Becka tagged me. So I guess that means I'm 'It.'

Four Jobs I've Had:
1) I worked in a coffee shop one summer
2) I have babysat a great deal
3) I write help files, user manuals, and newsletters for my Dad's company, Autometrix. I also designed the most recent icons for his software. They are cool and you can see some examples in this post.
4) I teach violin and piano lessons. I also play gigs for money whenever I can.

Four Places I've Lived:
1) I was born somewhere in Southern California
2) I grew up in Nevada City, California - one of the most beautiful places in the world.
3) I attended Biola University in La Mirada, California
4) Then I attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois
5) I have to add number five so that I can say that this May, I will graduate from Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. Then I'll probably live nearby for a while. (After all these colleges, you'd think I'd have a terminal degree by now...hah.)

Four Vacations I've Taken:
1) Camping trips at Fallen Leaf Lake with family and friends - a grand old tradition.
2) A vacation with my family to a cabin in Sierra City
3) Music camp at Mount Holyoke college in Massachusetts
4) Um, does choir tour count? Or does visiting friends over Spring break count? I've been to NY, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Indiana, Washington D.C., Delaware, and many more... plus all the states I've just driven through 'en route.'

Four Vehicles I've Owned:
1) I drove my grandparents' old Buick in high school
2) I now own a 2002 Saturn
3) uhh, that's it.
4) um...

Four Bloggers I'd Like to Tag:
Uhh.
Cara.
Kate.
That's all for now, folks.

A Witticism From FavoriteBoy

Tinker Bell: You know that place between sleep and awake...?

FavoriteBoy: "Chapel."

It is with great joy that I announce that my mother is going to be coming to hear me play The Lark Ascending at our February orchestra concert.

Since my family lives so far away, I had to choose between having them come to the orchestra concert, my senior recital, and my graduation ceremony. I picked my senior recital. Then, yesterday morning as I showered, I was suddenly feeling sentimental and nostalgic, wishing my parents lived closer and could come to the orchestra concert and graduation as well as my recital in April. After my shower, I checked my email: there was an email from my Mom saying that she had puchased a plane ticket after all, on a whim, to come see me in February.

I'm SO happy.

It is with great sorrow that I announce:

The Tragic Death of Mr. G.Q., Resident of Chase 328

On Thursday morning, January 26, my Roommate brutally murdered my beautiful pale blue Revlon 'Get Quiet' hair dryer, rendering it evermore useless.

I know her real plot was to ruin my life, but she didn't succeed, because...

... I bought a new hair dryer! A better hair dryer! It's Revlon too. 'Quiet Ceramic' is the name of this new model. I think it's a good one. I mostly think so because it was less than $20.00.

I probably won't even let her near this one. She's a mean and nasty one, Roommate is. Ruining things is what she does best!

My Saturday mornings consist of teaching piano lessons to two very cute little girls. This morning as I was teaching Ysabelle, her little brother (about four or five years old, I think) came running downstairs and declared, "I just filled your tires with air!" I was a little bit unsure what to make of this statement, due to the very young age of the little fellow, but sure enough - he and his dad had kindly filled my tires (which were a little low) with air!

The world is full of such very nice people.

Last night between the hours of 9:30 and 11:15, Roommate and I watched Garden State. This movie came highly recommended to both of us, including a recommendation by one of the most conservative fellows of our acquaintance (it's a good thing). So we watched it, with frequent comments and interruptions of, "Wait, did Michael really recommend this?" "Maybe we got it confused with a different title." "How could Michael even have watched this?"

It is a weird movie. Maybe even weirder than The Royal Tenenbaums.

"I'm okay with being unimpressive. I sleep better."

Wednesdays are rough. 13 hours of go-go-going with no rest for the weary = one very tired girl. And I only really practiced for 2 hours today.

Bargain

Last weekend I got new jeans from Express for $9.99. Whoever heard of such a thing?!

1) I forgot to mention this, but the operetta was fun - and done quite well for the most part. Good times. I actually really enjoy playing shows.

2) My violin teacher's wife is often not a nice person. (But sometimes she surprises us by being nice, after all.)

3) The weather has been just weird. Some days it's so warm you can't believe it could possibly be January in New England, and then the next day it's freezing cold with winds so strong you can barely shut the doors to my dormitory against it.

4) I love church choir. We had a 'Christmas' party today (okay, so it was a little bit late) after church. Lasagna, chicken, sausages and peppers, salads, ice cream cake... mmmmm.

5) I've been given the coolest title in the Facebook group 'Reading Is Sexy.' I'm just so proud. I am: 'Rollings Reliable Baking Powder Sexy Contest Winner.'

6) I went to Holly's super-fantastic recital last night, and as her encore she played a piece composed by FavoriteBoy. It was a hit. He'll probably be famous someday.

7) I had other things on my mind that I wanted to blog about, but now I can't remember any of them. Well, rats.

Now that she's posted it on her own blog, I guess I'm allowed to say it: My Roommate is engaged!

And there was much rejoicing.

Hey, it's National De-Lurking Week. So come on - reveal yourselves. Comment! Whenever I check out my Sitemeter stats, I become curious: who is my reader in Silver Springs, Maryland? Irvine? St. Paul, Minnesota? Cedarville, Ohio? Santa Ana? Fullerton? So just do it - if you ever read here, leave a comment and tell me who you are. (Even if you think I already know you're a reader.)

Coolness

As you can see if you are looking at this, I have a new URL for this blog. It is not only much easier to remember than the old one, but it is also generally cooler.

You can also look forward to a totally new look - hopefully in the near future.

My blog gets cooler all the time.

I am back at school for my final semester. Ever.

My time at home was lovely. I hemmed four pairs of pants, altered four skirts, and fixed two shirts with ripped hems and such. I like my Mom and I like her sewing machine. When I wasn't at work with my Dad or sewing with my Mom, I spent most of my time during break either playing fun games with my family or trying to clean out all the drawers and shelves in my room, pack things into boxes, and... figure out how to grow up.

Christmas was nice... among many wonderful gifts, I received a digital camera! - a gift from my parents and grandparents combined. I love it and am so happy to have a way to record memories of this, my final semester of college. I shall no doubt post pictures in the near future. I also received the word game Quiddler - which brought back memories of Wheaton. It's a great game, and my family did a lot to break in the new deck of cards - we all love it!

Emily and Baby Jonathan (aka my adorable nephew) came to visit! We all adored him as he deserves, and it was a lovely time having them for a visit.

My cousin and his family also came to visit - his wife Amber and their two children, Emma (3/almost 4) and Greggory (2 weeks). It was very fun having them as guests, and it was truly wonderful to see what good parents Matt and Amber are. Emma is the most delightful little girl I've encountered in a long time. She said "please" and "thank you" and "excuse me", and she asked questions like, "Is Emily processing the salad?" when Em was mashing vegetables for Baby Jonathan. She and I "baked cakes" for many hours together, and I also read her some stories. It was all so much fun. Also, my cousin has me in perpetual awe of his Quiddler-playing prowess.

On Wednesday morning Mom drove me to the airport to catch my 9:30 flight to Cleveland. Upon arriving, we heard that the first leg of my flight was cancelled. After much confusion, they put me on an 11:10 red-eye that same night; Mom and I went back home and made the trip again that evening! It was a little crazy. I arrived in Cleveland at 8:15 Thursday morning, where FavoriteBoy met me at the airport and drove me back to his house where I spent the next 24 hours - less, actually. We watched Cinderella Man (which I recommend), played cards, and relaxed. He also gave me Christmas gifts - including extra small things in a stocking, just from him! He gave me the DVD's for the A&E Pride and Prejudice as well as some more memory for my computer. (Pride and Prejudice is now sitting on my bookshelf, and the memory is installed; it has already lowered my blood pressure significantly - my computer now actually responds when I click to do something!) In the stocking I found some of my favorite candies, and a huge bottle of Excedrin for my headaches! Funny and practical - what a nice gift. Anyway, it was nice to be at FavoriteBoy's house - very cozy.

Friday morning we boarded the train from Erie, PA to Boston, MA. I have decided that train travel is really quite fantastic. It was comfortable, spacious, quiet, classic, enjoyable, and relaxing. We ate breakfast together on the dining car, napped frequently throughout the trip, read several chapters of Eats, Shoots and Leaves (a Christmas gift from my parents - I love it!) together, and played several games of Quiddler. We arrived at South Station at around 6 in the evening, and we then took the Red Line to the Orange Line to North Station, hauled our luggage a few blocks, and then took the Commuter Rail back to school. What a day! It was very nice to be back in my own dorm room after all of that.

This week is operetta week - I'm playing in the pit for a production of The Doctor In Spite of Himself by Gounod. Most evenings this week will be fully occupied by either rehearsals or performances. I'm looking forward to it.