(no subject)

[kenjari]

I've got lots of good things going on, but I'm still feeling edgy and a little down. I think it's the change towards winter. Colder temperatures and lack of light tend to have a negative effect on my mood. Plus, there's the stress and tension of putting together another round of grad school applications. On the one hand, I've had so much practice at this that it's really not that hard to do anymore. On the other hand, I've done this so many times to no avail that it's hard to be enthusiastic or motivated about the process. At least I've got lots of stuff going on musically.
Last night I finally took Bryan and Susie out to dinner as a thank you for all their work on getting my trio recorded last year. We had a delicious meal at The Blue Room in Kendall Square - fabulous food and very good service. It was a very relaxing and fun evening; not only are Bryan and Susie great musicians to work with, I also really enjoy their company in the purely social sense. In fact, Bryan is interested in working with me some more. I gave him a copy of my string quartet "Burning the Harvest" today, and he wants to get a group together to record it. Plus, he's currently working with a ch'in player and suggested that I write something for them. I love the ch'in and this would be the first time I've ever composed for a non-Western instrument, so it's a very exciting idea.
And of course, there's my work with pantsie. The songs I'm writing for her are coming along nicely, if not as quickly as I would like. For some reaon, I find it so much easier to write the vocal part than to write the piano accompaniment when I compose songs. And I'm feeling a lot of pressure, because we will need time to learn the songs. But I can't force the process too much, or the results won't be good. And I still have to work on the Duke application. And go to work, and attend to several other things.
So yeah, I've got some stress. So I scheduled a massage for next Tuesday. Which I clearly desperately need, because I'm looking forward to it more than my own birthday right now.

Comments

[pantsie.livejournal.com]

I hear you about being on edge. As it gets colder, my sleeping cycles get all messed up and I find that my mood slips. It's a crunchy time of year -- holidays, the start of the academic year, less sunlight. The massage sounds like a great plan. I should look into one of those for my birthday, too. :)

Certainly take your time with the cummings trio -- the vocal parts are very interesting and it won't take us too long to put things together.

Mmmmm... "Burning the Harvest". If there's ever a performance of that piece, I'm so there.

My company had one of its first holiday parties at the Blue Room. I love that place!