Oh.My.Gosh.  

So, I was trimming the stems on some flowers I received at our welcome home concert Wednesday night.  Never one to be squeamish about the gunk in the drain, I dug in, barehanded, to get all the stem pieces to thrown in the trash.  The last "stem" was surprisingly fat...and squishy...and moving...

Yeah, not so much a stem.  More like one of these....



Do you all SEE how big this thing was?  Oh, my good Lord, I was in a panic.  Here's me, trying to reconcile the fact that that thing had just been in my hand...


So.Freaking.Gross.  

The only thing I can think of is that it had been living in the flowers since I brought them home.  I got home late that night and just threw them in a vase without arranging them or trimming leaves or anything.  Ew, Ew, Ew.

Ni Hao!!!  

I have just a minute for a quick picture, before I collapse from sheer exhaustion!  We have been super busy--yesterday the Great Wall, Ming Tombs, and a Cloisonne factory.  Also, we got to see a high school orchestra, made up of traditional Chinese instruments--totally, completely different than anything I've ever heard.  We ended the night with a Chinese Acrobat performance.  Today, we visited the Temple of Heaven and a Pearl Market--the Chinese are known for their freshwater pearls.  Then, we spent the afternoon at Peking University High School--played a jolnt concert and then had dinner with the students and teachers.  Let me tell you--I STINK at eating with chopsticks, and tonight (while I was sitting across from the principal of the school) there wasn't even the option of a fork. 

Anyway--I better go do room checks, but here's a quick picture of DH and i on the Great Wall. 

I never thought this day would come, but.....

I have a new job!! And if I do say so myself, it's a freaking awesome one. As of August 15th, I will be teaching at one of the premiere HS band programs in the country! (same district I was shot down in back in May) Like, they won a $25,000 grammy award this year. Right. Big step up from my teeny grade school program in the country. Now, don't get me wrong--my current job, for the most part, was very good to me, and I was able to really do a lot of cool things. But-and this is a big but-I am so tired of getting taken advantage of, and way, way, way excited to move on.

So, the readers digest version is as follows:

July 1st(ish): 5th grade job posted, fine arts chair emails me to tell me that he's passed my name on to the administrators in charge of hiring

July 20th: fine arts chair calls and asks if I can come "talk to him" regarding a HS position. Um, yes, I think I can do that! Calls as I'm trying to merge onto the Dan Ryan in AM rush hour, so I'm a bit frazzled, and somehow settle on an interview next wednesday.

July 21st: I come to my senses and realize that a week is a LONG time to wait, and I need to be making a decision regarding staying or leaving, like NOW. I call the fine arts chair during my 8AM class. He calls back at 10AM, asks if I can be there by 1:30. I ditch my PM classes to drive down. Go through a psuedo-interview w/the fine arts chair and principal (I interviewed w/fine arts chair back in May, and have been in touch ever since), where they tell me they'll be making a decision w/in a day or two. Fine arts chair man asks me to walk down to the band room with him, where, out of earshot of the principal, says, "Actually, the job is yours now if you want it." Um, yes please.

Whew! And then, on top of all that, I had to drive BACK to the city b/c I had a performance last night! What a week!

So, I'll be teaching freshman band, all levels of WW technique classes, and percussion ensemble. The icing on the cake is that it's a 5-figure salary increase from where I"m at now, so that never hurts. I am so freaking ecstatic. Like, i cannot even describe it. This is a school where I can see myself staying for a very.long.time. I may eat my words a year from now, but the reputation of this district's music program is incredible. Whhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

I definitely just saw a guy wearing a metronome around his neck. Wow. I think I've reached the epitome of geekiness.

2 weeks down, 4 to go. According to my calculations, that means I'm a 1/3 of the way through this crazy summer of school. I finally lost it after my commute home yesterday, so I bought a month long metra pass this morning. The ride there was fine, and then on the way home, there were "switch problems" and the train was delayed over 45 minutes. I can't win.

The school is less than desirable when it comes to facilities--there are seriously 2 computers in the library and maybe 10 in the midi lab. Sometimes it's 4:00 before I can get a computer. That's not goign to fly, especially on nights I'm stuck there late for a lesson and need to actually use the downtime. DH and I went to Best buy last night and picked up a network card and wireless kit, so assuming we get it running, I can take the laptop and still access the periodical websites, etc. The best part is that the kit was $80, but came with $70 in rebates!!

I would also like to say that I cannot freaking sit still for an entire 2 hour class. The only class we get a break in is Music History, and that's only because our professor (who plays in a gamelan ensemble and wants us to call him Mike) needs a smoke break.
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My parents are coming up tomorrow. Should be a weekend of great excitement, lemme tell ya. Hmmm..not much else here. I guess I am boring. Oh! We got a new roof. It's quite nice. Not so nice to write that check. Ummm...and also, a guy in my Mus554 study group had a kid (well, his wife did) and he brought pictures for us to see, and for the first time, I think I might have had a tiny twinge of baby bug. Dear Lord, did I just say that out loud???? Shoot me know if DH ever sees this--he'd die!

Eh...figured I'd post here before I forgot everything I want to write down...

So, I'm officially a grad student. I've survived 3 days of class, thusfar. I'm not sure what to think. I like the *idea* of being back in school, but not so much the actual being there. I think much of it has to do with my job situation of the last few months. I'm not so much feeling the love for the profession, ya know? And it makes it tough to be around 186 other people who really LOVE teaching music right now. Like, I sit there in a class, and think--"Oh, what an awesome techique that I can use in my classroom!" And then I remember that my classroom is still in M, and I'm just sick. Ugh.

So, really, it's not bad, and the workload, so far, seems to be totally managable. Unfortunately, 2 of my classes are heavy in the group work, and I'm not so great at meeting new people in situations like that. Blah. I think I'm unapproachable. Beyond that, though, most of the stuff assigned has been very practical--like, stuff that you can actually USE. I must say--and there's no way to make this not sound conceited--that this school is definitely of a lower caliber than my undergrad. Our band director/president of the college thinks that John Williams is the greatest.composer.ever. Now, I like JW just as much as the next guy, but I don't think you can compare him to, say, Hindemuth. Eh, just my opinion, though.

Commute thusfar has been moderately tolerable. Anywhere from an hour and 15 to an hour and 45 into the city, and an hour to an hour and 10 out. No way could I do it forever, but at least I have an end in sight. (3 days down, 26 to go).

I keep this account to keep up with friends who have ventured to the dark side. :) If you know me, you know where to find my journal.