Dorm Room/Storage Unit

Its not a good sign when the people that work at the Container Store recognize you and know your name. But since there is basically nowhere else to go here for more "modern" looking furniture, at least that I know of, the container store is it. I have spent more money that I had ever planned to there...but now I have three sets of Elfa drawers...two in the bedroom that function as a dresser (with wheels on the bottom) and one in the bathroom that functions as a...well...bathroom dresser.

I visited the container store again today and bought a Janus "dorm-room set" which is basically a lot of wires and shelves that you can arrange however your little heart desires (pictured above). I thought that I would need tons and tons of shelves...but apparently I have big shelf eyes...because I am nearly done unpacking all of my boxes, and barely any of the shelves are filled. I'm not concerned however, because the shelf looks cool, and I can come up with plenty of stuff to fill it with.

Thanks to the very smart people that work at the container store, my parents and I where directed to a wonderful store by the name of Garden Ridge...where you can find any and every kind of home furnishing for very very little money. I am now the proud owner of black table and four chairs for under $200. One of the chairs already kind of fell apart...but the other three are going strong.

The container store people also directed us to Hank's Fine Furniture...where I made my most exciting purchase of all...a leather couch!! I'm still trying to grasp the fact that I can actually afford something like a leather couch now (or a piece of furniture at all, for that matter)...but, in about two weeks from now, this couch will be arriving at my apartment...and it will be mine to use!!

And I'm still waiting for my bed...cough cough...IKEA?? Is anybody home? I'm waiting for all of my furniture to arrive, so I can decide where to put my art up...because that makes a big difference, right? I'm sure that once I put the art up, it will really start looking like a real apartment where somebody actually lives...right now it looks like a dorm room/storage unit.

I'm still not off my high from the Met Opening Night yet...I've been listening to Manon all day...and humming it in the car when I've been driving places (I just uploaded it to my iPod, so I can bring it with me tomorrow)...my recording is with Beverly Sills...so its kind of amazing...omg. I think since last night I may have become a big opera fan...how cheesy and random is that?

Here We Go

Moving to a new place...even if you've been there for the past two years...is not very easy. It looks like I'm finally going to be able to move into my apartment this afternoon...after much trouble from my previous residence of two years (my new landlord needed to check my references, and they made me bring over a signed release statement and then they needed him to send them the questions in writing so they could respond...totally ridiculous!!) I'm so happy to finally be done (hopefully forever) with that horrible building.

Next on taps...actually moving in this afternoon...not a complete move-in, but all the stuff from my car and maybe a few boxes from storage. I don't have a ton of time today, since I am leaving tomorrow for an audition...I'll get a little settled and then probably practice more tonight. I'm totally cramming for this audition, so I've already written it off as just another "audition experience" under my belt...I think I'm probably going to chicken out of next week's Alabama Symphony audition, and just concentrate on Milwaukee...

Hello!!

Ok, I'm seriously going to start writing more often in here...mainly because I have a lot of exciting stuff coming up to write about...and a lot of semi-exciting stuff that has happened recently...well, maybe not that exciting at all really...As you read in the previous post, I am now officially done with school...I walked at graduation and everything, so its really official...for real. And I got my first A+ ever in a class (well it was in lessons with Mr. Fischer...so...um...yeah) I've never gone to a school where an A+ was a real grade (A was always the highest)...so my last semester of school ever I got an A+...go me? I guess its not really that big a deal.

After that I went into a very anti-social phase...I had to move out of my apartment on May 15th...which also happened to be the day that I auditioned for the sublist of the Houston Grand Opera. So, for about two days beforehand Mira and Steph lived at my apartment and helped me pack and move everything...and we watched the first two seasons of Weeds when we were taking breaks. I got everything all packed and moved into a newly rented storage space...and I successfully auditioned for the HGO sublist...not the greatest audition ever played in the history of time...but there were some very good things going on (most notably my Dvorak...which was MUCH better than it normally is)...and I love playing the solo from Tosca, so that went pretty well...although I did miss a pretty easy shift...but I guess things like that happen.

Mr. Volvo is at the hospital for a few weeks getting some things checked up and tuned up and fixed up and all that good stuff...so I am now in Houston without a car and without an apartment. Which is very strange.

But its all ok because I'm leaving tomorrow (Sunday) morning for Los Angeles where I will be rehearsing 27 hours a day on a bunch of cool/badass contemporary music with friends such as Kimberly, Alison, and Ply (and two people who I have yet to meet, but most likely will tomorrow since I will be rehearsing with them). We will be playing a concert in LA on my birthday (May 24th) and then driving up to Oregon to do a masterclass and a concert in Ashland. Of course this is a concert trip/vacation for me...so there will be a side trip to San Francisco (to see Meta, buy a cheap bow and look at cellos) and another side trip to Portland to drink wine and hang out with Kimberly...

Then its back to Houston for two days to do nothing...and then I'm driving to Tanglewood...but thats later and I'm not gonna think about it now.