So, anyway. I’ve started this great new hobby. I sing in a choir !

I know it sounds like I’ve turned into my mother but it is actually really cool. We sing gospel and Motown type stuff and once you stop feeling stupid it is very therapeutic. We ‘ooooohh’ and ‘ahhhhhhh’ as if we were member of the Supremes without the spangly dresses. A girl can dream.

If you’re wondering why I’m sharing this with you it’s because it is also a successful business.  It’s a smart idea and the choirs are spreading. I should imagine that the copyright on the songs and arrangements is the biggest cost and once that is sorted, the more choirs you have the more income you can generate.

But even though I love it and admire the business model I have a problem.

Over-selling.

As a member I am being asked to attend public events, which can only amount to free publicity for the brand, purchase branded clothing and listen to quite a lot of ‘heavy sell’.  When a lot of people are handing over cash for an experience like this it would be better to take a slightly lighter approach and at least give members the illusion that they have a stake in it. If you take your customers for granted then they may vote with their feet.

I am signed up for another term,  so I’m prepared to go with the flow for the moment.  But never under-estimate the consumer, we need to be treated with respect.

Dalam dunia tarik suara kita mengenal jenis-jenis kelompok vokal seperti Duet, Trio, Kwartet, Ansambel, Paduan Suara dll. Paduan Suara sering kita saksikan pada acara-acara rutin gereja bahkan yang bersifat tahunan misalnya : Pesparawi (Pesta Paduan Suara Gerejawi), Perayaan Paskah/Natal.
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Pembinaan Paduan Suara pada umumnya bersifat temporer, artinya hanya dibentuk jika ada event yang membutuhkan dan menyewa pelatih dari luar dengan biaya yang relatif mahal. Padahal bila kita memahami trik/teknik latihan Paduan Suara sebenarnya tidak terlalu sulit dan bisa kita kerjakan sendiri. Yang penting kita bisa membuat program latihan yang baik, tentunya dengan sarana/tempat latihan yang representatif.

KLASIFIKASI PADUAN SUARA
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Penulis megklasifikasikan Paduan Suara menjadi 3 (tiga) level, yaitu:
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Level – 1 (Penguasaan Materi)
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Kriteria : Anggota Paduan Suara mampu menyanyikan lagu/materi sesuai dengan notasi yang tertulis pada partitur.
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Tips :
- Nyanyikan panjang pendek not sesuai nilai not pada partitur.
- Nyanyikan tinggi rendah nada sesuai dengan interval nada yang tertulis di partitur.
- Tekankan anggota untuk menghafal syairnya.
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Level – 2 (Interprestasi)
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Kriteria : Anggota Paduan Suara mampu menyanyikan lagu/materi sesuai dengan interprestasi lagu yang diinginkan oleh komponis maupun aranger lagu tersebut.
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Tips :
- Latih keras/lembut suara sesuai dengan tanda dinamik pada partitur. Kalau tidak tercantum pada partitur, dinamik disesuaikan dengan makna syair atau karakter alur melody.
- Latih Artikulasi (pengucapan) syair agar terdengar jelas. Misalnya pengucapan konsonan “r”, “s”, “ng”, serta vokal a, i, u, e, o, sehingga terdengar perbedaannya.
- Perhatikan Intonasi (penekanan) suku kata yang sesuai dengan Birama lagu.
- Perhatikan Frasering (pengkalimatan) agar sesuai dengan kalimat yang benar. Ini dapat dicapai jika dilaksanakan dengan teknik pernafasan yang baik.
- Lakukan pemanasan (vokalisi) yang cukup sebelum pelaksanaan latihan dimulai agar diperoleh Timbre (warna suara) yang menyatu, sehingga tidak ada suara yang menonjol sendiri.

Level – 3 (Ekspresi)
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Kriteria : Setelah melalui tahap level 1 dan 2, anggota Paduan Suara mampu menyanyikan lagu/materi dengan penghayatan dan dikeluarkan melalui ekspresi.
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Tips :
- Latih cara menyanyikan lagu sesuai dengan karakter lagu, misalnya: Lagu/aransemen yang riang dinyanyikan dengan lincah dan riang. – Perhatikan pada aransemen yang terdapat tanda perubahan tempo, misalnya : Accelerando, rittardando, A- tempo dll., agar dinyanyikan dengan tepat sehingga mendukung ekspresi.
- Tidak semua anggota dapat bernyanyi dengan ekspresi. Tempatkan anggota pada posisi central dan banjar terluar (samping kiri/kanan), karena posisi ini mempengaruhi penampilan secara keseluruhan.
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Pembagian Kelompok Suara
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Paduan suara umumnya terdiri dari 4 kelompok suara yaitu Sopran, Alto, Tenor dan Bass. Beberapa arransemen ada pula yang membagi Sopran, Meso, Alto, Tenor, Bariton dan Bass. Untuk mendapatkan balance yang baik, perlu pembagian yang tepat untuk masing-masing kelompok. Tips:
- Kelompokan anggota berdasarkan Range/ambitus suara, jangan paksakan penyanyi Alto bernyanyi dikelompok sopran dengan alasan karena kekurangan anggota sopran, demikian juga kelompok yang lainnya.
- Komposisi SATB (sopran, alto, tenor, bass) yang Ideal adalah 3:2:2:3., namun demikian pedoman di atas dapat berubah dengan pertimbangan potensi Power penyanyi yang ada.

Program Latihan
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Ada peribahasa “Seberangilah sungai dari tempat yang dangkal” artinya mulailah segala sesuatu dari yang mudah dahulu. Artinya dalam membuat program latihan harus bertahap dari yang mudah dahulu.
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Tips :
- Selesaikanlah dahulu level-1 baru kemudian mulai level-2, dst. Contoh : jangan mengajarkan materi level-2 kalau anggota belum semuanya lulus level-1, karena akan sia-sia akibat terpecahnya konsentrasi.
- Kelompok paduan suara ibarat rangkaian gerbong kereta api. Jika salah satu gerbong tersendat maka gerbong yang lain kecepatanya terpaksa ikut melambat, menyesuaikan kecepatan gerbong yang tersendat tadi. Perbaiki gerbong (baca : kelompok suara) yang lemah dahulu, baru kelompok gerbong lainnya.
- Awali latihan dengan vokalisi terlebih dahulu, sesuai dengan karakter lagu yang akan dinyanyikan. Jika lagu banyak menggunakan stacato, perbanyak vokalisi stacato, jika lagu banyak nada panjang, perbanyak vokalisi nada panjang.
- Tekankan anggota untuk membaca not, jangan menghafal not, karena kemampuan membaca sangat diperlukan dalam PS. Setelah anggota dapat menyanyikan notasi dengan benar tekankan untuk menghafal syair.

Dirigen
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Dirigen dalam Paduan Suara sangat berpengaruh terhadap keberhasilan penampilan Paduan Suara. Idealnya Dirigen Paduan Suara merangkap pelatih sejak awal program latihan dilaksanakan, agar secara emosional akan terjalin komunikasi. Namun karena keterbatasan personel di TNI AL yang bisa memimpin Paduan Suara, seringkali Dirigen ditunjuk berdasarkan senioritas, atau dari sukarelawan yang memberanikan diri karena tidak ada yang mau menjadi dirigen. Sebaiknya hal ini dihindari.
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Tips:
- Pilihlah Dirigen yang mempunyai wawasan PS lebih daripada anggota Paduan Suara lainnya, jangan berdasarkan senioritas saja.
- Fungsi Dirigen memadukan Suara dari anggotanya sehingga menjadi satu komposisi yang padu dan harmonis. Untuk itu Dirigen harus menguasai materi dengan baik dan benar, sebelum ia memadukan (memimpin) kelompok Paduan Suaranya.
- Dirigen jangan memulai aba-aba jika belum seluruh mata anggota memperhatikan Dirigen, karena kontak mata sangat penting untuk menjalin komunikasi antara Dirigen dan anggota Paduan Suara.
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Demikianlah secara singkat Tips berlatih Paduan Suara, semoga dapat bermanfaat.
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“Keberhasilan adalah buah dari latihan, namun tanpa disiplin, latihan tidak menghasilkan apa-apa”.
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Selamat berlatih . . ..©
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Sumber : Kapten Laut (KH) Albert AFR, S
MAJALAH CAKRAWALA TNI – AL

Di awal Tahun 2009 TopTenREVIEWS sudah mengeluarkan beberapa review untuk Antivirus Terbaik 2009. Di Tahun sebelumnya TopTenREVIEWS juga mengeluarkan TOP 10 Antivirus Software, dimana pada tahun lalu posisi teratas di tempati oleh Bitdefender Anti-virus dan disusul oleh Kaspersky Anti-virus. Antivirus Terbaik 2009 ini di nilai dari hasil review para pengguna produk antivirus dan dari kemampuan serta fitur dari masing-masing antivirus tersebut. Seperti kecepatan untuk melakukan scan, capat dalam mengidentifikasi virus dan worms, kemudahan penggunaan, efektivitas, update databases, fitur, kemudahan installasi, help dan support.

Review yang dilakukan oleh TopTenREVIEWS terhadap produk antivirus sangat membantu kita dalam mengambil keputusan untuk memilih produk antivirus yang tepat dalam menjaga komputer kita terhadap serangan Virus, Worm, Spyware dan Trojan.

Yang perlu kita ketahui, semua software antivirus tidaklah sama, ada yang bagus, yang buruk dan sedang. Begitu banyak software antivirus yang berkembang saat ini, tentu kita sebagai pengguna dibuat bingung untuk memilih antivirus yang baik, untuk itu TopTenREVIEWS membantu kita dalam hal ini. Sebenarnya dalam memilih antivirus yang tepat dan baik ada 2 faktor yang menentukan yaitu User-friendliness and Effectiveness.

Berikut 10 Antivirus Terbaik 2009 yang dikeluarkan oleh TopTenREVIEWS:

Peringkat 1 : BitDefender Antivirus (www.bitdefender.com)

Peringkat 2 : Kaspersky Anti-Virus (www.kaspersky.com)

Peringkat 3 : Webroot Antivirus (www.webroot.com)

Peringkat 4 : ESET Nod32 (www.eset.com)

Peringkat 5 : AVG Anti-Virus (www.avg.com)

Peringkat 6 : Vipre Antivirus + Antispyware (www.vipreantivirus.com)

Peringkat 7 : F-Secure Anti-Virus (www.f-secure.com)

Peringkat 8 : Trend Micro (www.trendmicro.com)

Peringkat 9 : McAfee VirusScan (www.mcafee.com)

Peringkat 10 : Norton AntiVirus (www.symantec.com)

By Janie Gilmore

Both the Stockton High School Choir and Band have been preparing for group performances that allow them to participate with other students from the area.

The Choir took part in the Mid-Continent League vocal clinic on November 6 at SHS. “The clinician is coming from Oakley. His name is Shane Stephenson and he is very excited to work with our students,” said Paulette Wildeman, vocal instructor.

“I don’t feel the whole choir is prepared, but I think we will do well. I like the fact that we get to sing all day. Some people might not understand that, but it’s what I live for; I like when the instructor critiques us during the day, the concert on the other hand isn’t really my thing,” said Junior Billie Chesney.

The participants were Seniors Megan Kearns, Jared Keas, Ashley Graf, Shelby Moore, Taylor Morgan, Jordann Wiltfong, and Aftan Winters; Juniors Chesney, Nikki Graf, and MaryLynn Griebel; Sophomores Alyssa Conyac, Chrissie Cox, Chandler Nyp, Hailey Pasilas, and Ravin States; and Freshmen Nolan Weiser and Kia King.

Two of the vocal students are also trying out for Honor Choir on November 7 at Fort Hays State University. These students are Chrissie Cox and Jordann Wiltfong. “I’m nervous, but ready to sing my hardest and make the cut for Honor Choir. As for MCL, I believe we are a prepared group of young singers, and it will be a great experience for all who attend,” said Cox.

Band members are also preparing for tryouts for Honor Band. They record the required instrumental curriculum and send in to the board of judges. The students preparing for Honor Band are: Seniors Alex Henry and Megan Kearns, Junior MaryLynn Griebel, Sophomore Rebekah Niblock, and Freshmen Koby Beougher, and Delilah Griebel.

“For your recordings you have to play the chromatic scale and two songs of different styles, the board normally selects nine or so musicians for each instrument so it is very competitive and you have to give it your all,” said MaryLynn Griebel.

Je ne reviendrai pas sur l’étude TREAT (Trial to Reduce Cardiovascular Events With Aranesp Therapy) qui doit faire le malheur d’Amgen. Non seulement l’Aranesp® n’a pas montré d’effet sur les end points primaires, mais le groupe qui recevait de l’Aranesp® a fait significativement plus d’accident vasculaire cérébral (101 patients vs 53 (hazard ratio, 1.92; 95% CI 1.38 to 2.68; P<0.001)).

Ce résultat contradictoire montre, encore une fois, notre méconnaissance de la physiopathologie de l’érythropoïèse lors d’épisodes inflammatoires et des effets secondaires d’un taux d’hémoglobine élevé. Enfin, c’est peut-être  la dose d’érythropoïétine (EPO) pour atteindre ce taux qui pourrait poser problème. Ce dernier argument avait déjà été évoqué lors d’une seconde analyse de l’étude CHOIR  (Correction of Hemoglobin and Outcomes in Renal Insufficiency) qui suggérait que les événements cardiovasculaires se limitaient aux patients recevant d’importantes doses d’EPO et ayant une réponse sur le taux d’hémoglobine sous-optimale. Les patients qui obtenaient un taux d’hémoglobine plus haut avec des doses relativement faibles d’EPO n’ayant pas de complications cardiovasculaires.

Cette étude n’a pas fini de faire couler de l’encre. Je pense toutefois, pour ma part, que l’utilisation de doses plus importantes d’EPO chez certains patients est la conséquence et non la cause du problème

The Milwaukee Choristers will hold auditions for new members on Wednesday, December 16th, 2009.  Music Director James B. Kinchen, Jr. will begin hearing singers starting at 6:30 p.m. at Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church (1529 Wauwatosa Ave., Wauwatosa).   Appointments are recommended and can be made by e-mailing auditions@milwaukeechoristers.org or by calling (414) 354-1933.  Walk-ins will be heard in between appointments as the schedule permits.

CLICK HERE to read some helpful tips before you audition.

Singers accepted into the Milwaukee Choristers will join the group for rehearsals beginning in January.  Regular rehearsals take place every Wednesday evening from 7:15 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. at Wauwatosa United Methodist Church.

Koro Ilustrado invites everyone to watch their launching concert, ‘Koro, Klasik, Krismas!’ on December 2, 2009, Wednesday, 8PM at the Philam Life Theater on UN Avenue, Manila City. The concert features co-conductors Mr. Edmund Alan Piquero Jr. and Ms. Anna Abeleda-Piquero with an all-male repertoire of classical, standards and well-loved Christmas choral music. The concert is supported by the BPI Get Started, Jollibee and Cover & Pages. Tickets at P300 each with discounts for students with valid IDs. (via Facebook)

Please leave a comment with your contact details for tickets.  Discounts available.

I love music!!! I love music since I was a baby. But since I went to Aus, I stopped playing/singing. Thanks to Brio, I pick up this passion again.

My guitar skill is not articulate yet. But I’m working hard. One day I wish to express my emotion thru music. One day, I wish to play music with tension, with emotion, with texture.

For now, I’d use my voice.

Aaaaaaaaaagnuuuss deeeeiiii.

I’ve been busy preparing to perform with the NYP Voice Ensemble once again at their annual concert. This time round, it’s even more fun with Acappuccino guest performing and I’m directing the alumni ensemble, the VocaKakis.

What more, Acappuccino returns to their choral roots as we present 2 Latin-American pieces, plus 2 more from our landmark performances.

If you’re interested in attending the concert, feel free to drop us (Acappuccino) an email. For more details, feel free to visit the group’s site.

Starting with choir practice. Singing is one of those hidden hobbies that only come out when an opportunity comes along .. so I’ve been practicing with the motley crew of people from my church (or as ‘motley’ as you can get with Chinese Baptists), bumping notes against each other and usually making melody.

What’s great about choir is the chance to connect with people I’ve never really met in my own church (imagine that!), and sing along with friends who I don’t normally see. I’m in the alto section, and getting to know one lady in particular because I usually end up singing beside her. And then there’s a high school friend who’s also alto, and her smile can be the cutest cartoon. She’s also one with a longer-standing musical background, so she gets all my questions :-]

Friends, let me pass on weekend morning goodness, via the MESSAGE from Immigrant’s Bossa Band. Not exactly a Christmas choir tune per se*, but it’s very weekend-y.

Happy Sabbath!

*Let’s not get overly excited about Christmas too soon. My former housemate used to joke at me for being a bit of a Grinch when it comes to Christmas paraphernalia, because I hate the sight of a house lit in December with the same amount of power that can probably generate enough electricity for a small country. That, and my general dislike for anything garish. I’ll start getting excited when the Christmas movies start up on TV. Or was it the nostalgia for Home Alone that gets me into high gear for the holidays? ..

In case anyone was wondering, I’m still alive.

I didn’t stop blogging for any particular reason.  In fact, I have a pretty good pencil review in drafts.  I just haven’t had the opportunity to take the pictures that I wanted and upload them with the post.

This year is crazy. I started taking transit.  At first it was awesome.  It quickly deteriorated into the same miserable commute I’d been suffering all of last year, except now I have to deal with loud music coming from headphones, and smelly people sitting next to me.

I was stretched thin to the point of not having a single evening off per week, until I got fired by my high school math student last week.

I immediately forgot about her because the 2 hours a week I was getting paid for got swallowed up in the other things that I have to do, and my mother annoyingly cheered me on about all the free time I would now have.  Nope.  The cheerfulness just made me more angry about all the time I didn’t have.

I cried in my boss’s office yesterday because I could not see how I could possibly finish everything that I had to do in the time that I had.

Instead, I’m blogging today.  Now I understand why in first year, my boyfriend would play video games all night fully knowing that he was failing first year engineering.

Choir is working out to be a LOT of work, but enjoyable.  I wish I could manage the choir for a living.  I would be very good at that.  I’m the first executive secretary to actually get the choir competing in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella

Instead, here I am researching about nonperiodic inspection intervals for condition based monitoring.

Did I say I was still alive?  Maybe just barely.

Well, who would have guessed that I wouldn’t update my blog until the first semester of my sophomore year was almost over? I see several virtual hands raised. Real funny, guys.

Well, a lot has changed, including me. As a freshman, I was sweet girl, a bit rough around the edges. But lets just say that when you have friends like Jamie, Jenny, Krystle, and Crys, innocence is impossible. But doesn’t mean I’m not the good girl. I was bad once, and it doesn’t suit me. I’m still posture-perfect, not-that-mean old Tabby.

Anyway, the catchup game aside, my weekend is packed! I’m hanging with Krystle tonight, then tommorow, I’ve got a date (yes, a date. You heard me right!). On Sunday Soph (one of the few of the freshie bundle I still see daily) and I are going to see New Moon. And I may drop into the show choir’s dinner theatre crap if I can.

The big problem?Throat has been bugging me, and I sound like I’ve been sucking all the helium out of a balloon.

Oh well. Bouken desho, desho?

Let’s get ready for a great time this Thanksgiving at Mikado Baptist Church. Sunday morning services will be a great time of giving thanks to our God for all He’s done for us and for who He is. Sunday night will be our Lord’s Table Service, which is a great time for our church family to focus on Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. This Lord’s Table Service is unique, as the theme is “God For Us.” You will be blessed as you are reminded that God is good all the time. (We’ll have a rehearsal on Sunday at 5:00pm for all narrators, groups, soloists, the orchestra, and [optionally] choir members.)

Our Tuesday Praise Service will follow a Thanksgiving dinner prepared for our church (be sure to purchase your tickets in advance, as walk-ins will not be able to be served). We’ll be having a regular service, with a couple of choir songs and some great testimonies from the congregation. Be sure to join us (and enjoy having Wednesday rehearsals off!).

Here’s what’s going on this week:

Sunday:

• AM: We Give You Thanks
• PM: Worship the Almighty God, God Is For Us, God Is Good All the Time, Hallelujah! What a Savior

Tuesday:

• Hallelujah! What a Savior
• God Is Good All the Time

I came across A. R. Rahman’s Jana Gana Mana today on youtube. Though I have heard his rendering of this beautifully composed Brahmo hymn by Tagore before, listening to it today in a empty room surrounded by papers on memory and architecture I went for a walk down memory lane, where each image/memory that came up was depicted to perfection like they happened yesterday and not 15 years back.
I was a part of my school choir and when the evening bell rang at 15:15 signaling the end of the day it was the choirs duty to the sing the song mentioned above as the same is the Indian National anthem. Being a part of the choir meant that you got to leave class 5 minutes before everyone else, it was a ‘special’ privilege. I do not remember if were good or bad, but here that is not important but what is, is the events I remember after we finished singing the Anthem. Listening to the song today evoked long lost memories of school, of how we would rush out at the end of the song, the gates would open and it was freedom after a day of being cooped up indoors! The field outside would fill with students, some rushing home, catching buses and some hanging around to play. Parents, drivers would be waiting at the outer gates picking up their wards and I clearly remember the days when my mom or dad would come to pick us up, they were rare occasions and also special ones as we were never picked up (we here is me and my sister). So when they did it meant treats were in store or we were in trouble!
I lived within walking distance from school, some 10-15 minutes at most and I had to take my younger sister home. This was never the highlight of the day as I was the ‘cooler’ elder sister and we never ‘mixed’ with the younger students (Ironically I haven’t seen my sister now in over two years). Dragging our feet, kicking stones, screwing our shoes in the process we would lug ourselves home most of the time fighting and on some rare instances amicably.  But the best memories of these walks was when my dad would show up on his way home from work (it coincided with our walk), the three of us would stuff ourselves on his tiny tiny luna and feel like we were riding off into the sunset!
Those really were the days, dusty roads, school uniforms, bright hot sun and a younger sister to tug home on a road far from explored but still feeling all ‘grown up’. Now I sit surrounded by texts on how we remember, and wonder how my memories have undergone metamorphoses /ing. Thanks to Rahman I got a break from my academic readings of memory to a personal portrayal of memories that are lost in time. On a cold November’s night I remembered a time when the sun shined bright on sunny and much simpler times!

At choir practice tonight we sang:

• Verses one and three of Hark the Herald Angels Sing
• We’re Walking in the Air
• An Eriskay Love Lilt
• Angel Carol
• The Little Road to Bethlehem
• A Clare Benediction
• The Ride of the Witch
• A descant to the last verse of O Come All Ye Faithful (attempted)
• Blow the Wind Southerly

Only one more rehearsal before the first of the Christmas concerts. Eek.

In other news, I managed to pull down a twenty-foot high curtain from one of the large windows (in the school hall where we rehearse) when attempting to pull it across to close it. Whoops. Double whoops when you consider that Mr C was, at the time, repeatedly telling me not to pull on the curtain string because he thought the curtain was about to fall down. He was right, I was wrong.  I am silly and quite glad that the school caretaker is not as scary as he pretends to be.

Lots of events coming up this weekend! I’m going to be one busy bee

First off, the Shoreline Holiday Crafts Market is on Saturday, and it’s sure to be a great time.

I can’t wait to see what other folks are selling, and of course, I hope people like what I have to offer! (Really, Kimi’s and my booth is going to be fantastic!) And there’s nothing like a craft fair to get you in the holiday spirit, plus they’ll have hourly door prizes. So please, if you’re in the Shoreline, north Seattle area, come check this out!

The other big event that I’m attending is the PHS Choir To Russia with Love concert at the Puyallup High School auditorium. As I mentioned in this post, the choir is travelling to Russia over spring break, and they need all the support they can get. The concert is guaranteed to be very entertaining, and you’ll be helping them in their travel goal by attending. Give these kids an experience of a lifetime! For all the details on the concert, check out my other post!

On a more personal note, my wonderful grandparents are flying out from Wisconsin this weekend and will celebrate Thanksgiving with the West Coasters. We’re so excited to have them visit! I’m really looking forward to spending time with them next week, because really, every moment is precious.

I’ll be signing off for the week to gear up for this weekend. Wish me luck, and I’ll be sure to have lots of pictures from the weekend to share on Monday!

THIS WAS A REALLY HEAVY SEMESTER… but finally is over! (at least the hard part of school), I can finally sleep today but more importantly: I can go back to music (I’m happy because of that ).

I have a lot of news today for you guys:

1 – While I wasn’t here writing in this blogspot, I had 2 important concerts (because my choir class): the official choir concert (31th october) and pramúsica show (6th November). It was awesome, the first one was my first formal vocal concert in my entire  life; the second one… I was really nervous because it was my first concert where I played drums, percussions, acoustic guitar, electric bass and SING hahaha. I’m trying to get the audio, but it’s still in process… when I get them, I’ll upload them .

2- Because this tough semester (and many other personal problems), I started to develope the third CD “Heaven”. I know I haven’t uploaded “Tsunami – Hate” songs but as you know I tend to write new songs when something important is happening in my life. I hope this vacations I can finish the vocal part of “Tsunami – Hate” and the structure of “Heaven”. By the way, “Heaven” is the third album but I’m doing at the same time songs for “Source” (4th) and “Time” (5th)… every album has its theme, that’s the reason…

3- This is awesome, 3 days ago… 3 friends told me (at 3 pm hahahaha) that SGAE was giving 7 full scholarships to spanish tongued countries. Well, as you know I’m studing Biotechnology because I got a 90% scholarship (and a 1000 pesos per month help used for food or rent)… that is only because of my good grades but let’s be honest: I don’t love it as much as music. I don’t care if I’m good at most of the classes that I take on school, I’m not happy…

I’ll fight for that scholarship (as far as my abilities allow me to)… I need to send my information before 24th November, I must hurry, this could be the opportunity I’ve been waiting all my life!

4- By the way, talking about Berklee’s requirements, there something that many people have been asking me: “Why don’t you have a myspace account?” I think it’s time for me to answer that question (and I hope Berklee and SGAE read this answer):

I don’t want to be considered as someone else, like another musician that is trying to make music to get fame, money, wealth, to sell, sell and sell!!!… I know in these days money is important, but it’s NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT. I see myself as an alternative musician, because I try to make songs that make you think about your life… make you remember good (and bad) things and BECAUSE OF THAT… you’ll try to change. That’s why I take a lot of time to make one song, I want it to be as close as possible to the feeling and thought I want to share… I don’t have a myspace account because I’m loyal to my alternative principles: “if you want to be someone successful, don’t follow what everybody does… or you’ll be like the rest”.

Note for SGAE and Berklee, my works must be downloaded and they’re in midi format because I have no money to record them (but I’d love to) and I don’t have a band to play it alive (it’s a personal work) and more important: I could use a camera, record myself playing each part and then use Sonar 6 to mix them but… somebody stole my camera ¬¬. Please, understand my position, I really don’t have money… this scholarship can be the best thing that could happen to me because I would study what I want AND I won’t have to worry about food anymore…

Here you can download the full album I call “Tsunami – Love”, you can read the lyrics on the right side of this blogspot:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=L1PLO8KE

Here you can download some incomplete Midi Demos of “Tsunami – Hate” and “Heaven”:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TEDNS2R3

In the past two weeks, I’ve had final days at two of my five schools. I officially end my contract on the 28th, but this month has thus far been a sort of unending goodbye.

Here are some highlights from Goodbye Jungang, and So long, Wolchon.

My grade 4 class at Jungang Elementary (I had just given them Canadian nickels, and they were pretty happy about that)

My grade 3s -- really, really good class

I did after school classes at Jungang, this is a mix of grade 1, 2 & 3 students

Wolchon 3rd graders -- small school, small classes, small kids

Grade 4, me looking like one of the kids

Grade 5

Grade 6ers (I'll explain those outfits in a second)

This past Tuesday was the county-wide choir and orchestra competition. The students suited up and performed for judges who appeared and disappeared in a matter of minutes.
It’s rather hypnotic to watch them sway in unison, and the second song has been in my head all week.

I was lucky enough to find myself at these schools, and will always keep fond memories of my time there.

Yes, it is day 18. That means I need to break 30,000 today. I’m aiming for at least 25,000. Then I’m back to 5,000 behind. I think I can get past that mark, though. I even finished my other work.

We started Christmas music in choir yesterday, so I have it stuck in my head and it’s only halfway through November. Our concert is December 6th, though so we have to start practicing right away. I always love the ten minute lull after a concert before we have to start on something new. That small moment of relaxation is slightly uncomfortable, as if we don’t quite know how to breathe for a bit… and then we jump back in taking huge gulps of air and music, preparing for our next concert. I love choir.

Okay, well NaNo is not going great, I’m about 7,000 behind tomorrow’s goal. Theoretically if I do that much tomorrow then I’m back on track, but I think it’s going to be slower than that. We shall see. I’m starting to hit a good patch in my novel now.

Also, Good news:

Created by Oatmeal

That site is adorable. Go find out the 15 things worth knowing about coffee or 7 reasons to keep your Tyrannosaur off crack cocaine.

Time to sleep. Gnight! <3

Well, I would be remiss if I didn’t make a blog post while on TDY (For folks not familiar with military acronyms, TDY stands for temporary duty).  I have spent the last week in beautiful Leesville, LA doing some testing for a project I work on.  I’ve spent most of the time (including all of last weekend!) at Ft. Polk, which has been pretty cool, though a bit tiring.  Can’t post any videos on here, but it was cool nonetheless.    Here is a picture of me from our last trip down to Ft. Polk.

TDY and My Career

Travel is a core part of my career (I spent approximately 25% of my time on travel).  It has its advantages:

• Able to travel to various places in the U.S. (and potentially overseas if I happen to be on a project that requires OCONUS travel in the future) and see things I would not see otherwise.
• Arguably the best reason why I like going on TDY is going with my IPT members.  As always, you learn more about who you work with outside the work environment, and this provides an opportunity for that.
• Nice change of pace from the office grind, helps to put things into perspective.
• Learn about different manufacturing processes and get a better appreciation for how things are produced.
• Talk to Warfighters who have gone to Iraq/Afghanistan, listen to their stories, and most importantly, identify what problems they are currently facing.

Of course, it does have its disadvantages:

• Going out to eat everyday at a fast food/restaurant for lunch & dinner is not exactly healthy.
• It seems like TDY’s tend to come in spurts.  Multiple TDY’s really set you back on office work when you return, and result in playing catch-up.
• Days are usually longer than the normal workday, and it is very tough to motivate myself sometimes to do homework.
• For long TDY’s, you start to miss being home.
• Since as Government employees we need to take the contract air carrier, this usually results in us having to take connecting flights, which as anyone who travels knows, leaves many ample opportunities for flight delays.

Overall, the positives most definitely outweigh the negatives, and I wouldn’t change anything about it.

School

Classes are going well, and are most definitely keeping me busy.  I got back my midterm for Project Management, got a 26/30 on it.  Overall he said I did a really good job, but didn’t agree with some of my conclusions.  I am not too worried about it, I am doing well in the class overall, will just have to work hard on the final project when it is assigned.

My accounting class so far is relatively easy (roughly a 98% grade in the class so far).  He currently has us looking through two annual reports, one from Tyson Foods, and the other from Smithfield.  It has been tough to focus on it while on TDY, but I am hoping to knock out a lot of the work tonight after finishing this blog post. 

Work

Work is going really well, just hit my 2 year mark and received my promotion.  Now, it is a matter of just continuing to do my work, taking on additional tasks as time allows, and networking until I am ready to compete for a team lead position.  We’ll just have to see what the future holds.

Other

I bought a PlayStation 3 the other week, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.  First game I bought was Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.  Graphics were awesome, and the story was actually pretty good for an action game.  Sort of felt like I was in a movie while playing.  I also bought Modern Warfare 2 but haven’t played it yet due to not being home.  From what I heard so far, the game is well done, looking forward to playing when I get back.

Lastly (but most definitely not least ), for my b-day Jessica got us tickets to go see the musical West Side Story.  I have loved this musical since I was a kid, and I can’t wait to see it.  We are going to see it this Saturday; I’ll be sure to review it for you guys.

I am traveling back to NJ Friday morning (6AM flight!), but at least that means I’ll be back at EWR aroud noontime and will have time to relax before choir at night.  Miss you all in NJ, see you soon!