Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Todd's LiveJournal:

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Thursday, March 22nd, 2007
9:32 pm	This journal is slowly becoming "Friends Only" so read while you can. Goodnight, cyberspace. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 28th, 2005
2:46 pm	Ok... since I was tagged by 2 people (on xanga), I'll go for it. But no worries, I won't be subjecting more people to this horror that is a temporary relief to boredom. "List 10 things (in no particular order) that bring you a moment of joy, and then tag 5 friends to do the same." 1) Music in it's many forms (that's definitely a big one). 2) Accidentally calling a place that I did not grow up "home" (meaning moved out = good) 3) Seeing kids improve in their musical skills over the course of one rehersal (like this morning) or even a semester. 4) A solid sense of completion. 5) Good test grades (I'm a NERD, OK? Just go with it, tehe). 6) Watching plants grow (maybe that's what I need in here...) 7) Successfully helping someone understand something. In any way, shape or form. 8) A good, restorative nap (like I'm about to take right now). 9) Actually being awake and functioning in percussion methods at 8:40 10) Most importantly, my friends... for various over-emotionally revealing reasons, haha. Just cause they rock. I think "no particular order" holds true to an extreme in this case. No tagging... you can do it if you want, though it did make me feel better. I file my Declaration of Graduation tomorrow. I know it means not much... but it feels like a big step. Creepy. Current Mood: calm (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, September 25th, 2005
8:13 pm	Saturday adventures Currently Listening Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 Piano Concerto #2 in F see related Sweetest concerto ever! (nerd moment... the second movement gives me chills, and the 7/8 section rocks) Here begins another week of school... and football (USE THE TROJANS!). The weekend was interesting, in the fact that it was pretty much busier than a game weekend. MENC kickoff from 8:30 to 3ish... what did I get out of it? Some free lunch (and lunch and dinner for today due to the insane amount of food that needed a home after the luncheon), some great quotes from the band director at Maryvale HS ("I'm performing chemotherapy, and I'll cut you out if I need to, cancer-boy!") some sweet dance moves (have YOU seen the ghost of John?), and lots of shredded-and-pounded old-growth forest (paper). After a failed attempt at recuperation, it was time for the Salsa concert at Gammage. I was like *dealwithpeopletheoryhomeworkdancetheoryhomeworkdancedancedancedancedance* Just like that. People need to realize when we want them out of the building... I swear, a flock of domesticated emu are more observant and yielding than this bunch. Afterwards, Brian and I decided a trip to nearest random Mexican food joint was necessary. Yay for drive-thru Flavio's. *cough-I-hate-my-truck-because-it's-too-big-and-innavigable-cough* That's all the narrative for today, kids and clarinet professors. Stay tuned! Current Mood: optimistic Current Music: see above (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, September 23rd, 2005
10:31 pm	I am just a hair tired. Whew. For those of you who know what I'm talking about, my new "magic number" (I guess that's the best way to say it) is 60. This fact was brought into being by a comment by my mother when I stopped by the casa to pick my apparently non-existent allergy medicine (thank you, little sister... miscommunication is her forte... though somehow she was accepted into Rutgers University). Ahh, news. The high school director I work with would do well to remember to turn off the long-ranger before dissing the other band (tehe). Good thing we have smart drum majors. MENC kick-off tomorrow 8:30 - 3ish. Can't wait. Then work at 5:30 (should be fun 'cause "The World's Hottest Salsa Band" is coming). I hope I get to see a little of it if not at least hear it. Word of the day? Parambulation. Current Mood: lethargic Current Music: ASU 2003 Pass in Review (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, September 22nd, 2005
11:27 am	Yay 4 hours of sleep. Firebird sectional at 6:30 a.m. in Mesa (the sunrise is pretty at 5:45 in the morning). Even after practicing for an oboe test and sounding pretty darn good, I can't seem to pull it off in class with hands that go transparent and vibrate -without- batteries. Allergy medicine weakening. I need my pills back! DAMN YOU HUMANA! Marching band went thankfully quick today... yay for being goofied up on little sleep. Sadly, there were no narcoleptic drivers to brighten the day... but free food at dinner was excellent. Now sleepytime for me... 8:48 a.m. sightsinging exam tomorrow. Word of the day? Mixolydian. Public - 11:47 PM LJ edit - test over. not too bad... though I did better on the actual sightreading than the prepared examples. yay tests (Comment on this)
Monday, September 19th, 2005
10:52 pm	Day? What day? Ever notice that whenever one is practicing, suddenly all one can play are the pieces that one isn't working on at the moment? I am such an A.D.D. practicer. Today's adventures include breakfast (first time in weeks, haha), minor sticking errors in percussion methods (yay mallet instruments) calling a person to wake him up for class, ear-training-test surprise, t.a.h.g. oboe goodness, the Mozart Piano Concerto in d minor compared to banana-on-the-head dancing in piano studio, a narcoleptic smoker in a yellow truck on the way to marching band, where I yelled possibly the loudest I ever have in my lifetime. Now I must sumarize/annotate/read/do something college-like to an article for music therapy. Wheeeeeee.... Current Mood: Do I really have to? Current Music: Bach - French Suite V in G - Gigue (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, September 15th, 2005
4:44 pm	So... another wonderful Thursday begins to the ringing of my little alarm that is my phone. Yay. Yesterday's marching rehersal was the most frustrating thing I had gone through in a long time. And for once it wasn't the marching component that annoyed me. How is it that a band with so many talented people can screw up Paul Simon music? MRP's arrangements are so easy and simple, and yet the band as a whole can not pull it off. I blame leadership. And sure, I'll put myself in the blame category as well, cause my section wasn't paying attention to the drum majors, even though we were practically locked together with the percussion. It should be no secret to anyone that reads this that I believe that drum major in particular is a less-than-stellar conductor/timekeeper. But even through that... come on. There is something called internal pulse. USE IT! ::sigh:: In other news... yay *technicolor yawn* for tests on music therapy. My b.s. factor this time still coundn't match my old music as culture papers, but it was in excellent form today circa 11:40. Sad when you have to b.s. the fill-in-the-blank-questions... shoulda read the book a little more, I guess. Off to warm up before my lesson. I think one of my pieces is almost memorized... SWEET. Current Mood: like the biggest nerd ever Current Music: Gershwin - Piano Concerto in F Mvt. III (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 13th, 2005
4:25 pm	Today has been interesting. If it wasn't for a singular comment by someone I have only ever spoken to once before, the day would be labelled as pretty crappy so far. Starts out with a dictation test. quoting a comment from a long time ago that seems to have stuck in my head: "boom boom boom... 7th chords of doom" then a horrendous harmonic dictation. I am not doing well (up to my standards anyway ) in that class so far, and can see why there are so many repeat-offenders in 19th century theory. Then a mad rush to the met-lab to read a chapter out of a book, which was already being used by another person in the class. So I had to wait (boy, she was a slow reader). Then music therapy hit... slowness and apathy struck. Our group has an interesting dynamic (and lack thereof). blah. I'm just kinda tired. But the thing that I have to laugh at? Well, right before the dictation test started, I ended up sitting in front of Sixto... who happened to ask me if I had goten a makeover. I was stunned to say the least... but took the compliment in a faltering stride trying to explain the loss of my hair and glasses while Brian, next to me, was nearly asphyxiating trying to contain his laughter. Yay for unexpectedness at 9:40 am. I can't not laugh about that. Off to class... Current Mood: slightly amused Current Music: Berlioz (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, September 12th, 2005
8:46 pm	So, a pre-practice distractive post. The game last night was terribly tiring, in addition to the rehersal before-hand. But today, I am oddly refreshed. It's all just too weird. Last night, my lips were in a condition closely compared to lettuce shredded with a cheese grater. Today they still hurt, but... its all just kinda in the past. I have been seriously considering making this my last year in band... figure going out as a section leader isn't too bad, but now I don't know. I still worry about feasibility, but I seem to thrive on psuedo-masochistic life schedules. We'll just have to see what I want to commit to. Current Mood: pensive Current Music: Liturgical Dances - David Holsinger (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, September 9th, 2005
7:48 pm	Ahh, life... So much to do, yet so little initiative. Taco Bell is sitting in my poor tummy like a brick. I should have learned my lesson by now. Band today should be interesting... weather's being all sorts of funny. Maybe I can blame my not-so-hot oboe test (or "performance exam" as T.A. (total ass) Heather G. (heinous grubfucker) likes to call them... ed. class my ass) on bad weather. Why not? According to Patrick, miss H.G. and I made out cause she used my oboe. An "A" for me, I guess... whatever works. I was a total space case in percussion today... but I did find out we're starting mallet percussion on Wednesday. SWEET. I will rock the house with pitched idiophones (tehe). Well... maybe not. But it will be fun to temporarily avoid snare. Now I must flee to the real world once again. Peace out. Current Mood: exanimate Current Music: Firebird Suite - Stravinsky (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 6th, 2005
4:18 pm	Oh, GOD YESSSSS! Concerning the earlier outburst, I am overall not happy that the LSU game has been moved here. Yes we now have a chance at winning and it looks like we will get to meet their band (sweet), but it seems so freaking insignificant in the whole scheme of things now. I mean, it's just a game... that was moved here because a massive cataclysmic storm washed ashore and practically committed an entire metropolitan center to Davy Jones' Locker. Now we have a Saturday practice, I had to get a replacement for work (which = less money = less food for me) frantic running around for show ideas (I personally think we should park and blow part of the Paul Simon show... F Aerosmith) and the next 2 weeks band-wise will be hell trying to prepare for the Northwestern game as well. Can I hear some orgasmic exclamations of joy? Current Mood: apathetic Current Music: Scenes from the Louvre-N. DelloJoio(Central Region Band 2003 (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, September 5th, 2005
9:02 pm	SHIT!!! Current Mood: SHIT!!! (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, September 4th, 2005
3:38 pm	Well, yay for store-brand allergy-medicine knock-offs I guess. It seems to be working well enough to keep me going for the moment. Today, slept til about 10:30, did a little homework, did a (very) little practicing, have wasted time on the computer, and been to the music library. Typical boring Sunday. My family took off for the cabin yesterday, and they told me I was to take care of the animals while they were gone. Lord, it's like I still live at home. Well I'll show them... I'm taking my laundry home and doing it there so I don't have to pay for it. I don't even have to pay for the gas 'cause their car's already full. Take that. I'm so pathetic. This week looks like fun... MV night rehersal Tuesday, MV brass sectional Wednesday morning, a notebook check in oboe that I havent started to put together yet, two lessons this week, Gammage on Thursday night, an oboe playing test Friday, and a possible (yet improbable) football game against LSU Saturday. I say improbable because, believe it or not, I went online looking for sports news. Baton Rouge is a mess, but the athletic director wants to at least keep the game in the state. So, it looks like the ASU band may not have to scramble after all. That deserves a jubilatory "woot." Hmm... I think I'm hungry. Current Mood: hungry? Current Music: Phish - Picture of Nectar - Chalkdust Torture (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, September 2nd, 2005
5:26 pm	So it's official. I feel like shit. F my insurance company. It turns out that they'll cover my perscription allergy meds only if I order them through a mail-order service. Well, nice of them to tell me, now that I have been without medication for over a week now and am a total and complete basketcase sinus-wise. I went to my re-rescheduled lesson today, only to discover that "Goodness, you look terrible!" in the words of Professor Tescarollo. I've been sneezing like crazy, had raging red eyes, and can barely remember waking up and taking my percussion playing test and attending music theory today. I would severly doubt that last night's ass-whooping of Temple University even existed, were it not for The State Press and the new sousaphone stain on my new uniform. In other news, looks like "Movin' Out" is movin' in to Gammage. Trailers and crap everywhere. I taught my piano professor a new word... "rigamarole" (in reference to the said insurance company) I am alone in the dorm for the weekend 'cause Mr. pseudohippie is in San Diego and he has left me a stash of kleenex that is worth its weight in Sterling Silver right now *sniffle*. The oboe TA is a biotch. B-double ee-izzle-otch. I have to go to a high school football game tonight... MV vs. Centennial. Yay for first performances. I should get dressed for that and not fall asleep like I almost slept through my lesson time today. The parents are temporarily recalling the truck for the weekend so they may transport manure up to our cabin in the north. There's a tuba gathering Saturday, though I don't know if I'll be well enough to make it. Or even have a mode of transportation. I feel like I've gone though puberty again... my voice (when it functions) is about a half-octave lower than it was a week ago. And it cracks like a mofo. *passes out on incense-impregnated carpet* mmm... good smell... Current Mood: allergy-ridden Current Music: Incantation and Dance - John Barnes Chance (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 30th, 2005
1:50 pm	Yay for schedule mishaps. I accidentally rescheduled my piano lesson during the time that I need to be running a sectional before we march over to the stadium. Massive boo on me for being a total space-case. RAURGH!!! Tescarollo has yet to get back to me... so we'll see what happens. I might have to miss my second lesson of the year; good way to start things off. Also another thing thats bugging me... those damn guards running around the music building checking to be sure our door is locked when we're practicing. Yesterday night one totally broke my concentration by doing his jiggle-the-handle and waggle-the-door dance. Then as I looked up to see what the hell was going on, he waves inside and says "You're OK." Thanks, buddy, for telling me that I am locked in a high-up room in a birthday-cake building with a wooden and metal music-box and that I'm OK. Thanks a lot. Current Mood: cranky Current Music: Phish - Undermind - Nothing (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, August 28th, 2005
3:53 pm	Playing Catch-up Sunday, August 28, 2005 So for some still unknown reason, the fire alarm went off in Center Complex this morning around 11:30. Nothing was on fire. Whatever. Saturday, August 27, 2005 The all-powerful "I-should-be-doing-something-else-more-productive" post shall begin! I am waiting for wondrous Gammage work training to begin. Yay. I am now in the posession of a brand spankin' new ASU band uniform. woot. Went to Streets of New York with the rest of the tuba section and mrp... that was interesting. I was very tired/dehydrated until then. Then I drank about 8 glasses of water and was kinda just the crazy-over-tired night-time freak that I can be. Including over-frequent loss of balance on the way to the car. It is time to finish a music therapy write-up. And get my course packets so I can read for class. And start my weekly e-mails to Dr. Bush. Fun times ahead! Peace out. Tuesday, August 23, 2005 Sleepy. That's how I feel, yet not quite tired. Or maybe its tired, but not quite sleepy. Whatever... it doesn't really matter. I'm sitting here now, not practicing. It's really very hard to get back into the swing of things when I haven't been practicing like a good little doobie all summer... I guess that just means that I need to suck it up and seal myself in a room for 2 hours... then see what happens. I am slowly building my time up again, but I need to get to that magic number 2 again. Maybe it will be easier once I have had my first lesson. Though... I just might play in studio next week if one of my pieces goes well enough. Haha, yay for showing off? I hope I don't turn into (more of?) an ass this semester... I seem to be butting heads with a lot more people that I used to, at least, tolerate. I think it's the fault of me being section leader. I hope that nastiness in me just kind of goes away. Please? On a little less personal-nature note, had to drive all over creation today to get reeds (in Chandler? Honestly!) and a drum practice pad with sticks. Fun stuff. I must try to be productive now, I guess. Maybe... ehh... maybe I'll sleep. Probably not. Current Mood: complacent (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 25th, 2005
4:35 pm	Gotta love getting torn to teensy little pieces in one's first lesson in nearly 4 months. Maybe that's why I'm so f-ing tired. Kinda late... but good luck to those of you with auditions! I'm glad I'm not in that boat this semester (hehe... yay for piano, I guess). I want to sleep in class today. If another movie gets shown, I just might. Zzzzzz..... Current Mood: disappointed Current Music: Symphonie Fantastique Mvt. 4 - Hector Berlioz (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, August 21st, 2005
8:25 pm	Ok. It is definitely time for an update. Today marks one week of being moved out of the house and in to Irish Hall. No more morning commutes (except to Mt. View... and that's gonna be rare). Band camp was actually, in most respects, not too bad. I've definitely done worse (*cough*lastyear*cough*). I'm still not used to being section leader, meaning that when mrp says that something must be taught to newbies, I don't realize that it should be me teaching these things. But oh well... I'll get over it. In December. Mad props to roomie mabry for not only being a cool person to room with but also being able to sober up enough to drive the both of us home last night. There was no hope for me when I had my fourth mudslide... and was very unwillingly dragged into a game of J-Toss. But no worries peeps who worry, I don't want to be that completely faded for a long time. I -think- I remember everything, but I just hope nothing over-stupid happened (tehe) worse than me almost falling out of my chair. Oh my. Time to practice before studio tomorrow, and maybe go find food. And attend some hall meeting (already I can feel the bile building). Peace out. Current Mood: content Current Music: Espirit de Corps (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 10th, 2005
3:49 pm	So yesterday there were some pretty nasty storms. I arrived home (after seeing McKellips and Country Club roads under a foot of water) not knowing that the front room, which happens to have a wood floor, flooded out. There was even dirt (well... mud...) seeping into the house under the wall. Yay for messes. Wet rugs are heavy. The phones were knocked out also since I got home to about... well, now because I just saw my sister come online on the buddy list. When I arrive at mountain view (it was supposed to be parents night, though I figured the rain had done something to those plans) I find people running everywhere with towels, shop-vacs, and brooms. The bandroom, one of the choir rooms, and the whole auditorium (the pit was a disaster) had flooded with rainwater. Parents' night was scrapped, and the attempt at drying out the fine arts department began. We gave up when the district people showed up to say they'd take care of it. I am feeling quite lethargic today. Yay for storms. And yay for me working Little Shop tonight... leave the house at 7am... get back round 11pm. At least I like working there better than the bookstore. Apparently my bookstore boss thinks I'm stressed because I'm normally so "easy-going" and now I'm... not...??? I dunno. crap... worktime is upon me! Current Mood: lethargic (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 9th, 2005
12:33 am	I am tired, yet I do not sleep. What happens when this occurs? I think and theorize... though I do not always write about it. Maybe it's time to put a minor composite philosophy into writing. Is there a Supreme Being? Now, I take this question and have to kind of take it apart. What would one mean by saying the word "supreme"? How would this creature be... well... supreme to the human race? Frankly, I don't know. If one would ask me if I believed in God, I would say I don't know, because I believe that there are certainly beings, creatures, whatevers that may exist in a more advanced (or maybe regressed state... who's to say what is better/more advanced?) than ourselves. Possibly they exist on a different plane than we do (I'm not trying to go all sci-fi here, cause that could be kinda tacky for a personal philosophy, haha). But I do not believe in a "God" that is involved in every facet of a person's life. I believe that all beings are limited in their capablities, and therefore it is improbable (to me, anyway) for a being to be omniscient, omnibenevolent, and (most importantly) omnipresent. I just frankly can't and don't believe it. I think it is possible for higher being(s) to be involved in some certain improbable circumstances (thus creating "miracles") but I do not believe it can at all be one being enacting all things and processes in the universe. It's a big place. At risk of being called a polytheist... maybe the Ancient Greeks had it right. There were many beings, they had their powers, and their flaws. It seems more probable to me. I do not believe that doing things "for [diety]" is a just cause in any way, shape or form. Anything from The Crusades to the attacks on the World Trade Center, or even passing a collection plate to glorify a diety through the accumulation of lucre. The idea that an all-powerful, ever-present, and all-knowing being needs money to support it's cause is ludicrous to me. Needless to say, I stand firmly behind the modern Theory of Evolution as scientific evidence of the progress and formation of humanity. I give the theory of Creation, or as its supporters have taken to calling it "Creation science," very little credence. I do believe that Jesus of Nazareth was a person, but the son of a virgin mother? Come on. "Get real," is all I have to say to that. He did sacrifice himself for what he did believe in, which in his, and my, eyes is the ultimate and admirable act of selflessness... as he thought he was saving the human race from itself. I just see it as a waste of influential character that could have been put to better use than being nailed to a crucifix. I think that life should not be taken for granted. We have a limited time (at best about 100 years) on this planet and we should take full advantage of what exists on this sanctuary of life. Not to say that we should use a slash-and-burn method on the planet itself, because how would the future generations enjoy the same perks to living we have today? We need to enjoy our life, but not let our personal desires overrun the need for an Order to the world. I try to live by the saying "Do no harm to others," as a mantra. My view of a so-called "afterlife" is kind of weird, I guess, but hey. It's me. I think that one's last thoughts are indicative of how they will um... "spend" their time after the passing of the flesh. People's "life flashing before their eyes" before dying so to speak reminds them of the good times they had while alive. I believe it is a natural "defense mechanism" to ensure a positive existence after the brain dies. If it turns out I am terribly wrong about this stuff, I'll find out after my number comes up, so to speak... but I am not worried about it... as (in my mind) there is nothing to be gained by worrying about "eternal salvation" while there are matters to be taken care of in this corporeal world. I applaud (and appreciate) anybody who gets through my little story and still has an open mind/doesn't hate me and all I stand for. I think it's time to go to sleep before I come up with more nonsense. Even though it may go against my philosophy, I would appreciate comments... cause I'm still working on that aspect, tehe. Peace out. Current Mood: contemplative Current Music: Stash - Picture of Nectar - Phish (7 Comments |Comment on this)