Music Week



As I mentioned before, our Hungarian band, Cifra, had our fifteen, or rather, fifty minutes of fame the other day at the Winspear Centre. Turns out there were approximately 1000 people in the audience, a little more nerve-wracking (sp?) than I expected. The audience seemed pretty receptive and Jim and I (we're the violinists of the group) didn't screw up too much, I can't speak for the others. At least I looked good..... I wore my new super tight Euro dress that I purchased for 13 Euro in Italy, and my big ol' stiletto beotch boots. Hopefully my outfit was distracting enough to cover up my wrong turns. Lemme explain the horrible picture above..... it was taken Christmas 2004 and the members are from left to right: Moni (kontra, guitar, violin), Andrea (voice), Paul (bass, drum, gardon), Miriam (Kontra, lute, violin), me, and Jim. Why do I look like an alien, you may be asking? Well, in the original shot I looked very mean and pissed off. I guess that is my natural state. I contested the picture for months until finally Jim used his "photo-doctor" and cut and pasted my head from another picture and then rotated it. Result: I look like Marvin the Martian. Or, better yet, Starvin' Marvin'. Yeah, thanks Jim. It makes me feel so good that this is the picture that is going into international distribution in our CD jacket.

My senior violins and my baby orchestra played at a music festival today. They did extremely well.... especially the little orchestra that played a non-syncopated version of "La Cucharacha" and a watered down version of "Ode to Joy." Sure, the senior violins rushed the Bach double a bit, got disjointed for a good 20 bars, but all in all, they did me proud. I will be sad to leave some of these kids behind, but I hope to do this same kind of thing again when I move to the states. I think there are more schools down there that have string programs. If not, I can always teach privately, even in Sicily I think. The kids I WON'T miss are beginner violin classes. Let me tell you, t'ain't easy to get fifteen space cadets to hold the violin somewhat properly and have them play Twinkle in the first month just so their parents can tell all of their plebian friends that little Johnny is a violin prodigy.
I like viola classes (because kids that choose the viola on their own generally have more brain cells, or, at the very least are quirky or nerdy enough to behave in a civilzed way) and I like teenagers. Because by the time they get to the teenage class level, most of the duds have been weeded out, leaving me with kids that actually want to be there.

Happy Birthday Nancy.

Music Notes

I had the pleasure of performing with the symphony this past weekend. On the program was:
Overture from "Norma" - Bellini
Requiem for Three Cellos- Popper
Cello Concerto in D - Haydn
Bachianas #5 -Villa Lobos (pron. Vija Loboth)
Symphony #2 - Beethoven.

It was my first time playing for the new conductor in town. He's not bad, but some of his antics started to annoy me. Half the time I don't know what he's talking about because he's always making allusions to supposedly "hip" or nerdy things like Tolkien novels or IPods. Huh? When he calls out rehearsal letters, it's always in Tolkien character names, ie. B- for Bilbo! He also kept referring to the orchestra as, "all y'all" like he has some sort of southern street cred. when I'm pretty sure he was Carlton Banks' doppelganger (Fresh Prince of Belair), and grew up in private schools and boys' choirs. My stand partner leaned over to me and said, "what's the difference between all you all and, you all?" I said, "I don't know, more people?"

I had a great time though. Except for the Haydn. I love that piece. I have a beautiful Steven Isserlis recording that I have listened to approximately one billion times. The soloist this weekend, however, took every movement at a snails' pace so accompanying him was more like a slow death than an enjoyable musical experience. He also routinely changed the tempo, apparently to meet technical challenges. Too bad.

On another musical note, our Hungarian band, Cifra, is rocketing to fame tomorrow as we're doing a live to air radio pick-up show at the main concert hall. Yup, that's right.... CBC is picking us up. I'm not sure when they will broadcast it, but check out their site to find out. I'll probably get my parents to record it while I'm away. Unfortunately for those of you that live in cooler places outside of Alberta, it's only slotted as a provincial broadcast..... thus far. Though I'm sure down the road we will start getting national, if not international, play. Stay tuned.

Looking Forward to living in Sicily: Why?

1. I will be obtaining a live-in best friend with benefits.

2. Luckily, though Italy is far, it is still part of "the world," so I will continue to be the smartest person in the world.

3. Since I finished high school 9 years ago (eep! I'm old!), I have compiled a list of people that bug me. I am looking forward to not bumping into said people on a regular basis. I'm sure I will meet people abroad that irritate me just as much, but I will only be there for a maximum of 3.5 years, so the list should only grow to 1/3 of what it is now.

4. NO MORE -30 DEGREES CELSIUS! Need I say more?

5. Cheap and easy travel within European countries. I'm looking forward to seeing as many places as I can while I'm there.

6. Cheap leather shoes.

7. Cheap wine. Good too.

8. Our big beautiful house that keeps cool.

9. Learning how to drive stick..... right J?

10. Learning Italian, which, combined with my French, should make it easier to learn Spanish when I get back to the U-S of A.

Things I will miss about living here/in Canada

Okay, first of all, calm down, the picture to the right is not the current weather up here. I believe it was taken at the beginning of March, still shocking I suppose, but not as bad as if it were an "Easter surprise!"

1. In most major Canadian cities you can get almost anywhere on the bus and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. The routes are pretty extensive and clearly labelled schedules can be obtained from many random places such as libraries, malls and convenience stores. Even if all of these aides still baffle you, most bus drivers are glad to help, that is, with the exception of Vancouver bus drivers. They're mean.

2. Long, steamy hot, high pressured showers. Nothing better. Even when it's hot outside, I still like to scald myself in the shower.

3. Nearly everything I could think of consuming is at my fingertips 24/7. No reposa, no siesta, and predictable hours.

4. Feeling like I'm superior to everyone else. This is impossible when you are surrounded by a language you can't speak or understand. And you know THEY are thinking you're stupid.

5. Long summer nights. Because we're so far north, there is a huge difference between the amount of light in the summer vs. winter. When it nears summer solstice, the sky is only very briefly completely dark.

6. Knowing where to shop for the cheapest deals.

7. With the exception of tornadoes (though they tend to hit trailer parks the hardest) and very occasional flooding, this area of the world is pretty safe from major natural disasters, unlike the volcano bearing island of Sicily and the at-risk hurricane coastal region of Virginia.

8. Playing Hungarian music. No really, stop laughing, I actually like it. A lot.

9. Sidewalks.

10. My funny friends. I have the privelege of having many hilarious friends. And smart, naturally. Not funny ha ha like in a Joey-tripping-over-a couch sitcom way (though I think Simeon probably has gotten some laughs doing that), but really funny. Holla at yo' boyz.

Brianna and Brian


New Discoveries

I just broke my Ebay bidding cherry. I'm currently the winning bid on a great watch. I seem to have lost my nice Kenneth Cole watch in one of many transits I've taken over the past few weeks so I thought I'd check out Ebay to see what all the fuss is about. The one I am hoping to get is going for about half the price you'd pay in the store, despite it being new. It closes on Thursday, wish me luck! I'm not terribly choked about losing the other one, the face is scratched, the strap is ripping and the battery is dying. If I were to fix/replace all of these problems, I'd probably end up spending what I'm currently bidding. I just hope it's the same size.

I also discovered a discount place that sells Mexx. All John's doing of course. I found a bargain pair of turquoise, very Carrie Bradshaw-esque capris. I can't wait until it's warm enough to wear them. Unlike most Canadian tools, I don't bust out the summer wear the minute the temperature rises above zero.

I got a lot done this weekend, though all at a slow pace. Cleaning, organizing, running, laundry. I need at least four free days to be a good housekeeper. I probably won't win Navy wife of the year. Well, if it's based on looks I'll win, but not if it's based on traditional wifey duties. Ha ha. I'm sort of kidding.

I've been watching a lot of reality shows where individuals or families have someone (presumably an "expert") to come in and overhaul their eating/(lack of) exercising habits. Naturally they all fight the rules tooth and nail, cheat every once in a while, and whine and moan about how horrible the healthy food tastes etc.... so my question is, "WHY DID YOU SIGN UP FOR THE SHOW?" Did you think that they were going to come in and say, "hey! McDonalds is a great place to eat three times a day! You know what you should do to REALLY lose weight fast..... try sitting on the sofa and playing video games.... that somehow magically burns tons of calories!" Humph.

View to the west from our balcony
Student Fashion Police

I have a student in one of my group lessons that comes for bi-weekly private lessons in order to prepare for an orchestra audition. She has spent the whole year commenting on my earrings, hair, clothes and other miscellaneous items. Most recently she informed me that before I get married, I should dye my hair back to brown. How annoying.

Yesterday I had had enough when she told me, though it was complimentary, that she liked my jacket and that I should wear it more often. The other students' mouths dropped when I replied, "when I want fashion advice from you, M, I'll call you...... I have your number." She didn't say much for the rest of the class.

It seems that when I'm in Italy, I just can't be properly identified. When I went on base, storeclerks would speak to me in broken Italian (probably because I looked like a deer caught in headlights what with all of the giant clothes the base has on display.....and they mistook this dazed look as language incomprehension) but when I went out in town, people constantly referred to me as American. Our friend Giuseppe had the misfortune of making this slip one night. I corrected him and he said, "Canadian, American, what's the difference?" to which I replied, "Sicilian, Italian, what's the difference?" "Oh no, no, no, no! I am Sicilian!..... oh, okay, you're Canadian." You see, Sicily is to Italy what Quebec is to Canada.... sort of.

I just signed up for the evil "Skyteam." I have been a member of "Star Alliance" for years and have paid a little extra sometimes just to fly with a partner airline in order to get points. Since Alitalia is the cheapest way to get from London to Italy I just couldn't in good conscience continue to do that leg of the journey without getting something in return. I still feel a bit like I'm betraying my favourite airline, United, but now I have more options. Delta, Continental, Northwest, Air France and some others are part of Skyteam. So if y'all don't fly much and have flights coming up with any Team or Alliance members, lemme know.... I'll LET you use my number. Ha ha.

Tuesday Tidbits II


What was the last film you saw at the cinema?

Wedding Crashers.

What's your favorite TV show?

Trailer Park Boys.

What did you have for breakfast this morning?

coffee, blueberries and organic french vanillla yogurt.

What's your favorite cuisine?

Favorite is tough. I like thai, mexican and eastern european.

What foods do you dislike?

Pasta. Yup, and I'm moving to Italy.

What is your favorite chip flavor?

Salt and vinegar

What's your favorite CD at the moment?

Kanye West: Late Registration

What kind of car do you drive?

The ghetto autobus yo.

Favorite sandwich?

grilled cheese.

What characteristics do you despise?

Insecurity that masquerades as evil.

What is your favorite type of clothing?

Dress-up clothes from the tickle-trunk.

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?

Prague.

What color is your bathroom?

White, I think.

Favorite brand of clothing?

Mexx, cause it actually fits.

Where would you retire to?

Virginia.

Favorite time of the day?

9 pm till 2 am

What was your most memorable birthday?

They’re all memorable because I’m the center of attention…… at least in my own mind.

Favorite sport to watch?

NFL at “Git’R Dun.” What a riot.

What laundry detergent do you use?

Whatever is on sale.

Were you named after anyone?

Some contestant or producer on Jeopardy.

Do you wish on stars?

Only shooting stars.

When did you last cry?

Last week at Heathrow.

Do you like your handwriting?

Sometimes.

If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you???

I would marry me.

Are you a daredevil?

Absolutely not, except when it comes to relationships and when I’m on my bicycle. I’m an absolute terror.

Do looks matter?

Mine do.

Tuesday Tidbits

Where is your second home?

Canada, at my parents, though it’s pretty unbearable.

What were your favorite toys as a child?

Books. Yup, I was an uber-nerd.

What class in high school was totally useless??

Theory of Knowledge.

Favorite movies?

Groundhog Day, Solaris, Beautiful Girls.

What are your nicknames?

B, Briosz (pron.Briosh), Bree, Brianna for those that can’t read.

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off??

Besides my sneakers, I don’t have lace-ups.

Do you think that you are strong?

Incredibly strong….. for a girl. In fact, my name means, “strong woman.” So there!

What's your favorite ice cream flavor??

I think I’m lactose-intolerant, but Ben and Jerry’s chocolate brownie fudge is pretty damn good.

What are your favorite colors??

Duh…….black of course.

What is your favorite thing about yourself??

I’m funny. Stop laughing.

Who do you miss the most?

J.

What color pants are you wearing?

Black………again, duh.

What are you listening to right now?

Traffic. That’s not a band.

Last thing you ate?

Doritos.

Last person you talked to on the phone?

My mama.

Favorite Drink?

Vino Rosso

Do you wear contacts?

Yup.

Favorite Day of the Year?

My birthday! June 22, did you write it down? Get a pen!

Scary Movies or Happy Endings?

Huh? I guess neither.

Summer or winter?

summer

Hugs OR Kisses?

Deep-throat french kisses, heh heh. Are you shocked yet?

What is Your Favorite Dessert?

not a big dessert eater, but I suppose fresh fruit and chocolate fondue.

What Book(s) are you reading?

The Idiot

What is on your mousepad?

Giacomo Niente

What Did You Watch Last night on TV?

Again, Giacomo Niente.

Favorite Smells?

Coco Mademoiselle, men and garlic.

Rolling Stones or Beatles?

To quote John, “beatles by a mile. Lennon and McCartney two of the greatest composers of the 20th century. SO SICK OF THOSE FOSSILS THE ROLLING STONES -- GO AWAY!”

What's the furthest you've been from home?

Catania, Sicily

Motta Sant'Anastasia (We live about a mile from this town.)

Taggerrific

I've been tagged but don't really know the rules so I'm just gonna give you a list of 6 random things about me, some of which are elements of my obsessive compulsive disorder.

1. This is a recent thing: When I'm sitting on a plane, I can't rest my feet on the ground.... I don't like the vibrations, so I always put my carry-on under the seat in front of me just so I can put my feet on it.

2. I can't stand the way passport/customs people stamp random pages. The Americans are the worst. Sometimes they stamp the closest thing, like a boarding pass so as it stands it looks like I entered the U.S. in December and never left. I wish they would all go in order. I like order.

3. No matter how big the time crunch, I have to make my bed after I get up. By no means do I make it to hotel standards, but it has to be made nonetheless.

4. I always chew gum, especially when I perform. There are two reasons for this: 1. I hate bad breath from other people and so do my utmost to avoid being guilty myself. 2. In high school, I developed allergies to mold and dust and spent many a youth orchestra concert stifling coughs. I find having gum in my mouth on stage reduces the chance of getting dry mouth and/or that horrible tickle in my throat.

5. I can sit around for hours doing absolutely nothing, but when I decide to do something I end up doing everything I can think of, all at once. For instance, I'm writing this blog in between making/eating lunch and blow drying my hair. I'm surprised I'm not also on the phone.

6. I'm a chronic night-owl.... always have been. Unless I'm with J (his job requires that he goes to bed/gets up early) or severly jet-lagged, I can't go to bed before midnight. I just can't. Speaking of sleeping habits, unless the windows are frozen shut, I always have to have the window open.... even if it's below zero. I sleep best when the room is chilled.

There you have it. Perhaps I'll copy John in the next few days and provide further info.

Our landing/den (door opens to balcony)

Breakfast at Brianne's

So my mom bought my dress. I tried it on a couple of months ago and knew instantly it was the perfect one. Random people in the store kept oohing and ahhing, saying "that is SO Breakfast at Tiffany's." That is definitely the correct answer. For those of you that don't know, I love Audrey Hepburn and have been known to adorn my walls with Hepburn calendars and photos.

Did I mention the dress is perfect? It is so unlike any style that I've seen in the shops. It needs a bit of alteration (a bit too big in the chest area, quelle surprise) but nothing too drastic. I can't wait to wear it.

I got through S***bert yesterday. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. I'm finally getting used to the viola I'm using so I felt okay about my performance. I feel like I've just been released on parole out of prison now that it's over. Phew! Back to my real life.

Tidbit about Italy: There are roosters crowing 24/7.... yo! I always thought they started at the crack of dawn and stopped but I guess what they fail to mention in the storybooks is that it continues..... all day. Those stories are misleading! It didn't really bother me, I just wasn't expecting it.

John.....tag me already!

More Differences

My computer is being stupid. I have to post as much as I can before it freezes. Computer guru Uri, whatever is the problem?

The picture below if of me in Catania.... Amazing Race just went there!

Italian airport don't have jetways, nor do they park the plane near the terminal so one can race off the plane on foot. You have to get on a bus and not only do YOU have to get on that bus, so do all the slow fools, people with strollers and canes and what not. B doesn't like having that control taken away from her for making tight connections.

Public washrooms can leave much to be desired. I experienced the no toilet paper thing, the unisex thing, the no toilet seat thing (nope, not a bidet, just a regular toilet with no seat..... guess they don't want them stolen) and the thing where people treat regular toilets like bidets. I'll leave y'all to imagine the outcome of those attempts.

Travels: Tre: Differences

1. Italian "passport control" is far less difficult than American or Canadian customs. With a flirty smile and a stamp from the officer, I waltzed on through. No "how long are you staying,""do you plan to sell that viola in our country," "are you going to take jobs away from our countrymen?" Nada.

2. They drive like maniacs. Even kids on mopeds.

3. They can't believe how many Americans feed stray cats yet they see news magazine shows showcasing Americans walking by and ignoring humans in distress on the street. They find this hilarious and preposterous.

4. Forget about getting a regular coffee lid with your to-go cup. You're lucky if the cup is even a coffee cup and not a coca-cola cup. Even the base doesn't ship in lids. Plenty o' spilled coffee on B's clothes.

5. I'm considered exotic because of my "giallo" (yellow) hair. Yes, little ol' pasty cracker honky white-a** me. Go figure.

Our Kitchen, marble countertop and all
Fiumefreddo Beach (lump on the left side of the sea is Italian mainland.)
Our front door and living room

Travels: Due: Sicilian Environment

The picture on the top is of our beautiful Sicilian villa from the front patio. Notice the executive balcony that comes off our landing/den.

The second is of Mount Edna, taken in front of the NEX on NAS I. I found that NAS I looked more like a resort than a center of military operations. NAS II however, looks much more industrial, but I didn't dare bust out my camera what with the Italian military beret wearing, machine gun-toting dude standing guard.

The weather was beautiful the whole time I was there. Sunny and clear, despite AFN forecasts that it would be partly cloudy. I guess that's what happens when you make predictions from Germany.

There was always a slight breeze which was nice as I ran downhill on a 1.4 km road, but strangely the wind would disappear as I made my way back up the long, slow incline, to leave me baking in the Sicilian sun.

The water is very hard and we can't drink it because of the high levels of calcium. It dried out my honky cracker skin in weird ways for the first few days so I had to overdose on skin lotions. Apparently there is some sort of plant that honkies are allergic to as well. I felt "allergic" for the first few days and my Polish friend Asia (pron. Asha) told me terrible tales of having deforming allergic reactions. Hopefully that won't happen to me.

I've heard conflicting reports as to what the heat is like in the summer. Some say it's 90% humidity at a temperature of 117degrees farenheit, others say the Saharan sands blow in over the Mediterranean to make it quite dry and dusty. Get it straight y'all! Which is it? I'm on a need to know basis. I think however, that it depends on where you live because as we would drive into various towns, constantly changing altitudes, I noticed slight differences in weather already. Hopefully our villa is smack in the middle of the humid zone. If not, I'll just have to go to the beach every day. It's not exactly down the street, but it's not too far by car or bus.

The volcano burps on a regular basis but at least while I was there, the wind seemed to be blowing the ash to the other side. Phew.

There are lizards that scurry into the bushes on the side of the road every step you take. There are stray cats and dogs everywhere and our donkey American neighbours feed them all which makes it look like there is a crazy cat lady living nearby. One is often caught on a narrow road behind shepherds and their "geep." They look like a cross between a sheep and a goat. Those animals are incredibly stupid and so are likely to dart randomly in front of cars. If you hit one, you're slapped with a 100 Euro fine. Ouch.

Our house is BEAUTIFUL! and BIG! We are living phat, especially by Sicilian standards. I almost feel guilty.... I said almost.

I'll have more pictures and descriptions in the weeks to come. I can't give it all to you at once, now can I?
Come back real soon.

Ciao!

Travels: Uno

Okay, I know y'all are dying to hear about my trip so I will start the tales even though the pictures will have to wait because of course I used a ghetto disposable and have had zero time to get them developed. (I arrived back a short 36 hours ago and have been teaching and rehearsing in a jet-lagged daze ever since.)

4 out of my 5 flights to Sicily were smooth sailing. My A-330 from Montreal to London was the best of all. With the exception of the long flight times, international travel is pretty sweet. I remember feeling giddy as I got offered a glass of wine in French and then sat back (in my two seats!) and watched "Pride and Prejudice." Yay! I'm going to London! Naturally I didn't sleep so was awake as we sailed over Ireland and Britain. I think I even saw Windsor Castle from 30, 000 feet. We were a bit late so we had to circle Heathrow for a while. And I mean literally circle, no figure 8, CIRCLE..... banked almost at 180 for quite a few circles I think, I nearly got sick. Finally we landed and for the first two hours of my layover I was happy as a clam despite standing in line at passport control for nearly an hour. After getting a coffee and sitting down to watch a movie, ka-blam! jet-lag hit, and my body was still moving at 200 miles an hour. The next 7 hours were quite long and arduous but somehow I soldiered through.

Annoying thing about Heathrow: The gate isn't posted on the screen until as little as 20 minutes before the flight, no more than one hour before.

Strange thing that happened as I waited for the posting of the gate: A tall Nazi looking Scandinavian in a suit very obviously took a picture of me looking incredibly bored and miserable on his camera phone. If y'all see my unauthorized picture on the internet sometime, let me know.

Anyway, blah blah, slept on the flight to Milan. Ordered a bottle of water at the airport and responded in French because my brain slips into second language mode whenever challenged by a third or fourth that I don't know. Oops. The Italian guy laughed at me.

Flight to Catania was BUMPY! Even the geriatric mafioso sitting near me in supposed Alitalia "first class" were gasping. Bumpy flights over water at night, landing on an island where there is a known giant volcano are exactly what B's doctor doesn't, or shouldn't, order. Yikes.

So that's my first installment. I need to go sleep. The Sicilian adventure begins tomorrow..... or maybe Friday.

Heathrow Headache

I am currently in London en route back to Canada. I'm sad and miss Sicily and most of all J, already. Stories and pictures when I get back and caught up on sleep.