Finals are upon us. I'm sure people would tell you that finals are really bad and horrible, but in reality, I love the fact that I don't have to go to class. All I have to do is get up and take an exam usually once a day. It's kinda nice. I almost wish every week was like this, but unfortunately, it isn't. I have/had 3 finals this week: Elementary Music Methods (Mon - 2PM), Vocal Pedagogy (Tues - 7:30AM), and Music Theory (Thur - 2PM). Elementary Music Methods was a breeze. The study guide pretty much covered all the material that was going to be on the exam.

Vocal Pedagogy wasn't hard either. It was extensive, but I did well on both the exams, so I wasn't worried! My professor is the kindest lady and brought us cinnamon rolls and juice! That was a nice surprise, and very welcomed at 7:30AM! She, unforunately, sounded terrible. She was getting sick and greeted me sounding like Caol Channing straight off a chain-smoking binge, "Good morning you!" My response was, "I love you too, but don't speak." HA! She laughed and then hacked up something wicked in the process. No good.

I have theory on Thursday, but it's at 2, and I'm not really worried about it. I have a different professor than I've had in the past, and it's SO much better. I am so grateful. After that, I will be leaving for Omaha for break. Of course, unlike last year, I have nothing on my schedule. It will be nice to have a break after being so busy all semester.

I guess I'm going to get on my soapbox a little for anyone who might be a perspective student reading this. When I was in high school, I remember thinking that my friends in high school were the best things in the world. I didn't know how I was going to leave them and go to college. Of course, I looked forward to EVERY break with the anticipation of Christmas so I could see my friends and hangout with them. Of course, it was fun being home the first year or so. But every subsequent year, which this is the 3rd one now, fewer and fewer of my friends were there, and fewer and fewer of them I wanted to hangout with. I've kinda lost touch with most of them, and so what I have left is a small group of them to see when I go home. So this year, I will probably only be home a week or so to see my family and to hangout with my close group of friends, but right at New Years, I'll come back to Des Moines where I have 3 jobs. I'll spend the rest of the time seeing friends who live near here in Iowa and working before school starts again.

Anyway, place of the post to see in Des Moines is Valley Junction. It is an older historic district in West Des Moines and has tons of eclectic restaurants and shops. They also have special events and concerts throughout the year which are extremely fun.

Until next time....