An udpate!

Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I had a very busy last couple weeks of school and couldn't really find the time to collect my thoughts enough to write a post. My finals went well! I had 4 of them plus a jury. I feel pretty confident with how I did on all of the written finals and my jury went well, I forgot some words for a second, but then I recovered and it was fine. After my jury I hopped in my car and headed for home. It was a long ride, mostly in the dark (yuck) in my little car with no radio (I make up a lot of songs on my trips to and from school). Eventually though, I got home. I got home only to find out, however, that I am literally working 7 hours a day this entire week, except Christmas. I even work Christmas Eve! It's fine though, I really like working there and that equals lotsa moola for me! :)

Last night I got out of work at 4 and then Chantal and I went to Sakura to get sushi. The restaurant looks like crap from the outside. They really need to do something about the outward appearance of their business, but the inside is nice and the sushi is scrumptious. Then we went back to Chantal's and hung out and had one of of sleepovers that we have frequently. It was a good time. 

Right now I am sitting on the couch watching The Waltons Christmas Special (I LOVE THE WALTONS) and then I'm gonna hop in the shower and probably try to get some Christmas shopping done for a few people. Then I work tonight...wooo!

I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner. I feel like school just started and I've already got one semester out of the way! Time flies.

Alright, gotta get back to The Waltons. :)

Later, gators! 

A day in the life of Sarah...

So, I thought it'd be fun to do a blog relaying what a typical day for me is like. 

I left my apartment at around 8:30 this morning...

When I arrived at work, my co-worker Dominick was there to greet me with a smile!

Dominick is an academic advisor for the Explorations program, but he's also a very talented actor, singer, and director, so we have lots in common. Often times when there isn't much to do at work (..which really is often times), Dominick and I will have little chats about life. It's fun times.

After work I headed over to 1944 hall to wait for Music History to begin.
When I got there, Alan was eating his bagel and drinking apple juice, though I thought his apple juice looked like beer...

As you can see the 1944 halls fill up quickly! The building is always booming with activity...that's a big part of why I love my program so much, it's such a family atmosphere!

Music History then began...

After Music History, I had an hour break so I decided to go practice piano...

Then it was time for piano class...

I always meet Alyssa in the lobby after piano so we can go get lunch!

Then we headed over to the union and had lunch with Chris and Nate...

And then Craig stopped by to say hi...

After lunch I had singers...and I completely forgot to take pictures. Then I went home for a couple hours to have dinner and get some work done. At 6 it was time to head back to campus for a Side Show The Musical dance rehearsal...
Happy, smiling, dancey ladies!

Brianne, the choreographer, and Greg, the dance captain discuss something...

I left that rehearsal at around 8:30 and went downstairs to have a capella rehearsal with the newest mixed a capella group on campus! ALL NATURAL! :) We're great and it's filled with wonderful people...

We're making the musical "natural" sign in the picture...haha :)
So, I just got home from that...and now I've gotta do a tiny bit of homework and get to bed! I hope you enjoyed a day in the life of me!
Later, gators!

THE WEEK FROM HELL....

MY & ALAN'S REACTION TO THIS WEEK SUMMED UP IN A PICTURE:

Okay, so Alan and I just took this picture. We're in between classes. We just got out of music history and are waiting for our Sight Singing/Ear Training teacher to get here (it's in the same classroom). This week is insane crazy. I have so much due. SO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH DUE. Instead of eating today, I am spending my hour break in the library. So many papers, so many projects, so much stuff. Hopefully I make it through this week so I can blog more later. SIGH. Happy December, everyone.

Later, gators!

So much to catch up on!

Oh man...I haven't updated in like 28 years! A lot has happened! Last weekend I went to Camden with Alyssa, which was really fun. We went to see her sister in the Camden Hills Regional High School production of Beauty and the Beast. It was really good! Especially for being a high school show! Alyssa's sister, Kathryn, was a "silly girl"...you know, one of the girls that follows Gaston around and acts foolish. So, that was super fun!

Monday I sang in Recital Lab, which went well! It's nice to have that out of the way for the semester! Tuesday and Wednesday nothing too exciting happened. Thursday, Euphony, the select acapella choir I am in, traveled to Lee Academy to do a gig there. Euphony isn't connected to the University, so it's not required that you be a student at UMaine to be a part of it. One of our members who just graduated last year from UMaine is now the music director at Lee Academy and so we went there to do a concert. It was fun, we sounded great and they fed us a fantastic meal! WOO! Good stuff all around. Friday , I did a little astro-bowling (whatever that means) with friends. :)

Saturday night Euphony had our concert at UMaine...it went VERY WELL. Here are some pictures from that:

And here's a video:

We are performing "Bogoroditse Djevo" by Arvo Part. I will continue to post videos of the concert as Alyssa puts them up on YouTube! :)

Today I had my Athena Consort concert, which also went very well. So, as seen...it's been a busy couple of weeks! MANY concerts and the like! Tomorrow I head home for Thanksgiving break and I couldn't be more excited! I'm eating lots, working lots at American Eagle, and hopefully seeing family lots. It should be a nice, relaxing break. More soon! Later, gators!

Heading to the coast...

In a few minutes I'll be heading to Camden for the weekend with Alyssa! I'm pretty excited, it should be a nice low-key relaxing weekend. We're going to see her sister in their production of "Beauty and The Beast", so that will also be fun! I'll be sure to take some pictures of my time on the coast and blog about it when I get back. I hope everyone has a great weekend! =)

Later, gators!

I woke up this morning feeling brand new...

Watch it. It's the 2nd installment of Will.I.Am's "Yes We Can" series. Good stuff. 

Later, gators.

This is unreal...

The first president I ever voted for was a black man and he won. I seriously could not be more proud of this country if I tried. I am 21 years old. When my parents were 21 years old, it would have been IMPOSSIBLE to have a black president. It's so unreal. It was an emotional night last night. I watched the returns with a few friends and then after the exciting news that Barack Obama would be our next president, Cory and I headed back home. A few minutes later Cory came bounding into my room as Obama was starting his speech and said "SARAH I HAVE TO WATCH THIS WITH YOU, I THINK I MIGHT CRY" and so we sat on my bed, weeping in happiness for how far our country has come and the history that we are now a part of. Children for thousands of years will know that name. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama. And I was a part of making that happen. It's a good feeling. I have always loved this country and the freedoms it provides me with, but I am more proud to be an American on this day than I have ever been before.

"Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea --
Yes. We. DID."

Congratulations, Mr. President.

later, gators!

There has never been anything false about hope...

Let's do this, America.

later, gators.

Halloween Shenanigans...

Hi everyone! So, my Halloween weekend was pretty fun-filled. On the actual night of Halloween, I dressed as a cowgirl of sorts and Alyssa and I went "dance-hopping". There were a few different dances going on and we went into them, made our apperance, danced like fools, and left. Then we hung with friends, made a 1am trip to Dysarts, and went to bed will full bellies. It was a good time. Last night was the Halloween party at DC's house. DC is the director of University Singers and he has a Halloween party at his house every year. It was pretty fun! I dressed as a Black Eyed Pea for that, which is what the picture is of. Get it? I thought it was pretty clever. Though people didn't really get it and kept asking me if I'd been abused. Alas! After that a group of us went back to my place and hung out and then I went to bed. All in all, it was a nice time. Here are some more pics from the evening...

If you knew Kirsten Johansen, you would truly understand the irony of her costume..


Colin said he was Sarah Palin on a hunting trip...


Kate as a strung-out Amy Winehouse and Cassie as a cheerleader...


Erika as Giselle from "Enchanted" and Alyssa as a pile of leaves haha :) ...

Anywho, another great weekend filled with great people. More soon! Later, gators!

Haunted Hayride

Last night the UMaine Animal Club hosted their annual haunted hayride at the Witter teaching Farm, which is just down the road from campus. To be honest, it was rather low-budget and not very scary. Which, is saying a lot because I get scared by just about everything. BUT, this did not really scare me. We screamed a lot because it's fun, but not because we were terrified. 

Next weekend is Halloween, woohoo! I am going to be a Black Eyed Pea...wear a shirt with a P on it, and make myself a black eye. Clever, right? =) 

Okay, I really need to clean my room and do homework/laundry. Later, gators!

Apartment Tour & Emily's Game!

For starters, here's a tour of my apartment:

Secondly..I just got back from my first UMaine atheletic game in 2 years. Tonight I went to see my good friend, Emily, play volleyball. She's a Music Ed major and a UMaine athlete, which is practically unheard of (because both things take up SO MUCH TIME) but somehow she gets it done! =) So, tonight Kate, Karin, Chelsea, Alan, and I headed over to "the pit" to watch the lady Black Bears beat UNH. Emily's roommate, Amanda, even threw me a little signed volleyball when they called her name in the starting line-up.

Of course, I made a fool of myself in my attempt to catch it. Alas! So, it was fun and I'm glad I went to support my friend. To see Emily's UMaine athletic page...click HERE!

Later, gators!

"The future of this republic...

...is in the hands of the American voter." -Dwight D. Eisenhower

I did, indeed. Vote, that is. Today was early voting day at UMaine and I took advantage. Because I am no longer a campus resident I would have had to vote at another location in Orono, but today we were able to vote on campus (through absentee ballots) as long as we were residents of Orono. It was nice to get it out of the way and know that on November 4th I won't be standing in mile long lines. You can definitely tell who the popular candidate on this progressive campus is. All of the advertisements about Early Voting had Barack Obama's logo on it. I found that a little bit unfair and bias, but whatever. I love Obama and obviously I voted for him, but again...it was a tad unfair. This was my first time voting in a presidential election, I was 17 in 2004, just shy of being able to vote for Kerry. So, anyway..wahoo! I voted! =)

On another note, I just got finished watching "The Happening" with Cory & Gab.

I practically peed my pants 89 times. The storyline was horrifying, but the horrible acting also made it a little bit funny. Mark Wahlberg should just stop trying. Anyway, it's about these plants that are omitting toxins that make people (in large groups, usually) kill themselves. It's so scary. AHHH! But again, Mark Wahlberg...just stop. Just stop it. 

School is going pretty well. I'm busy and stressed and am looking forward to Thanksgiving. I had a concert last night and then my friend, Jesse, and I went out for drinks...you know, cuz I'm 21. And by "drinks" I mean I drank 1 drink at Margaritas. But, still it was fun. Jesse is one of my only friends who is 21, so she and I decided to celebrate that fact. 

Okay, I need to finish some homework and hit the sack. More soon! Later, gators!

I'm 21!

Holy moly, everyone! I'm 21 years of age! Yesterday was fantastic. I had a great day filled with awesome people. I feel very blessed to have the tight-knit group of friends that I have. I love them all very much. =) 

Thursday night I spent the night at Alyssa's so that she could give me my gifts at midnight when I officially turned 21. She got me some really cute and funky things. I then had class, got sung to many times during the day, got a few more gifts, etc. After singers Alyssa and I came back here and got all dolled up for my dinner at Margaritas. Before dinner we had our first Side Show cast meeting, so we went to that looking like a million bucks. Good times. After that we headed over to Margaritas and I had my first drink of the night, a Russell Rita. It was so good.

I had about twenty people at my dinner, there actually wasn't enough seating for everyone..I made the reservation for 18 people and a few more showed up. SO, they had to get another table. It made me feel nice though that all these people had come for me. =)

After the dinner we went over to Jesse & Craig's for the first installment of "Classy to Trashy" weekend. Last night was "classy" night..tonight will be "trashy" night. It was a lot of fun. All in all, I had a great birthday filled with wonderful friends. 
Later, gators!

College is a time to be thrifty...

My friend Liz is funky. She marches to the beat of her own drum and that's what I love about her. She also has the most unique style I've ever seen. Almost daily I find myself saying "Liz! That's so cute! Where'd you get it!?" and almost all of the time her answer, with a smile on her face, is "Goodwill!" So, tonight...Liz, Cory, and I ventured to the Bangor Goodwill to do a little "thrifting" as Liz puts it. It was super fun! I found a really cute black dress for 6 dollars and I also bought Alyssa a few records (she has a record player). Liz found a couple really cute things as well; she's a much more seasoned "thrifter" though, so she finds cute things more easily than I do. Anyways, I think I'll have to hit up Goodwill more often. You can find some really fantastic things in there for ridiculously cheap. It's funny to think back to middle school and high school when I wouldn't dare dream of shopping at Goodwill for fear of being "uncool" or whatever and now it's a blast. One woman's trash is another woman's treasure. :)

More soon! Later, gators!

Zebra love...

later, gators. =)

Welcome to the jungle!

Hola! Saturday night was the Singers JUNGLE FEVER dance! It was pretty fun! Cory and I went as dates and were decked out in zebra print. I don't have that many pictures uploaded from it yet, but I'll include a couple.
Me & Andrew (...I helped him pick out that DOPE costume at Goodwill, I'll have you know)

Me & Liz doing a lil choreographed dance sequence...


As soon as the "before" pictures are uploaded, I'll post them up here. There's some great ones of Cory and I in our zebra get-up. Cory's costume was out of control. I have to include a photo...
He wore Liz's shower curtain as a toga, a mask from IParty, his Dansko's, short shorts, a red earring...he was just...out of control.

I love my roommate. :)

On another note, Side Show auditions were last night. Callbacks are tonight. I shall find out about it sometime this week and as soon as I know I'll be sure to let ya'll know. For those of you that don't know, Side Show is the musical that UMaine is doing this year. The music is fantastic. I LOVE IT. It's a show about a circus and the 2 main characters are conjoined twin sisters, Daisy and Violet (based on the real Daisy & Violet Hilton). For more info on Side Show click HERE and for more info on Daisy and Violet Hilton, click HERE. They lead pretty interesting lives. It's a great show and I'm really excited about it. So, stay tuned!

Okay, I've got Euphony rehearsal and then callbacks so I gotta wrap this up! More soon! Later, gators!

Proud to be a Black Bear...

Tonight I started my second job. Don't worry, I'm not over-exerting myself. It's just for 3 hours on Sunday nights. I'm a telecounselor. Pretty much I call people that have show an interest in the University of Maine (at College Fairs, etc) and chat them up about how great UMaine is. It's really fun, actually. I got to talk to a few prospective music students tonight and that was fun because I knew a lot about the program and really talked up how great being a music student is at UMaine. I think I'm pretty good at it. I like talking peoples' ears off, so I feel that it's a good job for me! PLUS it's a lil extra cash. Speaking of working, I called American Eagle today and they're gonna let me work the few days that I am home for fall break, so that's exciting! I enjoy money. 2 more weeks until fall break! I can't believe how fast this month as flown by. Next weekend is the JUNGLE FEVER singers dance and then the weekend after that I'll be home (and working at AE the whole time..haha) so it should be a good couple of weeks! This year has really been fantastic so far. I really feel like I've found my niche at UMaine and I have a great group of friends. I think that's why I am pretty good at telecounseling, too. I love this school and I want everyone to go here so they can love it too. I know it's cheesy on the commercials, but it's true...At UMaine, you're in a great place.

More soon. Later, gators!

I've begun the decorating process...

Hi all! So, I've begun the process of decorating my ever-so-white walls in my room. The other day I was over at my friend Emily's apartment and she had all these 4X6's of digital pictures that she had ordered prints of online. I thought that was such a good idea, because you can order prints for SO CHEAP online and I like having tangible pictures as well as digital ones, so I went online and ordered 40 prints and it cost me like 4 dollars. What a deal! Those came in the mail yesterday and I arranged them on homemade bulletin boards (pieces of cardboard) on my wall:

I also put the left-over ones around my door. Not only did my prints come yesterday, but my allposters.com posters came as well!! They are having a huge sale right now where thousands of their posters are $4.98! So, I bought 4 the other day! I bought this one for above the keyboard:

I think it looks nice because it has black & white in it, relates to music (John Lennon), and the flowers are pink (though they look red in this picture) so it matches the decor of my room.
Around my desk are these 2 posters:

The one on the left is titled "The Luncheon of the Boating Party" and is a painting done by Pierre Auguste Renoir in 1881. For some reason it just really caught my eye when I was browsing through the posters on the website. I think the 1800's lifestyle is fascinating, plus I thought my room needed a little culture. The one on the right is titled "Le Baiser" and it's a photo done by Leanne Pedersen. I really love black & white photography and apparently pictures of random people I don't know kissing, haha. I used to have the "Kissing the War Goodbye" poster in my room last year and that is BY FAR my favorite photo ever, but "Le Baiser" is also really touching.
Lastly, I have this one above my bed:

Sorry that my bed is a mess in this photo! Anyway, I love Audrey Hepburn and the pink, once again, matches my decor so I couldn't pass it up!

Anywho...I've still got lotsa space to decorate, so it should be an on-going project. It's nice though to have made this room a little more me! =) Alright, I should go. I have cleaning to do and errands and such and then the first Singers party of the year is tonight! So, it should be a good time! More soon. Later, gators!

PS: Here's the lowdown on dates for Singer's concerts & such...
November 8th- 7:30PM concert Minsky Recital Hall
November 9th- 2:00PM concert Minsky Recital Hall
December 7th- Yuletide Concert Time TBA Hauck Auditorium
March 9th-15th- TOUR TO MONTREAL
March 21st- 7:30PM concert Minsky Recital Hall
March 22nd- 2:00PM concert Minsky Recital Hall
That's all I know of right now!

I'M A UNIVERSITY SINGER!

It's official! I made University Singers this year!!! I don't have much time to blog about it, but I am THRILLED beyond belief! I will write more about the group and concerts and such soon! Until then...later, gators!!! =)

Hi..we're lame on a Saturday.

Nothing was really going on last night...so Cory, Amelia, the dog, and I made this video. It's a good time. Also...I dyed my hair so you guys can see the color I dyed it to! I love it. DISCLAIMER: there's a couple swears in this vid!



Later, gators!

The newest ensemble I'm in...and pics of the dog!

Hi everyone! I was extremely excited yesterday to find out that I have been accepted into Euphony this year! Euphony is a choral group that focuses on contemporary a capella music, much of which is composed by up and coming young composers. It was founded in 2006 and they're sooo good, so I'm really, really excited to be a part of that! To find out more about Euphony, click HERE and to hear them sing a song from last Fall's concert click HERE! I was placed as an alto 1 which is going to be really interesting. I've always only been a soprano 1 or 2, but my sight singing skills are going to improve SO MUCH after being an alto and I'm up for a challenge! =) So, yeah that was super exciting yesterday. We had our first rehearsal last night and it went really well. I find out about more ensembles and such next week so I'll keep ya'll updated!

On another note, I thought I'd include some pics of Domino, our roommates' doggy that inhabits our apartment. She is the sweetest dog in the whole world and warms up to just about everyone VERY quickly.
Here she is hanging out in my room with her chew toy...

And here she is with me...

She's super cute and we love her lots! Isn't she adorable?

Okay I should get going, I've got to finish some homework, take a shower, and make my way to campus for that thing called class. More soon! Later, gators!

PS..the time stamp really ticks me off. It's 7:36...not 6:20.

All settled in...

Hi! Sorry I haven't written since I've been at school! I need to update ya'll on my life! I moved into my apartment on Sunday morning. It's really nice, I like it a lot! Living with Cory has been a blast thus far and our other two roommates, Rhon and Gabrielle (and their adorable Jack Russell Terrier, Domino) are really awesome! Here are some pictures, I apologize for how dark they came out...my flash decided to work strangely that day.

My bed:

My desk area (taken from standing on my bed...I'm not 9 feet tall):

My armoire, floor lamp, and Cory's keyboard (which didn't fit in his room, but I like having it in mine!):


So yeah, so far it's been really fun! Monday night we had some friends over for a dinner party, I made asparagus which actually turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself!
Yesterday classes started and I had a pretty full day! I had some weird economics class at 8, but I think it'll be okay. Then I had Intro to Music Ed at 9:30, went to the new Wells Commons to eat a muffin with friends, had Music Theory at 11, and then EDB 202 which is a education course. I have friends in all of my classes so that makes everything really fun. Today I have Music History at 10, Ear Training/Sight Singing at 11, and then Piano at 12. I think after that I am going to hang out with Alyssa for awhile and then we have a Music Majors Meeting at 2. THEN I am going to come back here, get some homework done, eat some food and then be off to work training at the library until 10 tonight. SO, it's a pretty full day! I'll try to take lots of pictures this year of my happenings so everyone can see how life is going! Okay, I gotta eat some breakfast and then go to the bookstore (and wait in line forever) before class! Later, gators!