Thursday, September 03, 2009

Back to School





So. It's September now. How did that happen? My summer in Canada was great, though way too short. Time really does fly when you're having fun. Domaine was great. Lots of work, but great. I was hungry and tired for 4 weeks, and was super busy with practicing, rehearsing and playing. And some fun as well. But only a little, because you know how much of a no-funster I am. After partying a little bit too hard on the last night, I had to pack up my life into a suitcase and road trip to Montreal. We introduced my American roommate Heidi to the joy that is Tim Hortons, and I successfully did NOT vomit in the car. So props all around. I spent the night in Montreal, and then the next day made my stealth visit to Saskatoon. It was a big surprise for my mom - my dad bought the ticket for me secretly, and she thought I was just going back to Toronto after Domaine. My dad told her that he ordered an anniversary present for her off the internet, but he wasn't sure when it would arrive. He said he thought it would probably be there by his birthday, which happened to be the day that I flew in. I got in around dinner time, and my little sister came and picked me up at the airport and drove me home. She went in first (since she was expected to be there for my dad's birthday dinner), and I waited in the car for about 5 minutes and then just walked in the front door and said, "Honey, I'm home!". Mom was setting the table for dinner, and she just sort of stared and me and said, "What are you doing here????". It was hilarious. And my dad now has a saintly reputation with all the girls my mom works with. How romantic for him to fly his daughter home! Oh, how sweet! Oh, the humanity!
So I was 10 days at home. I did all the usual stuff like doctor and dentist, and pretty much just visited with my family and saw as many friends as I could fit in. I drove out to North Battleford one afternoon to visit my Grandma Woloshyn who was staying out with my aunt and uncle there, and I spent 4 days up at Emma Lake at my Grandma and Grandpa Theisson's cabin. Anne was there for 2 days, but she had to go back to Saskatoon and work on Monday, so I hung out with the parents for an extra day. We went fishing in P.A. Park, and dad caught 4 fish (one of which he had to throw back because the limit is 3), and I caught 0. So I amused myself by talking in silly accents with my mom while I caught copious amounts of weeds. Good times. Then after Saskatoon it was back to Toronto, and straight into Tomchelle wedding craziness. I found out when I returned that I was in charge of music for the dinner and dance, and everybody had a million requests for me. The playlist ended up being around 8 hours long, so not everybody got to hear their songs. But that's the way she goes. I also got to catch up with my Cosbey and Zapf families, and I got to meet Ingunn's baby Jonas! Such a cutie. Then I had to pack up my life once more and head back to Amsterdam! I was sure that I would have way too much stuff to cram into only 2 suitcases, but I actually managed to fit everything. I flew the red-eye overnight to London, then had a 4 hour stop-over there and caught a flight to Amsterdam. I got in at around 5 pm, and got back to my place, showered, ate dinner, and then headed out to a party. In my defence though, it was the going-away party for my friend Hayley who was moving back to England, so I had to go! But by the time I actually went to bed I think I'd been up for around 36 hours. Like, deliriously tired. But now I'm back, and getting back into the routine of things. I have a pretty busy September coming up as well - I'm playing in two people's exams, a concerto grosso concert, a small recital at Amsterdam City Hall, and I'm rehearsing for a chamber music concert I'm playing in early October. I was doing my scheduling today, and I was thinking it's a good thing I only have one class a week! Well, yeah, and my research. I'm supposed to hand my first draft of that in soon........good thing I can't sleep on planes, because I did the most work on it while I was flying from Toronto to London. A big 6 hour chunk of work. While watching crappy movies like "My Life in Ruins". Nia Vardalos should really branch out from the whole voiced-over 'Greek people are strange but lovable' movies. But that's a discussion for another day. Enjoy the photos of St-Irenee/Domaine Forget, since on the last night there someone broke my camera and so I have no pictures from anything after Domaine. Drunken eejits.