Month: May 2004

Still Here

by

Today, I extended the lease at my current apartment by three additional months. This should allow me some time so I’m not searching for an apartment at the same time I’m searching for a new teaching job. I also contacted my old employer where I’m still on the payroll; hopefully, they’ll have some more work for me to do over the summer. I know there are two projects they want me to work on, and hopefully that won’t be a problem.

I was looking forward to realizing the plan I’ve had in my mind for the last few months: buying a condo in the township where I am teaching and settling down a little. Apparently, it wasn’t meant to be. That’s alright, though. Everything will be sorted out soon, and I’ll just start working on a new plan.

I’ve been thinking I’d like to be closer to my family, but I’m not sure how to find jobs and stuff without being there first.

Ah, Music By Mail

by

I received two different CDs in the mail today. Erica sent me a Maroon 5 CD (thank you so much!) and I received Something Happened, the University of Delaware Marching Band CD that has been more than six years in the making. Only 7 of the 26 tracks were recorded while I was around, but this is a project that I originally convinced the directors to pursue, so you can imagine my smile now that it is finally in my hands.

I love getting music in the mail.

Life Moves On

by

… without me. I’m going to miss my students. I guess it makes sense the job would go to the guy who’s been in the district longer and whose job at the middle school is currently redundant. It’s just sad for me. The administration made a logical choice, despite the fact I did really well in the job over the past two months. In any case, life moves on, and I choose to continue making my own choices whenever I can. I choose to take what is positive and not to let the negative side affect me too much.

Go Go Go

by

My car died died died. I was able to get it home by going five miles per hour from the main highway to my apartment. It sounded like it was going to explode. Now, it has been towed towed towed. In fact, the tow truck arrived in under ten minutes thanks to a call to the gas station ahead of time. That has to be a AAA record.

The place can’t look at the car until Monday. This undoubtedly means I must rent a car for at least a few days. I’m not happy about that.

Despite this, it is still much better now that I have a car than when I was living here without one.

Dinner

by

I just got back from having dinner at my father’s girlfriend’s house, with my father, his girlfriend (for lack of a term that sounds better), her two sons, a friend of the sons, and two of their neighbors. Discussions centered around the one son and his friend’s experiences in the Naval ROTC at their respective schools as well as the Naval experiences of the neighbor. And, as with any Jewish dinner conversation (to clarify, neither the dinner nor the conversation was particularly Jewish — but the people were most definitely), it led towards the discussion of marriage.

It is the college-aged son’s opinion that all the Jewish girls at his school are there just to look for husbands… and potentially rich husbands at that. There were some disagreements on this topic, but everyone seemed to agree that once you’re out of college, it gets exponentially more difficult to meet people with whom you have common interests. Oh, and one of the neighbors chimed in with: “Well, if you’re going to marry, you might as well marry well,” in reference to the girls’ search for potentially rich husbands.

I think I’m too much of a mieskeit (or just too poor) to ever marry.

Lax

by

I’ve been such a bad blogger. As I noted before, I was hired as a mid-year replacement on an emergency basis. That means I have to re-apply for my teaching position for the fall. I found out yesterday that my interview will be tomorrow, and it will require me to perform a solo piece on my main instrument. That’s pretty much unheard of for a teaching interview, but I’ll do it. I decided I’d touch up the Brahms Second Sonata, a piece I worked on in college. I haven’t really had time to prepare, between drum major auditions, grading papers, percussion rehearsals, writing several weeks’ worth of lesson plans…

Then I remember I have no right to complain or feel sorry for myself. I have friends going through more difficult stuff right now. So I’m sucking up, practicing the music, getting my work done, and basically dealing. But if you’re wondering why you don’t see me much or I rarely call… this is why. And this is the “slow season.”

If for some reason I don’t get this job again (and it’s quite possible I may not, it’s a highly sought-after position with some well experienced people interested in the job) I will once again need to make a decision about which road to travel. Right now, it’s just one day at a time.