Adventures in Renee-Land

STORM!!! (7-11-11)

2011-07-11T17:22:00.001-07:00

Reasons to be Excited Today: there was a HUGE and quick storm in my hometown today - lots of rain such that there was a waterfall as our bay window :)

Sleeping In! (7-10-11)

2011-07-11T17:19:00.001-07:00

Reasons to be Excited Today: Sleeping in without an alarm because I could -.- :)

Concert!! (7-9-11)

2011-07-11T17:11:00.000-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: Seeing the Avett Brothers at Red Rocks with my dad :)

Cup-Pies (7-8-11)

2011-07-09T14:05:00.001-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: Giving my workmates cup-pies :)

Storm!! (7-7-11)

2011-07-09T14:04:00.001-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: Storm, rain storm, awesome.

Song title quotes (7-6-11)

2011-07-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

A: Which song? Are you feeling groovy? Do you have a bridge that rides over troubled waters? Are you a boxer going to Scarborough fair with rosemary and thyme?
R: All of the above, because I'm the only living boy in new york.
A: I thought you told me you were a girl and your name was Mrs. Robinson?
R: Well, then again, it might be Kathy.
A: Are you sure it isn't Cecelia?
R: I do get confused, especially when I'm with Julio in the school yard.
A: Is that school yard located in my little town?
R: Yes, which is where I'm traveling to.
A: Are you going to an island? I hear they never cry, kinda like rocks.
R: Yeah, which makes me homeward bound.
A: Make sure to check out the 59th street brigade when you get there!
R: Oh I will! I've heard the sounds of silence.
A: Damnit! You used the one I wanted too! I guess that's what I get for being an 'old friend' of yours.
R: Oh man! You might have won! But it's ok because I'm in America.
A: Oh I wish I could line in America. I'm just a poor boy who flew down to Mexico.
R: Did you just lose?! That was great, it makes me want to wake up to little Susie.
A: Did I just lose? That's like asking me if I would rather be a sparrow or a snail!

Car Conversations (7-5-11)

2011-07-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

Reasons to be Excited Today: having time to talk in a moving car is sometimes just awesome. simply awesome :)

Volleyball Fun (7-4-11)

2011-07-09T13:53:00.001-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: A very fun and silly game of Volleyball with friends at a 4th party :)

Naps (7-3-11)

2011-07-09T13:50:00.001-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: Napping in a hammock in the mountains :)

Backpacking!! (7-2-11)

2011-07-09T13:43:00.002-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: going backpacking with family and friends

Old Friends (7-1-11)

2011-07-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: reconnecting with old friends

Rain! (6-30-11)

2011-06-30T22:26:00.001-07:00

Happy Last Day of June!!
Reason to be Excited Today: Getting TOTALLY SOAKED while riding home from work in the Colorado 15 minute storm :)

Night Bike! (6-29-11)

2011-06-29T23:13:00.001-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: Biking at night :)

Service!! (6-28-11)

2011-06-29T23:12:00.000-07:00

So I have been having problems getting reception with my phone since I came back to Colorado. So I went to the cell phone store today and they did magic and fixed it! For free!!
Reason to be Excited Today: Having good cell service and customer service :)

THREE Best Friends!! (6-27-11)

2011-06-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

Reason to be Excited: I talked to ALL THREE of my best guy friends today, I often forget how lucky I am to have them, I am trying to keep this in mind though :)

Phone Call! (6-26-11)

2011-06-26T17:07:00.000-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: Upon waking I noticed one of my best friends had called - so I called him back and we had a lovely half hour conversation, and it was a great start to my morning!

Pool Fun (6-25-11)

2011-06-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: an hour plus game of keep away in a pool with new friends :) followed by games and food and more fun

Exhaustion (6-24-11)

2011-06-26T17:02:00.000-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: My parents got me to help them throw a party after a long week of working and doing stuff, the party was good, but the best part was when the three of us got home at 9:30pm and all "fell" down in complete exhaustion (maybe me more than them...) it was good bonding :P

Pies Pies Pies!! (6-23-11)

2011-06-26T16:58:00.001-07:00

Reasons to be Excited Today: I may have said it before, but I made three and a half pies today (that day) - the half comes from the one that was mostly done already :P - and despite the stress and crazyness that ensued I got them done quickly and they turned out well, and it was still fun to make them :)

DND (6-22-11)

2011-06-26T16:56:00.001-07:00

Reasons to be Excited Today: I played DND for the first time in almost a year, I missed it and the people I play with :)

Band!! (6-21-11)

2011-06-26T16:53:00.001-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: I attended a rehearsal for a community band that I will now be going to ever week, I simply love band :)

"Long Lost Friend" (6-20-11)

2011-06-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: I ran into a friend I haven't seen in about 2 years!!! :)

Happy Father's Day!! (6-19-11)

2011-06-19T14:31:00.001-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: I have a good relationship with my father (and mother, but it's fathers day) and this makes life SOOOO much easier :)

Hiking!! (6-18-11)

2011-06-18T18:10:00.001-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: I went on a loooonnnnnnggggg hike with my parents, outdoors is win!!

Books! (6-17-11)

2011-06-17T15:08:00.001-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: I went to the library and got books to read!

Pies! (6-16-11)

2011-06-16T16:29:00.000-07:00

If you actually know me, you know that I LOVE making pie. I'm maybe a little bit of a pie elitist now...oops
Reason to be Excited Today: I made two pies today :) I know one is delicious and I anticipate the other will be as well :)

There are people reading this! (6-15-11)

2011-06-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

I was playing around with the different tabs and I looked at the "stats" tab and learned that there actually ARE people reading this! :) I'm so pleased :)
Reason to be Excited Today: People are reading my blog!!

Salsa Dancing! (6-14-11)

2011-06-15T11:15:00.001-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: Going salsa dancing with friends - not because we know exactly what we're doing, but because it's fun :)

Kitty (6-13-11)

2011-06-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: My kitty (who is technically a senior kitty) playing with a piece of string I was moving for him :)

Home! (6/12/11)

2011-06-12T01:33:00.000-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: I'm going back to Colorado - Home :)

Spontaneous (6/11/11)

2011-06-12T01:32:00.000-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: Spontaneous Baker Bonding after work :)

Work Fun

2011-06-10T17:01:00.000-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: despite a long and somewhat stressful day at work, at the end of a 12/10 hour shift we were still making jokes and laughing :)

Productiveness!

2011-06-09T18:32:00.000-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: I wanted to be productive after I got off work - and I was! Packing!!

Oops

2011-06-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

I missed yesterday....and I didn't even realize it!

Reason to be Excited Today(yesterday): Dinner with friends :)

"New" Music!

2011-06-07T16:26:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to my ipod on random all day and I have re-found and found so much fun music! Being an avid music listener I always like finding music that I have that I've forgotten about or never listened to before. I am also struck by the realization that sometimes I don't like certain songs until I'm ready to hear them - and that is my deep statement for the day :P

Reason to be Excited Today: "New" Music!

Frozen Pizza

2011-06-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

So I have a refrigerator full of random food that people left/that I haven't eaten yet so I have a chance to be strangely creative and that's pretty fun and resulted in my

Reason to be Excited Today: Corn on pizza!

I love doctoring frozen pizzas, it makes things more fun :)

Graduated!!

2011-06-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

SO I didn't think that I would be excited for graduation - just a lot of pomp for nothin' but a piece of paper and official nonsense and I kinda took a less than entirely serious approach to the whole thing - including literally skipping in the procession with my buddy Mike :) And then I got caught up in the excitement and I was happy and excited to walk across the stage and receive a "silly piece of paper" :P

Reason to be Excited Today: Graduation (even if it's also a little silly....)

P.S. I walked barefoot!! :)

Pomp and Circumstance

2011-06-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

SO....I'm of the opinion that this whole graduation this is kind of a lot of pomp for....I dunno....not much...but I had a really fun time playing in Baccalaureate so...

Reason to be Excited Today: Performing!

Sleep Deprived

2011-06-04T12:25:00.001-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: I made it through a whole day without a real night of sleep!

Childish Fun

2011-06-02T19:34:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I think that people need to have childish fun sometimes, I just went with 3 of my friends to Build-A-Bear and we each made a new friend and then proceeded to dress them up and have a super fun time, it has made my day - and I had a REALLY good day :D

Reason to be Excited Today: Childish Fun

June!

2011-06-02T02:24:00.000-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: It's a new month!

sometimes this just makes me feel like I can have a fresh start at things, I know it's all psychological....but whatever, it works and makes me happy :)

Sun!

2011-05-31T14:51:00.001-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: Napping in the sun :)

Early :)

2011-05-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: Unexpected time because I got off of work early

Random Roommate Bonding!

2011-05-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: I come home this evening and say to my roommate: what are you doing tonight? Nothing really, wanna watch a movie? and pack? YES. and now I have been introduced to Land Before Time :)

Slacklining!!

2011-05-29T21:59:00.001-07:00

Reason to be Excited for Yesterday: (Saturday) Slacklining on a beautiful day!

SUN SUN SUN SUN!!!!

2011-05-27T13:34:00.001-07:00

Reason to be Excited Today: THE SUN IN SHINNING AND IT'S NICE AND WARM!!!! :D

Knowing Things

2011-05-26T16:15:00.001-07:00

I gave an impromptu informal lesson to a younger classmate of mine today because Nick asked if I could give a few comments since he had to step out. As I was talking to her I realized

Reason to be Excited Today: I KNOW THINGS!!

I learned lots of things in College, like, yeah, it's a good feeling to know that I know things! :)

Happy

2011-05-25T18:52:00.001-07:00

Do you ever just have one of those days where you can't wake up and it's just....a not a wake kind of day? I had one of those mornings...but when I did finally wake up (after class, lunch and about an hour of work) it was great! I was in a super happy mood, just kinda was, it was wonderful.

Reason to be excited today: Happiness for no known reason :)

Senior Dinner

2011-05-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

We had our Senior Dinner tonight - all of the seniors in my class had dinner in one room with special guests (teachers) and there was a speaker. It wasn't very extravagant or anything, but it was nice to feel like part of a group AND

Reason to be Excited Today: Had a reason to dress up :)

Revival!!

2011-05-23T18:09:00.000-07:00

So I just finished my senior recital, I'm about to graduate from college, I guess it's going to be a new chapter in my life, or something.....

I have read a few blog posts by someone who does a thank you note a day - to something or someone, and I read some other blogs every day (almost) and I was thinking....well, I'm a huge believer in finding something good about every day, I used to keep a "happy calendar" and right before I went to sleep every night I would write down the things that made me happy that day. I think it did a good job keeping me happy, especially during lame, sunless Appleton winters....so here's my concept: Reason to be excited about today, every day, for the next year. That's the goal. starting today, May 23rd, 2011. I will blog a reason to be excited about today, every day, for a whole year, and if I miss a day, I WILL make it up :) And hopefully it won't just be a reason for excitement just for me all the time

Reason To Be Excited Today: Renee is writing a blog! Also, her dinner (pseudo Taco Salad) was delicious!

and so it begins! :)

Adventuring

2010-04-21T00:10:00.000-07:00

What is an adventure? Merriam-Webster online says this:

Main Entry: ¹ad·ven·ture

Pronunciation: \əd-ˈven-chər\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English aventure, chance, risk, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin*adventura, from Latin adventus, past participle of advenire to arrive, from ad- + venire to come — more at come

Date: 14th century

1 a : an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks b : the encountering of risks 2 : an exciting or remarkable experience 3 : an enterprise involving financial risk

I don't really like any of these definitons because they suggest that an adventure must be, in some sense, extreme. I do not believe that all adventures must be extreme or exciting or remarkable or involve risk. I believe that adventuring should be an every day (or every other day) event!

I go on adventures every day. Often, they are small - I will adventure into a new area of the interwebs and get "lost", I will adventure by taking a different route to get somewhere I often visit (like the UCA), I adventure in my practice a lot by sight reading. Point being, anything can be an adventure if you make it one. I have been known to ask my friends what kind of adventure they had today, or will have to day, or suggest that we go adventuring somewhere sometime. The first time this happens they are often confused as to what I mean because they don't understand that an everyday event can be made into an adventure.

Today I will adventure into a fantasy world with children (playing DND, I'm the DM, see this post) and I am quite excited. They will be ambushed by a bone devil and several small demons, it will be quite an adventure.

I am looking quite forward to the summer when I can take walk adventures with my friends late at night and it will still be nice to be outside.

If you feel like it, tell me about your favorite small adventure!

Back from the dead!?

2010-03-29T13:52:00.001-07:00

OK, so I've been absolutely terrible at updating this and such, sorry to the few people who actually read it (I have no idea how many there are anyway). So the whole comparison project is done and I'm apparently not interesting enough to write about my life in general (Most of my waking time is spent at school and practicing) but I have a goal for this summer that I thought it would be super fun to write about and maybe get some feedback on.... I plan to visit EVERY non-chain (meaning not starbucks) coffee shop in Fort Collins. Here's the list I have compiled with the help of google maps

Coffee/Tea shops in Fort Collins

Everyday Joe's Coffee House
Starry Night Espresso Cafe
Bean Cycle
Catalyst Coffee LLC
Mugs Coffee Lounge
Alley Cat Cafe
Cups Coffee
Genoa Coffee & Wine
Dazbog Coffee Store
Deja Vu Coffeehouse
Wild Boar Coffee
Lyric Cinema Cafe
Bean Trees Drive Thru Coffee Cafe
Cuppy's Coffee and Smoothies
Colorado Coffee Exchange
Human Bean
The Haunted Game Cafe
La Dolce Vita Gelato Caffe
f/stop cafe
beatnik coffee
Wired Bean Coffee House
Coffee Craze
Specht Point Cafe
The Western Coffee Bar
Cafe Richesse
Monza Cafe
Espresso Di Cincotta
Cafe Vino
Cafe Ardour
Happy Lucky's Tea House
Half Moon Bay Coffee
Moxie Java

That 32, many more than I thought! I have had several thoughts about the best way to go about doing this, one idea was to ask for the same drink at every place - but I don't want to limit myself to drinking only one type of drink for the whole summer. So then I was thinking about e-mailing each store (that I could find an e-mail address for) and asking what their "signature drink" is, but that would be a lot of work and I'm not even guaranteed an answer. In talking with my parents and Andrew I have decided that I will ask the bartender to make me their favorite drink. As Andrew pointed out, it's a lot more random. I will also get a wider variety of drinks and will probably try a lot of things I wouldn't try otherwise. I plan on reviewing every place - hopefully with a picture or two - for the summer, maybe with other random interjections. So let's do some math here, 32 shops and I have about 14 weeks if I start when I get out of school (minus my week trip to Appleton) that would be 2.29 coffee shops per week. If I start now then I have around 20 weeks (not counting the week in Appleton) which is 1.6 shops a week. I like that number better. If you have a favorite drink at a certain place I will consider ordering that instead. If you can think of a place I did not include I'd love to hear it! If you are going to visit me this summer (or live here) and want to join me on all or some of these adventures let me know!! I'd love the company! I am excited for all this coffee business! and some tea too :)

Just One of Those Days

2010-02-28T18:08:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have one of those days where you plan on being super productive but without all the stress because its all little stuff, some of it is fun and it's not like you have much else to do...but then you end up wasting most of the day? I'm having a day like that. But....strangely enough I don't really mind, I don't really have much that's stressing me out right now so I can afford to spend a day not doing a lot, but still doing enough.
I made blueberry cheese blintzes this midmorning and they are super delicious, I plan on eating them for the rest of the week's breakfast! :) I also practiced and cleaned (complete with vacuum!) and now my room feels great!
I wish I had more of real importance to talk about but I just don't...the month of February is pretty lame really. I mean...let's think about it, what happens in February:
Valentine's Day: I used to think this was an awesome holiday but now I just see no point, I tell my friends I love them pretty much every day...at least every week, why only have one day to do it? and I don't like hallmark holidays, they are lame.
Tiki's Birthday: OK, this was good and fun but not super exciting...and that was nice.
Olympics: here's the thing...I'll watch some Olympics but I get really sick of the announcers really quickly and I really don't care about sports, at all.
I auditioned for the Disney All-Star Summer College Band...I guess that was exciting but it was via DVD and it was kind of a pain in the butt to figure out the technology so, meh.
It's snowing again....next month is March which brings Spring Break...but I'm not going anywhere so...yeah...
Anyone know anything exciting that happen(s/ed)in February?

I guess I did find this somewhat entertaining internet game...well two..

This one is about feeding a cat sushi....yay fat kitties :)

This one is blocks...but in difficult stacks...

Dungeons and Dragons!

2010-02-06T19:54:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm a nerd. I know this may come as a surprise to many of you but it is totally true. I am currently DMing two DND games and I am half participating in a third dnd-type game (I say half because I just started playing it and I have only been to one session so far, if you wanna check out the story the game's creator and "DM" has created a blog of it Eternity)

Everyone has different reasons to play DND but I think we all enjoy that it is a pretend game for grown ups. I love the escapist aspects because sometimes it is nice to pretend to be somewhere else and someone else, it releases you from thinking about things - almost like meditation. I also really like the creative aspect that I am allowed to let manifest in monsters and world descriptions. I had only been playing for about 2 years before I started DMing (OH, BTW for those of you not savvy to the lingo DM stands for Dungeon Master - this person is the one that decides what monsters the heroes will fight, they create the world, they play all of the characters that the players run into and basically create the whole story and run the game). I'm still not sure I'm entirely qualified to DM because I still have a lot of questions but playing with people and DMing more and more has helped create a confidence in it that I didn't have at the beginning.

One of the groups I DM for is comprised of four 11ish year olds - it's like babysitting but better :) I have a really good time with them most weeks. We play for about 2 hours every(ish) Saturday. They are currently on a journey to find the Never Melting Snowflake which is currently in the hands of an evil sorcerer who is trying to let cold take over the entire continent. I keep trying to kill them and it keeps not working :P

The other group I'm DMing just had it's first game last week and I was inspired by some random thought in my head to base the entire game off of Alice in Wonderland. Talk about trippy to the extreme. I've been having a good time modifying the story of Alice to fit in things to fight and weapons and multiple people traveling together. I am, of course, reading Alice in Wonderland again (this is time number 2...and 3) so that I can loosely follow the story line. I am spending much more time than is necessary so that I can do this but it is so much fun that I really don't mind.

The other game that I'm playing was created by my friend Jake and is somewhat similar to DND but at the same time very different. I really like some of the things he has done differently than DND because it is much simpler to figure out and makes more real-life sense to me (how's that for an oxymoron). I hope that I will be able to play more and get a real understanding of the game rather than just a short preview.

In other news, I have written a paper detailing the differences between Lawrence and CSU that I would love a few editors to read...if you WANT to (seriously no pressure) then shoot me an e-mail and I will send it to you...I figured since that's what I started this blog about maybe some of you would have some sort of weird interest. I dunno... :-/

The random thought for the day is: I Love Emoticons. Since becoming a text-er I have come to appreciate them much more than I used to, even when I was big into IM :-P

School starts again

2010-01-23T20:28:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to school last Tuesday for CSU students!

My schedule this semester is crazy wonderful and easy. Let me lay it out for you:

Monday - (10am) Jazz Pedagogy, (11am) Trombone Studio, (1pm) Understanding Dance, (3:30pm) Trombone Lesson, (4:45pm-6pm) Concert Band

Tuesday - (11am) Independent Study, (3pm-4:30pm) Symphonic Band

Wednesday - Monday without the trombone lesson

Thursday - (3pm-4:30pm) Symphonic Band, (7:30pm-9:30pm) African Drum and Dance

Friday - (1pm) Understanding Dance, every other week (4pm-5pm) Symphonic Band Sectionals

Jazz Pedagogy is taught by someone whom I idolize a little bit and have for years: Peter Sommer. He is a saxophonist, amazing at that, and he is a great teacher. Since I am not really a music education student anymore this class is not necessary, but I am interested and my three best friends here are in the class so that makes it even that much more enjoyable.

Trombone studio is a once a week meeting of trombone players, usually all low brass. While it is sometimes organized differently than I would have done, it is good studio bonding.

Understanding Dance is a class that I originally decided to take because it will give me credits not in music when I return to Lawrence. After two class periods I am really looking forward to the course material and teacher.

Concert Band is for fun. I am playing tuba and I am SO excited!!!!

My independent study is on band literature/history/stuff. It has yet to be fully decided and that's alright with me. There are two other people involved in this, one is my new friend Joe (who will become one of my new best friends though he doesn't know it yet) and my amazing band director, Dr. Nick.

Symphonic Bans is also fun, not completely for fun but it is great. Unfortunately, this semester my bass trombone friend, Mark, could not be in an ensemble and my new friend has yet to actually show up....but Dr. Nick is the director and he always picks great music and gives us good comments.

African Drum and Dance will be simply amazing. It's taught by a girl who I know and I am just generally super excited.

So yeah, it should be an fairly easy and fun semester!

Home Improvement

2010-01-12T22:44:00.000-08:00

As I was replacing the light in the office that I'm helping my parents re-vamp I was reflecting that I have gotten all of my home improvement knowledge from helping my parents with these types of projects. The past few days I have clocked just over 10 hours removing "popcorn" from the ceiling. removing floor boards, removing tack strips (after not stepping on too many), removing nd replacing the light (so I could get to the ceiling), removing cupboards, sanding so the paint lines won't stand out, painting the walls, spackling the walls and a little light plumbing to help with the removal with the "popcorn". It's amazing. I'd never thought about how much I'm learning until I took a step back and looked at all that I had done. Wow. I mean, where else does one learn these....skills? Books when you need to fix your own house? watching a youtube? or do you just give up because you believe it is difficult (or too messy) and hire someone? Just thoughts.

If you get the chance, help people with home improvement projects, you'll thank yourself later.

Also, as I was painting the wall this great green color I realized that when I own a place, every room will be some shade of purple. It won't be intentional probably but it'll happen. :)

Look at me blog! I'm so proud of me! :P

Happy New Year!

2010-01-08T22:05:00.000-08:00

Alright, so I'm technically 8 days late. whatever. get over it.

I've never really come to terms with new years being a big thing anyway. Right now my life is still run on a school calendar so my new years happen in September usually and I find the one in January to be quite awkward actually. I mean, yeah, I stay up till midnight and say rabbit rabbit rabbit (just like the first of EVERY month, when I remember) and happy new year. I attempt to come up with some resolutions and think about the past year but it feels weird. Especially this year because I'm between two different schools and I think I've done too much thinking and had too many different experiences to have remained the same person. In fact, I'm positive I'm not the same person as I was last year, or even as I was in August (when I started at CSU).

As long as I'm being all reflective, and a little hippocritical, let's look at my year in review:

Word of the year: Epiphany. why is this my word? because I've had a lot of them and I just learned how it was spelled and I think it's wonderful.
Name of the year: Ingrid. This is what I named my bass trombone and it is also:
Favorite Music/Artist of the year: Ingrid Michaelson. I love her, this has already been mentioned.
Best book I read last year: I haven't really read much, regrettibly, but I think I'd have to say The World is Flat By Thomas Friedman. I actually read this for one of my classes and as I have said a few times in the past few months "This damn book is ruining my life" as I realized just how right Mr. Friedman is/was.
Band Piece of the year: Armenian Dances. Just is, played it twice and LOVE IT!
Favorite thing I baked: My birthday cake: Chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache.
Drink of the year: Tea. if I had to pick one flavor, it would be vanilla strawberry rose, which I just learned has been discontinued and I wanted to cry.
Website of the year: Google. Duh.
Webcomic of the year: Questionable Content. If you're gonna read it you should really start from the beginning
Biggest FAIL of the year: this blog, also mentioned before
Punctuation of the year: ...yeah...
Addiction of the year: Texting. OMG, texting.
Phrase of the year: points for trying. I think...there might be another one....not sure.

So...resolutions...I make them but I'm still not sure how I feel about them...I think in part because I resolve to do things all year round, it's not a special thing for me. Just because the calendar year changes doesn't mean I need to pick RIGHT NOW to start new and over and make huge amazing changes in my life. I do that whenever I feel like I need to. This year kind of happened to fall near new years....points for me?

Anyway...welcome to my new year, glad you're a part of it :)

~Renee

EPIC FAIL

2009-12-05T12:46:00.000-08:00

So...I didn't write a single post during the entire month of November....whoops.

Anyway....I think I'm kinda done with the blogging thing in general because I made a decision....yay being decisive! After much consideration and thinking I realized that I will forever regret not trying to be a performer unless I go out there and try! After experiencing the conservatory environment and the school of music environment I have determined that for me to feel prepared out in the world as a performer I need to graduate from a conservatory. Given this, I will be going back to Lawrence next year. I will graduate in 2011 with a degree in trombone (bass trombone) performance. Then I will either go to grad school, take auditions or go live in New York and work at a diner to pay bills while practicing and gigging whenever possible. Overall I am very excited.

There are many-several reasons why the conservatory environment works better for me, the biggest one probably being the motivation of other students practice habits that I have found to be much more lax at CSU. I also really enjoy the constant activity and concert schedule at Lawrence - not to mention that they are almost all free! I am also looking forward to being in a studio where there are a whole lot of bass trombonists again, there are 4ish here which is not too shabby but compared to the 8ish at Lawrence? not nearly as good :)

There are things I will miss about CSU and things that I will not enjoy about Lawrence (like the cost) but things will even out :)

As always, would love to hear from you!!!

Happy Holiday Season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~Renee

Education Classes

2009-10-14T13:19:00.000-07:00

I wish I could make this is VERSES and do a comparison but I didn't really take any education classes at Lawrence. I think education classes are a very intersting sort of breed of class...in some ways the teachers should be the cream of the crop so that the future educations are learning from the best educators, in other ways it's ok if they're not the best because then we learn from their mistakes. I'm taking four education courses this semester and they are: EDUC 275 - Schooling in the United States, High Brass Techniques, Flute/Double Reed Techniques and Vocal Techniques.

EDUC 275 is basically exploring the history of schooling in the United States. Different problems concerning stereotypes about race, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic standing, etc. how they have been dealt with, how they are still a problem and a few ways to attempt to change the standards associated with them. The teacher, Dr. Aragon, does a good job of explaining how she is directing us when she has us do an activity so that we learn from our experiences. I have also enjoyed having discussions with the other people in the class. It is my personal opinion that future educators are some of the most interesting people to have conversations with. I have also come to appreciate my schooling history because I am in disbelief about a lot of the problems we are learning about because I have never experienced them: my high school teachers (and other teachers, high school is the most fresh) did an amazing job!!! Part of me wonders to what extent my education was impacted by IB, what part amazing teachers, what part my peers, what part my parents/sister and what part being in Fort Collins, oh and of course, what part of just plain old me? I don't anticipate ever being able to answer these questions...but I think about them. I have also noticed how much more hyper-sensitive and aware of how ALL my teachers are teaching me now. I notice things I never would have though about before - especially about gender bias and race. I have also begun to be critical of the stereotypes presented in the media and American culture in general....I have no other comparison from other cultures or I'm sure I'd be critical of them as well.

High Brass Techniques has been the most intersting for me to think about and observe in rather than learn how to play trumpet and french horn. Since I am a brass player I have found that picking up another brass instrument has been very simple and I barely have to think. I have found it interesting to se what the other people in my class, who are not brass players, are having trouble with. I try to think about what I would tell them if I were their private teacher or band director. There are a lot of similarites in how I would teach a beginning trombone student and a beginning trumpet student but there are also a few big differences. I have also found it very intesting to see how my ideas of how to solve learner's problems have varied from my teachers strategies. One of the big lessons I have learned is that teaching transposition is one of the most difficult concepts to grasp and to teach. I start on French Horn next week...wish me luck!

Flute/Double Reed Techniques has been a very in-depth learning experience. I would still not describe myself as adept at flute but I can make some pretty noises. My fingers have a very difficult time staying and moving as they should but the good news is that air support has been no problem! I have developed a much higher regard for my friends who play flute...really anyone who plays flute well, it's harder than I had originally thought. Dr. Moody does a really good job of bringing individuals up to the front of the class and then asking for suggestions instead of just giving us all the answers. Next week I start oboe....we'll see how much better my fingers do with a vertical position, and I'll see if I can learn to breath less :)

Vocal Techniques has had a few very intersting moments: I am apparently a soprano - I had always assumed I was an alto. Last week we looked at pictures and videos of inside the vocal tract when someone is singing and talked about all of the bad things that can happen if you don't take care of your voice. Dr. Heil has a lot of really good experience and knowledge that she is very willing to share with us.

Well....that was a little longer than I anticipated.

So yesterday I hugged my friend Andrew good bye because he went home this weekend and another of my friends remarked that he must really like me because he closed his eyes when we hugged...this made me ponder when I close my eyes when I hug people...I'm pretty sure I close my eyes every time

Do you close your eyes when you hug someone? does it matter who it is?

So...I've been a little negligent in my postings

2009-10-11T07:28:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that it's been a while since my last post....there's a good reason I promise.

1) I have kind of run out of things to write about. I know that there are still things, I have a lot to say, but it's not objective comparisons or positive things and I would hate for one of my teachers to read this and get the wrong impression

2) I am SO sick of thinking about how CSU is not Lawence, when it's a constant voice in my head it's really hard to get up the motivation to spend 23ish minutes writing about such differences

3) If you haven't heard Romanovsky and Phillips' Emotional Rollercoaster then you won't really understand my AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. I tried to find it on youtube but I couldn't. or I would have posted a link. You can find a short clip on Amazon if you're really curious.

Anyway...that's what my life has been like and for the past few weeks I have been moving in a mostly downward motion. When Renee is upset with things she doesn't want to talk about them, write about them, think about them or really have anything to do with them. Now, when I'm upset with school I still have to go...so problem. It took everything I had to be able to go to school, do my homework and appear to be mostly normal. The biggest thing that continued to make actually happy were (and are) my amazing friends...but I already wrote a post about them...hence lack of posting.

Here are the most important friends in my life at the moment:

Andrew Deem - he plays trombone and is majoring in Music Education...he is responsible for introducing me to these other wonderful people and is from Colorado Springs

Tiki (Tiffany Key) - she plays flute and is also majoring in Music Education, she went to Rocky Mt. High School here in Fort Collins so we think we've met before but aren't entirely sure

Batman! (Cory Bissell) - he plays bass clarinet in band and trombone in marching band, he is also majoring in Music Education and is from Virginia

Tess Stoops - I actually met through my friend Celeste, she is not in band, majoring in something and we have a Friday date (either breakfast or lunch) that always makes my week more wonderful

In answer to your questions yes, I'm feeling much better, "Things are looking up, it's a great little world we live in..." (extra special bonus points if you know where this is from) and I wil be updating much more regularly now.

Smiles :) :D

Friends

2009-09-25T13:19:00.000-07:00

I was re-surprised to find what a large impact one or two or three people can have on my life, mood and general thought processes. I didn't realize just how much not having a constant availability of friends to hang-out with was effecting me. I realized that there was a lack of that and that I was not quite as entirely happy but until I woke up euphorically happy this morning I didn't realize the full extent of impact that my friends and people connections have on my life.

Last night I had three friends over for dinner and tea and then homework and more tea. I was so extremely pleased when I went to sleep simply because I had been surrounded with friends for most of the day. I woke up with the knowledge that I would have people to see at school today and friends. It was great, and I am still extremely happy - such to the extent that I have not been in a really long time.

This is, of course, not to say that I didn't have any friends earlier but now I have friends that I see every day that I also hang-out with on occasion (hopefully with increasing frequency). I have very much enjoyed seeing my friends from high school, both that I have stayed in contact with and those I haven't whom I see randomly on campus, I would not have been able to make it into week 4 without them. Nor would I have been able to make it without random calls/txts/wall posts/etc. from my friends who are elsewhere (namely Lawrence).

After going through these few weeks and now being re-aquainted with having "hang-out friends" I appreciate my friends (all of you/them) even more, in whatever capicity they fill for me - whether it be random hellos (friendly acquaintences), coffee dates, phone calls, letters, facebook comments/posts, posts on this, drinking tea with me, doing homework with me, playing in an ensemble with me and making faces during rehearsal, giving me much needed hugs (random or asked for), or just plain old chillin'.

Summary (as I am "learning" in CO150): I LOVE MY FRIENDS!!!!!

I miss you all, even if I see you daily, I miss you :P

Oh, and thank you for being my friend, my life would be less full and wonderful without you.

Weather

2009-09-24T12:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a while....I'm not gonna keep myself to a schedule with this :)

You know how the mystical "they" always says that you shouldn't talk about the weather and that it's a cop-out for not having anything to say? well I think that's stupid, I really like talking about the weather, especially when it's abnormally cold for the current month and it's rainy ad wonderful. I don't think people, as a whole, really appreciate weather as much. Mostly people complain that it's too hot, too cold, too rainy, to snowy, too early for it to be snowy/rainy, too windy, too unpredictable, etc. I love it for that very reason, it's one of the few things that has not been taken over by technology or other human invention. I mean, yes, global warming has had an effect on the weather but the weather has been doing crazy things even before the humans created their crazy machines that put accelerators into the air and cause changes to happen faster.

I rode my bike to school today for the first time this week because it has been rather chilly (like 50 degrees-ish) and threatening rain. It just rained, but it's ok because I'm not riding my bike home. I am just really enjoying that the weather has been pleasantly cold - it's been allowing me to drink a LOT more tea and wear clothes that I haven't worn in a really long time - like hooded sweatshirts :) and ugly suit coats that I bought for a costume party, and cloaks...we're not quite cold enough for the ponchos but it's getting there. It's snowed a little bit in Colorado already and I think that's wonderful, not too early or anything silly like that.

I'm still not wearing shoes and people keep noticing and asking me, in flabergasted voices, if I am cold. I respond with a pelasent "Surprisingly no!" What I don't mention is that I survived two years of Wisconsin winters - without a real winter coat - and that I'm a Colorado native who LOVES COLD!!!!!

Needless to say, I'm excited for the weather change, I tend to throughly enjoy whatever season it happens to be at the moment and I really like the seasons of change, eventhough I'm likely to get stuck somewhere unprepared.

A semi-random suggestion of music to listen to if you are bored: Ingrid Michaelson, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Guster, Squirrel Nut Zippers and Streetlight Manifesto

VERSES: Common Area/Lounge

2009-09-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

If you're reading my blog, chances are you know that I am a people person, maybe even a SUPER PEOPLE PERSON - this means that the place in the music building/con where people hang out and chill is really important to me. When CSU started I feared that their common areas (the biggest being near the concert hall) would remain scarcely populated as they were for the first few days of school. What I have come to realize is that it is heavily populated during some parts of the day and empty during others, pretty consistent for times as well. There are two circles of plushy chairs around little round tables (that are perfect feet height) and then there are four tall tables, each with two chairs, near the windows, against the wall to the west. The room area is probably about 25ft by 15ft. I also really like the large quantity of natural light that comes in through the windows.

Lawrence lounge area is HUGE, basically the central part of the basement - in it's entirety. There's a lot more seating areas (two u-shaped areas) with couches, chairs and then in the middle are benches. People pretty much always chill there, as long as it's not a weekend before 11am :) or after 2am...on any day. There is zero natural light source because it is a basement. It seems like a much more used area but that could just be that it is a hallway of sorts and so people go through it all the time. The two different couch sections are also socially separated into jazz instruments/people and everyone else. The positive aspects of this arrangement is that there is intelligent conversation always going on and there is somewhere that is socially similar for everyone to be. Downsides are that there is not a complete integration which disallows some potentially interesting conversations and insights. Another awesome thing about the Lawrence lounge is its location. Since it is near to the practice rooms and the lockers (see practice room post about that) people congregate there ALWAYS and it is a great place to take a 5 min practice break.

CSU doesn't have a segregation based on side of the lounge...but sitting there today for an hour or so I watched the area go from a few instrumentalists to all singers (except me) and then they all left at pretty much the same time, it was crazy. So I would say that it is segregated based on time. The CSU lounge is sort of close to the lockers but it is away from the practice rooms. There are also several different other mini-lounges scattered around the building - this is nice but it doesn't create one central area like Lawrence has. It's hard to say that I like one better than the other because a lot of what I appreciated about the lounge at LU (Lawrence) was the people there. I'm making friends at CSU but I've only been here for 3 weeks (and two days) verses two years. I do find that it is easier to get homework done in the lounge at CSU, due mostly to the fact that there are less people that I am likely to become distracted by on a regular basis. I rarely find people sleeping at CSU, but we're not yet a month in and the building isn't open that late. It's an interesting comparison that I hadn't expected and am now very intrigued by.

Random questions (because I like them): what is your favorite way to eat peanut butter?

VERSES: Cost

2009-09-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

OK, so I'll start with the staggaring statistic:

Lawrence is about $40,000 a year and going up

CSU (in-state, with room and board) is about $14,000 (also going up)

CSU (in-state, without room and board and with the Colorado opportunity fund) is about $6000

This means that I can finish my degree at CSU (where it will take me three years) for LESS than ONE YEAR at Lawrence, if the math is correct. This, of course, does not take scholarships into account...but unless Lawrence gives me a lot more than they are, CSU will remain the cheaper.

Given that, CSU happily charges you for every little thing they possibly can. I had to pay an extra fee for a mandatory orientation, for my ID, to check out an instrument for tech classes, for EVERY LARGE ENSEMBLE CONCERT I GO TO I will have to pay $5, to register my bike, a practice room key and a locker. Maybe (probably) I'm just bitter and angry (regardless of all of these extra costs it's still cheaper than Lawrence) but it threw me for a loop. I'm used to getting into all concerts for free unless they are guest artists.

Since one of the biggest (only) reasons I decided to take a year off was lack of $$ this means that this is important....unfortunatly.

Winner of cost: CSU, hands down, no contest

Does that mean I'm fo' shiz transferring until I graduate? no, I'm still in decision mode

In other, happier, news: I have new friends! and they are wonderful! and I'm excited to get to know them better as I am here longer.

Also, today, I ran into TWO people(friends) from high school whom I haven't talked to in a long time. It was wonderful seeing them and doing a quick catch-up...honestly, it kind of made my day. Thanks for beign excited to see me!!!!

Question as sign off: If I were a breakfast cereal, what do you think I would be? and why? (I won't think less of you, regardless of what you write, I promise)

Google and A short and silly post

2009-09-09T21:39:00.000-07:00

Reasons why Google is awesome:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/five-million-students-going-back-to.html

Also, I love gmail. End my endorsement of Google.

Random silly post:

I really enjoyed the date today 09/09/09 and I was thinking to myself, "Hey, this is pretty cool, and it will only happen for 12 years every thousand...er...hundred rather....still..." and then I realized that this is the NINTH month that this has happened for and I know I was aware of the other ones but I was surprised when I realized that this has been happening once a year for nine years...and that there are only three more to happen....and then I was thinking about how the first one happened during my first year of junior high school and I was blown away by thinking about how fast time flies.

The end.

P.S. I found a tea I don't like today and it was sad...then I ate a cookie.

What do you think of the new alignment?

Coffee Shops

2009-09-07T15:58:00.000-07:00

I LOVE coffee shops. I love how each and everyone has a different personality and demographic of people. If I had enough money and time I would basically live in coffee shops. But then I would not have a home and I would not be able to have a day like yesterday where I stayed in my pajamas all day. I think there is something wonderful with the coffee shop mentality too. You get to go and kind of escape from everything for a while. If you go to the same one enough then people begin to know who you are and what you want - it's like having new friends! (sometimes actually new friends) I have two favorite coffee shops in Fort Collins: Mugs and Starry Night. Each serve different purposes and I go to them for different reasons and I love them both. I have recently been introduced to the Bean Cycle and Wild Boar - both are also quite wonderful.

Maybe it's just that I love people watching and feeling like I'm part of a "special" community but I love coffee shops because they allow me to do both of those things - and have coffee or tea, sometimes cake or other delicious food items and free Internet :)

In other news, I had an amazing almost 2 hour lesson today, after I missed my lesson this morning...thanks to those who missed their lessons and let me have their times - whether or not this was on purpose remains to be seen.

In the middle of my lesson(ish) it started raining and has yet to really stop...I love Colorado weather, it is fantastic how it can be warm and pleasant but also rainy....at the moment I am enjoying watching people simply not care and continue about their business (or run through it in an attempt to get less wet) from the front window seat at Mugs where I enjoyed a bagel pizza and a latte (free because I bought enough this summer), using their wireless Internet and feeling just simply awesome.

I hope you are having an amazingly wonderful day!!! :D (I certainly am!)

VERSES: Practice Room Edition

2009-09-04T19:00:00.001-07:00

So....in efforts to explore the differences and such between Lawrence and CSU, I'm going to do a series (randomly) of "verses" where I compare the same thing at each university. Today's edition is practice rooms.

Things I like about CSU practice rooms:

1) They are sound proof - or close to at least, I can practice without worring about other people judging me or distracting me with their practice

2) They are acoustically happy - I sound good because the room lets me sound so with ease

3) They have wood floors - this seems like a stupid point but it makes me happy and aids the above

4) They are big! I can play in any direction AND there's a piano in it AND if I had people (and time) to play duets it would be super easy to find space

Things I like about Lawrence practice rooms:

1) Someone is ALWAYS practicing

2) They are set up so that there is an easy place to take a break - namely the con lounge

3) They are close to the instrument lockers - instead of ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE BUILDING

4) They are not locked

5) The "windows" are kinda more like 2-way mirrors so there is some anonimity even though people can hear you through the walls (and doors)

6) They have character because they are old

Things I don't like about CSU practice rooms:

1) They are ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE BUILDING - and it's a 2 min walk from the lockers in the basement to the practice rooms on the first floor

2) They are locked and I'm paranoid about leaving my key either in my locker or in the room when I step out to get a drink

3) They have no character - this is probably because the building is new so this is a questionable point against CSU

Things I don't like about Lawrence practice rooms:

1) They are not sound proof...at all

2) They have very little ventilation....and sometimes people make them stinky

3) They are not especially acoustically happy - they're made of cinderblocks....and particle board

4) They are small

I'm pretty sure I'll find other things that I notice as I'm in CSU's more and in Lawrence's less...though I did spend a lot of time in them so my opinion is pretty well formed :)

I attached some pictures of one of the CSU practice rooms.....I don't have one of Lawrence's, it never seemed important.

In other news...I just got an HpMini netbook and it is my new best friend...I love it!!!!!!!!!! I was using it while I was walking across campus today and was pleasently surprised to find out that there is wireless almost all the way to the music building (the UCA in further posts). Oh what is becoming of the world?

Here is a silly quote I thought of yesterday (and I couldn't find it online so, clearly, no one else has ever thought it) "Real Friends Read BETWEEN the Lines of my Blog (or Twitter)" I think it's funny...and not especially true, but funny. More on my opinion of twitter later.

Random question if you feel like answering: What is/was the most exciting letter you have ever recieved in the mail?

Education People

2009-09-02T21:19:00.000-07:00

It's the crazy people (like those in my Education class) that make me REALLY want to teach. I cannot imagine a more accepting and fun group of people! So far I have had this class (Schooling in the United States, henceforth refered to as EDUC 275 or my ED class) twice. We meet on Wednesdays from 4-6:50pm...and I have class from 10-2 and then again at 3. Regardless of my lack of sufficient time to eat and chill and practice and feel like a real person on Wednesdays this class pleases me greatly! Part of our time is spent in small group discussion and since we are all (mostly) future educators we are all willing and excited to play silly little games, have real discussions and meet eachother. I made TWO new friends today and they are both from this class. I also really like my teacher, she's super fun and excitable and I can totally tell that she wants to teach us how to be good teachers who care about things and their (our) students.

Wednesdays and Mondays are both really long for me, each start at 10am (not bad), I have an hour break at 2 and then class from 3-5:40pm on Mondays (followed by DND!!!!) and 6:50 on Wednesdays...long days but totally worth it!

So...funny thing about blogs: I have no idea who is reading them. I'm not sure that most people really understand this and they have the potential to fail at realizing that if they say something bad about someone, there is a distinct possibility that word will reach that person and then bad things happen. Dear Renee, don't write bad things about anyone, Love Self. Not that I would have anything bad to say ever...anyway....

What do I put at the end of a blog post? a send off? some cheesy signoff? a random question for people to answer?

EPIC UPDATE!!! (it's been 10 months....)

2009-09-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

Ok ,so it's been....much longer than it should have been since the last update (10 months?); I apologize in advance for the condensed form of this one...feel free to e-mail me with any desired elaborations :)

So..the trip to New Zealand that happened over winter break was FANTASTIC!!! I really enjoyed spending time with my family, extended family and it's super pretty there!!!

I ended up finish up the year at Lawrence and definitely "got my money's worth". I participated in 6 different ensembles and very much enjoyed them all. I was in symphonic band, jazz band, bass trombone quartet, bass trombone dectet (I organized this one), trombone choir and Conchordance (Lawrence's all-women's acappella group: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=D797B761A97A542B&search_query=conchordance, playlist of our concert at the end of the year).

I kept myself busy with my classes, I discovered that I really enjoy music history, though I think this is much due to my amazing teacher (and advisor) Julie McQuinn. I really enjoyed waking up to her bouncy excitement and interesting insights to the music we were studying.

I also took a course that required me to observe in a classroom for 20 hours. I chose to observe in a middle school band program because I felt like I hadn't given middle school band a real chance. Through the 20 hours I really came to appreciate the teaching of my beginning band teacher. I found that I was very critical of the teacher I was observing, often believing that I could do a much better job with certain aspects. Overall it was a really good experience and I am still willing to give middle school band a shot, though at this point I would still much prefer high school.

At the end of the year (in June) I bought a bass trombone, all by myself!, and I am so happy with it. As many of you know, I name all of my trombones because I think they each have a different personality. My first trombone is named Raoul (mostly after Phantom of the Opera), my second trombone is named Beast (because he was a beast to play when I first got him and one of my fondest memories, that helped him get his name, is playing as loud as I possibly could in band with him), this third trombone has yet to be named but I think that it is a girl – very exciting because I usually find that instruments have the opposite gender of their owner and I would LOVE to have a girl trombone, especially since it’s a bass :)

I spent the summer teaching Lego robotics, just like I usually do, and it was very fun, also as per the usual. I also spent the summer building a retaining wall with my mother in my backyard. While this was not the funest job, there were moments of pride as I can look down and see just how many 72lb bricks we moved and placed…and it was pretty fun working with my mom :)

I intended to take a year off and work since Lawrence is VERY expensive, I looked for jobs this summer, applied and was not hired. Three weeks before Colorado State University started my parents offered to hire me as a “research assistant” to determine the differences between CSU and Lawrence’s respective music departments and pay for a semester at CSU. I agreed with very little hesitation as this would be fun, interesting and would not have me anti-earning money (aka spending money).

I officially transferred, though I am, as of yet, uncertain as to how long I will stay – at the very least it will be one semester; at most it will be until I graduate – maybe with a Masters, who knows. I have found that the red tape surrounding late applications, transfer credits, etc. is thick, confusing and not the most fun to deal with. On the other hand, the faculty/staff has been very helpful and welcoming. It is a week into classes and I’m already compiling a whole lot of differences, similarities, opinions and all sorts of interesting information. I’m really enjoying living in Colorado (Fort Collins) again, it’s beautiful and there are Mountains!!!!!!!!!

I am starting a blog to relate some of my frustrations, elations and other insights about transferring and other fun stuff in my life…I hope to update it somewhat daily. http://adventuresinrenee-land.blogspot.com/

As always I would LOVE to hear from you!! (especially if you are in Fort Collins and we haven’t talked in a while)

Have a FANTASTIC day!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~Renee