The P Family

The amount we've been through is amazing.

Unlike most of the people I write about now, I've known them since before I can remember.  My dad was good friends with Mrs. P in high school, and our families have always been close.  There's always a special connection between people who have known each other for so long.  That, and the ages lining up so close with the ages of our family (AP and I, MP and J, DP and A).

Unfortunately the power of going to different schools has hit us hard.  It's amazing how something that we will look back at as being so inconsequential can determine friendships like that.  People always say that people with the same values and personalities will always find their way into friendship, but at the high school level, it's hard to be interschool.  Specifically, topics of conversation are lacking.  How much common ground is there between people who do absolutely nothing together?  Not much.  How easy is it to have a conversation with someone if you don't actually see that someone.  Not easy.  And friendships do end up suffering.

Two nights ago, my dad and I went over to their house to wish them a Merry Christmas.  They had the whole (big) family over, but still welcomed us in anyway.  As soon as I got in, I began playing a game called Quelf with AP, DP, and one of their friends.  It was like we had never been separate.  We had a great time playing the game, and even went for another round when we were done.  After that, we went to sing Christmas Carols with the rest of the family, and that was also a great time.

At the end of the night, I got AP and MP's numbers.  We need some way of keeping the friendship together.  I don't want it to die.  Both personality wise and in values and history, we have so much in common.

-NM

To My Readers:

December 25th, 2013

To my Readers,

Merry Christmas!  I know is has been a chaotic time for all, as it is every year.  Between getting presents, and sending cards, and various concerts, it can be a stressful time of year.  But today is the day that (hopefully) everything paid off!

Personally, I got more presents than I expected.  These included presents that I had already gotten in previous years, presents that I had asked for and gotten, presents that I didn't ask for and really liked, and one specifically that made me feel a little guilty.  But, as we are constantly reminded, Christmas is not about the presents.  As much as certain movies like to make us feel that believing in Santa is embracing the Christmas spirit, we sometimes need to be reminded that this couldn't be more true.  In fact, it is quite the opposite.  The more we can remove our focus from the gifts, the more we can embrace the true spirit of Christmas.  To be reminded, Jesus only got three presents that He didn't even ask for.  And He never would have gotten to use them properly, as He had to flee the country shortly after.

My favorite part of Christmas every year is that the family gets together every year.  That is it.  Seeing and being closer to family.  

On a different note, I would like to take this time to thank you, my faithful readers.  I realize that I have not been posting nearly as much in recent months, and I haven't been completely happy with what I've been writing.  I feared that people would stop reading my blog altogether.  However, this has not proved to be the case, even though views are down.

The reason I haven't been posting much is a simple analyzation of the blog's purpose.  As stated in the Introduction, the blog is dedicated to the "people, places, and events that have had an impact on my life."  I was finding that most of my posts were just summaries of events that people who know me would have known already.  Primarily, I am shifting the focus of the blog to the "people", and the events and places in which they impact me.  This has meant less posts, but that is not the primary concern.

I shall keep writing! Stay in touch!

-NM

Office Party 12/21/13

I tell you, this is quickly becoming a day I look forward to on a yearly basis.

It's the annual party of all the people my dad works with, and their families.  The past two years have been great, and so much fun (see 12/22/12)!  I had really high hopes for this year, and I must say that it made my expectations.

At around 5, we all left to go pick up A from dance, and then head over to the H-M's house.  When we arrived, things were starting kind of slow, and then picked up pretty quickly once everyone started arriving.  We went downstairs and played some pool and ping pong.  I was moderately successful at pool, though not nearly as successful as CM (who insisted she couldn't play well, even though she played the best and lived in the house).  The ping pong was dominated by J, though that wasn't a huge surprise.  Eventually, it was time for dinner, and we all sat down.  Dinner was great.  The food was magnificent, and so was the water.  I mean, stuff you would normally get in a restaurant (the adults even got menus).

After dinner we played a little more pool/ping pong, but eventually the adults decided we needed to put on a show.  We did a good job.  V played her flute.  NC, SW, and I played piano.  HC, CM, and A sang.  A and I presented what we had written so far of our "Twas the Night Before Christmas" (and ended on a half cadence).  We even got J and JC to join me in a rendition of We Three Kings.  And afterwards, we all sang a few songs together.  The highlights being SW singing with us on "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", and our less-than-wonderful attempt at the Hallelujah Chorus (next year we're going to bring music).

I never looked at my watch/phone the entire time.  I couldn't have told you what time it was.  When we left, it was 11:00.  I think a lot of people were just as shocked to find out how late it was.  Time really flies when you're having fun.  And sometimes the fun comes from people you hardly even see.  Yet it is fun nonetheless.  I look forward to this same gathering next year.

-NM

CMU

I applied Early Decision to CMU.

I think the best way to describe why I wanted to go is summed up in the essay I had to write describing why I wanted to go there.  Here it is:

            When my junior year started, I realized that the time had come for me to give serious introspection and consideration towards applying to college.  I realized I needed to consider what kind of a student I was, and what type of college I should be looking for.  I remember one day, early on in my junior year, a booklet of information from Carnegie Mellon had come in the mail.  Although I had discarded several such booklets from other schools, I knew that I wanted to keep and read over this one.  The more research I did, the more I began to realize how perfect a fit Carnegie Mellon University was with my talents, my character, and my goals.  Because of this fit, I have decided to apply Early Decision to the Carnegie Institute of Technology, so that I may become part of all this University has to offer.

            First, I know that Carnegie Mellon is a university in which I could use and build upon my talents to my full potential.  I have always been a student who has excelled in Mathematics and Science.  I recognize that I need to go to a school where I can build on these skills that I have developed, and there is no better school to do this than Carnegie Mellon.  Even during my undergraduate schooling, I would be able to participate in research with my peers.  This is not simply learning in the traditional sense, but it is also creating knowledge for others to learn.  Not only this, I would be receiving a world-class education that is incomparable to most other institutions.  Here, I could use the talents I possess to do good, while enhancing these talents to the greatest extent possible.

            Also, Carnegie Mellon fits well with everything non-academic that I could hope for in a college.  First of which, I have lived in Sewickley for most of my life, and have come very close to all that the city of Pittsburgh has to offer, but I don’t want to live in what one might call a “city school”.  I hope that I can go to a college that enables me to continue to take advantage of this, and I would love for Carnegie Mellon to be that college.  While it offers the advantage of the city’s opportunities, it is a school where one is not necessarily crossing six lane highways between every class.  In addition, the campus community is one where I see myself fitting in., which I could clearly tell after visiting on October 4^th.  As a friend and member of the Carnegie Mellon Class of 2017 puts best, “One thing I’ve really come to like about CMU is just being surrounded by incredibly motivated people.”  I have always been a self-motivated person, and would love to join this community.

            As to my pursuits at the university, the motivation is clear.  I have always been strong in the math and sciences, and engineering is the perfect fit for me.  I would love to become an engineer some day, and Carnegie Mellon, as one of the country’s top engineering programs, can help me achieve that goal.  As to the type of engineering, that actually came from a conversation I had with a Carnegie Mellon Professor, Dr. James W. Schneider.  We talked about what Chemical Engineering really is, and I began to realize not only my strong ties to Chemical Engineering, but also how much I would love to take a class taught by this professor, and I am confident that there are others like him.  This conversation on October 4^th was the final factor for me.  I realized that I could not see myself anywhere but here, so close to the city I love, taking classes with people I fit in with, and taught by teachers that I felt a connection to, while using my experiences to achieve my goal of becoming an engineer.  For all these reasons, I have decided to apply Early Decision to Carnegie Mellon University.

Last Night, the letter arrived.  I got accepted!  I now know where I am going to college, and am thrilled!  I told everyone, my family, JR, all my friends (sorry if I left anyone out).  It's the beginning of a new era.  And I like it!

-NM

Ensemble Successes

Today was a successful day for many reasons.

First of all, it meant the first time in a while that the ensemble performed somewhere other than with the QV chorus.  For reasons, not completely clear, we didn't do a whole lot of that last year.  The year before, we did, and it was always a great time.  Finally, our group is good enough that we are able to do this again.  I'm glad we did.

Another successful part of today is that we sang well.  We did all the ensemble stuff that we had been working on, and did it well.  We even did In the Bleak Midwinter a capella, which we had been meaning to do for some time, and it wasn't really a challenge for us, and only had one not-so-great moment at all.  That would have been my cheap solo on We Three Kings, but I've made horrific mistakes before.  It was nothing new.

And the most important success is what we did today.  We sang at a nursing home.  OS's dad is in there for reasons I don't completely understand, and the ensemble went to sing for him and the other people there.  It was a very moving experience.  Not only to see so many people in such a state, but to actually help them and make a difference for them.  We did a section near the end where we invited them to sing along with several traditional pieces.  Many sang.  Many got into it, and one was even clapping along.  Many I feel weren't completely capable of joining.  But it was still a very moving experience.  To make such a difference in people's lives, even for such a short time.

And that was my day.  It's a day to remember.

-NM

Light Up Night 2013

After last year's success, I wasn't about to let another light up night go by without doing anything about it.

Unfortunately, BF wasn't in the equation this year.  The good news is that KR was.  I'd like to say there was a dramatic build up this year to the invitation.  There wasn't.  I basically just joined her group of friends.

With the group of friends, we had a good time.  We did occasionally lose people, and then gain others, and then lose others, and gain others, but that was half the fun.  S was beautiful.  The rain/sleet turned into snow just in time, and the atmosphere was quite nice.  It was how Light-up Night should be.  There weren't too many people there, and you could still keep a conversation going without any obnoxious bands playing in the background.  I even saw the ice sculptor for the first time in years (he may have been there before, but he was noticed this time).  It was a great time.

Eventually, it got late though.  And KR couldn't go home, because both of her parents were out.  So she came over to our house for a while.  And this is where the real fun came.

We started off just talking.  Then V started playing her flute, and we went over to the piano to play the piano-flute duets we were working on.  Then KR, A, V, and I started to play/sing Christmas Carols around the piano.  Then Mr. R arrived.  My parents invited him in, and we kept going.  I played the Chopin Polonaise that I had been working on.  Then we sang songs from Les Misérables (KR's specialty), and Phantom of the Opera (A's specialty).  Eventually, we had to wrap it up, due to the fact that it was getting late, but we had had a great time already.

It's times like these that are special, yet it's times like these that often go unnoticed.  You remember the big performance someone put on, yet you often forget the time that someone said something to you that touched you.  I guess that's what made this Light Up Night so special.  It was personal.

-NM

Choir to Courthouse 2013

Another last time.  This one maybe didn't have the same sentimental value, but it was still a last time.

But it was a great time.

It started with the bus ride up.  I sat with a group.  I talked to people.  I was excited.

When we got to the Courthouse, we sounded great.  Especially the ensemble.  I really felt like we made that blend with each other that we hadn't quite made yet.  Maybe because we had never been so cramped and in a disorganized formation, and with the acoustics of the hall, but whatever it was, it worked.  Hopefully we can keep it up.

After the concert, we went and had lunch.  I sat with MF, KM, and HS.  We talked, we had a good time.

And on the bus ride home, I sat with a group.  I talked to people.  I was excited.

I would like to thank the people who dedicated their time to interacting with me socially today.  Mostly KM, JD, AG, SG, OS, AH, MF, and HS, but really my thanks go to everyone.  I feel like I'm losing my friends sometimes.  That I don't see everyone enough.  Today was reassuring at the very least.

Again, thank you for a great day!

-NM