this is the part where I ramble

Hi everyone, how are you? So, A, I think the US needs a new political party, and B, Bach's 20th fugue has it in for me.

B first. So, I've already learned a prelude and fugue set, I think the sixth(?), and I love the 20th prelude. The fugue is giving me trouble. First of all, it's just plain HARD. I don't know if having Mom look at it and say, "Whoa, I haven't looked at your music in awhile--this is really complicated!" somehow psyched me out or what. I really didn't try exTREMEly hard to learn it the first couple weeks--I think I was still working on other songs and it looked just a little bit scary. For some time, also, I had no idea that the piece wasn't 2 pages long. It's SIX. I think when I figured that out, the small shreds of valor that I still had were smashed.

Finally I realized I just needed some motivation. Everyone knows that the thing Katie likes best is food. Right? Right. And everyone knows that Katie reeeeallly reeeeeeeeaaalllly likes blizzards. So I thought to myself, when I've learned this whole piece, I'm taking myself out for a medium blizzard. Just remembering that raises my morale. And, so that I won't get discouraged along the way, I decided to buy myself something else nice when I've learned 3 pages--ie, a candy bar, some sourpatch kids, nail polish, earrings, or cool wet-erase markers for my to-do list. :-)

However, this afternoon, when I was trying to get a start on page 2 (I've had this piece for almost 4 weeks now, remember) the end of page three seemed a loooooooonng way off. To further complicate matters, our piano teacher suggested at my last lesson that I learn a page a week. This sounds logical--although it's taking me so long to learn this, I really should be capable of tackling this kind of piece more rapidly. However, in reality, this comes out to a line of music a day. I practice for an hour, and only about 35-40 minutes of that is devoted to this song. I could probably learn a lot more if I put my mind to it, like, a lot, but I'm having difficulties with that at the moment. Somehow it's a lot easier to learn a page a week when you know that by next week, you'll be done with the piece! Come to think of it, my other 2pg fugue took at least 4 weeks to learn. It was one of those pieces that I despised having to learn--then when the hard part (aka, getting it into my fingers) was over, I fell in love with it. I can think of at least two other songs that worked that way. If the pattern continues, I'll like this piece so much I won't be able to tear myself away from the piano.

I know, I'll have to learn it one way or another, it might as well be the easy way. The way where I actually try my best so I have no excuses when I've only learned 1 page in 2 weeks. If that. I probably can't honestly say that I've tried my best this week, at the moment. But I tried my best for at least the first three days...but now I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place...I'll work it out.

That was probably completely unintelligible, but it was probably also more for my benefit than yours. *oh brother.* haha.

A. America needs a new political party. Like, one that stands by the Constitution, not their party's agenda. One that doesn't want the government to take control of things and will mandate that the people it elects read the Federalist papers, the Constitution, and a biography of a different framer of the Constitution regularly.

I have no idea if such a party is even feasible, it's just what I was thinking when I was reading my history books today.
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Oh yeah, I remember now. This is what happens when I stay up half an hour later than usual too many nights in a row--I get disgusted with life and all self-commiserating. (Hence, the mysterious lack of smileys and exclamation points to which you are accustomed.) I think I better go snap out of it. Hope you all aren't disgusted with life/me now too, talk to you later!

PS--I just read over this and now I'm inwardly laughing at myself. So I guess it really did make me feel better. *crazy kid.*

Oh, and this wouldn't be a truly melancholy post if I failed to mention that my favorite song on the new RK CD has switched from "Faking my own Suicide" to "Deathbed." Just kidding, I like a bunch of the other songs too, don't worry about me! I just had to put that so that I'd be outwardly laughing at myself too. *twisted teen.*

:-D How that made me all better, I don't know. But I'm definitely in a better mood now. Did I mention that this post was going to be a rambler? You get major KT points if you made it through the whole thing--I'll even help you pay for the therapy sessions you'll probably need. :-D luv you guys.

French2

Isn't it ironic how when they're teaching you how to ask someone to repeat something more slowly, you can read the thing they said fast along with them, but not the bit about "I'm sorry, I'm learning French. Could you repeat that more slowly please?"

French

Isn't it ironic that when they're teaching you how to ask someone to repeat something more slowly, they speak so fast that you can't read along?

We have tulips growing out of our compost heap.

:-)

And I got done with school before 5 three days in a row now.

:-)

life is good.

:-D