The Royal Family of the Guitar

The Romero family is known as the Royal Family of the Guitar.

They are all virtuosic classical guitarists.

In the video below, Pepe Romero plays Recuerdos de la Alhambra (memories of the Alhambra).

The Alhambra (literally means 'the red one' in Arabic), is a palace/fortress built in the 14th century by Moorish rulers. It is located in Granada, Spain. Recuerdos de la Alhambra, is a piece written by Francisco Tárrega- my favorite guitar composer.

Some day I'm going to Spain, and when I do I am going to see the Alhambra. I'm also going to learn Recuerdos de la Alhambra, it is one of my favorite pieces.

I found out today that Pepe Romero is a classical guitar professor at USC. So is Scott Tennant, a member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. I first saw the LAGQ when I began taking classical guitar lessons- they came to Salt Lake and played with the Utah Symphony. He also wrote this book:

I totally own it. Everyone owns this book.

USC has a FABULOUS classical guitar program. I'm pretty sure I want to go to USC. They came back and offered me a 1,000 dollar gift card to the bookstore (hello, new computer). They also have a really good program for what I want to study. But then there's the University of Utah...they're going to give me a good deal and they have a good program too.

Anyone watching American Idol? I like Didi, but I am so sick of her crying and tearing up. It's getting old.

You know what else is getting old? Kara DioGuardi. I'm kinda sick of listening to her too.

Time for a new show, or at least time to cut TV out of my life and do some homework.

L.A. Not So Confidential

Did you ever see L.A. Confidential? It was pretty good AND Russell Crowe was in it.

Anyways....

I went to L.A. this weekend for a graduate school interview at USC. At first I didn't really want to go because it's becoming a pain in the butt to take so much time off school and work. I also didn't think I'd really like L.A.

Turns out I was wrong. I LOVED L.A. I really like the program at USC, and I definitely like the weather.

The campus is really nice too.

I even made some friends- this is my new friend Stacey. She's from Arizona but currently lives in California.

They wined and dined us. Seriously though, who doesn't like a little wining and dining every once in a while?

It's kind of nice that the students aren't the only ones kissing butt, the school has to kiss a little butt too. Most schools give out a certain number of offers each year and based on how many people accept, the school gets certain incentives or ranking increases. Because everyone is interviewing at numerous places, the schools have some incentive to focus on recruitment.

I made up for not drinking the wine by pigging out on food.

We each had our own rooms at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. This bed was one of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in. I wanted to stash the pillows in my suitcase.

There were cool pictures all over the place.

Before this trip the only athletic club I'd ever heard of is the one in The Young and the Restless. Nothing goes on in Genoa City without everyone meeting at the athletic club at some point.

The highlight of the trip was eating at Yoshinoya. I haven't had Yoshinoya since living in Malaysia-even then we'd have to drive 4 hours to Kuala Lumpur to get to the closest Yoshinoya.

Yoshinoya is famous for their gyudon- or beef bowl. It's so good- especially with pickled ginger and some chili. I LOVE gyudon and haven't had it like this in years.

The Yoshinoya I went to was run by Mexicans, and filled with Mexicans. It was so great listening to the woman call out numbers and take orders in Spanish. It didn't quite have the same charm as the Yoshinoya in Tokyo, but it was a lot of fun.

One of my best friends from high school-Shinobu-is from Tokyo. I'd always tell her about my crazy obsession with gyudon and Yoshinoya. She told me that she had never been to Yoshinoya- apparently in Tokyo only businessmen eat at Yoshinoya and usually just during lunch breaks. It's really not as common for women or families to eat there. She was right too- when we went, it was nothing but businessmen in suits.

I really like L.A. I don't know about the traffic and living situation- apparently they recommend you don't live too close to the graduate school campus because the neighborhood isn't too safe. You've also got to be careful about where you park your car. I'd have to commute to school/work everyday if I ended up at USC.

The food might be worth it though.