We're back!

...and I'm glad to be here :) Though, right now it's a little hard to unpack because my roommate is crashed. Hope she gets better soon...and doesn't sleep in so late often. We don't want a repeat of what happened last year. I'm betting once we get the roommate covenant done, it'll make life much easier because everything will be set into writing.

I definitely chose the right room, though. The view is magnificent, and I love hearing the birds singing through the Loop. So far, the girls on my floor seem really nice, though I definitely need to get out and work on meeting them. I think the freshmen are still in the "ooh, scary sophomores" mode, so it may take a while for them to warm up. I'll keep flashing smiles at everyone in the meantime.

I can't wait to see what adventures lie in wait this year for me, and what fun new experiences I'll have! Sophomore year should be fantastic, and I look forward to every minute of it!

'Til later,

Allie

Job hunt update

This hunt is endless. I realized tonight that it doesn't really seem to matter how many dozens of applications I fill out, or resumes I send in, on this side of the state, it's all about connections. Of course, I don't have any of those, so I'm left hunting for every opening on craigslist and major corperation websites like Safeway and Starbucks. Not that I'm really trying to whine about "oh woe is me"...mostly just feeling frustrated about my lack of connections pretty much anywhere. :P So, blogging world, if you feel like being awesome and handing me either a part-time job starting now or a full-time summer job starting in June, I'd appreciate it! Until then, I will rely on what help I can get from friends and family (by this I mean Rachel lol) and keep filling out those applications.

On a slightly separate note, I'm enjoying most of my classes this quarter, and feeling ahead in at least two of them. I find it interesting that I always feel ill-prepared for lessons, but I've heard this phenomenon is totally natural and everyone feels that way. I hope my left wrist stops hurting for tomorrow, but I took some time off typing and didn't go practicing this evening so that it could recover. In my mind, it makes more sense to practice comfortably tomorrow than practice with only half effort because of the pain, wouldn't you agree?

I really hope that I've fixed the comment errors, but if not, I'm very, very sorry! Please feel free to try commenting anyway!

~Allie

And yet another week goes by...

Highlights of this week:
being sudo-principal horn for wind symphony on Friday (with all the solos :D)
watching Thalia Symphony Friday night
Zoo trip yesterday :)
Lots of practicing this week
And being ahead on readings for my classes :)

So, I finally decided that I wanted people to know that my blog exists, and posted the link on facebook, then got notified that I hadn't allowed commenting in my settings. This definitely explains why Sami and Marsh couldn't comment on my posts (if they tried, that is lol). For the rest of my evening, it looks like I will be working on homework, watching movies and hopefully add in a couple hours of practicing tonight :)

I have decided that my hair looks excellent in a half-back, which is a good thing to know now that the weather is improving and I don't necessarily want my hair down all the time. Probably not anything worth stating for everyone reading, but at least it'll be a reminder to me.

I'm currently watching Reign of Fire, which is supposedly a scary movie. I dislike being scared a ton, so I hope it's not as bad as people say it is. Crossing my fingers!

You are number (2) in queue.

Yes, my friends, this is how I'm spending my Easter evening. Waiting for a Dell representative to talk to me (again) to hopefully give me a new AC adapter as mine is fraying and only sporadically charging my poor laptop. But first, of course, I have to overcome the issue of not knowing (or being able to find, apparently) my service tag. I am properly amused by their fill-in-the-blank responses. You know that first part in Up where Russell starts reading to Mr. Fredricksen out of the Wildness Explorer handbook? Yeah, it's something like that.

Well, anyway, Dustin came to give me a hand while talking to the Dell person and finding all the information I needed, so life is considerably better. (This has become a two-day blog post, as I forgot to come back and finish it last night.) I applied for a ton of jobs last night. Craigslist is a very helpful tool, and I finally got around to updating my resume thanks to the incessant need for it. I think I now have over 10 applications put in with businesses around Seattle (most of which either in Fremont/Queen Anne/Ballard or Downtown. I figure that I'd do best looking for jobs that are only one bus ride away with minimal walking.

Mondays are FULL of stuff to do. I had classes from 8 AM to 1:30 PM, then a nice break before Brass Choir at 4:30. I didn't find it too hard to concentrate, though having to get that much homework prepped for the first day of the week kind of sucks, I'll admit. All of my classes went smoothly, and my solo for the April 29th concert is coming along beautifully. I can't wait to work with the accompanist, but I am glad that I'm fixing the last of the kinks with Rodger right now. My fingers are crossed for a great performance!

I'm off to keep working on getting my homework done.
TTFN!
~Allie

One change to the schedule

Well, after hearing about James' sociology class (which has three of my other band-geeky friends in it), I totally transferred into the class, with minutes to spare of it being full. I'm proud of myself, and I'm really excited for the class! Also, thanks to being at a Christian university, I'm having the smoothest transition back to classes ever!

Yesterday because I switched from having a 1:30 class to an 11:00 one, I didn't have either afternoon class, therefore my schedule was simply Theory from 8:00 to 9:20, UCOR from 9:30 to 10:50, then Wind Symphony from 4:30 to 5:45. It was pretty awesome, and my lesson went alright too. Ooh, and while I was switching classes around, I discovered that my GPA was high enough from me to move up to having 20 credits again (after 1st quarter's grades, I couldn't :P). I'm up to a 3.2 for the year, which is way up from the 2.7 (or something sad like that) I had after 1st quarter! I'm hoping to keep pushing my grades up and maybe after this quarter I can get it over a 3.5. That's my goal and I'm putting it in writing here :)

Sami, if you're still reading this, you should leave a comment sometime since I'm comment-less and it feels very sad to simply be talking to myself. And if my family is actually reading this, which I kind of doubt, hi everyone!

I'm going to go do more counterpoint homework for Theory. We're up to 4:1 and have even more rules to learn now...hope I can handle it ;)

~Allie

Back to where I belong :)

Today marks my last post before the beginning of spring quarter. I love knowing that I'm lying in my own bed (as much as a school mattress and bed frame counts as "mine") right next to my awesome roommate (and our friend Steven since he and Jess are watching New Moon right now...bleh) and with my boyfriend upstairs. It's just comfortable here, and I know exactly what's up and stuff.

I dive straight into pretty much every class tomorrow, but I'm kind of excited for it. I exchanged the credits of my piano class and my art class for another general education class (Geography). Basically I'll still be hauling 20 credits like last quarter, but I'm working to get more credits towards my basic graduation requirements. I guess it's just my way of securing that I'll graduate on time.

I really don't have much more to say, as I'm completely ready to pass out. Just thought I'd post a reminder to the world that I'm alive :)

~Allie

Ahh...home again

I'll be honest and say it's awesome to be home. I didn't necessarily miss Yakima that much, but I've definitely missed my parents a ton. I'm a little sad that my spring break falls nearly two weeks before theirs, but I am glad that I got this weekend with them to just spend some quality time together :)
I do miss Jae, but hey, it's only 5 days we'll be apart at the most, and time apart only makes us stronger, right? Spending time with his family is always a kick, and when I get back it'll be his 19th birthday...ahh, that will be fun to plan! I'm thinking a green cake with a fun dyed icing (maybe blue?) It'll be really cool looking, that's for sure!
What else is there to be said? Well, while I'm back I'm hoping to finally get this filling done on one of my molars that was supposed to get done around 6 months ago, and maybe get in for a haircut from Linda. She'll probably have lots of words to say about how I haven't cut my hair in months! That will be fun to catch up with. I don't want a lot of length taken off as I really do like how long it's getting, but a trim will feel good for my poor split ends.

I'm on a roll reading books while I'm not worrying about school. I think reading for fun is one thing I miss from high school. Since I've gone to college, I've had less time (or will) to read books outside of the class-required ones. Well, I decided that reading was needed for this break, and have about 7 books left of my original pile of 8 books. Thank God that I'll have lots of time to read while I'm in Yakima (probably while letting the dogs run out in the orchard next door) and I still have a 4 hour bus ride back to Everett too :D
I love spring break, and I totally can't wait to see what else is in store for me while I'm free from the brain-killing madness!
~Allie

Avatar, Art and ADD

Yes, I'm posting a blog to distract myself from studying for a minute. I realized that when you start reading your art history textbook so fast that you're getting your periods and artists mixed up, you need a break. I've spent this weekend mostly just chilling with my roommate and my boyfriend (and other various friends), studying, and filling out job applications. It feels like it's been an efficient weekend, but then I remember that finals start tomorrow and I panic. The soundtrack from Avatar has been helping me through a lot of the reading where I need to concentrate but can't stand the consistent humming noises from the lights and refrigerators in my dorm room. I also can't stand the library because of how frighteningly quiet it is, so I've avoided it when hunting for places to study. My dorm room seems to be the best contender, if I just ban myself from my computer for 45 minutes at a time. That's about how long I can concentrate on one thing :P

I'm very ready for spring break, but just like Christmas break I don't really know what I'm going to do with myself without being here at school. I feel out of place at home since the world has moved on since I was there. None the less, I'll be glad to have a break from SPU and the food they serve in Gwinn. Don't get me wrong, it's not cruddy food; you just get tired of it after months of eating nothing but similar dishes.

None the less, after this somewhat short update, I'm getting back to studying...see you all on the other side!
~Allie

Finals time :P

Yup, it's that time of the year again. End of the quarter finals. Actually I don't know why I'm complaining, since I actually enjoy the week before finals. I don't mind studying, and my homework load becomes non-existent, thanks to somewhat merciful professors.
I turns out that I have my Aural Skills final tomorrow, as our university-scheduled final was never posted, and over half the class had made travel plans to leave the night before. We took a vote in class (I'm glad to see music majors are so democratic) and decided that instead of having tomorrow as a review day, it's the day of the final. I'm not really nervous for it, as my midterm went really well, and there's nothing on the final I don't know. That was improper, I meant that I know everything that will be on the test. I'm excited to have one of them done before finals week technically starts. It'll make next week an absolute breeze.
I love my new roommate a ton! Yes, we were friends, and that's one of the reasons I switched rooms, but just knowing that I like talking to the person living in my room makes me more willing to be in my room. Also, I like that we like similar music, having people in and out of the room, and the TV isn't on all the time! Oh, and I get to sleep at night...that's the best part :) I'll consider posting pictures of our room setup, since it's a lot better than anything I could put together in that weird room upstairs. My art prof said it best when he commented that architecturally, the less square a room is, the less functional it is. Who forgot to tell the architect of this dorm that? Oh well, the majority of the rooms are on first through third floors, and half of fourth floor works since they have fifth above them.
Overall, I'm just spending my time prepping for finals, putting final touches on the room, practicing, and just having wonderful chill time with Jae and Jess (among other people). It's a wonderful week thus far.
Now, off to go watch my piano TA's senior recital and just generally enjoy being band geeky for an hour!
~Allie

Back to blogging

I'm just finishing up winter quarter here at school, and it's been a trip. There's a lot I'm still getting used to, like actually learning how to study and balance my time, but overall I love it.

A wonderful experience today: the sun is sort of out (as much as it ever is here) and it's really warm, so instead of going into a building to study and check my email, I decided to stay outside in the sun and the warmth. It's not just the warmth that makes this so great; there are seagulls overhead yelling at each other. Just a friendly reminder that I'm near an ocean, and I love it! I can't see the ocean, yet I'm within 5 or 10 miles of it, and every once in a while I can smell it. That's my favorite :)

I don't ever want to leave this moment, yet I'm going to have to eventually. Maybe I'll find a way to duplicate these conditions sometime, as the year goes on and the sun keeps coming out more. For March, the weather is awesome, and I hope it won't end.

I miss my family and friends from home right now. Part of this weather reminds me of playing (or attempting to play) wallball during lunch in the last few weeks before I graduated. Spring break is soon, and I need to figure out my plans for the nearly two weeks I have off. I hope the sun is out and beautiful back home like it is here so I can get some sunbathing time (well, without the swimsuit...it's still way too cold for that!)

More coming later (I hope),
~Allie