What Fifteen Hours of Singing in Three Days Does to a Student (the lab experiment)

Four REAL gongs guaranteed.

    This past weekend has given "intensity" a whole new meaning for the Men's and Women's Chorus.  We are preparing to sing Krzysztof Penderecki's "Seven Gates of Jerusalem" with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.  The piece is an hour long - to give you an idea of scale, the WSO is bringing no less than four gongs to the performance (along with a plethora of other instruments!)  The piece was originally commissioned for the city of Jerusalem, consists entirely of bible verses spoken in Latin, and sounds like a bomb going off (the music, not the Latin.  The Latin is just confusing!)
     For anyone who is also involved in the Mikado opera, this makes the entire weekend intense.  I sung for fifteen hours last weekend, which pretty much makes me a temporary music student.  Joining us are a number of volunteers, bringing the entire number up to something monstrous and ensuring that we really will destroy something (or someone) when we perform it on February 4th.

                     

           Our fearless leaders.

    Rudy Schellenberg and Janet Brenneman are our fearless leaders, and they are doing their jobs well.  But you must understand what we are up against - the choir is divided at times to twelve separate parts, so basically everyone is singing something different, and no amount of cookies can disguise the fact that aren't always sure what these Latin words mean (despite the translations).  
    Never fear - it's challenging, but we are working hard and we shall prevail!  The performance will be something to remember - I can guarantee it.  I'd suggest that you book Friday February 4th off, and get to the Centennial Concert Hall for 8pm.
     Oh, and what does fifteen hours of singing do to a student over the weekend?  At least one person I talked to told me she couldn't sleep because "one-two-tee, one-two tee, one-two-tee" was stuck in her head all night.  In fact, some of the only people who were just fine (and even found the entire experience enjoyable) were music students.  
     Figures, doesn't it?

what did you do over christmas holidays?

    It's funny how after two and a half years at CMU, my hometown seems like a bit of a dream.  When I got back to Niverville in late December, it felt kinda weird.  Friends I hadn't seen in far too long.  Family who I dearly missed.  I kept very busy this Christmas.  Some of my highlights:


1.  Playing an all-day board game with my friends (seriously, from 10am-6pm).


2.  Midnight trip to a really sketchy Winnipeg McDonald's.

Sketch restaurant, great people!

3.  Attending a really cool Christmas service at my church with a jazz rendition of the Christmas story.

4.  Lots of eating!

5.  Skiing and almost getting caught on the lift for 45 mins.

6.  Watching all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies with my sister, and then realizing that they are making another one (it's due out May 20th!)

7.  Going to a large water park in the US overnight.

     I had a good time.  At the same time, I'm really excited to be back at CMU - I started missing people almost as soon as I left!  Most schools in the Winnipeg area begin today or tomorrow, but classes started for us yesterday.
     Welcome to 2011!

Personalities Under Pressure

     The past week has seen a noticeable change on campus.  Everyone suddenly seems super busy writing papers, preparing for exams, and finishing up assignments.  It's crunch time.  You may hate it or you may love it, but you do have to go through it.
     People respond to pressure in different ways.  It's interesting to see how people change when they are stressed.  As a service to the CMU community and the world at large, I have compiled this Personalities Under Pressure (PUP) list.

The PUP List
1. Super-Big-Joke types.  These types of people see life as one big joke once they get past mid-November.  They are often seen hanging out in lounges, but not usually studying.  Rather, they are asking people to go on walks, or watch movies.  They usually have to haggle, but since these types of people are usually very persuasive, they get their way and procrastination ensues.  

Obviously a type 1.

2. The Facebook Junkie.  These people respond to the pressure of assignments by going on Facebook.  Or rather, living on Facebook.  Since they feel the need to get work done, they don't hang out with others much.  They go to their rooms, and usually get as far as the next sentence in that paper before going online and posting something like "3/1500 wds here i go" and "i just want to go home" and "what is IDS?".  Often within the first half hour.


3. Hide-and-Work.  These types of people will hang out and have fun, but will then take an extra large coffee and a big stack of books and go to South Campus and hide in the study room downstairs, where they will attempt to get work done.  And possibly attack anyone who bothers them. note: a type 3 is often also a type 1.  

Ahh..peace and quiet. No people. No internet access.  Just you and 5634 words.  

4. Balance? What balance?  These people will go all the way.  And by that I mean, they will save those two ten page essays with the back-to-back deadlines until forty-eight hours before.  Then they will proceed to work.  Starting at 9pm, they will work until 8am, take an hour nap, and then work for 9 hours more, have another coffee, and then proceed to continue working until it's all over.  Don't knock it - the job gets done.  The conversations with said people after all this tend to be rather humorous as well.  (This was me in first year.)


5. The Bragger. Every so often, you will get someone who worked really hard all semester and now has very little work to do.  They wander the halls aimlessly, with no one to hang out with, since everyone else is working.  To help console themselves, they may start bugging others, bragging about their achievements.  Enough said.


6. Angry.  This one's fun.  These types of people will either stop talking and just start growling more often, or talk more often about other people, or "The Institution" and how they want to leave.  They will complain about this or that prof, this and that "stupid" assignment, and so forth.  If you don't sympathize, they might then get annoyed with you.  Isn't drama exciting?


So there you have it.  Thankfully, this pressure will last only for a few weeks more, and then we can all cool off next to Christmas trees and hot apple cider.  Until then all best in attempting to keep your sanity (rolling around in the snow helps).

In the spirit of risky behaviors, this picture has been used without permission.

     T.S. Eliot once wrote that "only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."  Risk.  It's pushing yourself to do something you're scared of.  It's about facing the possibility of failure.  Now, one shouldn't allow oneself to be pushed into risky behaviors.  But if it's what you want, then you should go for it and have the perseverance to follow through.  
     Here's an example.  I love performing.  And yet I take a tremendous risk whenever I get up in front of people.  And believe me, I can feel it.  It's even worse when the performance is an audition for a play.  What I'm feeling is the risk of rejection, and it's scary.
     Here's one thing I've noticed at CMU -- most of us could be more risky.  Many of us have things we'd like to do but don't.  Here's my question - why not do what you want?  Whether it's saying "no" more often, signing up for the opera (I hear there's a few male choir spots left), asking that person out, or organizing that event - why not do it?
     This campus is becoming too predictable.  Please do something risky today!  Why would you risk?  The more you risk, the freer you'll feel.  It's worth it!

CMU Dance Crew!

A Well Done Prank

     Okay -- it's time to talk pranks.  Pranks are "one of those things".  By that I mean that they are unofficial.  I'm sure The Institution would much rather we avoid them.  Nonetheless, they are an important and longstanding dorm tradition that cannot entirely be replaced by more modern techniques (just ask any alumni or faculty -- especially from the "old days.")  In my first year the entire resident population in Concord Hall decided to hold a dance party at 3 a.m. in the hallway where the exhausted Outtatowners were staying.  This year I was quite impressed with the women of the second floor Poettcker Hall res -- they microwaved  what must have been 90 bags of popcorn and then threw it in our hallway, rigging the doors so that we'd also get it in the face upon exiting.  I found out later that they had been making popcorn for weeks in advance.  
     But how does one prank someone else?  How can you make sure you're doing it right?  Never fear -- I will now present to you the basics of a well done prank.


A Well Done Prank
Step 1: (8 pm) blow up a tremendous amount of balloons.

         

Hmm.. should I pose for the picture or ignore the camera?

half-way done!

Step 2: (11:30 pm) Go to Tim Horton's

When you have 4-1/2 hours to kill, where else would you go?

Step 3: (4 am) Transport balloons into subject's room.

          

   

     It took Andrea almost an hour to get out of her room in the morning.  Incidentally, she had mentioned something about a room full of balloons a while back.  What a coincidence...!

Good morning!

      And there you have it - a well done prank, bringing joy to those around us.  Seriously, though, and before I start sounding like some advertisement, you should share the fun.  Prank someone this week for me, okay?  Good luck!

Q & A with Pastor Dan

     Dan Unrau from BC has been or pastor-in-residence for the past week.  This past Thursday, I sat down with Dan and asked him some questions about his life and his work.  Enjoy!

Has moving from Manitoba to BC been a positive or negative experience?
You know, it's been interesting.  I've always remained theologically and socially connected to Winnipeg.  Mennonite Brethren churches in Winnipeg tend to have a more mainstream theology which I can relate to.  On the other hand, I appreciate the music in BC much more.  On a given Sunday we might listen to Led Zeppelin in church.  You just don't get that here.  It's a shame.


What's the hardest part of your job?
Simply telling people I'm a pastor can be tough.  In some cases, people who have known me for a while still don't know -- it's easier in BC where the question "what do you do?" doesn't come up in conversation very often.  I find that people can clam up when they find out that I'm a pastor.  It's unfortunate.  


What do you think is the biggest spiritual issue facing people right now?
Lifestyle.  There are many Christians who really live almost the same as anyone else would.  And if we're doing that, then what difference does the Christian have from the average person?  When someone tells me that they've given up on Christianity, the first thing I ask them is if they were reading the bible and praying regularly before they decided to jump ship.  Almost none of them were.  I think we need to live differently if we expect something different.


     I really enjoyed having Dan on campus.  I enjoyed his stories, his friendliness, and his energy.  His presence here this past week added energy to the entire campus.  Even after just a week, I'm going to miss him. 

The Faith Story of a Pastor

     

     Pastor Dan Unrau has been our visiting pastor-in-residence for the past few days.  He’s been spending time with us students all week and giving talks every day.  On Tuesday he shared his faith story.

     To simply replay fragments of Dan's story does not do justice to his presentation.  It is so absolutely refreshing to see a pastor who recognizes that theater is part of a good pastor’s skill set.  His talks are entertaining and profound.  Each word is carefully chosen and presented in an interesting way.
     “I am egotistic and self centered,” he begins.  With that he delves into his life, university, and what it means to be a pastor.

     What was most interesting to me was Dan’s account of leaving home and going to university.  He talks about how his grand dreams of freedom were profoundly checked when he moved away from home.  Turns out his upbringing came with him providing boundaries which were hard to cross.  This is what many people fail to realize when they go to university.  Autonomy does not usually come quickly, or all at once!

     To be a pastor, said Dan, is to be relationally and politically in a fishbowl.  You are constantly modeling what it’s like to be in right relationship with God.  What about the idea that we are ALL called by God to be pastors?  What if we’re all on a pedestal, with the world looking on?  Is that scary or gratifying? 

Pastor Dan on Family Systems

     What makes families tick?  That was the question pastor Dan tackled in the forum on Monday. Why do we act the way we do at home?  Do families change significantly through time, or does the youngest child always remain the youngest child in the family, even as an adult?

     In his years as a pastor, Dan has had plenty of opportunities to observe family systems at work.  He knew a young girl who was extremely afraid of the foyer in his church.  She would shiver with fear and start crying whenever she got close to it.  Her parents signed her up with a counselor, but after many sessions they were no closer to understanding the problem. Finally, the counselor brought the parents in and asked them to share some of their experiences with her. After a while, by fluke, the therapist discovered that, as a child, the father had had a traumatic experience in a church foyer. The therapist asked the father if he had ever told this story to his daughter. He hadn’t. But once he did, the girl's fear went away. Here’s the moral: untold stories affect families in ways that can somehow be passed down to future generations.

     Dan also talked about homeostasis –- that families are in balance, and members will fight to maintain that balance. If, for example, a normally loud and overbearing member of a family changes and becomes more passive, the system is out of balance making it very possible that another member will try to goad that person into being dominant again.

     This sounds kind of weird, but Dan said he’s seen it many times. Throughout his presentation he suggested greater openness as key to rectifying issues. Talking things out and asking for stories (i.e. what was life like when you were twelve?) needs to happen for families to work well together.

     Dan’s presentation provided good food for thought. I’m looking forward to what else he has to say this week.

On-Campus Pastor Visit

     A recent poll asked respondents who they trusted most.  The results showed that the average person trusts a pastor more than anyone else.  When we see a pastor, we see someone who has his or her heart in the right place.  This is certainly true for me -- several of the people I've trusted most have been pastors.  But when you get out of school, your relationship with your youth pastor can change.  Mine certainly did.  I felt a little cut off the first year out of high school, as I was no longer in the youth group at church.  When I signed on as a leader the year after, it was a very different experience than before -- suddenly I was serving rather than being served.
     I find it exciting that we have a pastor on campus this week. Dan Unrau is from Fraserview MB Church in BC, and will be presenting at all the chapels this week.  He'll also be at Wednesday Night Worship and a ministry lunch tomorrow.  And he's around campus, hanging out with students all week.  
     It's funny -- simply having a pastor here makes my home feel more...homey.  It's already made me realize how cool it would be to have a full-time pastor on campus.  Maybe having Dan here is a trial run for something more permanent.  Who knows?
     What does the word "pastor" make you think of?  Do you know any great pastors?