The long awaited update post-NC trip!
I hope no one passed out in anticipation. Pretty sure I specifically asked you not to.
Things are starting to feel more official. I spent a good 4 days in the Greensboro area and had a bunch of lessons, found an apartment, and met some other grad students. All in all, a productive trip.
My new apartment can be found here. If you search floor plans, I have the "Birch" floor plan. Sadly, no fireplace. I could have gotten one with a fireplace but the rent was significantly higher for the few months of winter they experience. So naturally I will live sans fireplace for a year and decide if it's worth it after spending a winter down south. Other than that it's spacious, has appliances like a dishwasher and a washer/dryer hook up, there's a fitness center so I'll save money with cancelling my PF membership, there's a couple pools, some ponds for fishing, a little spot for grilling, and it's across the street from a national park with miles of trails to bike/walk/yog along. (I prefer the phonetic spelling of the soft "j".) So yeah, it's adorable, I'm excited, and I get to paint the walls so I think I'm going to.
As for the school, it was great seeing it again through different eyes. Before I was looking as an exhausted prospective student who had seen 3 other schools the 3 previous weekends and though the sunshine was nice, just wanted the process done with. Now, I was seeing how beautiful the grounds are, how there are gardens everywhere, how nicely laid out the music building appears to be, how well the sound proofing works, and how awesome the faculty is. I knew the faculty was pretty great after my audition, this just reaffirmed it.
I had 4 voice lessons whilst there. From these four, I have to choose my studio teacher for my time in Greensboro. It's a hard decision. I got a lot from every lesson I took. One lesson has stuck out in my mind more than the others and as I do with all major decisions I try not to think about it too much and see which answer appears on its own when I'm not paying attention. I think I have the right choice in my head, now I have to put it into e-mails.
I was fortunate enough, again, to stay with the Rein's and I couldn't have done this without their hospitality and kindness. They brought me to church, drove around Greensboro and went apartment hunting with me, even prepared me a breakfast and lunch as I ran out the door one day! They are wonderful human beings and I am so blessed to have them nearby when I move.
So when is the big move? Sometime in the last week of July. My move in day is July 27th because that got me the cheapest rent. I do NOT know why a difference of a day can make a difference of $15/month, but whatever, I went with it. So now I will really start this whole moving business. I'm looking around my house and seeing what I can start to pack up - books I don't use, dresses I won't wear, winter clothes and jackets, etc. I also have to start really thinking about classes, my schedule, registering, setting up my student accounts, etc. There's a lot to do, but I'll do what I do best, which is make a list, and start tackling it one by one. As this is my week off between finishing up SU, NYSSMA and visiting UNCG, and the shows I'll be working on, now is a great time to get organized.
It's been almost a year since I've been blogging, and though I haven't been the most consistent with it, it's been really helpful for me to get thoughts down into words and to make it accessible to everyone I like. (and maybe some people I don't like... I suppose I don't really know who reads this) What began as a weight-loss/DMA insanity blog will probably turn into a weight-loss/new chapter of my life blog. Happy reading!
