I feel like the time is flying by! How is it Friday already?

This week has been a little less busy because a few students are out of town for their spring breaks. There were three different weeks this month of spring breaks, and so each week a few were missing. It’s been nice, but I’ll be eager to be back to full teaching capacity next week.

I’ve been taking advantage of the slightly less busy days to get other things done. I’ve done all my annual doctor checkups, gotten both of my violin bows rehaired, and changed my strings. I realized I hadn’t gotten a bow rehair since the summer, right before my luthier moved to Bulgaria to retire. So I had to find somebody new. When I first moved to St Louis I let my partner at the time handle those things, but when I got divorced I felt great pride in establishing my own relationship with my luthier here. I think I’d let myself get down and feel like I wasn’t a real performer…I won’t go into that all, but suffice it to say, I’m still dealing with imposter syndrome and wondering how much of my personality is really ME and my wants and needs and all those things one struggles with…but I got my own bows rehaired and will continue to do so. I get to decide things for myself, and I am a good violinist, and I am worth doing things for. (And Louie is always supportive, even when I forget that he might be.)

That paragraph might not even make sense to non-musicians. A luthier is the person who repairs and maintains violins and bows. Things need to be done on a regular basis in order to keep your instrument in tip-top shape!

Since I have this summer’s vacations all planned, naturally I started brainstorming for next summer. I have ideas. Then again, I shouldn’t complain about time going too fast if I can’t stay in the summer I’m in! But I want to go to Europe…I get so inspired (and maybe a tad jealous) by my friends and colleague’s pictures of Europe…they go on vacations and they go on tours and live there…and I want to go back. So I think I shall plan on that for next summer, and Louie and I will save up for something fun there.

Thank you for your comments on my last post, about how to tell people what it is that I do. Just to say: I appreciate your suggestions. I can’t say, yes, I’m in the symphony, because while on rare occasions in the past, I did sub on a few things, I’m not in the symphony, and they no longer call since my ex is a member of the group. (Yes, that’s why, and even though yes, I took the sub audition again, and actually got onto the list by my own merit, they have never called. That’s how it is. That’s the music world for you, I guess! ) And if I tell people I am a professional violinist, they ask am I in the symphony. If I tell them exactly what I do, they still ask, and they still give me that look of pity. I have tried a variety of tactics, and they all seem to fail. I will continue trying, though, and try to have more confidence in my voice as I answer. And the truth is: for some people, my answers are enough, and they just accept it, and I just need to accept that a certain percentage of people will always be rude about my occupation.

So I’d better get my lunch before I have to go teach a few college students.  We went to Union Loafers last night and there are leftovers!

And, it’s been about one year since we got Muriel!

I have been watching my timehop app to see the exact date, and I think it is Sunday, but we’ll see for sure!

The weather is warm, the birds are out, things are looking up. I do feel like warmer weather gives me more energy and a more positive attitude, what about you?