with my eyes on the prize and my mind on you

sweet jesus, it's finally thanksgiving break. the past couple of weeks have been a bit rough and break is not going to be a week of slacking but at least it will be nice to loosen the belt a little bit (though hopefully not literally necessary post-thanksgiving). i'm super excited to be in cincinnati for the actual holiday and the next day and a few hours. i wonder if there is a thanksgiving day parade like there is in atlanta?

i'm rediscovering just how much i appreciate the "post war" album by m. ward. i have a few favorite songs in it and in the context of the album as a whole i like them even more. it has a few relaxed feel and subsequent relaxing properties. thanks, m. ward.

my hair is finally long enough to put behind my ears and i'm even dreaming of having my wash and wear hippie hair back again. cutting my hair was done as a statement and i like it short- there's just something enticing about having my long beautiful hair back. we'll see.

after my viola professor had a meeting and went grocery shopping, my lesson commenced today just about an hour behind schedule (and no big deal...askjdhasldhkash). as nit-picky as it was, it was fairly inspiring and we even entertained the thought of me giving a recital in the spring. it wouldn't be a bad idea as i'll already have things worked up from summer program recordings/auditions. maybe just before spring break? i'm starting to realize that my professor can be a brilliant teacher when you want her to be. the time it took to figure how to get what i needed in my lessons was quite frustrating but now that i know what questions to ask i'm learning a lot and very quickly. really, we're changing the way i approach practicing and being very VERY empirical about it. practice just this one shift, play that phrase on open strings, imagine the phrase in your head before you play - did it sound like you had imagined? why not? can you feel the weight and energy coming from your arm and into the bow? okay, now play. things are becoming very heady and that makes me very happy.

happy (belated) birthday shout-out to my "bestie" lauren. the consequent party was quite lively and very fun. i bonded with my favorite vegan over shamu wine and our shared love of the chilled out life. "no no, sacrilege is like anyone but jim morrison trying to play 'the end'." he's a riot, that one. i unfortunately awoke this morning to be smacked in the face with my actions from last night. i definitely should have gone home instead of sweet talking my way into girlfriend's apartment. not that anything went down, it just should have been respective space time and i violated it. reason not to drink so much cheap wine number 1103.

time for practice. i finally rescued my quartz crystal from my apartment so hopefully this practice will see insight and clarity. if it's productive, i'll get to make a pie tonight!

happy turkey day, all.