Band Concerts and Matte Lipstick

Saturday was my first concert with the chamber ensemble I'm in. It went great! I had to go straight from work, so I was wearing my concert attire all day. In retrospect, I probably should have packed my shoes and worn something with traction, because the snow was kind of an obstacle. Oh, well!

Adorable, but no traction.

The concert went really well. I haven't played in an ensemble since college, so it was nice to do it again. The show was in this old church in Soho that is beautiful inside, which was cool.

In other news, I had been looking all over for this Revlon matte lip crayon, and I finally found it. I may be more excited about this than I should be. Selfie time:

I don't know why my eyes are doing that.

Chamber Ensemble: Survival Tool

A few weeks ago, I started playing my flute again, something I haven't done since graduating from college in 2006. I joined the Classical Fusion Chamber Ensemble, a community orchestra that meets weekly in Manhattan.

I'm not really sure what made me want to play again. Maybe it was the stress of school. Maybe I associate band with a social life, since that's where I made almost all of my friends in high school and college. Maybe it had something to do with turning 30 and getting nostalgic. Whatever it was, earlier this fall I realized I had an intense craving to make music again, so I started looking around for amateur community groups to join.

I landed on CFCE because their repertoire was a fun combination of popular and classic pieces and, possibly more importantly, they didn't require an audition. I mean, I used to be really good, but that was more than seven years ago.

In the three rehearsals I've been to, I've noticed something: I don't worry or think about school or any other obligations while I'm there. It's great. I have this chunk of a few hours every week when my mind is totally distracted and occupied by something fun.

This is the sort of thing I really needed. It's like I get a total reset once a week. I'm hoping it will help me in the long run to manage my anxiety levels.