Mia Pensejo

Mi transloĝiĝos.

2011-05-30T09:07:00.000-07:00

Estas la tempo de la jaro kiam multe da familioj de metodistaj pastroj devas transloĝiĝi. Mia patro, metodista pastro, distriktestriĝos en julio. Ĉi tiu plialtigo estas honoro por mia patro kaj la familio, kaj ni devas transloĝiĝi Meridianon, Misisipio. Tamen, mi ankoraŭ skribas tezon, kaj efektive ne scias kie mi loĝos post la transloĝiĝa dato por skribi ĝin. Mia komputilo estas en Klevlando kaj mi havas loĝejon en Baton Rouge, sed post junio 23, mi ne havos la Klevlandon domon kaj skribos tezon en alia loko. Mia koramikino ankoraŭ loĝas en Klevlando, sed transloĝiĝos aŭguste. La komputilo malfacilas por movigi. Kia ĝeno.

Decidoj, decidoj.

Ice Journey

2011-03-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

On February 3, 2011, a Thursday, much of Mississippi and Louisiana had frozen over. This freezing didn't occur until I was halfway between Baton Rouge, LA, and Cleveland, MS. By McComb, it was a little slow going on the bridges. I-55 slowly got worse and worse. By slightly north of Brookhaven, the bridges were frozen solid. After crossing the last frozen bridge I was willing to cross that evening (the car did finally start slipping along the ice), I pulled into the first exit I saw. It was the apocalypse. Completely shaken up, I pulled into Exit 51, Wesson, which took me to Old Sylvarena Rd. Hands shaking, I passed the Baptist Church on Sylvarena, and eventually realized there wasn't civilization anywhere down this road. I pulled into the first driveway I saw, and just parked so I could fidget a bit and use my GPS and cell phone to get me to a hotel without having to cross any more bridges. I called my father, who told me to call the Highway Patrol. I called the HP, and they told me to call the Copiah County Sheriff's Office. I called the Sheriff's Office, and while talking to a woman in the office over the phone, I noticed a large pick-'em-up truck had pulled up behind me in the driveway, and nearly had touched the back of my car.

The driver eventually got out of the truck, leaving it on, and looked down to me in my car through my driver-side window. I rolled down my window so we could talk. Standing before me was a man who likely weighed about 240 pounds, was in his early 60s, and had little hair and an angry look on his face. He said in broken English, "Kanjelpja?" (or "Can I help you?"). I told him, "Yes, please! I escaped from the almost completely frozen interstate so I could pull over somewhere and figure out where the closest hotel would be. I'm talking to the Sheriff's office right now and I'm just figuring out the best way to get to Hazlehurst." He looked at me with eyes of utter not-care, and said to me, "This ain't workin'." My heart sank. I said, "I'm terribly sorry, sir. I will be on my way." I was still on the phone with the sheriff's office and she helped me get to Hazelhurst on a back road with no bridges. I eventually pulled in and saw that only one hotel was in the city, the Western Inn. I parked my car there and got out of the car, so oblivious to reality that my cell phone went crashing down onto the ground, since I had left it in my lap. I picked it up and went into the hotel lobby.

When I walked in, I said desperately, "Is there any vacancy." It didn't occur to me that out of my desperation, my accent had shifted from its normal flavor to a more English one (I said [ˈveɪ.kən.sɪ] instead of [ˈveɪ.kən.si]). The manager asked me, "Are you from Britain?" I told him I was not, but was on my way to my home in Mississippi. "Well, have you ever been abroad?" He asked me. I told him I had spent a week and a half in England back in 2006, but that wouldn't have much effect on my accent. I asked if he had been abroad, and he admitted that he was from abroad. He was raised in London (though was originally from India). We shared stories while he set me up for my hotel room that evening.

I spent the night trying to calm down.

The day after the apocalypse, I waited until the rain had washed most of the ice off the road before leaving Hazlehurst. I made it as far as between Jackson and Yazoo City before the only passage across the river was blocked off. I was detoured about an hour and a half to make it across.

When I made it home, I was a changed man. A four-and-a-half hour trip was turned into about 20 hours.

Delta State Alma Mater

2010-07-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

Delta State University is one of a few regional universities with an original alma mater, I would think. The alumni have always been rather proud of the tune, which was written in 1930 by Ruth Fischer. Her original manuscript is on display at the university's alumni foundation house. I took a photograph of the manuscript and typeset it as a score in PDF. The following is what that score sounds like when generated electronically.

The 1958 alumni and alumnae sang it at the Delta Music Institute during homecoming festivities, and that session was recorded on youtube:

The Sinfonia chapter at Delta State has often been asked to sing the university's alma mater on certain occasions. When it does so, it usually reads from an arrangement done by chapter alumnus Tim Goodson, scored for men's voices. We never recorded ourselves singing it, but I can provide the Finale rendering of it into strings:

The tune is very difficult to work with, as it really does lend itself toward one particular musical style—that of early twentieth century female vocal trios and jazz big band, into which I doubt this piece was ever actually rendered.

I had tried for a very long time to come up with my own noble arrangement of this tune, when I found myself sitting at my friend Coday Anthony's house one night with Chris Hartfield there who was playing a guitar. As he was strumming and joking around, I asked him, "What can you do to the Delta State alma mater tune?" He thought for a moment and started playing it from what he knew. I fed him a few of Ruth Fischer's original chord progression (which uses a lot of extended tertian and jazz harmonies), and eventually he hammered out a new guitar version of it. He started singing along and I thought it sounded very good. Coday was inspired to record it. As a student of the university's recording technology program, he had the equipment at his disposal, and we began nailing the track down in his house, one track at a time. We started with the guitar alone, then added the guitarist singing it in an easy style. When at the repeat, we wanted to have some kind of really pleasant melodic voice of some kind, and we tried whistling the tune. I started whistling it, and they decided that that whistle would be perfect. The following file is the result of that night's labor.

I still want to try to integrate the tune into other genres, but so far, I believe this version to be the best recording I've heard. We had a great time making it.

I wrote a song! // Mi verkis kanton!

2010-07-08T13:23:00.000-07:00

I wrote a setting of "Let not your heart be troubled" earlier this month. It is a work in progress, but it is mainly written in imitation of James Horner's harmonic language, with the thematic usage style of McNeil Robinson. Hopefully it also has a little Herbert Howells in the organ part. Listen to a Finale mp3, and follow along in the PDF score.

Mi verkis kanton de la teksto "Ne maltrankviliĝu via koro" ĉi-monate. La verko estas nefinita, sed ĝi estas skribita ĉefe laŭ imitado de la harmonia lingvo de James Horner, kun la stilo de tema uzado de McNeil Robinson. Mi esperas ke ĝi havas iom Herbert Howells en la orgeno. Aŭskultu ĝin supre, kaj legu la PDF partituron.

Delta State Parking Regulations // Parkaj Reglamentoj de Delta Ŝtata Universitato

2010-07-07T15:51:00.000-07:00

One of the old jokes I used to pull out on occasion was the Delta State University parking regulations.

As it stands, the policies have several little holes in them. The main one is the hours for zone enforcement in zones 1, 4, and 6. The other is the last section, which just says to "litter."

Interested in these anomalies, I wrote the maintainer of that page the following E-mail:

Out of curiosity, I decided to read through the published parking regulations at Delta State, and I have a few questions about them.

Firstly, the times in which zone regulations are enforced are a bit difficult to follow. You indicate here that Zone 4, for instance, is only enforced during school time on Monday through Friday, and quite strangely from Sunday to Saturday (which I believe is every day) from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m., in the wee hours. Is this correct?

Secondly, the rules appear to require littering. See the regulation marked G, which simply tells the reader to "Litter."

I thought that I would bring these inconsistencies in your department's policies to your attention, so that they can possibly be worded more accurately, so as to avoid confusion, as your name was listed as the maintainer of that page on the Delta State web site.

I wish your department luck in all its endeavors.

I have yet to receive a response since I sent the letter on June 1.

Unu el la malnovaj ŝercoj ke mi rivelis estis la parkaj reglamentoj de Delta Ŝtata Universitato.

Nun, la politikoj havas multajn truetojn en si. La ĉefa estas la horoj por diszonada efikigo en zonoj 1, 4, kaj 6. La alia estas la fina sekcio, kiu nur montras ke oni "disrubu."

Interesite en ĉi tiuj anomalioj, mi skribas al la paĝestro la sekvantan retpoŝton:

Pro scivolemo, mi tralegis la publikigitajn reglamentojn de Delta Ŝtata Universitato, kaj mi havas kelkajn demandojn pri ili.

Unue, la tempoj en kiu diszonado estas efektigita estas malfacila por kompreni. Vi montras en tio ke zono 4 ekzemple estas nur efektigita dum klasa tempo lunde ĝis vendredo, kaj tre strange dimanĉe ĝis sabato (tiu, kiu mi kredas estas ĉiutage) inter 2 atm kaj 7 atm, je la fruaj horoj. Ĉu pravas?

Due, la reglamentoj ŝajnas postuli disrubadon. Vidu la reglamenton "G," kiu simple montras al la legiston, ke oni "disrubu."

Mi pensis ke mi atentigus vin al ĉi tiujn malkonsekvencecojn, por ili povas eble teksti pli ĝuste, por eviti konfuzon, ĉar via estas la paĝesto.

Mi volas al via departemento fortunon en ĉiuj penoj.

Amike,
Andreo Oŭen
Diplomiĝinto

Mi jam ne ricevas respondon ekde 1 de junio.

I feel like learning a language. // Mi volas lerni lingvon.

2010-07-07T14:52:00.000-07:00

The summer has been a very relaxing one. The relaxation will no doubt make the following two semesters possible. For the most part, I have been calmly learning information and courting my girlfriend. This summer, I have learned how to use Adobe Illustrator to a reasonable degree, and I have used it and other products to develop my web sites. I started learning a few basic grammar rules and words in Turkish and of course I continue to work on my Esperanto. All is well.

La sumero trankvilas. La trankvilo ebligos la du sekvajn semestrojn. Plejparte, mi trankvile lernas informojn kaj amindumas mian koramikinon. Ĉi-sumere, mi lernis kiel uzi Adobe Illustrator modere, kaj mi uzis ĝin kaj aliajn produktojn por plibonigi miajn retpaĝojn. Mi komencis lerni kelkajn gramatikaĵojn kaj vortojn turke, kaj kompreneble mi daŭrigas lerni esperanton. Ĉiuj bonas.

End of semester joys

2010-04-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

As much as I love school, the weight of its responsibilities can become difficult for a little while, which makes the summer even more refreshing than sitting around doing nothing normally would. In the last couple of weeks, I have written three papers (20-page, 15-page, and 12-page), graded 120 assignments, and taken care of several other assignments along the way. By the end of the week, I need to turn in a paper, grade 60 written assignments, translate a 10-page article from French to English, grade 60 final exams, and study for finals in Baroque survey and the Burgundian court music seminar. On top of that, I have to sing four concerts in the next five days—two choral, two vocal.

I really do love the lifestyle, though. I am learning a tremendous amount of information and feeling more and more confident in my field.

This evening's concert at 6:00 at St. Alban's chapel will include 14 lovely choral pieces that the LSU chamber singers have prepared in six rehearsals, each one by a different conductor. This brings the year's total number of pieces sung in chamber singers to 80. That choir is good for the brain.

Assistantship and other things

2009-07-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

This week, I have been privileged to many things. On Monday, I saw a master clarinetist from Kansas (originally from Romania) perform several pieces flawlessly, watch him teach, and speak with him for a while. On Tuesday, I saw a woodwind specialist play masterfully three very different instruments: the clarinet, oboe, and saxophone. He then taught and spoke with the students. Both candidates were very good, and I will be happy with whichever one the university chooses. To be honest, it does not matter to me who gets the job, as I am leaving in the fall, but it is still very entertaining to see these great performers for free.

At the end of Tuesday, I performed on horn with a community band a folder of fun, easy music. We played the "Declaration Overture," "Clash of the Ironclads," a Phantom of the Opera medley, "Heaven's Light," a prelude and fugue arranged from J.S. Bach, and a circus piece called "Circus Days." Before and after the concert, ice cream was served. It's a fun tradition that has been rekindled in the last year or so.

Wednesday morning, I woke up and saw in my e-mail inbox where LSU had given me an assistantship to pay for my graduate education. One could not imagine the weight that was lifted from my shoulders. It is clear that the weight of financial insecurity is far greater than the weight of uncertain future responsibilities.

I went straight from having read that to having gone to an old tradition in a nearby community of a potluck. In Merigold, the United Methodist Church hosts a potluck of interesting food that one otherwise would never encounter. I brought my girlfriend with me and my mother and we ate several very interesting potluck dishes. This tradition has interested my mother to the point that she has been researching and writing a book about Merigold's food history.

It was a busy three days.

Busy weekend // Okupita semajnofino

2009-06-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

The weekend before last was pretty busy and interesting.

Saturday afternoon at about 2:00 p.m., I performed "The Lord is my Light" by Francis Allitsen at the memorial service at the Mississippi United Methodist Annual Conference (which is available for viewing at http://mississippiumc.podhoster.com/index.php?sid=2324 under "Service of Remembrance") in front of over 2000 people. It was fun to perform for that many people—it was pretty cool to have so many people come up to me after the service and tell me how it was the highlight of the conference, and how it had blessed them. It brings me no end of joy to hear that I have helped someone in his or her spiritual life, especially when all I did was sing a song. I am very glad I was able to do it.

Immediately after the service, I drove from Jackson to Laurel, where the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters had its 2009 awards gala. Aubrey Lucas, Mississippi's most beloved man, emceed the event. This year, we awarded Steve Rouse (a former student of the late William Albright, and the composer of one of the pieces that I performed with the Delta State Wind Ensemble a couple of semesters ago) with the music composition award, for a ballet he wrote based on the work of the artist who designed the sculpture above the front doors of Washington National Cathedral. We awarded the pop music award to 3 Doors Down, who sent the parents of one of the band members to receive the award. Another notable winner was Marshall Bouldin, who painted more portraits that are hanging in the US Capitol than any other portrait artist. He was an extraordinary man, not only having great notoreity (he and Norman Rockwell were good friends), but also having tremendous humility and spirituality. He was a very elderly man who possessed an enviable degree of joy. He blamed much of his happiness on his ability to pray and meditate every evening. The rest of the winners are listed on the MIAL site: http://www.ms-arts-letters.org/winners.shtml. The whole evening was very entertaining, enlightening, and worth every cent the membership to the MIAL costs. I was there in three capacities—as a former winner, a current nominee, and as a loyal member of the MIAL. So many interesting people come to this event. I sat at a table with Lee McCarty, the famous potter; we shared several great stories.

That evening, I drove back to Jackson, to wake up the next morning for more business sessions of the Mississippi United Methodist Church.

The whole weekend was very interesting.

At the end of Sunday evening, I mustered enough courage to ask a girl with which I had been secretly in love for about five years if she would be interesting in dating. To my surprise, she admitted that she had felt exactly the same way for the same amount of time. We met at Honor Choir 2004, and ever since then we both secretly felt a special affection for the other. Needless to say, we started dating.

La antaŭlasta semajnofino estis sufiĉe okupita kaj interesa.

En la posttagmezo de sabato, ĉe la 14a horo, mi kantis "La Sinjoro estas mia Lum'," de Francis Allitsen ĉe la rememora diservo ĉe la Misisipia Unuiĝinta Metodista Ĉiujara Konferenco antaŭ pli ol 2000 homoj. Ĉi tiu estas videbla ĉe http://mississippiumc.podhoster.com/index.php?sid=2324 sub "Service of Remembrance." Kanti por tiom da homoj estis amuza—tiom da homoj venis al mi post la diservo kaj diris al mi ke ĝi estis la kulmino de la konferenco, kaj ke ĝi benis ilin. Aŭdi ke mi helpis iun en lia aŭ ŝia spirita vivo feliĉigas min, precipe kiam mi nur kantas kanton. Mi ĝojas ke mi povis kanti ĝin tie.

Tuj post la diservo, mi veturis Laŭrelon de Ĵaksono. En Laŭrelo, la Misisipia Instituto de Artoj kaj Literaturo havis ĝian 2009 premia bankedo. Aubrey Lucas, la plej amata viro en Misisipio, direktis la eventon. Ĉi-jara, ni premiis al Steve Rouse (ekslernanto de la mortinta William Albright, kaj la komponisto de unu de la pecoj ke mi ludis kun la Blovmuzikistaro de la Ŝtatuniversitato de l' Delto antaŭ du semestroj) la muzikan komponadan premion, pro baleto ke li verkis laŭ la verko de la artisto kiu faris la skulptaĵo super la frontaj pordoj de Vaŝingtona Nacia Katedralo. Ni premiis la popularan muzikan premion al 3 Doors Down, kiu sendis la gepatrojn de unu de la muzikistaranoj por ricevi la premion. Alia rimarkinda gajnanto estis Marshall Bouldin, kiu pintis pli portretojn ke estas montritaj en la Usona Kapitolo ol ajna alia portreta artisto. Li estis eksterordinara viro, ne nur havante rimarkindon (li kaj Norman Rockwell estis bonaj amikoj), sed ankaŭ havante grandegan humilecon kaj spiritecon. Li estis tre maljuna viro, kiu posedis envieblan kvanton de ĝojon. Lia povo de preĝi kaj mediti feliĉigis lin. La aliaj gajnantoj estas listigitaj en la MIAL retpaĝaro: http://www.ms-arts-letters.org/winners.shtml. La tuta vespero estis tre amuza, informa, kaj inda kiom membreco kostas. Mi estis tie per tri oficoj—kiel antaŭa gajnanto, kiel nuna kandidato, kaj kiel lojala ano de la MIAL. Tiom da interesaj homoj venas ĉi tiun eventon. Mi sidis ĉe tablo kun Lee McCarty, la fama potisto. Ni dividis multajn bonegajn rakontojn.

Tiam vespere, mi reveturis Ĵaksonon por veki dum la sekva mateno por pli aferaj sesioj de la Misisipia Unuiĝinta Metodista Eklezio.

La tuta semajnofino estis tre interesa.

En tiu dimanĉo vespere, mi kolektis sufiĉan kuraĝon por peti virinon kun kiu mi estis aminta kaŝe en la daŭro de kvin jaroj se ŝi estus interesita pri havi amrilaton. Surprize, ŝi konfesis ke ŝi estis sentinta same en la sama daŭro. Mi renkontis ŝin ĉe Honora Ĥoro 2004, kaj depost tiam, ni ambaŭ kaŝe sentis specialan amon por la alia. Nenecesa por diri, ni komencas havi amrilaton.

Shabbat Shalom

2009-01-17T15:10:00.000-08:00

Last night, I went to the Adath Israel Temple to be present as the Jews observed the beginning of the Shabbat. At the time, the Episcopal church happened to be hosting an interfaith weekend for the sake of education, so the congregation was half Christian, and half Jewish. It was a lovely prayer service, and I got to brush up on my Hebrew (Honestly, the actual Hebrew was easier to read than the transliterations provided, since there were so many hyphens in it). Rabbi Danziger gave his sermon on the absolute truth of peace and how that relates to the violent situations around the world. Following the service was a potluck dinner, where many Episcopals had brought dishes as well as the Jews. During the dinner, I noticed that one of the dishes was green beans with bacon for flavor. As I ate it, it dawned on me that it was the first time I had eaten pork in a Jewish temple. But the fact that nothing came from that is a testament to the ecumenical nature of the community. Almost everyone is genuinely friendly here, regardless of faith.

שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם

Member hunt!

2009-01-17T14:32:00.000-08:00

The hunt for all the members of the Delta State chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia has been very successful so far. At this point, I have managed to find about 240 of the guys, complete with photos of themselves and their big brothers. As I find each one, I put him on the web site at dsusinfonia.org under “Alumni Brothers.”

Learning about the various people in the chapter and the stories surrounding them never fails to be interesting to me. While at the University Archives perusing the yearbooks between 1960 and the present again, I found two more chapter yearbook group photos that I had missed in my first perusal. These were the 1982 photo and the 1974 photo.

The 1974 photo here shows a couple of familiar faces, but most interesting to me is the diversity of the whole group. There are four African-Americans, one hippie, a few modern-looking white people, and a few 60’s-looking white people. All these people were initiated into a fraternity chapter on a campus in Mississippi in 1974. I’d say that this photograph is a good piece of evidence for the historical progressiveness of the chapter, as well as for the universal truth that the power of music transcends personal differences. There are people in that picture who were members of the chapter during the civil rights movement itself. This is particularly interesting in light of the recent article in the campus newspaper. The article was about one of the “major white” fraternities pledging an African American man in the fall of 2008, and how this was somehow a new situation, to “sprinkle some chocolate into a sea of vanilla,” as the article stated. The author of the article seemed to miss the fact that at the time of the article’s publishing, the Theta Upsilon chapter had five African Americans in its collegiate membership, and well over 30 in its entire membership. In that article, that was only one level of inaccuracy. Another level was the regarding a person of another skin color as different from the rest of the IFC fraternity men at all, which not only oversimplifies the difference between the people groups, but noticeably discriminates between them. Diversity of minds is a virtue, I believe, but is it wholly necessary to write an article about one black man who pledged a fraternity that is not known for having black members, particularly even before his initiation into full membership? In any case, the entire issue of celebrating diversity without discriminating is a very difficult issue to tackle.

Dunking

2008-10-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

It seems the dunking booth was a bit of a success, even though technical difficulties made the second day of dunking impossible. People had a good time.

A Rush by Any Other Name

2008-09-06T11:15:00.001-07:00

About a year ago, the Delta State University Interfraternity Council (DSUIC) began instituting a council-wide shift from the word "rush" (to describe the recruitment processes) to "recruitment." This was, I suppose, to reduce the public image that the formal process of recruitment was not stressful and hurried. It was an intelligent advertising move, but I now consider it unethical.

To insist for one second that Formal Recruitment is not stressful for everyone involved is not only stretching the truth, but it is downright misrepresenting the facts. To participate in Formal Rush, one must not have any obligations during the nights of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. No Wednesday night church obligations, no Thursday night classes, etc. One is exposed to a fabricated image of each fraternity through four hour-long parties each night, which is very tiring.

To insist for one second that Formal Recruitment is not hurried for everyone involved is flat-out dishonest. After experiencing a forced image of each fraternity for about two hours each over two days, on Friday, each potential new member must choose his lifelong commitment within only a few hours.

A rush by any other name is still hurried and stressful.

Antaŭ unu jaro, la Ŝtatuniversitato de l' Delto Interfratara Kunsilantaro komencis ŝanĝi la vorton "urĝiĝo" al "varbon." Estis (mi opinias) por redukti la publikan bildon, ke la formala procedo de varbo ne estas hasta kaj ĝena. Estis inteligenta reklama movado, sed mi rigardas ĝin esti maletika.

Insisti dum unu sekundo, ke formala varbo ne estas ĝena ne estas nur maltroigas la situacion, sed ĝi estas misprezenti la faktojn. Estas la samo kun hasteco.

Urĝiĝo por ajna alia nomo estas jam ĝena kaj hasta.

First week of school

2008-08-21T21:29:00.000-07:00

I have now attended all of the classes I will be taking this term. Along the way, I have had to figure out how to get a parking decal, how to use an okra kard that was not built to be used, how to explain grammatical structures and write a lowercase delta on the board in the New Testament Greek class, how to conduct an ensemble as if I am bouncing a tennis ball, how to read early American primary sources for American literature class, how to find Delta State University Human Resources (which moves every time I go to the administration building), how to avoid contempt from a council’s administrative advisor, how to write and distribute meeting minutes promptly while being tired, how to ace a choral audition, how to please my teachers, how to play six handbells at the same time in a handbell choir, how to recruit handbell players, how to understand the university driving regulations despite their interesting wordings, how to make a good first impression, how to stay hydrated using a hip flask during class, how to speak in front of a group of people without stumbling over words, how to drive so as not to kill pedestrians, how to function on just enough sleep to get by, and how to pronounce Old Church Slavonic.

This semester should be interesting.

Nun, mi estas ĉeestinta tutajn miajn klasojn, en kiuj mi estos ĉi-semestre. Dum ĉi tiu tempo, mi estas devinta eklerni kiel ekhavi parkantan glumarkon, kiel uzi gumban karton (kiu ne konstruis, ke ĝi povas esti uzata), kiel ekspliki gramatikajn strukturojn kaj skribi delton sur la tabulon en la nov-testamenta greka lingvo klaso, kiel dirigenti kiel mi estas resaltiganta tenisan pilkon, kiel legi frua usona literaturo en la usona literatura klaso, kiel trovi la homajn provizojn de la universitata (kiu movas ĉiufoje mi iras al la administracian arkitekturaĵon), kiel eviti malestimon de konsilanto, kiel skribi bonajn protokolojn kaj disdoni sin, kiel sukcesi ĥoran aŭdicion, kiel plaĉi miajn instruistojn, kiel ludi ses tintilojn en tintila ĥoro, kiel rekruti tintilistojn, kiel kompreni la veturajn regulojn, kiel fari bonan unuan impreson, kiel daŭri malsoifa per la ladbotelo dum klaso, kiel paroli antaŭ aro sen balbuti, kiel veturi sen mortigi piedirantojn, kiel funkcii sen multa dormo, kaj kiel elparoli en maljuna preĝeja slava lingvo.

Ĉi tiu semestro estos interesa.

Band Camp Cookout

2008-08-17T00:17:00.000-07:00

Today, a few of us Sinfonian brothers got together to feed the marching band at the end of their band camp. It was nice to see everyone again, and to see the new faces that had appeared in the band this year.

Hodiaŭ, kelkaj de ni sinfonianaj fratoj kunvenis por manĝigi la marŝantan muzikistaron, post ilia muzikistara kampado. Estis bona, ke mi vidis ĉiujn refoje, kaj mi vidis la novajn vizaĝojn, kiuj aperis en la muzikistaro ĉi-jare.

Okra Kard?

2008-08-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

Here at Delta State University, all students use Okra Kards to identify themselves and to pay for things from the student accounts. Personally, I have not had to use mine other than to check books out from the library or go to the fitness center. But this year, the school police department (or, the faux-po, as they are sometimes jokingly called) is requiring all of Delta State’s students, faculty, and staff to pay for parking decals through the Okra Kard.

That wouldn't be a big deal, other than the fact that I cannot add money to my card for some unknown technical reason. When I log into the service online, and try to deposit money, I see the above image. I asked a few other commuters to try to log in and deposit money, and they all succeeded. I tried to deposit using Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari, with no luck.

Nobody seems to know how to fix this problem.

Ĉi tie ĉe la Ŝtatuniversitato de l’ Delto, ĉiuj studentoj uzas gumbajn kartojn por identigas sin kaj aĉeti aĵojn de la studentaj balancoj. Al mi mem, mi ne estas devita uzi mian karton, escepte pruntepreni librojn el la librejo aŭ iri gimnastikejen. Sed ĉi-jare, la universitata fako de polico estas deviganta, ke ĉiuj studentoj, profesoroj, kaj la dungitaro aĉetas parkantajn glumarkojn per la gumba karto.

Tio ne gravus, escepte, ke mi ne povas aldoni monon al mia karto pro nekonata kialo. Kiam mi enregistras min al la interreta servo, kaj provas deponi monon, mi vidas la supre montritan bildon. Mi petas iom aliajn uloj, kiu ne loĝas en dormĉambroj, ke ili provas deponi monon, kaj ĉiuj sukcesis. Mi provas deponi monon per uzi IE, Firefox, kaj Safari, sensukcese.

Neniu scias kiel solvi ĉi tiun problemon.

The bookstore is closed to me.

2008-08-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

I'm no business major, but it seems to me that the Saturday before the first week of school would be a good time for the university bookstore to be open.

I got into my car, drove to campus, parked, walked into the student union, and saw that the building was closed. I read on its door that it was closed on all Saturdays and Sundays. Then, I walked back to my car, and went home.

Sigh.

Mi ne estas komercisto, sed ĝi ŝajnas al mi, ke bona ideo estus, ke la universitata librovendejo malfermu en la sabato antaŭ la unua semajno de la semestro.

Mi iris al aŭton, veturigis universitaten, parkis la aŭton, marŝis en la studentan unuiĝon, kaj vidis, ke la butiko estis fermita. Mi legis sur la pordo, ke ĝi estas fermita sabate kaj dimanĉe. Mi marŝis al la aŭto, kaj mi iris hejmen.

Mi suspiras.

I slept late today.

2008-08-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

I really would have woken up earlier than 12 p.m., but I had a little friend with me in the bed. Why wake her up, when I can sit in bed another four hours?

Mi ja estus vekinta pli frue ol la tagmezo, sed mi havis amiketon kun mi en la lito. Kial mi veku ŝin, kiam mi povis daŭri dormi kvar horoj plu?

The G.R.E.

2008-08-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, I took the GRE (Graduate Record Examination), which is a standardized test for entering graduate schools. I made a 580 on the Quantitative section, and a 570 on the Verbal section. A perfect score would be 800/800. As right-brained as I am, I was surprised to see that the quantitative part was higher, but I believe 1150 is an acceptable score. Having to drive to Oxford, MS, and back to take the test was rather annoying, especially for having already spent 140 bucks just to take it.

Today, I received in the mail a small package from ETS (Educational Testing Service), who administers the GRE. Within the package was the GRE POWERPREP Software, for helping me prepare for taking the GRE. It was nice of them to send that to me a week after I took the test. I will file it away in case I want to retake it.

Antaŭan vendredon, mi prenis la GRE (La Ekzameno de Postdiplomaj Arĥivoj), kiu estas ekzameno normigita por enveni postdiplomajn lernejojn. Mi ricevis 580 je la kvanta parto, kaj 570 je la verba parto. Noto perfekta estus 800/800. Estante dekstra-cerbita, mi surpriziĝis, ke la kvanta parto estis pli alta, sed mi kredas, ke 1150 estas akceptebla noto. Devi veturigi oksforden por prenis la ekzamenon estis iom ĝena, antaŭ ĉio ĉar mi elspezis $140 nur por preni ĝin.

Hodiaŭ, mi ricevis poŝte malgrandan paketon de ETS (Eduka Ekzamenanta Servo), kiu administras la GRE-on. En la paketo, mi trovis la GRE POWERPREP softvaron, kiu helpas prepari pri la ekzameno. Ĝi estis bona, ke ili sendis al mi tion ĉi, unu semajno post mi prenis la ekzamenon. Mi deponos ĝin por la okazo ke mi volas repreni ĝin.

School’s a-Comin’

2008-08-14T22:47:00.000-07:00

The fall term will soon begin at Delta State University. I will be taking American Literature, New Testament Greek, Chorale, Chamber Singers, Public Speaking, Poetry Writing Workshop, Voice lessons, Recitals, and Conducting. Should be interesting.

La aŭtuna semestro komencos baldaŭ ĉe la Ŝtatuniversitato de l’ Delto. Mi estos en la klasoj de usona literaturo, la novtestamenta greka lingvo, publika parolado, skribi poezion, kaj esti dirigento. Ankaŭ, mi estos en muzikaj agadoj kiel atingi koncertojn kaj kanti en la ĥoro, en la ĉambraj kantistoj, kaj en privataj lecionoj. Ĝi estos interesa.