A rather musically inclined weekend...

I've come to find that my weekends have taken on "themes." I only just noticed this as I started to report on my weekend happenings just now.

Last weekend was all about the sports! Volleyball games, football games, played some of my own sports. It was a Sporty McSport weekend. This weekend was very musically themed. I honestly don't do it on purpose - but perhaps my subconscious OCD mind likes things to be properly grouped, categorized, and at least matching...weekends are no exception.

My friend Terilyn and I saw the Opera, Madame Butterfly, on Friday night. I love love LOVE love going to the theater - in any form. LOVE the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, love musicals any which way, love the ballet, very much enjoy the symphony in any and all respects, and...I'm "okay" with the Opera. When it comes to Opera I will likely only go see those more "popular" productions: The Marriage of Figaro and clearly, Madame Butterfly, etc. Our seats found via KSL.com were pretty good, and the music was fantastic. If you don't speak Italian - which really in Utah I bet more often people do - you have to see pass the rather cheesy translations and just enjoy the beauty of the music. One thing to be said about Opera is how completely blown away I am by the power of the performers voices. How they can project such a rich and vibrant sound out of their bodies is a talent far beyond me. Oh - also - Elder Oaks and his wifey were in the audience. It's always exciting to "Apostle-spot", and in SLC it's not uncommon. I saw Elder Holland in the Avenues Smiths once. Fancy that! Terilyn and I found our seats on the West side of the bottom floor and as I was taking off my jacket and scanning the audience (I'm a people-scanner), about two rows in front of us and sitting in the middle section I saw a familiar face. I looked at Terilyn and asked her "So...who is that gentleman over there? Is that Elder Oaks?" Terilyn glanced and confirmed that indeed it was. Pretty. Neat. O. Also - I had a rather notable experience with the girl sitting on the other side of me. She was dressed to the nines and probably about my age or a little younger. I appreciated that she'd dressed up for the Opera. I also dressed up. I have a huge pet peeve about how incredibly casual we are here in Utah when it comes to cultural events. Would it KILL us to dress up and go out? I think it's fun. And maybe most folks think that Sunday is enough of a "dress up" for one week - but honestly - we're even starting to look a liiiiiittle shabby on the Sabbath as well. A rant for another time probably. Anyway - chica sitting next to me seemed excited about the production and sat quietly with the rest of us enjoying the first and second acts. During the final 3rd act - where all the sorrow and tragedy come to a head - this girl next to me starts gasping, and making "crying noises." I say "crying noises" because she wasn't even in the remotest way actually crying. She was just making the noises - through the last 20 minutes of the production. I glanced at Terilyn to see if she'd noticed - but she hadn't. I tried to peer through the corner of my eye at "the cryer" to see if in fact she was so "culturally touched" and discovered complete dry cheeks and no girl-wiping of the eyes (ya know - how girls have to wipe tears in such a way as to not smear this and that - staring at the ceiling and wiping beneath the eye lash line), yeah, none of that. And she had plenty to smear if tears should've actually escaped her totally dry tear ducts. Sister, I was impressed that 1. You being dressed up and attending this Opera 2. Without a date, but with another female buddy and 3. Did not text through the entire thing. The fake tears to show how "culturally sensitive" you are - yeah - not necessary. When the lights came up her "tearful empathy for the dead Madame Butterfly" was most abruptly at an end and she simply turned to her friend and cheerfully exclaimed "Well that was good! Lets go!" Huh. Okay.

Saturday wasn't too incredibly musically inclined except I GOT MYSELF A GUITAR!! TA DA!!! That's right! You recall my thoughts upon wanting to get one for Christmas and finally try to learn an instrument I'd been "meaning" to for years. YEARS I say! Well, whilst perusing ksl.com (lovely site really) I found a bran spanking new guitar including tuner, picks, and Basic Guitar for Dummies booklet, for an incredibly reasonable price. The girl selling said guitar explained she had bought it with all the intentions to play, but because of a wrist injury due to a motorcylcing accident (yeah - she's that kind of cool) she couldn't do it. Huzah! We had a bargain! She lives in Brigham City while I'm in SLC (er..Taylorsville) so we decided to meet in O-Town (That's Ogden to the non-Utahn). We did just that on Saturday morning. Thus, I'd like to present the newest edition to my traveling gypsy lifestyle...naturally...

Clearly it needs a name. Any suggestions? I was thinking something striking like...Daphne or...Zoe. Sophia? Ginny? Gwendolyn? Hmmm...thoughts?

Here I am tuning the thing. It seriously took me over an hour to do it. And every time I've sat down since I've tuned and tuned and tuned. I like it to sound just right. My left handed finger tips are numbed. They had some deep grooves in them all weekend as I strummed and practiced and strummed. I'll have you know I'm already rather proficient with the A, D, and E chords. I feel G and Em will come along this week. I can also already sketchily play Kumbiya, My Lord. I'm well on my way to being a professional. I've composed a "song list" I'd like to be competent at by this time next year...

• Paperweight - Joshua Radin and Shuyler Fisk - a duuuuuuet.
  
• Today - Joshua Radin - here he is performing it on Ellen (so...cheesy lame moment. If any man were ever to sing me a song - this is the song I would have him sing. Someone should mental note that...anyone...)
  
• I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You - Colin Hay
  
• Come Come Ye Saints - I had to throw a hymn in there - one of my favorites
  
• Winding Road - Bonnie Somerville

Maybe one day I'll even write my own little composition. Ooo - look at that ambition! I remember making up all sorts of little diddys on the piano in my High School days. I'm just incredibly happy to have BOTH a piano AND a guitar at my disposal now. Come to find my Aunty has a piano - so Sunday - to stick with my "musical weekend" theme, I dug out my piano music and loosened up the old piano fingers. And BOY did they need loosening. My goal for Piano-ing is to APTLY (very key...get it? Key? Snort.) play Dawn from the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack as well as Pachalbels Canon in D. I'm getting there. I forget how therapeutic playing the piano is for me. It's like reading...and sports. I can put whatever stresses and worries I have in the world on hold and just enjoy the music, and enjoy focusing on something worth while and controllable. I may not know what lies ahead in life yet I must continue to live it - however, when I practice the piano (and now the guitar) I know eventually I will get better and better. There's some comfort in that...some stability...some distraction in the moment.

I also made cookies!!! And SOUP! And Bread! And took some loverly fall pics at Liberty Park!Only the cookies (dough) and leaves are featured here...

To top off my musically inclined weekend I watched a fabulous Indy film called "The Visitor." When I rented it I didn't know it was about music in any respect - and it wasn't entirely - but clearly part of the overall theme. I HIGHLY recommend this film. It's wonderfully simple and well-done. It's one of those movies that leaves you pensive, yet satisfied in the end. It was a lovely topper to a lovely musically inclined weekend...with cookies on the side.