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!

No money!

#18. Go one month without buying anything except food at the grocery store.

A few years ago, I read an article about a man who committed to spending no money for an entire year, and got his roommate to do the same. When I read this article, I was fascinated, inspired, and in awe all at the same time. Could I possibly do this?? Add in the fact that recently I've been reflecting on consumerism, waste, and how much I spend money on things I don't necessarily need and I thought that this summer would be a great time to try to do this.

The people in the article really went all out. They were making their own laundry detergent, taking public transit everywhere, and even tried growing their own food. I decided to set a more realistic goal for myself: I wouldn't buy anything for a month except for food at the grocery store. In addition, I'm adding these exceptions for myself:
*Rent, insurance, and bills (these seemed important)
*Gas for my car, since as a freelancer in Austin, I don't have the option of taking reliable public transportation to the places where I teach or perform
*Any health related items (prescription refills, doctor's appointments, etc)
*I will do this item on the list in chunks:

• For the beginning, I'll give myself 10 days with the goal of not spending money during 7 of those.
• For the remaining three weeks, I'll do this one week at a time (not necessarily three weeks in a row)

So, here we go!

First 10 day chunk, aiming for 7/10:
Day 1: Tuesday, 6/25. Didn't spend any money! 1/10
Day 2: Wednesday, 6/26. Bought coffee in the morning. Whoops. Still at 1/10.
Day 3: Thursday, 6/27. I did spend money today, but it was for grocery shopping, so...exception! 2/10
Day 4: Friday, 6/28. This day was a test. My running group always goes out to coffee on Friday mornings after our run and I knew I wouldn't be able to resist my weekly breakfast taco, so I intentionally left my wallet at home. It worked. I spent a large chunk of money on a health related appointment this morning though, so even though this day will count for this challenge, my wallet is hurting. 3/10
Day 5: Saturday, 6/29. It's easy to spend no money when you don't leave your house and keep your laptop closed. 4/10
Day 6: Sunday, 6/30. Crap, I went out for a beer with a friend I have a hard time saying no to. Still at 4/10.
Day 7: Monday, 7/1. Today I took Matt out for dinner as a thank you for watching the cat while I was gone for 10 days. Definitely does not count...still 4/10.
Day 8: Tuesday, 7/2. Had another health appointment this morning but that counts as an exception so... 5/10
Day 9: Wednesday, 7/3. Grocery shopping as an exception. 6/10
Day 10: Thursday, 7/4. I spent absolutely zero money today and made it to seven days! 7/10

First full week, aiming for 7 out of 7 days:
Day 1: Sunday, 7/7. Day one, done. 1/7
Day 2: Monday, 7/8. Health appointment. 2/7
Day 3: Tuesday, 7/9. Resisted buying ice cream on the way home from yoga. 3/7
Day 5: Wednesday, 7/10. Happy hour fell through (maybe a good thing?). 4/7
Day 5: Thursday, 7/11. Ok. This day was a little weird. I bought a new dining table. But, I needed it for another item on the list that will be happening next week (and will be posted before this one is posted) so....even though it might be a little dicey, I'm gonna count this day. 5/7
Day 6: Friday, 7/12. Nothing bought today. 6/7
Day 7: Saturday, 7/13. Went to Jester King but AJ bought! 7/7

Halfway done! For the next two weeks to complete this challenge, I'm going to aim to be a little more stringent about my purchases that do need to happen.

Second full week: 
The timing of this couldn't have been better, if that's the right word to use. Medical bills and other bills started to pile up and it meant that I really needed to spend as little money as possible this week/at all.
Day 1: Saturday, 9/21. I had to buy gas to get Antonio and me to San Antonio, but otherwise the wallet stayed closed.
Day 2: Sunday, 9/22. Minimal grocery shopping.
Day 3: Monday, 9/23. Our health care system is broken.
Day 4: Tuesday, 9/24. It seemed like replacing the brakes on my car was a worthy investment for today.
Day 5: Wednesday, 9/25. 
Day 6: Thursday, 9/26. You guys, I was so bummed about this day, I did such a good job of not spending ANY money, and then I couldn't find the area with free parking downtown for a gig and I ended up spending $5 to park for 3 hours. :(
Day 7: Friday, 9/27. I resisted coffee and tacos at post-running coffee!
BONUS Day 8: Saturday, 9/28. 

As soon as I started to see days where I was "forced" to spend money on something (like gas or grocery shopping) it made me want to work that much harder to not spend money on things like coffee or food. I was originally going to do another full week of no spending, but then I took part in an Instagram challenge: Only One Hundred October. The idea was to curb discretionary spending and limit it to only $100 for the entire month. I set a list of exceptions (groceries, bills, cat, car) and then set out to spend $100 or less on fun things for all of October. And...I did it! I came out with having spent only $72 on things like coffee/eating out in October.

This challenge was interesting in that instead of focusing on spending money to have an experience, it forced me to do the opposite. It was a little extreme, but I think it was a good exercise in self control, and forced me to have better spending habits overall (which I hope I can keep up with!). 

15 down. 15 to go! Eek! Over halfway there (if you count the partly done ones)!

Movies: "That one's a classic!"

#17. Watch The Godfather, Pulp Fiction, Fight Club, The Pianist, Boondock Saints, Goodfellas, Scarface, and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

On my phone, I keep a list of movies that I want to see, and these are usually movies that look interesting to me after I've seen snippets of them at the Oscars every year. During my senior year of college, I also took a "music in political film" class that helped to put more movies on the list. But, there are some movies that seem to be so classic that I thought I should add them to my 30 before 30 list. Most of the movies on this list came from IMDB's Top 250 Movies list (and some of them I had already seen, so I didn't bother putting them on the list again).

17.1: Pulp Fiction: 7/26/15
This was my first ever Quentin Tarantino movie. I really liked it, and I thought the way he brought all the threads together at the end was really effective. (I couldn't quite get over John Travolta's hair, though...yikes. Not becoming at all.) Really interesting movie, and it had some funny parts too. 7/10

17.2: Scarface: 5/8/16
Right now the movies I'm watching are based solely on what's available on Netflix. Since Scarface was on there, I hit this one next. One word: VIOLENT. Yikes. Lots of blood! I watched this one by myself on a Sunday night accompanied by chocolate chip pancakes; next time I'll skip the eating while watching this bloody movie. There was also a LOT of snorting cocaine: towards the end of the movie, it happened multiple times in a frame. Guess that's what I should expect in a movie about a drug kingpin! Also, swearing. Lots of it. One of my favorite scenes might have been when Elvira says, "Can't you stop saying fuck all the time?" Hey girl, that's exactly what I was thinking too.
BUT, I really, really liked this one. The character development of Tony Montana was fascinating, and Al Pacino did an absolutely stunning acting job. It also put some of my rusty Spanish skills to use! And the use of music was a bit cheesy, but strangely overall very effective. Highly recommend, as long as you can handle lots of blood in movies. 8.5/10

17.3: The Godfather: 5/27/16
I realized (after looking through Netflix and Amazing Video multiple times) that I'm sitting on a goldmine of free movie rentals: the UT library! What I didn't think of, though, was the fact that these DVDs may have some substantial damage to them since they've probably been in the library since they came out. Thankfully, for this movie that wasn't such an issue until the very last scene--the entire last minute was skipped over and it went straight to the credits. I had to look up "the ending of the godfather" on YouTube. Bless modern technology.
I'm not sure what to think about this one. Honestly, I had a HORRIBLE time trying to keep all the characters straight: who was whom, who was in which family, who was trying to kill whom, who was married into which family, on and on. I'm thinking watching it again would definitely help. But again, Al Pacino won me over. Not in the sense that I loved his character, but that he did a great job of developing his character. I did appreciate the themes in the movie, about family and honor and loyalty. Maybe I'm weird, or you have to be a huge Italian mafia aficionado to appreciate the nuances of this film, but somehow I wasn't nuts about this one. (*Edit: after talking with Tim, he said he felt the same way the first time he saw it. Maybe I'll give it another try in a few months and see how I feel then.) 7/10

17.4: Fight Club: 5/28/16
Yes, I know, two in a row. Whatever. This was one of the only other ones I could get from the UT library. And holy hell was it fantastic.
I LOVED THIS MOVIE. I was engaged the whole time and it was awesome and I can't say any more without giving anything away so GO WATCH IT NOW! 15/10

This damage made my DVD player freak out. Not cool.

The first rule of fight club is you don't talk about fight club.

17.5: The Boondock Saints: 1/6/19

Definitely took a big break from this one but there's no excuse to not finish this goal in the next month! I had actually seen the ending of this movie twice before while at parties in undergrad, but had never seen the first hour and 45 minutes. It brought up an interesting concept of what happens when citizens play God; thought-provoking and mostly enjoyable (although it could tie with Scarface for the amount of times they threw the f-bomb around). 7/10

17.6: The Pianist: 2/17/19
What a haunting story. This could probably tie with Schindler's List for me in regard to heartbreaking atrocities. Loved this one. 10/10

17.7: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly: 8/11/19
I found this DVD at Half Price Books for $5 and realized it was a sign for me to buy it and finally finish watching all my movies. I'm fairly certain this was the first Clint Eastwood movie I've seen, and he was pretty great. The movie itself was SO LONG (almost three hours) and very longwinded. And, being made in the 60s, the music and cinematography and camera work weren't up to the same standards as I've seen lately with the improvements that technology has made. But, I loved how all the story lines came together. There was definite comical chemistry between Blondie and Tuco. And it might have gotten me interested in watching more Westerns? 8/10

14 down. 16 to go!