OK, so everyone: VOTE on Tuesday, November 7th. If you're from Wisconsin, VOTE November 7th. There's a gay marriage amendment on the ballot, and if it passes, one of the most draconian gay marriage bans in the country will be put into our state constitution. It not only bans marriage, it bans anything resembling marriage contracts, so even some benefits given by companies will be called into legal question. THIS MUST NOT PASS. Period. And to all sane people out there, liberal or conservative, I say this: vote Democrat. I hate to say that, because I really dislike the Democrats in general; they offer no solutions to anything, are just happy to sit back and oppose everything put out by the Republicans without giving feasible alternatives, and I detest that sort of cowardice. But I don't think I exaggerate when I say that this administration and this congress are the most dangerous to America's well-being in our history. Bush just signed into law a bill steam-rolled through congress that essentially removes the right to habeas corpus, meaning that charges no longer have to be filed to detain someone, even if that person is an American citizen. It also means that people accused of terrorism no longer have the right to see the evidence brought against them, the justification being that that evidence is "classified". Therefore, I don't think I exaggerate when I say that this government is dangerous to our way of life. So none of this "my vote doesn't matter" bullshit. Elections in non-presidential election years are historically much lower turnout, so if anything, your vote matters even more now than it did in 2004. So get your asses out there and vote on November 7th, because if you don't, and the Republicans keep the house and senate, you'll be at least partially responsible for what continues to happen to this country.

End rant.

So today I auditioned to be on the sub list with the Milwaukee Symphony. It was a really strange audition for me in many ways. For one, I had basically given up on it since I couldn't play one of the three excerpts well at all. I figured I'd just blow off the audition, so last night I had quite a bit to drink at a party given by my friend in Milwaukee, and didn't touch my cello all day either. So today I got up and practiced a bit and then went to the audition. Still couldn't play the Mozart excerpt at all, but I didn't really care that much. Still, I don't like being confronted with problems and not finding solutions, so I just figured out a whole new set of fingerings, and lo and behold it actually worked. So despite having not practiced for a day, and being hung over, I had the best audition by far that I've ever had. I'm not going to say it was perfect or anything like that, but I felt really secure the whole time, no jitters or anything. And I just got an E-Mail saying I made the sub list. No mention of WHERE I fall on said list, but hell, I'm happy with the result. The person behind the screen also gave me some really good tips on how to play the excerpts, so I feel I also learned a good bit from this experience, especially about Ein Heldenleben. I was doing it all wrong for sure, the suggestions he gave just made so much sense. So yeah, it was a good weekend for the most part. I hope I get called, if only for one concert. It'd be great fun, and great money.

Well, I just realized I haven't updated in over a month. But really, there's not much to say. This year hasn't quite turned out the way I had hoped. I had hoped to get at least an orchestra position or some students or some regular gigs, but none of this has yet materialized. It's almost impossible to get students (at least in this city) being in town for only one year; even the one student who had originally really wanted to work with me decided (or his dad did) that it would be better to stick with his current teacher. Admittedly I have had ONE subbing gig so far, and admittedly that paid for my lessons for an entire semester, but still, things are tight. As a result I've had to cancel any plans to do auditions in Europe; the money just isn't here. Although the other day my mom suggested I sign up as a substitute teacher with the school district. Apparently all you need is a degree in anything. As scary as that sounds, I may just do it. I know from my own experiences that they are quite hard up for subs with any musical experience, and as long as I only take those sorts of jobs, perhaps it would be kinda fun. I dunno, I'm considering it, anyways. The pay apparently is pretty good. That, and in two weeks I have an audition for the Milwaukee Symphony sub list. Even one gig with them would put me in a fine financial situation. So I'm not entirely bereft of options here. I'm just afraid of getting a "normal" job, since I have all of these big auditions coming up, and hopefully a two week road trip in early December in the works. I need to head out east to play for some people, although it may be tricky to set up appointments with everyone.
My social situation in this city isn't really too bad. Admittedly I see no one but my parents (and of course Mr. Vardi) pretty much six days a week, but somehow I've managed a party downtown at least once every friday or saturday. I even went to an honest-to-god college kegger. I'll never go to one again, but it was interesting to see. And actually, just seeing my parents most of the week is all right. I'm playing on my dad's soccer team, which means a game every sunday, and that's been fun, and we've all been watching MASH and Six Feet Under on DVD quite frequently.
For anyone in Rochester or Boston who reads this, I'm planning on hitting Rochester and Boston in the aforementioned road trip. We'll see how that pans out.