Spring Is Here (Almost); Hurray!

As we all know, Boston has received (almost) record amounts of snow this spring not-spring. We would like to smugly suggest that we were reasonably prepared for such an occasion.

The amount of snow obviously caused difficulties with things like going to school, life, getting places, eating, and being a human. While it was really hard to exist with all the white stuff falling from the sky all the time, there were a few things that were facilitated by the vast amount of cloud dust:

1) Swimming practice.

Can't get to the pool? No problem!

2) Friendly interactions with neighbors.

Day 1

Day 21

3) No need to go to the gym!

No need for you, gym! I get enough of a workout walking everywhere because my bus isn't running!

4) Hilarious jokes in the newspapers!

... This is a joke, right? ... Right?!

Luckily, the sun is shining, birds are singing, and trains are angrily blaring their horns at pedestrians across from the CFA. Here are some awesome things to check out whilst the weather is nicer than it has been (and let's face it, we are REALLY appreciative of basic things like being able to get to parking meters and not having to climb Mount Snow-manjaro to get to an intersection):


1) Visit the Boston Common.
This historic park is probably pretty familiar to all of you, but did you know that it's housed the British army, an execution after a witch trial, and a major Vietnam protest?


2) Take the T.
The MBTA is back up and running! Also, they have announced 15% fare discounts in May, and a FREE RIDE DAY in April!


3) Get bubble tea in Allston.
This bubble tea is, in our opinion, totally 100% worth walking to Harvard Ave. Drink it in the sun!


4) Go to Cold Stone.
10 out of 10 Andy Chaes in the School of Music office prefer Cold Stone.


What are you doing this spring? How are you replenishing your requisite Vitamin D deposits?

And Now for a Non-Musical Interlude: STRESS! and How (and Why) You Should Care

So we are quickly hurtling toward the end of the semester and you feel stressed.

Big deal. Everyone is stressed. 

WHY IS EVERYTHING RED?!

Okay, maybe yes, everyone IS stressed. But stress is not good for our bodies or brains, both of which we need to play musical instruments. This article says the following scary things:

- 75%-90% of all visits to the doctor's office are for stress-related complaints.
- Stress costs American industry more than $300 billion annually. That is enough to pay off EVEN OUR student loans.
- 43% of all adults suffer adverse health affects from stress.

So it seems fairly clear that this is bad. But WHAT KINDS of bad things happen from stress?

Short-term stress.

Annoying, and kind of no big deal. BUT, over time, stress can have long-lasting and unpleasant effects.

Long-term stress, :-(

Yuck. Does not want.

A number of questions arise when we realize how bad stress is: how can we stop the inevitable? Can we avoid stress? How can we not panic when we have so much STUFF to do and practice for and write about?

Even THIS could be stressful (if you sunburn easily)

We'll be making a stab at some stress-busting case studies over the next months, where we will implement the following three steps:

1. Find a thing that is supposed to be a de-stressor.
2. Do that thing.
3. Think critically about its impact on our selves. Blog about it.

Stay tuned! And in the meantime, let us know if you do anything in particular to de-stress!

Handy Ways To Not Be Injured Safely On A Bike

We all know that city biking is a rewarding and wonderful way to get around, not to mention that in many cases it is also faster than other modes of public transportation (*cough* the green line *cough*). It is also, however, a dangerous undertaking. Here are some tips to stay safe on your bike this summer and throughout the school year.

1. BUY A HELMET. Riding without a helmet is so dangerous, you guys. Musicians need our heads (and faces, and brains) so protect them with a GOOD, HIGH-QUALITY helmet. Don't buy a used helmet; cracks can be invisible but significantly impact the quality of the helmet.

Where to buy a helmet? Here, here, or here. How to buy a helmet? By exchanging money for goods and services. Why should you spend money on a good helmet? Because of the brain thing previously mentioned. Will you look like a dork in your helmet? No.

The following picture illustrates how good you will look in your helmet:

2. Keep a constant eye on the right. If you bike in the bike lanes (WHICH YOU SHOULD) you will notice that cars, busses, and other sundry traffic pass through the bike lane. One particular hazard is opening car doors, as shown below:

3. Ride at the same speed as traffic. If you are riding faster than traffic, there is a chance that a car could miss you, cut over quickly, and cause an accident. As tempting as it is, don't speed past the poor, unfortunate cars stuck in traffic.

NO.

4. DO obey all traffic signs, lights, and signals. Bicycles are moving vehicles on the road and are therefore subject to all the same regulations and rules as cars. This also means that you can act all snooty when people tell you that you should bike on the sidewalk. Which you shouldn't.

Also, police have been pulling people over for riding unsafely. So, you don't even wanna mess with that.

5. Get a bike light! Ideally, these lights should be able to be solid or flashing, and white for the front of your bike with red on the back.

May your bike light reflect your own personal radiance.

The reason for the bike light is two-fold: first, you need to see at night. Sometimes streets are dark and you don't want to ride over (or into) something unpleasant. Second, cars need to see YOU. A light goes a long way toward preventing this:

Obviously this is just a basic guide for biking in Boston. For more information, or to get involved with bike activism in Boston, you can visit the Boston Cyclists Union, where you can sign a petition for protected bikeways on Commonwealth Ave., sign up to volunteer, and take a class on things like winterizing your bike.

Just remember, even though riding a bike is awesome, taking proper safety measures makes us EVEN COOLER. What do you do to stay safe on the roads?

And Now for a Non-Musical Interlude: REGISTER YOUR STUFF!

Greetings, incoming Bostonites! As many of you know, biking is one of the fastest, awesomest, and most exercise-y ways to get around the city. It's important to remember, especially when you bike a long way, to lock up your bike properly (with a U-lock running through both the wheel and the body of the bike). BUT (and this is exciting), you can also REGISTER YOUR BIKE with the BU police department (and/or Parking & Transportation Services). This is important because if your bike did get stolen, the police would already have a record of the make and model, plus important identifying information like a serial number.

ALSO, you can REGISTER YOUR LAPTOP! According to the police department at BU, theft is the most-reported crime on campus, and laptop and electronic theft is a big part of that. So you can do a few things to safeguard yourself:

1. Don't leave your laptop alone.
2. Don't leave your laptop alone.
3. Register your laptop with the police department.
4. Don't (ever) leave your laptop alone.

Registering your stuff is a great mini-task at the beginning of the school year, when organization is at its peak. We are looking forward to a safe start to the semester, for both us AND our stuff!

And Now for a Non-Musical Public Service Announcement: Mice in the Practice Rooms (And Allston Rats)

Remember all the awesome things about Allston? All the sushi restaurants and proximity to BU and interesting, under-30 people living there? Remember how Aerosmith wrote their first song in their apartment on Comm Ave? Remember the rich history of comedians and actors who spent their student years in this wondrous neighborhood? Well, Allston has rats. (To be fair, so does Back Bay.)

This is a dramatic re-enactment.

Rats, like most living things, eat food. They tend to like food that people leave lying around, like in a dumpster or on the street. That is why rats tend to hang around in alleys. Eventually the rats eating the food begin to multiply, which can be expressed in the following mathematical equation:

Rat plus hamburger equals two rats. Or, less literally, rat plus food equals rats everywhere.

As the rats multiply, they eventually start to take over the human population. The good news? Rats mostly live outside. The same cannot be said for mice.

Don't be fooled by the cuteness.

The domicile of mice, particularly in the winter, is indoors where they can eat dropped crumbs from unsuspecting humans and partake in the free heat. The problem is that because mice live indoors, the threat is more immediate than that of a rat. In other words, when mice live in the practice rooms in the basement of the CFA, they leave droppings and generally create an unsanitary space reminiscent of that of the Allston rat. This can be expressed thusly:

Mouse plus CFA equals Allston rat.

This isn't the end of this dark equation, however. The real truth is that an indoor space acts, for mice, the same as dumpster food for rats.

Obviously the mice need a little help from us, however. Eating in the practice room and dropping crumbs is a fast and simple way to make sure that the entire building fills with mice. This is good for exactly nobody, including the practice room eater. It is worst, though, for the student who doesn't eat in the practice room, and just wants to have a nice, focused practice session free from rodent interruptions.

Here is a time-lapse of the worst-case scenario:

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

But wait! There is good news! Eating in the student lounge, where there are tables and open space that is vacuumed regularly, is an excellent way to avoid the Practice Room Mouse. The start of a new school year is a wonderful time to introduce habits into our daily routines. This year, let's eat in the lounge, with friends (instead of in the practice room, with mice).