Another week has come and gone and I’ve managed to return to my blog to tell you all about it. (Well, not quite all about it….some things are not cleared for general consumption!) No more dilly-dallying….let’s get to it. (Does anyone else now feel the urge to go to DQ?)
Music: This week was all about final preparations for the last WBU recital of the year. Deborah DiSalvo and I have worked together during her entire career at Wayland. It has been incredibly fulfilling and fun to watch her grow and develop as an artist from the best seat in the house! I am thoroughly looking forward to performing this program with Deb on Tuesday evening. Some students are a joy to work with; others are a weekly responsibility that must be met. I’m so happy to say that Deb has been a joy and I’m glad to also call her friend. I’m excited to share this wonderful recital we have prepared with others.
Arm fatigue: It’s a fact of life. I use my arms a lot. By the end of the academic year, they are tired and ready for a rest. This is becoming more pronounced as I age. (I hate to admit that is an issue!) No pain that I’m worried about. Just the knowledge that I’m working later in the year than normal and I am definitely feeling the results. Thankfully, most of my performances will be over for a while at the end of the week.
Baseball Newbies: I’ve had a blast watching the Cubs games on MLB.TV. It’s especially been fun to see the MLB debuts of Matt Mervis (1B) and Miguel Amaya (C). These guys have brought excitement to the field for sure, but I think watching their families’ reactions in the stands was worth the price of admission. The look of pride in a father’s eyes. The fact that Mom is almost as excited as her player son when he finally gets his first major league hit. The results of the games have been hit and miss, but the drama has been fun. (I’m not a fan of losing a 14-inning game on Sunday afternoon as a result of a perceived balk that resulted in a ghost runner crossing the plate, but I digress…)
Food: Since I stayed around town this week, I didn’t have any new food discoveries. But I was intentional to return to a couple of nearby favorites. Thursday evening was a time of personal celebration for me, so I headed north to Canyon and enjoyed a meal at Mickey’s Place on the Square. I love the manicotti with grilled chicken on top. Very filling and yummy. Saturday morning, I found myself in Lubbock and decided to visit Chick-Fil-A for breakfast. Since I’m not often near this favorite fast food establishment, I don’t get to have the chicken biscuit very often for breakfast….and I had forgotten just how good it really is! Yummy!
Job Hunt Continues: If you know me well enough to know about my blogging, it is no surprise to hear that I am looking for a new job. If you haven’t heard the news, let me tell you clearly…..I am aggressively looking for a job. I could tell you about the reasons that have led to such a brutal environment in my current workplace as I see them, but that won’t benefit any of us. What I will tell you without apology is what is currently occurring in my world. I am a collaborative pianist. I have trained and find musical fulfillment in accompanying singers and instrumentalists. That’s who I am. Currently, I am spending roughly 2 ½ hours each week in quality collaboration. When opera rehearsals were at their height – a program that WBU no longer supports or funds – I was having more time at the piano, but the 2.5 hours per week seems to be the new norm. That is not a level of playing that will sustain me. For the naysayers who simply want to tell me that “When life gives you lemons, you just have to make lemonade” my response is very simple…….Even to make the proverbial lemonade, you must have basic ingredients. I can’t develop higher quality musicians for collaboration because we don’t have students to develop! Go figure….
I have submitted 11 applications for work all around the country. By my best estimates, six of those are still active searches. The most recently submitted one was to Troy University in Alabama. I had applied for another position there in the fall. When I never heard from them again, I assumed that the search had failed and they had reposted the position with a lower title. After being advised to ignore the reposting, my gut simply would not let it go. I sent an email to the chair of the first search committee and learned that the position I had applied for in the fall was indeed filled and that they are now searching for another pianist because of the department’s growing needs. At this point, I have nothing to lose so I submitted a new application. This week, I also learned of a new position at the University of Nevada – Reno and two upcoming positions at Arkansas State University. I’ll be completing those applications in the coming days and putting my name in the hat there as well. Right now, there’s no movement happening on any front….but I’m hopeful that could all change in the coming months.
Reading Update: My reading life went according to plan this week. That’s a definite plus! I finished reading The Stepford Wives in the middle of the week. I am not entirely sure how I responded to this novel. I enjoyed the humor and the witty writing while reading. The ending, however, left much to be desired. I found myself asking why I had invested so much time in the project. Once finishing that, it was time to begin new works for the week – a paperback and another book on my Kindle. (I’m really enjoying reading in multiple formats at the moment. Once I’m done with the recital, I plan to re-introduce audio books into my routine as well.) For the paperback, I followed through with the plans to read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. For some reason, my online notes suggest that I have read the book before, but I really have no recollection of it. Since so much of it is set in Stamps, Arkansas, I am certain that I would remember more of the details if I had actually looked at it intently before. I’m beginning to think it was one of those books that I was “aware of” that I marked as “read” so it would stop showing up in recommendation lists. For something a little lighter (or so I thought), I’m reading Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson and enjoying every minute of it! A “Read with Jenna” selection, the novel focuses on two siblings who are reunited after their mother’s death as they must deal with their strained relationship and uncover the stories of their mother’s secret past. It is a riveting read that I just don’t want to put down.
And that’s what’s happening in my world this week…..