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Post by stringypoo on Dec 12, 2022 3:54:07 GMT -5
And... I got the damned virus. A week before the two-week Christmas break.
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Post by v9733xa on Dec 12, 2022 17:56:35 GMT -5
And... I got the damned virus. A week before the two-week Christmas break. Yeah, the way you were writing there it seemed like it was clear you had a prolonged exposure. My best to you. Take it easy and rest up, friend. |
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Post by stringypoo on Dec 12, 2022 18:24:47 GMT -5
And... I got the damned virus. A week before the two-week Christmas break. Yeah, the way you were writing there it seemed like it was clear you had a prolonged exposure. My best to you. Take it easy and rest up, friend. Thanks. I gather yesterday may have actually been day 2 because I had light symptoms the day before. And yesterday I got hit with a high fever, headache, extreme fatigue, loss of appetite, eternally cold hands and feet, and still hanging on to the light coughs from the previous day. Yesterday sucked. Couldn’t get up on my feet much for anything. Just lay there on the couch and drink warm water and sleep on and off. Today as I lay in my bed about to wake up I surprisingly feel better, but I’m not sure since I thought I was almost not sick yesterday when I woke up and then 2 hours later felt awful. Time will tell. |
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Post by v9733xa on Dec 25, 2022 11:53:51 GMT -5
Merry Christmas!!
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Post by stringypoo on Jan 5, 2023 23:49:16 GMT -5
Well, we still have the most freedom we've had since 2019 here in China with respects to restrictions in the face of Covid. However, now it sounds like there is a new strain which is worse than the one I likely got a few short weeks ago?! Ugh... Supposedly I now have immunity which locals say may be in effect for 2-3 months, but I am just afraid to trust that.
But I've gotta admit, while I previously stated that I really valued my protection over my freedom, it does indeed feel pretty cool to enter the subway or the mall without having first find my personal health code on my phone first to show someone or scan a machine. haha
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Post by stringypoo on Mar 6, 2023 21:59:44 GMT -5
I got chosen by China's most famous living composer (Bright Sheng), who actually now lives and teaches in a university in Michigan, to be the concertmaster (lead violinist) for an orchestra concert at New York University Shanghai Campus. I might have mentioned it already, but I'm really stoked and also quite anxious about it, especially given that the rehearsals are finally here with tonight being my first. Bright Sheng is especially famous here because he composed the music for the Beijing Olympics ceremony, along with a ton of other great works.
I'm especially anxious because I have no idea who the violinists who will sit beside and behind me under my command and leadership will be. At this point I practice violin so rarely since moving to China that I don't really always feel worthy of such a great opportunity, especially when I might be placed in charge of a group full of daily violinists from esteemed faculty positions of high level music colleges like Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where most musicians play circles around me.
But anyway, anxious energy aside, I'm beyond stoked to get to perform this exquisitely dark and cinematic piece of music by Schoenberg called Verklarte Nacht. If you want something dark, rich, intimate, and oddly uplifting in bursts of absolute serenity and purity, do check out this piece. The ending is so beautiful, in deep contrast to the uber dark beginning.
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Post by stringypoo on Mar 12, 2023 22:53:31 GMT -5
I got chosen by China's most famous living composer (Bright Sheng), who actually now lives and teaches in a university in Michigan, to be the concertmaster (lead violinist) for an orchestra concert at New York University Shanghai Campus. I might have mentioned it already, but I'm really stoked and also quite anxious about it, especially given that the rehearsals are finally here with tonight being my first. Bright Sheng is especially famous here because he composed the music for the Beijing Olympics ceremony, along with a ton of other great works. I'm especially anxious because I have no idea who the violinists who will sit beside and behind me under my command and leadership will be. At this point I practice violin so rarely since moving to China that I don't really always feel worthy of such a great opportunity, especially when I might be placed in charge of a group full of daily violinists from esteemed faculty positions of high level music colleges like Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where most musicians play circles around me. But anyway, anxious energy aside, I'm beyond stoked to get to perform this exquisitely dark and cinematic piece of music by Schoenberg called Verklarte Nacht. If you want something dark, rich, intimate, and oddly uplifting in bursts of absolute serenity and purity, do check out this piece. The ending is so beautiful, in deep contrast to the uber dark beginning. 22 hours of rehearsal/performance time later I am finished with the awesome week performing under Bright Sheng’s baton. And sure enough, I sat concertmaster in front of likely one violinist who could probably outplay me, given she’s in China’s #1 orchestra. But I proved myself and nailed all my solos and everything. Bright Sheng even invited me to a private dinner after the first concert. We talked about his interest in having me be more connected to New York University Shanghai as a more regular performer and also teacher. That meant a lot to me. Never thought I’d have impressed him enough to have such a conversation. Whether it happens remains to be seen, but it was a really special week/weekend. Also, I got extremely sick on the day of the last concert. People thought I wasn’t going to even make it to the stage after the intermission. But I pulled it together for the Schoenberg, and likely nobody in the audience noticed anything. Seems I may have gotten the flu. Too bad I’ve not had a flu vaccine since I was a teenager. But I think I’ll be fine as long as I manage this fever with medicine and stuff. |
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Post by v9733xa on Mar 13, 2023 17:41:31 GMT -5
That's amazing! (Not the flu part.) Great job.
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Post by stringypoo on Mar 16, 2023 3:26:49 GMT -5
Boy, my experience with flu A has been rough. I actually was less miserable when I had Covid...The extreme exhaustion I've had these last four days is brutal!
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Post by stringypoo on Apr 17, 2023 2:54:52 GMT -5
Well, the school I work for in Shanghai will sponsor up to $4,000 to do roundtrip tickets to go home this summer, so I'll be going home to the US (Arkansas) for the first time since the summer of 2019. Ticket prices are gross and the better priced tickets have unsettling total travel time hours, although sure, it could be worse. Probably going to aim for one of these that is a total of 28 hours travel that stops in Tokyo for too long and then flies into Houston and then waits too long there before going to Little Rock.
I don't know why, but I have slight feelings of anxiety over the idea of being home after this long. I know my mom won't want to drive once I'm there and she'll ask me to take the wheel, but I've been driving a very different car over here in a KM/Hr system with different traffic rules and a push to drive on the gutsy side these last four years so I'm firstly worried about feeling severe differences with that. Additionally, I have grown so habitually dependent on most meals coming with a bowl of rice, whether it be home or at a restaurant, and as silly as it sounds, that is an element I don't want to change. However, the eating back home is catfish buffets (Honestly, yum, but I might feel disappointed now since food here is so generally awesome), fast food, and more average-level buffets that I could pass on (Golden Corral, blah "Chinese" buffets, etc...).
However, at the same time, I'm excited that my mom now has a daily gym habit so I can for the first time back home go to the gym every day and lift weights while on break, and possibly avoid gaining a gut while I overeat at the catfish buffets. And it might be a chance for me to bang out a game I've been wanting to play (my videogaming habits have been so reduced due to my heavy work schedule and parenting). At the very least, Magic the Gathering Arena will rotate out the oldest 4 sets from standard and release a new set around the time I get there, so I'll be free to play it up as much as I want, which is cool.
My home is boring...a small college town. I hope I won't lose my sanity there for 3 weeks. Maybe I'll take my mom on a roadtrip to Kansas City, and let her eat the ultimate barbecue. Yes, I've tasted almost all the crucial BBQ scenes' food of the US and I firmly believe KC is the best BBQ in the country. Fight me on it, BBQ nerds!!!
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Post by stringypoo on May 11, 2023 9:45:18 GMT -5
Managed to get a round trip ticket package to go back to the States and stay in Arkansas for 3 weeks and then come back to Shanghai for just a few bucks under $2,000. I miss the days it was possible to get that under $1,000. I have a long layover in Korea, which will be a first time layover spot for me. I imagine I’ll need to find a meal there based on the itinerary, which bums me out a little because I would rather be in the Tokyo airport looking for food since I don’t enjoy Korean food as much. But then again, they’ll probably have a nice variety in the Korean airport anyway so it should be fine anyway.
Speaking of Korea, my buddies here found out about a North Korean restaurant in Shanghai and went. They were told they couldn’t take pictures or videos (but of course they snuck a couple), and I must say it was quite a visual treat! Now I want to go. Legit North Koreans running a restaurant here…fascinating to me. Their restaurant was super colorful and had a girl band performing in the background, along with dancers. Cool stuff.
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Post by stringypoo on Jun 12, 2023 3:58:11 GMT -5
I’ve slain this page!
Finished my first year at the new school in Shanghai! Busiest job I’ve ever had in my life. Not sure I’ll want to go beyond the two year contract, but it’s good experience nonetheless. Also by far the best paying job I’ve ever had. Now, time for a well-deserved two months off! Arkansas-bound on July 6th!
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Post by v9733xa on Jun 16, 2023 17:42:26 GMT -5
I’ve slain this page! Finished my first year at the new school in Shanghai! Busiest job I’ve ever had in my life. Not sure I’ll want to go beyond the two year contract, but it’s good experience nonetheless. Also by far the best paying job I’ve ever had. Now, time for a well-deserved two months off! Arkansas-bound on July 6th! Congrats! And have a safe and happy trip. |
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Post by stringypoo on Aug 9, 2023 21:42:51 GMT -5
Welp, I've been back in China for about 2 weeks now after my trip home to Arkansas. Jet-lag is still a factor and will probably be so far 2 more weeks, as it takes me usually a month to get over it fully. But I started orientation week for work here at the international school in Shanghai on Tuesday and that's also helping me get back into routine.
As I alluded to in the chatbox, after not having been in the US since 2019, I was alarmed by how expensive so many things were over there. I had plans to go shopping for clothes there since I have a lot of older stuff and wanted new stuff, but clothes have gone up so much in cost that I ended up buying nothing there and coming back to Shanghai and buying new clothes for way less. Also a lot of groceries are way higher in the US than I last had seen.
On the flip-side, it was still the same friendly and relaxed vibe kind of place it was before. People are especially friendly and caring in my hometown in Arkansas, much more so than in Arizona where I was before. And I was so glad to find out that Popeye's Chicken is still killing it in the fast food fried chicken industry. Love that shit! Too bad they exited China during the pandemic...they were killing it here in Shanghai for a good year and a half.
Trying to cope with the idea that I may never move into a full-time teaching job as an orchestra teacher and that my 20-year-old plan of being an orchestra teacher will always be minimized as an after school club once a week and a very part time orchestra conducting position I do outside of school two small seasons a year. I guess even in a city with high emphasis on music learning, orchestra jobs are fading out.
All that aside, I still love living and working in China. And vacationing here I found out this year is quite excellent. The place I went to this Summer was the best vacation I've ever taken. Went to a place called Wuyishan, climbed a gorgeous mountain called TianYou Peak. It rained the whole time but it was still well worth it. The hotel was incredible, and the hospitality was beyond anything I'd seen. Hotel breakfast each day was better than a $100 buffet back home.
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Post by v9733xa on Aug 11, 2023 17:30:20 GMT -5
I went on vacation to see my parents in Myrtle Beach. We all got COVID right away. Sat around for a week and did nothing but feel miserable. Wasn't great.
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