Sophie turns 30

Well, here it is! My 30th birthday. Because of this list and the endeavors it has brought with it, I've been thinking about this birthday maybe more than the average person thinks about their 30th birthday. Now that it's here, I certainly didn't expect to be celebrating this day in the midst of both 1) a global pandemic and 2) an uprising for civil rights that are long overdue to the Black community. But, these two circumstances have provided a lot of time for reflection and discussion, as well as a commitment to be a better friend, ally, and human being, and how I'm going to work on those things as I age.

And now for a reflection of my list!

I was able to fully complete 19 items on my list! Some of my favorites:

• Own a cat. Miranda has become my constant companion and even though she sheds like it's going out of style (and sometimes claws my adorable curtains/tries to eat my toes), I love her more every day.

• Run a half marathon. I have found the most wonderful community in ATX after getting serious about running. Since running my first half in October 2018, I've finished four more, and am signing up for a full marathon as soon as races are allowed to happen again.

Shoal Creek Striders <3

• Tour a vineyard and do a wine tasting. I mean, it's wine, you guys. Do I need a reason other than that to love this one?
• Knitting a scarf. I loved finding a creative outlet for myself aside from music, and I'm very excited to see what more I can do with this hobby.
• Throwing a dinner party. Having friends in the same place and sharing (good) homemade food was something that I took for granted before 2020. I won't do that again.

• Starting my own garden. Even with small spaces, there is such satisfaction in growing your own food.
• Attending live performances. No matter the genre/group, the highest quality artistic performances have the ability to move someone to tears, reaching the innermost of their emotions. This is something I commit to doing more of in the coming years.

There were 4 items that I partially completed. They were:

• Visit all 50 states. I got VERY close on this. Only 5 more to go. This is something I want to finish in the next 10 years for sure.
• Visit 10 new countries. If COVID-19 hadn't hit, this one would have been crossed off the list next month, as Sarah and I were planning another trip to Europe. As it was, though, I was able to visit 8 new countries in the span of 3 years. I'm thankful that was able to happen.
• Climb at least 30 14ers. I have climbed 24. This was hard to finish since I no longer 1) live in Colorado and 2) spend my summers in Colorado.
• Volunteer once a month for six months. I spent a few weeks last summer (2019) volunteering at a farm that is part of a refugee resettlement organization. My intent was to return during the week of spring break this year--when COVID became a big concern. A good intention that did not come to fruition.

These were the 7 that I did not achieve:

• Go to another bowl game when Michigan is playing. In hindsight, it's probably for the best that I didn't waste my money to go to any of the bowl games in the past 5 years, since we've lost EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.
• Hike the Grand Canyon--rim to rim. This may happen next year with the aforementioned running friends...stay tuned...
• Learn how to drive a stick shift car. I did get some instruction on this, but I never had an opportunity to consistently practice those skills. Hopefully some day I'll be able to drive a manual!
• Do a head/hand/forearm stand. 
• Learn how to whistle really loudly. Does anyone want to teach me how to do this?
• Find and buy a pair of quality sunglasses that actually look good on me. I've been using free race sunglasses for years. If anyone knows where I can find some good sunglasses, let me know...
• Get another piercing. Michelle has already told me that when I come back to Colorado she will go with me to get a piercing so I feel like maybe I should be able to count this one as partially done.

Thank you all for coming on this journey with me and for your encouragement. 

On to the next adventure!

Playing with a French plait

#21. Learn how to French braid my own hair.

For some reason, I never learned how to French braid my own hair when I was a kid. I had very long hair as a child and I distinctly remember in 2nd grade, at story time, how the other girls in my grade would braid my hair into these teeny tiny braids. They were actually so small that they would turn into knots, and then my mom would get mad when I came home, and then we would have to cut or rip them out. (This will explain why I got my hair cut into a short bob in 3rd grade.)

ANYWAY, when I still had long hair and I went to friends' houses and got it braided while we watched a movie or hung out, I was over-the-moon excited that it could look that elegant and polished. I became more and more impressed with friends who had a knack for making my hair look good and I regularly asked (read: begged) them to do something fancy with it for countless recitals and orchestra concerts (thanks Alex and Marisa for indulging me!).

Well, enough was enough! I could make it look just as elegant and polished if I only watched a YouTube tutorial or two. With a few months of practice, I got ok at braiding (but no better at taking pictures of the back of my head...until I realized my phone camera has a timer on it. Whoops.).

Admittedly, this item on my list was a little silly. But not every item needed to be extravagant. I'm ok with this one being silly!

Yikes, look how wavy that braid is...even the cat noticed.

Better...

Final product!

And now I can French braid my hair! Kind of. A 2nd grade girl's dream come true.

19 down. 11 to go!

Knit knit knit

#20. Knit a useable scarf.

I have never been an overly crafty person. I've always loved the idea of being crafty, but somehow it's never been a strong suit for me. However, I also love the idea of creating beautiful things (maybe this is why I'm a musician??), and when I was in high school, my mom, brother, and I all got into knitting one Christmas. 

Then, well, you know how hobbies go. You're really into them for a day or two, or a week, and then you set it down and it gathers dust for a year before you think back to it and realize you absolutely dropped the ball on it.

Anyway, I have a lot of talented friends who can knit or crochet, and I decided more recently this was an activity I wanted to pursue. SO. With the help of my friend/travel buddy Sarah (who is a phenomenal knitter, among other things!), I began!

I already had a lot of cheap yarn that was of questionable quality, which meant that it was great for practicing. I gathered it up from my mom's stash, and went to work practicing my knitting. I knit everywhere: on the bus in Croatia, backstage at a San Antonio Symphony concert, while watching Netflix (I find this helps keep me off my phone, and avoids the dual screen/split attention issue), and most recently, surrounded by friends in Philadelphia after teaching one of them how to knit (you go, Maya!!). 

Thanks to Sarah's help, I finished a practice scarf with the questionable yarn, and finally felt like I had enough practice to really go for it on the next project.

Done with the practice scarf!

I'm not yet able to read any patterns/knitting directions (I get very overwhelmed very quickly) and I like the idea of a scarf because I can see how even my stitches are. Coincidentally, while in Philly with friends we stopped into a craft store, and I found some yarn that I loved, and thought, "ok, let's do this!"

With a couple of different iterations (and redos), I finally decided that being stuck at home during the Coronavirus was the best excuse that I was going to get to finish this project. 

The colors of this yarn reminded me of a candy cane!

I also always had a friend helping...

Finally, this past week, I finished it!

18 down. 12 to go!

Being in the audience, part two

#20. Go to a Met production of an opera by Mozart, Puccini, or Verdi.

This item on the list was actually planned in conjunction with going to see the ballet (because when NYCB and the Metropolitan Opera are literally next door to each other, obviously this is the best way to plan your 36 hours in NYC). I had been to the Met once before, in 2012 when my mom and I went to see Carmen. As I've become more knowledgeable about opera, the Italian composers have become my favorite, and I really wanted a chance to see one done with the best company in the country (and arguably the world). Also, the number of operas I've played FAR outweigh the number I've watched as an audience member. I wanted to change that. 

Thankfully, Sarah (who has also traveled abroad with me many times for the sake of this blog) was up for a trip from Philly! When I told her I was planning this trip, she said, "I'll come with you!" I bought us both tickets to Verdi's La Traviata and then waited anxiously for a month for the trip to come.
And finally, Leap Day and our opera day was here! We had a lovely and delicious dinner with Lisa (a high school friend) at a cheese and wine bar (Casellula, 52nd and 9th) to start off the evening. 

Oh my gosh you guys, look at ALL that cheese

Then, Sarah and I walked to Lincoln Center. It amazed me to see so many people at the Met on a Saturday night. I know NY has a population of millions of people, but it was still exciting and gratifying in a way to see SO many people congregating on Lincoln Center for a night of culture. We made it to the opera house and picked up our tickets and settled in for the story of a courtesan who finds true love and then is convinced by her lover's father to leave her lover. (Look, I never said I liked the plots of a lot of operas! But the music is great.)

We're so excited to see the Met opera!

This production was beautiful. The woman who sang Violetta, the main character, was just STUNNING. She was the standout by far. The set was gorgeous and the orchestra was absolutely top-notch. Sarah and I had a great time, and it was a treat to be in the audience instead of in the pit.

The height of this stage is massive and took me by surprise this time around as much as it did the first time I saw it.

Such beautiful chandeliers in this opera house!!

One happy lady in front of those iconic chandeliers after seeing this show.

While going to see productions like this and the ballet didn't require as much planning (or money) as something like a month-long trip to Europe, I think it was so important for me personally to remember why I chose to be a musician in the first place. Seeing stellar shows reminds me that art is such an important part of life: when people are hurting, art is something that can help to heal them. It was an important reminder for me to see and hear how beautiful music and movement can be. 

So, thank you, New York, for a truly spectacular 36 hours.

17 down. 13 to go!

"Ballet is created on beautiful lines and shapes." --Martin Fridmann

#19. Go to a professional ballet performance.

As a performer, I get to see all sorts of really cool things. But it's rare that I have a night off to be in the audience to witness other performers doing cool things. Ever since I won my job with ASO and Nutcracker takes over my life each December, I have become more and more enthralled with ballet dancers. The way they gracefully put themselves in decidedly uncomfortable positions is beyond intriguing to me. The mixture of their athleticism and artistry is a joy to watch, and so far I had only glimpsed portions of shows from the pit. I decided that if I was going to check this one off my list, I needed to see a top-notch company. So, I took off a weekend from teaching, booked myself a ticket to NYC, and found myself watching a show at the New York City Ballet on  the night of February 28th.

The program was a set of new choreography to three pieces rather than a single piece (like Swan Lake, for example). (Also, sidenote: I'm sure that there is a certain terminology for this in the dance world, but I don't know what it is! Can any dancers help me with this?)

I left Austin on Friday late morning, and arrived in NY around 4pm. I navigated from Queens to Manhattan, dropped my stuff off at my friends' place, and then went in search of dinner before the 8pm curtain.

Lincoln Center in all its glory

Inside the theatre lobby, there were giant portraits hanging from the balconies. An artist had interviewed over 100 of the behind-the-scenes personnel for NYCB, and painted their portraits. I can attest to the fact that the people not onstage are the unsung heroes of any production--without them, there would be no show! I thought this was a really special and unique way to honor them. 

When I bought my ticket, I knew that they were doing a piece by Ravel, but what I didn't know was that it was his Piano Concerto. This piece holds an incredibly dear spot in my heart, and the choreography to it was beautiful. The second movement was especially stunning. The middle piece was a premier by Nico Muhly, which was impressive but I can't say that I totally loved it. But, the last piece they did was absolutely amazing. The coordination, the music, the choreography that fit the music perfectly, the set, the movements...all of it was just breathtaking. I was on the edge of my seat the WHOLE time, and even though it was long-ish by ballet standards (~25 minutes), I could have watched for another hour. I was completely mesmerized.

I left the theatre wanting to immediately buy another ticket for a NYCB production. I'm so glad that I took the time to experience this for myself, and I can't wait to come back to NY...so I can see the ballet again!

16 down. 14 to go!