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Showing posts from January 5, 2011

Magical moment 341, "One More Obstacle"

There's a storm coming. They say it's going to be bad. They've put GPS devices on the tow trucks, sent out an advisory, and canceled schedules in preparation. I hear it will be difficult for people to get to their destinations, maybe dangerous, and they shouldn't venture out unless it's absolutely necessary. It comes on the day I have been waiting for for months, even years. The day I am to go into the city and record piano, the most important and personal instrument, for my album. When I began this process, I heard it was going to be difficult to get to my destination. There would be obstacles and hardships. It would be a storm of confusion, self-doubt, and risk. But I've made it through this far, and I don't suppose a little snow will keep me from going the rest of the way. (Now New Jersey mass transit, may be another story...) Here are my blogs in order, as I chronicle my process to record an EP with Modern Vintage Recordings: 1.  Optimistic Gamble

Magical Moment 340, "Soldier Show"

Me at the piano during the finale of one of our shows The best months I ever spent in the Army, was the tour of the 2007 Army Soldier Show, in which I was one of the 13 performers. The Army Soldier Show, was founded by none other than Irving Berlin himself when he was a soldier in World War II, and has carried on through the decades as a musical variety show "for the soldier, by the soldier." One of my superior officers at the time, sent me an e-mail one day with the audition information for the show. I had never heard of it before, but immediately got chills when I learned more about it. Unfortunately, the deadline for submission was the following day, by midnight. I would need to make an audition video and overnight it that very day. I begged my supervisor to grant me the rest of the afternoon to work on it, and after much reluctance he finally consented. I borrowed a video camera and threw together a very home-made video of me singing and playing "Bye Bye Blackbir

Magical Moment 339, "Smile and Nod"

This is a list of things people have said to me with the intent of complimenting me. I really didn't know what to say after, so I just smiled and nodded. My Grandpa-in-law: "You've fattened up since the last time I saw you. Now you don't look like a skeleton." Friend from my former church: "You look just like Claire Danes in that movie....what's the one where she's sickly the whole time then she dies...?" (Little Women is the answer there by the way, and Claire Danes  does look like death the entire movie.) My mother: "You take after your father. Bags under the eyes are hereditary." My husband, when asked by an acquaintance if his wife was a good cook: "She makes a delicious meat loaf and.... (pause while searching the far corners of his brain for another meal I cook well) Yeah, her meat loaf is really good." An old Army (girl) friend, describing what she thought was my nicest feature: "You have nice legs.

Magical Moment 338, "One out of Eighty-Eight"

Today at work, I sat at the Black Kawai piano, playing for the dancers as they rehearsed their ballet combinations. I love choosing the songs from my repertoire list, and making them sound distinctly different and interesting each time I play them. I experiment with different chords and styles, and it keeps the long day interesting for me. However, I was immediately disappointed this morning, when I found that the low “G” on the piano was not working. It really put a damper on the music. If I meant for G to be the bass note, it sounded as though someone hit the “mute” button for a split second and disrupted the flow. I was too focused on avoiding that G and playing the lower octave, that I couldn’t concentrate on the overall cohesion of the piece. The longer I played, the more frustrated I became. Now no one will ever know just how beautiful Mozart’s Sonata K. 331, theme from the First Movement really is , I thought with dismay. When I mentioned it to the office so they could call a

Magical Moment 337, "A Somber Reflection"

I attended the funeral of a neighbor. And as I sat near the back of the room, I watched in reverent silence as the family grieved together and comforted one another. Surrounding the man's coffin, were dozens of bouquets and floral arrangements. There were tables displaying framed photographs of he and his loved ones. And there was an American flag draped over the front of the long, silver casket, as he was a Vet of the Korean War. I pondered the life he must have led. And then I was struck when the officiating priest read this poem. Perhaps you will take something away from it today. The Dash  by Linda Ellis I read of a man who stood to speak At the funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on her tombstone From the beginning to the end. He noted that first came the date of her birth And spoke of the following date with tears, But he said what mattered most of all Was the dash between those years. For that dash represents all the time That she spent alive on earth And now

Magical Moment 336, "Just Do It"

It's surprising what can be accomplished when you feel like you have nothing left to give, or just don't want to. I suppose it all goes back to self-discpline. There are days when I don't want to get out of my PJs, yet I have a mile-long list of things that need to be done. And so not out of desire or motivation, but necessity, I force myself to do them.  By the end of the day, I have 2 new songs to play for ballet rehearsal on Saturday, 3 songs transcribed by ear for the play I'm working on , and I finally got a good run in with Joy. I look down and have agree with the logo on my sweatshirt, "Just do it." And at the end of the day, that feels better than being lazy.  Joy , my running buddy. Sometimes she feels like being lazy too.

Magical Moment 335, "Accepted"

When I checked the mail today, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. Months ago, I took the LSAT and applied to several Law Schools and have been waiting for a letter, any letter, to let me know the outcome.  The decision to take the LSAT was one of careful thought and enormous commitment. I studied for hours a day, driving myself to near insanity with practice tests, and still inwardly scolding myself for not studying even more. The test day was agony. I was literally physically ill with anxiety. The night before, I got no sleep at all, and the day of the test, I was light headed and shaky. I was absolutely terrified that all my hours of study would be for nothing, and I had to wait a dreadful 3 weeks to find out for sure. To my relief, my score was reasonable, not quite what I hoped for, but enough. I gathered everything needed to apply to Law School, and submitted all requirements to 3 law schools . After that, I put the matter out of my mind. I had done all I could, and to the