newyork, newyork, newyork...trains, planes, and cheap metropasses!

bus(metro)pass in nyc: $41/30 days/unlimited.
bus pass in lethbridge: $48.50 (student)/month.

!!!!!

Today, Tony and I headed out to starbucks (seriously...every morning this guy, with the coffee, oi), and then Tony went on to Cornelius Reid's apartment(ahhh!!!!!), and I headed downtown, bounded for Carnegie Hall. I had free tickets to a rehearsal of L'Arlesienne(no, that's not it, I'll look that up, anyway), which is a lyric opera, presented (at least this time) in concert style.



Carnegie Hall...@ 57th and 7th Ave, I believe...and next to THE Russian Tea room...anyway, I got to enter through the stage door (a picture of what is yet to come? OH YES!!!), and in I went. Pretty much all the other audience members were over 65, but that's cool. The theatre was freakin' FREEZING, so I only stayed for 2 acts worth of rehearsals. The soprano didn't stun me, actually, no one did, but the tenor was pretty ok. Anyway, it was exciting to be there, just BE there. Carnegie Hall!! ah!

Everything here is so "famous" to me -- the street names (fifth ave, west end ave, broadway [BROADWAY!!!]), the places (trump tower, tiffany's, time squares, the Seinfeld restaurant)-- all of it, all of it is famous. AH!



It's strange too, (but OH SO wonderful) to be back in a big city. Weird going from Lethbridge to New York (I think it would be easier to go from Vancouver to New York, but alas), because Lethbridge is so small, and such a small city -- a very small city attitude about it...anyway, comparatively, New York is incredible, and really, there is no comparison. Ahhh...so much to say, so much to say, so much to say, so much to say...

Ok, after Carnegie Hall, I hit up 5th Ave, for lots of stores that I will never shop in (when there are no price tags...), but lots of $5 Pashmina scarves, $10 wool scarves, $20 "couture" pashmina scarves...holla!!!

5th Ave, then I got a hot dog (pronounced: hawt dawg), and subway'd myself over to the westend home of Mr.Cornelius L. Reid -- vocal pedagogue to the (future) stars.

That lesson...will be a post of its own...

After that, we were off to the METROPOLITAN OPERA, for Simon Bocanegra (Verdi)...I think that will be its own post too, with pictures.



sweet.

Pizza, home, blogging...



I don't really know what to tell you...this is all too unreal and fantastic for me RIGHT NOW.

The best part is...I'm living with 2 cats, sleeping under a down (feather) blanket, and yet -- NO ALLERGIC REACTION.

Go my immune system, go.

yo!

I got a $24 metro card.
andsomepics in the subway.

it's windy and a little cold.

and I was in times square.

and I've had starbucks twice.

I walked by central park -- I'm in Spanish Harlem blogging.

wow.

this life is ... mine.

here i am.

i'm so tired.
i'm so nervous.
i'm so excited.
i'm so packed.

i'm so gonna blog about this adventure with pictures as soon as i get back.

ttfn -- ta ta for now.

why i am going to new york for reading week, part 1.

Thought of the Week:


The Significance of Singing and Vocal Study




As a product of organic movement, voice involves the entire respiratory tract from the pelvis to the palatals. Thus, involvement in phonation not only produces sounds, but sounds which, once produced, are capable of releasing the self on both an emotional and intellectual plane. More importantly, from earliest periods of development to the highest level of singing as an art, this function makes contact with psychic forces within us which are profoundly spiritual and therefore universal.

In the original meaning of the Greek word psyche, the term was identified with breath, life and spirit, not, as presently thought, with some kind of mental problem. It is evident, therefore, that 'voice' is not just some form of exhibitionism or entertainment, but a revelation of the self and an inner desire to make contact with what is described by some as that 'other,' or 'otherness.'

In singing, the entire respiratory tract is engaged and becomes transformed into a musical instrument. David Ffrangcon-Davies was not only correct from a technical standpoint when he said, "I do not sing, my voice sings me," but by saying so, indicated an awareness of a spontaneous utterance born of freely expressed thoughts and feelings through the medium of sound. Revealed through those sounds is a self whose richness and profundity is transmitted through a medium of expression inseparable from the Greek concept of psyche as breath, life and spirit, a self which rises above mundane distractions embodied in a materialistic society.

This, in my opinion, is why we sing, because, as our American poet, Walt Whitman wrote, "There is something in me I know not of, but I know it is in me." To me music and singing are a quest for those spiritual dimensions which go beyond materialistic concerns and, indeed, even word meanings. As long as we remain aware of that unknown something within us we will, hopefully, come to some small understanding of the divine, which as a great theologian some centuries ago wisely observed, "If I am able to have any perception of the divine, then there must be some divinity within me."

We may not know what that divinity is, or simply choose to think about that 'other' in any one of a great number of ways; but it exists as an undeniable reality. Thus, there will always be those among us who seek that special dimension and will to the best of our ability deal with a materialistic society, balancing things out by learning to free the voice. How can that be? Simply because, by freeing the voice, the motility of the organs of respiration which produce it will have been restored to their natural state. It is that freedom, to whatever degree one will have attained it, which, by "washing us thoroughly" will enrich our lives and teach us how to deal more effectively and without compromise with the material world in which we live.


-- cornelius l. reid

tyson is here.

dee and i baked good things tonight.
well, she made gingersnaps and i'm making oatmeal & chocolate chip blondies (caramel brownies) -- i think my batter was wrong, but...hopefully it will work out.

i'm trying to show tyson how posting on blogger.com is easier than on xanga.com.

here's a picture to show the ease of picture-blogging:



So, Tyson, are you convinced?

Tyson?

*Tyson runs off to start a Blogger.com account/blog*

Ah...another blogger converted.

:)

my favourite things are memories.

pictures!

from the recital...and beyond.

:)

oooh D.O.M.S.

delayed
onset
muscle
soreness

3km run on Monday.
bike 6km today -- into the wind and snow (i missed the bus).
1 hour of pilaga -- go my abs, go!

4 walks up the hill -- not so fun. go, lobbying for my PE credit, go!

it's over!

the triumph.
the elation.
the height of my hair.
the (4) bouquets on my kitchen table.
the exhaustion.
the joy.
the embraces.
the voice.
the memory.
the feeling.

i have officiall sung my junior recital.

pictures to follow -- the beauty.

thank you to those who came -- quite honestly a dream come true to be so surrounded. these are the moments when i remember...this is what i came here for.

love.

action plan...

team action plan is off to a good start. I've been to the gym twice, once was RuNNinG on the TRACK -- I haven't really run since July. WOW that felt SO GOOD. Now my ankle hurts a bit, but not too much. Pilaga started too.

I've had lots of salads, and veggies. Not really any bread or pasta...or juice. Water all the time though.

My attitude is changing too -- that this has to be for the longterm, investing in my life, as much as it is seeking immediate change. Well, "immediate".

Mmm...it's so true that taking steps toward accomplishing a goal makes it seem so much more manageable. I RAN!! I'm ready to take on the world now.

Or at least a set of Mozart songs for my recital.

jan.17.

my dad is 52.
mohammed ali is 65.

happy birthday boys.

:)

tyson has to read this poem for school. i read it in 2nd year.

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89).

Pied Beauty



GLORY be to God for dappled things—
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.

MEL! is sooo goodlooking.










And here's Evie and Kevin -- Kevin's a good-looker with a surprisingly nerdy side, and Evie is very touchy -- it's basically like living in Africa when I hang out with her.

ok.

posting at school. Peace out.

jayda!

me and jayda are chillin' in my room.

so here she is: just in case you haven't seen her before.



from L to R is: deanna, jayda, me.

happy saturday.

back in the windy flat lands.

hey ya'll.

I am back in Lethbridge, moved in, going to class, singing opera, and fighting (in love) to have the heat in the house turned up. Heh.

Mmm...

here's a picture. Which is kind of like on dvd's when so-and-so says "here's a deleted scene" in the deleted scenes bonus feature -- but since when is stating the obvious a crime?



I'm hiding under the HUGE box of chocolates we got last Christmas (2005) -- and we got one again this year. Sheesh. For a family of slow-moderate metabolizers, this isn't the BEST idea -- but it IS a delicious one.

TGIF!!

happy new year

2007 it is.

i will turn 25.
there will be a big pary. in may. but be prepared.
i will write new songs.
i will eat 1 big salad every day.
i will struggle to accomplish the things my heart desires.
i will breathe in peace to accomplish the things my heart desires.
i will kick ass at my recital.
i will fly to new york.
i will meet a legend.
i will call mikael once a week.
i will send email updates.
i will freely say 'i love you' to those who need to know.
i will follow the promptings to phone, write letters, drop in, or just say hi.

i will.

love.

Christmas!

merry christmas to all!

this is my 12-day-old friend hannah.



she's beautiful -- here with her parents david and nola.

mmm....

it is so good to be home. sometimes i forget what great love is here -- there's so much to connect to, people to connect with...

new ideas:
: 1 year dance school @ ft.langley ywam base when uleth degree is gotten.
: start (or join?) a community house when I move back here.
: team action plan (ideas for 1st meeting) -- well lots of ideas for that.
: travel with Mikael before she gets married.
: spend a couple weeks @ house of prayer in Kansas (or a month?), [possibly with brother ben].
: spend a week in Victoria when I get home in the spring.

:)

5 more sleeps.

5 sleeps.
1 WebCT exam.
1 jury.
1 written exam.
3 coffee dates.
1 sleepover in Calgary.
1 gift exchange.
1 miniature tree to decorate.
=
stuff I have to do before I get home.

merry christmas.

woohoo!!

I beat the registrar's office!!

I registered in a reserved (not for me) course!

woohoo!!!

oh, the things that excite the registering student...

tony the psychologist?

I had a whole post about my lesson today, and something Tony pointed out to me, and how I've been thinking about it ever since...
but that was too personal.

Instead, this picture of a dancer...with hairy legs, and awesome socks.



Hmm...

high times, hard times, sometimes the livin' is sweet.

i'm going to new york city.

wow.

february 2007.

new york...city.

the big apple.

i'll be there.

it's like some sort of a pilgrimmage.

aspirations.

at this point, i won't be a professional dancer, especially not a ballerina.
too tall, too big, too awkward, too many years not training seriously -- and too much invested in singing.

:)

those limitations aside, i can dance. i can buy a new pair of magical pink leather slippers, and i can dance.

there's a ballet class on tuesday nights next semester, and i think i'm going to take it. it's a night of bussing across the bridge, but i think there'd be some sort of 'childhood' type romance in getting on the bus with my dance bag, rushing into the studio cold, only to enjoy and hour of dreams come to life.

*sighs*




i've done it before -- why not do it again?

these are not my shoes.

I would like to be friends with k-os. Kevin. I think that we could be great friends.

I don't think that I like "the bachelor" -- everything about it seems wrong. The false romance, the heartbreak...entertainment made of pain. I don't like it.

"the office" is a pretty funny show. Jim's new office is niiice, and he got totally hammered in in tonight. Mhmm.

My left ankle is still sprained, and my knee definitely hurts sometimes. I'm not a big fan of that. Ligament injuries. Who needs 'em?

I need to be a more proactive component of my healthcare. I'm working on it. I'm going to the chiropractor tomorrow. So that'll be fun. :S

Columbiahouse Music Canada thinks I owe them money -- I disagree. I am contesting, with a letter.

Seriously though...I think me and k-os could hang out.

peace.

a blog of note.

Brett introduced me to this blogger.

It's good stuff. About religious christianity, will probably sound familiar to those of you who read donald miller, or who know dave ward.

check it out.

here's a clip:

Truly you are a God who hides himself.
Isaiah 45:15

To Whom It May Concern,

I’ve heard it said that the earth is filled with your glory. Now I don’t claim to be a master of insight, but it seems to me that your glory is anything but pervasive down here. In fact, I’d say it’s downright difficult to find anything remotely qualifying as glorious, at least these days. Sure, there are those every-so-often sunsets and the relentless shush of the ocean shore—and, okay, a starry starry night’s pretty cool too—but if that’s what they mean by God’s glory then I’d have to say it’s a pretty limited concept. At best it’s an impressive backdrop where, as poet Matthew Arnold wrote, “ignorant armies clash by night.”

I’ve heard it said that humankind is your crowning achievement. I find this flattering, but even less convincing. It’s not so much that our species is demonstrably wicked (the Fall implies we can’t hold you accountable for everything); still, even among the so-called “saved,” the power of carnal inclinations seems far more influential than the “imparted righteousness” mentioned in your promotional material. Perhaps this righteousness is more of an ideal than a working principle. At any rate, the human landscape suggests many things, but divine glory isn’t one of the things that comes to mind.

oh the power.

my friend hannah is here because her power got turned off -- it'll be back on tomorrow, but she needs to watch the Bachelor TONIGHT, so she's here.

saturday night, some friends and i watched "the family stone" and then read "who POOPED in the park?" by Gary D. Robson (illustrations by Elijah Brady Clark)...which may be the best/worst book ever.



CHECK IT OUT!!!

questions.

High Fidelity is probably one of my top 5 favourite movies to watch (of all time), but I'm not sure why. There's swearing (so, objectionable language), scenes of sexuality (which can be awkward)...well, I guess that's it as objections go, but a significant part of the movie contains "objectionable content", and yet...top 5!

Is that weird? Wrong? Have you seen it? What did you think?

Secretly, I'd love to be a nerd who owns a bag designed to carry vinyl...but I don't....maybe that's my love of the movie...who knows...anyway...here's some art..

?

to dream mid-day, even while napping, is spectacularly disorienting. disorientating. umm. confusing.

pink helmet -- the return!

I just got back from a one hour bike ride, and OH IT WAS GLORIOUS!!!

I was cold, and I wandered around the west side, pedalling and pedalling and pedalling...

I forgot how much I love biking. When it's just a means of transportation, it's not so fun, and I forget to just spend time exploring.

Ahhh....refreshed, awake, alive. Thank you, Lord.

yo!

TARA FROM the BLOCK!

She' my friend.

And she basically has revolutionized the world of blogging with this post -- you should definitely check it out.

here's some photo love, from camp2july2006.

chasing.

I don't quite know how to say what I feel.
Those three words are said too much --
they're not enough...



if I lay here
if I just lay here
would you lie with me
and just look at the world?

forget what we're told
before we get too old
show me a garden
that's bursting into life.







let's waste time chasing cars around our heads
I need your grace
to remind me to find my own.

if I lay here
if I just lay here
would you lie with me and just forget the world?




all that I am
all that I ever was
is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see.

I don't know where
confused about how as well
just know that these things were never changed for us alone.

1,200 posts later...

Today was...early. I mean it started early. EARLY!!! Maybe 6am isn't that early, except that I went to sleep after 1am...peaceful, but insomniatic-esque.

The weekend was pretty intense, but for reasons more appropriate to conversation than bloggersation -- so call me. :)

here's a little pictoral introduction to mandy, here with ryan and lynn flowers.



Good people -- mandy was a new best friend this summer (added to the circle of love), and I miss her a lot. She's pretty fantastic.

My visa bill is huge right now -- not quite matched by my salary, but we'll see what happens. I am accepting donations, just in case you were wondering. I know money can be a burden, and I am all about lifting your burdens, friend.

love & asparagus.

welcome to the new me...err...blog.

this is...blogger beta.

it may change our lives.

i can't figure out how to put a picture of me over on the side...but we'll work it out.

mmm...it's saturday.

top 10 list of today. :)

1. hug dee in the am. love the downthehallbestfriend.
2. mmm...brush my teeth.
3. long breakfast with new friends.
4. msn the mandy. bestfriends are best.
5. nap time!! whaaaaat's happening.
6. plans! lynnae plans, jayda plans, party plans -- I love plans. Also PLANS by deathcabforcutie.
7. the sweetness of talking with zoe, heart outside my heart.
8. crisp, cold air and me walking in it! fantastic.
9. everything will be ok.
...
10. sunburst. there's a lot of cloud cover today, but as the sun is setting, it gets below the clouds and SHINES! Beautiful.

how could we not adore thee?

HELLO!

GOOD MORNING!!

O COME, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!

It's a new day -- and time to do some livin'!!!

BE BLESSED!!!

maybe i should just stick to blogging...?

I found this in the blog archives...at first I thought I must've quoted it, but it appears that I wrote it myself.

Sweet.

a beautiful letdown:

We can't write people off just because they don't "know" Christ. It is often those who haven't been taught how to think about God who think, speak, feel and live him the most profoundly. At times, it is the burden of theology, exegeting and hermeneuting, which keeps us from true intimacy, and simple truths.

We can say that God works in mysterious ways, as long as those ways don't include too much wine and cigarettes, dirt and skateshops, mess and ugliness. There is richness in a life lived in the chaos of grace, and a wealth in amongst the potholes of a difficult road. That's where the view is the best--when you come to the right spot in a valley, where you can see the sunrise, and realize that your eyes may be the first to see this part of evaporating night.

Maybe there is more redemption in a sunrise than in seeing eyes.

We take too much credit for building and deciphering this mystery. Really, it is the truth being revealed to us, little by little. Through a tattoo, or a spoken word, a prophet or a manic street preacher, a parmedic or a concrete pourer--he can speak and appear anywhere, in and through anyone. For his purposes cannot be cut off, or his voice and power silenced.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there IS freedom. Relax and be relieved that you don't have to worry about where that is.

HEY!

YEAH YOU!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

You are the proud owner of a HOROPTER!!

WOOHOO!!!!

a good high school memory!?

I had a friend in high school named ryan. We were in acting and stagecraft together, I think in grades 11 and 12. He had transferred from another school, and was this totaly bad ass, but we had a sweet friendship.

I don't really remember how or when it started, but I know we had a lot of fun in class together, learning how to build sets, and totally screwing up, and hoping that nobody fell through out platforms. Well, that was mostly me, and he'd fix my mistakes.

There are a couple of memories I have that are really precious though, and I'm thankful for them (because high school rememberances are generally not all that fond for me).

The one I'll share here happened just after I performed my one-woman-show (Grade 12 final acting project). It was so intense guys -- I'm not sure I even kept the script. It was a daring write for me, because I dove into dark places in my heart and mind, and wrote a script that frightened even me. It was the first time in my life where I laid myself bare, and the only time that I've done so with such intensity, and in front of an audience.

I didn't rehearse the piece, even though it had a dance component -- I knew exactly what it would be like. I knew it so deeply, and I just went onstage and did it.

When I finished, I was weeping, and when I walked off stage, ryan was there and...he was there.

I haven't seen him in years, and although I would love to, I'm ok with him being a friend from high school. I hadn't thought about him for a while, but sometimes it's good to remember the good stuff.