Food

Brewfest

I know my mother doesn’t want to read about it, but I went with some friends to a Beer Festival in Forest Park over the weekend called St Louis Brewfest. 

You should know that traditionally my family doesn’t drink.  My parents were brought up in the Mennonite Church and many of my relatives are still part of the church.  I was raised to believe that alcohol was wrong along with dancing and a whole host of other behaviors, ranging from listening to popular music to shopping for new clothes or other frivolous purchases.  I was raised as a Presbyterian, but my mother still insisted on many of her Mennonite values (or at least as I understood them to be, as I don’t even really know) for her children.  I attribute much of my guilt and self-loathing to my religious upbringing.  (Is that harsh?  Let’s put a 😉 there.)

In any case, four of us girls went to brewfest on Saturday night (after a long day of weddings…grr…)  Basically you pay one price for the ticket, get a little souvenir tasting glass and get to go crazy and drink as many samples as you like of a variety of local beers.  It’s out in a field at Forest Park under a tent.  I was the only non-single girl so naturally the secondary plan (other than tasting a lot of beer) was to attempt to meet people.  I used to be really good at talking to strangers (maybe briefly between senior year of high school and into college for a bit) and that’s a skill I’m trying to bring up again…it is a confidence thing (you must assume that you are interesting and/or attractive enough that strangers would WANT to talk to you) and since I have been feeling more confident lately (seriously thanks to my workouts with Mike) I figured that would be good.  I won’t hold you in suspense though, we didn’t really meet anyone, and simply ran into a variety of people we already knew, and I did inadvertently pick up a friend of a guy Jen knew.  But I digress (and use too many parentheses, right?). 

Why are you here?  Well, for the pictures.  I took lots of pictures and most of them were terrible!  But some turned out okay.  Please don’t comment on my tan lines, I really am not interested.

(And sorry friends, I will be taking MORE pictures in the future.  It’s fun, plus you all look great generally so don’t worry!)

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Adrianne and Melissa, Jen and I

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The view inside the tent.

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We split this giant pretzel from Companion Bakery.  While it won’t help me lose ten pounds, it did give me the ability to drink a little more beer.

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Overall it was a great night!  It was great to hang out with my friends (and again, just so pleased to have real friends in St Louis), and it was great to try all the different beers.  Ran into a few other people I knew including the ocarina player from my trio (Hi!).  And I would definitely go back next year.

Oh, and I may have been on tv…again…

Adrianne and Jen both had facebook comments that people saw them on Channel 5, and we were all there doing a toast in front of the cameraman.  Did anybody see me?

Grand Ideas

If it isn’t posted on the internet, has it really happened?

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I feel that’s the updated version of the old "If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, does make a sound?" 

Today I am going facebook-free.  I am NOT going internet-free.  I am NOT quitting facebook, because I am determined to do something in moderation, plus facebook is too awesome for that.  I simply mean I will not be checking facebook until after I get to Kansas (next weekend). 

Why?  Well, a few things have inspired me, and I woke up this morning and realized that a facebook vacation would be helpful.  Two recent blog posts triggered this idea:

"Comparison Shopping" by Eden’s Eats was one I read yesterday that really spoke to me.  I am terribly guilty of comparing my life and myself to other people and naturally I assume that I come up lacking.  I recall when I first joined facebook I would look at other people’s pictures and see how much more fun they were having than me, or read their statuses and see how much better their careers were, or people traveling to exotic locations while I sat at home with my cat.  It doesn’t help that so many of my friends DO have wonderful fantastic lives.  And while I am {generally} happy for my REAL LIFE friends who have wonderful lives, perhaps I can’t quite bring that same feeling to my so-called "facebook" friends.  And I try.  And the thing that KILLS me is that deep down I know I actually have a pretty freaking awesome life.  Which will in no way be improved if I lose 10 more pounds.  Because then I’ll just want to lose 10 MORE pounds.  (Though I DO want to lose ten more pounds, because that would make my thighs less jiggly looking and then I would look more awesome in facebook photos for the world to see, right?)

The other blog post was the one by the Shubox for the Virtual Retreat, "Taking a Break."  She has been going through some issues and has been feeling down for some time, but still manages to do all kinds of wonderful things for herself and others (including the virtual retreat!).  This week she decided to go "unplugged" and not look at blogs, the internet, or facebook for the whole week.  She is still checking email though (when people truly go "unplugged" I do wonder how they manage with work!) of course.  I am simply taking a facebook break, blogs and twitter and such are okay for me at this time.

(Oh, just to let you know, I will still be PUBLICIZING my blog on facebook, because that is different than being ON facebook or obsessively checking to see if anybody commented on my status update or photos.  I get most of my readers through facebook links and since I am not taking a blog vacation, I will continue to do that.  It’s not a double standard.  I am nothing if not practical.)

Okay, I just spent 5 minutes doing a google image search, and this the best I have for you this morning:

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So for this week, my life will not be posted on the internet.  Okay, sure I’m cheating a little, as I have a blog and a twitter (come follow me @hannahviolin) but STILL.  Really it’s more that I won’t be reading about YOUR life anymore.  And then when I return, well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Maybe I’ll do a texting vacation next.  (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  No seriously that’s another problem I have.)

Random thoughts

Sunday night blues

Okay, I’m a BIT dramatic.  You all know that already.  I had a glorious weekend, and now I’m exhausted, sore, and plan to spend the night at home making dinner, watching a movie, helping with the laundry (I have a ridiculously awesome laundry situation), and perhaps dyeing my hair.  So there’s no real “blues” happening…especially since this week is pretty darned easy, and I no longer work Monday mornings.

*cue blues music*

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*turns off blues music*

It’s just that the weather today is SO beautiful, and I’m worried it’s going to go away.  Maybe I should check.

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Hmm…that doesn’t look GREAT, though at least the temperatures are reasonable.  I probably shouldn’t have looked.

Okay, so how WAS my weekend?  It was great.  I’ll share some random pictures and later I’ll tell you about St. Louis Brewers Heritage Festival, okay? (Later, as in, another blog post)

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In a nutshell this has been my weekend (in case you are behind on my blog, or we haven’t talked recently, heaven forbid!):

Thursday:  Hot Concert  (aka Chamber Project St Louis concert followed by the Three Monkeys)

Friday:  Klinghoffer (aka afternoon opera, teaching, dinner at Basil Spice and drinks at Frazer’s and Yemanja Brasil)

Saturday:  Two weddings, St Louis BrewFest, party in the backyard with the new upstairs neighbors.

Sunday:  Run around Forest Park (so EASY in this delightful weather), Recital at St Louis Ballet School (students played GREAT!), gym workout, and now doing stuff at home.  Just got “True Grit” for the tivo…anybody seen that?

What are you doing tonight to regroup?  I love having easy Sunday nights at home sometimes.

Teaching

Storms/Klinghoffer

I woke up last night because of a giant thunderstorm/hailstorm.  The best part is:  today the high is 80.  EIGHTY!  (That’s really cold, in case you are confused.)

Yesterday I finished teaching all the students I was teaching while their teacher was on maternity leave.  It was sad to say goodbye.  I know I will see them all around at the school in the fall, but it’s not the same.  They were all great students, and great families too!

That’s part of why I am so excited to be teaching at my new job.  This is the first time I’m officially announcing this on the blog.  Starting in the fall I will only have one job away from the home—I will be teaching three days a week at the St Louis School of Music.  The other days I will be teaching out of my home (and am finally accepting new students again) and that is ALL the teaching I will be doing.  I will have time for gigs, working out, practicing, household errands, and wedding planning.  Oh, and mental health, of course.  This is the sort of place I can envision teaching at for some time.

Yesterday afternoon I saw “The Death of Klinghoffer” by John Adams, performed by the SLSO and Opera Theater St Louis.  It was great.  I’m not a huge opera fan–I get bored by singing…and it tends to go on and on…makes me think of this quote from “Sabrina”–

Linus Larrabee: And I want tickets to whatever Broadway show nobody can get tickets to.
[Mack looks inquisitively at him]
Linus Larrabee: I know, I seldom go to the theatre.
Mack: Seldom?
Linus Larrabee: So, I’m not a theatre buff.
Mack: Buff? The most difficult tickets to get will be for a Broadway musical.
Linus Larrabee: [distractedly] Okay.
Mack: That means that the performers will periodically dance about and burst into song.

But I am definitely glad I saw it.  The opera isn’t what you would typically think of for opera at all, though, and definitely covers difficult subject matter.  I recommend reading the Wikipedia article on it.  (Do you like when I give assignments?)  There was also a number in the second half where a woman sang and danced WHILE DRESSED IN AN 80’S COSTUME COMPLETE WITH PINK LEG WARMERS.  Wish I’d had that for my race.

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from the riverfronttimes article about Klinghoffer

Here’s another interesting article about it.

Does the opera make me think twice about cruising?  No.

By the way, I am getting super excited about Suzuki camp—I leave a week from Sunday for Ottawa Mid-Southwest Suzuki Camp.  I’m doing Teaching Training on Book 5 with Susan Kempter—a true genius!

Also I love dorm living and cafeteria food.  😉

Random thoughts

Hot Concert

The concert yesterday went well, with one caveat:  the air-conditioning was broken!  They did their best to have fans and such, but seriously, it’s hot here.  I know people existed for a long long time without air-conditioning, but not anymore.

Thanks to all of you who came out though!  It was a full house, even with the heat.  I only played on the last piece, so I got to watch the first half.  Chamber Project St Louis did a fantastic job!

Afterwards we hit up the Three Monkeys where I decided to test out my new camera.  I need to play around with it more.  Plus, since I’ve been trying to be a good blogger and take more pictures, my friends are getting annoyed at me.  EVIDENTLY some people don’t just love getting their picture taken all the time.  But that is not my problem.  I don’t take pictures of people I don’t like (well, unless they are really funny looking 😉 ) so please consider it a compliment rather than a punishment.

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Does anybody else find it strange that I have the exact same expression in both of these photos?

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Melissa and me, Todd, Katie

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Vanessa, Kyle (who played on the concert with me).

Some of the other pictures I took were terrible.  Oh well, you’ve seen the other people before.

Anyway, a quick public service announcement:  if you have pizza and beer late at night, chances are you will hurt in the morning when you go for a run.  Plus the self-hatred of having eaten pizza when you are supposed to be trying to lose weight.  Grrr.

Today:  First I am attending the dress rehearsal of The Death of Klinghoffer by John Adams.  It’s performed by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis with the symphony, and (naturally) I have a comp ticket (yes, they evidently sell tickets to the dress rehearsal as well.)  Then I go teach, my last day of maternity leave teaching at the St Louis School of Music.  I’ve had a wonderful time teaching some fabulous students and will miss them.  Tonight I’m getting together with some of my girlfriends for a quasi-ladies night, meaning, all ladies, but we may not do anything more crazy than simply gossip.

Tomorrow:  Two weddings, and then I’m going to St Louis Brewers Festival in Forest Park.  Likely Jen and I will simply camp there overnight and then wake up early to run…saves a lot of trouble.

Sunday:  My last student recital of the spring!!  Two of my students at St Louis Ballet School are performing on the recital.  I will be accompanying on piano…which means today I need to take advantage of the piano in my studio.

Do you have big plans for the weekend?

Random thoughts

Concert tonight

Tonight! Concert starting at 7:30 pm with Chamber Project St Louis at “The Chapel” (location here).  (This is the group that I was ON TV with in January.)  I play on the last piece on the program, but the whole program should be great!

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I have gotten some nice feedback on my post about Body Image.  Thanks for reading guys!  And remember, you can comment ON the blog…

I haven’t gotten to much of the virtual retreat stuff the past few days.  I got really sucked into some wedding planning stuff (who would have thought that I really enjoyed thinking about invitations and paper…oh wait, that’s right up my alley) and have spent many hours doing stuff.  It’s amazing how much time I can spend on this stuff.  I guess wedding planning really DOES take up a lot of time.  But we’re doing well—venue, invitations, officiant, and we are currently working on music and photography.  One thing at a time (or two, if you split up)!  Plus I had my birthday and all…

Anyways, local readers, come to the concert tonight!

Other helpful things:  Vote for the St Louis School of Music to take 5000 1-8 graders around the world with the Ocarina.  Follow this link for information and to vote (it’s not automatic, you have to log in, annoyingly).  I would be involved in the project.

I read a great article by Peter Sagal (host of Npr’s Wait, wait, don’t tell me) about why he works out with a personal trainer.  It spoke to me, as I feel much the same way!  I recommend reading it.

thoughts about violin, teaching, running, life.