Sometimes comedy bits make you cringe, sometimes they make you laugh, and sometimes they make you do both at the same time. Anthony Jeselnik is a comedian to be remembered for the best punchlines, creating first a cringing sensation and then turning that cringe into wicked laughter. He is the supreme anti-joke slayer. He sets you up for a conclusion but then defies expectations with the punchline. An audience member senses there is a punch line coming, but not THAT punchline. Luckily, the resultant punchline is pretty darn funny. This idea is the exact framework used in the creation of great music (nice left turn right?). I promise I will work on my punchlines, but for sake of time and patience, let me explain where I am headed with this.
A music teacher of mine told me how this idea works in music. One of the prime examples is in the music of the great Viennese classics such as Mozart, Haydn, and Schubert. There are always points where the music veers from expectations. For example, in a Mozart piano sonata, the piece might begin with a simple progression of counterpoint and chords resulting in establishing the tonality and melodic shape. After this is established and the listener is possibly getting bored, the composer decides to throw in an unexpected harmony or melodic twist. This unexpectedness might be missed by the casual listener as sometimes these are subtle. Sometimes the performer must exaggerate these details as the modern listener is used to hearing unusual things and randomness through some more modern works. This changed my perspective on musical performance; however, I’m sure this principle is understood by most comedians.
Let me preface this next section with the fact that music and comedy occupy their own worlds and do very well in both respects. I am not saying that either is not important or valid, but have a couple of differences that I want to point out to clarify their function. There are a few ways in which comedy falls short of reaching the range that music can create. Comedy, by its essence is supposed to be funny. Sometimes comedy serves as political commentary, sometimes it can be an imaginative outlet, but usually it is comedy for comedy’s sake. When the composer surprises the audience, it is not always in joke, but with dramatic intention. This allows the piece to take on a new character or new adventure in the piece of music. The soundscape and possibilities that could emerge from these left turns cannot be reduced to the feeling of funniness. The other area that comedy might fall flat is the idea of words: The words are the punchline. There are facial features, timing and command involved in selling a joke that go beyond the word, but the word itself is the limiting factor. Again, I am not selling comedy short but highlighting the differences. Music has different textures, timing, notes, and volume that can all be used collectively in effect at any surprising point in the piece.
As highlighted here, although I am not comparing Jeselnik’s genius to that of the Viennese Classics, the idea of established expectation and the art of breaking from these expectations is a common thread in performing art forms.
Sometimes new environments spawn new thoughts. If you dig a little deeper into this statement, you also realize there is a reaction to the new thoughts: You forget about old thoughts as you are inundated with new stimuli. Sitting in the Charles de Gaule airport en route to Vienna with a lengthy layover, I am able to consume new books, listen to new podcasts and watch new movies. The negative happens as well; I forget about the old music I was practicing yesterday, I forget about the old list of household chores in California, I forget to call and text those people not relevant to the new and exciting now.
Since I am actually writing this blog at the moment and am clearly not reading a book, I will spend the time to look at the paradox of choice. As I have a type of obsessive personality, I began to think of the age old adage that choosing to do one thing is saying no to a thousand things. I sit here “reading this book” as I choose not to answer email, write the next blog post(welp here I am), score study for the next musical gig, keep in touch with loved ones, work on an artist webpage, network for the future, and do important foundation work in terms of career. However, sometimes in the end, one can accept that your action is completely logical because it is utterly non-tangential to my dream. I could do all of those productive things listed above, but my spiritual being is calling me to read a new book. One logical hypothesis might be that new environments help with inspiration, dissolving any creative block that one might have. In my personal experience, new environments help break up habits and past mental baggage. They create a new framework to then continue the journey through life.
Now that my brain has created the excuse for reading this magnificent book instead of doing more productive work, I read this book perfectly content that is perfectly unproductively productive because of its novelty. Sometimes reading great books, like my current read “Just Kids” by Patti Smith is perfectly acceptable in the aura of a new environment. And possibly, just possibly this is actually beneficial to becoming an artist. My brain is tired, and although half of this might not make sense, hopefully clarity will come once I’ve reached my final destination.
While eating breakfast with a friend this morning, I was reminded heavily of my time in Vienna. I was reminded of the decision to first study abroad, the first experience arriving to Vienna, the unexpected nature of each event, and the sad but fulfilled feeling leaving the study abroad experience. I was also reminded of simple life strategies that I learned and more importantly how to tap into my noggin…?
Okay, so you thought this was going to be a sentimental post, and then I used the word noggin. Well, my friends, today I am going to share a small piece of wisdom about our heads, our brain, our noggin. My piano teacher in Vienna once told me a simple phrase “The human mind is more powerful than you think”. At first glance, one might think that this is self-evident and then that one continues onto Facebook because thoughswithdavid.com is just a poser website. But since you have stayed, I will elaborate.
There is a fine line between being realistic, and then achieving your full potential. In essence, this phrase means that the human can do a lot more than you think. Certain boundaries, whether mental, or physical then get in the way of allowing yourself to reach this potential. In many cases the realistic side kicks in and tells me to not learn two concerti and two recital programs in the span of three months. However, sometimes people, including myself, sell themselves short. They say “well I can’t learn all that music, but I will try to learn just one movement of the concerti each month, finishing a concerto in the three months that I give myself”. This sounds realistic but might end up stopping someone from realizing their full potential. I many times have found myself wasting time by going over the same small details without making substantial progress. Without larger goals, you can sometimes get lost in the minutia and in the art of being busy.
This of course not only applies to music, but any other field of learning and growth. Think about the last time you might have created a to-do list filled with mostly meaningless tasks. One might do everything on the list, but not have accomplished as much as someone who ambitiously attempted a few meaningful tasks in the same day. If you set out overly-ambitious tasks in the right framework, you might not finish everything, but will probably make more progress than if you gave yourself the whole day to finish one task.
In Vienna, I learned that giving yourself more than enough to handle can be quite beneficial. I did not accomplish everything that I gave myself; however, I finished more than I would have if giving myself too little to do. When my teacher in Vienna told me this phrase, he encouraged me to be more ambitious and take risks. By being ambitious, I was actually being less risky than if not doing everything that I could set out to do. This is definitely something that I will work on for the rest of my life. To speak plainly, I must use my noggin even more to deliberately tackle the larger, worthwhile goals. The noggin is a pretty incredible thing if you allow it to be.
Stay tuned for the next post about great accomplishments of great people!
As I arrived back in Bloomington IN, I was reminded of my experience travelling to the “Unknown”. When I decided to adventure to Indiana to complete my undergraduate degree, I had never stepped foot on the campus when I made the decision. Going to foreign cities during my travel abroad experience was in many ways the same feeling; I will share a couple of those “first” experiences. Since you all have read enough about my boringVienna experience, I will give you a taste of travelling to a new city really feels like!
My conducting teacher and I talked quite extensively about how to adjust to a new city from an excerpt of Goethe’s “Italian Journey”. This might seem odd for a conducting teacher to talk about this, but let me explain. In the story, Goethe arrives upon one city and explains how he familiarized himself with the foreign land. He is able to explain precisely the way in which one surveys the land. Specifically, he noticed and observed things without any assumptions. As my conducting professor explained, the key part is to not have assumptions because these assumptions get in the way of perceiving the reality of the situation. Each thing Goethe observed added to a mental map, but each new observation only added or adjusted what came before. This is almost self-explanatory, but it is important to understand the language used. After these observations, and after he thinks he knows the city, he journeys up to the highest point in the city to see if his observations were correct. From the observation point, he is able to adjust and create an even better picture before drawing his own map of the city!
This is the exact process that my conducting teacher instructed me to read a score. First you walk through the piece, observing where there is new material, repeating material and more. Then after these observations, you slowly come to grasp the form of the piece. While making observations, one must also be careful not to assume something while observing. The process in many ways is intuitive and should use rather little forceful reasoning. However, once this approach is used according to my teacher’s regiment, the music in ways can feel more natural and feels more organic. I am still trying this out, but it hasn’t failed yet!
Alright, onto cities. First stop is Paris. The Parisian trip followed the story of the Italian Journey perfectly. With no map and no Wifi to rely on, I had to rely on my senses. My phone was supposed to work in any EU country, but I probably ignorantly didn’t turn roaming on…but that means adventure! I arrived at Charles De Gaulle airport, and realized that Paris was a long train ride away. Luckily, I found the kiosk to buy tickets for the city after following the crowd in that general direction. Then I purchased a train ticket to the main city hoping that the ticket would work. Sure enough…it didn’t work, so I went back and realized I bought a ticket only good for inner-city travelling. I finally arrived in the city around 10 am with The Louvrein mind. After sniffing the crepes and seeing the pastries, I slowly worked my way to what looked like a shopping center. Knowing only some words in French (learn basic phrases people!) I was practically lost.
I again started walking in the direction where most people were heading. After seeing a MASSIVE building and one street sign that mentioned The Louvre, I observed I was headed in the right direction. I finally found the Louvre, with the famous pyramids in the front area. After being asked to buy an umbrella from hustlers about fifty times, I finally was inside, dry and with Wifi! From there I was able to understand a little bit of where I was going. However, I still had to memorize routes by taking pictures, or just saving a mental image until it kind of vanished from sight. This was possibly the reason I walked over 50,000 steps in two days, but in any case, I had a blast. After my second trip back to the hostel I was staying at, I was able to get back home without fail, as well as navigate back to the main part of the city. Through this exploration, I was able to create a mental map of the city that would have not existed if I had used my smartphonethe whole time.
The Louvre
Inside the Louvre- Louis XIV
Best Crepes in Paris
Stravinsky Wall
Notre Dame
Night View!
Overall View
Sacre Couer
The next city that I adventured to half by myself and half with a friend was the city of Salzburg. My phone was functioning in this trip, fortunately or unfortunately. But knowing the Iphone 6s battery life…okay okay nevermind. As with most trips, the morning was early, and there was a slight chill in the air. The Westbahn train effortlessly glided us to the destination two and half hours away. Here, we wandered around without a map to find the Mozart museums, as well as find a good place to eat. After having walked about 5 miles before lunch, we had traversed the small main city center all morning. We headed to what looked like the big Cathedral, only to realized we missed our mark when this church was practically empty. Readjusting, we finally arrived at the monumental Cathedral surrounded by bustling Weihnachtsmarkts. By the time that I was able to see the great view from the Festung,or fortress, I already had a pretty clear intuition as to how the city was laid out. Now with my mental map, I could travel back to the train station with ease.
Mozarts Geburstaghaus
Weihnachtsmarkt!
Salzburg
Great Dumpling Dish!
Cathedral Organ 1/5!!
Overview
Bustling Weihnachtsmarkt
These new experiences are quite phenomenal and challenged me to think in different ways. It’s interesting once in a while to put yourself in Goethe’s footsteps and familiarize yourself with a city without a map. Once you throw yourself in a foreign city, it is truly impressive to see how much your intuition can guide you. This is similar to anyone entering a new city. Of course, when you live in a city for a while, your intuition turns into a 4K resolution with each and every new experience. Hopefully I will be able to have many more of these true Italian Journeys, and not just the abstracted version one can do in music.
With time comes possibly some new perspectives. Okay, maybe more than possibly. Some larger fascinations with Vienna start to emerge after just a few months in the Viennese culture. However, the little fascinations spoken about in this post continually shape my perspective. I love the little things, and the observation of them makes each moment feel more important and almost magical. However, with some more time surrounded in the culture, the little things start to funnel into larger fascinations.
When I first arrived, everything was new (well actually quite old…cough cough) and spectacular in its own regard. Besides the immediate perception of the architecture mainly preserved from the late 1800’s and before, there were some more nuanced points that I would notice. I would notice the costumed men selling tickets to Strauss and Mozart concerts, no matter the weather. I would notice in the first district, the green pedestrian light included two people holding hands and a heart above this.
I would also notice the Strauss and Mozart music played as ambiance in the public transportation, restaurants and bathrooms. Sometimes if you listened closely enough, you could hear music whistled in the air- or maybe that was just one of my roommates every time we walked to class together…
I also paid attention to the mannerisms of many people. For example, many men and women would get up for elderly men or women at all costs when there were no seats available. There was this incredible positive vibe (I know, I’m hip) that radiated in these kind acts. Luckily for me, Austrians were also very willing to speak German and struggle with me. This was possibly because I looked somewhat Austrian, and they would be confused if I did not speak German. Nonetheless, I thought this was an act of kindness! I also noticed the practicality of many Austrians in the grocery stores. Many times, if I had one item, they would let me cut the line, or sometimes I could skip the line entirely if I had exact change in hand for one small item. Public service announcement: be mindful of the speed at which grocers check out the customers, because the next customer’s Müsli, Paradieser, or Wein might be thrown at you if you do not move quickly enough. After a while, these small acts started to paint a larger picture of what made Vienna, “Vienna”.
The larger things such as interests, personalities, and mindsets started to emerge. The idea that Vienna was a musical city was apparent from the start; however, learning how the musical business ran, how to find quality concerts, and how many musicians lived and breathed in the Vienna air all confirmed this honest attribute of Vienna. Before coming to Vienna, I heard that Austrians were nicer than Germans in many ways. I found Austrians are nice people, but I’m sure this is not exclusive to Austrians; however, I did realize that many Austrians were nice in quiet, cute and flirtatious ways that I did not experience in my short time in Germany. With some of my Austrian friends and language partners, I started to understand the way in which they viewed school and careers and such. I noticed that many people were in no rush to graduate, with many students living at home, with full health insurance, and in affordable college programs (Oh America).
These are some of the many trends that I will continue to unravel in upcoming posts. With more and more evidence, I can try to understand how life works in the fascinating city of Vienna. I might be, and probably am wrong about all these things; With more and more evidence, my views will change and hopefully for the better in search of some form of truth. However, picking out these larger fascinations is a great thought experiment to understand my time in Vienna. Stay tuned for the next post that will unravel more about these meta-ideas. As my high-school literature teacher simply put, “Writing is Thinking”.
18:42 Finished dinner and a call with a friend. Looked at the time…cursed under my breath.
18:43 Looked down at my shirt. Thought to myself, “I should have a collar for the opera, but oh well”.
18:44 Walked out the door. Checked phone for any possible transit to get to the Theater an der Wien by 6:58. Closest transit would bring me to the opera at 7:03.
18:45 Picking up the walking pace, I looked to see how many kilometers-2.5…
18:45:05 I ran
18:46 I ran
18:49 Yep, still running then. Oh no, dead-end- I ran.
18:55 Okay getting close.
18:57 There it is!
18:58 “Haben Sie Reskarten?” I asked for student tickets at the ticket window. The cashier looks at my panting face and dripping nose. She hands me a tissue, as I glow unnaturally red in the face. She proceeds to slowly print out a 15 Euro student ticket.
18:59 Grabbed the ticket out the printer myself and ran. I threw my jacket, scarf and hat at the wardrobe. “I’ll tip you later!” I thought in my head.
18:59:30 I run up the stairs to the seat. Ooo, it’s a good seat. I hope I don’t smell… I sigh.
Welcome to Vienna, a city where on average 10,000 classical concert-goers experience something that can only happen in this musical mecca. Although genres such as Jazz, Pop, Folk and others are obscure in Vienna’s entertainment industry, the classical music is alive and commercialized. I might have mixed feelings about the two billion-dollar industry of Mozart in Austria, but I do not have mixed feelings about the vitality of the music. Of course, as a classical musician myself, this is freakin’ awe-some.
On the special nights I decide to go to a concert, there are so many options. I have learned to have a plan B just in-case the first option doesn’t turn out. Just this last Tuesday after not getting a standing room ticket to the Staatsoper’s production of Die Zauberflöte, I was able to hop onto the U1 U-Bahn and go to the Kammeroper and watch Don Carlos. They sold me the ticket after the performance had started and snuck me into the theater during a small pause. They went above and beyond, but I duly thanked them for their effort! Only in this city, would they also care that the audience receives the best experience possible. Whether I am paying 3 Euro for a standing room ticket or buying a student ticket at the Konzerthaus for 12 Euro, I am treated the same as if I were a full-paying concertgoer. This all is an amazing feeling.
You might have wondered why that experience was described in detail. The concert described above, is just one of my many concert going experiences. Many times, whether tired, behind, or stressed, I would do anything including running one-and-a-half miles in about eleven minutes to go see this opera. I have very few pictures or articles of these amazing nights. The memories are in my ears and in my heart. I however, encourage you to come to Vienna and experience these experiences. If you ever need some great suggestions, just shoot me a message at David.m.gatchel@gmail.com.
This last week I went to my first European sporting event…ever. Growing up in just short of a sports fanatic family, this might be a surprise to them or anyone who knows us. However, that does not matter—I freakin saw my first fußball game- the Austria national team against the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team!
The game did not start at the advertised time 20:45, but really started at 7:00 in the morning in the streets of Vienna. Walking in the brisk morning air to German class, I saw scores of people dressed in blue and yellow scarves with beer in hands. This is when the game apparently started?? Escaping class and practice for a sandwich break at the local Billa grocery store, I heard chants in groups of fifty people with as much energy as I’ve ever seen. The craziest part of that morning was that blue and yellow is Bosnia and Herzegovina, not Austria! They mentioned there were protests in the city, but these groups of people seemed to be the bigger threat in the city!
I headed to the game at a conservative 19:15 to get there by about 20:00 and get in line. When my friends and I arrived, we were greeted by a brimming U-Bahn station with cheap beer and Bretzel stands lining the sidewalk. The atmosphere was incredible and definitely not the type of energy seen at an American Football game. After being yelled at in German for not folding my ticket to fit it in the ticket scanner, we were in! Once in the stands, we were basically in the Austrian national section, each seat equipped with the red and white flag to wave crazily.
Once the game started, some sections sat down, while the uber-Austria national section was standing, jumping and cheering the whole time just behind our goal. The game was exciting, not perfect soccer, but some great efforts and beauty in the process. Then without warning, the Bosnia fans started lighting fireworks in their side of the stadium. The first thought that raced to my mind was “Is this legal?” Soon there was a collection of fifteen or twenty flares and a cloud of smoke brewing. Okay… this is not America. To stop this insanity, which began at about the 15-minute mark, the announcer did not announce “this is illegal, please stop”. Instead, the announcer stated in German “Please stop creating the fires, we don’t want the players breathing in the smoke”. Apparently, the announcer knows how to approach these fans. Without complaining, the fans stop, and that was that… what?!?!
The rest of the game contained a couple of possible goals that were called back for offsides and such. The final score…0-0. Everyone clapped, and we raced to the U-Bahn station to escape. We barely crammed our bodies into the U-Bahn back home, and that was that. I just saw my first European Fußball game. I went for the atmosphere, and boy did I get atmosphere. Who knows what the next “Spiel” will be like!
These weeks in the semester are rather crazy- first a parental visit which was wonderful, and midterms this week which keep me busier than I’ve been in a couple of years. For a new an interesting post I will share some of my favorite recordings that I have listened to recently on commutes and probably when I should be doing some more homework…
This performance was made just about six months before Arturo Beneditti Michelangeli’s last performance. Just listen, love and enjoy these two wonderful artists collaborating with the Munich Philharmonic. My first time listening, the first movement took me to thousands of worlds with all of the interesting ideas and beauty created at the piano and orchestra(especially piano). I hope you find this magical- but only you can be the judge.
Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No.4 Conductor Claudio Abbado Mezzo-Soprano Magdalena Kožená, Orchestra Lucerne Festival Orchestra
If you are or aren’t familiar with Mahler, it is time. Give it a warm embrace and enjoy. This piece contains so many ideas. From the roaring gypsy melodies, to dark episodes, to beautiful orchestral sounds. Somehow, they all collide in this amazing journey that lasts for just an hour of your precious time. Mahler is considered a staple of the Viennese literature, and living in Vienna now, I feel a real connection to this music with my “Spidey Sense”. Maybe I’m biased because this piece has such an amazing clarinet part, but you again be the judge.
Living in Vienna, I am finding a new appreciation for the Vienna Classics(Composers who worked and lived in Vienna from late 1700’s to 1850 or so) with all of their major magic, power, and beauty. Haydn just becomes more and more wonderful the more one studies him. Maybe that is true with many things in life, but for now just enjoy becoming familiar with Haydn. This is performed by my teacher here in Vienna- enjoy!
Continuing the streak of Vienna, here is an amazing piece with a powerful message of slowing down here in Vienna. The main chorus “Vienna Waits for You?”, is a call for people to live their life, slow down and enjoy the moment. This idea is so strong in Vienna with the norm of sitting at a coffee shop and sipping coffee for hours. Just sit back, book your flight to Vienna, and come and experience this!
Jacob Collier’s version of Michael Jackson’s original “Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough”
As some of my friends consider him the Mozart of the modern age, Jacob Collier is such a talented, creative genius. His music comes from a genuine place of curiosity, innovation and fun. There is something so honest about his playing, that although he is talented and plays with great virtuosity, I think it is not for show. Deep down, I know he truly loves the music which is so so so special. This man does not stop…
Johann Sebastian Bach Cantata 62 “Nun Komm, der Heiden Heiland”
Music History classes sometimes brings to attention great pieces of music. Although this is popular, and although if you have heard a Bach Cantata, you have heard this one, this cantata is great for a reason. Studying this work in a historical perspective in my Music History 401a course, this piece contains drama, beauty, complexity and power all in one work. A fun fact that always surprises me is that Bach wrote one of these 20-30 minute long works almost every week for more than three years, amassing over 150 that have survived today. This is just incredible. But even more incredibly, this output did not affect the quality- enjoy! Update: visited the Bach museum in Leipzig, just so incredible- pictures below.
Comment below to let me know if you have any suggestions for my listening pleasure!
Two ideas have been circulating in my mind recently, and they very possibly could be linked, or I’m at the point in the semester when things are too crazy to have rational thought.
#1
A few weeks ago, my conducting teacher ranted about the best pedagogical path one should follow when attempting to teach someone a concept. He stated that we must teach people at the highest level possible, encouraging a sense of high intellectual self-esteem and eliminating the need to relearn things. For example (theoreticians, this is for you), analyzing a symphonic movement without the simple ABA’ label, and start to understand the exposition, development and recapitulation in finer detail to explain how one section is the result of what came before it. This in-depth look, he argued, then allows one to understand the work more thoroughly and with a heightened sense of curiosity.
In most approaches to teaching, one begins with the most general framework and then move in as abilities and knowledge increase. This is the logical framework as it makes sense in the stream of difficulty. However, along the way sometimes words need to be replaced as more precise terminology comes into play. Also mentioned before, a student might gain more confidence learning the more complicated version of the same concept because of knowledge. As taught in a psychology courseby Dr. Jeff Huber, Knowledge is the number one key to success as a coach and an athlete. Therefore, based on this, possibly starting with the complex can breed better results- this needs testing of course.
#2
The second idea is a little less arcane(whoopee) and deals with the idea of simplicity and complexity in language using. Arriving at a store here in Vienna, I sometimes do not know how to ask for what I need in German. However, instead of speaking a fluent English to them, what comes out is monosyllabic utterings with gestures to explain what I need. However, the awkward part of this whole situation is that they usually understand English quite well and the pointing and gesturing probably is ridiculous and unnecessary. It probably all boils down to perspective. In the United States, people speak one language with two or three being the exception. However here in the Vienna, people usually speak two languages, one including English. Most movies and entertainment are in English, so people and especially the younger generation speak fluent English.
Sometimes I make the ridiculous gestures and short phrases attempting to simplify, but in actuality I could maintain most the complexity with complete comprehension on the other side. I’m sure others have had this problem when in a foreign country-whether it be out of embarrassment for not knowing the language or trying to communicate in the clearest manner. Sometimes, especially in this case, speaking in fluent English and complete sentences probably is more useful than using the short phrases. You see the connection now? Anyways, enough thoughts and more practicing and studying. Ciao!
One thing that blows my mind is that a visual piece of art such as a painting can be so ripe-full of emotion. Logically we look at a painting and understand that a variety of paint strokes and points on the canvas create the work. We can see a certain shadow, tree branch, or a concerned look on a character’s face that we know is intentional and contributes to the quality of the art. However, sometimes we take a step back and are just hit by a chilling wave of the emotion that a painting evokes for some mysterious reason.
I can count only on one hand the amount of bad paintings I’ve seen…No this is of course not true. The amount of poor art that I’ve seen as decorations or in stores waiting to be sold is an overwhelming majority. This is of course this is quite subjective for some people (…Insert list of 10 warrants of subjectivity). For me, poor art is simply art that does not create an emotional reaction. A fine point of my definition might even include a clause about necessitating truthfulness, but that argument is for a late night or future bllloook (haha blog and book combined). ANYWAYS, great art is far and few between and when it strikes you, it really has an effect.
Recently I visited the Claude Monet exhibit at the Albertina in Vienna- here I experienced great art. The eight room exhibit marvelously chronologically “paints” the progression of his artistic life. Through the exhibit, one can see Monet’s style develop from more simpler forms to his more Impressionistic paintings, playing with color and more!
As I was walking through the museum with my language buddy (a University of Vienna Student), I mentioned to her that I can feel the emotions just radiating from the paintings. She turned, nodded, smiled and enough was said. There was something magical about these paintings, with each creating such a different feeling. I am of course no art expert, but I just relied on my gut and emotions to enjoy and soak in these masterpieces. However, there were paintings that did not create an emotional experience and according to my definition, this would be poor art. But if someone used my criterium, they would find a different set of great works- but this never-ending cycle of differing feelings is life I guess!
Overall, there is nothing like walking through this exhibit on a beautiful afternoon. Experiencing the art first hand created feelings of love, childhood, familiarity, expansiveness and so much more. I witnessed great art.
As a musician myself, sometimes we forget the simple objective is to move people as I was moved by Monet’s Masterpieces. Yes, this requires craft, time and patience, but the emotional connection to the audience is what truly matters. Recently in my practice, it is easy to get bogged down by focusing on the minutia, or physical sensations instead of really feeling the larger picture and the way the emotions are attached to the listening and playing. Once someone taps into these sensations, then people might pay fifty dollars to go hear THAT type of concert…
For the record, I completed my first and, to this point, only marathon over a year ago. Not to downplay this accomplishment, but it’s worth noting that only about 2% of Americans have completed one in their lifetime. Checking this off my list at 25 years was quite accomplishment. My finishing time of about 3:40 was just about average for my age group, which is respectable in its own right. Now, let’s rewind to the moment I crossed the finish line.
Most people would expect me to heave my arms in the air and shout for joy as I crossed this finish line. However, as my friends at the finish line observed, I was in no mood for celebrations. SHOCK! I had smirk that was indistinguishable from a smile and an exhausted frown on my face, and my clothes were soaked in a mixture of sweat and rainwater. I finished, received my medal, hugged a couple of friends half-heartedly and I limped to the refreshment tents. I immediately grabbed a sparkling lemonade, non-alcoholic beer and some apple slices to quench my pounding thirst. I remember sitting outside 40 degrees Fahrenheit weather with hail falling around me. My body did not want to move, and my mind was full of too much of what one sometimes calls “Runners-High”. Have I run anything more than 10 miles since then? No. Would I run another Marathon in my lifetime again? That is maybe. Although I should have been elated, I felt more shattered than anything else. It was a learning experience and I would like to share these ideas with my audience.
The most important thing is that training for anything of magnitude (and even for smaller goals) takes time. I didn’t give enough time to train and respect the total 26.2 miles of a marathon. Retrospectively, I should have taken the training process slower, especially considering I had contracted Covid eight weeks before the race date. Although I was already in decent shape, thanks to my high school swimming background and cardio buff nature, an 8-week training plan was quite aggressive. If I had been consistently running 10 miles per week, a 12-week training plan would have been reasonable. I was at the time only running 3-5 miles per week, which was not a strong enough basis. Honestly, there were a few weeks in the training plan that I skipped runs because of soreness and fatigue. Running takes a toll on the body at various stages. In the beginning, the knees and joints need to become comfortable with the repetitive motion of hitting the asphalt. Later on, the body also needs time to recover from increased mileage in terms of energy and muscle soreness. I ran the marathon with a slightly sore Achilles, which required about 3-4 months of light training to fully heal. Pushing through the training while ignoring warning signs was probably in hindsight unwise; I consider myself lucky.
The next thing I learned is that events of great length take careful planning. I was able to train for my marathon in the semester break of my school, which allowed a few extra hours a day for training and recovery. Most marathon bloggers mention that their families must be patient as they prepare for marathons, ultramarathons, and triathlons because they are time demanding. When you plan an 8-mile run in the morning, you must factor in getting ready, possibly fueling if you don’t like to run on an empty stomach, the hour or so it takes to finish the eight miles, and then 20-30 minutes for a cooldown, stretching and showering, and refueling. This process takes upwards of two hours if you are relatively efficient. In a typical week, there could be two to three 8-mile runs during the peak of your training.
The last piece of advice that I will share is that watching YouTube videos, seeking advice from run experienced friends, and potentially finding a training partner can all be sources of motivation and psychological preparation for the crazy task of running for 3-4 hours at once. Like any endeavor, immersing yourself in the world of marathon running allows your mind to devote more energy to the task at hand. I would often watch a few videos on how people achieved sub-four-hour marathons, with simple tips like avoiding overtraining, bringing fuel on the run to avoid crashing, practicing race day strategies ahead of the race, as well as refining running technique to avoid injuries. These videos fed my obsessive mind, and I believe this level of obsession can benefit the entire process. This allows the goal to be front and center and encourages you to double check if you are getting the most out of the training.
As you can see, I learned a great deal about the marathon process, my body, and the importance of preparation. Now to answer the question, why run a marathon? I think there are a lot of reasons to consider doing it, but also reasons to think twice before engaging in the cult of marathon running. If you have a running group and want to train with a group for the goal, I think this can be a great idea. I, on the other hand, did my training alone and relied on the Strava camaraderie to push me through the insanity. If you have this as a bucket list item and would have FOMO if you didn’t do it, I recommend doing the race once. Reasons to pursue a marathon include using it to get in shape, as running 26.2 miles is quite extreme and can lead to injury and an unhealthy amount of cardio training. The time commitment issue is also a consideration when prioritizing activities in life. The last consideration is cost. Although minimal, registration fees, racing energy gels, shoes, and running gear can be as much as $300-$500, depending on the shoes and the race location; this excludes of course hotel and travel costs.
I would like to close with a sweet story on my marathon-day journey. The course that I ran “Bockenheim an der Weinstraße”, near Mannhein featured about 1500 feet of elevation changes and that means…hills. Living in a city named Karlsruhe, Germany that has practically no hills, this elevation change posed a new challenge. The second half of the marathon did indeed include more inclines than declines and I was hitting “the wall” (that is a moment when glucose runs out and the body wants to give up) around mile 23. I met a man, that I’d estimate was 45, clearly with marathon experience. He saw that I was walking up a hill and put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a slight push to start running again. He shouted at me the typical “don’t give up” encouragement when I needed it the most. We ran the last 3 miles together at quite a decent pace in comparison to the last 20 minutes of the race. I thanked him afterwards and realized that although it was difficult and my body was not functioning, some support along the way and the atmosphere of the marathon do help lift someone out of this rut. The marching band and wine shower in the second half of the marathon also helped with some of the motivation. But like always, more of this story will come later. Until next time!
Recently, I have thought of a plethora of things to write about but some are too unclear to write about. Writing is a difficult thing, and something that requires intense and yet clear thoughts. Without the clarity of thought, the writing seems to spin in circles without ever progressing beyond the word “the”. Many things I’ve written but not published recently have been this circle effect, beginning in one place and ending up nearly in the same place.
The idea of writers block is a little different. Sometimes for me, I can write in circles but still be blocked. The age old saying of writing whatever you can think of to become unblocked is only partly true. One can write pages with no meaning; incidentally, this is quite easy. One must dig deep within the mind to come up with something more substantial. For me, coming to a place of clarity requires silence, a walk, and some distance away from the computer and writing to create a real sense of clarity.
Other times, one must process the writing in a very focused way. This is only effective for me once I have a clear direction to write in. Once the clear direction is made up, then it is only up to time and trial and error to get to the wanted results. At the moment, this is now my inspiration to write something more substantial…
Sleep is the bane of most people’s existence. When I say this, I mean the lower limits, not the upper limits. One soul far and few between sleeps in excess, and sleep might be the bane of their existence for eating away at precious productive hours. Most people, however lose sleep to be more productive and in fact become less productive.
Last night and this morning reminded me of the problems. Last night was an unintentional late night with the hot air from the day not leaving the fan cooled room.Instead of 11:15, it turned into a 1 am adventure through light, dark and all in between. Soon enough I fell asleep only to wake at 5 am and then again at 6, before sleeping through my alarm at 6:30 and waking at 7:45. I’m sure no one who is reading this has ever experience a night like the one above. The day was full of slow mental energy, lethargic encounters and less than stellar performance at my craft. The day finished young, and the night tonight will be good.
However, sometimes others, myself included have this lack of sleep in order to be more productive the night before. Once in a while this is okay if there is a deadline or if there is something that cannot possibly wait. However from my humble observation, it is better to be moderate in this special area in order to have special days, everyday. This is mainly a reminder for me to get more sleep…onto the next day!
Sometimes time matters like it is the end of the world. Time beckons you forward to the next to-do, it tickles you when you are sleeping. The most pressing example: You have an impending project due, you must finish the test on time, you have to wake up in time for work.
Sometimes time does not matter like a baby wanders around, curiously peering under every rock, sniffing the smells, and tasting the tastes. The most calming examples: You are done with a big project, you are avoiding reality, you break from tireless work.
Both these sides of life can exist in the same day. Some days work better than others, but all are acting in balance. This morning I felt like time matters in a life and death situation, while this afternoon time did not matter at all. Both of these exist in longer segments, from days to weeks to years. Sometimes these also exist in smaller moments like minutes and even seconds. The most important thing is to know how to balance them. This is the trick, and this is the magic to life. You can not always be under a time crunch as one cannot always neglect the time. It is also possible to have a balance of these two worlds while being “busy”.You can be busy by absorbing the sense of freedom. There are also ways to have a larger sense of freedom from time. These are a bit more tricky, and have no place in this blog.
Thoughts with David 
