The Weekend.

I came home this weekend and searched for apartments in Gastonia on Saturday. I met a friend of mine and he helped me since he's from down there. I don't want to get stuck in the bad part of town! We ate at Tony's for lunch. It's a place right in the middle of Gastonia that is known for their AMAZING ice cream! I left Gastonia, went home for about an hour and then made my way to Union Grove for a family reunion. I don't get to see that side of the family very often, so it was nice. I left there around 8 or 8:30 and came back to Boone. I'm a member of the choir at Boone UMC, so I had to be up and halfway conscious for both services this morning!

There is a painting that I have loved from the first moment I saw it. It was painted by Jack Vettriano and is called "The Singing Butler." I have talked about wanting a copy of it to hang over my bed for over a year now. Well, one weekend when I went home I had told Mom that it had been a challenging week to say the least. She proceeds to take me in the back room and pulls out this huge framed copy of this painting! She said she had found it and had put it back for Christmas, but decided that I could have it as a consolation prize because of the bad week I had just endured. I can hang pictures, but this one was so big that I knew I would need some help. Well, tonight was the night! After a few weeks of it sitting propped against my kitchen bar...it's finally hanging over my bed! A friend of mine had to help me...Ah I love it! Here's a picture...



Tonight was so much fun. My friend Justin and I get together every month, cook dinner, make chocolate covered strawberries and watch a movie. This month we had it at my place. I made Chicken Tetrazzini and we watched Sex and the City (great movie by the way!) Ah, I'm about to be in a sugar coma from all of these amazing chocolate strawberries! Well, I had better go and get my game face on for another long week!

Funny

I have a few funny stories to tell. The first involves my face. I recently was "hired" to sing in a church choir up here in Boone. Well, on Sunday, this elderly lady walked up to me and said "Do you have a birth defect on your face?" ....and I'm so not kidding. She meant birth mark....but totally said DEFECT. So I said Yes....because I knew she was about to tell me to wipe the chocolate off of my chin (I've gotten that many times before). Then, as if that wasn't enough, she starts telling me that I can have it removed, or go to the skin doctor on "so and so street" and get my skin blended or something...then comes her showing me her age spots. I just found this funny. I mean, I've been told that I've got something on my chin, but never asked if I have a birth defect on my face. Haha, it just kills me.

This whole gas thing is just annoying. Boone is a small town, with a TON of people....whether it be people that live in town, out in the hills, or the thousands of college students...there just aren't enough gas stations. So I waited in line for FOREVER today to get gas. To make things just peachy, no one was allowed to use their credit card at the pump, they had to go in for whatever reason....AND the man infront of me was driving a truck that was big enough to park 6 lawn mowers on the back....seriously. He only had one lawn mower in the back....and a good many gas cans. So I got to sit there and wait. After my insomnia did me such a favor last night and I had just gotten out of being in class ALL day running off of maybe 3 hours of sleep, I was a little less than pleasant while watching this man fill up his stupid gas cans. BAH! Anyway, that's not the good part. The good part is when my friend Tracy went to get gas. He said there was a LONG line and some extremely brave woman nosed her car up in between the two cars at the front of the line so that she would be very next to pump her gas. Well since she passed about 30 people, obviously it wasn't a good situation. Apparently when she pulled up to the pump and got out of her car to pump her gas, the woman on the other side was mad. She was in her 60's and sporting a lexus. This woman proceeded to walk to the other side of the island to the lady who had passed everyone and punched her dead in the face. Right on the nose. HA! This apparently knocked her off of her feet and the whole crowd of people watching and waiting that she had passed...were applauding. Lexus lady turned around and got in her car and left, while the moron picked herself up off of the pavement and went ahead and pumped her gas with a bloody nose! I'm just surprised she touched the gas pump after that! Haha...the story alone just cracks me up!...Ah, if I had only been there!! :)

Survey

I took this from Melissa's blog :)


1. What time did you get up this morning? 9am
2. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds
3. What was the last film that you saw at the cinema? Sex and the City
4. What is your favorite TV show? THE GOLDEN GIRLS!
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? I don't typically eat.
6. What is your middle name? Ashley
7. What food do you dislike? Carrots
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Brandi Carlile, The Story
9. What kind of car do you drive? Grand am
10. Favorite sandwich? depends on the day...I like wraps better
11. What characteristic do you despise in others? Anyone too egotistical, that is "two-faced" or lies.
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Tour Europe
14. Where would you retire to? I agree with Melissa...I'll end up on Lake Norman :)
15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? #16 was my favorite.
16. Favorite sport to watch? I don't really care...football I guess. 17. Furthest place you are sending this? I don't know...
18. Person you expect to send it back first? who knows!
19. When is your birthday? July 8
20. Are you a morning person or a night? Night!
21. What is your shoe size? 10, lol... 22. Pets? Maxine, my 18 yr old cat...another cat Ralph, and a REAL BIG dog Annie
23. Any new exciting news you’d like to share with us? Ha, I get to spend my saturday being a judge at NC Honors mock auditions. I will listen to high schoolers sing the same cut of the same song over and over again...
24. What did you want to be when you were little? A singer...I think? And a teacher...
25. How old are you today? 21
26. What is your favorite flower? Orchid
27. What is a day on your calendar that you are looking forward to? November 3rd...because it's the day after my senior voice recital.
28. What is your full name? Maria Ashley Parker
29. What are you listening to right now? Mom on the phone
30. What was the last thing you ate? Frozen Yogurt with chocolate "magic shell" 31. Do you wish on stars? no
32. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? pink :)
33. How is your weather right now? a little nip in the air!
34. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Mom
35. Favorite soft drink? Sundrop
36. Last place you ate out? McAlister's Deli with the parents
37. Hair color? brown
38. What was your favorite toy as a child? I had a lot of favorites :)
39. Summer or winter? Summer
40. Hugs or kisses? Hugs for everyone! Kisses for some :)
41. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate 42. Coffee or tea? Coffee!
43. Do you want friends to email you back? ...this isn't an email
44. When was the last time you cried? I'm a basket case..that's a loaded question :)
45. What is under your bed? Music Stand
46. What did you do last night? Finalized my recital proposal and had dinner with my family.
47. What are you afraid of? lots of things
48. Salty or sweet? it depends
49. How many keys on your ring? Five I think
50. How many years at your current job? I'm still in college...
51. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
52. How many towns have you lived in? Two.
53. Do you make friends easily? yes
54. How many people will you send this to? Who knows!
55. How many will respond? No clue :)
56. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? Yes.
57. What is the last book you read? I'm sure it was something for a class...so I'm going to say the last book I read was Tuesdays with Morrie. I've read it three times now, and plan to again soon...I learn something from it everytime I pick it up.

A Little Passion

This weekend we went on a choir retreat. It was a time that we could spend together to get to know one another and to learn some of our music. We went to Blowing Rock Conference Center. It turned out to be a great experience in my opinion, not just for the fellowship with other choir members, but because of the musical experience. I'm sorry for those of you who are routine readers of my blog and have no particular interest in music, because I'm about to let go! All music pulls at me in some way, some types make me want to dance, some challenges me harmonically and rhythmically, some put me to sleep, and other pieces...choral music in particular can bring me to my knees. For something to be so powerful, that I find myself holding my breath while I'm listening is an incredible feeling. Grant it, there are some heart stopping performances in the choral world, but it seems to me that the magic really happens in rehearsal. We're all together learning pieces, exchanging views on what the text means, and how the notes paint the text. Many times after we talk about what the text means to us personally, the sound changes, because our hearts change. Today at choir retreat we started on a piece entitled "I Am Not Yours." The recording is playing on my blog page. The text is as follows:

I am not yours, not lost in you,
Not lost, although I long to be
Lost as a candle lit at noon,
Lost as a snowflake in the sea.

You love me, and I find you still
A spirit beautiful and bright,
Yet I am I, who long to be
Lost as a light is lost in light.

Oh plunge me deep in love - put out
My senses, leave me deaf and blind,
Swept by the tempest of your love,
A taper in the rushing wind.

-Sara Teasdale

Our general interpretation is that the woman who wrote the poem is talking about a man being deeply in love with her, but she, for whatever reason, cannot love him like she should...although she wants to. Maybe it's just not right, and the feelings aren't there? ...Or perhaps something tragic happened in her past that made her incapable to completely let go and love? In the music, the sopranos and tenors are saying "lost as a candle...etc" while the altos and bass are saying "I am a candle." A friend of mine mentioned that he felt like the sopranos and tenors are the woman, talking about being lost, but the bass and altos are saying I am a candle, I am a snowflake...etc...like he's there pleading and saying, I will be those things for you. This piece is absolutely heart wrenching.

We sang through it a few times, but after we stopped and talked about what it meant, everything about it changed. The sounds, the passion, the expression on the faces of the singers. It made it come to life. I was at Mars Hill Choral Clinic this past Feb. which is a choral festival for exceptional singers at the high school level. They did this piece, and their director was absolutely incredible. In the rehearsal he had the choir members to come off of the stage and circle around the auditorium holding hands...he had one girl start at the back of the auditorium and when the singing started she slowly made her way to him at the front on the podium. Throughout the entire song, their eyes stayed locked on one another. Truly one of the most powerful things I've ever seen. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. Music educators from across the state, and students alike were in tears.

Things like this...experiences and emotions...and the irreplaceable value, meaning and power of music are what keeps me going. It's so easy to get caught up in the technicalities of music ...especially as a music student...but then something like this happens and reminds me and others alike that it's the heart that is the driving force behind it all. A friend of mine who is not particularly religious said in reference to a beautiful and touching piece once that that's when she feels God, to hear music like that, how could you ever doubt it? Of course, there are other wonderful and amazing reminders to us that he is always there, but right now I am particularly thankful for the vast array of music that he has put into our lives. There is a quote that I have always loved:

"Bach gave us God's Word. Mozart gave us God's laughter. Beethoven gave us God's fire. God gave us Music that we might pray without words." -unknown

Frustration.

First of all...this website has been giving me a fit for the past few days. I'll go to my blog page and it's like internet explorer will freeze...and my music doesn't play. I end up having to do the whole ctrl, alt, del, and ending task deal. Anyone else having issues with this?

Well that's not the only reason I'm frustrated. I'm not going to go into everything that's been on my mind for the past few weeks. The only minor part of all of this that I'll say is I really wonder sometimes what would happen if I treated people the way they treat me? I just feel like if I didn't smile, take what's thrown at me, and get over it, that I'll just be alone and unhappy... Just food for thought.

On a lighter note, I joined a church choir here in Boone. It's the Boone United Methodist Church and their choir is pretty good...and they sing some great music. I really enjoy the interaction with adults (and church folks)....I've been told on more than one occasion that I have an old soul...I just enjoy the company of people older than I am, I've always been this way. Music is a huge part of the Christian Ministry for me, so it's nice to be free from the stuff that goes on in college and have some nice spiritual time. The rehearsal last night did me a world of good.

Well, Travis is on his way over here. Maybe I should start paying him haha, he's always there for me when I need him. I'm cooking BBQ short ribs...one of my favorite things to eat! I think I'm going to close for now...the rest of the night is ahead of me :)

Update

I felt a bit out of the loop when I signed on and all of my cousins on my blog list had updated and I hadn't!

I went to the mountains for Labor Day weekend. We have a house in Virginia near Hillsville...home of a HUGE flea market that I care absolutely nothing about. On Sunday we went down the New River in a Canoe! For those of you that know me, you know that this was out of my character. Mom and Dad shared a canoe and Katherine and I shared another one. Dad is skilled in paddling because he kayaks most every weekend...but for the rest of us, it was not a good situation. Katherine stuck her foot in the water and marred up to her shins in mud before she even made it to the boat. We finally pushed off the land and our boat headed straight for the bank where I got a face full of brush that was probably the home to about a thousand mosquitoes, ticks, and a few snakes....it's ok though, I came through it blemish free...just in time for us to move 2 feet and get stuck on a rock. Needless to say, the first five minutes were a challenge and I was ready to be done with it. Things ended up getting better. Katherine and I LOVE to sing like little kids when we're together. On the way down the river, we were paddling and singing some of our favorite songs from our childhood. This included the song from the old Disney classic The Sword in the Stone. "To and fro, stop and go, that's what makes the world go 'round"....so we were singing this in the worst singing voices possible for a good 20 minutes. We decided to turn around at some point for whatever reason and saw that there was a couple right behind us in a canoe that had been listening (and laughing) the entire time. Oh well, saving the world one children's song at a time!

I'm sure I'll miss school when I leave...in fact, I know I will...but right now I'm ready to be finished. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of the mentality of most college aged people right now...self absorbed and not very dependable. I'm hoping that things will improve when I'm away from the college setting...or maybe all I need is a change of scenery. I'll miss choir. I'll miss being in front of the podium rather than my big future of being behind it. I'll probably never get to sing in a choir of this caliber once I graduate.

I spoke to my long time friend and mentor today. She always puts me in the right frame of mind. I met her when I was a 7th grader. I was asked to participate in All-County chorus and she was the guest conductor. I had been musical my entire life, but had never thought about making it a career. I decided within the first few minutes of her rehearsal that I was going to be a music teacher, and I haven't changed my mind since. When I get tired and discouraged with all of the CRAP that comes with being a musician ...or being a music major...I write, call, or visit her. She reminds me of the love that I have for Music Education, and tugs at that passion I have inside of me that she evoked when I was only 12 years old. It was good for me to talk to her today...I'm 99% sure that I will student teach with her. The only thing that could stop it is if the education dept or school systems have a glitch and won't place me with her.

My laptop is running out of power, and I'm afraid I am as well. I will write more later.