Misery loves company

My wisdom teeth have been extracted. Consequentially, I look {and feel} like a chipmunk. There will be no pictures of me in this post. If you ever get your wisdom teeth removed, be prepared. The procedure, while you're very, very numb and can't feel a thing, is very noisy and gross. It's not a pleasant experience in the least. For any future victims, here are the foods I've found to be most successful. Tomato soup, with crackers {although the crackers take forever to gum}; Jell-O, pudding, popsicles, and my best success yet - pancakes! They're pretty easy to eat. I hate feeling unproductive; however, the weekend off has given me plenty of time to update my blog and watch HGTV. I'm now a home and garden design connoisseur. I'm also sharing this lovely experience with my best friend, who had her wisdom teeth out the day after I did.

I'm also picking out the songs I have to sing for my vocal diagnostic on the 31st. I'm thinking "Ouvre ton coeur" - a Bizet piece, which is very pretty with an energetic Spanish dance beat. I can't decide on my second piece. Should I sing an English piece, I'd be very subject to technique critique. (hah) I've focused my summer mainly on French and Italian pieces, and I only have two decent English pieces up my sleeve. English art songs are more difficult to sing, because our minds are attached to the way we form vowels in the words we speak. The concept is very psychological; the mind has to be trained to sing "English" in an entirely different way, in order to achieve optimal sound quality and timbre. However, I almost want to sing an aria as opposed to an art song; which would be more difficult and time-consuming.

The aria of my choice would be "Batti, batti, o bel Masetto" - from Mozart's opera, "Don Giovanni"; which I also saw performed this previous weekend. It's an Italian opera, and "Batti" proves to be a very fun aria to sing. I'm pondering and memorizing this weekend, as I can't move my mouth to practice. I was invited to sing at a Jazz "gig" this Wednesday night by a local Jazz saxophone player, Kevin Young. I'd be backed by a couple instrumentalists on some classic jazz pieces of my choice. I sincerely hope I'm not too swollen to sing.

I'm getting more and more antsy to leave, although I've finally grown to love Idaho. I bought my towels and bedding for my dorm room and I'm thrilled to be on the 12th floor of Brittany {the dorm mentioned in my very first post}. My excitement is not curbed with the knowledge that I'm one of the last to leave IF. Almost every college-bound friend of mine leaves at least a week prior than I.

New blog design found at: http://www.backgroundfairy.com

Official NY Count: 27 days.

Right Around the Corner...

I did say this blog was about my upcoming college life, so I suppose that means I should mention the exciting things that await me when I arrive in New York City. Aside from Brittany Residence Hall, which is calling my name, and the beautiful city, I have oodles of music classes and voice lessons! This means that any spare time I have will be spent in a practice room, rehearsing foreign languages and memorizing arias. As such, I can't guarantee regular blog posts. Yesterday, I received an e-mail that invited me to be in the Freshman Honors Program at NYU, which allows me to attend weekly seminars themed around a chosen topic of interest. I am also able to enroll in a seminar class, (if there is room in my schedule), learn to objectively analyze topics for oral and written debate, AND travel abroad in January. The seminar classes range from The role of Jewish women in European history to drama criticism or the history of Irish America. If you want to look at the list, it can be found here: http://cas.nyu.edu/object/ug.academicprograms.honorsfall2011.

Hello, Times Square.

The opportunity provides extra academic commitment and rigorous classes. I am thrilled! I will be certain to blog about the experiences that I have in the program. To top it off, I'm in the Artists in Development explorations floor, where we will be examining and discussing the various art forms in the city, as we learn more about art. It sounds like a busy freshman year already; but I'm hoping to find some extra time to spend with my wonderful sister and to explore the city. I'm also throwing in a picture for good measure. (This is my favorite picture that I took in New York.)

With almost a month left, I have begun packing my belongings, and labeling boxes. I never realized how much stuff I had before it was time to move. I wanted to get rid of more than I have, but there are a few things I haven't been able to let go of yet. I also bought bedding for my dorm (I'll post a picture soon); and some towels! It's not practical to buy most of my things in Idaho. While they may be slightly cheaper here, I have no room to transport them across the country. I'm already checking too much luggage! I've slowly whittled down the books I want to take and I have yet to determine the amount of pictures I'll be bringing along. Overall, I am extremely excited.

Official NY count: 37 days

Mobsters and Muffins

These are by far, the best pumpkin chocolate chip muffins I have ever made. I usually make them multiple times in the fall, when pumpkin is plentiful; but today was a special day. I made pumpkin juice in anticipation of a Harry Potter potluck, and had leftover pumpkin. So, naturally, I got a compulsive baking urge. The best part of these muffins is that they're vegan. And completely delightful with a brewed cup of Steve & Harry's coffee. To give credit, where credit is due - I found the recipe from the blog Whipped!

The link: http://whippedtheblog.com/2009/01/11/vegan-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins/.

And, over a muffin and nice cup of coffee, my sister and I came up with a fabulous New Years' Eve party idea. Since most of my friends will be home for Christmas this year, I thought it would be the ideal time to have a get together. And, what better than a themed party? While this is still in the making, I reserve all rights as the creative, executive force for this party. I will know if you steal my idea... We're thinking of a 1920's themed "Night in a Speakeasy". (Still thinking of a crafty title). The evening would require 1920's garb (i.e. flapper dresses, long beads, finger curled hair, fedoras, suits, the whole nine yards). Ideally, we would have an open, age-appropriate "bar" and two separate poker tables. Where my sister, who also volunteered her husband, would be our card dealers. I'll keep you posted on the details to come.

Official NY count: 43 days.

10th and Broadway

Well, friends, this is where we begin - on the corner of 10th and Broadway, my future home of residence. And here is where my adventuring will be recorded. Right here, in this very blog.

For the longest time, I was adamantly against blogging. I felt that it was an unnecessary social networking tool, similar to an online diary. While this may be a correct analysis of some blogs that may seem to exist for the sole purpose of expressing too many forms of emotion, I have come to conclude that blogging has some useful benefits. It's like writing a letter home - to everyone. While I will be the first to break out my cute stationary and pen set, I seem to never have the time to keep up on my letter writing. It also seems that blogging is also an outlet for creative expression and artistic license found, in this format, in few other places. It is because of these reasons and many more, that I have decided to begin a blog for my college years, to tell the wonderful tales of this little Crowley, and her experience in the big city.

Thus, I salute Brittany residence hall, and all my future blogging followers. Enjoy.