A Conductor on a Train

It was on my train trip from Innsbruck to Ljubljana, Slovenia that I realized I was a conductor.....on a train! :-)

Field Trip to Salzburg

 

Salzburg, Austria - one of my most favorite cities in the world! I love it because it's charming, friendly, touristy, and most of all: MUSICAL! I've spent the past five weeks teaching music in the UNO Innsbruck program and on Wednesday, July 31 had the tremendous fortune to take both of my music classes on an afternoon field tip to Salzburg.

We left with  a packed lunch and our bus took us through incredibly beautiful Alpine valleys all the way there. When we arrived, we walked into the old town and met Professor Josef Wallnig at the Dom. Prof. Wallnig is a conductor and opera coach at the Mozarteum. Constanze Mozart had always wanted a music university in the city where her husband had been. When she married von Nissen, Constanze lived right in the middle of the old town. The Dom was closed for the moment because of preparations for the Jedermann play (held every evening at this time in the Domplatz).
So, he took us into the Residenzplatz - where the lovely horse fountain is and talked to us about the Dom and surrounding buildings. He mentioned that long before the original Dom was built (in 774), the area of the square, underground, had been an outstanding Roman place of worship and before that a Celtic place of worship. The Celts had been in the area first and had established salt mines. The mines around Salzburg have been in use for 7,000 years! The history of the Dom is incredible. It suffered from MANY fires and was rebuilt each time.

view of the Dom from Prof Wallnig's rooftop

Next, professor Wallnig took us to his apartment / house. He told us that it had been in his family for over 150 years and that it was here that Leopold Mozart came occasionally on business and often for the merchant theatre that happened in the area.

Just across the street lies the original Cafe Tomaselli. Leopold and Wolfgang Mozart (link is very good biography, right at one hour) used to come to this café and take coffee often. At the time, it was not ladylike for woman to be at cafés so Anna Maria, the mother and Maria Anna "Nannerl" we're notable to come. At a later time, Wolfgang's widow Constanze was given a written note from her doctor allowing her to have coffee for her digestive ailments.

Prof. Wallnig led us to the next floor where he gave us some water and elderberry juice. I noticed there was an Alpine hammered dulcimer, a guitar, a harpsichord, framed sheet music, a book from the late 1700's about Salzburg, and many old gorgeous, refined and interesting pieces of furniture. Then, he said it was time to work and gave out two bird water gurgling flutes, one wooden flute, and various small percussion instruments to members of my class and lined them up. They were nervous and giggly :-)
He told us that there was a tiny sinfonietta, the "Cuckoo" and that they were going to accompany him as he played the piano! I will try to upload the hilarious video once I get it! :-) :-)

Dr. Wallnig and my class perform!

It was joyful, fun, and HILARIOUS and there was lots of laughter!

After this, we went up to the rooftop where we had a SPLENDID panorama of the city! Unbelievably cool!
My students asked the professor a few questions and he talked to us about the festivals in Salzburg and his role in the Salzburger Festspiele. He gives pre-concert talks for all of the operas and sometimes gets to fill ion conducting! Many of his students are involved in the chorus, operations, or minor roles.
We then said our goodbyes and met our tour guide Brigitte who plays a type of folk flute and sings. She took us inside the Dom and talked to us about how it had been rebuilt several times and its architecture.


main altar of the Salzburger Dom

She also discussed the four small chamber organs up front near the main altar area under the dome. Having been there before, I had figured I had to do with small events and perhaps some polychoral music, but it was actually more to achieve a quadrophonic sound in the round. In fact, because the cathedral was just "the cathedral" for the archbishop etc. and not named after a saint or Virgin Mary, the main, large pipe organ in the rear was used only for entrances and exits of large services or for special guests. The smaller four organs up front were used for regular services, in Mozart's time, one have had strings, one winds, one brass and timpani and one soli /choir etc.

Each often had an organist and it was impossible to see each other so there had to be someone behind each organ keeping the pulse. There was also actually a fifth organ where the lowers altar is now. The four organs and various instruments - right under the main dome (73 meters) created a massive and quadraphonic sound.

We scurried off to catch the opening procession of the Jedermann play and then made our way to Mozart's Gebursthaus.

Here, we heard about Mozart's family, saw music examples from Leopold and Wolfgang and saw Mozart's clavichord. Most of the original furniture that had been in the other Mozart house (where they moved when Wolfgang turned 17) had been sold after Mozart's death. Constanze wrote a note and left it on the clavichord saying that upon this instrument, chosen for its softer dynamic, Wolfgang composed mostly at night and had written his final four pieces.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Clavichord

Our guide then walked us across the river where she told us a little about Herbert von Karajan. She told us of his large number of recordings and the story of hos he was supposedly to have helped determine normal CD length of 74 minutes due to his not wanting to interrupt a Beethoven's 9th symphony recording. Here's the snopes on that: Undetermined: http://www.snopes.com/music/media/cdlength.asp

Herbert von Karajan

We ended with a walk through the lovely Mirabell gardens.

 

What a fabulous day!!
Salzburg, I WILL BE BACK!

Beautiful Alps on the way to and from Salzburg

Out beyond ideas of rightdoing and wrongdoing, there is a field

Westminster, MD, photo taken in 2009 by CPC

 

Out beyond ideas of rightdoing and wrongdoing,
there is a field.

I will meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase "each other" doesn't make any sense.

 

~ Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (1207-1273)



ÖWF, PolAres, and Aouda Spacesuit Lab in Innsbruck, Austria

My Visit to the Austrian Space Forum





Earlier this week, on Tuesday, July 29, I had the honor of visiting the ÖWF  (Öesterreichisches Weltraum Forum), the Austrian Space Forum! Just how did I come by this terrific experience? Twitter! That's right...I mentioned something about JUST arriving in Innsbruck too late and missing an awesome European space tweetup (a meeting in person for those who have met online and share / tweet about similar interests) and the fantastic Remco Timmermans (@timmermansr ), head of World Space Week (another link explaining the event HERE), saw my tweet and wrote that while I was in Innsbruck teaching, I should try to meet a few Austrian spacetweeps and he gave me their twitter handles. As it turned out, the wonderful, witty, and sweet Olivia Haider (@olidax ), chief financial officer and social media guru of the ÖWF, wrote me back! So, after teaching a while and getting my bearings in Innsbruck, we made a plan to meet at the forum office so I could see the PolAres program and see the Aouda spacesuit lab! Needless to say, I was very excited!!!

Olivia Haider

From the website: "The OeWF is The Austrian Space Forum (Österreichisches Weltraum Forum, OeWF) is a national network for aerospace specialists and space enthusiasts. Our organization serves as a communication platform between the space sector and the public; it is embedded in a global network of specialists from the space industry, research and politics." ~ http://www.oewf.org/cms/oewf_en.phtml

It has a history and habit of outreach to young people in Austria and beyond!
They told me some of the plans for the following day included setting up a telescope with a solar filter in the Old Town near the Goldenes Dachl (Golden Roof) for the morning and a city park for the afternoon. The goal was to give young people....or any people really, a glance at the sun and to talk to them about the sun and space! How COOL!

Some of the OeWF's recent projects include:
- PolAres field simulations - In February 2013, the team went to Morocco to do testing in high temperatures and arid environment. They conducted an analogue Mars field simulation to prepare for future Mars missions.
- Stratospheric balloon tests
- Aouda - Aouda.X Analog spacesuit prototype for planetary surface exploration

- Phileas - a rover built for robotic work and in cooperation with astronauts

When I arrived, the president of the board of the OeWF, Dr. Gernot  Grömer, and Olivia Haider greeted me. We went upstairs to Dr. Grömer's office to chat for a bit. He is charming, brilliant, funny, and very hospitable. We talked about how the ideas of space exploration, and in particular, Mars exploration, are becoming more widely accepted in places like Austria and how the forum is expanding its outreach and media efforts across all ages. He mentioned that now, instead of saying IF we go to Mars, more people are saying WHEN we go. That is a giant leap of progress!

Dr. Gernot Grőmer, President of the Board of the OeWF in his office w/ a lovely Alpine setting

Next, we went into the lab and I saw a 3-D printer that they had assembled. This was a treat for me as I had not yet seen one in person. Dr. Grömer told me that they had a previous opportunity where people could write code for the printer and send it to the OeWF. What resulted was that some people wrote code to make it move and used the different pitches of the printer's movements to create music. One such piece that someone wrote for was the Star Wars "Imperial March"!   HAHAHAHA!

Following this, I met "Dignity" the grandfather of the Phileas rover that was given to the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2009.

It was very special that I got to play with the rover. My goal was to move it across the floor and pick up a candy bar.....which just happened to be a Mars bar :-)

SUCCESS! I did it :-)

Proof that I did picked it up off the ground :-)

Now it was time to see the Aouda spacesuit!
I was able to touch it and ask questions about the suit. Analogue means that it is the practice /ground version of  the suits the astronauts wear and not the real one. Nor is it always hooked up to working cameras, air systems, etc.

Inside was a rather low-tech piece of blue pillowed cloth and I wondered what it was for.
Dr. Grömer told me that when you begin to sweat in the suit, your nose begins to itch. The stripe of pillow cloth is actually for you to scratch your nose! I also got to see some of the garments worn by astronauts. In particular, an inner layer for underwear, has a unique cooling cloth which was very interesting.

We talked a little about upcoming projects including an event for World Space Week where the OeWF Innsbruck office and lab will be the hub of activity for Austrian space events. THIS IS SUPER EXCITING!!!! They will include live feeds interacting with the OeWF for a number of events.

Mars meteorite at the OeWF

I cannot thank Gernot and Olivia enough for taking their time out to visit with me and to let me play with their rover and see the lab! I had a wonderful time. For more information on the OeWF, see the links above or contact them! Know that space exploration, serious and recognized research, and tons of science is being done in Austria at the OeWF sites! They are an inspiration!

Follow them on Twitter!!! @OEWF and @halidax

Ever-Evolving Bucket List

Bucket Lists
I have always had a keen sense of the brevity of life. I never think of that as morbid, rather, I have been simply, yet acutely aware that our human lives on Earth are precious and short compared to the vastness of our cosmic surroundings. I fully believe God prefers us to live our lives to the fullest rather than to hold back. I feel my own life has alternated between periods of holding back / being conservative and times of going for it, as I am sure many of us feel. In the past twenty years or so, I have mostly tried to pay attention to what fulfills me and what I would like to do with my life - rather than trying to please others to the point that my own objectives are thwarted or my soul squelched. Sure, I am still a people-pleaser in some respects and I desire "approval" from some (we all want to be liked etc.), but I am much more self-reliant and confident in my middle age. Yes, I actually think forties would count as middle aged and THAT, friends, is a wake up call if I ever heard one. Another wake up call is in my inherent belief that life is worth living, fun, full of adventures to be had, and life is not written in stone.

Found in the Marigny neighborhood, New Orleans.
An example of the idea that we all want to
make a lasting impression.

So the bucket list? I was recently talking with someone about wanting to ride horses again and that I had always wanted to go hang-gliding......that I sort of wanted to try skydiving and that I definitely wanted to ride in a hot air balloon. They remarked "where did you get such a spirit of recklessness?" In my opinion, these were all things that were risky, yet people do them every day and they're not as unusual as true daredevils or perhaps as risky as skyscraper window-washers...simply by the fact that these things would probably be done once or twice and not all the time.

Then, I began wondering what it was that gives some of us these wild tendencies and desires to push the edges of our own comfort zones. Amazing how each individual has a world of comforts and ideas so different from his neighbor! Some people have a more physical need for adventure. Naturally, this took me to thoughts of my own ever-evolving bucket list. Then, I realized that the adventures I named were on my bucket list - along with several other things!

My list has changed over the years
and my ideas of what would be fun to do or lasting or important or life-changing have also changed over time. I've done many things that were formerly on my bucket list and I feel lucky to have had the opportunities that allowed me to accomplish certain goals, the strength to complete certain challenges, and the humor and grace to see when NOT to pursue some things! LUCKY LUCKY LUCKY!!!

In kindergarten, my list of things I wanted to be when I grew up numbered 25. I wanted to do everything! A few of the things I had always wanted to do from my childhood included:

- be a racehorse jockey
- be a singer (solo, as in opera)
- be a mother
- be a scientist
- a gardener

I ended up riding horses and did some shows when I was young. Then, in my teens in trained horses for a short while. I never had the body that was necessary to become a jockey and my life didn't follow that path, but it still included horses so all is well :-)

I did not ever become a shining example of solo singing, but I have done some solos and I do try out from time to time. I do lots of choral singing so I feel very fulfilled by that and by singing under genuinely FANTASTIC directors - all is well :-)

I didn't become a mother and went through a period where it was difficult for me to even hold a baby. I'd tear up and then feel mopey for a day or so. Then, it occurred to me that if I truly wanted a child, I could indeed adopt and have that part of my life. The idea made me analyze what I truly wanted. It also occurred to me that I truly didn't want to have a child without a husband and life partner and when I found someone like that - I wanted to spend time with them first before having a child. The desire began to subside when I realized I had the option to adopt and I didn't do it. It also began to be clear that in spite of the fact that most married folks socialize with other married folks, in the big picture of life, there will always be a place for the single. All is well :-)

I am so NOT a scientist, though I began as a biology pre-med major. I have managed to become a #spacetweep and allow my inner geeky side to emerge in the past few years.
I enjoy reading and learning about science, but not having the pressure to retain it all or teach it fulltime. I am lucky to be a JPL Solar System Ambassador and that was a dream come true! It allows me to share my enthusiasm for space and science with others and to meet so many people that are actually involved in areas and projects that I admire!

Gardening....well, let's just say that at least I like plants ;-)

Purple cone flower, pic taken in Chiusa, Italy 2013

Other items
- be a conductor - YES! I did it! I continue to strive for being better at it!
- be respected for what I do  - So far, I feel pretty good about this, continuing to strive to be better and do a good job with my jobs!







What is on my bucket list NOW?
- Travel (I'd love to see Machu Picchu, Soviet Georgia, spend more time in Northern Scotland, see Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, etc.). I have been SOOOOO LUCKY throughout my life to be able to travel, save up for more travel, and travel on paid trips to sing or to teach! Advice to young people about travel - JOIN A CHOIR.

- Write a couple of books (small or large, fiction or nonfiction....they are IN ME and it doesn't matter how or what, they will one day come out). My Mom's a writer (novels and prolific amounts of poetry) and my brother has written poetry. I enjoy blogging, but one day will bust out a book. Heck, I also like those silly tiny books one finds at check out counters in Barnes & Noble stores. Maybe I'll have some terrific inspiration one day for those!

- Learn more languages (Oh, let's see: Portuguese, Bulgarian, Italian). I may be too lazy. I'd like to learn many languages by osmosis. That would be sweet!

- Fly a plane - My father was a WWII pilot and I have always wanted to fly. In high school, I was too afraid my motion sickness would prevent me from doing this, but later I learned that it would not. The only factor that continues to prohibit me from taking pilot lessons is COST. At some point, I WILL DO IT!

- Own land - I recently decided....WHY NOT? I have plans in January to look into buying some land (empty lot for future probably)

- Work in the church - I already do this and I LOVE what I do. There is another calling, however and I'm not sure if it's to the deaconate or perhaps to be certified as a chaplain for places such as a university chapel or hospital. The desire has always been there. I've recently begin to get spiritual advising from a wonderful person and I have written my spiritual autobiography which I'll share as a post later on. I'm not quite ready to share it just yet. I used to talk with Fr. Keith Burns, chaplain at Porter-Gaud School when I was in HS there and my numerous ponderings have come and gone over the years. In the past three years, they've come and not left me so......time will tell if it is something I want to pursue futher.

- Skydiving or hang-gliding - these are so exciting! I hope to do one of them at some point in time. Maybe parasailing would be safer and yet still be thrilling! Perhaps it will be enough to fly a plane.....:-)

- Make a positive difference in someone's life - I think I've done this, I think MANY have, but it is something we continuously strive to do throughout our lives. I think it's important and hope to be able to accomplish it.

I AM SURE THERE WILL BE MORE THINGS!!!!!

What is on YOUR Bucket List?

Lovely sunflower, pic taken at Venice train station, July 2013. All hail to Leonardo of Pisa (known as Fibonacci)!

Life is Short - Shut Up and Smell the Roses!



Life is short, people! I am struck by this time and again as I see people ignoring beauty that surrounds them or forgetting to look up at the stars at night. I am crazy busy at certain times of the year and every day during the school year may be packed. I revel in being busy and I LOVE all the different things that I do! In contrast, periodically, I occasionally waste away a whole day doing absolutely nothing at home, inside. I love sleep, sometimes a little too much :-)

REGARDLESS of all of the above, I do take regular time to "stop and smell the roses". It's usually not announced like my concerts or travels are, but I do it and SO SHOULD YOU!

 

Newsflash: Life is short

Common Complaint: I don't have time

Another Newsflash: YES YOU DO

Order: Shut up and smell the roses!

LIVE your life for YOU
Get rid of naysayers, negative people, mean people, and criticizers - they come in all shapes and areas of life. The good news is that if you leave them to their own devices, they usually leave on their own.

GO OUTSIDE. Sit in that patch of green grass with clover. Have yourself a picnic! Take a walk or bike ride, drink your coffee in the park, park your car near the park.

LOOK UP at the stars. If you're in the city and there are too many lights, make a point to drive out to a place where you can see the stars. It will change your perspective. It will change you.

SPEND time with kids and pets, the elderly, and nature.

LAUGH and let it loose - don't let others make you feel wrong or stupid for doing it. Ignore them! They might shake their heads, roll their eyes, and even make snide comments. Let them. You go on and LAUGH :-)

Pick flowers occasionally or buy yourself some. It's so nice and you deserve it!

THINK. Take time out to sit and think. Think of people, places, stories. Sometimes you'll laugh and sometimes you'll cry, but it will be good for you.

GIVE people opportunities. In the end it is worth it. Sometimes people don't realize they've had a good opportunity until it's gone. Give everyone a chance. Give them two chances.

GIVE yourself permission. Give yourself fearlessness.

SMILE. Smiling can happen on the inside or the outside. Many of my smiles are inside :-)

ASK  Ask the question. Ask for something you want or need. Sometimes, if you don't ask, you'll never know

TELL someone you like them or love them. Go on, do it. It doesn't have to be hard to do and it doesn't have to be in the romantic sense. Sometimes, it's something someone needs to hear and sometimes it's something you need to do. We forget, busy humans that we are, to interact with each other on this level and sometimes we wake up and realize it's too late. We wonder if they knew we cared about them or liked something about them.

VISIT someone you always said you'd visit! Make it happen and if it can't be a physical visit, there's always Skype

Write your books, paint your pictures, sing your songs, dance your dances, climb that mountain, build the treehouse, learn a new language, wear what you want, eat healthy but splurge sometimes, go to that movie, buy the roller skates, ride the hot-air balloon, travel, save, spend, re-read your favorite book, connect through social media, paint your toenails, go swimming, step in the puddle, throw rocks at the lake, learn to cook...

CREATE, support, learn, encourage, partner.

RISK making a fool of yourself, risk standing up for what you believe even when it's hard

LOVE Give love, be love, love your life, love yourself. Have brotherly love, have romantic love. Treasure love, remember love, fight for love, cherish love. It's always worth it.

VOLUNTEER! Donate to a charity. It will be worth your while and make a life better

LEARN  Learn how to use some technology, learn to be nice to yourself, learn to be open, learn to dance.

BE  Be you. Be willing. Be adventuresome. Be fearless. Simply, BE.

DO NOT EVER TAKE LIFE FOR GRANTED

Staying On Track - Life 10-11 Weeks After VSG

Update for 10-11 Weeks Out from Surgery
It only took me four weeks of being in Innsbruck, but yesterday I happened upon a store here that is similar to GNC stores back home! I was overjoyed to see it even though they didn't have all the same products. I brought my own supplements to Innsbruck: a multi-vitamin (gummies), fiber (gummies), B-12 zipmelts, Biotin, Thiamine (B1), and Calcium/D melts. (Hmm, can you tell I like gummy vitamins? HAHA!)  By the way, B-12 zipmelts are AWESOME and I highly recommend them. Any weight loss program, but especially weight loss surgery, risks B deficiency and this is an easy way to keep your vital energy levels up.

Still, I have not been getting all my protein in every day so I have been keeping a lazy eye out for protein shakes and haven't found any until I saw this store yesterday. Our free cafeteria lunches often have breading around whatever meat they prepare and while it is tasty, I cannot eat very much of it at one time so finding protein without breading is a goal of mine. Also, I love salads, BUT the majority of them have been pre-packaged, often with peppers which I cannot handle at all, and/or they are not included in our complimentary lunches. So, I have had to avoid them thus far. I am able to select fresh cucumbers and shredded carrots -  if not already vinegared and salted up. It seems to alternate every other day...

   

I suppose my preferences could be considered a bit unusual in that I like raw, uncooked, un-messed-around-with vegetables and fruits. In MY opinion, it is unusual to want to doctor up foods to the point that they either become mushy, tart, overly salty, or pepper-infused. Blech!
Anyway, this store had protein shakes and I bought some and was extremely disappointed. They taste HORRIBLE to me and are too thick. Upon opening the bottle, it even had a skin to break through which made me question the freshness and sealant and worry about food poisoning. So, foiled again on that front, but I will keep trying for the protein while I am here another 13 days.

I did buy a scale, finally, to see how well I have been keeping on track with losing. Since being in Austria, I have continued to lose slowly and have lost about 9 lbs. This makes my total 51 lbs !!!!! I've been walking everywhere and I am positive that helps. At home, my exercise consists of walking in City Parks at least twice a week. Cooler weather seems to make me want to walk the French Quarter more and hotter weather only City Park in the mornings. I used to have a treadmill and it was one of my dreams to own one, but I had troubles with motion sickness on its moving belt - in spite of the fact it was a high end Nordic Track treadmill. I had to take Bonine every single time I used it and so it fell out of use for the most part. I used to ride my bike frequently, but stopped while in Milledgeville due to the lack of sidewalks and pathways for riding in combination with being heavy and feeling awkward about it. I do plan on getting a new bike in New Orleans this Fall, but feel like I will only ride it around the park or on levees b/c of the traffic and scary neighborhoods I have to traverse. Nevertheless, I'm excited about getting back into riding and I hope to continue my journey toward a better shape! Notice that I wrote SHAPE and not HEALTH. This is because I was already in good health before I elected to have VSG surgery to aid with weight loss! :-) I like to point that out every so often because a great assumption regarding those who are overweight is that they may be very unhealthy. It is not always true!