What a life, indeed. :)

and hopefully my train of thought is coherent, and that I get everything down that I would like to.

1. BACK IN PROVO! :)

2. Thanksgiving was GREAT! I had a little sense of apprehension when 10 cousins (of my cousin; what does that make them to me? unrelated? I have no clue) showed up, but after we started eating I was okay. My aunt let me make the sweet-potato stuff that my family's Thanksgiving is famed for, so that brought a little bit of home to the table. Speaking of home, I was saddened that I couldn't go to the annual Re-Thanksgiving at the Hafenricters, but I decided to call his house and talk to people that way! It was a pleasant 30 minutes before someone inevitably hung up on me. Which was okay - there weren't many people there I was terribly interested in talking to. But the ones that were there that were important to me got talked to, so that was good. :)

[I had to go back and put the provo comment in there first. I'm such a scatterbrain. aha.]

3. I was flattered today [today? yesterday? um... Saturday]. I've been honored with an obvious display of trust. [viva la Argentina!] ^_^

4. I learned a new game - it's a music game! It's really fun. I think it was called "Encore." (otherwise, I've just named it that. bahaha!) basically, there are two teams. one team picks a word (from a piece of paper in the middle of the circle), and then the teams go back and forth trying to sing as many songs as they can with that word in it. It's really fun, and I think that if we tried playing that with our music people from back home, each word would keep us for 10 minutes. Haha! It was really great, though. :)

5. Back to reality on Monday. various countdowns in reference to school: 12 days until JURY :O and 15 days until finals start. Err, I guess I ought to add 11 days until my last day of classes...? lol.

6. I FINISHED BRISINGR, AND IT WAS GREAT!!!!!!!!!1 I loved it so much!! It's really great to see his writing style get better and better with each book, and each time I decide it's well worth the wait for each book. Only one more after this, though. (Which I'm sure will take another.. mm, 4 years to come out.) I'm really excited for the next [and final!] one, though!! <3

7. 3 WEEKS UNTIL I COME HOME. ^_^

and now, bed, because it's almost midnight where I am. bahaha. yawn...

//::Edit::\\

I has been dubbed "the sheriff" in the Review Game on Fictionpress. I thought you might appreciate that, Officer Jeffery. Bahaha! :D

*runs off to make an icon with a hedgehog and a sheriff star*

And thus begins Thanksgiving break.

I shall see you again when I return in a week.

However, there is a chance that my uncle has a webcam; in which case I will be frantic in contacting you all so you might see my face for the first time in 3 months.

Although, if some specifically among everyone wants that or not, I cannot be sure. Your behavior has made no indication of such.

In any case, I wish you the most happiest of Thanksgivings with your family and friends. I wish dearly that I could be there. My heart reaches out to touch all of you.

Oh, and another challenge. Thanksgiving day: find a quiet place where you will not be interrupted and say a verbal prayer of all the things you are truly thankful for. I don't mean some two-cent vague thing. Plan on this taking 15 minutes. It will be worth it, I promise. :)

President Thomas S. Monson (current president of the LDS church) said the following.

"Wrote William Shakespeare: 'They do not love that do not show their love.' We will never regret kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us."

So I have a challenge for you.

Show your love to those you love this week. No, this month. We cannot simply assume that everyone knows that you love them. tell them. they need to know. they need to hear it, too.

If you've read this, you've accepted the challenge. (You don't have a choice.)

What's the worst that could happen? ♥

poem. yay.

a/n I thought it was semi-funny that these two ideas started as two separate poems. Somewhere along the way, they merged...

Black & white
Day & night
Two after my own heart
Yet a consistent blue draws me
Smiles alight
Undying respect.

A knot in my heart
Feeling weak
Rapid breaths
Confusion
Silence.
Soundless vows not to speak
Refusing to take the first step
Alone

Though so called truth rips me apart
I wait for you to take the plunge

Unlikely
For now.

So my parents told me yesterday that Illinois Granma has lung cancer. (We differentiate between my three granma's by adding the state in front of it.) Over Facebook. Of all things.

But this news makes three relatives to be affected by cancer. 1st was my aunt Debbie - she died three years ago this past October (I think; I don't remember, I seem to have deleted the post that I remember making about it) via breast cancer. My Aunt Renee (still living; here in Utah, even) has had breast cancer for about a year and a half. That in itself is getting pretty bad... And now Granna has got lung cancer. And if anything happens to her, I won't be able to be there.

I've always seemed to be on the wrong side of the continent.

I'm still in denial about 40 other things, too...

Ooh, it's nearly been a week. My bad. o_O

So, apparently there's a dating workshop tonight given by a girl-in-my-ward's grandma (who evidently got proposed to 5 times... what? she only accepted one!). And not a moment too soon! See earlier post. Ha.

My FHE [family home evening] group attempted to make a Twilight-trailer spoof just for fun yesterday night. It was pretty hilarious - instead of vampires v. werewolves, we made it Cougars (BYU) v. Utes (U of U). So in the middle of noRed week (because the rivalry game is this weekend! GO COUGS!), the majority of us are out in the middle Provo wearing a ton of red. I hope it turned out well, though. XD

And yikes, Christmas shopping must begin soon, shouldn't it? Bwah... @Mike & Anne, I need ideas of what to get you. Any preferences before I go scout on my own?

I got my schedule for next semester! :D Basically, I have a class at 8am every day. HOWEVER, everything (besides band on T/Th) ends before 1pm. So then I can go home, take a nap, do homework, practice mucho, and go to bed. At least, that's the plan...

Speaking of sleep, I think I need to start getting to bed earlier than 11pm every night... I'm just about dead. XD

[almost] 300th post! *brick'd*

Um, haha, yeah.

I thought I'd attempt to keep you guys in the loop (*ahem*) and enlighten you in my oh-so-exciting next few weeks.

...Well, okay, I'll spare you the boring stuff. I'll just give you the highlights. :D

Tonight (11/13) - Temple trip! <3
Nov. 14th (aka midnight tonight) - register for classes
Nov. 14th - BYU singers & Concert choir concert with Sarah!
Nov. 19th- Date #2!
Nov. 22nd - BYU Philharmonic Orchestra concert with Emily!
Nov. 23rd - hosting a ward dinner at my apartment!
Nov. 27th - Thanksgiving in Sandy with Uncle Greg and Aunt Marlene!
Dec. 2nd - Playing in Neil's masterclass!
Dec. 5th - CRAIG'S BIRTHDAY! :D
Dec. 6th - Date #3! (Hilarious that it's planned this far in advance, no?)
Dec. 12th - JURY DAY. AAH.
Dec. 13th - Double-reed-ists party! (hopefully. it's still in the works.)
Dec. 15th - 19th = finals week
Dec. 20th - FLIGHT HOME! <3

And I'll be home from Dec. 20th to Jan. 3rd. :)

I think that's all for now. And now you know my life for about the next month. That wasn't intentional, at all. xD

And it's okay
If you had to go away
Oh, just remember the telephone works both ways
But if I never ever hear them ring
If nothing else I'll think the bells inside
Have finally found you someone else
And that's okay


Don't you know that's okay?

Have you ever had those dreams where you're almost sure that it's real life? But then you wake up and you think about previous days, and you know it was a dream, but you could've sworn it actually happened? (Does this make any sense?)

Maybe that's just a me thing. Haha.


Anyway, it's raining today. And it's really cold. And by really cold, I mean REALLY cold. It's only about 42 degrees out, but the rain makes it that much colder. Though it doesn't really bother me today, because today I've FINALLY had my head figured out. My prayers have been answered!

And that's a good feeling. I would highly suggest it. <3

Just a quickie. I don't have much time for much else. Except that I'm playing in masterclass again today. >.< Haha, I'll tell you how THAT went later. Maybe. :P

Paper? What paper? I don't have a paper...

I'm now the first part on bassoon for my band! Not all my credit, though - my prof said at the start of the semester that we should switch off on parts, so it just turned out that the other girl took all first for the last concert, so I get all first for the next concert in December. Hooray!

Good for me, too. I get to sit next to cool oboists and make funny faces at them. Silly oboists! Tricks are for bassoonists.

Haha, I wish.

Anyway, there's a ridiculously fast march we're doing, and I CANNOT tongue that fast. The brass are even having problems double-tonguing it, it's that fast. So I'm resorting to slurring, because there's no other way I'd be able to get those. Is that bad? My tonguing skills ARE improving, though, I'll give you that...

Oh, and I've officially lost 11 pounds. I was estimating all the other times. :P

I AM SO EXCITED TO COME HOME! Sortof. It'll be bittersweet, really - I get to go back to Illinois and see my family, friends, other miscellaneous people that make me happy, and work to get money. Sounds good, right? Well, two of my friends that I've met here are leaving in Febuary for their mission, so I won't see them again until they come BACK from their mission two years later! Actually, more like two and a half, since I won't see them until the fall semester following their return. Long time not to see two amazing young men. Ah well, time to buy a stationary and whip out the perfume and lipstick - you know, so I can spray the page, apply a ridiculous amount of lipstick, kiss the paper and make their companions jealous. Snail mail is so much fun! Haha!

Mormon comedy, I'll never get enough of it. (Like the pick-up lines - "Is your name virtue? Because you garnish my thoughts unceasingly!" Classically hilarious.)

Oh, and I got an accompanist for jury. Thank goodness! Now I won't be scrambling to get one last minute. Extra perks that he's cute! Kidding. I'm playing two movements of Galliard's second sonata for bassoon, and I have to pick another contrasting piece - probably J.C. Bach, or something to that affect.

I feel like most of this music/bassoon lingo is flying over most of your heads. My bad. I could rattle off in a whole paragraph about my reeds, and how I made 6 and only one of them turned out decently, but I won't.

Oh look. I kinda already did.


Nearly two weeks until Thanksgiving, and then the home stretch until I come home! <3 (Wow, that sounded semi-redundant.)

Miss you all back in Illinois!

Week 10!

I played in masterclass today!

I know what you're thinking. "Rachael! What's masterclass? Do enlighten me in the amazing subject!"

Masterclass for bassoon - basically everyone in the bassoon studio gets together and makes reeds, listens to people play, whatever. And I got to play two etudes (for lack of better word) for about 8 other bassoonists and my professor this evening. :)

A couple notes:

1. I've got really nice tone
2. FANTASTIC flicking! <3>
3. My eyebrows are really expressive when I play (wth? lol)
4. I can shape phrases really well
5. I need to remember to crescendo to the ends of phrases a bit more than I already am.

Can't remember much else. That's all for now! Leave some love. <3

Only a music major...

Rachael
*chucks a tuning fork at Neil*

Neil
HAHA

Rachael
hoi, you're no fun. you're either supposed to scream and duck, scream and catch it, or do something clever.
no good!
at this point, it's already hit you.

Neil
I have slow reflexes , but maybe if you hit me in the head with it enough times ill get perfect pitch!
baha

Rachael
I've got relative pitch...
but that's hilarious!

Happy November!

And today marks 49 days until I get home. And thus begins the countdown! *brick'd*

I'm really pleased with myself - I actually practiced a full 2 and a half hours yesterday! I've really been slacking, but I just picked myself up and went to work. It was a good feeling when I was done. Let's see if I can do it again today!

My band is rehearsing Holst's second suite in F for some convention in January - it really brings back a few memories from when we played it my junior year (I think?) of high school. The tendencies to rush in certain places (we did it too, haha), the beautiful second movement, our issues with rhythm in the third movement (oh, that blacksmith one that switches between 3/4 and 4/4 all the time), the saxophone duet thingy in the fourth movement, the tuba/piccolo duet at the end... I would go so far to say that I miss Mr. Leeb and the rest of the band, but I know that this is what's best for me. And this, right now, is bigger and better than East could ever get while I was there.

Halloween was pretty fun - I went to bed at 10 instead of going to any parties. I was just too tired from the excitement on campus all day. Haha. I'd make a list of all the characters I saw (all of the costumes were pretty much amazing, by the way), but it'd be a mile long. Though, I will note that I saw a pretty lame version of Luigi. He didn't even have black hair - or the moustache! How's that supposed to work?

Yep, just a quick little update for you guys. Leave some love! :)