Don't Look Back

Hey everyone,

Well it's now official, I'm done with my regular classes for the year. As of Thursday at 3:10 I finished my last class. It's pretty crazy to think that I'm already done. I still remember showing up at the end of August to move in. This year went so fast, and I can say I'm glad to be done with class, but I don't especially want to leave campus and all my friends. Most of my friends livve a couple hours away from me, so I'm not gooing to get to see them very often which is definitely a bummer. But, I've just got a few finals and then I'm out the door by Wednsday afternoon.

On another bittersweet note, Undeclared held its final performance of the year last night at our annual Fest Fest Celebration. We sang for a little over an hour, and it was an awesome time. We sang our favorite songs and had an awesome audience to rock out with. It was a great night, but also the last Undeclared performance ever for our two seniors Booz and Wiese, who I'm definitely going to miss a ton. I've gotten to know these guys pretty well over the year and it's going to be weird to come back next year without them.

Anyways, I'm going to go study and quit babbling, I have a final at 1:00 that I need to get ready for.

Talk to you soon,

Alex

The Seer's Tower

Hey everyone,

It's hard to believe, but there's only two weeks left of school after tomorrow. It really doesn't make a lot of sense, it definitely doesn't seem like I've been here long enough to finish up and become a sophomore. But either way, the school year's wrapping up, and pretty hectically at that.

I'm starting to get info from my profs about upcoming finals, we've got vocal juries next week (voice lesson testing), and I'm starting to pack up my room. On top of that, I had my choir auditions for next year, which will begin the process of deciding whether I get into Nordic Choir or Cathedral Choir. I actually passed the first round of tryouts and have a callback for Nordic next week so that's pretty exciting.

On the topic of choirs, Norsemen and Pike Kor had our closing concert on Friday. It was amazing. It's been a pleasure getting to work with an amazing group of guys this whole year, and our hard work really paid off. My Mom and little brother were able to come up and here the concert, which was awesome, because I had a solo and was in a quartet, and they hadn't heard me sing in a long time, and I miss seeing my family.

Other than that, not too much going on here, but I'll keep you filled in.

Alex

Basket Case

Hey Everyone,

It's been kind of a crazy week so far, I'm glad we're coming to the weekend. I have a bit of advice to dish out that I've figured out the hard way, mainly for music people.

If you are planning on being a music education major here at Luther, you don't really have time to fit in classes that are outside of that focus except your gen. eds. which have to be squeezed in whenever you can find room for them. My first semester I took an acting class, which was an amazing experience, but was 4 credits that didn't fulfill any of my requirements. I registered for the upcoming semester last night, and now I'm stuck trying to fit in my required classes as well as the growing list of education classes.

Trying to get your major accomplished as well as all of the extra requirements is a hard thing to do, so don't be surprised by that. Try and get a copy of the course catalogue and check out those kinds of things before registering this summer.

Ok, enough about that, but I thought since I figured it out a little late, I should let you guys know early if it'll help.

Intramural softball started this week, which is super exciting for me. I played baseball my whole life until this year, so it feels good to get back out on the diamond in the springtime, especially with my friends. I'm not doing too bad either, I already have two homeruns haha.

Cathedral Choir had their concert this week as well, which is the all sophomore choir, and it was very impressive. It was nice to hear them, because choir auditions are coming up soon for us, and I may end up in that Cathedral.

I've got to get going though, I've got my third test this week in a little bit, and it might be nice to review a bit.

Take care,
Alex

Fall Into Me

Hey Everyone,

Hope everything is going well out there for everyone, I myself am feeling pretty relieved, in about 20 minutes I'm going to hand in my completed final version of my Paideia paper, and I'm glad to be rid of it. It's been hanging over my head for a few weeks now, and I know it has been on my friends minds as well, so it's nice to know it's over.

Other than that though, everything is going well. I'm doing fairly well in my classes, and getting my work done for the most part, as well as getting to spend some time with my friends.

Oh, and Nordic performed this week, they did the infamous Carmina Burana, which was mind-blowingly amazing, and my voice teacher sang some solos as part of the show and was also spectacular. It was the kind of thing you have see to understand the impression it made.

The only other thing that seems to be causing a stir on campus is an issue on tray usage in the cafeteria. They are taking the caf trays away for a week to see how much energy it could possibly save, and most of the students are upset that they are inconveniencing us like that, because many feel there are plenty of other ways to conserve energy on campus that wouldn't cause so much protest. It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out, it starts tomorrow afternoon.

Well I'm off to hand in my 12 page paper on Native American economy, take care

Alex

Seen It All Before

Hey Everyone,

Hope everyone's spring break was good, or class, depending on when yours was. I myself am trying to get back in the swing of things. Classes picked up again on Tuesday, and I have to admit, it's been kind of surreal trying to focus on school again. But it's coming back, it's just trying to remember Spanish vocab after two weeks and things like that that are throwing me off, but I'm pretty sure it's like that for everyone after breaks. So no real worries.

Anyways, not too much new stuff here, but there are a few things. Over J-Term next year, there's a possibility to study abroad, and there's a meeting about that tonight, so I might go check it out. It sounds like it would be an awesome chance to study music in Europe, so after I find out cost and the chances of that happening, I'll report back. Other than that though, I'm just getting back to doing homework and getting myself out of bed for class in the morning.

On a side note, I've gotten a summer job in the Des Moines area for the summer, a solid 7 hours away from home, and training starts on the weekends from now on, so as things progress I'll fill you in.

Anyways, hope everythings going well for you all.
Talk to you soon,

Alex

Can't Complain

Hey everyone,

First off, I really want to apologize for the lack of blogs lately. I've been incredibly busy, and I have put it off, and I'm sorry for that.

Things are just starting to calm down now, after a weekend with Undeclared in St. Louis, a weekend in Minnesota with the Norsemen, and a weekend holed up in the library finishing my Paideia paper about a Native American tribe's economy.

I'm just preparing for mid-terms right now, and more importantly, in my mind at least, spring break. Most students get a few tests before break, me being no exception. I have two tomorrow, and two Thursday before I can head home for break. I've been putting in a decent amount of time studying, so hopefully that change of habit will produce some solid results.

Going home this week is incredibly exciting for me. I haven't been home in what seems like forever, and I'm really missing my family a lot recently. It'll be nice to spend some time with them, catch up, and relax for a little while.

Well, I've got to get some sleep befor my tests tomorrow, but I promise I'll post more often.

Alex

Follow Through

Hey everyone,

For those of you that have been keeping up with the blog, you know that this past weekend we hosted the ICCA's here at Luther, and it was awesome. We had six acapella groups from D-I schools come to compete, and hundreds of the Luther and Decorah communities show up to support the event, and it was great. The show was a huge hit, with the Acafella's from Michigan State winning first place and advancing to the semifinals.

Undeclared is actually competing this Saturday in St. Louis at ICCA regional, so hopefully next week I'll let you know how that went, wish us luck!

Sorry for all the acapella talk, but recently that's been taking up a large amount of my time outside of class.

On another note, I've been playing intramural Ultimate Frisbee, which has turned out to be pretty awesome. For those of you who don't play you should check it out, it's a ton of fun, and Luther has great guys and girls squads that compete in the fall and spring. Actually right now, I've been talking to some of the team about going out for the team in Spring, but we'll see what happens there, I haven't got the best throws yet, need some work haha.

Anyways, I'll be in St. Louis until Sunday, so have a good weekend and take care.
And as I've learned in Spanish 101 Hasta pronto!

Alex

Save Me

Hey everyone,

Sorry for the long break. I've been so busy it's kind of ridiculous. I've been working harder on my homework, which takes more time obviously, and playing intramural Ultimate Frisbee along with classes and things that like that through out the day. And on top of all that Undeclared is getting pretty intense, we've been practicing 6 days a week in preperationfor ICCA's. Which brings me to my shameless plug.

If you're going to be around Luther or the surrounding area, come to the CFL at 8pm on Saturday to hear the regional competition for the International Championships of Collegiate Acapella. There'll be 8 groups from major state schools, and we'll be performing a half hour set.
So come out see us!

Ok, but enough of that. Now that I've gotten into the swing of second semester, I'm really starting to enjoy it again. not all of it maybe, but my theory class, intro to music ed, and spanish courses are all really engaging, and I feel like I'm really gaining a lot by being in them. One of the things I love the most about coming here is that these teachers actually get to know you. My teachers who I had last semester remember who I am, my strengths and weaknesses, and are willing to work with me on a personal level when I need help. When I was deciding about whether or not to go to state school, that really was a big factor, I wanted to go to a place where I would be taught by real professors and people I could actually get a hold of. So if that's important to you, make note of that.

Anyways, I hope to talk to you soon, but with hosting ICCA's this weekend, and competing in St. Louis after that it's going to be kind of hectic, so I appreciate the patience haha. Thanks.

Talk to you soon,

Alex


p.s. Please comment if you read my blog semi-regularly, I'd like to hear from you, or at least know I have some readers!

Ordinary Miracle

Hey Everyone,


Well, I'm back at it again. Second semester officially started Thursday, so I've now been to all my classes at least once. I figured I was going to be super bummed when I had to start back up, but I was actually pretty excited to get back in the swing of things.

I have basically all the same kinds of classes, mainly music, but I did start Spanish 101 on Friday. The teacher just walked in speaking rapid-fire Spanish and pretending we would know what she meant. After a minute or two she laughed and then introduced herself in English, and the class was actually really enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to learning another language, and another culture. My teacher is actually from Argentina, so I thought that was pretty awesome.

Other than that, ICCA, the acapella contest Undeclared is hosting is coming up incredibly soon. The 16th of February about 7 groups from the midwest will be here to compete, so if you'll be around Decorah that night, stop in for sure. There's a lot of behind the scenes work we still have to accomplish, but I think we can pull it together. And the week after, we're making the long drive to St. Louis to compete ourselves, and then the Ben Folds concert we're opening for is the week after that. It's going to be a crazy few weeks.

I'm excited to get going, and hopefully I'll keep you up to date on how the new semester is coming along.

Alex

One Thing

Hey Everyone,

Back again, another week of J-Term gone and I'm almost getting ready to head home for another break. We have another week left of class and then have a few days before our next term.

I'm excited to get another break, but I'm really enjoying my J-Term class. I get to help teach kids grades K-12 about my passion, music. It's great when I get to help a new elementary student figure out how to play a song on their recorder and how great they feel about it, or when I can help someone in high school choir figure out a rough patch in a song. It makes me feel like I'm really making a difference with what I'm doing, and has really solidified my love for music and belief that I want to teach someday. So I'm definitely bummed that this experience is going to be over soon, because I've started to build up some trust with the students, and I've definitely learned a ton. Pretty much the only reason that I'll enjoy this class being over is not having to get up at six in the morning anymore, haha.

So, I was walking down the hall and I realized there was no one out and about. Usually I see at least one person in the halls and around but everyone was shut up in their rooms. Then I remembered the Packers were playing tonight. Now, I'm not always the biggest Packer fan, but no one likes the Giants(and if you do, no offense, but come on now) and I like to pull for Brett Favre. But I heard tons of angry screaming a little bit ago, and I'm sad to hear that they lost.

It's been kind of rare to see people anywhere except holed up in their rooms recently, because it has been insanely cold around here, and most of us value our appendages too much to venture outside for long.

Anyway, not much going on here. J-Term is super laid-back and there's not much to report on.

Talk to you soon,

Alex

Desperado

Hey Everyone,

Wow, it's definitely been awhile since I last wrote. I took a break from pretty much everything while I was home for Christmas, and I didn't have much to write about.

Over break, I basically just chilled around my house, or at a family member's or Carly's house. It was a lot of hanging out and relaxing, watching too much t.v., eating too much, and sleeping too much. But it was nice for sure. It was kind of weird in a way, too, though. Because, even though you're home, it's a bit odd. You're almost a visitor in your own home. The family asks way too many questions and kind of treats you differently, like a guest almost. Especially in my case, Luther has become like another home to me, and even though I was home, I missed this home. But now that I'm back here, I miss being in Rothschild again. It's a cycle, but both places make me happy.

I found out some exciting news over break as well. Ben Folds, who is a famous piano player/singer will be playing a show here on March 3rd. And Undeclared, the singing group I'm in, is opening up for him! We're all really excited for the oppurtunity to perform for such a talented artist and all his fans.

On to the business part of January Term (month long course) I suppose. I'm taking Education 185, which is clinical experience in schools. I've been pretty sure for a long time that I want to be a music teacher, especially vocal music, and this class gives me the chance to go to a school for most of January to shadow a teacher and get some experience and observation of how a professional in my field does their job. I had my first visit today, a small K-12 school in southern MN, and it was great. My teacher was very upbeat and enjoyable, and the kids were all great. Today was mostly just some intoductions and things like that, but I'll be sure to keep you up to date on how progressions take place.

Anyways, I hope everyone had a great break, and I'll talk to you soon,

Alex