Just A Few Things of Note
UPDATE: A link to the Utah Symphony Pro-Am coverage is HERE. Check it out! You know you want to.
Here I go posting a bazillion times in a row again. How exciting :)
I've been meaning to write a couple things down for about a week now, but I didn't want to bore you all to the point of utter extinction. Soooo, I procrastinated. In other words, these experiences are recorded more as a 'journal entry' rather than a 'entertainment' sort of post.
But feel free to read on if you'd like!
Last week was the Auxiliary Leadership Training for the LDS Church, and I was able to go. This was my second year, and I have really enjoyed it both times! It's fun to get together with the women I have opportunity to serve with nearly every day and make a 'Girls Night Out' of an otherwise potentially tedious obligation. Some people hear the word 'training' and they cringe. Thankfully, the only part about me that cringed when I was made aware of the invitation from the General Relief Society Presidency was my rear end.
Let me explain. :)
The benches in the Salt Lake City tabernacle are ruthless. I'm not kidding. Just looking at them makes your rump start to go numb. So thinking of yet another 2 and a half hour long training sitting on those wooden benches was the only part I dreaded. But don't worry. I survived.
But the main reasons I wanted to bring that training up wasn't to talk more about Relief Society as a whole (you undoubtedly got enough of that here), but rather to mention how very personable the General Relief Society Presidency is. For a group of women to have so much influence and authority, I sort of expected an aura of awe to surround them. The kind of awe I'm referring to is not one of respect and admiration. . . that aura certainly existed. I'm referring to the feeling of superiority. Let's face it- those women are incredible. I wouldn't have minded feeling inferior to them. They give me much to look up to and work toward in my quest to be a faithful disciple.
But the fact remains that they were very sweet and weren't intimidating at all. I felt completely at ease around them, and that helped to make a memorable and magic experience.
-----
Topic #2 is about the Utah Symphony Pro-Am concert I was invited to participate in.
If I'm being 100% honest, there were moments of complete and utter frustration leading up to the concert. And I mean, right until I sat down in my seat and the conductor started talking. I bounced around from feeling inadequate as a musician to thinking that it was going to be a huge waste of time {seeing how the entire thing was projected to only take about an hour}. This was the first time the Utah Symphony has done something like this, and so I had no idea what to expect.
BUT. . . We were playing Beethoven. And it was a chance to play side-by-side with a member of the Utah Symphony. And it was an opportunity to grow. So I was all over it :)
The night was interesting, to say the least. Due to some unfortunate events, my husband and I were running late. Just for kicks, I'll list out those events. It was a bit colder than we expected outside so Chuck left me in the car in the driveway and ran inside and get our jackets. We had left Hannah sleeping in her swing in the living room because my mother-in-law was just upstairs and was planning on checking on her in a bit. Zoe had just eaten her dinner. Chuck searched high and low for my sweater and couldn't find it {in his defense, it's because I forgot I put it in the dirty clothes hamper}. After getting rightfully a little frustrated, he went to leave the house but Zoe decided that she needed to go potty or die and so she charged for the door. I have a rather large wooden {a.k.a heavy} decoration hanging on the front door that really likes to bang on the glass. Zoe + sleeping baby + frustrated husband + the door with a loud decoration hanging on it = utter disaster.
I'll let you imagine what happened, but I'll give you a hint. It has to do with a screaming baby and a pissed off husband.
So now we were about 15 minutes behind schedule.
As we parked the car and walked toward the train that would take us to Abravanel Hall, we saw the train pulling up to the station. Crappers. Me running is not a pretty sight on a good day, but me running with a violin case would have been hilarious if not a completely bad idea. The next train was probably another 10 minutes away, and I had five minutes until I needed to be SEATED. Crappers, folks. It was not lookin' good.
On a happier note, the same homeless man who approached my fellow Relief Society presidency sisters and I on our way to the training on Tuesday also happened to approach my husband and I on the exact same corner at almost the exact same time of day.
Coincidence?
Hmmm. . . . probably not.
However, he zipped his trap after the first sentence and began studying the traffic light. I think he got the vibe that Chuck wasn't about to shell out any money and he had better wait for another hoard of women.
I think this was my first time being late to a rehearsal. Ever. And it only figures that it would be with the Utah Symphony. And I was the only person late. I'm pretty good at making lasting impressions.
At any rate, one thing that really stood out to me was how very quiet they were when the music asked for 'piano'. They meant business. When they needed to be loud, they were loud. When they needed to be soft, they were so quiet that I couldn't even hear my stand partner. I'm gonna try and do better at that as a result.
The whole experience was very inspiring! The conductor, Vladimir Kulenovic, was absolutely amazing! His passion for music was tangible and contagious.
So fun!
Okay. I'm done. :)
Here I go posting a bazillion times in a row again. How exciting :)
I've been meaning to write a couple things down for about a week now, but I didn't want to bore you all to the point of utter extinction. Soooo, I procrastinated. In other words, these experiences are recorded more as a 'journal entry' rather than a 'entertainment' sort of post.
But feel free to read on if you'd like!
Last week was the Auxiliary Leadership Training for the LDS Church, and I was able to go. This was my second year, and I have really enjoyed it both times! It's fun to get together with the women I have opportunity to serve with nearly every day and make a 'Girls Night Out' of an otherwise potentially tedious obligation. Some people hear the word 'training' and they cringe. Thankfully, the only part about me that cringed when I was made aware of the invitation from the General Relief Society Presidency was my rear end.
Let me explain. :)
The benches in the Salt Lake City tabernacle are ruthless. I'm not kidding. Just looking at them makes your rump start to go numb. So thinking of yet another 2 and a half hour long training sitting on those wooden benches was the only part I dreaded. But don't worry. I survived.
But the main reasons I wanted to bring that training up wasn't to talk more about Relief Society as a whole (you undoubtedly got enough of that here), but rather to mention how very personable the General Relief Society Presidency is. For a group of women to have so much influence and authority, I sort of expected an aura of awe to surround them. The kind of awe I'm referring to is not one of respect and admiration. . . that aura certainly existed. I'm referring to the feeling of superiority. Let's face it- those women are incredible. I wouldn't have minded feeling inferior to them. They give me much to look up to and work toward in my quest to be a faithful disciple.
But the fact remains that they were very sweet and weren't intimidating at all. I felt completely at ease around them, and that helped to make a memorable and magic experience.
-----
Topic #2 is about the Utah Symphony Pro-Am concert I was invited to participate in.
If I'm being 100% honest, there were moments of complete and utter frustration leading up to the concert. And I mean, right until I sat down in my seat and the conductor started talking. I bounced around from feeling inadequate as a musician to thinking that it was going to be a huge waste of time {seeing how the entire thing was projected to only take about an hour}. This was the first time the Utah Symphony has done something like this, and so I had no idea what to expect.
BUT. . . We were playing Beethoven. And it was a chance to play side-by-side with a member of the Utah Symphony. And it was an opportunity to grow. So I was all over it :)
The night was interesting, to say the least. Due to some unfortunate events, my husband and I were running late. Just for kicks, I'll list out those events. It was a bit colder than we expected outside so Chuck left me in the car in the driveway and ran inside and get our jackets. We had left Hannah sleeping in her swing in the living room because my mother-in-law was just upstairs and was planning on checking on her in a bit. Zoe had just eaten her dinner. Chuck searched high and low for my sweater and couldn't find it {in his defense, it's because I forgot I put it in the dirty clothes hamper}. After getting rightfully a little frustrated, he went to leave the house but Zoe decided that she needed to go potty or die and so she charged for the door. I have a rather large wooden {a.k.a heavy} decoration hanging on the front door that really likes to bang on the glass. Zoe + sleeping baby + frustrated husband + the door with a loud decoration hanging on it = utter disaster.
I'll let you imagine what happened, but I'll give you a hint. It has to do with a screaming baby and a pissed off husband.
So now we were about 15 minutes behind schedule.
As we parked the car and walked toward the train that would take us to Abravanel Hall, we saw the train pulling up to the station. Crappers. Me running is not a pretty sight on a good day, but me running with a violin case would have been hilarious if not a completely bad idea. The next train was probably another 10 minutes away, and I had five minutes until I needed to be SEATED. Crappers, folks. It was not lookin' good.
On a happier note, the same homeless man who approached my fellow Relief Society presidency sisters and I on our way to the training on Tuesday also happened to approach my husband and I on the exact same corner at almost the exact same time of day.
Coincidence?
Hmmm. . . . probably not.
However, he zipped his trap after the first sentence and began studying the traffic light. I think he got the vibe that Chuck wasn't about to shell out any money and he had better wait for another hoard of women.
I think this was my first time being late to a rehearsal. Ever. And it only figures that it would be with the Utah Symphony. And I was the only person late. I'm pretty good at making lasting impressions.
At any rate, one thing that really stood out to me was how very quiet they were when the music asked for 'piano'. They meant business. When they needed to be loud, they were loud. When they needed to be soft, they were so quiet that I couldn't even hear my stand partner. I'm gonna try and do better at that as a result.
The whole experience was very inspiring! The conductor, Vladimir Kulenovic, was absolutely amazing! His passion for music was tangible and contagious.
So fun!
Okay. I'm done. :)
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