Thursday, November 30, 2006

Update o' Borin'

Yeoman's work today. I spent all day cooped up in my officetel, working diligently on all manner of clarinet crap. It went well, but I'm fairly sure my neighbors should want to shoot me by now. At least this morning I slept in and refrained from assaulting their sensibilities until around 1pm. I've got similarly grandiose plans for tomorrow, but I'll be getting up a bit earlier. Perhaps I'll make some plans for the evening. Don't know yet.

To fill some space: I've also watch a number of movies lately. Tonight, I just finished

Boondock Saints: faintly acceptable, but just don't pay to see it. It gets pretty damned absurd at points, but watching Willem Dafoe riverdance is amusing.

The Transporter: Okay, so I realized that I'd seen this about 20 minutes in. Watched it anyway. It's harmless fun. Maybe I'll watch the 2nd one as a followup.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Hey You!

No...not you. The one beside you. Yup, you. Hey, who are you?

(For those of you who aren't the "you" up there. Here's what's going on. I have a regular visitor from San Mateo. Problem is, although I'm stupendously popular with drunken hooligans and family members (and the intersections of those two groups doubly so) in Boston and NC, I know not many people in that area. At first, I thought my writerly relative (I'm one step from openly whoring for any one of his books...Good stuff.) might be dropping in, but I've been assured by another family member that he lives outside that area. Perhaps it's Roman. I'm not sure...However, I'm happy to openly shine the spotlight on a lurker. Perhaps there's a bit of embarrassment in the reading of my dreck, eh? Perhaps you don't realize that it's you, but your ISP is in San Mateo. My comments section awaits...

The truth will out! If not, I'll just become a paranoid glob of a former-clarinet player as I descend into world where only the identity of such a lurker makes any importance.)

Oh yeah...Met the new student. Is musical and has technique. Right on, eh? Let's see if I can refrain from ruining the poor guy.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

Hm...no rehearsals recently. I'm prepping for the next cycle. Instead, I had to go with the orch on a retreat just outside of Seoul. Lots of kvetching in Korean. I didn't need to complain or give suggestions at all. In fact, it was best for me not to.

I did get cornered and invited up to drink soju, beer, and whiskey with some of the elder statesmen. A good time was had by all. It was remarked upon several times that I seem to learn the drinking ettiquette (very complicated) and the language quickly. I finally admitted that I had a little experience with both. They were so nice to me...And heavy handed with the soju. As I've been visited by the soju devil before, I knew how to keep up without actually going drink-for-drink with these guys. I just don't have the constitution. They were amazed that I was able to go until 2am. The next morning, I kept getting the "How do you feel? Are you okay?" and I always said "Great...Why?" Their response, "Wow...So strong." Frankly, I wasn't even drunk when I went to bed. Just slightly buzzed. I was sober enough to start a Phil Roth novel. Thank you to all my friends who tried to kill me with Soju over the years. You made it possible for me to survive through strategy rather than fortitude.

At least the food was good...Bibimbap for lunch...Yum. Oh...and the instant coffee mixes are kind of neat. Never had that in the US. I did manage to arrange to do the retreat and not miss a day of practice. Nice, eh? I didn't get tons of work done, but I did get somethings under my belt.

My "friends" haven't sent me any pics from Friday night. When they do, I'll pass them along. Plus the tails pix, as the Comments gallery is clamouring (rightly so) for them.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

That and this...

Tomorrow I meet my new student. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to teach him, but we both know my situation. Apparently, someone somewhere thought that I might be able to help him with a number of issues. I'm excited. I do love teaching and it's been nearly a month since my last lesson. Teaching another forces me to think about being a good musician. This student is apparently a local university student, so I should be able to discuss more advanced issues. Lovely.

I look damned fine in my new tails. I'm thinking about wearing them all over the place. It's proper for wearing to the local fish cake street vendor's stall, right? I'm pretty sure I'll start a Astaire/Rogers kind of scene, but that can't be helped.

In addition to insano practicing, I get to hear a flute recital tomorrow. I only have to walk a few blocks. She comes highly recommended from another flutist I trust. I'm sure it'll be fun...She's playing a ton of violin music in transcription.

Friday, November 24, 2006

A Safe Release Valve

In a fantastic counterweight to the stress of the job, I met with old friends tonight: YH Kim, YR Kim, DJ Kim, SY Cho, and S Kim. They're all chums from undergrad. We spend the evening eating, drinking, and being merry. Fun all around. Now, considering that we all have fancy-pants phones, there are tons of pics and videos out there in the ether. Those pics should be filtering in to my email box over the next few days. I'll post them so those of you who know them can enjoy vicariously our revelry. We were so tame compared to our raucous shivarees of nearly 10 years ago. Frankly, I much prefer this kind of get-together. I enjoy just relaxing and talking. Of course, it wasn't all soothing and boring, but we were all constantly comfortable. I'm positive that all involved thoroughly enjoyed themselves. A good hang.

These were a few of the people I was really looking forward to seeing when I came Korea. Of the 6 of us, exactly half (including none of the males) are married now. So strange to think of them all hitched and whatnot. Congratulations to them.

And with that up-note, my tipsy ass is going to go to bed. I've got to get up and do a bit of shmoozing in the morning. Crap...I've even got to practice. Ooh...but there's a prize at the end of the rainbow with another social engagement tomorrow evening. To slumber with me!

Thursday, November 23, 2006

The More Things Change, The More the Stay the Same Loud Crap

Okay, Concert #2 in the bag. So far, the bag isn't exactly something you'd pick up at Saks. It's more like something you'd get at Club Monacco. Let's see if we can get up to Louis Boston by the next gig, eh?

So, the horribly frightening tenor aria from Tosca was played with a bit of resignation. I'll explain: In preparing a piece for rehearsal/concert, I prepare every nuance I can (including playing the occasional right note). Now, that means that I try to take an honest approach to dynamics as well. If Verdi says 'p', I try to play piano. Now, if Verdi says 'p' but it's a solo, I try to take both of those into account. My preparation assumes that everyone else does the same.

Christ...When will I ever learn? One of these days, I'll finally figure out that 'p' means loud. 'mf' means loud too. 'f' means loud. 'ff' means a little bit louder. 'pp' means look like you're trying to play soft (but don't take the bait and actually play soft). And here I am all impressed with Verdi's clever use of dynamic markings in this particular aria. He manages to create quite a bit of clarity so all voices can be heard, if the dynamics are observed religiously. When you find a group that makes playing and thinking about the dynamics as marked a real priority, it's a special thing. In fact, that's when performances tend to sizzle.

Alas, I'm going to have to give up on this bit of kiddie claptrap and just return to what I was doing 6 months ago, just yelling through my clarinet for 2 hours. Nice...

That's not why I continued playing the clarinet all these years.

Whose job is it to demand this prioritization? The conductor's. Am I really going to have to get back into that nonsense just hear some composers played they way they wrote?

I think I should just go to bed before I start throwing ChocoPies around my room. The ChocoPies deserve better than that.

Oh...I'll end on a high (?) note. My old tux pants are entirely too big for me now. What the hell? Have the pants gremlins been sneaking in at night and letting out my tux pants again? I'd better leave out some kimchi for them tonight to divert them.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Took a right proper shit on Tosca today. It wasn't relaxing at all. It's simply amazing how orchestral musicians respond when they see 'p' or 'pp' written in their parts. I'm starting to see why Gunther used to get tied up in fits. If I were conducting, I'd be putting my thumb on the orchestra pretty hard by now.

Of course, I played like ass regardless.

Doesn't help when I've got water in nearly every tone hole as the the room is -freezing-. Which is more expensive, heating the hall that extra little bit before, or paying for my cracks?

Done with my rant...short and not-so-sweet.

Bite me.

Monday, November 20, 2006

These are not the Donuts you're looking for...

They're gone. They weren't the normal glazed though. If I stumbe upon the local KK and don't see the glazed as I know them to be, I may have to burn the place down.

So I shat all over rehearsal today. Oh, and the rehearsal was entirely in Korean. Ha ha....I usually knew where we were going to start each time we played, but my 2nd player saved me a couple of times. Why make things simple? I'm pretty sure that the conductor said "Do this phrase the way the clarinet does" a few times, but I'm not going to stake any money on it.

We even got the afternoon off. They cancelled the afternoon rehearsal. What did I do to celebrate? Went home and watch Clerks 2 (Very funny...there were many laugh-out-loud moments. Hilarious, I'd say. Er...But don't watch it with your Mother.). I wanted to be FAR away from my clarinets.

After that, I went back to practicing. -Much- better after the break.

The wind section in the orch looked completely different than the last cycle. There was a new oboist on trial (poor girl was scared out of her mind...ah, those were the days...Er...those were yesterdays and todays...And last week. And probably Wednesday and Thursday.). We just barrelled through alot of the repertoire, but didn't play Lucevan. Damnit...The only thing I'm worried about, and I'll get one shot in rehearsal on Wed before Thursday's concert.

Gotta go in for the fitting on the tux tomorrow morning. Expect lewd pictures.

Okay, what they hell? Two of my friends have decided to hook me up with two of their friends. Now, the two friends don't know each other (as don't the two other friends (once-removed) either, I'd imagine)...Oh, and we're not talking about simultaneous "hook me up," so stop leering.

I'll repeat "What the hell?" I mean, it's nice that they think I'm worth pimping, but perhaps they've just tired of me and are already pawning me off? We'll see. On a similar note, I think that I shocked and awed the 3 young ladies in the orch office today. Er...not in a good way either...I'm pretty sure they were amused/horrified at what I had to say. As Marie knows, I tned to shoot for a healthy dose of horrified.

Oh, and finished the day with Shaun of the Dead. Outstanding.

Tomorrow: Tux and setting up Sat's plans. Oy.

(Take the Oy as yiddish or punk rock...Here it works as either.)

Sunday, November 19, 2006

2 Krispy Kreme Donuts are Sitting Next to My Laptop

Whoopee...The tux tails are on their way. I have to go in for a fitting Tuesday morning and will hopefully be able to pick up the finished product before Thurs' concert. I believe that the concert will be at the Seoul Arts Center, but I'm not positive. My friend, a fellow clarinet enthusiast, helped me with the negotiations and got me an excellent price for a custom tailored set of tails. What a way to spend my money, eh? I'd better be paid on time.

Just in case the tails aren't ready, I brought the white bow time home with me. I know, I know....You don't have to say it. I'm a genius. (But I don't mind it if you do say it out loud.)

When I say "excellent price," I really mean, "Wow...Holy crap...In the US this guy couldn't make a living!" Ah...Korea...and Itaewon. Lot's and lot's of competition on that street.

Hm...what else? Oh, I now am well-stocked with movies to keep myself busy while not practicing.

Ooh...and apparently I'm going to be heading out on Sat. night with someone new. Nice, eh? Does that mean that I have to not look like a disheveled rat who just rolled out of the gutter? Damn...It's been a while since I've had to do that...Perhaps Wikipedia can help me out with that.

One last tidbit: My clarinetist friend and I dropped by the Seoul Arts Center (so I'd know the layout before my concert) and also went by the Seoul National University of Arts while we were at it. They're in the same complex, like Juilliard and Lincoln Center. The place felt alot like NCSA...A nice mix of dancers and musicians running around being artsy fartsy (to quote Mr. Potato(e)-head Quayle). It turns out that the Clarinet Ensemble has a concert on Tuesday night outside of Seoul (I had to initiate the questioning as my friend was too shy. Who's the one that speaks Korean here, eh?) As I can't really go to the concert, I was invited to come to the rehearsal tomorrow night at around 7/730. I hope that I can go. The program looks odd, which is my cup of tea. (Basically, I'm fine as long as I don't see any mention of Pachelbel.)

No pics worthy of posting this time.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Eureka! Eukanuba! A Rusty Tuba!


No, I'm not sure how I managed to get this photo to my email account. But at least I know now that it can be done. Of course, I know not how much it cost me, but I'm not in the mood to worry about that. I'm just elated that I managed to somehow navigate my phone's insanely Korean menus.

Oh...and I know it's a small pic. I've adjusted my camera to take larger photos next time. We'll see if it works.

Oops...Almost forgot to ID the photo. It was just sitting on the side of the street. It's about a 5 minute walk from my Officetel/Apt. It's amazing how many old building are just left lying around, huh? For FSM's sake, can't someone please replace this with a Starbucks? (If you're lucky, I'll take a picture of the only Starbucks in the world with the signs in the native language. Apparently, the community in Insadong didn't want a big English sign on their street. )

Let the willy-nilly picture taking commence! Tomorrow, I'm off to Itaewon to buy some Tux Tails and a white bow tie. I'm positive some pictures will come out of that one. Want to see me being fitted for a tux? Too bad...I'll burn your retinas anyway.

And with that...Screw you guys, I'm going home.

Details

Okay, so I haven't been posting lately...and my earlier post was more of a hit-and-run than a detailed missive. Here we go:

So I saw a beautiful production of Tosca last Monday night by the Teatro di Roma. Tosca and the Tenor lead were really quite good singers. Scarpia was okay. He was certainly competent, but he lacked the resonance to get his voice to the back wall. Frankly, he lacked the resonance to get to about the 15th row. Oh yeah, that's where I was seated. My ticket says that my seat was 330,000 won, which translates to more than 300 US bucks. No, I didn't pay for it. You know me better than that.

Yes, I really did eat live octopus. Apparently, I have relatives who don't believe me. If you'd like, you can call DJ, JY, and Yuri to confirm my story. They're all NEC alums. There was also a bass player at the table, but I didn't know her or her name. No one bothered to introduce me. They were too busy preparing me for the plate o' writhing tentacles about to be placed in front of me for my consumption. It was good...but he wasn't too keen on being eaten that day.

I've been told that I will be meeting with the NEC Koreans next friday for a little shindigging. I do hope that my shins stay intact.

Ooh...A concert coming up Thurs. The rep, you ask? I'd be happy to divulge as it's sitting on the stand next to me:

Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliette Ov.
Verdi Lucevan e stelle (Tosca)
Verdi Brindisi from Traviata
Elgar Salut D'Amour
Sarasate Carmen Fantasy (w/ Marimba, I do believe)
Bizet Toreador Song from Carmen
Puccini Vissi D'arte (Tosca)
Reinecke Ballad for Solo Flute (w/ the orch's excellent Princ. Flute as soloist)
Bernstein/Mason West Side Story Selections for Orch.
Puccini Oh! Mio Babbino Caro (Gianni Schicchi) {hitting all the big tunes, eh?}

Yeah, it's seems to be a bit o' the popular tunes, but they're good tunes.

Holy crap is my internet connection fast. I think that this posting will actually get posted before I finish writing it. It's that fast.

Oh, and apparently I've got to learn Peter and the Wolf for Dec. for an as-of-yet-unnamed group and concert. Mmm...I do like playing the clarinet for a living. It's nice to be the prophet in another land for once.

Oh, and I spent at least 3 hours today playing Eb clarinet...Till Eulenspiegel and Symphonie Fantastique. Those damned trills are going to be the end of me...Or of my neighbors' patience. So far, no one has said anything to me about the insane amount of racket I'm making. Let's hope they keep that up. I'm counting on at least a little bit of confusion when I open the door to upset banging...Only to be a whitey who doesn't understand what is being yelled at him. How long do you think I can feign complete ignorance before someone finds a taser?

Oh yeah, I've had another inquiry about a student. I've given the initial go ahead, but I'm a little wary to get too booked right now. I still haven't seen all the palaces. I still need to write my old student.

Speaking of which, I'll go do that now.

Friday, November 17, 2006

On the Net Again...

Whew...Who'd a thunk it? I actually had to exert pressure to get back on the internet. I now have blazing fast 'Net in my Officetel. My new place is right behind the Sejong Center, so I have about a three minute walk to work, when I have to work.

For the past 5 days, I've basically been sitting on my ass practicing. The next concert (the 23rd) is my 2nd here, but I've got to play Princ. the entire time. I've got to do Lucevan, which I heard the Principal do several nights ago in Tosca. He played beautifully, so I guess I've actually got to know what I'm doing here. The orchestra is already used to playing this aria well. I can't exactly come in a crap all over it. Well, I could...But I'd bet that the orchestra would find an open seat on a Boston-bound flight pretty easily.

Since I last posted, I've looked around Seoul a little, eaten live squid, gone to a friend's concert, bought dubious VCD's of Korean movies, read a book on Philosophy and The Simpsons (it's due back at the Stagecrew Library soon, but I'm pretty sure they're not even sure I have it), read most of a book of Richard Feynman's letters, made myself a regular at the new (to me) bakery downstairs, started adventuring out by myself to various restaurants (including the 24 hr joint across the street...Kim Bap Heaven...literally), and various other whatnot.

I have to get my friend to return my phone calls so I can order my tails, though.

No, not tail...tails...as in a tux, doofus. Keep your mind out of the gutter.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

From crap to almost crap

First two rehearsals under my belt. The first one was not pleasant. I didn't play very well at all. A little too nervous, a little too crappy on the reed front. So I promptly ran home and worked on reeds so I at least couldn't blame inanimate objects on my poor performance.

Today's rehearsal, the second, was better across the board. The reeds were better, as were my nerves. Hopefully I can continue the upward trend tomorrow. A little better each day would be acceptable, I guess. A lot better each day would be even better. Of course, perfect every day would be ideal, but I'm afraid that's just not on the menu.

Gonna move tomorrow...Yup, that's right...Moving. Don't know where. Apparently this new place is quite nice and nearby, but I don't know any details at all. I don't even know the internet availability. I hate moving. I'm really into being sedentary. Once I have a stable practice area, I can get a lot of work done. I really dislike moving from place to the other. Do mechanics have to move their lifts and whatnot around all the time?

Monday, November 06, 2006

We Don't Need No Edumacation

No, I haven't figured out how to transfer photos from my damned phone yet. Stop asking.

Holy crap...I just heard a Korean metal band trying to cover Pink Floyd on tv. Another brick in the ____? I'm pretty sure it's wall, but they seem to feel otherwise. Bizarre.

I'm still amazed at how cheap the food is here. An assload of octopus (pretty sure my insides will give out as my companion requested it "extra spicy" as some form of Rumsfeldian torture) and a rice concoction made from the remains cost less than 20 bucks. A damned blueberry muffin that would be at least $1.50 in the US is less than a buck here. I'm pretty sure I'll be 200 lbs when I return. (Nope, I refuse to think about kilos until I get a contract extension.) An extra 50 lbs will insulate me for winter...

Okay, so I didn't have any rehearsal today at all. That was a mistake. I start tomorrow. For real...Stop snickering. Really. And only 2.5 hours in the afternoon. Nice, huh? I get to practice all morning, have a leisurely lunch with a colleague, rehearse, and then promptly run screaming back to my apt. to fix all the horrible things I've done during the rehearsal. My neighbors are probably already sharpening their pitchforks.

Come to think of it, that's the only type of store I haven't seen here in Seoul: a pitchfork sharpening service.

Did see a room salon, though. Gotta stay away from that business. If you don't know what it is, google it. I'm not getting into that one.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Checking In

Oy vey...An addendum: Any city where two people can eat until they're full for less than 10 bucks (Yes, less than ten dollars American) is freakin' awesome. Amazing...Plenty of good food for a pittance. How on earth does the restaurant pay their bills?

Oh yeah...Apparently, I have 6 hours of rehearsal tomorrow. Yup...You read that right...6 hours of rehearsal. That's officially an assload o' hours of rehearsal for one day. I'm fairly positive I'll be out of my mind tired when I'm done. That's why I'll be heading out with another friend for dinner. One should always chase one's worries with food.

This and that...

Oh wow...Any country where the cell phones work on the subway really is topnotch. Jebus.

Oh yeah, spent all day practicing. Gonna go get some food with a friend. Slowly, but surely, I'm working my way through the list of people I wanted to see. If this whole clarinet thing doesn't work out, I wonder if I can make a living eating the food here. Someone check on the details...I'm sure it can be done, but I'm a little busy with other things at the moment.

Oh yes, to return to a familiar note: I hate reeds. If I could, I'd find out who invented them and gut him like a fish. Entrails everywhere...A real Michael-Myers kind of scene, I'd expect.

I'd better eat soon. Getting frightfully grumpy. At least my illness is getting much better. I had to enlist the aid of a pretty girl to get my other friend into a pharmacy to help me buy some medicine. It's working, thank FSM. It's sad that I know his weakness so well.

Oh...gotta run.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Oh yeah...

I'm -so- going to get in trouble here. My radar is on the fritz from being completely overwhelmed. I'm in the midst of recalibrating it, but...damn...Wow...

Seoulian Hodgepodge

Alright folks, I have my address and cellphone number here in Seoul, but I've decided not to post it. I figure that you'll just have to email me (or leave a comment here) and I'm happy to pass it along. I just would rather not post it here for the bots to scavenge.

So one of my friends forced me into using the subway alone last night. Oy vey. It was quite an adventure. I'm amazed at how many stations there are on this system. I'm fairly sure that I'm going to have to cajole a friend into helping me figure out how to buy some kind of pass. Today was a second run and it went alot better. Only had to double back in the station once.

So the job is looking good. The first concert is going to beat me like a rented mule, it appears. I have to play principal on two pieces. Of course, I had been told to practice the 2nd part. I will play 2nd on a 3rd piece, but damn. It appears as if I will be playing Principal for the entire 2nd and 3rd concerts, but I'll bet that will change at some point. Either way, at least I'll have a shot at showing my wares.

I'm not positive yet as to why, but I haven't figure out how to turn on the air conditioning in my room. I do love the heated floor, but I'm not sure as to how to shut the damned thing off. As a result, I'm in a room about 10-15 degrees warmer than I'd like. It's also a bitch to keep my reeds in good condition.

Back to music: Went to a concert last night by a pianist with formidible technique. Really quite impressive. She was playing music that wasn't exactly filled with substance, so it was hard to get a read on her musicianship. Really impressive technique though. Afterwards, it appears as if I was offered a recital in the hall. I think that I politely expressed interest but made it known that I needed to wait a couple of months before I could schedule something like that.

Between that and the several inquiries about students I've had, it looks like things might be heading in the right direction. First, though: Not sounding like ass.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

First Full Day

Okay, got my first full day in here in Seoul. A few hours of practice in the morning, a few in the afternoon. I sound like poop. Yup, poop.

Last night, an old clarinet friend and I wandered over to the Sejong Center. We looked around the area briefly so I'd be able to find my way back today. Today I wandered over to the office only to find almost no one there. I'm still not aware of what I'm supposed to be playing on what concert. Considering that my first rehearsal is Tuesday, that's slightly worrying. So far, I haven't been able to get ahold of my Principal player to set a few things in stone.

So far, I've managed to meet two friends for dinner separately. In the next day or so, I'll make contact with more of them. I'm already getting IM's left on my computer from friends here. I'll make some calls tomorrow and see what happens. Gotta stay away from too much wackiness until the jet lag and cough are gone.

I'd better get this clarinet business under control soon. Gotta be all fantastic and whatnot for the first day.

Sleep is calling me...

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Product Placement

Jeez...Starbucks really is everywhere. Since it's a brand, they don't even bother putting the sign in Korean.

Oh yeah, I'm alive and in Seoul.

Once I convince my new cell phone's camera to send images to my computer (or dowlink directly to my brain), I'll post a few pics to prove that I'm alive and in Seoul.