so basically this entry is an ode to him, Mr. Calmer. I mean I don’t understand, like he would deny that he did not take orchestra as serious as he did compared to Band and Color Guard….I mean C’MON…...he even has a parent committee that is part of his organization (Band and Color Guard), something he never did w/ orchestra. He never even set formal after-school practices and never elected officers (really Mr. Calmer?!), and even during after-school practices, he was like “if you’d like, your instructor is staying after school”. but then he’s so extraordinary, b/c the other day, he confessed as working a part of orchestra and purposely delaying it (HE WAS CLAIMING HIS VISION), and deliberately told us he did not put forth a lot of energy into building orchestra, and even now, HE SETS DAYS FOR AFTER-SCHOOL PRACTICE, and takes out points and literally lowers grades if anyone misses a practice. Go Mr. Calmer! 15 months ago

I took out my violin, Kingston, on the weekend and attempted to tune and play him. It has been a loooong time since I played him and my fingers were sore afterwards. I think I did an okay job tuning him, but it still sounds a bit off and my bow control is absolutely shocking. I wish I had never stopped playing. That’s in the past now though and there’s nothing I can do about it.

I emailed a violin teacher today and asked about lessons. It’s $30 per half hour. I’m still considering whether I will be able to budget it in. 16 months ago

...so my friend, wants this year’s orchestra to move bigger strides (but sometimes, I feel like the strides she has in mind needs to be realistic), I mean largely b/c of her influence (it was my choice too), I decided that to ask my teacher if we could do after school rehearsals…. 19 months ago

I’ve done this before. I’d like to do it again. I have a lot of music training, but if you don’t, simply go to a concert and talk to some of the artists. They are likely to know of some resources in the area to get you started. It’s all about networking! 19 months ago

after the previous entry i feel so much better 19 months ago

ok. this is very strange I joined this orchestra and 2 months into the year, I labeled this and self-talk that this was one of the BEST goals that I ever did!!!!!seriously….even at one point, when the seniors from not just orchestra, but in the WBHS performance ensemble were going to make speeches, and orchestra themselve coordinated their own version of speeches….I promised them that I was going to do it next yr (in my head I was going to make the best speech, maybe even write it)....then why don’t i feel so excited about this idea, now when I walk into orchestra…it is like I’m upset…and over what….over some specific emotions of a dude that’s make me feel less than overjoyed, let alone joyed..see here’s a pic of me being happy…..and i need to continue feeling like that….it’s b/c he hasn’t returned my calls (well he picks up sometimes) which makes me pissed off…and even the first week of school, I was so excited to go to orchestra…I would wake in the morning usually getting ready for another day, feeling neutral…but w/ orchestra, suddenly, I felt for the first wk, that there was something actually exciting to look forward for the day….and now I’m upset, and confused, and not looking forward to orchestra all b/c of a boy…it’s so ridiculous, and the thing is…his dad is my teacher….
Well if it helps I made some progress….my not orchestra captain or anything, but in the beginning of the yr for orchestra, I talked to my teacher, asking him if he could create a vision for orchetra, little did I know that he was not open to the idea, but he decided to enforce the idea, by promising me that he would incorporate it to the lesson plans….not only that, but HE CARRIED IT OUT…i remember distinctly 10 mins before I spoke,he had his hands folded, and he was like, Alison, what do you have prepared today? and he was just actively listening while I excitedly chattered my plans for the day. Moreover 4 mins before I spoke, I asked my teacher if he could go and not tell the class that this creating of a vision was my idea, and he was like ok, “I’ll just tell the class that Alison’s going to speak” =] this feels insanely incredible, you don’t even know like I thought he was going to be talking the whole time of creating the vision…but heyyy looks like a kid is going to make a difference that day. I remember after speaking to the class about my vision…my friends even commented and were impressed at my skills of being able to speak in front of an audience =] 19 months ago