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13.06.04, 1:26 pm I'm coming home tomorrow, doo da, doo da. So yeah, it's the last day of Scotia Fest, and we have our big Messaiaen concert this afternoon at 4. Then party party party. I'm flying out tomorrow at 7:50 am for TO in a plane full of hungover Festival people. It should be fun. This morning we didn't have rehearsal till 11, so Emily, Megan, Scott and I got up at 8 and went to Point Pleasant Park. It was very nice, though sparsely forested after the hurricane got to it. Then we went for breakfast before the rehearsal. Anyways, I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, like my bruvvers, and Annwar, and Dave's new car, and I suppose I might have to look at my parents once or twice....... KATYA 07.06.04, 2:32 pm HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYY. Well, I went and saw Harry Potter. It was OK. Did anybody else notice how his scar kept switching sides? Anyways, I'm bored right now because I don't have another rehearsal till 4:30. We had a masterclass with our Appalachian Spring ensemble this morning with Alain Trudel, and that was fun. He's such a cool guy. I have the night off tonight (kinda) so I'm debating what to do. I could go see Raising Helen, or I could go to a bar and watch The Game, or I could stay at home and read. We'll see. Saturday we went to some people's house in Duncan's Cove and had a big lobster feast and then I went on a two and a half hour hike in my bare feet. My feet are still dirty and it's been two days. But it was so much fun, but now my knees hurt like the bejeesus. Jumping on rocks just isn't good for the knees. Anyhoo, I'm going to the Freshmart for some groceries, because these creepy guys stole my food out of the fridge at the rez. KATYA 01.06.04, 11:45 am Well, I'm in Halifax, but I'm mostly just posting to tell you to check out the new site I started with my friend Michelle. However, I must warn you it's very left-wing political, so if you're not into that tree hugging crap, then don't bother. Anyways, here's the address: http://jackisahottie.blogspot.com KATYA 11.05.04, 11:14 pm Well, I am alive. It's true. Lots of cool things have happened, but I'm too lazy to type them all out, so here's a brief summary: Blue Jays/Leafs game, May the 4th be with you, SBD, and I have another recital on Sunday. Mom's coming, even though I tried to explain that every dollar spent on a plane ticket was one less dollar that she could spend on me..... Check out my program. Yeah, so, uh, that's about it. I heard it was snowing in Saskatchewan. It was 26 degrees out today and I got a sunburn. Not to rub it in or anything..... I'm heading off to Halifax in a coupla weeks, and then I'm coming home on the 14th of June, to stay till Aug, when I go to Quebec. Too much flying, plus the 12 hour bus ride to Quebec city I have to look forward too, then a 2 hour stopover, then a 2 hour bus ride to La Malbaie, then a 30 minute bus ride to St-Irenee. Yippeekaiyay. KATYA 08.04.04, 3:30 pm OMG!!!! The new full Harry Potter trailer is on apple!!! I can't wait for this movie!!! Also, in other news, I got hundred dollar sunglasses yesterday for free, and I ate lots of chocolate today (sorry mom, but you knew I would have to open it). KATYA 05.04.04, 11:33 pm I got this forward from one of my old friends from high school who I haven't talked to in about a year, but it wasn't your regular forward and I felt compelled to post it. It was a message from her friend Ellen about the upcoming federal election that hasn't been called yet, but we all know it's only a matter of time. So here it is: Dear friends/family/etc., Today I received a letter in the mail from my grandparents, who told me about the successful NDP nominations of Nettie Wiebe in Saskatoon-Humboldt, Don Kossick in Blackstrap, and Dennis Gruending in Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar. Because I can’t be there to campaign for these amazing people in the imminent federal election, I’m writing every citizen of Saskatchewan I know to get them to vote NDP. I figure I have to prove first of all that the NDP is cool and then that it’s worth it to vote for them. So here goes: The NDP is Cool I never thought I’d type those words, but it’s true. The NDP stagnated somewhat under Alexa McDonough (and before that, too), failing to stand up against the secretive Free Trade Area of the Americas summit in Quebec City until it was nearly too late, suggesting painfully few new ideas in parliament, letting the other federal parties get away with murder, and being wishy-washy in general. But Jack Layton swept the federal NDP nomination last year, leaving his opponents so far behind that only an initial preferential vote was needed. He has opposed: the ‘Star Wars’ missile defence system proposed by our good friend Bush, two-tier health care, sexism, homophobia, racism (particularly against First Nations people), etc. He is committed to: the environment, labour, social security, welfare, Medicare, etc. There has been a definite shift to the left under the leadership of this bicycle-ridin’, peace-lovin’ leader. So the NDP is cool. You Should Vote for the NDP Interestingly enough, voting for the NDP is actually strategically sound in this election. There are a few trends common to federal politics that are now in our favour. One is what I call the ‘pendulum’ – whenever an area has been overwhelmingly represented by a certain party for a long time, and especially when the people of that area have become disgruntled by that leadership (*cough*Pankiw*cough*), the electorate nearly always swings back with great force and votes for the party that is most unlike the one in power. This is especially true in Saskatchewan; because we don’t vote Liberal, the power tends to rotate from the NDP to the Reform/Canadian Alliance/Progressive Conservatives/Conservative Party and back again. Proof that we don’t vote Liberal: in Saskatchewan, federal votes for the Liberals have exceeded votes for the NDP only once since 1963. Period. Also, Saskatoon has only elected two federal Liberals since 1979. Proof that the pendulum will shift back to the NDP in the next election: The Canadian Alliance has three out of three seats in Saskatoon, an extreme that has not been maintained by any party in several decades (if ever; I didn’t check back that far). Also: Jim Pankiw, Jim Pankiw, Jim Pankiw. Something else that helps is the current partisan occupation of the political spectrum. The dynamic is looking particularly good due to the Liberals’ right-wing shift under Paul Martin; the NDP is in a position to grab all left-wing votes, certainly, but the ‘I’m-a-really-bloody-pissed-off-Liberal’ votes as well. Here is my complex, digitally constructed diagram of the political spectrum: RIGHT-Conservatives----Liberals–CENTRE---------------------NDP---------LEFT See all the blank space? It’s all near the NDP, which proves that they’re going to grab a lot of votes. Plus: Thank you, current Liberal scandal; you will anger many people. And: Thank you, George W. (I have never, ever said this before), for pushing the Canadian electorate to the left with your fanatically conservative ‘rhetoric.’ Now let’s look at the people. Layton, as I said before, is unbelievably popular. Nettie Wiebe, Don Kossick, and Dennis Gruending are three of the best known, most respected, and long-term community members Saskatoon possesses. If anyone can secure the NDP vote, it’s those guys. Moral of the story: the NDP can and will win. Abusing the System Okay, I don’t really mean abuse. I meant use. Frankly, this election is going to come down to voter turnout. Saskatchewan was at a pitiful 62% in the last election, down from 78% in 1988. Ouch. Turnout among voters who were eligible to vote for the first time was at an all-time low as well, at 22.4% country-wide. The Saskatoon ridings have between 30,000 and 32,000 eligible voters each, meaning that around 18,000 to 20,000 people per riding are likely to vote if the trend continues. Those votes are likely to be split among the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, the NDP, the New Green Alliance, and whichever Independents feel like going for it (sigh . . . Jim Pankiw, perhaps). At the very most, the NDP will need a majority – so a generous guess of 10,000 per riding. I have e-mailed this message to approximately 100 people; if each of you gets 10 people to vote NDP, that’s 1000 people – probably about four or five percent of the total votes in Saskatoon. Seeing as we only need 50% (tops – probably way less), that makes a huge difference. Tons of elections are won or lost by margins smaller than that. By now you’re probably saying, "But Ellen, that’s still only three seats. Who the hell cares?" Well, Saskatoon only has three seats, but think of it this way: those are three seats the Conservative Party won’t get, thus closing in the margin between the CP and NDP (who are competing for the position of Official Opposition) by six seats. That’s huge. And just think – Canada probably wouldn’t have implemented Medicare if the NDP under our dear Tommy Douglas hadn’t been the official opposition in the early 60's. Not only is it absolutely possible to make a difference by getting a few votes for the NDP, but those few votes could very well end up contributing to an NDP Opposition, which could then spark some major changes in federal politics. In Closing Please please please please start campaigning even before the election is called. Once it is, volunteer to make phone calls in your neighbourhood. Bug everyone (everyone) you know with ridiculously long, over-zealously researched e-mails. This is my attempt at pre-bugging, since I may not be there when the election is called. Thank you to anyone who has managed to stay with me. I hope you’re all well, EQ P.S.: For my friends who play in bands . . . I came across a really neat idea that I hope you’ll try. Organise a show for shortly after the federal election, whenever it is, stipulating that the entrance fee be a voting receipt (or there could be an option to pay with money or a voting receipt so you guys still break even from tickets bought by people who are under 18). With the first-time voter turnout at 22.4%, that could make a huge difference. P.P.S.: For those of you who watched the provincial debate final the year I was in grade 8 (was that 1999? 2000?) or for those who have watched the Diefenbaker Cup debates in the last couple of years, debater extraordinaire Erin Weir is running in the Wascana riding as an NDP candidate. I just had to look up where that riding was, because it includes a whole bunch of obscure little towns I’d never even heard of. Oh, and a significant part of Regina. So if you know anyone from southeast Regina, bug them too. Thanks. I thought that was pretty cool, so I decided to post it as opposed to email it to everyone I know, who most of them already are politically active and vote NDP, except the people who don't love me. They're crazy and therefor don't vote NDP. So get out there and enjoy your democracy!!!! On another note, I went to Die Walkure at the COC today. I love the COC. mmmmmm..COC.... Yeah, so, the Ring. It's what Tolkein ripped off to write LOTR. Except with more incest. And alot more singing. And less hobbits. But basically there's a ring of power fished out of a river by a troll-like creature, and coveted by the got Wotan, and the warrior Seigfried sets out with his father's broken sword which becomes unbroken to retrieve the ring. Sound familiar? But anyways, it was the opening show and the Governor General came and so we all had to stand and sing O Canada, so Michelle and I used our operatic voices and sang harmonies, and it was funny. But the opera was 4 and a half hours so basically my entire afternoon/day was gone. But anyways, it was really good, except the staging. Atom Egoyan was the director, but he sucks major ass at directing opera. The sets were just wierd. Apparently in Norse mythology they had scaffolding everywhere. And mainly the characters just stood in one spot for and entire act and sang. I must admit I fell asleep a couple of times. I mean, you just can't watch people stand still amidst scaffolding for 4 and a half hours. It's boring. And unfortunatly, that overshadowed the fantastic job the singers and especially the orchestra did. I've played some of that music and it is damn hard. At the start of the third act it's the ride of the Valkyries, and the Valkyries are supposed to be flying around the stage on their horses and singing, and in this production the stage was littered with bodies wrapped in bedsheets that they threw to eachother. Which especially made no sense when the libretto talks about reining your horses etc. The audience actually started to laugh when one of the Valkyries sang 'rein your steed' and then threw a body to another Valkyrie. It was just too absurd. The problem with getting someone like Atom Egoyan to direct opera is that he tries to bring his own vision to the opera. But the direction and set are supposed to support the music, not distract from it. Of course, the upside to having him direct is that he's 'a name' and therefor they generated alot of publicity. Way more than any other production they did this year. Anyhoo, that's my long rant for today. I hope yous guys back home are enjoying your nice weather, cause it was frikkin freezin here today. Damn you!!! KATYA 28.03.04, 11:00 am Well, nothing has been happening, but I thought I should maybe update or something. There's only a monthish of school left, which is nice. The weather's starting to warm up here in TO. So lets see, um, I wrote a trio for my theory class. It really sucks, but hey, I composed something. And, we had this chamber week where we put together 3 chamber works in a week then performed them, and Michelle and I met this Australian guy on the bus going home from rehearsal one night, and we told him to come to our concert, and he actually did!!! It was hilarious!!!! It's orchestra week, and we have a really cool program. We're playing Prokofiev's Classical Symphony, Ravel Sheherazade (with the winner of the concerto competition singing), and Mussorsky/Ravel's Pictures at an Exhibition. Pictures is such a killer piece. It's totally awsome. I think I'm gonna have to get a cheapass Naxos recording of it. Anyways, that's my news. I have no life, so conversely have nothing to report. KATYA 09.03.04, 12:00 am  My life is rated R. What is your life rated? KATYA 01.03.04, 4:43 pm It's just not fair. It's like they want me to suffer. This morning I dragged myself out of bed at 7 to go to school and practice before my rehearsal at 10, and was totally too tired to deal with the fact that the TTC has turned my school's subway stop into a gigantic iPod ad. It's just not fair!!!!!! I WANT to buy an iPod; I just don't have any money to buy it with. It's cruel and unusual torture. Even the garbage cans have iPod ads on them. On another note, I picked up some film that I got developed that had been sitting on my shelf for a while, and discovered an entire roll of it was from when I went to Japan in summer 2002. As you can see I'm really on top of things..... We had an orchestra concert on Friday night, and I almost missed the stupid concert because the streetcar was down, but they didn't tell any of us who were sitting there waiting. They actually held up the concert for us, because it was Jean Hee and I who got screwed by the streetcar, plus I had Catherine's dress clothes, and she was sitting assistant concert master. We ended up getting there right at 8 (when the concert was supposed to start) and we ran in, took out our instruments, and ran onstage. I was really pissed off though. I left my house at 6:30 and I was STILL almost late for the concert. Yargh! KATYA 23.02.04, 1:20 am I thought Peter MacKay's yearbook photo was mean, but whoever dug up James Marsters' old yearbook photo is just MEAN> Ouch. KATYA 22.02.04, 11:10 am Well, my recital went okay, and then my folks were here. We went out sightseeing all day on Saturday, and then on Sunday we went to Casa Loma. Damn, I want to build a castle to live in. Then my parents left on Sunday afternoon and I got Cayley all to myself!!! But sadly, school started again and so I had classes and stuff. But not too much, because that would be crazy. Oh, and I also got a really bad cold the day after my recital, and I'm just feeling better now. The good thing about that is I got to miss some classes because I was so disgustingly sick...... I also mailed out cds of my recital to the summer programs I'm applying to, and decided that the mail is a huge ripoff. Anyways, I think Cayley had fun, and he says he's gonna post a review of toronto on his site. So watch for that. That's about it....I just thought I should maybe update. Even I wouldn't read this site I update it so infrequently. KATYA 10.02.04, 12:12 pm I always knew that Oliver kid was psycho. Anyways, it's reading week, but it's also my recital on Friday, so no rest for the wicked. Last year I don't think I picked up my viola once during reading week. Ah, those heady, carefree days. Anyways, that's about all that's happening. Just counting down till Friday, and cleaning the living room so my parents will have a place to sleep.... KATYA 30.01.04, 11:42 am Well, I'm at school trying to waste some time, and I thought to myself, "Self, you haven't updated your asstastic site in a while." So here I am. Uh, my recital is 2 weeks from today, and I have yet to fully memorize my concerto. But on the upside my thumb is healing nicely and I no longer have to wear a band-aid 24/7. And with the really good news, I'm going to see Rick Mercer tonight!!! Whoo. So y'all have to watch Monday Report on Monday (8, 7 Central) and see if you can hear my obnoxious laughter. Um, yeah, so that's really about it. It's also 2 weeks till ma famille comes. What to do with them, I know not. I live in this big city with tons of stuff to do, but I never do anything. I go to school, I go home, I practice, I eat, and I sleep. I don't even know any restaurants that aren't "fast" food or bars. Oh well. Time to drown my sorrows in a pita before my rehearsal. KATYA 19.01.04, 12:38 pm Well, my life isn't really exciting, but I thought I'd update. Catherine's housesitting for her aunt and uncle this week, so of course we took our laundry over yesterday and spent 6 hours doing laundry. It was slow, but hey, free. I downloaded some yoga videos off Kazaa, so I've been doing yoga every day. It's kinda nice. Plus, I got a subscription to The Star, so now I can get up in the mornings, have a cuppa tea, and read my paper!! Life is good. Actually, it's kinda sad when all I want in life is to sit and read the paper and drink tea. Oh well. Simple minds need simple pleasures. The only major thing is that my UofT quartet is now celloless. It's a long story, but basically we had to let Laura go. I like her as a person and everything, and I liked hanging out with her, but the group dynamic just wasn't there. So yeah, unless we can find another cellist, we're going to play trios I guess. There's this really cool Kodaly one that I did last year with some sucky violinists and it was pretty dissappointing, so I'd love to do it with good players. Okay....so, that's really about it. KATYA 13.01.04, 12:48 pm Party at my place!!!! Catherine and I are the only ones here till Friday, because Peter moved out with his gf, and Tom's in Thunder Bay. So yeah, I now finally have my own room. The space!!! It's amazing. I haven't really been doing much, mostly trying to take it kinda easy, as my thumb is still healing. I have however already reserved my tickets to not one, but three tapings of Monday Report with Rick Mercer. Cath, Michelle and I got tickets, and we're very excited. Cause Rick Mercer's hot. And funny of course. Did you know that the Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan has over 60 million dollars invested in Phillip Morris Tobacco? And they also own the majority of Caddilac Fairview, which is the company that owns most of the malls in Ontario, including the Eaton's Centre. Fun facts c/o Monday Report. So yeah, that's my life. It's very exciting. KATYA 05.01.04, 11:58 am Well, I'm back in T-dot. I got home at 1:30ish from the airport, cause my plane was about 2 hours late.... And then I unpacked and caught up on all the Xmas gossip with Cath. Everybody's practicing right now, but I'm not allowed to. Doctor's orders. My scar opened up when I was practicing on Sunday night, and so I went to the doctor yesterday morning, and he told me I'm not allowed to play until Wed. And he put a big bandage on my thumb so I can't hurt it more. *sigh* Maybe I should invest in some kevlar gloves...... It's nice and balmy here - only -5. As opposed to in S'toon where it was -40. Well, I must go. I downloaded the OC's latest ep off bit torrent, and it is a moral imperative that I watch it before class. KATYA 24.12.03, 5:23 pm Well, I had a fun night last night!!! I had my Spiritoso Strings concert, then Jessa and I went to Rainblow to see Intolerable Cruelty, then I came home and made some pie. And while making pie, I took a nice chunk out of my left thumb and had to go to the emergency room at St. Paul's at 1:30 am to get stitches. Yay. My thumb hurts..... Here's my special tidbit for the day, courtesy of the January edition of Maxim, on magazine stands now: DEF LEPPARD DRUMMER LENDS A HAND When Rick Allen lost his left arm after a car accident on New Year's Eve in 1984, many believed he'd never pound the skin again. A few years later he proved them wrong, helping his band crank out Hysteria. Then the people said, "Sure, he can drum, but can he still beat his wife?" In '95 Allen answered the naysayers by gallantly assaulting his missus in an LAX airport bathroom. His example remains a beacon to crippled assholes everywhere. KATYA 20.12.03, 4:55 pm So, I'm home now, but it was quite an ordeal. I still don't have my luggage......they're supposed to be delivering it tonight sometime. So, the plane was a little late arriving in Toronto, so we started boarding when we were supposed to leave, but that would have only made us about 10 min late or so. But then once everybody was on the plane and belted in, they announce that some guy didn't get on the plane, but his luggage was checked, so they have to unload all the luggage to find his bag. So they do that, and then I guess they just didn't load the luggage back on.... but that's later. So, they do that, then they announce that we have to go get our wings de-iced. Blah. So about an hour after we were supposed to leave we're only in the lineup for the runway. We finally take off, and the plane lands in Regina first at about 11:30, so as soon as we landed I called home on my cellphone. Mom answers and she immediatly thinks I'm mad cause they're late to pick me up, and I have to explain how I'm going to be another hour cause we're only in Regina. So we finally get into Saskatoon and Cayley and Dad and Anne are there to meet me, and we're sitting around waiting for my luggage. The belt starts moving, and about 10 or 15 suitcases come out, and me and Cayley are joking about how my suitcase is lost. And so people pick up there suitcases, and the belt gets empty. Then it stops, and they announce over the loudspeakers that they're just checking to make sure that that's all the luggage there is. And 3/4 of the plane is standing there going, 'that better not be all the luggage!' and then about a minute later they announce that that's all the baggage and if you don't have yours you should report to the baggage claim desk. Stupid Air Canada. I really hate them. Plus, my suitcase was full of filthy clothes, so they're going to be giving off a nice stench by now. And I had no clothes to wear today. Blech. But I'm home now with my family and my katzen, and all is well in the world. KATYA 17.12.03, 5:30 pm Right, so I have my mock audition this morning. We all had to show up at 9 am to draw lots, and luckily I drew 10:20, as opposed to Senja who got 2:30. So I was done pretty quick, and I think I did okay. I fudged my Haydn variation a little, but the Ravel was okay. So, I heard that C already went to see LOTR. Well, damn. I really wanted to do a trilogy Tuesday, but I had my english exam, and this whole audition thing. I was gonna go today, but instead I came home and slept, so I think I'll go tomorrow. I want to go to a matinee cause it's cheaper. Plus it's showing at Market Square, which is always a good thing. KATYA 16.12.03, 8:42 pm Well, I stayed up till 2:30am last night studying for string lit, and I think it paid off. I don't think I failed. I just wrote English, and I think it went okay. I wasn't too happy with my essay, but they don't really give you much time to think and come up with some well thought out ideas. So my only thing left is mock auditions at 9 am tomorrow!! Whoo!! I have to go practice my excerpts now. They're pretty easy, except for the Haydn Variations, this one part of the Mozart 35, and the Ravel Mother Goose solo. blargh. But then I'm done!!!! AND I'm going home on Friday!!!!!! Huzzah! KATYA 15.12.03, 10:14 pm I'm studying for String Literature right now. Yargh. I can never remember the numbers of things. Even things I've played. Like the Mozart Piano Quintet in g minor, Kochel I don't know. 1something. Blargh. And it's annoying studying with Catherine and Michelle cause they're so much better at recognizing stuff than me. Anyhoo, my exam's at 9 am tomorrow. It's cruel and unusual torture. Then I have my english exam at 6 pm. And I have to study my grammar. And practice for mock auditions on wed cause you should have heard me today. It was pretty damn bad. Anyways, I had to take and OC break from studying. It was a moral imperative. I'm going home on Friday!!!! Yay!!! I have most of my shopping done. Except dad and Donovan. I have no idea what to get Donovan. I think I might just go to Shmatta when I get home and get him a tshirt or something. Did you know that Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf worked for a guy called Spork. Fun fact. Anyways, I should probably concentrate now. KATYA p.s. check it out. I cleaned up the main page finally, after about 6 months!!!!!!!!! 08.12.03, 7:51 pm It's been kind of a crappy week. I was really really sick and missed a bunch o school, plus my Aunt Phyllis died. We always used to go to their farm for Easter when we were little - my mom said that they practiced being grandparents on us. She was really sick for a while though, so it wasn't really unexpected. Just sad, cause she was such a wonderful lady. I'm just sorry I missed the funeral, as I heard a big contigent of the Woloshyn clan went. Now, onto news. I've added a new section, called Music Stuff. It's part of my whole using this page for my assignment thing. I even made a crappy icon for it on the left menu. Check it out. Download the recordings. There's more where that came from, baby. KATYA 03.12.03, 4:44 pm Well, I went and saw a doctor today, and he said it's either 50/50 a cold or strep, but he won't know till my throat swab comes back on Fri. I'm pretty sure it's not just a cold though. Usually when I have a cold I can still swallow..... He also said that if I'm still sick on monday, I have to get tested for mono, which I'm so sure I don't have, so whatever. But anyhoo, I wrote my theory final this afternoon, then I came home to rest up. English be damned! KATYA 01.12.03, 11:06 pm J'ai mal. J'ai tres mal. J'ai mal a la tete, and I have a fever. GRR Argh! So I'm going to go to bed. KATYA P.S. Happy Christmukkah |
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