The Weekend and All Its Wonders
Everyone should have that one thing that makes time stop. For me, it's Orchestra. It's not even that I'm some majorly talented musician, or even that Orchestra is my favorite thing in the world to do. Honestly, you would think that my "one thing" is writing, and it is, but in a different sense. Writing doesn't make time stop. In fact, on the contrary, it makes time draw out and stretch in different directions. But playing the violin, staring at pages of music without blinking for twenty minute stretches of time, forgetting about all my other muscles except the fingers on my left hand and the wrist of my right arm. That's when time stops for me. Because I literally cannot think about anything except what I'm doing at that very moment. I can't even think about the next notes I'm going to play until I get there. If I think too much about the music, or if I think about something else entirely, I just mess up. So I have to live, in that moment, one single music note at a time. And it's glorious. Nothing else in the world can exist. I think anyone who plays an instrument can agree with me on that. I also think it's true of people who play sports. You can only think about putting one foot in front of the other when you're running track, or moving down the soccer field.
Orchestra is different from my other "hobbies". I love reading, writing, and watching movies and TV because those things are like escaping this world and entering a different one. But playing the violin isn't like escaping to somewhere. It's really hard to describe actually, which I guess makes sense. After all, music is a way of describing something that words cannot. I guess playing in the Orchestra is more like escaping to a feeling. The music surrounds you in a way similar to that of an emotion. My favorite part is the very ending of a song when the last note is played, and then suddenly it's all quiet for a second or two, and the silence swells as if it's a musical note all on its own. Like the silence is tangible.
The reason I've been thinking about all this is because we had our big fall Orchestra concert on Friday night. I always get sad after the final performance of something, for the obvious reason that it will never happen again. That it was a moment in time that will never be repeated and wasn't recorded and will not be remembered note for note by anyone ever. But at the same time, it's an interesting change of scenery from writing, where you put something down on paper with the express purpose of making it last longer than just a nanosecond in time. And it's nice to have both of those things in my life. The lasting and the finite.
After the concert, I went out to ice cream with my two Koinonia leaders and some of their friends, and it was fun. I felt like a college student. It always hits me in moments like that, where I'm surrounded by a couple people and we're doing something without adult supervision at like 11pm and it's totally normal?? I'm like "wow, this is college!"
Then yesterday, G and K and Vicki came up and took me to the mall, which was really fun. I didn't buy anything (except food) but there was this red plaid dress that I was so close to buying because it was just the cutest thing ever. But I restrained myself. There was also this green sweatshirt at H&M that said "Property of No One", and I took a picture of it because never before has a piece of clothing so eloquently captured me as a human as that green sweatshirt. I'm pretty sure they didn't have it in my size, so that's why I didn't buy it. But it was just such a great shirt.
Also while at the mall, I Shazamed like 8 songs. And K was like "Your music style could be described as literally just the music played in stores at the mall." It's so true. Forever 21 and those other teeny bopper stores may turn me off with their basic clothes that are way too popular, but they always play the best, most obscure music.
It was so great to get to hang out with G and K again and just walk around and talk and laugh like no time has passed at all.
OH! And when we were leaving the mall, we were walking right behind this really good looking guy about our age (maybe a tad older) and an older woman who we could only presume was his grandma, and he was like having a conversation with her and helping her down the stairs and it was soooooooo cute. We just creepily stared at him and his grandma until they got in their car. He was so cute, and well dressed too, and HE LOVED HIS GRANDMA. There's nothing more attractive than that folks. So guys, if you need any other reason to respect your elders, just know that it will increase your hottness factor by at least 30%.
After the mall, I showed them all around campus and we went down to the High Center parking lot to find a rock for G (long story). Then we walked back to my dorm and said our goodbyes. It was sad seeing them go, but there wasn't anything else to do. That always seems to be the case when people come visit me. It's not like I want them to leave, but I have no more fun things to offer them just because there's not much to do on campus. And while I would be content just to camp out somewhere and talk for hours, I don't want people to stay just for that purpose. So I let them go on their way.
Once they were gone, I decided I was going to indulge in a lazy Saturday for the rest of the day until I had to go to work. Because I haven't been here over the weekend in a few weeks, so I haven't had a properly lazy Saturday in just as long. So I plopped myself in the WiFi corner in frumpy clothes and pretty much didn't move from that spot for several hours. I watched two movies (Madame Bovary and Pretty Woman: More on those to come) as well as an array of movie trailers. I also wrote a bit. And talked to mom and dad on Facetime.
Because I was so delightfully unproductive yesterday, I'm doing all of my homework this afternoon. Actually, as you can tell from this blog post, I'm currently avoiding all of my homework. But I'll get to it as soon as I finish this, I promise.
Today I went to Slate Hill for the first time in 3 weeks, and it was Youth Sunday, which was really cool because the whole service was led by the teenagers! I wish I could have videotaped it or something, because there were some really funny parts. You know it's a good church service when it made you laugh and was also thought provoking. After church, the college students were paired up with different church couples to go to their house for dinner. Another freshman girl, Joanna, and I were matched up with Janet and Paul Zimmerman, so we went to their house for lunch, which was very delicious-- a real home cooked meal!!!!!!!!!!!! And the Zimmerman's were really nice. Just your average country type folk. They could have very well been from North Side. Mr. Zimmerman showed us his Player Piano and played a few songs on it, which was fascinating. Then back to Messiah we went, and now I'm here! So it's been a really good weekend! And with that, I shall leave you so I can actually get work done, and then go back to being lazy for the rest of the day again. Ta-ta.
-VaughnDL
Orchestra is different from my other "hobbies". I love reading, writing, and watching movies and TV because those things are like escaping this world and entering a different one. But playing the violin isn't like escaping to somewhere. It's really hard to describe actually, which I guess makes sense. After all, music is a way of describing something that words cannot. I guess playing in the Orchestra is more like escaping to a feeling. The music surrounds you in a way similar to that of an emotion. My favorite part is the very ending of a song when the last note is played, and then suddenly it's all quiet for a second or two, and the silence swells as if it's a musical note all on its own. Like the silence is tangible.
The reason I've been thinking about all this is because we had our big fall Orchestra concert on Friday night. I always get sad after the final performance of something, for the obvious reason that it will never happen again. That it was a moment in time that will never be repeated and wasn't recorded and will not be remembered note for note by anyone ever. But at the same time, it's an interesting change of scenery from writing, where you put something down on paper with the express purpose of making it last longer than just a nanosecond in time. And it's nice to have both of those things in my life. The lasting and the finite.
After the concert, I went out to ice cream with my two Koinonia leaders and some of their friends, and it was fun. I felt like a college student. It always hits me in moments like that, where I'm surrounded by a couple people and we're doing something without adult supervision at like 11pm and it's totally normal?? I'm like "wow, this is college!"
 |
| I want this shirt real bad. As if I'm not already repellent enough as it is, am I right? Hahaha. |
Also while at the mall, I Shazamed like 8 songs. And K was like "Your music style could be described as literally just the music played in stores at the mall." It's so true. Forever 21 and those other teeny bopper stores may turn me off with their basic clothes that are way too popular, but they always play the best, most obscure music.
It was so great to get to hang out with G and K again and just walk around and talk and laugh like no time has passed at all.
OH! And when we were leaving the mall, we were walking right behind this really good looking guy about our age (maybe a tad older) and an older woman who we could only presume was his grandma, and he was like having a conversation with her and helping her down the stairs and it was soooooooo cute. We just creepily stared at him and his grandma until they got in their car. He was so cute, and well dressed too, and HE LOVED HIS GRANDMA. There's nothing more attractive than that folks. So guys, if you need any other reason to respect your elders, just know that it will increase your hottness factor by at least 30%.
After the mall, I showed them all around campus and we went down to the High Center parking lot to find a rock for G (long story). Then we walked back to my dorm and said our goodbyes. It was sad seeing them go, but there wasn't anything else to do. That always seems to be the case when people come visit me. It's not like I want them to leave, but I have no more fun things to offer them just because there's not much to do on campus. And while I would be content just to camp out somewhere and talk for hours, I don't want people to stay just for that purpose. So I let them go on their way.
Once they were gone, I decided I was going to indulge in a lazy Saturday for the rest of the day until I had to go to work. Because I haven't been here over the weekend in a few weeks, so I haven't had a properly lazy Saturday in just as long. So I plopped myself in the WiFi corner in frumpy clothes and pretty much didn't move from that spot for several hours. I watched two movies (Madame Bovary and Pretty Woman: More on those to come) as well as an array of movie trailers. I also wrote a bit. And talked to mom and dad on Facetime.
Because I was so delightfully unproductive yesterday, I'm doing all of my homework this afternoon. Actually, as you can tell from this blog post, I'm currently avoiding all of my homework. But I'll get to it as soon as I finish this, I promise.
Today I went to Slate Hill for the first time in 3 weeks, and it was Youth Sunday, which was really cool because the whole service was led by the teenagers! I wish I could have videotaped it or something, because there were some really funny parts. You know it's a good church service when it made you laugh and was also thought provoking. After church, the college students were paired up with different church couples to go to their house for dinner. Another freshman girl, Joanna, and I were matched up with Janet and Paul Zimmerman, so we went to their house for lunch, which was very delicious-- a real home cooked meal!!!!!!!!!!!! And the Zimmerman's were really nice. Just your average country type folk. They could have very well been from North Side. Mr. Zimmerman showed us his Player Piano and played a few songs on it, which was fascinating. Then back to Messiah we went, and now I'm here! So it's been a really good weekend! And with that, I shall leave you so I can actually get work done, and then go back to being lazy for the rest of the day again. Ta-ta.
-VaughnDL
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