Classics & Basics

This week was packed with all my favorite things: piano, music, jazz, teaching, serving, old Hollywood, history, dance, good food, reading/pondering (yes, I know the first 3 are music-related)...

"Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start..." (name that musical)

Monday - CLASSIC jazz. I'm a traditionalist so I was delighted when my friends and I went to a jazz orchestra concert at Bohemian Cavern (2nd time there :)) and they announced the night's program would be a tribute to influential tenor saxophonist Lester Young. Ooh baby

I'd deliberately eaten dinner beforehand so I could resist spending money on food, but their Southern menu is really quite irresistible. So to save money but still sample the luscious fare, we shared 3 sliders (beef, turkey, & crab) and a brownie sundae. Next time, I'm not eating dinner beforehand and ordering 3 crab sliders haha - so good!

Had us a swingin' ol' time :)

Tuesday - BASICS of piano. Last week, I gave my first piano in about 10 years. It was so fun! I'm so grateful my piano teacher so diligently drilled music theory and good practice methods into me (I took lessons 5th-11th grade) because I find I am still able to recall everything to my bright student, Andrea :)

Wednesday - CLASSIC cinema. A group and I went to the National Portrait Gallery for their monthly free movie showing.

I'd heard great things about the 2011 Oscar Best Picture winner and modern silent movie, "The Artist", but I did not expect it to thrill my heart so!

In case you didn't know, I'm a huge old movie buff (1920s-1960s). I spent most of my teen years obsessively watching and studying them. Most modern audiences probably saw the movie as enjoyable but predictable fluff, but to me it was a beautiful tribute to such greats as "Singin' in the Rain" (1952 - favorite musical ever), "Sunset Boulevard" (1950), "A Star is Born" (1954), and "Citizen Kane" (1941)...and the whole era in general, and it was the French who made it!

Also, I'm moving along in my main New Year Resolution of reading meaningful books instead of watching TV or Facebooking (as much). I finished my 1st book 6 weeks into 2013 (The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter--And How to Make the Most of Them Now - highly recommend it)! I just started another one this week called Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking and it's FASCINATING. I'm learning so much about myself and really starting to embrace my introvert side :)

Thursday - CLASSICal violin. Cory M. had 3 free tickets to a National Symphony Orchestra concert at the Kennedy Center and I was one of the lucky 2 who got to go! As I walked there after work, cursing the freezing winds, I was greeted by the magnificent sight of my favorite DC monument lit up in Northern lights for their "Nordic Cool" festival. It literally took my breath away and helped distract me from the cold.

I was excited to go in the Concert Hall for the 1st time. It wasn't as grand as the red and gold Opera House but had an interesting hexagonal motif and lights made of what looked like jars.

The talented orchestra played Henze (opera), Mendelssohn, and Brahms.

It was a wonderful cultural experience but I realized that I prefer participating in classical music (playing it on piano or dancing to it) vs. listening to it.

Friday - Funny story that I feel really stupid about: I'd bought tickets over a month ago for Jess and I to attend the National Symphony Orchestra concert at the Kennedy Center. I didn't pay attention to what was being played and when Cory invited me to Thursday's free concert, I thought it couldn't be the same one. But I checked on Friday morning and it was! I felt SO STUPID. I liked it but not enough to see it twice, especially when I was exhausted and super behind on homework. So I called to apologize to Jess and she tried to find someone to go with her last minute. That person couldn't come so I asked Jeff, who'd wanted to come on Thursday but couldn't. I prayed so hard that he would be available, and God answered my prayer! Jeff and Jess got to enjoy the concert (since Jess already paid for her ticket, I paid for mine and got my concert, Jeff wasn't gonna pay Thursday and didn't have to on Friday). God is awesome.

Saturday - BASICS of social dance. Last December, I donated several services to the ward auction. Tali (who had taken the 180 class @ BYU years ago) bought my dance lesson and we finally found a time to do it this weekend. I minored in Ballroom Dance at BYU and TA'd 3 social dance classes. Cory M. happened to be in my 280 class and graciously agreed to come help (from student to TA, not bad!). It was so much fun and I'm so grateful for the skills I learned at BYU, especially in the "Methods of Teaching Social Dance" class. I brought my dance book and we reviewed 3 dances: 1) East Coast Swing

2) Foxtrot

3) Cha Cha

So proud of my students :)

Later that day, I got to present at my first conference! I did my poster on "Balancing Motherhood and Tenure" for a class last semester and brought it to GW's Educational Symposium on Research and Innovation. It's always fun talking about your interests with others who are attentive and engaged :)

Rushed home, curled my hair (it takes forever so I only do it 3-4 times a year), scarfed down some cereal, and went to help with the ward dinner (I'm on the Activities Committee). A million decorations and about 160 ppl later, I'd say it was a success. There was good food from Olive Garden...

Some talented men provided the entertainment. There was music...

...there was juggling!

...there was magic! (tricks, that is)

...I had photo booth duty, and took some silly ones of my own...


Cory H. had the brilliant idea to use the mustaches as expressive unibrows haha

Sunday - CLASSICS/BASICS of the Gospel of Jesus Christ at Church! Never gets old :) Praise the Lord for the day of rest cuz this week - as fun as it was - took alot out of me. They say you can only do 2 out of 3 things as a student: 1) study, 2) socialize, and 3) sleep... The semester's half over. Hip hip hooray!

I Spy with My Little Eye...an Apostle!

The highlight of my week was getting to hear from an Apostle of the Lord...in an intimate setting of 400-500 people haha (vs. 20,000+ at a BYU devotional). Out of all the apostles, I feel like I most relate to Jeffrey R. Holland because he worked as president of BYU (my beloved alma mater!) and Church Education System commissioner (big fan of CES Firesides and education in general), AND he got a M.A. & Ph.D. in American Studies (what I'm striving for someday). Furthermore, he happens to be the author of some of my favorite church talks ("Of Souls, Symbols, and Sacraments" and "The Best is Yet to Be"). Appropriately, Elder Holland's remarks focused on George Washington's legacy, whose birthday is in 3 days.

His son Matthew Holland gave some interesting comments beforehand about the major changes in immigration/population growth and higher education slamming Utah state, including the recent change in mission eligibility age. I absolutely loved taking American Heritage from him as a freshman at BYU and felt super lucky to be a TA for the class 3 years later, tho Professor Holland had gone on to be president of Utah Valley University by then. Elder Holland must be such a proud papa :)

This was the rotunda of the Cannon House Building, where they spoke -

Now let's rewind to the beginning of my weekend - Friday night. I feel seriously blessed to live so close to so many friends since I don't have a car. I was planning to go salsa dancing but had time to stop at a couple friends' houses first. Mitchell invited me to his house for "acai bowls", a treat he often made at BYU Hawaii.

I was able to stay for part of a fun game called "Bubble Talk", similar to "Apples to Apples". Pretty hilarious, tho I was not very good at it cuz I didn't know the other players' senses of humor very well -

Trudged thru the rain to my former roommate & current friend :) Tara's birthday party

Then Jeff, Ben, Karlie, and I got to go to The Salsa Room for my dance fix (serious withdrawals this week). Met Doug, a new salsa friend! Danced my heart out and earned my blisters :D

Saturday - met Cory at Eastern Market, a popular place for brunch in DC. All our other friends who were supposed to come couldn't make it and there were alot fewer vendors than summertime but it was still fun to walk around (I love going from the new kid in town to tour guide haha). I got the spinach/mushroom omelet, potatoes, & toast -

Took our time walking to the Holland event but found we still had time to kill, so we walked thru the Botanic Garden, where I got to experience a mini "Hawaiian vacation" in the middle of winter :)

As a foodie, I loved the section about herbs/spices used in cooking

My cactus impersonation in the dessert section (I think I deserve a ribbon or medal for dorkiness)

Went to be inspired at the Holland event and recruited Ben & Andrea to join us for our afternoon adventure at the International Spy Museum (hence the blog title).

Greg, Ashley, and Ben met us there :)

If you read the rest of my blog, you know I love museums. But this was the WORST museum experience I've ever had, and it cost me $16! (unlike all the other free Smithsonian museums) It's a tiny claustrophobic museum and the way they conducted people thru was chaotic and stressful. Unless you really love spies, I wouldn't recommend it.

We stayed til closing and were exhausted and starving by then, so we crossed the street to Amorini Panini, where Jeff joined us.

I warmed up by chowing down on my turkey panini and crab soup

After that, some had to leave and the rest of us borrowed a movie, bought some treats, and plopped down at Ashley's cozy condo. We watched the Oscar-nominated film Beasts of the Southern Wild, a raw documentary-esque fantasy about a small community in the Louisiana bayou trying to survive after a huge hurricane floods & destroys their homes. Don't really know what to make of it but the acting by the novices in the starring roles were exceptional!

Church was utterly inspiring and humbling today, with lots of messages I needed to hear about humility, charity, mercy, and repentance. I'm grateful to belong to a Church that helps me continually improve myself.

If You're Artsy and You Know It...

Ok, so I'm not a big artsy person in the traditional gallery-going, paint-splattered, hipster sense (I'm more into the performing arts - music, dance, theatre) but my trip to the Smithsonian American Art Museum was much more awe-inspiring than I expected. This was in the Baroque room, I think...

There is an unexplainable phenomenon I invariably experience whenever I encounter some piece of natural or manmade beauty - be it a painting, sculpture, dance, song, architecture, poem, garden, mountainscape, etc. - I feel all warm, light, and beautiful inside. It's an amazing feeling I try to create as often as possible. This is why I chase after cultural and artistic experiences.

So some friends and I met up this past Saturday...

...and had fun taking creative pictures, nevermind the flustered guard who was trying to figure out how to use my [digital] camera. I hope we were at least somewhat amusing even if we did annoy him...

It was cool to be in the same room as some of those items, like this Monet painting - French Impressionism at its best

Or a tapestry from 1460 (32 years before Columbus landed in the Americas)!!! It's hard to imagine how different life and the WORLD was back then...

We didn't have time to see everything (I'll definitely have to come back when I have several hours to spare) but my favorite exhibit was the one with Edgar Degas' wax dance figures. New hobby in a museum: posing like the sculptures -

Hermes fountain!

Michaelangelo's David-Apollo

Dancer-poser at heart :P

My outing on Thursday was much more down my alley. I had my Black History Month activity of the week at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (arguably my favorite monument in DC).

Wish I could have taken pictures of the amazing dancers and the inside of the lush red and gold opera house (it was prohibited). I read about the group in my Intro to Dance class at BYU. Alvin Ailey started this all-black (now multi-racial) modern dance company in 1958 in New York City, sharing and celebrating the African American experience with performances using blues, spirituals, and gospel music (as well as other genres). They've become a highly-respected, award-winning, globe-trotting company. I felt beautiful, inspired, and privileged watching them :)

Also commemorated Black History Month on Friday when a group of friends and I met up at
Bread & Chocolate for dinner and share some poetry (Cory's great idea). I read a powerful poem I [partially] memorized for a BYU Public Speaking class - "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou, a very prominent black author & poet.

I got the turkey chili and corn muffin - good for chilly nights

Yay for old and new friends! (mirror pic)

Speaking of friends, I finally got to hang out with Andrea! We've been talking about getting together for months and finally did at a new frozen yogurt place - Tutti Frutti in Crystal City. Good conversation, cute place, delicious fro yo (I highly recommend this place! I got the soy taro, nutella, and salted caramel flavors topped with mochi)

Saturday night - went to the temple with the ward and for the first time in 2013! Beautiful as always and a great way to prepare for the Sabbath :)