"We're not Fascists"

Wow...so it's been a while...like a whole semester.
 So it's safe to say college keeps a body pretty busy. With that being said, there's still time for the weird, insane, and charming. Here's the story of the morning:
 First of all, today has an expected high of 69 degrees. So hooray to that. Strolling down to the music school, I stopped at one of my favorite coffee food trucks and ordered a small coffee. As he rinsed out my thermos, I realized that I forgot my wallet. Shit.  I explained yada yada before he filled the mug. His response? "That's fine, you can just pay me later..or tomorrow or something. It's not like we're fascists." I couldn't help but laugh. We're not fascists? Couldn't help but laugh.

Cloud Coffee
Back in the USSR - The Beatles

Every girl's crazy about a sharp dressed man

It's true. Gotta love concert days. 

Sharp Dressed Man - ZZ Top

The Creperie

The Creperie. Always a great meal, friendly service, and a "Have a good day, Sweetheart" (pronounced sweet-hawt). Located right next to the music building, it's become a frequent stop of mine. 
They say you learn something new every day. Today? Crepes taste better when shared with old friends.

Friends theme song

Lazy Sunday

In the spirit of a relaxing Sunday, I sit and write this in the clothes I slept in. Have I gone anywhere today? Nope. And you can bet that I will wait til the last minute to get ready to meet friends tonight. 

But not all is lost on this Sunday afternoon, no. Today was another course in Korean culture courtesy of my wonderful Korean room mates. After we started with some basic phrases a couple days ago, we've continued to work on our new found vocabularies - mostly concerning food. Lesson today? "Korean Sushi", "kimbap" (sometimes spelled "gimbap"). Would you like to write this in Korean? Here you go, 김밥. The first word, 김 simply means seaweed and the second word, 밥 means rice. You got it, seaweed rice. It's filled with all sorts of other Korean goodies like pickled radish, something that tastes sort of like beef jerky but is somehow not a meat, egg, lettuce, ham, "bulgogi" - a marinaded and cooked beef, tuna; you name it. And holy shit is it good. The slightly salty jerky-tasting-thing balances perfectly with the mildly sweet pickled radish. 

A note on the Korean language, unlike Mandarin,  the symbols used are not just pictures, they are actually individual letters. I haven't figured out how to arrange them yet, but I do know each has a specific sound. Ya learn something every day.

Leessang - "Turned off the TV" This is a very popular Korean song right now. I can't hear the translation without giggling a little. The chorus roughly translates to "Turn off the TV and close the blinds so I can f*** you". Keeping it classy, Korea, keepin' it classy.

If anyone still reads this...another cultually exciting day in North Philadelphia

 
 After an anything-but-blissful morning, causing myself physical and emotional pain with a bassoon, and forgetting both my wallet and keys in my apartment I had had about enough.  Ready to collapse into the fetal position on our industrial (and surely bacteria ridden) couch, as I opened the door - leaning on it to open due to a lack of motivation and energy - I was enveloped in a cloud of fumes that could have only come from freshly baked cookies.  Had I closed my eyes I could have believed I was sitting in my Gramma's house on Christmas Eve.  I could feel the stress melt away. Thank God for cookies and baking. And my room mate thanks God for me - because she can't bake worth a damn. 

Halfway through making a second batch of buttercream icing, we ran out of powdered sugar. Oh, we also ran out of milk and eggs. Easy solution since we live next to a grocery store. Call me a woman, I love going grocery shopping. It's therapeutic. Grocery shopping in here in North Philly usually gives me the same happy satisfied feelings inside..but a little different. This is after all, the city of brotherly love. Take that as you will, it's true. My cultural experience of the day occurred as I walked past a Muslim man on my way to Fresh Grocer. At 4:30 on the dot I saw him roll out a rug and begin to pray. I always knew Muslims prayed 5 times a day, but growing up in a tiny rural town I had only ever knows a couple Muslim kids who were not very strict in their practice. Perhaps the best word to describe my situation there is intrigued. I think I might take a Muslim culture study for my religion GenEd...
Sauntering down the fruit aisle, I stop to look at the strawberry prices.  Here at good ol' FroGro produce, especially fruit, is overpriced. "$2.99". No strawberries today. The middle aged woman next to me had a similar reaction to my own, shaking her head as she picked up apples instead. I recommend she go to the Italian Market where I buy them at about fifty cents a box. She thanked me, but explained she didn't drive and traveling by subway was difficult for her at the age of eighty-one. WHAT? "Ma'am, you're not 81, you can't be," "I swear I am!" she replied adamantly. 
I swear black people don't age.
The rest of my adventure in FroGro was pretty ordinary. Oh, except for the guy with a handgun shoved obviously in the side of his waistband. Isn't it called a concealed weapons permit? (Keepin' it classy I see...keepin' it classy.) Laden down with groceries (there was a sale on soy milk), I hobbled outside with the plastic bags digging into my hands when I heard "HEY MA YOU NEED HELP WITH THEM BAGS?" You get used to this after a while, and learn to not look and just keep walking. Even though I did want to yell back "DO I LOOK LIKE YOUR MAMA?" Three steps. "HEY BABY GIRL YOU NEED SOME HELP?" Step, step, step, step. 
I got home just in time to save my room mate's latest batch of cookies. Now I'm here with her, her male friend from some physics class, and my man, getting down with some Latin tunes. My life - North Philly style.
 Eso Ehh - Alexis y Fido

Vulgar quotes of the day courtesy of my room mate

"And then they'll probably go home and have sex in the same missionary position because they're too ashamed to do anything else creative"

Thank you to my hilarious favorite room mate. 

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia?

No, it's not.

California Dreamin'

For the children I will maybe have possibly theoretically someday far in the future if that ever happens...

 Because I care, and love you even though you don't exist and may never exist, I will personally take it upon myself to ensure you have the best music teachers and directors the area has to offer. Or we will move. 
Sitting in my Music Ed. classes, I take a daily look around the room (if my eyes are open enough) and examine the young future music educators around me. Some, I've walked up to and informed them of my hope that they will be the one to instruct my theoretically-possible-maybe-someday-in-the-future-child. They have a passion and a talent for both music and teaching and combine the two with the utmost ease and perfection. It is these people who will to educate my children.
These are the thoughts that run through my mind when the idiot next to me probably can't manage to educate himself, much less the future youth of America.

Second Floor

Doing some boring GenEd homework can be pretty rough. Doing boring GenEd homework on the jazz floor - sooo much better. First of all, listening to the guy (well it's jazz so I'm assuming it's a guy) down the hall jam out on sax in his poorly soundproofed practice room reminds me how freeing the genre can be. (Ohh baby, now he's got a set with him. Music-gasm - aka music orgasm, the overwhelming pleasure one achieves while listening to incredible and passionate music. Damn.)
Circling back, interesting people hang out here. And by interesting, I mean the most creative and diverse menagerie of twenty-somethings from every ethnicity and sexual orientation.  Yes, I went there. Because it's true. There's a guy wearing pants twice as tight as mine.
Can't wait for someone to finish up in their practice room so I can go use it...

 

On a foodie note, I finally visited the crepe truck parked right outside the music building. It boasts #1 ratings in Philadelphia for street/food-truck cuisine. I got one of their "savory" varieties with all the veggies, grilled chicken, melted cheese, jalapeños, taziki, and Sriracha hot sauce. All wrapped up in a delightfully but not overpoweringly eggy crepe exterior. Mmmmmmmm. On your next visit to Philly, or particularly Temple University, a trip to the Creperie is a must.  (sadly I cannot take credit for these photos. a big thank you to whoever did)

Antisocial

 

I'm not going to even attempt to sugar coat this. When I'm here in the cafe there's nothing better than just being left completely alone and therefore in my own little world. But what is a girl to do when people are sitting all around the table that are just a tad too weird for my own good? Being in an school for music and the arts, these types of people are more common than not. 
Easy solution. Plug in your Beats , crank up the volume on your "Zen Out" Spotify playlist and look like there's intense work to be done. (Like this blog. I think it's pretty intense, eh?)
Then comes the wonderful relaxing feeling of being in your very own matrix. A world has now been created completely for one's self, by one's self. Enjoy this magical place.

I almost forgot to add music!!!!!
Apartment - Young the Giant 

Weekends

At this point it is officialy Thursday - past the (you guessed it) hump day. Here's my question to ponder for the day: How do people have the energy to go out on a Friday night or any weekend evening for that matter?  My epic weekend plans?  Got a date with me and my bed with the new episode of Covert Affairs on. 

Sounds like a win for this girl :)


Also, I was listening to this earlier and it just fit so perfectly into my day :)
 Glad to be Unhappy - Chris Botti & John Mayer - if you haven't listened to any of the other music I've posted, especially make an effort today to listen to this one. Jazz trumpet and John Mayer? Match made in heaven.

Birthdays

Korean Style Chopsticks

So I may have taped Korean-style chopsticks all over my room mate's walls for her birthday...

As part of my cultural education here on the global floor, I learned that Koreans do not use the same type of silly wood chopsticks as the rest of their Asian neighbors. Instead, they use a shorter, stainless steel version. 
I have 2 Korean room mates in my apartment. Both from Seoul, both from traditional Korean families. As I had mentioned in a previous post, there is a lot of cross-cultural education going on in our little hole in the wall that we call home. Getting to the point here, one of my room mates remembered to bring her chopsticks from Korea, one forgot. Over Korean dinner one night, these funny little chopsticks came into conversation and how much the girls here missed their utensils from back home. Sounds funny, yes. But what if someone told you that instead of eating with a soup spoon you had to use a ladle? So for her birthday, I found 10 sets of Korean chopsticks on Amazon and taped them all over her walls. There was a lot of excited clapping and laughter :)

That is all for now, and I leave you with some popular Korean music (even though American tunes are most common there)

C.N. Blue - I'm a Loner (that's the translation)

da new baby

Some Nights

Sunrise over TU. Not very impressive this morning.

Some nights you can't sleep. You just can't. So, instead of laying in bed and staring at the ceiling for hours on end, I decided to head over to (you guessed it) Presser for some late night practice. Seven hours, a visit from a friend, an impromptu jazz theory lesson, some blogging, and some solid time in a practice room, the sun rose. What a strange feeling. 
I was never the kind of kid that wanted to stay up all night with friends. I appreciate my sleep far too much for such shenanigans. But this was strangely...satisfying.  I was...productive. 

Weird.

Hard Days Night - The Beatles 

Unexpected Encounter

While walking to my usual practice spot this evening, I passed the same homeless man I do every day. Every day he asks me for a dollar. I don't carry cash with me, so I can honestly say no to him. But what can a dollar do for a homeless man in a wheelchair with one leg who only travels backward? I've taken to carrying a protein bar with me during the day, but when I do, of course I don't see him. 
This particular evening while taking my usual route, I saw him wheeling down the street perpendicular to me. To avoid the situation, I ducked into one of the many learning centers on campus where a man stood in the lobby washing the windows.  Immediately he asked if I was ok, if I needed help, etc. I explained my situation to the man, and he like many others  knew of the man in the wheelchair. I feel awful, I explained. What could be done to help this man? His response: "Pray for the guy. He needs it."

Philadelphia - the city of brotherly love. 

No soundtrack for this one. Take a moment to be thankful for what you have, and pray for those who don't have the blessings you do.

Quote Today

When you're feeling down, you can pull him out of your pocket, and he will say, "I want to return to my country and help. Music changes lives." - and this is yet another reason as to why I am positive I'm at the right place. 

Sunrise over Philly. I wish I could take credit for this photo.

Ok so I was a little blown away that anyone actually reads this...
But for those of you who do, every time I mention a band or song, the name is a link (usually to YouTube) where you can listen to it. Maybe it'll set the scene a little more for you. Ok or maybe it'll just be a song you listen to 30 seconds of. Either way, check it out. Hmmm...what to listen to now...something laid back for the morning like Pusher Love Girl - Justin Timberlake

Night Owl

My nights at Presser.

Night Owl - Little Big Town

That moment when you know you're at the exact place you should be. This realization has occurred to me before, but it came to me again last night after my late night practicing in Presser. And again this morning during one of my classes. I don't dread going to class at all. I am living the freaking dream. My homework? Practicing. What do I do when I'm stressed? Play. So, in essence, my homework is to relax. Biggest. Win. Ever. 


Now I just need to get a job once I graduate....

Living in the Moment - Jason Mraz

Quote courtesy of Jason Mraz

"It takes no time to fall in love, but it takes you years to know what love is"