Yo-yo Ramirez

You scored as Cello. Cello. Not much to say about the cello. apologies. Cello 92% Oboe 75% trombone 67% Tuba 67% French Horn 67% Viola 58% Bassoon 58% Violin 50% Clarinet 33% Trumpet 33% Flute 33% String Bass 25% Percussion 25% If you were in an orchestra, what instrument would match your personality? created with QuizFarm.com

Follow up

So after all that talk about the inappropriateness of our music in Church we went and played really well yesterday. There were only four of us there so the music had to be kept a little soft in order for us to sing over it. We made no mistakes with the entries, played no wrong chords (well I did play the wrong note on the bass twice in the same song but it was the 7th so it didn't sound like a mistake per se), and our harmonies were on. We sang the songs in clean hamonies with simple music and it worked really well. If things were always like that I wouldn't feel bad. Our "concertist" did have a solo song but since the rest of the Mass was toned down it didn't feel as inappropriate. He did it for meditation and it's a song with lovely Christian lyrics. Even I sang solo! I wasn't even nervous. Thanks, Toprol!

I think the major difference is that for the first time in a while it did feel "Godly".

I thought about the whole thing more over the last few days. Personally singing Bach chorales in Mass would be the ultimate for me, but I know that a lot of people wouldn't share that opinion with me. In the same way maybe I need to be more open minded and give our music more credit. Just like I like something that others might not appreciate the same thing could be going on in our Mass. Admittedly, I think the majority of the people go for the wrong reason, but there really are some people who are genuinely touched by our "noise".

The only problem is that with our music being catchy we tend to be the place where the people who go for the wrong reasons flock to. If you're going to church to not pay attention (for show), would you go to the "boring" Mass or the one with upbeat, catchy music. You'd go to ours. So we end up with the highest concentration of people going for the wrong reason and then we're blamed for it. They are not going with the right intention and then being distracted by us. A lot are going for the wrong reasons in the first place. Unfortunately we make that easier for them I guess.

Ok not sure if I'm making sense but just wanted to mention this. This won't be the end of the topic.

Habemus papam

Here are two articles in which our new pope discussed the role of music in the liturgy:

Article 1
Article 2

I'm not pleased that they decided to go conservative in their vote. But let's put aside all the big issues like abortion, birth control, and homosexuality. One thing that our new pope has also said no to is "rock music". And that, my friends, has a more direct impact in my life.

For the past 13 years I've been a member of Incarnation's "charismatic" choir. I began attending that Mass sometime in high school mainly because I had made friends with people who attended it. Deep down, I still enjoyed the more mellow English Masses better and I still do. But the music downstairs was catchy and the community that attended that mass was very tight knit. As someone who was having trouble fitting in at that point in time, it seemed like a good match for me.

Our original director was very charismatic (as in friendly). What he lacked in musical abilities he made up for with a wonderful personality and kind heart. Under him our music was clean and simple. We did play some "folk" rhythms like merengue and salsa but it never seemed over the top. He also liked some of the more traditional hymns as well. Our instrumentation back then was a guitar, bass, and percussion. Sometimes we also had a keyboardists and a drummer. There were 3-6 female singers and about 2-4 male singers.

Eventually our director had to leave our church because he relocated. By that time my now husband and I were in a relationship. I had just graduated as a Music major and JC has started gigging in merengue bands. We became the de facto new musical directors. Because of the informal transition we were never seen as true authority figures to the rest of the group. Slowly but surely it became ruled by committee. The people with the strongest voices and the more aggressive personalities began to exert the most influence. They wanted the music to become more sophisticated and knew we had the ability to take it up a few notches. They wanted to get more solo songs. They wanted to say little prayers before they began their songs. Intoxicated by the music making, we went along with them. But deep down I've never been comfortable with the changes. I've always felt that we were becoming too strong of a focus. Rather than being background music for the Mass we had become the "stars". I feel that the only reason no one in power (i.e. the priests or pastor) has said anything is that the music has drawn a ton of people to the Mass. It is probably the most highly attended Mass in the parish. People enjoy the music because it brings them back to their home country (usually DR). This type of movement is very popular back there were the Catholic church is dwindling due to Protestant proselytizing.

Sometime last year I realized that I had become quite disconnected from the Church. I've been going every Sunday but feeling kind of empty. I had started to feel uncomfortable with the "noise" that we were producing. Sure it was nice music, but is it really appropriate for Church? Are we hindering people's faith experience instead of aiding it? I've been worried that we've become a distraction. Or worse still, a vehicle for sensationalism.

So (skim) reading Ratzinger's articles has hit a nerve. Not really because I disagree with him. But more because I find myself agreeing with some of it. This is disturbing to me.

(Ugh I don't have my MLA handbook so ignore the funky quotes.)

Ratzinger:
"Rock" . . . is the expression of elemental passions, and at rock festivals it assumes a cultic character, a form of worship, in fact, in opposition to Christian worship. People are, so to speak, released from themselves by the experience of being part of a crowd and by the emotional shock of rhythm, noise, and special lighting effects. However, in the ecstasy of having all their defenses torn down, the participants sink, as it were, beneath the elemental force of the universe.

Harrison:
What is this other than a new form of idolatry? The folly of trying to attract young people to the Church by integrating 'rock' and similarly debased forms of music into her liturgical expressions should be obvious.

It sounds so harsh. But I have to admit that I have been thinking along these lines. I've long suspected that at least some of the people at my mass use it as a sort of emotional release. They lead empty, sad lives and look for the music to give them happy feelings they can't obtain anywhere else. Sure we're providing a good community service, but that should not be the primary reason they're going to Church. We've long justified ourselves by saying "Well at least we're getting them in here. The priests will take care of the rest." But if they're not really there mentally, then what's the point?

A selfish part of me does not ever want to give up what we do. We obviously enjoy it. For many periods in the last decade it has been my only musical outlet. But I guess that now that I've found another I am more willing to give this up if I have to, which is probably why my "faith" crisis happened around the same time that I got back into music. But more than the whole music thing what I would be even more unhappy about is letting down my community (or worse still to be ousted from it). They really love what we do.

You know, now that I'm thinking about it, the problem is really bigger than us. Ideally what should happen is that the leader of our church should guide both the community and the music ministry (us) to the truth. If we are doing something which is really against doctrine then he should help us understand that and help us understand what we should be doing. At the same time he would have to explain to the people why the changes are occurring. And help them grow in their faith, without the use of a crutch.

But will that happen? Most likely not. Either no change will occur and we'll remain out of touch. Or we'll get ousted.

I have a lot of thinking to do over the Summer.

The good, the bad, and the ugly

The good news is I got a B+ on my Chemistry test.

The bad news is that my score was 60 out of 90.

The ugly news is that the class average was a 45 out of 90.


You gotta love Bell curves!

More junk food woes

You know, I don't even consume all that much junk food. Just some occasional candy. But apparently the powers that be do not want me to enjoy my glucose elevating experience. Here's a note I just sent to the Twix people:


I would like to start off by saying that Twix is my favorite candy bar and I normally consume about two bars every week. My experiences had always been wonderful until recently. The only reason I decided to write was that both negative things occurred within the same week and concerns me. The first was that I purchased a "limited edition" version of Twix that was not to my liking. The wrapper was of similar color as regular Twix so even though it did say "limited edition" on it I figured it had to do with some sort of contest or a historical wrapper of sorts. Well much to my dismay when I opened it I realized it was a dark chocolate version of Twix. I don't like dark chocolate at all and neither did any of my friends, so I was forced to throw it out. Then yesterday I bought a new bar, checking carefully to make sure it wasn't a special edition. I was eagerly anticipating the familiar Twix taste. However, though the expiration date on the bar isn't until June of this year, the bars were both stale tasting. Actually, it was as though they had been frozen at some point. The caramel was not tender, instead it was tough like a taffy. The cookie was too crumbly and a bit bland. And so I was dissapointed yet again at not being able to enjoy my favorite bar. I feel badly about not having written earlier to say how much I enjoy Twix. But as a fan I felt it necessary to make you aware of possible quality problems and possible confusion regarding the limited edition version. I think that for something as radical as using a completely different type of chocolate coating, the wrapper should be VERY different from the original. Maybe it should have been a black wrapper. Something more blatant than the small blue box may have worked better.

Thanks for listening and am looking forward to your response.

Stupid newscasters

Last night I had either CBS or ABC on as background noise while I worked on some Chemistry problems (for that damn test tomorrow). They were talking about a case of a cat being kidnapped in a posh Manhattan neighborhood. The owner thinks it's somewhere in the building. She received an anonymous note saying that the cat had bonded with an autistic child so the kidnapper couldn't bear to separate the two. She will never see her cat again but can rest assured that it would be well taken care of.

Then the reporter mentions how the cat has a microchip between her shoulder blades and so next time kitty goes the vet, the vet will immediately be able to tell that this is a missing cat and alert authorities.

Now that she blabbled that on TV do you really think that the poor kitty will ever get a check-up again?

STUPID!! What the hell was the point of saying that?! That required more than one person's lack of foresight.

As my Dad says: "It's idiot country out there. "

For the land of the freeeeeeeeeeeee

Sorry to anyone who's reading this. I've been a bit busy. But I do mean to make some updates in the next few days (once I'm done with this upcoming Chemistry test).

In the meantime I have been cheating on this blog with my new blog. Because I don't want to saturate this one with my oboe and other classical stuff I've created a new blog that is all about that. If you're very bored check out Dominican oboist.

I hope to make a post about my job soon. One that will answer once and for all the "what is it that you do at work?" question.

About me

1. IF YOU COULD BUILD A SECOND HOUSE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD IT BE?
Since I probably couldn't build a house in NYC, I'd have to say in DR then.

2. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLES OF CLOTHING?
My Legolas t-shirt. And my "cool cat" one (cat with a saxophone).

3. THE LAST CDs YOU BOUGHT?
Oboe Obsession (Allan Vogel) and Classical Underground (Imani Winds)

4. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
7:45. After a few snoozes.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KITCHEN APPLIANCE?
Hmm, I have a large collection of kitchen appliances, but if I had to pick a favorite I'd pick my vegetable steamer. I rarely ate veggies before I had it.

6. IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I've found my dream instrument already (oboe). Some day I'd like to play it and the English Horn very well. But if I had to play another one entirely I'd pick either the French Horn or the Double Bass.

7. FAVORITE COLOR?
The dark blue hues of the sky at dusk.

8. WHICH VEHICLE DO YOU PREFER, SPORTS CAR, MOTORCYCLE, OR SUV?
My favorite car right now is the Infiniti FX35 which I guess counts as an SUV.

9. DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE AFTERLIFE?
Yes.

10. FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOK?
I was into Judy Blume and "Choose Your Own Adventure" books during grammar school. But from about 6th grade on my favorite books were the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?
Late Spring/early Summer.

12. IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS IT?
No tattoos, but I admit that at times I've wanted to get one of an anhk.

13. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Flying would be cool. Or invisibility. Or how about "tomorrow I wake up as a wonderful concert musician even though I didn't start playing at 4"? Actually I just thought of one! Turning back time!

14. CAN YOU JUGGLE?
Nope and never really felt the desire to.

15. ONE PERSON/PEOPLE FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO?
Any of my grandparents or my cousin Gladys.

16. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED?
Amazingly, nothing.

17. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DAY?
Friday

18. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR HAMBURGER?
I hate sushi. I've tried it several times already and still hate it. I hope I never have to eat it again. Give me a bacon cheddar cheeseburger anytime instead.

19. FROM THE PEOPLE WHO NORMALLY READ YOUR BLOG, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
Not sure anyone is really reading this.

20. ON WHICH BLOG DID YOU FIND THIS MEME?
Terminal Degree's. Just discovered her blog today through oboeinsight.

21. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER?
Iris. Oh, and orchids.

23. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEAL?
I feel like this one is in every quiz. Rice, black beans, fried steaks, and maduros (fried ripe plantians).

24. DESCRIBE YOUR PJS.
I like to wear cotton nighties.

25. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BREAKFAST?
Hmm. Maybe french toast with bacon. Or an English muffin accompanied by a white chocolate raspberry latte.

26. DO YOU LIKE YOUR JOB?
Not one bit. But I am not any closer to finding one that I would like.

27. WHAT IS YOUR DREAM JOB?
Part-time physician, part-time musician.

28. WHAT AGE DO YOU PLAN TO RETIRE?
Who knows. Maybe never at the rate I'm going.

29. WHERE DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE OR SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
At church :-)

30. SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT YOU HAVE NEVER DONE BEFORE.
Play in a symphony orchestra. Go to Europe. Quit this job and not come back.