Last Post

Well, today is finals day and I must say that I am looking forward to Christmas break. I have thoroughly enjoyed this semester and this class in particular. While I was unable to put everything in my paper that I would have liked, I do believe that I have given some good information and hopefully the paper will help anyone that wants to know more about this subculture.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I had my orchestra concert the other night and I must say that it went extremely well. The soloists did an amazing job and all the pieces were fantastic. I could not believe how fast the Farandole by Bizet got by the end. My fingers could barely keep up and at some points, I know that I faked it. When playing a passage of music as fast as that, and shifting positions at the same time, you have to just do your best and stay in tempo. I think that my favorite piece of the concert would have to be Concerto by Corelli. This semester, SICO (Southern Illinois Civic Orchestra) combined its concert with that of the Wind Ensemble. This provided a longer concert for the listeners and also allowed the musicians from SICO to sit and listen to a concert. Hopefully they will do this next semester as well.

Hunting and Piecing

Ok, so this weekend was pretty crazy. To start it off, My mother and I had to get some music ready for a friend's Christmas open house. Next, my brother and I went hunting on Saturday. I went hunting for the first time last year and I knew that I would want to go again this year. We left our house at five-thirty and got out to our hunting grounds at six o'clock. I probably do not need to say how extremely cold it was, but I will say that I wore several layers. We sat outside for about three hours before my hands really started to get cold. Thankfully, we had brought some air-activated hand warmers to put inside our gloves. After we got situated again, we sat there for another couple of hours. At this time, I had gotten extremely frustrated with our position, partly due to the cold wind blowing up onto the ridge and partly due to the fact that we had seen absolutely no sign of deer.
I whispered to Arik, my brother, that I was going to go to a creek that the deer often come to. As I walked I saw some deer tracks and found a trail and decided to head in that direction. The path was not particularly straight and at some points I had to locate the trail again. When I came to the end of the traceable part of the trail, I found a large fallen tree and decided to wait there for a while. After a couple more hours, I headed down to the creek, but there was no sign of them there either.
I quietly walked back to where we had first been that morning; taking precaution not to make much noise in case there were any deer around. I was almost to my brother, when he finally saw me and said that he had seen a couple of doe. We followed their tracks for a while, but decided to give up on the deer for the day. On the way back to the truck, we walked as quietly as we could, because we thought that there could still be a chance that we would see a deer on the way, but in the end, we had gotten no deer.
Over the weekend I have also been trying to fill in some spots in paper that need some work and I have also been trying to piece it together in a logical and flowing manner. This has actually proven to be more difficult than I had first anticipated. I am still a bit frustrated and am trying several different combinations to find the right one, but until then, I will have to just keep at it.

The Fifty-One Diner

Tonight, I am going to the 51 Diner over in Perryville, MO. I heard from a friend that they host a bluegrass jam every Tuesday night so I thought that this would be a good location to pick up some more information and possibly some interviews. I do not know how many people will be open for an interview, but based on my recent experiences with this subculture, I believe that I will get at least one interview. The jam starts at around six-thirty and hopefully my friends will be there. I am looking forward to tonight and will definitely post the results of my endeavors.
I still have not been able to get in contact with the bluegrass band that I was hoping to interview, but I am still going to try, even if it will have to be an over-the-phone interview.
On another subject, I still cannot decide how to order my essay. I have several subheadings and am working on a few more sections, but I still have no idea how to order them. Hopefully the suggestions posted on Blackboard today will help a little bit. A new subheading will include a short description of a bluegrass museum in Owensboro, KY.

Thanksgiving

I would have to say that this has been one of the most eventful thanksgivings that my family has ever had. For one thing, we had nineteen people in our house for the meal. Now that may not seem like a lot, but when you have to cook and clean for that many people, in a small kitchen, it begins to be quite the project. we started with the cleaning as soon as I got home from SWIC on Tuesday and on Wednesday, we started with the cooking. We made pies, casseroles, set up chairs and air mattresses and I even made my special cinnamon rolls.
The next morning went smoothly since we had done most of the cooking the day before and we only had fifteen people in the house at this point. After the tables were pushed together and the paper plates and plastic utensils were brought out, we pulled the cinnamon rolls and egg casseroles out of the oven. Believe it or not, things that come out of the oven tend to be extremely hot. I learned this the hard way as I was transfering the cinnamon rolls to a platter. Some of the gooey sugar and cinnamon dripped onto my thumb and I could not get my hand to the cold water fast enough.
After breakfast, it was time to the dishes; not too hard because we used paper plates. We then proceeded with the preparations for the Thanksgiving dinner. We ate around four or five and afterwards the dishes had to be done. I was definitely thankful for a dishwasher this weekend. The last of our guests are leaving tomorrow and I will finally have a chance to work on my homework.

Unexpected Encounter

I was walking toward the SWIC Library here at the Red Bud Campus and after setting down my violin case and backpack, I was approached by a lady wearing a polo shirt with the SWIC emblem on it. She had a smile on her face and asked me if that was a violin in the case. I answered her saying that it was and she said that she played as well. She asked how long I had been playing and I told her that I have played for the past 9 years or so, but that I had just recently started lessons with a professional teacher. I then told her that I also was involved in the Southern Illinois Civic Orchestra at SIUC. She said that she also had played in an orchestra but that she was now teaching bluegrass music at the Bluegrass Shack in New Athens, IL.
We talked for a few more minutes about technique and styles before we started to close our conversation. She said that we should get together and play sometime or meet at the Bluegrass Shack. We shook hands and gave our names, but I'm embarassed to say that I forgot what her name was.
When she had first walked up, I was sure that it would be a waste of my time to talk to her, but I now see that it was actually very helpful. I never would have guessed by her appearance or style of speach that she would play bluegrass music, let alone teach it. It really showed me that even though I know that the stereotypes are inaccurate, I still let myself put her into a category based on what I saw. I'll definitely be more on guard with myself at my next encounter and I look forward to my next visit to the Bluegrass Shack.

An Abundance of Artifacts

I have been trying to set up the interview with a band in my subculture, but so far it is not working out. Instead of putting an interview in this section of the paper, I will put in some more information on the other instruments or artifacts that my subculture employs. Thankfully, there are several to write about so there shouldn't be any problem with meeting the length requirement. While I am thoroughly enjoying this class, I will be relieved when it is finished. I know that I will have a greater appreciation for those who make writing their profession. I know that I probably could not apply myself to that sort of work, but a writer might say the same thing about practicing an instrument for a living.
On another topic, I have been teaching myself Hebrew. It is not as difficult as I thought it would be. My only problem is that I am reading the language as though I were just learning how to read, but in a way, I am. I really like the language and I love to say the words out loud. I hope to also learn some Jewish songs for my violin playing.

New Information

I still have not been able to set up an interview with people from my subculture. However, I was able to pick up a new source of information. At the 51 Diner in Perryville, MO, there is a bluegrass jam every Tuesday night. Some friends of mine told me that they go there and play their instruments and sing. I hope to get there next week as I have other obligations tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, my rough draft of paper three was all ready to go and when I went to put it on my flash drive for tomorrow, I couldn't find it. So, I have been frantically trying to remember what I wrote and I'm determined to stay up until I can finish it again.
I think that, of all the papers so far, this paper is the most difficult. I am a little uncertain as to what I need to write about, but I will do my best. I will look forward to finishing this essay and class. I have thoroughly enjoyed it but I will be glad to not be so stressed about this class. I also will appreciate the input on my paper tomorrow. Any corrections will be welcome.