Hello, Quad 4

Well, spring break - as of tomorrow at around 2:30 - is coming to a close, and I'm heading back to school. I'm really looking forward to this last quad of the year. Everything outside is going to be bursting into bloom and the beach will have more of an appeal than it ever did. I still plan on going to class, however. Beaches are nice for the weekends and after classes are done. Nevertheless, while the weather and spring sound all fine and dandy, I still have to get a lot of work done. A LOT of work done. Here's my list: Elementary Methods epic folk song project; regular homework for all classes; practicing; starting to think about a senior recital; finding a summer job; filling out multiple housing applications for the summer and for next year; arranging a piece of music for a full band; All-State; rehearsals; figuring out how to take a summer class; the MTEL; and maybe I'll try to fit a social life in on top of that. Maybe. Actually, looking back on that list, it doesn't really sound like too much, does it? I mean, if I managed my time really well, I could maybe do all those things in two weeks. Except for the things that happen routinely, like rehearsals and practicing. Basically, I just need amazing time management skills. That and a practice room with a piano, so that when everything gets a little more hectic than usual, I can stop and play hymns for awhile. It's really quite a relaxing thing to do, and I get to practice sight reading. Suzuki piano kinda messed me up in that respect, and so now I have an easier time sight reading a Mozart piano sonata than I do four-part hymns, especially if I've heard the sonata before. That just seems backwards to me, somehow.

I wanted to bake cookies before I left so that I would have some homemade things to eat while at school, but I think now it's a little too late to start a project like that. Also, I'm out of chocolate chips, and I don't like white chocolate at all, which happens to be all I have. So I guess that plan is completely impossible at this point. I'll probably be healthier without them anyway. I realized right before spring break that I have a whole entire multi-pound bag of pancake mix in my closet, so I'm thinking that several pancake breakfasts are a must for the rest of the semester. I think the entire bag makes around 240 pancakes, so if we have six people and make pancakes every weekend, and each person eats 3 pancakes, the bag should be gone sometime mid-June. Clearly, everyone needs to eat more pancakes, or we need to invite more people. Weekly pancake breakfasts, anyone?