will and i are engaged!
it happened friday night. i'm so happy!
we were planning to go to dinner at basil leaf cafe, which is an italian place. will was dressed very nice and said i should, too because he has tickets to see jazz at orchestra hall on michigan ave. what a perfect surprise. the restaurant was closed for a private party, so will called his friend for another suggestion. he seemed stressed out, but the problem was solved when we were able to take a cab west to "think," another italian restaurant. it was a really nice little place - very cozy and fancy, with great food. the concert afterwards was excellent. we saw an old jazz pianist named ahmad jamal and his bassist and percussionist who had been with him for 50 years! after intermission, some wind players from the chicago symphony joined them. gorgeous jazz music. i really enjoyed it.
so, at 10:30 we got in a cab to head back to the apartment. when i opened the door and walked in the place smelled wonderful and it was spotless! i started to put my coat away when i saw the table (i'll post a picture a little later when i get home), covered in red flower petals with champaign in a big silver bucket, a vase full of red roses, and with lit candles (that's where the smell came from!)
while i was gawking at the table, sort of in shock, will got his box out of the closet and swooped around in front of me to get down on one knee. he said he loves me and wants to spend the rest of his life with me. i got down too so that i could hug him, and once i was sitting i couldn't move. i sat in the same spot for a long time, looking at the ring in disbelief. it was very romantic and so special the way he prepared for this moment. i coudn't believe all the trouble he'd gone to, buying the things for the table and recruiting two of our friends to sneak in and decorate it. even the doorman knew what was happening so that he could let corey and libby in to get the job done! the ring is beautiful. again, i'll post pictures later. just a circle diamond on a white gold band. simple and gorgeous.
needless to say, it's been a busy weekend with all the correspondence and excitement. i'm tired today and ready to take a huge nap when i get home.
my bridesmaids will be emma (my maid of honor, of course), krystal (who, if it weren't for my sister, would have been my maid of honor), haili, will's sister molly, and tina. i asked them all and they said they'd be honored and i'm honored to have them. i'm sorry if my writing is rambling and ridiculous today. my brain is a big dead blob after this weekend, and i feel like i'm floating.
the students are getting a kick out of my future name. "like 'meet the robinsons!'" yeah. or like the graduate, but they'd never know that.
thanks to everyone for their kind messages. we're so happy.
20080421
20080414
city life
this past friday, will and i invited our friends corey and libby over for some dinner, wine and rock band. it was a good time. we all took turns drumming, singing and playing the guitar. we'll just need to buy that extra bass guitar so that four of us can play at a time. will and i can't wait for his friend al (who introduced us to rock band) to return from vacation in israel so he can see how we've improved. it's pretty drastic.
saturday we drove to the milwaukee area to visit the other molly (will's sister). it's always nice to see her, the kids and john. on paper the drive isn't bad, but somehow it always ends up twice as long due to traffic, weather, etc. getting out of the city of chicago alone is enough to drive us both crazy. i'd rather have every hair plucked out of my head one by one. whatever. it's all a part of living in such a crazy place. where else can you be walking home from the wiener's circle (a hot dog place) and see something so fitting and .. ironic? no, wrong word. coincidental .. and at the same time disgusting as what i saw. i'm sure you know exactly what i'm talking about.
my friend pat, a fellow music ed. major and friend from high school, is going to try to apply for a job with chicago public schools for this fall. he's been asking me what he should do, so i'm being sure to tell him about every test he has to take (or retake), every application he has to fill out, and the best places to look for vacancies. i wish i'd had someone to tell me those things, but i'm happy to be the one to make things easier for him. it makes me realize how much further i've come than i thought. it's easy to feel clueless in such a big city, even after you've learned some things, because there's so much to know. i've paved the way for pat, and hopefully it will be easier for him because of my experiences. i hope he finds a job.
my middle schoolers are finally finishing west side story. while discussing racism and discrimination, i asked them if they think things are better. they said "yes, but they're not perfect." they know better than i do. i believe that thankfully it's much more unacceptable to say and do some of the things they could say and do in 1950s new york city, but neighborhoods --especially in the cities -- are still monochromatic. in chicago, the north east side and downtown are perhaps the most diverse areas, although you see mostly white. anything south of downtown seems to be pretty solid black and and anywhere west of wicker park is home to nearly all hispanic families. i guess it just feels easier to live around people who look just like you, but who will start the change? when are we going to mix it up?
a 7th grade boy today made a really good point when i asked about the roles of society versus your own free will in becoming who you become (violent, peaceful, uneducated, intellectual, rich, poor, etc.) and he said this:
"if you want to change things you have to start out by being an outsider. but some people are afraid to be an outsider, they just want to go with the rest of the group. but you have to be an outsider first if you want to get away from your fate and be who you want to be."
saturday we drove to the milwaukee area to visit the other molly (will's sister). it's always nice to see her, the kids and john. on paper the drive isn't bad, but somehow it always ends up twice as long due to traffic, weather, etc. getting out of the city of chicago alone is enough to drive us both crazy. i'd rather have every hair plucked out of my head one by one. whatever. it's all a part of living in such a crazy place. where else can you be walking home from the wiener's circle (a hot dog place) and see something so fitting and .. ironic? no, wrong word. coincidental .. and at the same time disgusting as what i saw. i'm sure you know exactly what i'm talking about.
my friend pat, a fellow music ed. major and friend from high school, is going to try to apply for a job with chicago public schools for this fall. he's been asking me what he should do, so i'm being sure to tell him about every test he has to take (or retake), every application he has to fill out, and the best places to look for vacancies. i wish i'd had someone to tell me those things, but i'm happy to be the one to make things easier for him. it makes me realize how much further i've come than i thought. it's easy to feel clueless in such a big city, even after you've learned some things, because there's so much to know. i've paved the way for pat, and hopefully it will be easier for him because of my experiences. i hope he finds a job.
my middle schoolers are finally finishing west side story. while discussing racism and discrimination, i asked them if they think things are better. they said "yes, but they're not perfect." they know better than i do. i believe that thankfully it's much more unacceptable to say and do some of the things they could say and do in 1950s new york city, but neighborhoods --especially in the cities -- are still monochromatic. in chicago, the north east side and downtown are perhaps the most diverse areas, although you see mostly white. anything south of downtown seems to be pretty solid black and and anywhere west of wicker park is home to nearly all hispanic families. i guess it just feels easier to live around people who look just like you, but who will start the change? when are we going to mix it up?
a 7th grade boy today made a really good point when i asked about the roles of society versus your own free will in becoming who you become (violent, peaceful, uneducated, intellectual, rich, poor, etc.) and he said this:
"if you want to change things you have to start out by being an outsider. but some people are afraid to be an outsider, they just want to go with the rest of the group. but you have to be an outsider first if you want to get away from your fate and be who you want to be."
20080408
plays well with others
i'm sorry for not posting. i may have been too busy playing my drums.
will and i bought "rock band" for his xbox, and i've never enjoyed a video game like i enjoy this one. it's legit. it involves movement (more than just pushing buttons with your thumbs) and requires a bit of real musical skill. the drums are my favorite. i can feel the wheels in my brain turning as i struggle to stay steady and catch every note. when a song is finished i take a deep breath the way i do when i'm done with my part of an orchestral piece.
will's lack of ensemble playing becomes obvious when he plays. i can just imagine him in the violin section of the uw symphony, yelling "$%@!" and "this part is imPOSSIBLE!" it makes me laugh. he's very good at the guitar (real and rock band style), but when he begins making mistakes and the song continues to plug on without waiting for him, he responds like anyone else who hasn't had the rigorous (and often scary) ensemble experiences my musical friends and i have had. he swears and threatens to give up.
my ultra-frightening college symphony conductor threw his baton at people who missed notes, and sometimes he would make someone stand and play alone before unleashing the verbal equivelant of a public execution. i was truly afraid to miss notes.
by playing in orchestras and other groups, i learned that the wheels keep turning whether i've made all of my notes or not. i learned how to charge through difficult sections without breaking a sweat. this isn't to say i learned to play perfectly -- that was never me. i'll take passion and expression over technical perfection anyday. i learned instead how to properly play music with other people.
it reminds me of the countless number of college guys who decide one day that they want to be dave matthews so they pick up the guitar, thinking it surely couldn't take long to perfect a musical instrument. it's easy to listen to, why wouldn't it be easy to play? here is the result.
college guy - "you wanna hear hotel california?"
girl he's trying to impress - "sure, let's hear it."
college guys - plunk plunk DOINK ... "hold on," ... [pause] plunk ... "wait," ... plunk "hold on, let me start over."
somehow i don't think any of those college guys ever developed much of a following, and they certainly couldn't have played in a band. no good drummer or bassist is going to "hold on" while college dude struggles to find the right notes.
so, maybe rock band is a good game for them. and for anyone else willing to learn to "play well with others," and not just with onesself. it's definitely the game for me. i dig rock and i dig the drums and i dig a good challenge.
will and i bought "rock band" for his xbox, and i've never enjoyed a video game like i enjoy this one. it's legit. it involves movement (more than just pushing buttons with your thumbs) and requires a bit of real musical skill. the drums are my favorite. i can feel the wheels in my brain turning as i struggle to stay steady and catch every note. when a song is finished i take a deep breath the way i do when i'm done with my part of an orchestral piece.
will's lack of ensemble playing becomes obvious when he plays. i can just imagine him in the violin section of the uw symphony, yelling "$%@!" and "this part is imPOSSIBLE!" it makes me laugh. he's very good at the guitar (real and rock band style), but when he begins making mistakes and the song continues to plug on without waiting for him, he responds like anyone else who hasn't had the rigorous (and often scary) ensemble experiences my musical friends and i have had. he swears and threatens to give up.
my ultra-frightening college symphony conductor threw his baton at people who missed notes, and sometimes he would make someone stand and play alone before unleashing the verbal equivelant of a public execution. i was truly afraid to miss notes.
by playing in orchestras and other groups, i learned that the wheels keep turning whether i've made all of my notes or not. i learned how to charge through difficult sections without breaking a sweat. this isn't to say i learned to play perfectly -- that was never me. i'll take passion and expression over technical perfection anyday. i learned instead how to properly play music with other people.
it reminds me of the countless number of college guys who decide one day that they want to be dave matthews so they pick up the guitar, thinking it surely couldn't take long to perfect a musical instrument. it's easy to listen to, why wouldn't it be easy to play? here is the result.
college guy - "you wanna hear hotel california?"
girl he's trying to impress - "sure, let's hear it."
college guys - plunk plunk DOINK ... "hold on," ... [pause] plunk ... "wait," ... plunk "hold on, let me start over."
somehow i don't think any of those college guys ever developed much of a following, and they certainly couldn't have played in a band. no good drummer or bassist is going to "hold on" while college dude struggles to find the right notes.
so, maybe rock band is a good game for them. and for anyone else willing to learn to "play well with others," and not just with onesself. it's definitely the game for me. i dig rock and i dig the drums and i dig a good challenge.
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