Federation

2 days till doomsday. But if I survive, then...um...I'll be a doomsday survivor, I guess. Okay, so it's not really doomsday, but about this time every year, it feels like it. There's this fine arts competetion called Federation. In general, you perform some type of fine art in front of a judge, and he judges you according to the guidelines set down for your specific art. In my case, I'm playing the piano this year. I have two songs that I've been memorizing over the last couple months. I'll play those in front of the judge, and he'll score me on rote memorization, dynamics, rythm, etc...I'm competing against myself, trying to do the best I can. You get a score from 1-5, 5 being the best. After you accumulate 15 points, you earn a gold cup. The quickest time frame you can do this in is 3 years, if you got a score of 5, 3 years in a row. Each 15 points accumulated earns you another gold cup, each one succesively bigger than the one before. This is my ninth competition, and in each previous event, I've received a 5. So if I get a five on Saturday, then I'll have a total of 45 points, a record of 9 perfect years, and my 3rd gold cup. Plus I could stop doing this competition and relieve a lot of stress out of my life. :)

I'm playing Maple Leaf Rag, by Scott Joplin, and Epilouge, by Stephen Heller. Epilouge has over 1600 notes. I counted all of them. It's not a long song, it just is quick-paced, and gets intense in some parts. It's definitely my kind song. Lots of dynamic changes, and a beautiful range of notes. It'll sound really good on the grand piano at the competition. I've been wanting to play it for my senior recital since I heard it 4 or 5 years ago at a piano recital. I can still remember how it sounded.

Once I get past this week...things will get so much less stressful. I can't wait. Okay, I'm bushed, or I'd write something a little more spiritual. But right now, I'm afraid I'd say something completely opposite of what I mean, so I'll refrain from typing any longer.