I'm joining the CIA.

Yesterday, my friend Chanah (Jewish spelling of Hannah, pronounced "Hahn-uh") called to ask if I wanted to hang out before we went home for the holidays.  I agreed, but I scheduled said hang-out for Wednesday night, not remembering that I will be getting together with my core group (three other freshmen girls and an adult member of First Pres) for a Christmas party at that time.  Ergo, I called to reschedule, and she invited me to a Christmas party, held tonight, with pizza and movies.  Cool.  Sounds good.


I meet her at the school of music, and we head toward the Starbucks where we're meeting people to ride to the hosts' house.  She mentions something about a meeting ("I did tell you about this, right?"), and she tells me that before the party, we're going to a meeting to discuss a possible Bible study/small group for artists/musicians.  (Chanah is a Christian and a harpist.)  At hearing the name of her church, H2O, I remember a guy that I met at a lecture for Christianity in the Visual Arts (CIVA) a couple of months back.  His name was Zach Barnes, and he graduated from U of M last year with degrees in Musical Theatre and Voice Performance.  He had told me that he wanted to start up a Bible study for the whole Michigan arts community, so I gave him my email address so he could contact me when things got going.  Well, he never did, but he was the one leading this meeting that I accidentally showed up at, so I saw him tonight for the second time.


He wants to call the group "Christianity in the Arts," or the "CIA," which I immediately said would make great t-shirts.  The other people there are from H2O as well, and they included two MTs (musical theatre majors) and a composition major.  For those of you who don't know, Michigan's MT program is the top-ranked in the country.  We have the idiots to prove it.


The party afterward was lots of fun as well.  We watched the Muppets version of A Christmas Carol, which can only lead to giggles and annoying songs stuck in your head.  I really enjoyed hanging out with the other future CIA members ... next semester should be fun!


In other news, a couple of the bassoon studio members were playing racquetball tonight, and Randy got hit in the head with a racket, fainted, and may have broken his jaw.  Bad news, folks.  Guess he won't be participating in the concerto competition tomorrow as planned.


Finally, for your enjoyment, I'm including part of an email that Dr. Lyman sent out today, just so you can get a sense of my amusement at his personality:


Bassoons, 

Before you all go off to parts less gray, please help me complete my schedule.

[Insert information about scheduling lessons for next semester.]

My atomic aluminum Christmas tree with sputnik ornaments is taking shape at my house. Hopefully your own decorations are as swank. 

Merry Whatever You Celebrate, 

Ho, 

JL

Ho,

eb