THEORY PLACEMENT

Ok.

So.

Music theory.

Haha.

No.

True story. I took my music theory placement tests today, which included both written and aural theory. Both of which were somewhat sucky. Now, I'm not saying that I'm some grand master of music theory, but I legitimately thought that I could work my way through a theory test and get maybe half of the questions right and then figure out the rest for myself.

But no. Because college music theory is much different from the rest of music theory that I've ever actually used. For instance, there are these things called modes, which are scales with different steps. I sort of learned them this summer but immediately forgot them upon returning to school. Basically, there is a mode for every note in the C-major (or A-minor!) scale, played on just white keys. For instance, a D scale played ONLY ON WHITE KEYS is a Dorian mode.

But here's what I want to know... WHY?!?!?!?!

I really doubt that there is a single song written with the Dorian mode in mind. Last time I checked, songs are written in major or minor keys. Nothing else.

Perhaps it's the frustration of failure talking, but I obviously failed both tests. Luckily, however, I automatically will default into Theory 101... there is no remedial class that I have to take... thanks to the good lord Jesus. So even if I failed every question (which I didn't... I did well on scales and basic chords... and maybe intervals), I won't have to pay. The instructor did say, however, that "basic theory" will be quickly reviewed in the first two days of the semester. Depending on what he defines as "basic," those two days may be stressful.

I'm beginning to think that being a music major is definitely not going to be quite as easy as I had anticipated.

Less Difficulties

Well, I'm all moved into the dorm. And now it's 7:35 am and I'm already getting up early for orientation shenanigans. Wait. LET ME TELL YOU OF THE CONFUSIONS OF COLLEGE.

So, I get an email from one of the music admins saying that they're looking forward to seeing me at the "Dean's Breakfast" this morning... which I assume is specifically for Frost School of Music students. But then I get my orientation schedule, and instead I'm listed as being at the BankOne United Center (basically their big auditorium... Obama apparently has spoken there) for something else Frost-related. Essentially, I'm hoping that they're the same thing.

Anyway.... moving in was fairly painless. We had to park a while away, but we managed to pile my entire life into one cart and drag it across campus. In the heat. And humidity. Which I keep telling myself I'll get used to.

Luckily, we were able to get our way in before my roommate, Dominic (who is actually used to Floridian heat) showed up, so we managed not to get in each other's way, which was probably good for starting a healthy roommate-ship.

(Is that a word? I feel like it is.)

And now I've woken up and experienced my first dorm shower experience. (There was like, no one in there... that was pleasant. haha.) And now I hopefully will find out if the Frost School thing is the same thing as the "Dean's Breakfast." I hope that it is, because I'm taking my roommate... and hopefully I'm not leading him astray. haha.

COLLEGE HAS STARTED!!! :D :D :D

In What is Perhaps the Most Difficult Non-College College Experience I've Had So Far...

So... I haven't blogged in a while, which is really a shame, because the internet community really needs to hear my every whimsical thought in order to function as a whole. Seriously. Without my interference, I doubt that the Internet would still exist. True story.

Anyway.

I move into college tomorrow. I feel like I haven't blogged about my feelings of leaving for college enough. It is definitely a mixture of good and bad feelings, but after leaving my house this morning (at 5am, mind you), I felt like I was ready to take on the world.

Though let me tell you, I might have just been through the most difficult day-before-college experience of my entire life today. Allow me to outline the entire experience in excruciating detail for your entertainment.

So we arrive at Ft. Lauderdale International Airport (we flew in through there because it was cheaper than flying straight through to Miami International... plus it's only about 40 minutes away). We obviously did not want to have to ship a whole bunch of stuff, and so we decided to do a lot of shopping here. Hey, there are Wal-Marts everywhere, right?

WELL NOT IN FLORIDA.

My dad's phone kept taking us to what my mom and I later christened as the "Invisible Wal-Marts." On two separate occasions, my dad's phone found a Wal-Mart in the area (about 5-6 miles away) and then proceeded to take us to a place that contained not such Wal-Mart. The first time, it took us to the exterior of what appeared to be a shopping mall. We figured that there wasn't a Wal-Mart inside the shopping mall (not that I'm judging Floridian architects) and so we took a guess that there maybe had once been a Wal-Mart there that had, since then, been removed in order to place a shopping mall there. A bit of a far guess, but we went on.

Well, after that, we found another Wal-Mart on my dad's phone, which then proceeded to take us into the middle of a seedy-looking residential area... with no Wal-Mart. Apparently, the invisible Wal-Mart was on top of two small houses. An excellent disguise, but I have to wonder what Wal-Mart's management teams are thinking. Surely if they're disguised, they can't generate a whole lot of revenue.

Finally, we give up and start taking I-95-- the main highway that takes us from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami and Coral Gables (the actual location of the college)-- south in hopes of finding a Wal-Mart to the side. At this point, I've started texting my roommate desperately asking him if he knows the area. He was able to locate a few Wal-Marts and Targets in the Coral Gables area, so we started heading in the direction of those. Then, as we're heading south, we suddenly see a Wal-Mart to the right... and then miss the exit for that Wal-Mart. So, we decide to just take another exit and back-track. Unfortunately, the next exit was for another highway (just a side thought: Florida has a lot of state highways. Like all connected in this cornucopia of state highways, all of which have speed limits of 50 mph at the highest, and all the old people drive about 20 under.)

But we finally find our way into the Wal-Mart, which, for the record, was very difficult to deal with. It had quite a messy organization and was not entirely easy to navigate through. To top this all off, we were in a heavy Spanish-speaking area, and very few of the management was actually fluent in English. So, even with my Spanish-speaking skills, it was difficult to navigate through. For instance, how do you say "printer" in Spanish? Hold on a second, I'm curious. Let me go check.

It's "impresora."

Anyway.

So we finally are checking out after having spent about two hours finding every little thing I might ever need in four years of college. We are finally all scanned through... and my parents' bloody credit cards aren't working. NOT A SINGLE ONE.

Seriously. Visa, MasterCard, Discover... all from three different banks. None of them worked. My dad's debit card didn't work. We even tried writing a check... it didn't go through. And obviously, we didn't have the cash to pay for such an inordinate amount of paraphernalia.

Essentially, God didn't want me to check out.

And so, we finally get the Discover people on the phone, and we get that card validated for use in Florida. Keep in mind, also, that I was serving as the translator between my parents and the management at this Wal-Mart, who spoke in very broken English. And then, for some reason, we have to SCAN EVERYTHING AGAIN.

WHAT.

And so finally we go through scanning everything again, and PRAISE THE SWEET GOD JOSEPH AND MARY AND THE DISCIPLES AND BLESSED ALLAH AND THE PRECOCIOUS BUDDHA IT WORKED. And we finally get out and head to the hotel.

But, despite this harrowing experience from which I probably never will fully recover, I am way way WAYYYYY excited to be moving in tomorrow. The next chapter of my life is starting... the rest of my life is starting... etc etc. I sound like a Hallmark card.

(Interesting thing about Hallmark cards... they make cards for literally every occasion. I've learned this based on experiences with certain theater kids who I hope will read this.)

I'm naturally a bit nervous. But I'm also really excited because Florida has palm trees.

(That was a big selling point for me.)

So I'm sure I'll update you on that later. Stay faithful, my four faithful bloggees.

Future Status: Secured

Well, it's decided-- I will be enrolling at the University of Miami in the fall as a Vocal Performance major. And I must tell you, it's all very exciting.

I came back last Wednesday from an impromptu visit to the UM campus, and I've gotta tell you-- it's a great campus at a great location... with a great climate... and a great program. What's not to like? It's also out of state, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't itching (at least a little bit) to go to undergrad out of state. Earlier, I may have mentioned that I definitely wanted to go to grad school out of state, but I neglected to mention I wouldn't mind taking undergrad, either.

I hope that anyone who reads this who was hoping I'd go to Colorado State University (which was where I was most likely headed before I got the full-ride scholarship offer... it is, by the way, guaranteed as long as I maintain a 3.0 GPA) understands that this was an offer that I simply couldn't refuse. As far as college rankings go, UM is listed at #29 nationally as a music school, and I have been overall impressed with the teaching staff there (the head of the vocal department herself called me personally and talked to me for a solid 20 minutes over the phone-- that says something to me.) Saying good-bye to CSU is very difficult for me, because I have really familiarized myself with the program and instructors, and I know that I would get a good education there. However, I also know I'll be getting a good education at UM as well, and the winter there will be much less painful that the charmingly bone-shaking winters of Colorado.

(Another note about location-- I've had a lot of people tell me to be careful, because Miami is a "rough" city. UM is actually located in Coral Gables, which is considered by many as the nicest suburb of Miami, and I asked a few students when I was there if they ever felt threatened as far as their security goes. They laughed at the thought. I can't help but think that it's a similar situation to southern Thornton-- I was warned I'd get shot at THS.)

And looking ahead four more years into the future, I'm thinking of the San Francisco Conservatory for my MM. That or the Manhattan School of Music. Or grad school at a non-conservatory university.

But that's stuff I'll worry about in 2014. For now, I'll enjoy the security of knowing what my future looks like for the next four years.

Until later, my faithful blog readers (all four of you), I bid you adieu.

Full Ride? WHATTT.

Well, it's not set in stone, but I couldn't help but blog about the latest development in my life. So, here's the basic story.

In chemistry today, we weren't doing anything because we had a sub and I had already done the assigned worksheet (which, by the by, was technically homework), and so I started playing around on my phone. And when I started playing around on my phone I saw a little notification stating that I had an email from the University of Miami.

I figured it was one of the many emails colleges send to try and persuade you to come to their school, but two words caught my eye: "FINANCIAL AID."

Now, again, I wasn't expecting much, because I have gotten absolutely squat as far as need-based financial aid goes. But I thought maybe there was an academic scholarship somewhere within this financial aid notification.

And lo and behold, I pulled up the link the email gave me and kind of screamed in the middle of chemistry class (luckily, there was a sub, and she wasn't paying much attention-- if she left a note stating that I was misbehaving, I'm sure Ms. Robertson will understand my reaction.) Miami is offering me an annual $24000 scholarship for academics, and then an additional (possibly) annual grant of $15654, which adds up to an inordinate sum of $39654. (PS THAT'S EXACTLY the 2011-2012 TUITION. OMGGGGGGG)

The only thing that is scary is that the Miami Grant (which apparently is also academic-based, not need-based) is not necessarily guaranteed-- it all depends on whether they are able to find funds to get that to me, and in the struggling economy, nothing can be guaranteed. The good news is that the $24000 is guaranteed, so that's a nice blanket. However, at this point, it's gotta be a full ride or I'm not going. I don't mean to sound posh, but nothing short of a full ride will beat CSU's current offer.

There's also the case of a potential vocal scholarship. According to an email I received, I should be receiving information about a vocal scholarship shortly. Now, that might be outed by the grant (after all, what else are they going to pay? Room and board?), but if the grant doesn't go through then I still might have a vocal scholarship. It really all depends.

Apparently, I'm supposed to hear within a week whether the grant will go through all four years. If it does, then there's really no question that Miami is the winner, unless I can convince CSU or DU to get me more money. :)

Also, I feel obligated to mention that NYU has offered me a grand total of $8000, meaning that I would have to slave away the rest of my life to pay on loans. So that's, unfortunately, out of the equation (though, in case you're still keeping track of my rankings, NYU is now ahead of St. Olaf and Capital University; for the moment, I'm saying that CSU and Miami are tied.) I can't say I'm too surprised, but I was hoping for a better package from my dream school. However, I certainly can't complain at the thought of living in Miami for four years. No snow... no cold things... the humidity would be pretty bad, but I would hopefully get used to it. And its music school is (at least, according to Wikipedia... I haven't found any actual backing to this claim yet) ranked in the top 25 schools in the country, so I have no doubt that I would get a good education, especially considering how much I would be able to put into the program, since I'm pursuing a degree that I will love.

So right now, I'm kind of at a difficult crossroad. And I have less than a month to decide where I'll spend the next four years of my life. Wish me luck.

On Being Professional

The title is, of course, an excellent use of hyperbole. I still don't consider myself a professional anything... with the possible exception of professional dogsitter. But I had a really great experience today and I felt the impulse to blog about it. (I go in and out of blog spells, apparently. I still am yet to match September's 17 posts. I obviously had little to do then.)

So my family and I drove up to Ft. Collins today to the somewhat obscure Avogadro's Number Restaurant. (I KNOW! What a cool name! Unfortunately, its address is 605 Mason St. in Ft. Collins, when Avogadro's Number is roughly 6.02 x 10²³, so the numberin

g is a bit off... but maybe its owner was just a chem major at CSU (something that I, for the record, will never be), or a big nerd (something that I, for the record, have always been.)

But I'm getting ahead of myself. This is not a blog about chemistry, but about the joys of singing.

So, anyway, I had my first paying gig, receiving a whopping $25 for my singing ability. This was the first time I was given money for singing in a non-artistic setting. (Though I have accompanied on piano for money, but that wasn't performance... after all, the singer is the main attraction.) But I sang three songs:

Non piu andrai, by Mozart (from the opera The Marriage of Figaro)

Chiquitita la Novia, by Fernando Obradors (fro

m a collection of traditional Spanish songs called Coplas de Carro Dulce)

Our Great Mikado, Virtuous Man, by Gilbert and Sullivan (from the operetta The Mikado)

And I frankly thought they were highly entertaining. The other singers were great as well. And, at the end, I got this lovely little honorarium for my troubles:

It is only $25, which (at least, hopefully) will eventually be like a drop in the bucket of the millions of dollars I'll be making as a vocal performer. But it's just kind of special, because I have never gotten money for singing outside of a competition setting. Just for performing. It feels kind of cool.

The performance's purpose was to honor those who had finalled in the Colorado regional Classical Singer Competition, something that only eight students in the state were invited to do. For those of you following my vocal pursuits, this is the competition that is taking me to LA this summer along with my best duet partner Hillary Thompson, who is amazing as well. It's also the same competition that sent me to New York last year, so this is the second year I've participated in the second round (hopefully, though, this year I'll make it a bit farther... last year I think I was disqualified because I was never told that I needed to have more than one piece prepared-- the website was fairly unclear. This year, of course, I know better.) I'm just as excited this year (even though LA isn't quite New York... haha) and I really hope I get far enough to at least garner some scholarship money. We'll see.

Well, at any rate, I have $25. :D That will pay for lunch at college... for a week. Maybe. Or maybe a few trips to Starbucks. Like now. Or I can spend it on clothes... I could buy more vests. But you know what? It's my money that I earned, so I can buy whatever I want!

(Well, as long as whatever I want falls within the price of $25.)

The Joy of Installing Ovens... Among Other Things

So today was an interesting day.

Last week, my dad decided that it was time to put in a new oven. Because apparently the oven we've been using for the last 14 years can't cook a turkey, and obviously, since we are proud middle-class citizens of the United States of America, the inability to cook a turkey, arguably one of the most patriotic animals that is allowed to be slaughtered and eaten (obviously bald eagles are not exempted from such a status because of the whole "eating and slaughtering" thing, though not necessarily in that order. But I digress.)

And so, my parents, being the absolute darlings they are, decide that we won't get the oven professionally installed. No, after all, they have two "strapping young lads" (and that's a direct quote, mind you) to help carry in and install ovens and other kitchen items. And for the second time in this blog's history, we turn to the magic of the dictionary:

strapping [ˈstræpɪŋ]

adj

(prenominal) tall and sturdy

[from strap (in the archaic sense: to work vigorously)]

Now, I am certainly tall, but I'm not exactly "sturdy." I am certainly the least masculine person in the family, with the possible exception of my mother. And I'm not really an excellent person at such activities as heavy lifting, which this task required a lot of. There was first the heavy lifting of the original oven, which was already considerably large, as ovens are apt to be. And then the new oven, which was like three hundred times (and this is, I must confess, a rough estimate) heavier, and of course a much worse thing to drop on the ground. If we drop the old oven on the ground, who cares, it's an old oven, but the new $1500 oven (which my parents considered a steal- I see it as a chunk of my college fund... haha. But again I'm digressing. All I'm saying is that if it truly was a steal it wouldn't be a big deal if I dropped it and broke it) would of course break and then I'm sure I could have to at least partially contribute to a new oven. And while I have money saved up for college spending money, I don't have enough to throw into a new oven.

And after all that, we still haven't completely put the oven in. It's just awkwardly standing in the kitchen next to a gaping hole where the old oven used to be. It's connected, so in theory we could probably use it as a real oven... it just happens to be a giant block in the middle of the kitchen, which, if left alone, could lead to stubbed toes, angry words, and a body count-- three things that are undoubtedly and equally unpleasant. So, tomorrow (which, I might remind you, is the Christian day of rest... plus it's already Lent. So unorthodox), the strapping young lads will assist their father in sliding this giant piece of machinery into a wall and hoping to the good lord Jesus Christ (it will be Sunday after all-- I must find some way to spiritually engage myself) that it fits.

Also today, I learned that I am definitely and completely incapable of driving a manual stickshift in a car. It's pretty much impossible, so I'm glad that my car is an automatic. Because if it wasn't, I'd... probably be able to drive a stickshift by now. Hmmm. Bad argument. But my brother (who just passed his permit test Friday) and I were learning at the same time, which is not a good combination. I, of course, am much too dependent on the automatic gears, having driven them for the past three years, and so it is understandable that this sudden change would be so... well... sudden.

However, I closed up the day video chatting with my dear friend Ali "Sunshine" Bongiardina over Skype, in which we discussed several hot topics such as abortion, theatre, and college. I also managed to fall out of my chair mid-conversation and was laughed at. My hamster, Fiyero, also partook in the conversation as a silent third party, which was quite pleasant as well. And then that ended, which was sad. My internet kept phasing in and out during the conversation, though, which made for some awkward pauses and difficulties. And then Ali, in the middle of a pleasant conversation, decided that she was going to get food and left me at the altar... or rather... computer, all alone without any love in the world. But luckily, my internet finally stopped being stupid and we went like a full hour without any issues, which was pleasant. It has really reminded me of how much I miss being with my NYT friends, who I just don't get to see as often, which is quite sad.

But while discussing life with Ali, I learned that the CenterStage Theatre Company (located in Boulder-- political friends of mine probably know my feelings about the city... haha) is putting on Titanic: The Musical (yes, there is such a thing, and no it's not based on the movie) this summer, so I'm considering auditioning for that. After all, my goal this years was to participate in five musical productions, and right now I've only gotten four (including Chess), and since Sound of Music with NYT didn't work out, I need to get some last show in before I head to college. Especially if I go to CSU, because they don't do a lot of musical theatre stuff. They do a lot of opera and Gilbert and Sullivan, but they don't do a lot of musical theatre, which is, of course, my first love in the theatre. So I've gotta work in as much as I can. Four productions is just not going to cut it, I'm afraid. So I'm considering that. The only problem is, of course, the location. Frequent rehearsals throughout the summer could be difficult to work with, as I'd be driving to and from Boulder every time I go there, but I have almost the entire summer off-- I'm just unavailable one weekend to go to LA for the Classical Singer Competition (Par-TAY in L-AY!), so if that weekend is when auditions/callbacks are, I'm screwed. But I can certainly hope.

But anyway, all six of my faithful readers, that's all in the life of Eric for today. Still no important scholarship offers from NYU or Miami, and I certainly can't expect any more mail until Monday... and of course school starts back up again after that. Gah. But tomorrow I will be participating in my first ever paying gig at a restaurant in Ft. Collins. (A company, Arias@Avos, is honoring the Classical Singer Finalists for Colorado, of which I am one, at a dinner tomorrow. And I'm being paid a $25 honorarium. Sure, I make more money dog-sitting, but this is indeed the first time I'm being paid to sing (excluding, of course, the times I've won money for vocal competitions), so that's a nice step in the right direction. I can never say my vocal abilities amounted to nothing now! I've got $25 to say the opposite. :)

So that's it, for now. If you haven't heard yet, I'm playing Molokov in the THS Choir's version of the hit musical Chess on April 27th at 6:00pm. Be there or be squared. It's going to be ridiculously AWESOME. :D