the adventure has come to an end

The End is officially here.

Monday: One season ends, the program for another is announced--gosh, you're fast, BSO! And although I can get ridiculously excited about that orchestra (see my previous post and that insanely long paragraph on Sunday--according to the Bangor Daily News, that was "the first time in more than five years" that the BSO had a full house), in my almost-ten years(!) of being a fan (the anniversary's next month), I've never been this excited. Next season, the orchestra will be playing many of my favourite pieces--now I really wish I could go to a concert (or five). Again, why, BSO?! As if that isn't enough, their YouTube video announcing the season is possibly the most exciting one yet (and yes I'm biased). I am more proud than ever to be a fan of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. Also, it's a good thing that I don't plan on going to the first concert because I'd have exert a lot of self-control--otherwise I'd be dancing down the aisle, probably ending up in front of the violin section (it's all about the violins).



Because I'm so excited, I made a YouTube playlist of my favourite works that the orchestra will be performing (in chronological order). Enjoy. I listened to the playlist a lot this week.



Also from the BDN review: "Not only was every seat full, but every inch of space on the Collins Center for the Arts stage was taken up--by nearly 100 singers with the University Singers, the Oratorio Society and the Bangor Area Children’s Choir, and an orchestra full to bursting with extra percussionists, keyboardists and other musicians rounding out its ranks." Looks like you've got competition, Wagner (he liked big orchestras)!

That day was also my final class. Instead of meeting in our usual classroom, we met in the Split Crow Pub that's also in the Historic Properties buildings, where the Granville Campus is located. However, I thought we were meeting in said classroom and headed up there, only to find the door locked and the lights off. I tried checking my school email, but it was on the fritz (what's new?). I met a classmate who also didn't know what was going on--though she'd heard something about meeting at the pub, so we headed over--and there was the rest of the class! I handed in my final for that class even though it wasn't due until Wednesday because it was originally due on Monday--until Carla changed the due date, though the original deadline was firmly stuck in my head by that point. However, having it done a couple days early meant that I could focus completely on my final for Topics in Modern Canadian Art.

And although I planned to focus on that last final Monday, I ended up not doing a whole lot: making the above playlist was about as productive as I got, post-last class. Then again, I've gotten pretty good at banging out a thousand or more words in a day or two--NSCAD has done wonders to improve the speed of my essay writing (NSCAD has you write longer essays than NBCCD does--even at the first-year level).

Tuesday: I had my final appointment with Joan, and this time we met at Dal, where's she's based. Unlike the room where she meets with students at NSCAD, her office at Dal has a huge window, which means that said office gets lots of sun on days like Tuesday (sunny and +19˚C according to the thermometer at the IWK building that I passed on my way to NSCAD).

I spent the rest of the day churning out the first of two essays for my Topics in Modern Canadian Art final. Mom arrived, and I was surprised when I saw her walk into the computer lab at NSCAD, where I was, as I'd planned to meet her in the lobby, the Granville Campus being a bit of a maze (though Photo isn't too difficult to find).

Wednesday: Once again, I spent the day feverishly churning out the finals for Topics in Modern Canadian Art, and finished the last one late that night. They also happened to be my final projects for my degree, and I was more than happy to be done.

Thursday: I had to hand in my finals, so Mom and I went to the school, where I took care of those tasks (printing off the papers, stapling them and handing them in) and said good-bye to the techs (and got a hug from Alex), thanking them for all the support this year. It was nice knowing that I could come to the photo dept. and be safe from the abuse that I was dealing with.

Afterward, we went back to the apartment and packed almost everything in an hour or two. I always find packing stressful, but this time it went really smoothly.

Friday: I was up at 7:00 AM and we finished packing. Mom had a run-in with the person who's made my life hell this year--but Mom had a strength in her that I never had this year and she firmly told that person to "stop." Well done, Mom! After packing the last of the stuff into the car (as I said in my homecoming email to Lynn, "by some miracle, everything fit") and returning my keys, we drove home, stopping at Starbucks for breakfast and coffee. I drove a little ways, until my eyes started to droop too much.

When I got home, I erupted with shrieks and yells: I was safe. I spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

Saturday: I was still very tired from the previous day and, although I wanted to do something (like study the Nutcracker score), I didn't have the energy. I didn't even listen to the opera (R. Strauss' Arabella).

Sunday: I've finally started to regain my energy and do some stuff related to unpacking.

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With this, my college/university career comes to a close, as does this blog. I will still write when I have something to say, but unless I go back for another degree, it will no longer be used as a place to write about school.

I think this calls for some more awesome music as a send-off, and I can't think of anything better than the Finale and Apotheosis from my favourite ballet, The Nutcracker. Enjoy, and thank you for following my adventures these last five years.

Bangor Symphony, why must you be so awesome?!

This will be my final post as a college or university student: the next time I write, I will be home cuddling cats, hanging out with my parents and healing from a brutal final year. This blog will continue, though I have yet to figure out what sort of form it will take.

Also, I can never pass up an opportunity to gush about the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. Brace yourself.

Monday: This was one of those field-trip classes: we met at the Dalhousie Art Gallery to view that part of Beat Nation, which is a show that has been toured around, having originated in Vancouver. It's so big that it's normal for the show to be split between two galleries--in this case, the Dal Art Gallery and the Saint Mary's University Art Gallery. The show is about First Nations peoples and hip-hop, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

That day was so warm that I took my coat off on the walk back to NSCAD--and treated myself to a gelato at Humani-T Café (they have some of the best gelato that I've had outside of Italy).

Tuesday: Exam Day for Twentieth Century Art. To quote an email to Lynn, "I wrote more than last time (not writing enough was one of the things that led to me getting a D on the midterm), I tried to make my definitions as thorough as possible (another thing that set me back last time), and overall I'm happy. I've done my best. Since my appointment with Joan, I haven't done much that would qualify as work [...]--and nothing that would qualify as schoolwork (I plan to do some work on my independent project this evening, as it needs attention and most of the time I enjoy editing photos), which feels weird. Though both Kathryn--a family friend who lives in England--and Mom said in comments on Facebook to take a break."

Wednesday: I took that day slowly as well, but managed to do some work on my independent project.

Thursday: Being able to sleep in that morning felt weird (I can sleep in? Great! But are you sure about that? Positive?). During the afternoon class I found out that that was my penultimate university class: with the exception of the last Contemporary Indigenous Arts class, there's nothing this coming week--all we have to do for Topics in Modern Canadian Art is drop off our finals to Ken Rice's office, which is a minute or less from the Photo Dept.

Friday: I spent the day working on my final for Contemporary Indigenous Arts and checked out Reel Injun from the Visual Resources Collection, as I'm doing one of my final papers for that class on the film that had the deepest impact on me, and that one was the first that came to mind.



Saturday: I got a very late start to the day--and I wasn't thrilled about that, as I had finals to write for Monday. However, I did get a fair amount of stuff done, including finishing the gallery review and starting work on the paper about Reel Injun. Bonus: I got to watch the movie while I wrote (I had to pause it every now and then to write things down as they occurred to me)!

I didn't realize that the BSO had a concert coming up on Sunday until I saw this photo. Go violins! Even better: the orchestra would be playing to a full house--exactly what the BSO deserves, especially when performing Carmina Burana, which is a very powerful, knock-your-socks-off piece. Mozart's thirty-fifth symphony (the Haffner) was also on the program (it was the first half of said concert), a fact that I'd completely forgotten. But is it any wonder, given how much of a show-stopper Carmina is?





I love how the audience erupts in applause at the end. And who can blame them? They've been holding it in for just over an hour!

Sunday: Carmina Burana Day. I listened to part of it as I walked to school, and, for the first time ever, zeroed in on the violin part. Usually I take the orchestration for that work as a whole, not focusing on a specific instrument--but because I knew a couple of people (Lynn and Trond) who would be playing it about two hours after said walk to school, I focused on what they would be playing. Verdict: the violin part alone is impressive. July sixteenth, when that concert will be broadcast on MPBN radio, can't come soon enough. After finishing Reel Injun, I listened to the Mozart, which, at about twenty minutes, is incredibly short for a symphony. It's the exact opposite of the Orff in that it's very tame. As I wrote in a Facebook status update, the Haffner "[allows] the Bangor Symphony Orchestra to give it their all in knocking the audience's socks off with the Orff. Brilliant. To whoever chose the music for today's concert, well done!" How I wish I could've gone to the concert--if I were going to school in the Bangor/Orono area, I definitely would've gone, especially if I were a student at the University of Maine (the orchestra's home, the Collins Center for the Arts, is on the UMaine campus). Blow off studying for finals for two hours and get my socks knocked off by the BSO in the process--wonderful (double that when you add in the strong violin part in the Orff and the BSO's violin section's habit of taking an awesome violin part up a few notches). Bonus: student tickets (you have to be a full-time student) are USD$13, including the $3 processing fee that's applied to all tickets--and, unlike regular-priced tickets, student tickets are the same price no matter where you sit. Wonderful! I'm so jealous of students in the Bangor/Orono area right now. How I wish I could've gone. Bangor Symphony, why must you do this to me? Why?!

Okay, I think that's enough gushing about the BSO. **scoffs jokingly** Typical favourite orchestras and violinists. Bangor Symphony Orchestra, I love you--and I can't wait to hear today's concert on MPBN on July sixteenth (START THE COUNTDOWN!). Go violins!

In the midst of all this BSO-induced excitement (which is all in a day's work for me), I wrote my final essays for Contemporary Indigenous Arts.

hit the ground running

Never a dull moment at art school… Also, this is post #200, in case anyone's curious. And I don't think the fact that this is my final semester has really sunk in yet.

Monday: I was in for a bit of a shock when I found out that my access card no longer worked on the Photo Dept. doors (any of them) due to the fact that I'm not taking any PHOT credits this semester. Needless to say, that completely threw me for a loop, as the Photo Dept. is my home at NSCAD. It completely messed with my way of working.

I have a feeling that I'm going to like Contemporary Indigenous Art, and I'm excited about what I'm going to learn this semester. The course will cover indigenous peoples outside North America as well as First Nations peoples and Native Americans, and cover other topics in addition to art. Because a couple of people said that Carla Taunton (who teaches two of my history courses: Contemporary Indigenous Art and Topics in Modern Canadian Art) knows a lot about indigenous peoples, I wanted to make the most of my time having her as a teacher. Since Idle No More started and I (finally) became interested in First Nations' history and what Natives have had to deal with since white people came to North America, I had been thinking about meeting with Carla to learn even more than what's presented in the course. That may or may not happen, because the course covers a lot. The description in the calendar doesn't do it justice: "This course on contemporary Indigenous arts will introduce students to the diversity of contemporary Aboriginal art practices (including video, photography, performance, painting, installation) contextualized by Indigenous theories of sovereignty, self-determination, and survivance."

I stayed until Photo closed at 10:30 that night. Alex and I left at the same time, and he came up with a few suggestions that would remedy my situation, including Reconfigured Image (done) or an independent project (AHA!!!). I went over my list of possible projects for APC, and picked the one that I felt was the best after the one that I did last semester. By the time I got home, I was 95% sure that I wanted to do it, and not just because it gets me twenty-four-hour access to the Photo Dept.

Tuesday: Right away, I could tell that Survey of Twentieth-Century Art was going to be different from NBCCD's FVA art history survey courses, as almost right away Jayne Wark was talking about Modernism. I'm looking forward to it, though.

That afternoon, I started jumping through the hoops necessary to make the independent project happen, and went to OSAS and made an appointment with Shawna (the registrar). I also emailed Adrian. I called Dal and made an appointment with Joan to continue what we'd started last semester.

Alex told me that evening that everything had been worked out. From an email to Mom:

"My access card will eventually work on the doors in the Photo Dept., as Chris (who's the top tech) and Alex worked things out. However, I still plan to do the independent-study, as I'm all excited about it now, have picked my project and have started jumping through the hoops. I was talking with Alex just a few minutes ago, and he told me that everything had been worked out and he didn't have to kick me out tonight. I told him that I still planned to do the project, and that by the time I [was almost home Monday night], I was 95% sure that I wanted to do it. I decided to sleep on it, and I'm now going for it. I also mentioned that right from the start, my goal has been to make the most of my time at [NSCAD], and this is a way of doing that."

And yes, my letter was published in the Courier (page A5, for anyone who reads that paper). As promised, here it is:

Due to the intensity of the week up to that point, I decided to start writing this post that afternoon and continued writing throughout the week, adding to it every day.

Wednesday: I was finally able to catch my breath (and catch up on my sleep) that day due to not having any classes, and while I had things to do, the list wasn't as long as it had been for the last four days. I ordered the course pack for Contemporary Indigenous Art (which is thick as heck and equally expensive--good thing I don't plan to buy the course pack for Twentieth Century Art, as almost everything is on reserve in the NSCAD library--the exception is an article from an art journal, which is available at the library, just not on the reserve shelf--or the book for Topics in Modern Canadian Art, which will soon be available in the NSCAD library) and edited some photos.

Adrian replied to my email, and unfortunately he can't take on any more independent-study students. He suggested checking at OSAS to see if part-time instructors like Steve Farmer can work with students who are doing independent-study projects. And he's available to meet with me on Monday.

You may have heard of The Dark Side of Oz, which involves syncing The Dark Side of the Moon with The Wizard of Oz. Well, apparently if you sync Amnesiac by Radiohead with the rest of the movie, it works perfectly.

Thursday: During Survey of Twentieth-Century Art, I found out that there were readings for that day's class--and that I should've done them. After class, I clarified that part of the schedule. I then went to OSAS and asked about regular part-time faculty (RPT--NSCAD's system of part-time faculty is kind of complex, as there are three different levels) working with students who are doing independent-study projects. They weren't able to answer my question, and referred me to Joanne Reynolds-Farmer. According to her, RPTs can't, except in the summer.

That afternoon, I had Topics in Modern Canadian Art, which was interesting, as we spent most of the class waiting for course outlines to be printed. Though Carla was able to give us the rundown of what's going to happen.

I picked up the course pack (and forked over an arm and a leg--while I completely understand why Kinko's has to charge copyright fees, as a student those numbers can really take a chunk out of my loan) and marked in the list of readings in the front which readings were for which weeks, just as I'd done in the course pack for Obsolescence last year.

Friday: It's ridiculous how excited I was for the weekend. I don't have class on Fridays this semester, and after the whirlwind first week, I was looking forward to not having class until Monday afternoon.

I still had things to do, though, including checking at Student Services to see if NSCAD had received the second bit of the money that I owed for this semester (on Sunday night, I discovered that the federal loan folks had put more money in my credit union account than I'd expected. While extra money is awesome--even if I have to pay most of it back: some of it is in the form of bursaries--I was concerned that NSCAD hadn't gotten all that I owed them. I checked on Monday, and at the time the school had received half of what I owed for this semester.). They had, and I mentioned that I would possibly be doing an independent-study project. If I'm successful in taking on the extra three credits, I'll be responsible for paying the school. I'm so glad I have a chequing account now and don't have to get a counter cheque every time I need to use that payment method.

I emailed Alvin Comiter and Bob and asked about doing an independent-study project with either of them and emailed Adrian again.

And I wrote my assignments for the semester in my planner. I'd planned to do the readings that I needed to do that day, but decided to do them on Saturday instead.

Saturday: I spent the afternoon in the NSCAD Library, doing the readings for Twentieth-Century Art, and managed to finish the first reading and start the second.

The Met played Die Fledermaus (The Bat). Sadly, I was photocopying the chapters that I had to read and missed the Champagne Song (because NSCAD has the book that's used for Twentieth-Century Art and it's cheaper to do your own photocopying, I opted to borrow the copy that NSCAD has on reserve and use the library's photocopier). I usually write the parts that I find interesting or important in my notebook, but this time they were taking too long and I could only have the reserve copy for three hours. Making my own copies meant that I could take a highlighter pen to the readings.

Because I was in the library, I wasn't able to hum along with the overture, which is one of those pieces that never fails to make me hum along (the Moldau from Ma Vlast is another).

Every time I watch the Wiener Neujahrskonzert, I can't help but notice that all the musicians are men, with the exception of the harpist. And they're all white. Thankfully, my favourite orchestras (the BSO, Met Opera Orchestra and PBSO) are a lot more inclusive (though as of the last PBSO concert that I went to, Americans still outnumber Canucks by about 7:1, and Trond mentioned that the orchestra needs more Canadian members).

I was introduced to that song by the Met Opera Brass and their second album, Waltzes, Songs and Festive Scenes (the Champagne Song is track eight), and it's one of my favourite tracks from that album.

Sunday: I spent a couple hours in the NSCAD library today as well, finishing the readings. The library might end up becoming the spot where I do all my readings, as there's a lot more space to spread out than in the photo dept. Sorry, Photo.

I had a look at the list of important dates, and it looks like Friday was the last day that I could add a class. So I might not be able to do the independent-study project (for credit, anyway--I might just go ahead and do it, as it requires participation from other artists and I'm in the perfect spot). :-(

Earlier this evening I found out that a family friend, my honorary grandfather (and reader of this blog), Stan Hart, died Saturday night. I'll let my Facebook status do the talking. RIP Stan.

never a dull moment during the first week of class

First week of my fourth year of college or university--done. And already I'm thankful that I didn't do the full eighteen credits. It would've been too much, and even now I'd probably be stressed out and unable to do a blog post (which I look forward to every week).

Monday: I putzed around the apartment and did some cooking.

Tuesday: More putzing, grocery shopping and prepping for the next day.

Wednesday: My last first day of school--for a while, anyway. And it was an intense one, as the course is all day (9:00 - 5:00), which allows us to cover the content in depth. The majority of the class was devoted to reading a chapter from Man's Search for Meaning and then discussing it. First days are always interesting, so I spent an hour or two reading the wrong thing without realizing it (the first chapter from Of Cigarettes and High Heels, which is also on the syllabus). I finally clued into that fact, and started reading what I was supposed to be reading all along--which was a hundred pages long (we were all suffering--why must the first day of class always be so brutal?). I didn't finish the reading by the time we discussed it. I wonder how many of us managed to do that.

I read some more from the chapter that evening.

Thursday: I spent way more time downtown that day than I'd planned to.

I also had a question for Adrian, so I stopped by his office.

I mailed the Confirmation of Earnings form for my student loan, which took a while to do: the first time I tried, the power went off as soon as I entered the drug store where the Canada Post branch nearest to the school is, so I had to go back out again. I waited outside NSCAD for the power to come back on (all of Halifax was out, including all the traffic lights). When it did, I went back to Adrian's office (he'd been meeting with a student at the time I first showed up, and asked me to come back in about fifteen minutes). I got my question answered and then went back to the post office and mailed my COE.

The FireWire 800 port on my laptop has never worked properly, and I'd wanted to take it to the Mac repair place downtown since discovering the problem, but due to my fifteen-credit workload last year I didn't have the time to do so. The guy I talked to asked me to bring my computer, external hard drive and FireWire cable in the next day. So much for staying put for the next few days...

Friday: I went back to the Mac place, this time with my computer. I found out that it was still under warranty (I'd been concerned about that, as Tom and I had cracked open the bottom in order to put in more RAM). I also found out that taking the bottom off the computer doesn't void the warranty--it's an old wives' tale, though I think the guy said that it used to be true. Some info refuses to die... As of that day, the computer was under warranty for another week. He had a look, tried a few things, and determined that it could be the logic board, which he would order (and which would be insanely expensive if the computer was no longer under warranty).

Afterward, I checked out a local record store--and bought a couple CDs for a really good price (one by the Bergen Philharmonic and one by the Berlin Philharmonic that Amazon reviewers seem to either like or dislike, with very little grey area. It's not the best CD that I've ever bought, but it's decent. The Bergen Philharmonic CD, on the other hand, is spectacular.). I then went to my favourite café and spent the rest of the day doing the reading for APC and working on the first presentation, which is about my influences.

Saturday: More putzing around the apartment, plus competing with others on my floor for the washer and dryer (while every floor has its own laundry room, there's only one washer/dryer set per floor). I spent the afternoon doing homework with my roommate.

Sunday: I finally finished the readings for APC and have mostly finished the presentation.