2012 in retrospect

This is the 4th year in a row that I have filled out this same end of the year survey. Next year I will combine all the answers to the questions and see how things have progressed from age 2009-2013! Life is definitely on an uphill right now. 2012 was full of happy planning and waiting, and I have great expectations of 2013! 

Enjoy, my 2012. Happier, fatter, richer. 

What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before?
I made a violin bow! I successfully formed my own string trio and got hired on another cruise ship. I flew to England and went to Stonehenge by myself before meeting up with people I knew for the most interesting and awesome vacation of my life so far.

Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I did not... I had a few musical goals last year that proved to be not the right thing for me, or at least not the right timing for it. This year I have pretty well planned out, doing exactly what I want to do instead of something that I think will replace it, but I guess we’ll see how it turns out! Who knows where I’ll be this time next year. 

What countries did you visit?
England, France, Portugal, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, St. Thomas!

What states did you visit?

Maryland. Tennessee to Minnesota (and all the ones in between). Tennessee to New Hampshire (and all the ones in between.) Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Georgia,  Florida. Arizona (with layovers in Colorado and Nevada – do airports count?) And does Puerto Rico count as a state yet?  I think that’s all.

What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2012?
money in savings.

What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory?
May 30, June 17, October 27, Nov 1.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Probably making a violin bow.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Hmm, nothing too bad. The usual! Also I jammed my thumb pretty badly last week.

What was the best thing you bought?
My new violin, back in April, of course. Probably the biggest purchase of my life so far.

Where did most of your money go?
Traveling, food, and sheet music.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The Transatlantic and Caribbean cruises!

What song will always remind you of 2012?2012 went through so many phases.. I'll have to give this question some more thought (and possibly it's own blog post) but a couple that come to mind first are: Debussy Piano Trio, Tonight We Are Young, Gangam Style (of course), ohh how could I forget Call Me Maybe? Ok, what a lame list. I'm sure I listened to things other than the radio, so let me just promise you a comprehensive guide to Becka's 2012 playlist, blog post, in the near future. 

Compared to this time last year, are you:
happier or sadder? Happier!
thinner or fatter? Fatter!
richer or poorer? Richer!

(funny, I answered these the same last year. Apparently life is steadily improving!)

What do you wish you'd done more of?
Traveling! If I could have afforded to go on Eclipse earlier to see more places, I definitely would have.

What do you wish you'd done less of?

Waiting around. They say life happens while you're busy making plans, and I feel like 2012 was just a year full of countdowns. So, here's to 2013 having less planning and more actual doing. 

How did you spend Christmas?
In Maryland with my family, like always.

Did you fall in love in 2012?
I did :)

What was your favorite TV program?
Hmm. I’d have to say, Doctor Who is still pretty much my favorite. New shows I watched and enjoyed this year include Sherlock, Louie, and Game of Thrones.

What was the best book you read?

Hmm.. I really can't think of any new ones. I read a lot this year, but re-read things mostly. Mary Anne, by Daphne du Maurier. Bossypants, Tina Fey's autobiography. Comfort novels and easy reads. Maybe my 2013 New Years resolution should be to read more new things?

What was your greatest musical discovery?

Piano trios! I got a chance to play a few over the summer with a fabulous pianist and cellist, and it was a branch of chamber music I had not gotten into before! I enjoyed it very much.

What did you do on your birthday?

I had a bunch of friends out for drinks and pizza at Mafioza’s, gave my number to the cute waiter, and had one of the worst dates ever a few days later.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Winning the lottery :)

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
ah, the usual. Sundresses when it’s warm, sweaters when it’s cold.

What kept you sane?
countdowns, planning.

Who was the best new person you met?
My Matthew, of course. And John Winters and Sam! And all the fun folks on Eclipse!

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012:
It is always said that people have more regrets about things that they didn't do, instead of what they did. I try to do everything that I can, and I have ended up meeting some very interesting and wonderful people, and into some pretty cool places and situations. From the things that I didn't want to do, the gigs I didn't want to take, to the trips that I scraped to afford and the random people I decided to get coffee with. This has been a fabulous year.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

I'm sorry this song is so overdone. It will always be 2012. 

tonight we are young

so let's set the world on fire

we can burn brighter than the sun. 

december happenings

So. I like to go to new places, and I am in a lot of weddings this year.

These patterns will continue over the next couple weeks, but first I'm traveling to one of my favorite places to go back to, good old Maryland. I'm driving up there this Monday for Christmas! Hooray, I love Christmas! What I love about Christmas is that my family has done exactly the same thing every Christmas morning my entire life. I know that will change, possibly drastically, in the next year or two, so I've got to hold on to it while it lasts.

Right after Christmas, though, I'm roadtripping down to the furthest South that I've ever been in the U.S. (Apart from Florida, which is more south, but less southern). My second of four big weddings that I'm a part of this year, this one I will be honored to be the maid of honor! What fun. Fortunately, a super cute bridesmaid dress that I get to wear (that I've already shortened so that I can wear it later!)

Right after the wedding, though, I'm roadtripping straight back up to Maryland. That's right, I'm a yo-yo. Why wouldn't I be going back to Nashville at that point? It seems like it would be on the way from the bottomest part of Alabama to Maryland. Nope. I've got a super  awesome  nerdy string quartet gig with the Triforce Quartet, for MAGFest (Music and Gaming Festival) in DC, at the beginning of January.

Right after MAGFest, though, I'm coming back to Nashville. For a bit. I suppose. Stay tuned! I'll take some pictures.

updates.travels.newblogtheme

Hey everyone! Guess I haven't written in a while. Don't worry, I have a good excuse. In the last six weeks, I've been to London, Stonehenge, Southhampton, Paris, Cherbourg, Ponta Delgada, across the Atlantic Ocean, Ft. Lauderdale, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Ft. Lauderdale again, back to Nashville for Thanksgiving, Annapolis, DC, Nashville again, Atlanta, Nashville again, Tucson (by way of Denver), back to Nashville again (by way of Las Vegas). Not bad for a land lubber, eh?

I'm back now!

The last post I wrote was a countdown to a bunch of things.. let me get you up to date on those things, and then start a new countdown for the only thing that I am counting down to right now.

In September, Nicole got married! It was the most beautiful and fun wedding ever, with a great reception afterwards! So much love and merriment and great Beatles arrangements played by a few of my favorite string players. 

At the end of October, I flew to England by myself. I couldn't sleep on the plane, but when I arrived I successfully navigated a bus to a hotel to another bus to Stonehenge on my way to the cruise ship terminal. It ran late (my sweet Matthew was waiting over an hour past when I said I'd be there), but everything went as smoothly as it could have. 

I hopped aboard the Celebrity Eclipse, where I got to hang out with my four favorite ship buddies, Full Tilt, the Acappella Sensation! It was absolutely loads of fun. I very much enjoyed being on a ship again, dressing fancy, eating everything, hearing good music. I met the string trio that was on board, and found out that they were the group that replaced my group on Infinity in 2010! Ship world is a small world. 

The very next day was our first port. Le Havre, France. Five of us rented and squeezed into a car and drove two hours inland to Paris! We didn't have too much time to spend there, since we had to allow enough time to drive back to port, but we got on a little one-hour lunch cruise up the river, which killed a few birds with one stone. We were hungry, and we got to see much more of Paris than we would have simply by walking around. We saw the back end of the Louvre, and also Notre Dame. After that, we walked around the Eiffel Tower and took pictures. 

Yes, I'm shamelessly posting my "kissing in front of the Eiffel Tower" picture. It was a beautiful day. 

The next day was Cherbourg, France, which didn't have a whole lot to offer, but we had the most wonderful lunch. It was a small seafood restaurant in the harbor, with fresh fish and organic wine and vegetables. In fact, the folks who grow the vegetables for the place were sitting two tables down from us! And then dessert was a small scoop of heavenly chocolate ice cream. I have never, and probably never will again, have chocolate ice cream as perfect as that was. 

Cherbourg, France

After a sea day (that allowed me to finally rest and recover from jetlag), our third port was Ponta Delgada, Portugal: a very small town on an island on our way west across the Atlantic. It was a good time! We ran into a couple from Tucson that I had briefly talked to on the ship - all were looking for a place that was open to eat, and ended up there together, talking for quite a while. We hung out with them several more times the rest of the cruise, and (spoiler alert) had dinner with them this past week when we were in Tucson! :) After lunch, we wandered around the town a bit and did some shopping.

Portugal. 

Halloween! I was granted permission to go to the crew Halloween party, which took place in one of the guest lounges, after hours. It was great and I felt totally comfortable being one of the crew. (easier to fit in there than it was with the guests on the ship whose average age that cruise was 64). The hard part about this Halloween was packing a costume for two people that wouldn't take up much room in my luggage. I think we did all right :)

Fast forward seven sea days. Days filled with good music, good food, good wine, and watching the weather get steadily nicer as we moved south.

We got to Florida and I had to get off the ship in order to get back on. It took a while, but I really can't complain. A few hours of hassle, just to stay on board for 8 more days, bopping around the Caribbean? Thanks, I'll take it.

Our first port was San Juan, Puerto Rico! It was humid and warm and gorgeous. So we went to the mall. Haha. There wasn't much time to do much of anything but get dinner, but it was a good time anyway.

The next day was St. Thomas. I have to say, of everywhere I've been in the Caribbean, St. Thomas is definitely a favorite. I still adore the Cayman Islands, but I had a beautiful time in St. Thomas.

St. Maarten was also pretty, and St. Kitts. Not a whole lot to say, it was different than the transatlantic cruise, we had more ports, it was sunny and warm and we went to beaches. We got to rent a jet ski in St. Kitts, so that was a blast.

Well, that was pretty much the short version. I'm running out of energy to write all these things, so let me just say that life from the end of the cruise until now has been really lovely, nothing too exciting, just seeing family and going places, hanging out and having a good time. 

I looked at my last post countdown list. I still have a few things to count down to! Aaron's getting married in March. And in April I go on the Celebrity Solstice to go more places! (119 days. look at that. More than 100 days since I last posted. And look how quickly that went by!)

So, since I'm traveling more, I'm going to write more about where I go. I'll write more often, I'll (hopefully) be more interesting. It's much more fun to do the things I'm counting down to, rather than just anticipate them. But would they be so great without the huge amount of anticipation? 

waiting: big picture

As most of you know by now, 2013 is going to be full of many exciting things for me. Lot's of traveling, adventures, playing good  music, being with good people.

2012 has been fine. A huge upgrade from 2011, for sure, but 2012 has been full of just waiting. Half killing time, half keeping as busy as possible, all while counting down to things that are not going to arrive for several months still. So here's what's on the horizon:

Official Countdowns:
25 days until my beautiful Nicole gets married! I'm a bridesmaid. (Nashville)
60 days (two months from today!!) until I fly to England and hop on a ship for a couple weeks!
(England, Paris, Cherbourg, Ponta Delgada, transatlantic, Ft. Lauderdale, San Juan, St. Thomas, Antilles, St. Kitts) Don't worry, I'll post pictures.
119 days until Christmas! (I'm throwing this one into the countdown list because when I was little I would start counting the days til christmas, sometimes as early as august - christmastime is my favorite!)
123 days until my Sarah gets married. I'm the maid of honor! (Fairhope, Alabama)
197 days until my 25th birthday. A quarter of a century is a pretty big deal, right? I'm not at all where I thought I'd be at 25, but I'm definitely not complaining. This is better than I expected.
203 days - this news isnt public yet, so I don't want to post it. But just know that it's big.
207 days until my baby brother gets married... and I'm a bridesmaid in that one, too. (Annapolis)
223 days - Life changes completely! New adventures.

Take your Blog to Work Day

Let's talk about what I do for a living. Whenever people ask me what I do, I always hesitate for a second because I don't know what to say first. The most concise explanation I usually answer with is, "I play the violin and I fix them." ("and I teach violin and I make bows and I travel a lot and I do whatever else I can to pay my bills") People are usually/always boggled when they find out that I am a luthier. The fact that something like that exists as a career is such a funny small corner of music, people just don't think of it.

But, that's what I do. And it's pretty fun. It has its ups and downs, like any job.

The biggest part of my job is rehairing bows. I usually compare it to getting your oil changed in your car. It has to be done every few months (or years, depending on how frequently you play). I think there's an official number of playing hours on horse hair, but it's really up to the player if they feel that they need some new hair. Or every 10 months. Whichever comes first.

FAQ:

So it's actually real horsehair?
Yes. They have not come up with anything that is better than the real thing. The best hair is off of living horses, it apparently makes a huge difference. My shop gets the best hair that is available! (and you might be surprised at how much it costs, but think of all the sorting that has to be done to get a whole pound of good hair with no kinks or blemishes or bugs)

Where do you even go to learn something like this?
I started out at the Minnesota State College Southeast Technical String Instrument Repair Program, which is where I learned to rehair, but there wasn't much focus on bow repairs, and I knew I was coming back to a job being a bow luthier, so for further study I went to the bow repair workshop with Lynn Hannings and George Rubino, and later studied bowmaking with Lynn.

And you actually make a living doing this?
Well, I also teach violin, which is really helpful, and I gig around town doing weddings and playing with bands and other stuff. So between everything, I usually get my bills paid. :)

Doing the same thing over and over, don't you get bored?
Yes. Actually, rehairs are a funny thing, and not many luthiers like to do them. It's a bad combination of hard to do, easy to mess up, and very repetitive. So once you're good at them, it's no big deal, but I have to say after 400 or so, you start to want to do other things with your life.

end of blogging haitus

I'm back in Nashville after a month of rambling.
I ain't never gonna change, I've got a gypsy soul to blame and I was born for leaving.

Places I've been in the last three weeks:

Annapolis, Maryland

Durham, New Hampshire

Boston, Massachusetts

Dover, Delaware

Harrisonburg, Virginia

Ocean City, Maryland

Greenbelt, Maryland

Vienna, Virginia

and back to Nashville, Tennessee. 

I like to do a grand New England tour at least once a year to see as many friends and family as I can in one trip, but the point of this trip was to go study bowmaking up in New Hampshire. It was my third time at this particular workshop (last year for bow repair) I made one violin bow. It turned out well enough, for learning in five days what is a four year program in France. I could do better, and I will, on future bows. Fortunately, plenty went wrong on my first one, so I learned a lot of what not to do next time, or at least how to fix many different things that go wrong. It was a very informative and fun week! And I got a whole slew of new tools to play with.

On our way south after New Hampshire, we stopped in Boston for a night to visit one of my dearest friends. I wish we'd had time to stay longer, since I love Boston a lot. It's one of my favorite cities, which I don't say lightly, because I am very persnickety about some cities, and I would totally live in Boston someday if I could ever afford to.

I had ten whole days in Maryland to catch up with everyone. It was so much fun! I spent time with my family, we went to the beach, got my usual sunburn and then our usual family go-karting, where I won (as usual), then walked down the ocean city boardwalk to the kite store, stopping for greasy pizza on the way, as usual. I met my new nephew (or newphew, if you will), I went to some great live music (Cole Cash, and the NSO Zelda concert), played some great music with my fabulous string trio, caught up with some friends from high school and pulled out some old photos from our high school orchestra trip to France, played some violin for the church I grew up in (which I haven't done since two christmases ago), and many other delightful endeavors.

It was a great trip, but I am so glad to be home, in my own bed, driving my own car, sitting on my porch again, and having a great roommate who made me peach blackberry crumble for breakfast this morning as a welcome home :)

Life is unbelievably good, and it keeps getting better. I'm going to try to write here more often, and I will hopefully have more things to write about. New adventures on the horizon! Don't stop me now, cause I'm having a good time.

A Day Late

hiatus

dear readers,

i'm sorry i've been away from my blog lately.
i apparently don't have much to say.
or perhaps i have too much to say, though none of it on here.
the people that need to know the goings-on of my life already know.
the times they are a-changin.

o give these clay feet wings to fly to touch the face of the stars. 

love,
rebecca

grand life update:

Beloved Readers, (both of you)

I apologize again for leaving you hanging for so long. I bet you've been dying to know what I've been up to.

Let's see.

At the end of April, I gave a recital. It went well! I was very pleased with how I played, I think the most comfortable I've been with any solo recital I've given. Here's a video (even though all of my blog readers were either at the recital, or I've sent this to you already)


Also I looked very pretty: (if I do say so)

The day after the recital (since I apparently like to plan things in rapid succession so that I never have time to sleep or think about anything), I drove 900 miles north to Minneapolis. I had been planning a trip up to visit my old Minnesota buddies for a while anyway, and it was a much-needed week vacation. I saw everyone that I hadn't seen in a year: Favorite ship friends, favorite luthier school friends, favorite not-ship-or-luthier-school friends. It was a good week, filled with  large amount of happiness and good food and good music.

As soon as I got back to Nashville, I started packing up my life to move to a new house. I painted my room (because it was green, the whole thing, even the ceiling, and it was like living in a christmas box, which seems like it would be fun at first, but I'm sure it would get old) Anyway. I painted it a color called "Castle Path," which I will leave to your imagination, as I'm sure it is much more exciting in there than it is in real life.

And so with this, that, and the other, I moved. I love my new place. One roommate, who is also a luthier, and a dog. and a back porch. It's a little bit perfect. And close to work. And did I mention perfect?

Isn't she a darlin?

Oh - the most important part of Minnesota, I fell in love. With a violin. It's beautiful, and sounds so great. Made just a few months ago by a maker in St. Paul. It took me weeks to figure out a way to pay for her, but I did, and its mine, and I love it. Here's a shameless glamour shot I took of it on my bed the other day.

Sexy, right? I like big bouts and I cannot lie. 

Which brings us to my latest musical endeavor. I found the most wonderful pianist, and together we kidnapped a cellist to join us and we've started a piano trio. It's at the very beginning, but stay tuned for the unveiling of a website and some recital dates later this summer in Maryland, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

The last bit of exciting news is that next month I am heading out on a grand adventure, my annual pilgrimage up the East Coast. I love it, and I can't wait to see everyone. Flying to Maryland, driving to Boston, driving further to New Hampshire, learning how to make some violin bows, driving back down to Maryland. Driving south to Virginia to see the little munchkin who will be out of the oven by then! I'm pretty excited.

After that we've got some quartet recording endeavors, which I will update you on as soon as I know things.

Oh, and I'm pretty obsessed with this piece. Have a listen:

I just realized

.. that I haven't updated this in over a month.

I'm awfully sorry. I've done lots of neat things lately! Including a trip to Minnesota, an exciting room-painting endeavor, a yard sale, a brand new violin, a classical trio that I've started and am really excited about, and tomorrow I'm moving into a new house. Oh, and I went salsa dancing this weekend.

How about I promise one big update (gasp! with pictures, even?) coming up soon, within a week? Will that satisfy? Can you hang on a few more days? Thanks.

In the meantime, to tide you over, here's a photo of me with a sassy retro filter, of me in some sassy retro glasses (that I did not end up buying). 

i'd go the whole wide world!

First, start this song playing in a new window while you read the rest of the story:

The problem with working on cruise ships, or leading any sort of travel-y lifestyle, is that you meet great people, and you get to know them very well, and then you all go off to different corners of the world and may never see each other again. My cruise gig was two years ago exactly, but I have kept up with three incredible people from that ship - and through them, I've met some other incredible people.

Yesterday, all of these awesome cruise people (except one, and I'll see her in two weeks), on two different ships, were in Miami at the same time. A little while ago, around the end of February (when we first realized this was happening, and when plane tickets were cheap) we started planning the day. And since I enjoy very much making things more epic than they already are, I didn't tell Full Tilt that I was going to be there. (they just thought they were meeting up with Ken for lunch - no idea that I was flying down for the day to see them)(because no one expects awesome people to show up a thousand miles away from where they're supposed to be).

Here is their reaction as they walked into the restaurant and saw me there:

So much happy all in one place!

We had a great lunch together, made some faraway plans to see each other again, then ran some errands. Too soon, they had to get back to their ship, the Millennium.

It would have been nice to have more time (and I wanted so badly just to go on their ship with them and go on a cruise - but I have too much to do on land right now) So then we walked around, found the water, and sat by it for a bit. The weather could not have been nicer!

My flight home connected through DC - if I had been able to get out and see all my DC folks, that would have made the day even better. But a Potbelly sandwich sufficed (Tennessee doesnt have Potbellys, so whenever I get a chance for a delicious sandwich, I have to take it!) By the way, the Reagan National airport is pretty swell. Free wifi, charging stations all over the place, all the good Maryland food in a row? I enjoyed it.

Then I flew back to Nashville. 2,630 miles total.

This awesome day was brought to you by:

The Ken Ge Center for Shenannigans and Laundry Studies

American Airlines

PF Changs

The Atlantic Ocean

The Celebrity Millenium and Equinox

Reagan National Airport

Apple, Inc.

Potbelly Sandwich Shop

earth, air, fire, wine

To the girl I told to run away

The ghost I saw a hundred times a day

You weren't like me no you weren't afraid

You are elements combined

Earth, air, fire, wine

Someday you'll be mine

You stuck around, but we didn't fly

Weighed down by all I hid behind my eyes

I only hope that you realize

You are elements combined

Earth, air, fire, wine

Someday you'll be mine

I'll bury all excuses

Burn all the reasons why

I cant be everything you want

And everything you need

You're elements combined

We talk a lot but it's always small

Tiny bricks that make a giant wall

I hope these words are a wrecking ball

Poppop Hannigan

William Hannigan Jr., long time resident of Annapolis, died on April 9, 2012. He was 86 years old.

Born on April 6, 1926 in Brooklyn NY, he was the son of the late William Hannigan and Florence Hiebel Hannigan. He enlisted in the Navy where he served from 1943 to 1946. He moved back to Colesville, MD where he met and married his first wife Helen Horak in 1948. In 1950 they moved to the Panama Canal Zone where he worked as an electrician in the Aids to Navigation Department. In 1958 he sailed his 30’ wooden sailboat from Panama to Annapolis, in preparation to move back to Maryland in 1959. There they settled in Annapolis. He worked for the Chesapeake Instrument Corp in Shady Side which was later purchased by Gould. He retired from there in 1987. In 1988 his wife Helen died, and in 1989 he married Eugenia (Gene) Hommel. He liked to travel, build models, raise redwood trees and repair things in his work shop.

______

Most little girls will tell you that their daddy is the strongest man in the world. I remember when I was little, we all staunchly believed that our daddy was (very strong, but) the second strongest in the world, second only to his daddy, our Poppop. Poppop was a large man with a large beard and a large belly. He had a workshop that he could build anything in: he built real, big boats, and he built tiny, very intricately detailed model boats, and toys for us to play with, and we would crack walnuts from the yard in the vise grips.

Four years ago, when I first walked into the violin shop where I now work, the smell of wood shavings, and good honest work, hand tools and power tools, brushes and fine motor skills, was a familiar surrounding. I was at home here. (fortunately, they hired me so I had an excuse to hang out here every day). Poppop always took credit for me going into a woodworking field.

The 4th of July was always a good tradition when we were growing up, at Poppop's (right after we just celebrated Elizabeth's birthday every year, with swimming in the recently opened pool, as soon as the helicopters fell off the trees, and eating angel food cake) We would eat all the hamburgers and watermelon our little stomachs could handle, and set off bottle rockets, and go out sailing.

When I was in early high school, my grandparents went on a cruise on the Queen Elizabeth II, over to the British Isles. They brought back a lot of Irish music books for my sister and I to play out of together, and other assorted celtic-y things (celebrating all our awesome Irish heritage), but they also brought back stories of how great the music was on the ship. I said at the time, wouldn't it be cool to be a musician on a cruise ship? You'd get to go so many cool places.

In 2010, I got to go to Panama, three times (as a musician on a cruise ship). And again, once in 2011. My first reaction to being there was, how could anyone live in this humidity. (He assured me that you got used to it pretty quickly when you lived there) Also, how incredible that people related to me actually lived here in the 1950s, I tried to picture it how they would have seen it. It was hard to do. I had seen pictures, heard stories. He had shown me old maps from those days, and maps that he had drawn where he used to race sailboats, around the bay, and go camp on the little islands. I showed him my pictures, one picture in particular of a lighthouse right on the locks. "That's my lighthouse!" he said, probably the most excited I ever saw him. He went up that lighthouse once a week to make sure it was working, apparently, back when he worked there. He was so thrilled that it was still there, that I got to visit there fifty years later and things still be the same.

He had some flaws too, but everyone does, and the many good memories I have of him will always be good. He was an incredibly interesting man, and I'm proud to be a Hannigan.

Joy to the World!

My family doesnt have a lot of must-do Easter Traditions (and you know how much I love traditions), but the best one is my dad putting on the old Keith Green record and blasting this gem throughout the house to wake us all up. Happy Easter everyone! He is risen indeed!

who says classical music is boring?

I went to see the Nashville Symphony last night. It was so lovely! We've been so often lately. It's such a fun and easy way to have a fancy night out.

The effect on that picture kind of makes me look like I have a black eye, but I don't, in case you wondered. Don't worry.

So here's something that.. might be common knowledge, but it JUST clicked for me yesterday.

We're all familiar with Paganini's 24th Caprice, right? It's probably the most popular one, maybe because it starts out so simply with the theme, that ambitious and optimistic violinists choose it to learn (before tossing it aside in frustration when they realize their tiny hands can't play 10ths in succession)(not that I know this from personal experience) In any case, it's catchy. To remind my readers which one it is, here is Hilary Hahn.

And then, of course, everyone knows Rachmaninoff's famous Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Variation 18 - if for no other reason than being a fan of the 1980 movie Somewhere in Time. (and let's be honest, who isn't a fan of Christopher Reeve back in 1980? Dreamy.)

(And here's a fun fact. In the book Bid Time Return, that the movie was based on, the piece was actually Mahler's 9th. But it was apparently too long to fit into the movie, and someone, somewhere decided that Rachmaninoff would be a better hit.)

...

Here's how awesome music is: the Variation #18 is the 24th caprice theme, upside down. WHAT.

Mind blown.

...

vintage beckablog

I've been entertaining myself lately by reading very old journals/blogs from many years ago.

The following is my dramatic account of a nerf gun duel between myself and a friend, in the game of Nerf Mafia. (in the old AACC days) For those who have never played, the point of the game is to be the last one alive - in this game we had two teams, and we played over the course of a few days, between classes, all over campus. With Nerf guns. There was one person who was a moderator, and we had to report to her when we died or when we killed someone, so she could keep track of which team was winning. Here is what I sent her. Oh, and of course we all had nicknames.

October 18, 2005 -The Account of the Death of Jordan

as told by Cutthroat Maggie to The Don

It was a dark and stormy night. Well- it wasnt night. But I vaguely remember it being a sorta gray day. I was in a terrible mood. And I knew that The Duke was out to get me. So, I bought a gun on my way to school, loaded it, and put it in the front pocket of my backpack where it would be pretty accessible should the need arise. I planned my day in order to avoid everyone that I usually hang out with. Later that morning, I heard that someone had killed the Duke, so I figured I was ok and I went to The Hill anyway: a mistake that would change the course of the game drastically.

I walked into the gazebo. I felt like I was surrounded by dead people. In fact, I was. Ghosts of soldiers who had gone before me loomed around.... ghosts of old comrades.... and enemy ghosts, encouraging my one living enemy to slay me as soon as possible.

One thing that I had overlooked in my plans for the day-- Jordan was still alive. Alive and armed. I had the distinct disadvantage, because although I had a gun, it was in my backpack. And there was a gun aimed at my head. I was certainly in a pickle. How could I get my gun out of my backpack before he shot me? I moved casually across the gazebo and sat down. All eyes were on me. They interrogated me, asking "Do you have a gun?" (They happened to know that as of last night, I hadnt even bought one yet) I said no, I was unarmed.

Suddenly, I reached into my backpack, and pulled out.... a mountain dew. Jordan gasped, and drew and fired quicker than Matt Dillan in any of his best shootouts. I was quite impressed. But his aim left more than a little to be desired, and the bullet flew by, leaving me unharmed. My clumsiness almost killed me. I should have moved more slowly in getting my drink out.

Bystander ghosts (the Duke and Chase) were telling Jordan to just shoot me and be done with it. Just shoot! I put on my best innocent, helpless female look, and was like "please don't shoot me."

To his credit, Jordan was a complete gentleman. Chivalry is not dead, even in the midst of wiley evil feminine devils. "I don't want to shoot her if she's unarmed," he said.

But the gun remained fixed on me. His phone rang. My hands were shaking. The gun remained fixed on me.

We began talking of other things.

His guard went down. My gun went up.

I fired, and there was a silence while people took the time to realize how they had been tricked.

I laughed evilly. Cutthroat Maggie is not one to be trifled with.


My own death was not nearly as dramatic.

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Eulogy for the Death of Cutthroat Maggie

(several days later)

I hid in the pine trees on the side of the hill,
going up slowly to make my kill.

There was Becka talking with friends,
with no means of escape, and no clue of her end.

She saw me coming and ran for her gun,
but she had no more time, because her time was done.

So I took my gun and shot her point blank in the chest,
and she is now quite dead as you have probably guessed.

Josh

music to my ears!

I've realized that my happiness is directly proportional to the amount of music I'm playing and the amount of sunlight that is available. So, I've been pretty awesome in the last week or so. I always become noticeably more cheery when the clock springs forward and the days get longer!

But my life has been filled with so much music lately, it's ridiculous. All of it is good, all of it makes me happy, all of it is epic and wonderful. Last weekend I went to DC to play some video game quartet music for The Art of Video Games exhibit in at the Smithsonian. It was so much fun! I have very limited video game experience, but as soon as I became aware of the music a few years ago, I absolutely admire and enjoy the soundtracks. So good, so well written, and so very well adapted for string quartet by my good friend Chad! We were much more popular than we expected (even signing some autographs), and it looks like we'll get a few more gigs out of it!

My trip to DC happened to coincide with one of my favorite currently touring bands ever. The Infamous Stringdusters played at the 930 club, and wow. If you don't know about them, go listen to everything they've ever done. If you do, then you know. I already knew they put on a good show, because I've seen them plenty of times before - but this was honestly the best I've ever seen them. And good company enjoying it with me made it even better!

Then, as soon as I got back, the Cleveland Orchestra was performing a guest concert here in Nashville at the Schermerhorn. They played Beethoven Symphony #6 (which I always find fitting for this time of year) ( --Beethoven 7 is for rainy days, 6 is for warm spring days. 9 is for summer. 5 is for doomful situations.) The Grieg Piano Concert0, played magnificently by Gabriela Montero (who dazzled us with an encore, improvised the Dr. Zhivago theme in the style of a tango), and then Pines of Rome (Respighi). It was. Fantastic. Pines of Rome is just one of those pieces that, by the end, the world could end and no one would mind. I was impressed with the Cleveland Orchestra, too - not that the Nashville Symphony isn't as good, they are just a slightly different (if slightly rougher) flavor experience. Like, if the Cleveland Orchestra is Maker's Mark, the Nashville Symphony is perhaps Jack Daniels. (which makes the Baltimore Symphony Jameson; the Minnesota Orchestra would be Glenfiddich)

My own little orchestra, the Nashville Philharmonic, is a six-pack of something delicious. Maybe Fat Tire. This upcoming concert series is a really, really great program. We are playing the Sibelius Symphony No.2, that I didn't know at all until we started rehearsing, but I have fallen completely in love with it! I love playing music that I can recognize things that modern composers mooch off of, for movie soundtracks. Dvorak, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius. They were there before John Williams, before Hans Zimmer, and they used techniques and textures to convey things on a broader scale than just the pictures and plots we are forced to associate with modern classical soundtracks. Don't get me wrong - those are great now. Just recognize the great people that came first.

ALSO in the last week, I've been to two graduate recitals at Belmont. One violin and one cello, two grad students that I'm friends with. Both were terrific! Highlights were the 1st movement of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto (that I'm already very familiar with, but his performance was just stellar), and the Boccherini Cello Concerto No. 9 (I had heard her practicing it, but I had never heard it with accompaniment, it was delightful!)

So what's next? This weekend I'm going to the Nashville Symphony. Here's the program:

Kodály - Dances of Galanta

Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, OP. 43

Franck - Symphony in D minor

I'm most excited for the Rachmaninoff - but stay tuned for a review, and also more about the Spring Duet Recital in the works!

rebecca

i have the best life ever

24

it was my birthday yesterday!

good music and cheer for all to hear

This: is so good.

(click through to the second half of the recording, too)

song sunday

Two gems to brighten your Sunday!
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Happy Windsday, Owl!

Yesterday was definitely a blustery day.

The weather was weird all day - very warm, sunny, windy. There was a tornado watch in effect for the whole day, and it was supposed to get very bad in the late afternoon. There was an interesting variety of reactions to the whole situation, my own was nearer to the cynical "it's going to hit outside the city and not right on top of me" opinion. (rather than the other side of the spectrum: "ALL THE MATTRESSES IN THE WORLD CANNOT KEEP ME SAFE FROM THIS EARTH SHATTERING TORNADO MESS" or "atmitwckmsftestm" for short)

It got dark, and I went out to the front porch with my cup of tea to wait for the apocolypse. (Nashville was really treating it like the end of the world. Schools closed early, everything cancelled due to paranoid atmitwckmsftestm-ers. I stayed at work, because I don't have a basement at home, and well, if I'm going to die in a tornado I'd rather be with my friends at work than alone above a garage.

As predicted, it got very bad at about 4pm. We heard there was an official tornado warning, and it started raining very hard. So, of course, we all were on front porch watching it. And ran around in it..

(Danielle "blowing away")

Then it started hailing really hard, and we went inside. The electricity flickered, but didn't go out! (I did worry enough at one point to make sure I had my violin and my computer with me, of course)

Here's a video I took of the hail. (It was supposed to be a picture, not a video, hence my surprised "oh!" at the beginning, just fyi.)

Look at how big some of the the hail was:

After it cleared up, there was an absolutely terrific sunset (no editing done to the photo):

leap recovery day

I love March. I feel like on March 1st,

everyone breathes a sigh of relief,

the end of winter is in sight.

In Nashville, it has been around 70 degrees the last few days,

so spring has pretty much been having around here for a while already!

Days like today make me wish I had a puppy to take on a walk.

So, crafty people.

I have twenty wine bottles that I have soaked the labels off of.

Anyone have any ideas of what to do with them?

How about this?

The only problem with building a chandelier being: I don't have a place to hang it. Maybe this will be a spring project for my next house. (will consult with future roommate)

so.

Let's talk about my lent endeavors for a minute.

Not drinking is fine, more annoying than anything else. I've actually come to the same conclusion about not drinking as I did about not eating meat, last year during my vegetarian phase. It turns out that at home, I don't eat a lot of meat anyway, and it's no problem not to drink at home - but going out, restaurants don't usually have super yummy vegetarian options, and it is completely annoying when everyone else is out and drinking yummy beers or bourbons that I would very much like to try, and I can't. It's two more weeks (from yesterday), so I'll stick it out, but I probably won't be going cold turkey again anytime soon.

Lent.

I gave up pizza for lent, mostly as a healthy decision in the first place. I thought it would be easier than it was. It was fine for a few days, and then last night I ate a bunch of pizza. It was 2 for 1's at Mafioza's, and the torture of not being allowed to drink either just made me sad. I'm still not drinking, but I realized that giving up both my favorite things at the same time was a hard decision. I'm still cutting back, but the binge after a week was apparently unavoidable.

Conclusion? I don't have a whole lot of self control when it comes to food. I like it a lot.

I guess it's better than most other addictions one could have.

(in related news, I've stopped biting my fingernails for the 356th time)

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Happy Leap Day, by the way. Go take a leap and do something that scares you! I did.

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P.S. Could someone please explain pinterest to me? I feel 80 years old, I don't get it.

well.

This is a pretty boring social experiment. Apparently its no big deal at all for me to not be drinking. I was annoyed when everyone was tasting yummy bourbon for half price bourbon and burgers on Monday, but I didn't give in.

That's all.

How bout a challenge? Giving up pizza for lent. There you go. There's some torture.

Here's a pretty picture:

it has been determined that i don't have a heart

Yesterday, a video on facebook went by, as they will. It was a small puppy that had gotten stuck down a pipe. They could hear it whining and whimpering, but couldnt see it, despite many attempts with cameras and plumbing tricks. They cut open the pipe, and still couldnt the puppy. They finally brought in large machinery to dig down around the pipe and finally rescued the puppy.

The comments on this video were things like "oh goodness, I cried." "faith in humanity: restored!", and other things along those lines.

Then I felt a little insensitive. Puppies are cute. I'm glad this one got rescued. Yay.

And yet, I get all googly and talk in a baby voice when I am presented with a set of tiny drill bits. Drill bittys, if you will. Look how cute it is! Oh my!

..

So. Apparently I relate more to inanimate objects than I do to, say, this:

(ok, who am I kidding. that's pretty adorable.)

Day 2

Well, I had a dream last night that I had three beers on the first day, and then I was very ashamed that I couldn't even make it a day. So, even though DreamBecka is apparently an alcoholic, RealBecka is doing just fine. The real test will be this Monday, a gathering of luthiers, the point of which is to drink together and talk about luthier things. It will be annoying to not be able to get a drink. But hey, that's the point of this whole endeavor, isn't it?

IN other news, I'm tired of the Nashville winter rain, and I found myself complaining yesterday to a person who lives in Washington state. Needless to say, he was unsympathetic.

Sobriety: Day 1

For those of you who are long time readers, you know that a while ago I attempted a week of vegetarianism. I have no problem with meat (clearly), and I wasn't really looking for a permanent life change, but I wanted to see if it was something I could do.

This month, a similar experiment: cutting out alcohol from my diet. One of my good friends recently did this, and it inspired me to try it myself. I don't think I drink too much, or that I have a problem or anything, but I just want to see how it goes. So many social situations include alcoholic beverages, so will I be able to withstand temptation?

It's not for very long. My birthday is March 13, so in between now and then, I will not be drinking anything! Stay tuned for updates!

It is lunchtime on Day 1. So far, so good :)

mlergh.

Something so simple as a cold can turn even the bravest heart into a sad, whiny baby.

Today I am a sad and whiny baby. I wouldn't even be at work, except that the other luthiers all happen to be out of town this weekend, and someone needs to be at the shop in case of any emergencies. String instrument emergencies, don't laugh, it happens.

Yesterday, a violinist called up and needed her bow fixed immediately - the silver winding had come undone, and her senior recital is Saturday. Not something that you can drop off and leave for a week.

One time, Edgar Meyer had a broken tuning gear on his bass, and called up frantically saying he had Bela Fleck and a bunch of other people over at his house right then to record and needed it to be fixed right then.

Another time, Elvis Presley said the world would end if we didn't glue up an open seam on his viola.

Two truths and a lie. My point is, I'm snuggled in a blanket and eating soup and being very anti-social, but at my bench instead of on my couch, and I feel very crappy. And yes, in my brainworld, Elvis is secretly a violist. He'd probably be mad that I've outed him on my blog. To all two of my readers.

a day in the life

Outside my window… greywhite sky, gravel parking lot, alleyway, old houses, Music Row.

I am thinking… about what I will be doing the rest of the week.

I am thankful for… this job. It is easy to take something so great for granted, but doing what I love pays the bills, and I'm luckier than most.

From the kitchen… hot soup and hot lemon tea. Perfect for today.

I am wearing… a new purple shirt, jeans, and boots.

I am creating… order in a world of broken, dirty chaos.

I am going… to Dickson tonight to play string quartets with some of my favorite people, and drink prosecco by a large fireplace.

I am reading… The Contributor, a newspaper by homeless people.

I am hearing… Beethoven's 7th. Cold blah days make me want to listen to Beethoven.

Around the house… violins, string instruments, tools, horse hair.

One of my favorite things… my old scuffed up violin mug.

A few plans for the rest of the week… a friend's birthday tomorrow, a chocolate martini party on friday, irish music on saturday!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing…

Ice Skating: A Reflection

Last night, I went ice skating.

I've been ice skating a lot in my life, a few times a year. I am thankful that I learned to skate as a kid, because I imagine if I tried learning it now, I would be terrible at it:

Anyway, we discussed the stereotypes of people who go ice skating, and realized that there are a few distinct groups of people who always appear at the public skating sessions.

Top Ten Types of People Who Iceskate on a Saturday Night in January:

1. The Edge Shufflers. No public skating rink would be complete without all the people who can't skate at all. They scoot around the very outer edge of the ice, holding onto the wall for support.

2. The Whiz Kids. These little kids are scary, because they are so good at ice skating (because of all their hockey lessons) and they zip around people, weaving around and through peoples legs, cutting people off without signalling.

3. The Perpendicular Kids. Even more terrifying than the Whiz Kids, I've named them this because they can't skate at all, and will just skate across lanes of skating traffic, like a squirrel dashing across the road. Squirrels with no control or brakes, capable of leaving such havoc in their wake. Where are these children's parents, is the real question??

4. The Awkward College Freshman First Date. There are always one or two awkward date couples on the rink. The guy that isnt very confident on skates, but she said she used to love watching figure skating on tv, so hey, it's worth a shot. Plus, it's a great excuse to hold hands. And, maybe "accidentally" run into each other, I'm sorry, I don't know how to stop!

5. Old Roller-Derby Dads that are wearing their headphones and boogieing like no one is watching! Sure, he got his start on roller skates (300 years ago), but the same theories apply on ice. He can go backwards better than 80% of the people here, and he feels pretty hip doing it. (By the way, he's a father of one of the perpendicular kids)

6. Face Plant Kid. There is always one. He is not an edge shuffler, because he has left the safety of the wall and flown free of the nest. He is not a perpendicular kid, because he can't stay upright for long enough to even go ten feet in a straight line. He spends the whole time standing himself back up, but bless his heart, he's gonna keep trying for hours.

7. Norman Rockwell Girls. Girls who get completely dolled up to go ice skating, with their pretty red wool coat and their hair perfectly bumped on top and curled at the ends. Hoping that a handsome man will hold both their hands and they will skate together. Left, right, left, right. (Watch out for those Whiz Kids.)

8. The Burnt Out Skate Guards. There has to be someone in charge of the situation, and that is always the person who is much better than everyone else. They skate around, bored, making sure no one is getting hurt, helping up the Face Plant Kid, yelling at people who are throwing the ice shavings, and also at people who are holding hands with more than three people in a row. They are always crabby. And they use the time to practice their hockey stops and silently resent their wasted talent.

9. In Nashville, anything you do needs a category for Hipsters. They are everywhere. There is a group of them in their plaids and ironic christmas sweaters and their chunky glasses. They stick together (whether they are grouped in a corner and not skating at all, or skating slowly around amidst the couples and kids and skate guards). Harmless, and interesting. Just another flavor to add to the pot that is Public Skating Stew.

Last but certainly not least,

10. The One Black Couple.

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I guess I ran out of things to say.

Here's a song!

doors

Would you like to know what I like best about my job?

There are many reasons a luthier career is perfect for me - a blend of music and art and science. It's not just making things pretty (although that's important too!), its making things exact. It's nice for someone whose brain is made up of squares instead of circles. I also enjoy the flexibility the job allows. I am here all day every day, but if I'd like to take a long lunch out with someone, or leave early for a rehearsal or something, I can do that as long as I stick with the deadlines given to me by the customers, and depending on how much work I have to do (which, on the other hand, sometimes kicks me in the foot when I have too much work to do, staying late or working all weekend). I pretty much live here - I have better food on my shelf at work than I do at home. I learn a lot, new things come in all the time. New little problems and challenges to fix. New little emergencies, someone is in town just for a few hours and needs something fixed quick.

But what I like best about my job is my door.

I have a glorious door that I can close whenever I want to, and I play music and work on my projects and rarely be bothered. I still come out to talk to my customers, when they drop off their bows and instruments and when they pick them up, but it is just the right amount of customer interaction for me.