It's that "sweet and sour" or "bittersweet" if you prefer, ;-) time of year at AC when graduation is within days, and it is time for many of the AC students to move away from college and part ways going different directions and places to "start their lives." I get to know some of the students really well, and they become like extended family siblings, so it's exciting to see them taking their education out to share in the right way, yet it's sad b/c you know you won't be able to call them up or email them to ask if they want to come over or go out etc, and you know you'll never see them pass by your desk, or maybe I should say run by your desk with their busy schedules to make sure they make it to class on time, again. Usually the next time that I see them is a year or two later, and they are either married with a child, or without one, or still single just coming into town for a quick visit usually on a weekend of a big activity, but it's only for the weekend b/c they have to get back to their jobs and lives, and it's not the same though it is positive because they have grown in their lives, and it's nice to see them as adults living their lives properly. A few of us took advantage of a few free hours we had earlier this week and ate out kind of as a way to say a pleasant "time to say goodbye." :-) We were happy to run into the Irwin's at the restaurant who sat at the booth adjoining to our booth. Victoria, Danielle, and Erica will be so missed along with the rest who are moving on.
Food from our goodbye dinner
BELOW: The lovely Underwood family from a far away country here for both of their children's AC college graduation. I met them years ago randomly on a plane in Denver and didn't even know who they were, and it was before Danielle was at college, and we coincidentally had assigned seats on the plane right next to each other, and we had both just flown into the USA from two totally different countries that we had been on vacation in, and connected in Denver. Wild card meeting!
BELOW: The sweet Olsen Fam here for their fam, Arianne's AC grad. Arianne has become like a little sister.
BELOW: My week is not too busy since I'm not a high school or college student about to graduate, oh you didn't know that! ;-), and I don't have any family graduating, so in the evenings this week since most of the activities are for grads and their families around here, I'm taking advantage of the extra time and practicing the piano. I've come a long ways on the Chopin Waltz Opus 69 No 1 since I started it. I have the first page down and am now moving to the second page. It's three pages long. I won the battle with the tricky fingering, and once that battle was won, the song itself wasn't nearly as complicated as it seemed. Below is a video of that progress. Elyssia gave me a looooong...it's 8 pages with all of the movements.....Beethoven piece, Sonata 20 G Major Opus 49 No 2, to learn as I finish learning this Chopin piece to tie me over while she's gone on the Senior trip and transitioning before we crank up lessons again in a few weeks via video! Exciting! She said that overall this semester I'd grown in not "pounding" the keys as much but being more gentle with them, and I've learned to add a little more emotion into my playing in which I apparently severely lacked before which is a big technical accomplishment. I still have to work on doing both things way better though. Having Elyssia as a piano teacher is definitely a fruit of her AC career here in which I'm grateful. Mr. Mark Jenkins was her piano teacher here through the AC music program, and ironically, he's the one that gave me my piano years ago, so what a blessing AC has been with the students passing down what they've been taught. His piano is being put to use now along with his lessons that he gave Elyssia. I told her jokingly that she should start a bigger business of teaching online students since that is popular these days, and call her online studio "Fur Elise." ;-) If you're not into music enough to get that pun, google can help you. ;-) Looking forward to AC grad in a few days, a private grad party afterwards, and then IA grad. Great week ahead in honoring graduates for many!
BELOW: The sweet Olsen Fam here for their fam, Arianne's AC grad. Arianne has become like a little sister.
BELOW: My week is not too busy since I'm not a high school or college student about to graduate, oh you didn't know that! ;-), and I don't have any family graduating, so in the evenings this week since most of the activities are for grads and their families around here, I'm taking advantage of the extra time and practicing the piano. I've come a long ways on the Chopin Waltz Opus 69 No 1 since I started it. I have the first page down and am now moving to the second page. It's three pages long. I won the battle with the tricky fingering, and once that battle was won, the song itself wasn't nearly as complicated as it seemed. Below is a video of that progress. Elyssia gave me a looooong...it's 8 pages with all of the movements.....Beethoven piece, Sonata 20 G Major Opus 49 No 2, to learn as I finish learning this Chopin piece to tie me over while she's gone on the Senior trip and transitioning before we crank up lessons again in a few weeks via video! Exciting! She said that overall this semester I'd grown in not "pounding" the keys as much but being more gentle with them, and I've learned to add a little more emotion into my playing in which I apparently severely lacked before which is a big technical accomplishment. I still have to work on doing both things way better though. Having Elyssia as a piano teacher is definitely a fruit of her AC career here in which I'm grateful. Mr. Mark Jenkins was her piano teacher here through the AC music program, and ironically, he's the one that gave me my piano years ago, so what a blessing AC has been with the students passing down what they've been taught. His piano is being put to use now along with his lessons that he gave Elyssia. I told her jokingly that she should start a bigger business of teaching online students since that is popular these days, and call her online studio "Fur Elise." ;-) If you're not into music enough to get that pun, google can help you. ;-) Looking forward to AC grad in a few days, a private grad party afterwards, and then IA grad. Great week ahead in honoring graduates for many!
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