Feeling good...

What's that bright yellow thing up in the sky? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it John Rutter using mind-reading techniques to tell us how to properly sing his fugue? No (though that last bit would be pretty sensational, if totally odd) it's the SUN! And not only is it sunny, it's actually mild weather? Can such weather exist? Not in New England, but apparently in Russia it can! :)

I've been exceptionally poor at keeping up with the blog recently. I've been spending less time online the last few days in order to enjoy a nice walk outside, be it from my flat to Yugo-Zapadnaya, to Sparrow Hills, to a lovely park at Prospekt Vernadskovo where I ran into Cat of all places. (I do love the prospect of running into a good friend amidst a city of some 10+ million people) The days are only going to get longer (we here in Europe switch our clocks ahead tonight, I know you all back in the US did a couple of weeks ag00, and I'm going to be much less motivated to write my thesis, let alone keep up with readings and papers for my other classes.

Choir is going well. Props to Jennifer and Chris for showing up, albeit rather late, because for a while I was the only tenor....just a little bit awkward. It would have been even more so had they not shown up in time to sing "Take a Chance on Me" where the tenors and basses have repeat take a chance over and over again about 10000 times while the women have the melody. But all things considering, today was a good rehearsal. I am rather excited to learn that we are singing in the Conservatory on May 6, in addition to our scheduled concerts at St. Andrew's on the 14th and 21st of May, respectively. For the Conservatory, we will be singing Abba (our Mamma Mia medley), which I for one actually do like, even though parts of it are repetitive and the rhythm is tricky in a couple of places, particularly at the end in "Waterloo", as well as a piece called "Spring Waters", which is in Russian. For our other concerts, we will be singing in addition to that John Rutter's Gloria, some Rusisan folk songs, Rachmaninoff's "Bogoroditse Devo" which I sang in my sophomore year at HC and am absolutely STOKED to sing again, a tango, an Italian polka, and some English and Swedish pieces. Should be a very interesting program. Fear not, Muscovites, I shall keep you informed, and I will expect many more of my friends to turn out. You have three chances to see me, make use of them, or I will come and track you down. If you don't come, I shall know...Jon knows all, you see...;)

Another thing I've taken to doing recently (well, just once, actually, but I'll prob do it more) is taking the tram. There's a tram that goes from Universitet all the way to Chistiye Prudy, which gives me a chance to enjoy the long ride (takes about an hour and a half, depending on traffic) and do some reading. Sometimes, it's very gratifying to not have to be in a rush to do five hundred things all at once and take a break and just relax and be with your thoughts. Gives me more time to read, as well as pray.

Thesis update: up to 12 pages at the moment, hoping to finish chapter 2 next week. The thing is, I've got papers, exams, as well as my concerts coming up in May and June, so the sooner I finish a draft of my thesis, the better shape I'll be in. Must motivate myself to keep writing. I'm reading a LOT of really fascinating material, not just about fairy tales, but also more generally about other types of folklore, including children's folklore, which is highly interesting and might make a good topic for a future article or essay. Just something to be thinking about...

Hope all is well back home. I miss you guys like crazy! This goes for all my family, my friends, and even my friends in Moscow whom I've neglected the past few weeks. We'll have to catch up soon. This is another reason why I'm telling you in advance about my May concerts, so you can all come in droves to see me (well, our choir, but mainly me, LOL). ;) Keep me updated on everything! Congrats again to Jessie for deciding on UMass! Wonderful choice! Josh, don't slack off in school, particularly in Chinese class. ;) Linda, try to be somewhat of a decent role model to Jessie...0:) Jk sis lolz. Talk to you all later! Love ya!!!