yeah...i know....

....it's been too long since i've updated. sorry.

so i'm in the 2nd week of my sophomore year of my masters degree. here's how the semester looks.

monday:
8a late music history review
9a aural theory review
1:30p lesson with Lenthe
6:30p masterclass

tuesday:
8a aural theory drill
2:30p band rehearsal (yep, i said band, i'll explain below)

wednesday:
8a late music history review
9a aural theory review
2:30p band
4p orchestral rep section with colin & Lenthe

thursday:
8a aural theory drill
2:30p band rehearsal

friday:
8a late music history review
9a aural theory review
2:30p band

inbetween all of that is practicing, going to the gym, eating, sleeping, and, oh yeah....studying.

so far i haven't missed a single 8am class, which is more than i can say for last semester. our music history teacher is, to put it nicely, hard to follow at times. she's a very nice lady, but at 8 o'clock in the morning, the 500+ "ums" and "uhhs" i endure distract the learning just a lil bit. i try to spend class making note cards for the upcoming quizzes and tests. it worked for the first one because i got a 30/29. i could have gotten a 31/29 but somehow missed out on a point somewhere in bs-ing of pergolesi's "la serva padrona." (3 points for the person who can remember what that opera is about.)

aural theory is pretty kick awesome, believe it or not. the teacher is really cool and good at what he does. dare i say he's dr. smith good. if you know who dr. smith is you get a point too. i'm actually surprised at how well i can hear things now. i never used to be this good at aural theory but it's coming quite easily now. i'm pretty sure that if i took that entrance exam today i'd pass with flying colors, just based on what i've brushed up on in these two weeks. it's okay that i didn't pass, however, because i'm actually enjoying this class...which is more than i can say for almost everyone else in there.

so i mentioned above that i'm playing in a band. i also mentioned nothing of an orchestra. that's because i completely blew my audition and did not place in an orchestra this semester. that's the bad news. the good news is that i'm so incredibly motivated to practice right now that my face feels like it's going to fall off at the end of everyday. honestly, a fire has been lit under my ass and i almost feel that same motivation i felt when i was a freshman at eau claire. those of you who knew me then know what i'm talking about. i don't think yardlebot (damn i miss sean solberg) will come back in full force, but i'm definitely back to the grind.

ok, so colin is watching family guy in the other room and i'm havin' a hard time concentrating on what i'm writing. i also have an aural theory quiz tomorrow at 8a and should try to get some rest. sorry for the lack of an interesting update. i'll do better next time.

love,
james