Practice makes perfect

This is where I practice when I don't practice at my apartment.

Each practice room has this device which allows you to record yourself and add different accoustics to the otherwise dead room.

William Tell excerpt...gah.

Backstage before the UISO concert. The carpet makes my brain hurt.

Looking down the hall before my trombone lesson. My locker is the third handle from the front.  Dr. Gier's office is the first door on the right.

Springtime in Iowa

My friend Bonnie and I went hiking the Saturday before Easter. It's so nice to see flowers growing and not snow!

This is Bonnie and her miniature Australian shepherd pup. His name is Coda.  Bonnie plays trombone, too.

This is the Cedar River.

The view reminds me of Lake Lanier.

A Little Bit of Iowa City

Here are some pictures that I took over the past few days on my way to and from class.

 

This is the hospital parking garage near my house. Note how the snow is piled up to the second level!

 

Ah! I finally dug my car out of the snow!

 

On my way to class- you can see the Pentacrest building in the background.

 

The Theater Building where I work. This is the only building on this side of the river that survived the flood without too much damage.

 

Walking back from teaching my class.  The buildings in the background are across the river.

 

Crossing the river on the Pedestrian Bridge. Straight ahead is Market Street, which is where I live. It's about a 20 minute walk home.

 

Frozen river under the bridge!

 

Coldness up close. Thank you, zoom feature.

 

Neat modern building by bridge. I'm not exactly sure what goes on in there.

 

View from the bridge.

 

Vegetable panini from Italian cafe.

Pictures (finally!)

Here are some pictures of my apartment in Iowa City.  Tomorrow I will venture outside and show you around the city.

 

 

 

Living room with new curtains and plants.

 

Entry way and kitchen.

 

Office and practice area.

 

 Bedroom and scary cellar door.

Well, that's it for now, more to come. Brace yourself.

~Jessy

A Sunshiney Day

I haven't seen the actual sun in a few days.  I know it's there (somewhere), but the Iowan skies have been dominated largely by snow clouds.  We've gotten a ton of snow the past few days. It hasn't been horribly cold, but there has definitely been snow dumpage.  I am really considering purchasing a new camera (my old one is broken and the cost to fix it is as much as a new one, so what the heck.).

But back to the title of this post: A Sunshiney Day. I couldn't ask for a more beautiful day.  I am sitting in the wonderful public library, situated on the Ped Mall in a comfy red leather chair infront of a 12-foot wall made entirely of windows.  The sunlight is pouring in, and I have all day to sip my coffee and study for my music history test tomorrow. I might even take my boots off (is that acceptable?). 

Well, that's it for now.  Hopefully pictures will be a part of this thing in the future.

Cheers,

Jessy

New Eats

I recently watched the documentary Food Inc., and now I feel completely different about how and what I eat.  Everyone, you must watch this- you won't regret it.

Thankfully it is pretty easy in Iowa City to eat organically.  I just went to the New Pioneer Co-op to do my grocery shopping.  This is a great place that sells organic and locally grown/raised food.  Here's a bit from their website http://www.newpi.com:

1. We feature and prepare foods that are free of artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, artificial flavors, artificial preservatives, and trans fats.
2. We actively seek out and support sources of certified organically grown foods, locally grown whenever possible.
3. We feature seafood, poultry, meat, and dairy that are free of added growth hormones, antibiotics, nitrates, or other chemical additives.
4. We highlight household and personal care products that have been proven safe through non-animal testing methods.
5. We feature grains and grain products that have not been bleached or bromated.
6. We do not knowingly sell food that has been irradiated.

The Chris Butler Social Experiment Olympics

Chris, our hilarious phone conversation the other day inspired this post. Thanks for always trying to make me laugh.

The next time you are in a public place, try some of these "activities" or experiments.

1. The Door Run: In this experiment, hold a door for someone that is more than a few steps away.  The goal is to see if you can make them run to the door that you are holding open for them.  The further away they are when they start to run, the more points you get. Bonus points to anyone who can get someone to run through the door who didn't actually need to use the door.

2. The Awkward Half-Smile Stare: Try this experiment when you are walking down a hallway and spot someone you know (or don't know, it doesn't really matter).  Make eye contact with them as soon as you can.  Note, this experiment is a lot more effective if it is a long hallway.  Once you get their attention, proceed to show them a half-smile (no teeth). The goal is to get them to acknowledge your half-smile with one of their own. Distribute the points as you see fit.

3. Shooter: This is my personal favorite olympic event. This experiment would probably work best with someone that you know fairly well. The next time you pass them in an open space, pretend that you are shooting them with your fake gun hands. Sound effects are permitted. The distribution of points is as follows: 2 pts. if they do nothing but give you an awkward expression- hey, you tried.  5 pts. if they shoot you back- good job, you picked a good one.  10 pts. if they actually act like they are getting shot; bonus points if they fall on the ground- superb job, you picked a real weirdo.

Well that's it. Let me know the results of your experimenting. As the great scientist Bill Nye would say, "Science rules!"