++++ NEWS++++

There will be a performance of my trio, Constancy for violin, cello, and piano, on May 13th, 8pm, at Cal State Hayward. For more info, click here

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The Pedaler

After lunch, B and I walked across the street to The Pedaler in El Sobrante. (It's right next to Tandoori Chicken USA... best sandwiches ever.) When you walk in, there had to be hundreds of bikes on the sales floor alone. I'm not a huge bike rider, but I would like to get a bike to go out on sometimes. So, my dilemna is price. How much should I spend on a bike that I won't ride all the time? We have an old Schwinn that I love, but it's old, heavy, and has one gear. Another thing, I hate riding bikes where there are a ton of cars, and since we have little to none bike lanes around our neighborhood, it's a little sketchy. This would definitely be a recreational thing, and not a go out and run errands thing.

At any rate, we were walking around, and I spotted a bike that I was super attracted to. A gentleman asked us if we needed help, and I asked how much this one was. Well, it was way over my budget. But he stayed and helped us out and told us what other options were available. Super nice, super friendly, not pushy, and really knew everything about bikes. I mean, just looking at him, you KNOW this guy LIVES bikes. I told him that I probably wouldn't ride it a lot, and that it would be a weekend type thing, and as a true cyclist would respond, "yet." I've decided that I will be purchasing my bike there... just gotta test ride and get over pricetags.

This morning, I was browsing through my gym's website to see what classes they have this month. I clicked on a link and up comes a picture of a kayaker and a cyclist. I thought, "huh, I wonder if that guy is...." I read the blurb, and looked up his name on Google, and there he was. A 3 time U.S. Pro Cycling Champion. And I thought, "what a cool dude."

And then I thought that if this guy was a composer, he would've been a jerk. As D would say... BOOOOOOURNS. I totally rip on my own kind.

Go check out the Pedaler in El Sobrante.

A Lot Can Happen in 5 Years

I received this 5 Year Diary as a gift from my friend Meg a while back, and it's one of those things where I like it so much that I don't want to use it. Meaning, I don't want to ruin its pristine condition. But, realizing how silly that could be, I decided to write my first entry yesterday. There are only 6 lines for each day, so it's less daunting and easy to keep up with. Then 5 years from that date, I can see what I was doing each year. Pretty nifty, and a terrific gift!

The artist is Tamara Shopsin, and you can find info
at *The Ice Plant*.

Metro Dog

Nigel has had two sessions with his private trainer, Alison Smith at *Metro Dog *. B and I also call her the family therapist. We've been going to her because we're addressing Nigel's fear issues. He's a little dog that we treated like a big dog. Who knew? I guess that being around big dogs growing up, I just thought that they were the same. I guess I never realized the obvious.... he's little... like 9 pounds little.

We've learned a lot, but here's some things that we have to do now....

+ No crazy kids can pick him up. Only if he is 100% comfortable.
+ No crazy adults can pick him up. Only if he is 100% comfortable.
+ People who like dogs, want dogs to like them. That's a people issue. Protect Nigel over insecure dog people.
+ Need to protect and not put Nigel in situations he doesn't want to be in so that he can trust us.
+ When people give him his space, he can suss them out and decide if he likes them.
+ Face to face contact is a human thing that we force upon dogs. Face to face contact for dogs is confrontational.
+ I nurture him too much.
+ Sniffing a lot is a fear thing.
+ Marking territory everywhere on walks is a fear thing.
+ Ears forward and stiffness when seeing another dog is a fear thing.

ain't nothin' but a fear thing, baby. So, is this worth it? YES. Alison is awesome, and Metro Dog is the bomb. We learned that Nigel will never be the type of dog that will be super social, and we have to accept that. But hopefully, he'll gain some more confidence... one day at a time.

A Sad Dresser

B bought a dresser a couple years ago off of Craigslist for $20. It was painted black, had big, fat, wood knobs that were painted black, and it just looked gloomy. It was the black abyss that I just dealt with because it was hidden in our bedroom. But its ugliness attracted more ugliness. The junk attracted more junk. Below, is the only picture I could find of it. Ignore the crazy man trying on the wetsuit. The dresser is behind him.



So, we painted it white in semi-gloss, to repel stains and easy clean-up. Took the clutter and junk away, and will slowly add more appealing items. Now when I look over there, it looks brighter and the room looks bigger. I love projects like this.

Projects Other Than

Now that I'm gearing up for my final graduate exams, I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and foresee a life ahead of me. We had a quite a busy weekend, and am glad that I get to sit down and write a little before bedtime. Bedtime for me is early because I'm THAT much of a party animal these days.

Project One: painting old dresser that B found for $20 on *Craigslist*. It was black, and now we're painting it white, and adding cheap hardware.

Project Two: a website that will have a list of my compositions, (short list, but growing), some audio, and the ol' blog.

Project Three: redesigning our bedroom. I don't know what happened, but it is a nightmare. I designer's nightmare. Something must be done, and I need help.

Project Four: after the nest is settled, start writing my symphony.

There are more, but these are the ones that stick out in my mind the most.

D posted a couple pics of our dad's 60th celebration. Check out her blog creation, *Watch Cho'self*. I also encourage you to read her bf's Yelp reviews, for some good reading material. He's hilarious, but don't tell the guy I said that. He gives me crap all the time.

Weekend Eatery Perks:
1. Went to *Pauline's Pizza* in the Mission for a b-day thing. Great for large groups, and I still think the pesto pizza is the best out of all the pies. Service was a little slow, but the waitress was nice. It was super busy, so whatever.

2. Ate BOMB cupcakes from one of my favorite bakeries, *Love at First Bite* in North Berkeley. I remember finding them on Craigslist and going to their opening day. It was definitely true love.

3. Went to lunch with Lisa and Anh-Minh at 900 Grayson. The Cob Salad, is not good for you, but good to eat. The Sorry Charlie is my favorite, and the Ladyboy is awesome. And if you want a good burger, eat it here.

Um, we went to two other places, but I feel a little weird now that I ate out so much in three days.

more on Musica delle Donne

Wow. I'm on a roll today! I guess I have a lot to talk about, and not enough people to talk about it to? Ha! Well, I wrote the previous post on *Musica delle Donne* the next morning before I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off. So now that I have some time to breathe today, there's no stopping me.

This was the third year where I've had something performed at this concert series. This is also my third year as a composition student. So, it's been great having pieces performed. Probably easier to get things performed as a college student, so I'm glad I've had the opportunity.

The third movement (wow, thirds are the theme here....) of my trio, Constancy, was performed by three wonderful musicians. There were some mishaps, but with the very short time this was put together, this was expected. Especially since one wrong note in the third movement can easily throw everything off. I also was not able to attend a rehearsal, so this performance was all a surprise for me. But in the end, a good surprise.

As said earlier, I don't really remember much of the performance. I sat in my seat all nervous and tense the entire time. (Can I also mention that I hate standing up to bow? Yeah, I do.) It was fun to hear what other people thought of it. People asked if I was influenced or listening to J.Adams, P.Glass, S.Reich, and even some Copeland. I didn't respond because I was more intrigued and surprised to hear other people's thoughts. In actuality, I rarely listen to the works of those composers.... I know, I'm bad. As I recall, I think I was listening to a lot of Shostakovich, Stravinsky, and Interpol. Not much of that went into the piece, but now I wonder how much I was influenced by it. But, there was one section that I paid hommage to Interpol. My husband was the only person who heard the Interpol influence, and I was very, very, very proud of him. A gentleman who attended the concert asked me if I was writing anything at the moment. I am not, but then I got all excited about what the next project would be. hmmmm....

A student almuna composer, *Jessica Rugani*, had her piece, "When My Sorrow was Born" performed. I enjoyed this piece, and thought that it was quite different from the other pieces I've heard from her. Although, I haven't heard all of her pieces, so I don't take my word for it. But I think the special thing about this piece was that to me, it was grounded and solid.

A piano piece by Chen Yi was performed. I did not really get the piece. Or maybe I just wasn't in to it as much. B didn't get it either. Sometimes when you walk away from a piece like that and it's sad that it can easily be forgettable.

The other piece that stuck out for me was the Mary-Lou Williams piece. I think it also stuck out in my mind because I just heard a thing on her on NPR the other day. Unfortunately, I could not attend the second concert the next evening. I hope that this series continues at the CSUH music department since IG is going off to get her PhD(.... go girl!), because it's too important. I mean, I didn't see too many male student composers there... so obviously, we still need a series like this.

Moose Bunny Ranunculus

D made an ugly painting that her boyfriend found into something more pleasing. She added two silhouettes in pure white. Instead of hanging in her oh-so-long hallway, it has been upgraded to the living room. Now this, is affordable art!

I decided to try growing plants again on our porch. Unfortunately, I have a bad habit of killing plants. My father used to be a landscaper/landscape architect, and created beautiful gardens. I tend to kill everything except for bamboo. So, I thought I'd try it again. We got a meyer lemon tree and a few of my favorite flowers, the ranunculus. I love this flower, and more than anything, I kill flowers first. But these were only $2.50, so what the hay? So far, so good!!

The Flats

B, sister D and I went to Santa Cruz over the weekend. D was playing a show at *Caffe Pergolesi*. She plays the viola in *Arcadio*, and either has a beer or whiskey right by her side when performing. We stayed at this interesting motel called *Edgewater Beach Motel*, and our friends were staying at a motel that was about 3 blocks away. Apparently, we found out that the area there, is called, "the flats," and is the most shady area of Santa Cruz. The way it was described to us, it came off as reeeaaaalllly bad. But since all five of us have either traveled, have lived, or live in shady places, we were a little skeptical. When we dropped off our friends at their motel, we said our goodbyes and chanted, "1-2-3-LIVE" as we all put our hands together in a huddle. I would say the most unpleasant thing there were the beds we slept on. But other than that, we had no problems. Not to say that the Flats isn't a bad neighborhood, we're just used to worse.

My good friend Soog was also in a show that night, so B and I went to her show first. It was full of clowns, graham crackers with whipped cream, balloons, and a gorilla. It was AWESOME.

In the morning, we went to *Beach Street Cafe* for breakfast, and it was good breakfast food.

Musica delle Donne

Last night, I attended the *Musica delle Donne* at CSUEB. The performances were wonderful and I was very excited to hear the third movement of my trio performed live for the first time. Unfortunately, most of it was a blur to me since I was so nervous in my seat. But, I was very happy with the performance and cannot wait to hear it performed in its entirety in May.

Power Trip

This guy is a jackass. I don't know why the public keeps forgiving their politicians when they break the law, and I don't know why their wives do either. *Eliot Spitzer* is just another layer of icing on the cake. But this cake tastes like shit.

Wimpy Dog!

Nigel is 9 pounds, and afraid of a lot of things. He used to play with all dogs, until a fateful day at puppy school. He was trampled upon by a group of dogs, and he was never the same. Always scared of big dogs, and sometimes will snap back. He doesn't bite, but he will react. He is now afraid of the big dogs he grew up with, and has no interest in playing with little dogs. This makes us sad, and so we're gonna go to see a trainer today for a private session. Hopefully, she can help and I'll be reporting his progress. We'll see!

Cake is yummy with Sugar

I just wasted 1.5 hours looking for a good bakery that can make a sugar-free cake. My dad is turning 60, and he is diabetic. Cake is bad already.. the sugar, the flour, the butter, etc. But it sure is difficult to find a place that can do a sugar-free one. So frustrated. So stupid.

Someone needs to open a low-sugar or a sugar-free bakery that makes cakes that tastes and looks good.

My written exam is set for the 18th. Stress has set in.

Get er' Done

Parlez Vous Francais?

Non, je parles anglais, et je ne suis pas ananas. Il est beau aujourd'hui, donc je vais aller jouer dehors. Ugh, I didn't retain anything in high school. Seems as though I'm on this french kick these days.

Listening to: Berlioz
Also to: Tegan and Sara (friend gave us the cd, but they're not french.)
Playing: Poulenc and Ravel
Going to: Paris.... haha, I wish.

happy friday.... glorious fridays!

Happy Valentine's Day

I admit it, I was being a total poo-head this past week, and was even worse yesterday. Definitely feeling sorry for myself and the self pity was reeking of poop. Despite of this, B surprised me this morning with this. I'm such a dork.

Thanks for not kicking me to the curb, B.

Before and After

Nigel was looking like a wookie, so we finally took him to the groomer.
Before....

After...


There's been a before and after for the Smo household as well. We predict that this year will bring exciting new changes for us, so our minds have been racing ever since the starting of this new year.

I am almost done with my thesis, and just finishing up the analysis portion of it... yes, I am still working on that. Yes, I am a complete retard when it comes to writing an analytical essay. And yes, it was confirmed that I was a complete retard when I had to throw out the first ten pages of my thesis. I cannot wait until this is over, because I have ideas for a new piece.

I started up my piano studio in January, and so far so good. My students are great, and although I started when I was four, teaching my youngest students and seeing how well they are doing always amazes me.

As for little things, B and I went to GG Park yesterday w/Nigel and my sister. The weather was gorgeous, tons of people out, and we traveled back in time when we saw the roller skaters out with their enormous speakers. When we lived in SF, I think we took GG park for granted. This time, we walked a fair ways, B spotted an eagle, and we got some sun. We had a great time, but afterwards, we were tired, hungry, grumpy, and nonfunctional. It was a good night sleep for all...

Did you VOTE today?

If not, then GO.

I finally made my decision, and this year, I'm rock'n and rollin'.

and check this out....

B is a tech monster. His idea of a good Friday night is going out to drinks and talk about expensive hardware. Well, that may not be true.... he likes to talk about the new Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switches and its 15 terabit per second backplane. Anyway, I won't go on and on because you can read it all on his blog *Tech Philosophy*.

Now live well and prosper all you computer nerds!