My Attempt to De-Stress

As we all know by now, my 10th week is 100% insane.

I got back to San Diego, completely exhausted, in the wee hours of Tuesday morn. Went to class at noon, and was reminded that I had two rehearsals and a concert to do that very same day. Attended both rehearsals (one of which I had to leave early for my voice lesson) and then proceeded to scramble for something to wear for the concert. FYI, I ended up sporting my LJSC dress. Did the concert, had Sam Woo for dinner at 10, and went home. Funny story: I got super excited about plopping down in my bed, since I had been fantasizing about it all day, so I brushed my teeth, changed into my robe, plopped down, and after several minutes of relieved sighing, fell sound asleep.

Today has been a similar scramble. Performance final at noon. Rehearsal at 2. Dress rehearsal at 3:15. Luckily, I had a break during which I cranked out a 2-page paper for tomorrow. Then I warmed up and met up with my ensemble for my concert call time. Performed, and seeing as I completely missed LJSC rehearsal, came straight home.

The rest of the week follows in a similar manner. Rehearsals, performances. Two more concerts on Saturday, then one on Sunday. My voice is tired. My body is tired. My brain is fried. Not to mention I have a final paper due Monday... as well as a final also on Monday. I don't know when I'm going to be able to get those suckers done.

I actually Googled "How to destress quickly." That's how desperate I got at one point on Tuesday (when I realized just how much work I had to do...) The search brought me to a marginally helpful eHow page that told me to breathe deeply for a minute or two, organize my thoughts on paper, and rationalize my fears.



But we all know that's not how I dissipate the pressure in my life. So here's what I did instead:


Over the weekend, I had an extremely successful revelation in my attempt at bread-baking. The final product had a beautiful crumb texture and an shockingly flavorful taste. Good thing I saved some of the dough as a starter for my next loaf! This is my first time making bread from starter, but I have a good feeling about it.

I mixed my slightly beery-smelling starter with a cup and a half of lukewarm water. Then I stirred in three cups of flour and a teaspoon of salt. It's a gooey mixture, just like the one I made over the weekend. I really want to see it succeed. I'm going to let the yeast do its thang overnight, then I'll pop the whole shebang in the fridge in the morning and let it sit for another day or two before baking it. I've found that the key to bread-baking is time. Time, time, time. I didn't even knead my last loaf. I just let the yeast help form the glutens for me!

And THAT, friends, is what truly de-stressed me.