, Strauss opera, Michael Jackson, NPR, then the Mask of Zorro. But heck, it was a lot of fun! (the to top it off I slept until 1:00. Loveliness! So yeah, it was a wonderful night to make up for a terrible week.

I am now listening to some more Michael Jackson... (whom I've never really listened to before)...writing this post, obviously, working on a crocheted hat, and waiting for the wonderful dinner two of my room-mates are making, after which I shall proceed on to the 125 anniversary, Old Gold weekend concert! Woot!!!