Hot Child In The City... plus some

I took a spontaneous day trip to Chicago yesterday!!  I LOVE that city!  And I love it that I'm close to it now!  I definitely want to go back and spend more time.  We went to drop off a friend at the O'Hare airport, so we just bummed around for a while before she had to check in to her flight.  It was such a blast.  And the girls I went with are amazing.  I took about a billion pictures.  I'm just going to post some highlights:
          

This is me at the Lincoln Park Zoo.  It's free.  What a cool idea, huh?  It felt so cool to just walk in.  I took pictures of pretty much every animal I saw, but as some of you know, I have a dear spot in my heart for puffins.  I'd never seen one in person before, and this little guy came right up to the glass to say hello.  It made my day.  

     

     
Wow, this place is cool.  If you've never been there before, the first picture is of a giant bubble/ mirror thing that reflects the city in crazy ways.  And I was really entertained by taking a thousand pictures of myself in front of it.  The pillar with the face is a giant fountain that looks clear up close but far away is a projection of a really realistic looking face. There are two fountains like this and between them is a plaza full of water and a bunch of splashing little kids and sunshine and fun.  

      
Mmmm, Chicago pizza.  Check out that deep dish crust!  We wanted to go to Girridanos, but the wait was too long, so instead we found this little hole in the wall place down a small street, and it was fabulous!  It felt so Chicago.  Watching a Cubs game on TV in a tiny packed pizza place scarfing deep dish.

And that was my first day in Chicago!  Fun times indeed.  I'll be back!

In other exciting Jamilyn news, I got the best letter of my life from Elder Morris that came in a Fed Ex envelope with a shirt that we pass back and forth so that it smells like him when I get it.  It also came with some home made incense that he got from a neighbor in his apartment complex.  Man I love my missionary!  And I love incense!   Wearing this shirt feels almost like a Nathan hug.  I miss those.  Lots.  
      

I started my job as assistant to Professor Bruce Uchimura at WMU.  I had all sorts of boring yet informative orientations and trainings and a really fun lunch meeting to discuss my position and my responsibilities for the upcoming year.  Prof. Uchimura and I met at a Lebanese buffet.  I think it's rad that Kalamazoo has a Lebanese buffet!  With my bachelors degree in music performance, and countless hours of graduate assistant training, my first assignment was (drum roll please...) to decorate the orchestra bulletin board.  My first thought was "you've gotta be kidding me!"  but I actually had lots of fun, and from the before and after pictures, I think that it turned out really well!  
     

Today is Elder Morris's birthday.  My friend AnnaLaura and I volunteered to make dinner for the branch missionaries and I sort of turned it into a birthday celebration for Nathan.  LOL.  At the smell of home made chili, cornbread, and german chocolate cake coming from the church kitchen, about 8 more members invited themselves to the celebration too.  It was completely awesome.  The more the merrier, and we had plenty of food.  There was cake, ice cream, candles, singing, and I took videos of it all to send to Nathan :)  My favorite line was when Elder Smith, one of our branch missionaries said "Man, I wish MY girlfriend would do stuff like this for me!"  Poor Elder Smith.  He's the one closest to the camera in the second picture.  
     

Other news that I have no pictures to document:  I passed all but two of my placement exams, which my advisor made sure to let me know was pretty amazingly good.  I didn't pass renaissance and baroque music history of all things, but it's ok.  I chose my cognate, which is kind of like a minor.  I am now officially a master of cello performance graduate teaching assistant with a music history cognate.  Please step into my office, Dalton 1413, thanks.  I feel so cool.  

I also went on my first date in over TWO YEARS that wasn't with Nathan.  A guy from the branch and I went on a walk around downtown Kalamazoo and then watched The Emperor's New Groove back at his place.  I LOVE that movie and downtown KZoo is cute and charming, but I'm just not sure about how I feel about dating.  I'll think about it some more and letcha know.  

Speaking of cute and charming, I think I might have found THE PERFECT little studio apartment for me to move into.  It's in the historic district of Kalamazoo, and it's in a darling yellow house... already sounds Jamilynish, right?  I'm going to go look at it tomorrow and meet the landlord.  If all goes well, the only trick will be getting out of my current lease.  Wish me luck!

7 days of Kalamazoo

I have officially been living in Kalamazoo for an entire week now.  (woot!)  I hardly think that qualifies me as a Michigander, but let me tell you a few things I have noticed about this beautiful mid-west state:

There is a consistent hum of bugs going at all times and the volume intensifies at sunset.

There are rarely fences between houses which I think is a great concept.  Only trees.  Lots and lots of trees.  And homes here are beautiful and very unique.  Houses are painted bright colors with contrasting trim and instead of looking tacky it looks fantastic!  And windows are big and open.  And porches.  I'll take pictures of my favorites and post them.  I am a lover of cool neighborhood exploration and Michigan is my new frontier.  

The roads.  YIKES.  Right now my world consists of West Michigan Ave, West Main, Drake road, and Howard street.  Sometimes I think I know where Solon street will take me, but it's a new adventure every time.  I can get to Meijers (the coolest grocery store ever), Target, school and church without my GPS now, but that's from lots of previous failed attempts resulting in much wandering around Kalamazoo/ Battle Creek/ Portage.  I'm trying to mentally map out the many one way streets and keep the roads that randomly change names organized in my head.  Praise the Lord for Utah's grid system!!  

Any Michigan native can show you where they are from by using their right hand as a make-shift Michigan map.  OK, here we go.  Look at your right hand palm, go in from the bottom left about 1/3 of the way, then up about an inch, and that is where I live!  

OH MY GOSH the humidity!  I actually really love what it does for my skin and my lungs, but my hair these days is another story.  In Utah, my hair is straight and flat if I don't do anything to it.  Maybe this past year it was starting to become slightly wavy.  But in Michigan if I do nothing to my hair it turns into this crazy frizzy wave mess nothing like I've ever seen up there before!!  Even if I straighten it, it's all sorts of wavy frizzy by the end of the day.  I'm experimenting with anti-frizz hair products and wavy hair dos.  

The accent.  I now live in a land where pop is "pap" and gosh is "gash" and bag is "beg".  To me, everyone sounds kind of like Bobby's mom from the old Bobby's World cartoon "doncha know".  And they all sound like this, so there's no one to laugh at them with me.  I wonder if they are laughing at my Utah accent behind my back.  

Alcohol is a BIG deal here.  It's in every restaurant, in every grocery store (more than the typical beer and spiked lemonade like Utah stores) and in my apartment fridge.  I found out a few days after moving here that I live smack in the middle of frat village which is always where the party's at.  There are fraternity/ sorority houses on both sides of my house, and our complex is actually made from a frat house that they split up into separate townhouses. WMU... or "Western" is called "wastern" by most of the people I live around, cause there's always some kind of crazy keg party going on.  I think I might move. 

Rainstorms... way cool!  My trip to Grand Haven beach on Lake Michigan got rained out, but it was fine by me cause the lightning and thunder show from my bedroom window was definitely worth watching.  

Practicing cello in humidity.  This is something I really need to get used to.  After an hour or so I am a little puddle of sweat in my practice room.  That makes for a slippery fingerboard.  Gross, I know, but it's something I have to deal with now.  Master Francis... recommendations? 

This is me (and my hair that I straightened less than 2 hours before this), turning into a sweat ball in my practice room.  And this is my metronome that tells me the temperature and humidity of the room I'm in.  It's saying that it's 81.8 degrees with 58% humidity.  Yahoo weather said the humidity for that day was 79%.  Bagh!  Undesirable practice conditions in my opinion!

          

I really like Michigan.  Seriously I do.  And I am having a grand ol' time.  For some non-Michigan news, I finished my month long vedge pledge.  It was lots easier than I thought it would be and I feel great!  I think I'm going to keep going.  Except for that I think I will be a "fish-a-tarian" from here on out cause I LOVE fish and it doesn't make me feel the way other meat does.  

Sempre Fi friends and fam!  Thanks for reading!

4 Things:

4 people I love:

1. My Mom

2. My Dad

3. Nathan

4. Master Francis

4 places I visit over and over:

1. school

2. Target

3. post office

4. meijers

4 People I text or email on a regular basis:

1. Nyle

2. Nathan

3. Mom

4. Ashley... sort of regularly

4 favorite foods:

1. Cafe Rio salad

2. babaganoush wraps with olives and peppers and feta cheese and lots of veggies

3. fajitas

4. pears and cinnimon

4 places I would rather be:

1. outside

2. home with my fam for Sunday dinner

3. with Nathan anywhere

4. Italy

4 Things I would rather be doing:

1. vacationing somewhere tropical

2. going on a walk to explore KZoo

3. hanging out with my pals from home

4. hanging out with my new pals here

4 Movies I watch over and over:

1. Elizabethtown

2. Pride and Prejudice

3. Little Women

4. Anne of Green Gables

4 T.V. shows I watch over and over:

1. The Office

2. Seinfeld

3. Friends

4.  I used to watch Dress My Nest at work

4 Bands I love:

1. The Rocket Summer

2. Death Cab for Cutie

3. The Beatles

4. U2

4 Songs I love:

1. Hey There Delilah- Plain White Ts

2. Crash Into Me- Dave Matthews Band

3. Drops of Jupiter- Train

4. Sampson- Regina Spektor

I Heart Lake Michigan!

Today was a great day...  I tried to get my new student ID card but the computer system was down so I couldn't do that.  I tried to get the key to my new office but the lady I needed to talk to was out to lunch.  I tried to get a cello locker but they weren't giving out lockers until school starts.  I went to Target to buy a really cute dress I saw there on Monday, but they were all out of my size.  

AND THEN I got to go to Lake Michigan!!  And I was happy!



Even though it was kind of an overcast day, the lake was BeAuTiFuL and warm and so fun.  It was my first time ever going to one of the Great Lakes.  It looks just like the ocean.  You can't see the other shore line, but it's not salty!  For those who know (cause until today, I sure didn't!) I went to South Haven Beach.  Since I loved it so much, other friends are taking me to Grand Haven tomorrow.  Supposedly it's supposed to be better.  I'll let ya know!

Another picture post... newest to oldest

This is a sneak peek into my new room!  I built this computer desk all by my self, and I felt like Rosie Rooter!!  Who needs men??  lol.
This is my little bed and the quilt that my grandma made for me as a highschool graduation present.  I still love it! 
This is my awesome dresser that my roommate Allison saved for me.  Her parents were going to chuck it, but it's still good, and I'm extremely grateful for it! 
This is my calendar and countdown and to do list.  To the left of these things is my closet that is nothing special.  Just sliding doors with mirrors on them.  Now do you feel like you've been to my room in person?  :) 
These are some of my new friends from the 'kub" that showed me around Kalamazoo today.  This is us at the fountain in front of the music building.  Obviously I missed the memo about wearing sunglasses... it looked overcast to me today.  
This is a blurry picture of the Western Michigan University sign taken through my bug splattered windshield, but I was so excited to have finally reached my destination that I had to take a picture!  
Unfortunately this is the only picture I took of my 22 hour road trip.  But it's a water tower that says Morris on it.  That's pretty cool, right?  
Talking to Lynsie on speaker phone so that all 4 of us could be there at Einstein's for breakfast.  Yay for modern technology that makes Oklahoma not seem so far away!  Lyns, we miss you!!
Breakfast on the morning of the great departure.  Favorite quote... "I thought we were all going to LOOK at our drinks!" -Katie
One last trip to Sconecutter the night before I left for Michigan.  Mmmmm, onion straws and a bite of Katie's strawberry shake.  How in the world did they mess up Mountain Dew for raspberry lemonade?

Karlie got married and is now Mrs. Ady.  The wedding was beautiful!  
I bought new glasses and they look like this...  I feel very "geek sheik" when I wear them! 

Nathan and I discovered this jem of a couch at D.I. (for $10) summer of 2006 and drove it home bungee chorded to the top of my little Ford Escort.  Probably the best $10 I ever spent! I was really sad to leave it in Logan.  It simply wasn't safe to bungee chord it all the way to Kalamazoo!  

I sent Nathan the best birthday present ever... 22 gifts for 22 days until 22!  He's been having fun opening a gift each day, right down to August 31!  

Getting Settled

I went to church today... at the "kub", which stands for Kalamazoo university branch.  I made some new friends who are like me! -which is an exciting thing to find when you're 1500 miles from home.  The branch is small, but everyone is extremely tight with each other, and I feel like I have 22 new best friends.  And they already asked me to speak in church next week.  I think that's funny cause in my 4 years of USU student wards, I never once spoke in sacrament meeting.  

I also unpacked most of my stuff.  It feels nice to have a place that feels like my own here.  Tomorrow will be even better when I get pictures and stuff up on the walls.  Yay.  

I'm still looking for an internet connection in my house that is strong enough to let my upload more pictures and videos.  So far no such luck.  

Exodus part II

So I found out today that the real definition of exodus is different than I thought it was.  It means that a large group of people are moving together... like when moses led all of his people to where ever they went... the wilderness?  Since I moved out to Michigan all by myself, it hardly qualifies as an exodus.  But definitely an adventure!

Todays drive was much more interesting than yesterdays.  I went through 4 states that I'd never been to before- Nebraska (well, I was there yesterday, so it only sort of counts), Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana.  I crossed the Mississippi river, the North Platte river, and the Fox river, which I didn't even know existed.  I finished my book on tape (Austenland, which I highly recommend) and started the next one (Bee Season- seems interesting so far).  

Confession of a new vegetarian- in a moment of starved weakness somewhere in the middle of Illinois, I stopped at an Arbys and ordered a Turkey Bacon wrap.  My first non-fish meat in more than 3 weeks.  Feeling guilty but it tasted so good...

Estelle and I made it safely to the fine city of Kalamazoo around 7:30 pm Eastern Time (which I am going to have to get used to) which equals 5:30 Utah time.  I met my new roommates who were very nice and helped me unpack my car into the room that they chose for me before I got there.  We went grocery shopping and I experienced my first dose of culture shock as we rounded the liquor isles... where I'm used to seeing labels such as cereal, granola bars, hot chocolate, instead there was rum, vodka, whiskey.  Second dose of culture shock... my roommate made purchases from this isle for our Saturday night enjoyment.  

So as the rest of my roomies and the neighbors are enjoying their keg party, getting high and playing "beer pong"... I'm in my new room, full of my unpacked things, blogging about my very un-exodus adventure.  As Dorothy Gale would say, "We're not in Kansas anymore Toto".  I'm definitely not in Utah anymore folks.  And at a time like this, there's no place like home.  

The Exodus

Let the Michigan adventure begin!  I headed out from Einstein Bagels in T-ville this morning around 9:00 am and rode i-80 east for 12 straight hours!  With only my new GPS "Estelle" to guide me, I drove past Park City, Flaming Gorge, Yellowstone, Laramie, Cheyenne, and then a whole lotta nothin' in Nebraska.  There was a spectacular rain storm through most of eastern Wyoming that made it tricky to see the road, but thank heavens for Estelle, I stayed right on track.  I stopped for lunch at a gas station Subway, and asked the lady making my sandwich if we were in Nebraska yet.  "God no", she said.  "Don't insult us!"  I didn't realize that Wyoming citizens somehow think they are higher ranked than Nebraska citizens.  lol.  Guess I won't make that mistake again.  Funny enough, 2 miles out from that gas station, I hit the Nebraska border.  It was that close.  I hit a tired spot around 6 and had to stop listening to my book-on-tape, Austenland, and switch it out for Classic Rock that Ashley would be proud of.  :)  I finally made it to my modest little hotel in Lincoln, absolutely STARVING!  The first place I saw was taco bell, and I just barely wolfed down 3 bean and rice burritos with fire sauce.  I'm absolutely positive I'm going to be regretting that choice real soon.  Tomorrow is the Lincoln to Kalamazoo leg of my journey, and KZoo is where I'll be until Christmas.  

I'm nervous to meet my new roomies and to see my new house.  I'm excited to get into the routine that the school year inevitably brings.  I'm looking forward to working with Mr. Uchimura at Western!  I'm excited for a new environment and new people.  I miss my fam and friends already.  I worry about my mom. 

 Pictures and more coming soon...

Pictures and Videos Galore!

My mom and I went to the Colbie Callait and John Mayer Concert at USANA for her big birthday celebration.  We totally had fun dancing around and singing, even though the lawn crowd was kinda lame-o!  One of my favorite things about concerts, besides the music of course, are concert T-shirts, and I felt like John's was pretty dang cool this time!  

I got a much needed pedicure and I felt like it turned out especially cute!  I wanted to share it with the world!

I got over my strange anxiety and finally visited Nathan's mom.  We caught up on life and his family and shared funny stories and pictures about Nathan.  It was a fun night and some long over-due bonding with the mother of the missionary I love!  

Speaking of the missionary I love, he's been out for 1/6 of his two year service to the Lord and people of San Antonio Texas.  It was really exciting to fill up half of the first tower of his countdown chart.  Don't make fun, I celebrate even the tiniest landmarks here!  He has less than 600 days left!  Woot!  

This past weekend, two of my best friends ever... Ashley and Katie... came up to Logan to visit me.  They came to the opera which was really fun, and then slept over in my oven-hot house.  What good sports they are!  The next day Katie had to help her brother move :(  While she was gone, Ashley and I floated the Logan canal, tried the new True Aggie cafe, browsed the Global Village gift shop, and sipped a little lavender Italian soda at Citrus and Sage.  Fun day! 

I'm going to miss these girls... and this town!

Utah Festival Opera

The summer is winding down.  Holy moly, it's going by too fast!  This weekend I finished my little stint with the Utah Festival Opera.  It was so fun to be able to play in two little crowd-pleaser shows... Musica Magnifica- a patriotic display with operatic flair, and Carnivale Operafesto- a"pops" night of favorite well- known arias and operettas.  It was a  really neat opportunity to be able to meet and work with real professional musicians as their colleagues and sort of "try on" opera as a future career.  

I didn't realize how the world of professional musicians worked, so let me enlighten you with my experience.  You audition to the opera director with excerpts from Mozart and such, they email you to tell you you're in, they mail you a contract, and a rehearsal schedule.  You might be nervous realizing that there is only 1 scheduled rehearsals for the shows you are in.  You get a call a week before the show to say that your music is ready to pick up.  You practice on your own, and watch the various arias on YouTube to find character and tempo markings.  You show up for the one and only rehearsal 10 minutes early just to be safe, and everyone else is already in their seat warming up.  Rehearsal is more like a run-through with brief discussions of what to watch out for in each piece.  You come back that night dressed in all black from elbow to ankle, in the dead of summer, and put on a show with music that you hardly feel acquainted with.  Somehow everything goes according to the directors wishes and the hall is packed and the show is an amazing success.  And you get PAID for it!  What a whirlwind of excitement!  I could definitely get used to this!