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| Well, well, well...today I am flying home for the holidays, and I felt like xanga-ing while Raul is working. It's been almost 6 months since Raul moved to Boston. Things are going very well; I'm so lucky to have him out here, and it's nice to know that I'm at a very settled place in my life. Raul got me a dog for my birthday in July. His name is Dexter, and he is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. He looks like a little fox, with red and white coloring and pointy ears. He was born June 6th, which makes him a little over 6 months old now. He's a pain in the ass sometimes (as all puppies are), but generally speaking, he's wonderful.
School was a bit of a challenge this semester. I took a lot of classes (10 to be exact), and 4 of them were for my Music Education major, which is proving to be fairly challenging. I'm glad it's over, and that I still managed to get (hopefully?) good grades.
All right, I'd best be finishing cleaning; Lord knows if I don't, Raul will be mad when we get home a week and a half from now!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. See ya on the flip side.
-Jonny | | |
| It's been three months since I've posted, so I suppose that there is a lot of explaining to do. I always say I won't take as long posting, which is a fairly consistent lie. Thus, I shan't even feign that I've changed my ways. However, I'll try to graze every issue of interest.
Firstly, I completed my first year at Berklee with flying colors. (Colours everywhere besides the US...) I had to say goodbye to my friends; some will be back next year, but some (like Emma) will not.
Secondly, I went to L.A. for two and a half weeks at the end of May. I saw Raul graduate with honors (honours everywhere besides the US...) from USC with two degrees (a BA in International Relations and a BA in Spanish. I got the chance to spend time with friends and family, see all the places that somehow managed to make me miss L.A., and I even found the time to play a gig.
Thirdly, Raul flew back to Boston with me...FOR GOOD!!! After one ridiculously harrowing year apart, we are now living together. He already had a job with the Cambridge Consumer's Council when he arrived in Boston, but has now found a permanent job in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (At least, until he starts grad school in 2006....) I can't explain how incredible it is to have him out here now; I don't think I've ever been happier in my life.
Ok, so this is completely random, but yesterday Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince came out (Book 6 to you who don't know), and I (in a tragic display of nerd-dom) have already read all 652 pages. If you are at all a fan of the books, I'd advise you not to read any further until you've finished reading. Having said that...
There are some truly extraordinary things about this book. After the great divide that was almost palpable between Harry and Dumbledore in Book 5, I was desperate for more interaction between the two in Book 6; thankfully, I was not disappointed. There was an intense focus on the relationship between Harry and Dumbledore in this book that had been missing in all the others. The story was absolutely incredible, definitely the best in the series so far.
Probably the most interesting character in the story was Snape (PROFESSOR Snape, I'm sure that someone would correct me). Snape (for the first time) is portrayed in the book in the manner that he would be seen by the Death Eaters. Though J.K. Rowling almost always prevents us from knowing more than Harry, in this instance we are given a chapter in the very beginning of the book that could easily confound all the ideas we believed about him.
And now for true spoilers, sorry to any who didn't hear my first warning...what most broke my heart was the loss of Dumbledore, who has been my favorite character from the beginning. His belief in the good of all people, his odd quirks, and his genial disposition all endeared him to me; I suppose I somehow saw bits of my own naively trusting self. In the end, that trust has appeared to been his demise. Snape killed Dumbledore in a way that I don't think any could have seen coming...even at his worst, I never believed that Snape would betray Dumbledore's trust. However, the circumstances under which Snape killed Dumbledore are suspicious. Firstly, Snape was bound to his Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy, and thus obligated to protect Draco. Secondly, I cannot see someone with Snape's kind of pride killing someone (especially a great wizard like Dumbledore) while they were a.)incapacitated and b.) wandless. Lastly, I can easily imagine that because of Dumbledore's insight, he had imagined a moment would come when Snape might have to appear completely against Dumbledore; thus, it's conceivable (though not altogether likely) that Dumbledore could have advised Snape that in this sort of situation Snape must sacrifice him for the greater good.
It's only been 24 hours since I first held my new book in my hand, and already I have huge questions for Book 7, which will surely be the most anticipated book in the history of publishing. Here are some:
*What were Snape's TRUE intentions?
*Will Draco surpise us all and join the good guys?
*What role will Dumbledore's new picture in the Headmaster's office play?
*Will McGonnagall Be the new Headmistress?
*Will school even continue at Hogwarts, and if so, will Harry, Ron, and Hermione really not go for their last year?
*Will Harry still be the Boy Who Lived when all is said and done?
*How on earth will J.K. Rowling clarify all the things that need to be answered in the summation of such a series within one book?
Of course, there are plenty of other questions that will sprout up along the way, but these are just the most obvious ones. Here's hoping that J.K.'s kids are perfect angels and she gets to start writing soon; I don't forsee any way for this book to be less than 1,000 pages!!! | | |
| Here I am at 3:35 Eastern time, typing in my Xanga which hasn't heard from me in over a month. I'm not sure what all to say, except that I would really REALLY like to start posting here on a regular basis. I'm going to get some much-needed rest now; suffice it to say that the first season of the OC is pretty good. | | |
| It's been a ridiculously long time since I have posted...I've just been so busy with school and stuff that I haven't really had the time. I'm going to make a better effort to do this on a daily basis. (Sounds familiar, eh?) Things are going pretty well...Raul came out and visited, which was great. I have started to record the 3 song demo project, and it should be finished sometime shortly after Spring Break. I had the opportunity to play one of my songs for a country writer by the name of Monty Powell...he's had 8 #1 Country hits, and is very well known in the industry. He really dug my song, so I have sent him a CD with some others to listen to. It should reach him by tomorrow, so I am hoping that I will make some sort of impression on him. Keep your fingers crossed! If I do, it could mean that I'd get published. I'm not getting my hopes up, though. All right, I'm off to see a Caf Show. Much Love!!! | | |
| I'm just going to make a brief post here because so much has been going on that I feel that if I do not post, things may be forgotten and never posted here.
Firstly, Raul bought his ticket today to come visit me for his birthday (Feb 21st). He will come out the 17th (technically the 18th at 12:00am), and stay here until the afternoon of the 22nd. This is as much time as he can afford to be here right now, as his last midterms at USC will prevent him from coming earlier or staying later. We plan on him visiting one last time in March.
I haven't worked at the Fleet Center for the entirety of this month thus far; I don't think I'll be going back. I will begin an intense job search this week. I need a better and more local job.
Music Production & Engineering majors at my school (the folks who record albums) have a big project they usually do in their junior year where they record a 3-song demo for an artist. Erin, the girl who recorded my ten-song acoustic CD, showed a friend the CD and he dug it; now I'll be his artist for his project. I'm very excited. We'll be recording "Day By Day", which is an up-tempo sort of song, good fun. Also, one of the newest songs I've written, called "The Outcome"; it's very Aimee Mann-esque. Lastly, "Standing In Line", which we're gonna do all sorts of crazy and very exciting stuff to. I'll keep you informed. | | |
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