January 30, 2014 · 11:19 pm

Routine

Hey, you. It’s been a while. A longer while than I care to admit.

The thing is, lately I’ve been feeling like I’ve got nothing to say. The first two years of my degree, I felt like everything was new and worth sharing, and now, well, it all just feels routine. Uninteresting. Not worth reporting. I’ve got my good times and bad times, fun times and boring times, but I sort of feel like I’ve got this university thing down and sometimes I forget that maybe the everyday life of a university student might actually be of interest.

A quick update, then. My room mate has decided she will be moving out next year. It’s not that we got into fights, or can’t stand each other’s habits, it’s just that at the moment she’s sleeping in the living room and doesn’t like it anymore. Can’t blame her, but I’ll definitely miss her. I’ll either be getting a new room mate or a cat next year, depending on if someome I know gets in to UBC and wants to forgo res.

I’m leaving for Belgium in about two weeks (OH MY GOSH!) and I’ve got a lot to do before then. Sign up on the registry, photocopy my passport, get foreign currency, inform the back I’ll be using my credit card overseas, pack, practice practice practice…

There is also a bunny living in my place right now. It belongs to my friend whose landlord doesn’t allow pets. It’s very cute, but also pretty messy… I don’t think I’ll be too sorry when it leaves.

I’ve also been eating out a lot this year. There are a lot of cool places in Vancouver that are pretty cheap, so you should get out there and try some!

Oh, I also have a Work Study job as an usher for school of music concerts, did I mention that? I should make a post about it some time.

Well, it’s been nice catching up with you. Hopefully I’ll be talking to you again soon!

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December 14, 2013 · 9:48 am

Some Fun Things

It occurs to me that I haven’t been blogging much this year; I think that once you’re in the third year of something, everything you do becomes somewhat commonplace and I’ve forgotten that this stuff might be interesting to people outside of my own head. That is, everyone. I promise there is no one else inside my head.

This term I’ve gotten to do some pretty fun things because of my coursework! Here are a few:

  • Trying out songwriting in my creative writing class.
  • Playing a concert at the Vancouver Convention Centre with the UBC Symphony orchestra and broadway star Elaine Page.
  • Arranging Silver Bells for a brass ensemble for my instrumentation class – and then actually getting to hear it performed.
  • Playing a percussion piece which involved hitting trash bins.
  • Playing electro-acoustic music which involves waving my arms around and hearing cool noises that I control.

I’m not actually taking that many courses right now, so here’s some fun things I’ve done outside of class:

  • Meet a world-class harpist from Belgium and attend her workshop.
  • Be a MUG leader for Imagine Day.
  • Man a booth at Clubs Days.
  • Work on campus – have I mentioned that I love my job and all my coworkers and my boss? I’ll write a post about it some time.
  • Try out a new restaurant in Vancouver pretty much every week.
  • Learn how to play Settlers of Catan.

The UBC life is a good life; the challenge now is not to get complacent about it!

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November 25, 2013 · 10:30 am

Here to Learn

This past Friday, the harp students had a studio class where we all play a piece for each other, give each other constructive criticism, and there’s also a teacher there who critiques as well. I played my piece, and my classmates told me what was good, and what needed work, and that was fine. I appreciated that. Somehow, the criticism from my peers was much easier for me to handle than what came next. I wouldn’t say that the harp teacher who was there (not my harp teacher) tore me apart, and she definitely wasn’t “out to get me.” I know that all of her comments were well-meaning, and she wants me to be the best musician I can be as much as anyone else. And yet, that didn’t stop me from feeling like crap once the class was over.

The class made me feel as though I have no idea what I’m doing, artistically. Maybe this is because my teacher and the teacher at the class tend to have opposite opinions, but it still felt bad, and I honestly don’t want to practice that piece now because it makes me feel like an idiot. I also felt like all the other students had all their pieces in performance condition, when I totally do not. I felt really behind.

Over the weekend I’ve thought about it a lot, and I was reminded of my pre-kindergarten self: I was determined that I had to know how to read before I went to school. I didn’t want to be behind. So, I taught myself to read. I also wanted to know how to play piano before my first piano lesson, but my mom put her foot down on that one. But I think the effects of this Friday’s studio class are an echo of what has apparently always been ingrained in me; I want to be perfect before I even get there, to not need criticism.

Well, newsflash, this is a university. A school. A place to LEARN. If we were all perfect already we wouldn’t be here, right? You’re not expected to know everything beforehand, that’s what your teachers are HERE for. If I could finally just internalize this lesson I think I’d enjoy studio class so much more.

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November 3, 2013 · 6:03 pm

UBC IMPART

Now that two months of school have passed (see: class ends in 26 days), I can give a little insight into the Go Global group study project I’m participating in. It’s called UBC IMPART; what the acronym actually stands for I have no idea, but the basic idea is that we use various technologies and software to interact with acoustic musical performance.

Mainly what we’ve been using so far are gesture-tracking technologies, such as accelerometers, webcams, and Xbox Kinects. The programmers in the class then take the data generated by those devices to create an electronic element for the performance. For example, the sound generated by the acoustic instrument may be picked up by a microphone, and then depending on how the performer moves, the computer program could change how the sound is processed, by adding reverb or echo, etc.

It’s a really cool project, and it’s really fun to be one of the performers for the group. (I just play harp, I don’t do any programming.) It’s so neat to be able to wave my hand around and control a sound effect and hear it change based on how I move.

What’s also very exciting is that we will be travelling to Belgium in February to perform our music and share with students there. If you’d like to keep updated with the IMPART project, you can follow the blog at http://ubcimpart.wordpress.com.

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October 19, 2013 · 11:00 am

Rule No. 1: Don’t Panic

A phrase coined by Dr. Bob Pritchard which I often heard while taking MUSC 119 has become a general life motto for me lately. It’s a rule that I sort of forgot, and when I would get a tough-looking orchestra part or a new piece for Contemporary Players, I would panic and stress myself way beyond necessary, and that, you know, is a bit of a downer. And then by the next week or a few days later I’d realize that actually it isn’t a huge deal and it will be fine, it’s always fine, but I just can’t seem to learn that.

So I was at Laptop Orchestra (another class taught by Dr. Bob) when we received our next project, in which I will be learning four pieces in about four weeks. And then he said: “Rule Number One? Don’t Panic.”

Oh yeah, I though. That’s right. I forgot about that. So I didn’t panic. I was fine. I didn’t start stressing. It’s going to be totally fine, I told myself. And it will be. And then I went home and rewarded myself with leftover pumpkin pie for being so cool and collected. Go me!

It was pretty astounding how out of hand I was letting my panic get. And it’s pretty amazing what a difference it can make if you can just remember Rule Number One.

 

(Also if you are reading this, Dr. Bob, hello!)

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October 9, 2013 · 8:26 pm

A Significant Improvement

Come this Friday evening, I will be performing in the UBC Symphonic Wind Ensemble’s first concert of the year. About a year ago, I was doing the same thing. Look back at myself from that time, I’m amazed at how much improvement I’ve made in my ensemble playing skills.

Last year, I was so nervous I could barely even focus, let alone play musically. Whenever I made a mistake, I would beat myself up about it horribly, even walking home crying sometimes. That wasn’t productive for me or the ensemble. I had trouble making entrances in time, I didn’t count rests well, I was terrible at looking up at the conductor while playing, and sometimes I didn’t even have my parts properly prepared.

Since then, I’ve learned that confidence is the best thing you can do for your playing. Letting nerves get in the way just screws you over before you’ve even started playing. I also figured out that it’s OKAY to make mistakes, that’s what rehearsals are for! Everyone makes them, and no one is going to hate your guts because of it, so no reason to be nervous. I learned to deal with mistakes productively; ie. identifying the problem and fixing it without getting upset, rather than taking it way too personally and making myself unable to solve the problem. I’ve learned to always have my parts learned fully for rehearsal (seems like a no brainer, but it’s just a matter of prioritizing I somehow didn’t grasp), I count better (usually..), and I’ve gotten way better at looking up at the conductor.

It’s truly amazing what a difference a year can make! Just wait til I’m in fourth year, I’ll be unstoppable!

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September 24, 2013 · 7:15 pm

How Much is Too Much?

When it comes to involvement, I have always whole-heartedly supported the idea that getting involved really makes your time at university meaningful. Under-involvement isn’t something I’m really a fan of. But, when deciding to become involved in your university experience, how much is too much?

Well… I’m not entirely sure of that answer, at the moment. I’m sure that it’s different for everyone. I think that you have to figure out how much time you need to go to class and study while also taking good care of yourself, and the time that remains is game for extra-curricular activities. What if your course load is so heavy you don’t have any time? Well, try to do something small, something with a very small time commitment. Or do things over reading week or summer break. Get involved within your own faculty so it relates to your studies. Just avoid the “go to school, go home” trap that honestly is a total downer.

This year, I’ve upped my involvement because last year I felt like I wasn’t doing enough. This year, in addition to playing in more ensembles and having to put on a recital, I’m now the treasurer of an AMS club, I’m still blogging, I’m working a Work Study position, and I’m part of a research course that will be doing a Go Global Study Abroad trip in February. My plate is feeling very full. I’m not quite at the point of being overwhelmed just yet, and I’m hoping that if I do get to that point I can handle it. (Time management skills, FTW!) And, if I do find that I took on too much this year, I can always scale it back next year.

For now, I’ll take things one day at a time and just keep loving this experience I’m so privileged to have.

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September 19, 2013 · 8:13 pm

Budget Bytes

My room mate Christie is a beautiful and wonderful person for many reasons, but today it is because she showed me the gift to mankind that is Budget Bytes. (http://www.budgetbytes.com)

This is going to be my new favourite place to find recipes. Easy, quick, and cheap, and the photography on that site makes everything look absolutely delish. Now I have to decide what I want to make for dinner next week, because I want to make everything all at once!

I think maybe the first thing I’ll make are these Egg Florentine Quesadillas. Nom nom nom.

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September 5, 2013 · 5:07 pm

Imagine – As a MUG Leader

This year was my first time participating in Imagine Day as a MUG Leader. It was a very different experience from when I was a new student, but I’m definitely very glad I did it!

The training days on Sunday and Monday were really fun, and charged with faculty pride. Music had the best cheer! I really enjoyed the training days because it gave me a chance to get to know the other leaders from my faculty and make some connections; as a harpist, we’re sometimes a bit isolated and in the last couple years I found it difficult to make very many connections within the school. Now I have more people to wave to in the hallways!

Imagine Day itself was fantastic, as always – although we got off to a bit of a confusing start. We were told to go to rain locations, but it was only a little drizzly, and most people were just going to the sun location anyway, but eventually we found most of the people in our MUG groups and people who got mixed up were able to join up with other groups. I had a lot of fun giving the campus tour, and I think my muggies have a good knowledge of the parts of campus they’ll use often. It felt good to be able questions they had about the coming school year, to be that person with experience. I had a lovely group of mostly opera singers, and by the end of the day I felt kind of attached to them. They even gave me hugs at the end of the day! *warm fuzzies*

One thing that felt the most different to me was the pep rally. I remember it being incredibly exhilarating, hugely inspiring, and being excited and cheering as loud as I could. This time around, our faculty was kind of quiet… (come on, guys…) The main difference this time for me was the lack of awe. The speeches were moving, the presenters were great, but it didn’t have that same effect.

I think that probably this is because I knew what was coming, and also because I’ve already experienced what it’s like to be at UBC. I wasn’t the one being newly enveloped in this big magical and promising world. The way I thought of it was like a new student seeing through a straw, and then the pep rally slowly expanding their vision. This time, I already had a panoramic view, so while the pep rally was great, it didn’t feel as though I was getting a new and improved set of eyes.

However, Imagine Day left me feeling energized and excited for my own school year. The speeches given at the pep rally reminded me that UBC is really an amazing place; it’s still as amazing as I thought it was on my own Imagine Day, and that it’s up to me to make the most of my time here.

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August 29, 2013 · 9:26 pm

The Suitcase Battle

I feel like everyone moving into residence this weekend can relate to this: How do I fit my life into a single suitcase? When did I acquire this much stuff? Why do I feel like all of it is necessary to bring with me? For people moving into residence, lots of people drive and have their entire cars to fill (aka jam with as much stuff as possible). For those of us flying into Vancouver, in most cases you only get one checked bag with your ticket price.

So, once I narrow all my possessions down to everything I can cram inside my purple suitcase, the darn thing is over the weight limit. Nooooo. Cue trying to narrow it down some more. Unfortunately, taking out a few pieces of clothing and a cookbook or two isn’t going to take the weight down by fifteen pounds. (Yes, I know.) Then I proceed to try to spread everything out into my carry on as well, but naturally it doesn’t all fit.

Having lost the war with my suitcase, I move on to the next solution: Check a second bag. Yes, it only costs $20 extra, but it will be difficult to carry with my carry-on luggage. (No one is coming to meet me at the airport.) Well, I was probably going to be taking a taxi anyway. Thank goodness I have a wonderful room mate who will help me carry my things into the building.

Even with the problem solved, I am still astounded at how much stuff I have acquired. I’m amazed at how much clothing I have, and how I can’t seem to let myself leave much of it behind. (Though I still don’t have nearly as many shoes as my room mate.) It’s weird, isn’t it? How our lives become an accumulation of possessions? Somehow this suddenly became philosophical.

How about you? Did you have an epic battle with your suitcase/trunk/moving boxes? Let me know in comments :)

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