November 11-12

       I'm so glad I took my Ferris Bueller's Day Off on Wednesday because the weather took a turn for the worst on Thursday. When I saw the rain out my window and heard the crazy wind tossing everything around outside, I smiled to myself and thought, "Good decision yesterday. Who knows, that might have been the last bright and sunshiny day you will have in England." (I hope not).
       Thursday I had class in the morning as usual, and then I sent a bunch of "I need help!" emails to various faculty. Waiting things out has worked so far, but I'm getting a bit nervous about not being prepared for my assessments. That afternoon, I stayed in my room, started re-reading "Titus Andronicus" for my Shakespeare class because I am going to write a paper on it. Also, in order to prepare for Messiah rehearsal that evening, I needed to listen through as much of the score as possible. As I think I have mentioned before, neither of these activities are exactly captivating. I bet you can guess what comes next . . . that's right. A nap. I zoned out while listening to the Messiah, and went to rehearsal soon after I woke up. Thankfully, I got to sit next to the girl who knows what's she's doing, so I felt much better about Handel and his "This will kick you in the butt AND in the throat with its difficulty, but you can't complain too much because it's called MESSIAH" score. Somehow, my technique must have been better also because my throat didn't hurt nearly as much after rehearsal as it did the previous 2 weeks. Finally - some relief! I didn't feel like slamming the score on the ground or throwing it against the wall this week.
       Friday, I had Composition and Musicianship again. That is the only responsibility I have on Fridays, so I actually get to feel that TGIF feeling that I haven't had since I started working for Starbucks! It is so nice to think, "Tomorrow's Saturday. I can sleep in, AND I don't have to work!" Well, I have homework, but not working the Friday and Saturday closing shifts at Starbucks is SOOOO awesome! I'm so glad to be out of there! That said, I still busted my butt in a practice room for 2 whole hours yesterday working through music theory stuff like practicing my scales, cadences, intervals, etc. When I got back to my room, I had the rest of the gnocci that I forgot to mention I made for dinner on Thursday. YUM! Then I turned on some Louis Armstrong, and just plain relaxed for a little while. Earlier in the day, a maintenence guy had come to paint my door because it had been recently replaced and needed painting to match the rest of the doors in the hall. (I liked the natural wood color :( ). But I didn't have a say in the matter, so he painted it and consequently filled my room and the hall with the toxic scent of chemicals. It was so strong that I actually wondered, "Am I gonna get high from this?" (I didn't). Even though it was cold outside, I opened my window to let the fumes seep out. It didn't work very well, and I couldn't completely enjoy my nap because of the potent paint smell. Yuck. Just for the record, he did a lousy paint job. I could have done it better myself.
       After relaxing for a bit and finally getting rid of the mysterious headache I had had all day, I went to the gym! I guess everyone else had better things to be doing than exercising, so I had the gym all to myself. It was awesome! I spent over 1.5 hours there, and felt very worn out but fantastic afterwards. Even since sophomore year when I got my gym membership, I have always wanted to get into ideal shape for the summer months. Who doesn't? Usually, I am so busy with school, church and Starbucks, that the gym gets pushed to the side. With Starbucks out of the picture, I really hope I can kick this fitness thing into gear this time around. I'm starting early, and I hope I don't run out of steam so quickly this time! Bikini - bring it on!
       Last night I did some more homework and went to sleep early instead of writing this blog or otherwise being productive. Before falling asleep lately, I have found myself praying that God would protect me from nightmares. I don't know why I am so prone to dreaming, but I find that praying about the nightmare thing really helps. Reading "Titus Andronicus" before going to sleep doesn't improve my chances of peaceful dreams. If I remember correctly, it is Shakespeare's most violent work. Really, it's grotesque. I won't go into the details, but I will say that I didn't have any nightmares about it last night! Thank you Jesus.

Prayer Request of the Day: That I would get the help I need with my classes.