It's official: I defend my thesis one week from tomorrow at 1:00 pm. I'll then have to make final revisions, get it printed, pay for the binding, and get it over to the graduate school office by Monday afternoon. After that, I'M FREAKING DONE. This week is going to be hell, by I couldn't care less. I'm going to get to walk at graduation AND I won't have this hanging over my head during the Seattle trip in May. After May 4, all I have to worry about is giving a final exam to my General Psychology class and finishing up a profile for my Personality Assessment class... very small tasks in comparison to collecting data for and writing a thesis in about 3 weeks worth of time. I can't wait to be done with Arkansas Tech University.
I think the night after my defense, I'm going to have a few (and by a few, I mean QUITE a few) drinks, smoke me a couple of cloves, and listen to some really loud music. Then, I'll just chill and wait for graduation to get here. After May 16, all I have to worry about is packing for the move, spending time with friends and family, and having a really great time enjoying this experience and process of moving. Words can't express how excited I am that in two months, I'll be a resident of Seattle, WA. I feel like I'm finally getting to do what I want to do with my life after 7 years of compromises and doing the responsible things I'm supposed to do, I'm actually getting to reap the rewards. I know it's going to be a challenge, but it's one I take on happily.
28 days until the house hunting trip to Seattle... 64 days until the move.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, back to writing a thesis. I have a ton of data that needs my attention.
Peace.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Life's Simple Pleasures: AMAZING Live Performances by OUTSTANDING Musicians
So I went to Memphis on Saturday, where I had the wonderful pleasure of hearing Ra Ra Riot and Death Cab for Cutie play at the Orpheum Theater. Ra Ra Riot's performance was more than I could have ever expected. They were absolutely spectacular and also kind enough to hang out at the merchandise stand to chat with their fans. REALLY cool group of folks. I got to meet four of their members and they all seemed like incredibly normal, laid back people who were just as thrilled to meet their fans as their fans were to meet them.
Death Cab for Cutie didn't let me down either. They never have... this was my third time to see them and this live performance was no less powerful than the previous two I've had the privilege of attending. All the passion and energy was still there. Chris Walla played so hard he broke a string and, unfortunately, hurt his hand. Jason McGerr seemed like he was in his own world as he drummed away like a mad man. Gibbard did his usual sort of back and forth swaying dance as he rocked out on his guitar. His performance of "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" was just as moving this time as it was in St. Louis in October. I love the sound of his voice with an acoustic guitar (as I've mentioned in previous posts... I just feel like his vocals were made to be combined with those softer acoustic sounds). Nick Harmer drives that band with his outstanding bass lines like a freaking machine. I love singling out those lines and focusing my attention on the way they move the music. So good. So good....
I'm counting down the days until the house hunting trip to Seattle. We leave on May 22 for a 10 day stay in that gorgeous city. Hopefully, by the time we come back to Arkansas, we will have a new address in Washington to move our belongings into when return at the end of June to stay for good. I'm also looking for jobs as I didn't get accepted to the University of Washington's Social Psychology Ph.D. program. I think my prospects are pretty decent. I'm hoping that I may be able to line up an interview or two on the May trip as well. Fingers crossed... but regardless of what happens, I couldn't be more excited about getting the hell out of Arkansas and back to the Northwest. I miss it so much I ache. I truly believe that is where I was meant to be.
I also purchased tickets this evening for two shows in Redmond, WA, the weekend of July 17. The Decemberists, Andrew Bird, and Blind Pilot are playing that Friday night and Death Cab for Cutie, the New Pornographers, and Ra Ra Riot are playing Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday show had already sold out, so I had to go with tickets for the Sunday performance. I can't believe my luck at having the opportunity to experience so much good music in a single weekend, though. I love the music of every one of those groups. I've been dying to see the Decemberists for a LONG time, but they never come anywhere near here. I can't wait to hear Colin Meloy sing live!
Tons of stuff I should be doing instead of blogging. Perhaps I should attend to some of that now. Here's to a productive week!
Peace.
Death Cab for Cutie didn't let me down either. They never have... this was my third time to see them and this live performance was no less powerful than the previous two I've had the privilege of attending. All the passion and energy was still there. Chris Walla played so hard he broke a string and, unfortunately, hurt his hand. Jason McGerr seemed like he was in his own world as he drummed away like a mad man. Gibbard did his usual sort of back and forth swaying dance as he rocked out on his guitar. His performance of "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" was just as moving this time as it was in St. Louis in October. I love the sound of his voice with an acoustic guitar (as I've mentioned in previous posts... I just feel like his vocals were made to be combined with those softer acoustic sounds). Nick Harmer drives that band with his outstanding bass lines like a freaking machine. I love singling out those lines and focusing my attention on the way they move the music. So good. So good....
I'm counting down the days until the house hunting trip to Seattle. We leave on May 22 for a 10 day stay in that gorgeous city. Hopefully, by the time we come back to Arkansas, we will have a new address in Washington to move our belongings into when return at the end of June to stay for good. I'm also looking for jobs as I didn't get accepted to the University of Washington's Social Psychology Ph.D. program. I think my prospects are pretty decent. I'm hoping that I may be able to line up an interview or two on the May trip as well. Fingers crossed... but regardless of what happens, I couldn't be more excited about getting the hell out of Arkansas and back to the Northwest. I miss it so much I ache. I truly believe that is where I was meant to be.
I also purchased tickets this evening for two shows in Redmond, WA, the weekend of July 17. The Decemberists, Andrew Bird, and Blind Pilot are playing that Friday night and Death Cab for Cutie, the New Pornographers, and Ra Ra Riot are playing Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday show had already sold out, so I had to go with tickets for the Sunday performance. I can't believe my luck at having the opportunity to experience so much good music in a single weekend, though. I love the music of every one of those groups. I've been dying to see the Decemberists for a LONG time, but they never come anywhere near here. I can't wait to hear Colin Meloy sing live!
Tons of stuff I should be doing instead of blogging. Perhaps I should attend to some of that now. Here's to a productive week!
Peace.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Feeling Human...
Even though I'm currently working on my master's degree in psychology, I find that music is the central and driving force in my life. I guess it's always been like that, though. At one point, I thought I wanted to play music always. I loved it like nothing else. But then it became a chore and wasn't fun anymore. When that happened, I knew I had to walk away from it. Playing an instrument should always be enjoyable on some level. Opening the case should never make you cringe or want to storm away in frustration. When it comes to that, it's gone too far.
While I stopped playing, I never stopped listening. In fact, I feel as though I developed those parts of my musical talents in place of my performance abilities. I began putting effort in to truly hearing music. All of the instruments. All of the voices. All of the movement. All of the change and variation. All of the diversity of sound and tonality and quality. All of the thought and emotion struggling to be conveyed. It's amazing what you can hear when you make these things the centerpieces of your listening experience. I can do it now without trying. I just close my eyes and it flows. I can almost see it. I've heard of people who can see sound and, particularly, music. I often envy those individuals.
Obviously, hearing plays the key role in experiencing music; however, I find it relatively easy to feel music as well. The pulse of the beat can be felt in the very pit of my stomach. Certain combinations of notes or the utterance of a certain combination of words may raise the hair on my arms or the back of my neck. I sometimes find myself struggling to breathe as I enjoy a live performance or fully immerse myself in a good album through a pair of high quality headphones. The smells and tastes I sense in the air at live shows are unique to such situations. I always drive home afterward, wondering how it is that I've come to have the scent of hundreds of different people I've never met upon me... some sort of collective aroma consisting of colognes and aftershaves and perfumes and clove cigarettes and marijuana and a dozen different kinds of beer and wine and other assorted alcohols. It's the smell of an evening shared between strangers that are somehow friends simultaneously. Drawn together from all over by a mutual love of a band and their music. I just wish that the sight of a band upon a stage as they perform, as I become excited by the movement of the individuals before me, as they rock and sway and pull forth pure art from their instruments... I wish that affected me as much as all of these other things. But I can close my eyes, leave the work to all of my other senses, and have the most enjoyable experiences of my life. People always ask that question "If you HAD to choose, would you rather go blind or deaf?" For me, it's never been any sort of contest.
While I stopped playing, I never stopped listening. In fact, I feel as though I developed those parts of my musical talents in place of my performance abilities. I began putting effort in to truly hearing music. All of the instruments. All of the voices. All of the movement. All of the change and variation. All of the diversity of sound and tonality and quality. All of the thought and emotion struggling to be conveyed. It's amazing what you can hear when you make these things the centerpieces of your listening experience. I can do it now without trying. I just close my eyes and it flows. I can almost see it. I've heard of people who can see sound and, particularly, music. I often envy those individuals.
Obviously, hearing plays the key role in experiencing music; however, I find it relatively easy to feel music as well. The pulse of the beat can be felt in the very pit of my stomach. Certain combinations of notes or the utterance of a certain combination of words may raise the hair on my arms or the back of my neck. I sometimes find myself struggling to breathe as I enjoy a live performance or fully immerse myself in a good album through a pair of high quality headphones. The smells and tastes I sense in the air at live shows are unique to such situations. I always drive home afterward, wondering how it is that I've come to have the scent of hundreds of different people I've never met upon me... some sort of collective aroma consisting of colognes and aftershaves and perfumes and clove cigarettes and marijuana and a dozen different kinds of beer and wine and other assorted alcohols. It's the smell of an evening shared between strangers that are somehow friends simultaneously. Drawn together from all over by a mutual love of a band and their music. I just wish that the sight of a band upon a stage as they perform, as I become excited by the movement of the individuals before me, as they rock and sway and pull forth pure art from their instruments... I wish that affected me as much as all of these other things. But I can close my eyes, leave the work to all of my other senses, and have the most enjoyable experiences of my life. People always ask that question "If you HAD to choose, would you rather go blind or deaf?" For me, it's never been any sort of contest.
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