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Friday, February 29, 2008

February 29.. Goodbye to February!


And hello Yundi Li! I saw him for the first time today, and probably ever, at the rate he is traveling. This amazing and talented pianist won the National Chopin Competition at just eighteen years old... it's unbelievable how incredibly he plays. He is a renowed musical genius straight from China, who has performed everywhere and anywhere. At just 24, he is truly an amazing inspiration to all pianists who attend Utah State, including me. And I didn't even copy this from the program :P Some of the pieces he played were the



Sonata in C (K 330) by Mozart,

Mazurkas 1-4 by Chopin,

Nocturne in E minor also by Chopin (I love this one, Op. 9 No. 2),

Widmung by Liszt (this is an amazing piece),

and Andante Spinato & Grand Polonaise in E-flat major Op. 22 by Chopin.



This last selection was AMAZING. Not only that, but (after a brief intermission) he played the entire Pictures At An Exhibition (by Mussorgsky), which was an amazingly brilliant piece. It's hard to explain exactly the feelings involved in watching people like Yundi Li play, so all I can say is that it's an emotional ride, it gives you goosebumps like nothing else, and it is so inspiring.... too bad Yundi Li was hiding from everyone, because I would have loved to shake his hand. Truly a fascinating performance.

Me and Cailie... aww!
Afterwords, Landon and Bradley invited me and Cailie to go to the formal institute dance... in my sundress and her black dress pants....? It was pretty sweet walking in to the dance and having people stare at us... we took group pictures, which I will post soon after they email them to me.
Ah, life is so random.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

February 28.. Cracking Under Pressure

Today's "new thing" sucked to be honest. I was observed for my first time in my private piano lesson, with my student Danielle. Things were actually going well until Brooke (my teacher) came in. I tried to teach a concept and Danielle wasn't understanding. Her MOM made a comment, and it all went downhill from there. I hope that I didn't fail, because she was writing a lot... Oh well, everything is a learning experience, right? But it still sucked, regardless.

February 27... Salad is what my food eats.

There once was a piano major named Pete. This man decided to go vegetarian for a month, which inspired me for today's (and this week) new thing: I am going to be a vegetarian for this whole week. (And maybe the month if I feel daring...) So also, in honor of today, I ate my first vegetarian pizza. It wasn't bad, it just tasted like cheese pizza with a lot of veggies. I have a feeling me and veggies are going to be very good friends in the coming weeks! :)

I decided to become a vegetarian, not because I hate meat (I actually love it), but to try a new experience. See life from a different point of view. Be smart about my diet. And just because. I know vegetarian is more of a lifestyle than a fling, but I think it is definitely worth a try... so don't offer me a steak or I'll kill you!

P.s. Also done today: me and Shannon shot hoops at the Fieldhouse for the first time... ugh I suck so so bad.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

February 26... L'Chaim!

Today me and Ray Jay Sullivan took our first wheat grass shots from Jamba Juice. It was really scary to watch the guy cut off the literal grass and make it into a juice in front of us. The wheat grass itself is chlorophyll in liquid form, and is a helpful substance to get the toxins out of your system. They told us that there is the equivalent of 3 servings of vegetables alone in this tiny little cup, and it's very high in amino acids and enzymes.





We got our little shots and orange juice and (with a toast to "no regrets") gulped those babies down! I honestly was expecting worse. Although it did in fact taste like freshly mowed lawn and motor gas, it wasn't half bad. I was just proud of Ray, it's the closest he's even been to eating vegetables! :P




Monday, February 25, 2008

February 25... "Supporting"

Today, one of the piano-major-to-be's (Shannon Lee) asked me if I would come to her older brother Brandon's intramural basketball game. I agreed to come and support him, because he has given me so many rides home late at night here in Logan. So tonight at 9:30, I saw my first Logan Intramural Basketball Game. I really enjoyed it, because of Brandon. He is one of the best piano majors out here in Logan, and he has so much ahead of him. Yet he's not only limited to piano. He also loves playing basketball, and I really really admire him for doing the things he loves regardless of whether others might or might not approve of it. Though the team lost by 3, it was still and excellent and tough game. Yay intramurals!

Also done today: I finally figured out how to take the battery out of my phone the correct way. I have spent countless hours puzzling over how to get the back cover off, and today Cailie finally showed me the light. It is so simple I want to poke myself in the eye.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

February 24... Dumpster Diving!

"The gang"

This one totally counts... it was past midnight when we left. During the process of waiting for our creme brullee to be done, me, Andrus, and my sister Kenzie decided to go dumpster diving (for wood for gorilla art). We took some random road late at night, and felt really sneaky! Andrus jumped up onto the dumpster and started digging. The only thing I can say I actually did was step in a huge puddle of mud... but we were successful. Now I have plenty of wood to paint on! Yay dumpster diving in the wee hours of the morning!!

February 23... Creme Brullee




Can you say WOW?!?!?!



True story. Today me and Andrus decided to make a crazy dessert, and creme brullee was the lucky choice of the evening. This was a lot of fun- we got all the ingredients, made it exactly as the recepie said, and had a lot of fun doing it! It isn't that difficult to make, and the the end product was absolutely delicious. Andrus pretty much made the whole thing, but it doesn't even matter. Because it was so ridiculously cool. (Note: Andrus hated being in the pictures so I took them without him looking. Don't blame me, blame him!)


Also done today: We tried kumquats. They are like little oranges the size of grapes. These things pack a punch! They are way sour with a sweet aftertaste. We made my sisters try them, and they didn't seem to like the kumquats as much as we did...



Saturday, February 23, 2008

February 22... Mannequin Heads.


The title is explanatory. Today me and Cailie went mannequin head hunting. You don't need to ask questions. All you need to know is that we were successful. Here is the story.

Today, Cailie drove me home for the first time in her beloved van, Delilah. Delilah is cool for a few reasons... the prominent one being her windshield wipers, which fly out erratically at the slightest touch. Another reason why Delilah rocks is because she has Cailie's old bread crusts still inside, and it's been more than a month.

As we neared my hometown, we decided to try a beauty salon for the heads, and so we hopped onto Redwood Road for a little excursion to SLCC. Unfortunately, it's been so long since I lived here that I couldn't remember where it was. At one point, I thought I saw it, and we parked and walked over through the muddy rocks and mangled mailboxes, to find that it was Nelson's Laboratory, not SLCC... our FIRST Laboratory experience. We were terrified to go in and find whatever creepy things are inside of Laboratories, so we headed back to Delilah.

After a while of driving and inquiries, we finally managed to find the SLCC salon. We tentatively asked the girl at the desk if we could have some mannequin heads, and you wouldn't believe the questions we got. What were they for? Who were we? Why did we want them?

Finally, we were beckoned into a room, and they handed us 2 beloved heads, a girl and a boy. The girls name was Marry Kin, and the man's name was Magnum. I quicky grasped Magnum by the neck and held him up proudly for others walking by to see. I wanted to take him out to lunch with us, but we decided it was a bit taboo to do something like that. However, it was totally hilarious, and totally victorious to walk back to Cailie's van, our 2 mannequins smiling back at us.

I've never heard of anything more creepy in my life.

We love Magnum.

Friday, February 22, 2008

February 21st... Van Gogh, Van Gogh, Van Gogh!


...Or so the chant goes in the Thursday Night Drawing Club. Today I tried out my artistic abilities in this beloved gathering. At first it consisted of me, Mel, Jess, and Lindzi... but in time, we voted more people into the group and it became the social group of the night. Nothin' but good tunes, art pads, pencils, and those super cool sticky erasers. I have never in my life finished a sketch in one sitting. I chose a picture of an asian girl smiling at some flowers, and it actually turned out decent. It took about 2 hours, though. I dunno about my art abilities, but I guess maybe there's hope after all?

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

February 20... Spicy!

Today I did a Difficult Sudoku... all by myself. It almost blew my brain apart... almost.

But seriously. (It was out of my "spicy" book... haha)

I have always attempted to do them, but never on my own. Also, they were always the easiest ones. This one was not.

I would've taken a picture, but I didn't have my camera, so here is a simulation- don't let it blow your brain apart, too!

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

February 19... Checkin Off The List

Today I acheived just a few little things:





-I worked out during the afternoon at the Fieldhouse. I also used a treadmill in Logan for the first time.
-Me and Pete founded the NBA. (Don't be fooled by the title... I don't play basketball. It stands for the Nail Biters Association... apparently, Pete is creeped out by people like me that bite their nails in public)
-Watched pole vaulting for the first time... oh my gosh, that must be such a rush!

-I finally went to the TSC to get information for Study Abroad.. I hope it works out! I want to run away to Europe so bad.




And here is a picture of Eggplant.

February 18... Pay The Price For Plastic

Today's new thing was learning how to enter credit card statements into my dad's Quickbook account. Aside from continuously adding the wrong numbers up, leaning over and straining my back, and yelling at the black 02 ink cartridge, it was quite a fun-filled night. At least I got in 3 hours to add to my payroll check...



This is the cartridge that caused me grief... My boss filled it himself. He's in big trouble.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

February 17... Confiding In The Enemy

That's right. Today I asked a boy. For advice about boys in my life. This is a new thing, because first of all, I don't talk about boys to anyone if i can help it. Secondly, because why would I talk to a boy about boys? Especially one I just got out of a relationship with. By all accounts, it was a strange thing to do. Yet refreshingly nice. I guess they're not quite the enemy. Sometimes. Maybe.

February 16... Home Sweet Home


Today I finally made it back to South Jordan after 3 weeks of straight Logan. I went to see Fools Gold with Alex, and tried a new "first" by sitting in the very furthest back-end corner of the movie theater. I gotta say, it was pretty nice... No annoying people sitting in front of me and plenty leg space. Good movie, good company, and a movie about the bahamas... what more could a girl ask for? The only thing better than seeing the beach on the screen is being there in person. Somebody run away with me...Also done today: I finally made my own playlist for this blog. I'm quite proud of it... make sure to check it out! I loves me some music.

February 15... I'm a redhead, appreciate me!


Today was a very wasted day... I woke up with a terribly dryness in my throat and a desire to sleep through class, so that's what I did. Unfortunately, I didn't do anything to make up for being lazy. I did eat a cheese bagel with old bacon and shredded cheese, which was a first (don't recommend it..). I also celebrated my first national "hug a redhead" day with Lindsey, and the Beecher twins. It was Steve's birthday party too, which made for some good times.

Friday, February 15, 2008

February 14... Sqweenchies Day

Today I celebrated the first Valentines Day I have spent away from home... no presents, no flowers, no boyfriend. I have to say, it wasn't bad. (and I lied, my neighbor Sam actually gave me a rose... what a sweetheart!) I spent the day taking tests, learned the Vienese Waltz, and went on a date with my other neighbor Andrus! It was a lot of fun... Also a first: I bought myself my first plant. Well, seeds. They are crocuses, and all that remains is to plant them. Me and Cailie intend to talk to them every day to make them grow faster... yay flowers!

February 13... Christmas!... again?

Today, me along with B-Rad, Kyle and Michelle decided to go into a practice rooms for the sake of singing Christmas songs. Not only that, but we also selected a few of our favorites to sing... four part style. This was very bizarre, and I laughed when I thought of the look my professor would have on his face if he walked by and heard us (not playing), but singing Christmas carols. The Fine Arts Building Clan Of Piano Majors is certainly very creative when bored.

February 11... Sick sick sick

I'm sure I did something today that was semi-cool, but the thing I really remember is spending my first day in Logan being sick sick sick. I contracted some sort of flu/cold thing, and it hasn't been the best of times. Ugh to being sick.

February 12... National Free Pancake Day


Pfft... what else would I do on National Free Pancake Day??? Um, duh. Me and Cailie hitched a ride over to IHOP to pick up the free goods. And they were delicious, if I may add. Maybe even more so because they were free? Aw, it doesn't matter. Free food is free food.

Monday, February 11, 2008

February 10... Logan Adventures!


Today my lovely friend Spencer came up to visit me in my humble abode. We decided to take a drive through the Logan Canyon, and it was quite beautiful! We found First Dam, Logan Lake, and the lovely family of ducks that reside there. I think I will be going there more often, it's quite peaceful. I carved my name into the wooden bridge, and laughed at the ducks (they make sounds like they're laughing at me!)
My thing for today that I have never done was driving all the way through that canyon. I have been a little bit through it, but never all the way. It goes on for quite a long time, and is quite beautiful!

Saturday, February 9, 2008

February 9th... Bursting

That's correct, this day was so chock full of FUN and EXCITING new adventures.. Today is a day I will fondly remember years from now, when I am old and wrinkly. To give you my new things, I must tell today's whole story, therefore making this also something new: I have never used this blog as a type of journal before.



I went to bed last night at around 3:30... an unfortunate time, because I had to wake up and be at the FA Building at 7:30... I practiced for monster concert and got to come home for a few hours. In the process, I picked up my long-awaited glasses and finally had the chance to really wear them for the first time. (Background info: I've worn contacts since 5th grade, and I've never owned a pair of glasses till now. They are changing my life already. My eyes are happy!)

After the break, I got all dolled up and went to the Monster Concert!! This consists of all the YC students (mine didn't want to be part of it, but oh well) playing duets on 20 pianos all on the stage... the catch is: at the same time. For any of you that know music or children, this is no easy task. I have already been in a Monster Concert, but not as a beat keeper. That means I am basically a page turner and "hand snatcher", if the student is messing up the entire peice. It is absolute madness out there on that stage, but so much fun! (I also had a small part, I told a little joke about Joseph "Hidin" Haydn, and had to run a sign across after the end of every scene. This was not the best outfit choice to be wearing stilettos while doing this...) Me and the Monster

After the concert, I finally met B-Rad's parents for the first time. They are pretty cool people. I also waltzed with Kyle down the stairs, which was quite dangerous. We had quite a bunch of extra balloons and no plans to fill up our night, so we decided to go to Citrus and Sage to hear the local jazz ensemble jam out for a bit. I have never been to see a live jazz band, and it was SO AWESOME. I wish I could jam out with them SO BAD! They had a guitar, piano, trumpet, drums, and sax. This is where the new things get more profuse: I ordered my first real italian soda (Peach Vanilla), attempted to put checkers over my eyes, danced the cha cha and swing in front of everyone in public (me and kyle and cailie and landon just decided to do it spontaneously in an open spot. it was fun... they lead and I just followed :P) SO MUCH FUN. I love boys that can dance. It was such a chill night, all of us piano majors just chillin and listening to good music and enjoying each other's company.

Check out this video of the band!! Dooooood.

After I dropped everyone off, me and Kyle still had all these balloons, and needed to get rid of them. So our idea? We decided to go into a random dorm, find a random girl, and give her the balloons. Not only that, but we were to give her a singing telegram using the helium from the balloons to improve our singing abilities. So we did this, awkwardly, but we still pulled it off. We sang "You Are My Sunshine" and gave the girl the balloons, and she was very weirded out. But it was totally worth it as we ran away with shouts of "Wait, who are they from? Where did they come from?" behind us... and me shreiking creepily, "I can't tell you! Nope, sorry! Can't tell, can't tell...", my stilettos clicking mercilessly on the steps down 3 flights of stairs. And thus ended the night. What more surprises are in store tomorrow?


......Only time can tell.

Friday, February 8, 2008

February 8th... Practice Hours?

Today a few new records were broken. I spent the longest day of my life in the Fine Arts Building today... a whopping 12 hours, from 9:30 A.M. to 9:30 P.M. I didn't actually practice more than an hour, but I used most of those hours and kept busy...
Also done today: Improvised jazz chords using a cool jamaican beat. It was totally the best feeling in the world. I LOVE improvising. And jazz chords.
And the triple whammy: I ate a Slim Jim. Still don't know I feel about it, haha!

Thursday, February 7, 2008

February 7th... SLUG?

Today I found a mysterious pile of magazines in the Arts building. It turned out to be SLUG magazine, or Salt Lake UnderGround. So I decided to sit down and take a look and become informed. I have to say, I know about every place possible to get tattoos, peircings, hookahs, and go clubbing... Haha! Nah, but it was kinda interesting I guess... there are some places I might check out someday in the not-too-distant future... Yay Salt Lake Underground!

February 6th... The Legend


Today is Bob Marley's birthday!!! It's true, this great man is worth celebrating. Today I officially celebrated peace, love, and tie dye in his memory. I dressed up as a hippie with my tie dye shirt and wild hair, and Cailie looked quite stunning in her stoned Bob Marley shirt. We headed to the wild party they threw for him, but it was a bit sketchy. There were about 10 black people in there, jamming and smoking, and we sort of sat in the corner like scared rabbits. Some boys came up and approached us, but we politely turned down their requests to get us dancing. I was just enjoying sitting on that couch and bobbing my head, feeling the groove, getting into the music. We finally made our escape, but got caught by Mel, the crazy smoking girl and her boy friend. They offered us a drink and the boy mentioned "Something in his trunk" if we would stay and hang out, but we made and excuse and left. It was a pretty sweet time, and I absolutely love Bob. Yay for smoking weed and feelin' alright!



February 5th... Backwards and Sideways, Upside Down...

Just kiddin. It was only backwards. Me and Cailie had a very rough day practicing with kids for Monster Concert, so today we walked backwards to the bus stop. It was a bit scary and disorienting, and people were giving us strange looks. But sometimes you just gotta try walking with a different step, ya know? These boots were made for walkin, and that's just what they'll do.

February 4th... This is NOT a vacation.

Today I took it upon myself to take the long drive back home to Salt Lake to get my car registered. This was the only time I could do it in time for my lovely GOLDEN TICKET I got last sunday for a stupid incorrect lane change. (Where he caught me for expired insurance and no registration... dang cop). All went well until I attempted to exit the parking lot. My car was stuck in the stupid Logan snow. I spent a good 45 minutes trying to dig it out with my scraper, my boots, and finally Nicole's shovel... all to no avail. My tire was literally frozen to the ground... I finally got it out and drove to B&R Tires where I discovered a valuable tip: flirting or being overly friendly never hurts- it usually helps. That, and life is always improved by who you know. No other place I know would pass my car with the condition it's in, but the lovely people at B&R Tire don't think twice.
When I got home, I had nothing to do for a few hours, so I decided to take the task of shoveling my family's driveway to be nice. That took over an hour, and it still looked like crap. No one noticed, which kinda sucked, but at least I got to shovel an entire driveway for my first time. Yippee, right?
Then I hung out with Tommy that night and his car got stuck in my newly shoveled driveway... Haha. Seriously though. It took us another 30 minutes to dig his car out, and he finally had to be pulled out by a Toyota. It was totally worth it though, the look on his face when he had his Ford SVT pulled out of a little snowpile by a Toyota.
Long story short, I shoveled WAY too much and I'm so sore. Stupid stupid snow.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

February 3rd... Supa BOWWWWLLLL


And what a glorious game it was!!! I was a Giants fan (I usually always root for the underdog) and it was a fabulous thing. It was so much fun to have tons of free food, and tons of people all together cheering and having a good time :) Me and Nicole were the only 304 girls that stuck it out to the end, and it's the first time for me to ever watch the complete game, no distractions, no family. I think I might have screamed really loud in Checketts ear, but it was totally worth it in that last quarter... Sorry Debi and Checketts, but the Pats were just too confident! Haha you gotta love football.

February 2... Love and Basketball



Not to say that I'm especially stoked for Valentine's Day, because I won't have anyone to celebrate it with, but I decided to let the idea in anyways, with a special poem. I say special, because me and Cailie Bean used those Conversation Hearts to make them! We had a bowl and randomly picked them out, and had to use the sayings to create our poems. It was totally wickedly sweet, and they actually turned out really really good. This is mine. Note: the bolded words are from the actual conversation hearts.



You & Me


by: Cortni Crump




You & me.


How nice it would be!


We'd fly to cloud nine,


Hold hands in the sunshine.


Lover Boy!


You are oh so cool,


With a smile that's so fine


(I don't mean to be selfish, but-)


I dream that your kisses are all mine.


You & me.


Together we'd break all the rules-


We'd live a wild life,


I'd love you until the angels became jealous.


And you'd hug me


Until I hope.



Until I'm sure.


You & Me.



Also done today: Worked out at the feildhouse with boots on. Yay for being hardcore while exercising...? Haha.



Plus, I went fully geared up to a USU basketball game. I've been to one before with Cailie, but I was not wearing blue and white, or cheering very much. This time I went with my lovely friends from Jones and we cheered and went crazy. And I took a bunch of crazy cool pics... I also hung out with Landon outside of the FA building for the first time, and he's a pretty sweet dude. All in all, a very accomplished day.