Category Archives: Random thoughts

Random thoughts

Answers to a few questions

I’ve gotten a couple of questions recently that I thought I would answer here:

How can I leave in the middle of January to go to Phoenix, run a race, and visit my sister and friends? 

Well, firstly, since I work a variety of part time jobs, I can (within reason) set my own schedule.  But it worked out since Monday (MLK day) is already a holiday, so I was already missing half the students that week (Monday is quite busy).  So now I’m missing all the students that week.  I don’t get paid when I miss, but I don’t think it’s fair of any of my jobs to expect me to fully commit my time to them without full time pay!  I also don’t get paid sick leave or paid benefits.  All of that is out of pocket. 

What are these various groups I play with?

1.  Chamber Project St. Louis:  I am lucky to play with these guys (well, women, actually).  They do primarily concerts.  They play a variety of styles and ensembles—and they play all over town.  I’ve played with them in the past at the Chapel and the Contemporary Art Museum.  Most recently I was on Fox2 News with them.

2.  Frantillo Strings:  This is my group.  We play paid jobs for weddings, ensembles, etc. 

3.  Serenade Music:  My friend Ranya runs this group.  I play a TON of weddings for her.  It is also known as Serenade Strings.

4.  Winter Opera St. Louis:  Small start up opera company.  I am concertmaster of the orchestra.  It used to be called New Opera St. Louis. 

5.  Elegant Ensembles:  I have played a few jobs for this group, and I am currently rehearsing for a chamber music concert coming up (Brahms and Mendelssohn), so it’s both concerts and weddings/other events.

Are you a professional musician or do you do this for fun?

Yes.  To both.  But it sounds much better since I am a professional.  (That’s also why I charge more than college students.  I also have taxes to pay!)

Why did you initially begin blogging, and how has the experience changed for you since you began?

Actually, this is my third or fourth blog.  I initially began blogging because I thought it was an interesting thing to do, but I didn’t really want anyone to read it.  Then I had a blog on which I posted my travels plus funny things that happened to me.  This blog I thought would be initially professional in nature, but the thing is…the personal and professional blurs so much in my life (a musician’s work is never done…and we must bring our personal feelings into our music) that it seems natural to have moved into a more personal nature.  I also actively court readers now, as I feel my blog is finally worth sharing with people.  I try to keep a nice variety of topics, and I also generally try to keep a positive feel—it’s pretty indicative of who I am. I enjoy writing it for now, so there we are.

If you have any more questions for me, let me know!

Random thoughts

Snow Day? Part 2

3 Comments

Since today is a “snow day”, I’m taking advantage of the time to get ready for my upcoming trip.  I’ve got a big pile of clothes and such on my bed, and as soon as the laundry is done, will probably finish packing the clothes portion of the suitcase.  I am a little early but the next two days will be quite hectic.   I’ve also got a bunch of paperwork/bookkeeping stuff to get done (private teaching creates quite a bit of record-keeping!)

We were going to have a rehearsal for the upcoming Elegant Ensembles concert this afternoon but decided to postpone it until tomorrow afternoon, which makes tomorrow very hectic.  Oh well!  It’s so hard to tell with weather.  On the one hand, I always feel like a giant wuss when I want to just stay at home and not drive around, as there are ALWAYS people who will go out in whatever weather.  On the other hand, my brain says, why?  After all, (I know I said this before, but I really mean it) whatever I am doing is hardly worth risking my life, or, more practically, risking my car insurance deductible.  Sure, I could probably get to Chesterfield tonight.  But my chances of a minor accident are significantly higher than usual, as well as my chances of slipping in the parking lot.  I also find that parents of young children (who I was going to meet in Chesterfield) are usually very hesitant to take the kids out and about in bad weather, so that works out well.  I don’t blame them—one adult is one thing (not withstanding the fender bender risk) but imagine a small accident with two small children…potentially waiting for an hour or more in the cold by the side of the road…and for what?  A violin lesson?  That could be made up another time?  (It’s not as if we get snow all the time, like in Cleveland!)

Maybe it’s my southern roots, or maybe it’s due to a couple of accidents (and really bizarre things like my car sliding down a driveway and hitting a garage door), or a couple of near accidents (doing a 360 on the highway and ending up facing into oncoming traffic)…but the older I get, the more hesitant I am to risk driving in bad weather.  Call me chicken, I’m okay with it.

*steps off of soapbox*

Honestly I just love surprise days off.  Whether they come in the form of a snow day or a sick day, I still love it (yes, even when I am barely alive, lying on the couch covered in kleenex, the day off part still pleases me).  Though I still feel guilty…did I make the right decision?  Should I have gone in?  Maybe pink eye isn’t that contagious?  Maybe the sheet of ice on my road isn’t a widespread thing?  (Then again, I generally feel guilty…it comes with the territory for being fairly high-strung.)

Readers:  How do you feel about snow and sick days?  Are you a “go into work/normal activities at any cost” sort of person or more of an “eh, let’s take it easy, nobody’s going to die if I stay home” person?

Random thoughts

Snow day?

How do you stay entertained when you are snowed in?

(Today’s postaday suggestion).

Today we were supposed to be getting 6 or so inches of snow, starting around noon.  Then 2:00.  Then 3:00.  Then I drove home after orchestra rehearsal at 4:30…and it finally started snowing.  Then it stopped. 

I am trying to remember the last time I was really snowed in.  I think it may have been Easter weekend in Cleveland in 2007 (or 2008? I don’t know).  I recall it snowed from Thursday through Sunday.  Maybe that’s incorrect, I don’t know.  Memory is a funny thing.

Most of my snow memories are from panicking over how to get to various concerts that SHOULD have been canceled, but weren’t, or were, but not until after you already tried to get there on the ice or in the blizzard.  Sometimes I hate being a musician—the powers-that-be are very hesitant to cancel concerts since they would lose a ton of money…but if you get in a fender bender on the way there the deductible alone would more than negate the payment for the gig, so it’s always a big moral dilemma.  Do you try to go or just stay home?  Some people mock those of us who like to stay home when the weather is bad, but seriously, why?  Why go out in the snow if you don’t have to?  What is so important that you can’t just stay home for an evening or for a day?  (I know some things, i.e. medical emergencies are important.  I’m not talking about that.  I am talking about the idiots at the mall.)

That brings us to the question in bold at the top.  How do you stay entertained when you are snowed in?  The same way I always entertain myself…my home is a place of relaxation, comfort, and entertainment.  I’m never bored at home.  I have the boy, the cat, tons of books, movies, a television…plus there’s a kitchen for cooking or baking…the computer for blogging or the internet…the possibilities are endless. 

Unrelated note:  Today in class a student asked me what “xeroxing” meant.  And she was serious.  I feel old.

Related note:  I am starting to question the snow forecast.  Then again, maybe the worst is yet to come…perhaps I’ll wake up tomorrow to a foot of snow!  Thank goodness the fridge is full of groceries that include milk and bread.

Random thoughts

Happy Birthday to Chris!

Happy Monday morning, readers! 

They are predicting 6 or more inches of snow later today.  Let’s hope I can get through my teaching day with no problems.  I wish I could take the day off to celebrate Chris’s birthday with him, but alas…

I am just pushing through the week until Friday when I take off for Phoenix.  Things are busy busy!

The weekend was great. 

Friday  night:

Chris and I had a fantastic dinner at 1111 Mississippi to celebrate his birthday.  We split the stuffed artichokes.  I had a watercress salad and the seafood alfredo and he had the bacon-wrapped pork.  We finished with the cheesecake.  It was all fantastic, plus I got to take pasta home for later.  Many of my friends insisted we would love 1111 and they were absolutely correct.  It was a great dinner! 

Saturday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtube_gdata_player&v=uB1wIfMCphc

Saturday started very early with an appearance on the Fox2 Morning Show as a guest with Chamber Project St. Louis.  If you missed my entry about that, go here.

In the afternoon I ran 8 miles…on the treadmill.  It was just so cold outside.  I had wanted to do another 10 mile run (did that last week) as it is the last weekend before my race, but I was just too exhausted.  Oh well.

Saturday night I played background music for a private dinner at the Wine Room in the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton as part of the Serenade Strings.

Sunday:

Sunday morning I had my first spinning class at the Center of Clayton.  It was great!  I can’t wait till my next one, unfortunately two weeks from now, but still.  The teacher was really energized and the other class members were very friendly.  I was dripping sweat and worked really hard.

In the afternoon I played again with Chamber Project St. Louis.  They had a short concert at the Siteman Cancer Center.  It was a nice crowd and a pleasant way to spend the afternoon.

By Sunday night I really just wanted to rest, but I couldn’t pass up free tickets to Circus Flora and SLSO’s partnership show, “The Floating Palace.”  The orchestra played music of Bizet, Copland, Ibert, and more, and the circus juggled, tumbled, hula hooped, climbed ropes, and as a finale, the “Flying Wallendas” did a spectacular tight-rope routine.  Wow!  I hope they continue to work together in the future.  There is nothing like live music for a show like that!

Upcoming week’s highlights:

Chris’s Birthday

Trip to Phoenix, visit Leslie and Sarah, run Rock n Roll Half Marathon

Keep reading War and Peace. (should make EXCELLENT headway during travels).

Let’s see how today’s weather goes!  Lots of teaching to do before dinner tonight.

Random thoughts, Running, Teaching

Stress and a little rant

Today’s topic idea:  “Are you stressed out?”

Answer:  Of course!  I’m way too high strung to not be stressed out.  I set my standards for myself very high and constantly berate myself for not meeting them.  Of COURSE I’m stressed out—that’s why I constantly chew on my fingers and fingernails.  Duh.  *kicks blog impatiently*

Unrelated jump to teaching:

My students at Child of God School were great today.  I am very pleased with my new class arrangements (completely by grades, not level) as the behavior was better.  I have totally spoiled them however, as they were begging today “when is the next party?  can we play a game?”  Today was review day, since FEW had practiced over break.

Got a 4 mile run in this afternoon.  It’s not that cold outside, but my ear headband thingy kept slipping and my ears kept getting cold.  Boo.  Also I stepped in a pile of mud.  I should really just run inside.

Now I’m off to the Ballet School to teach my four students there.

Other random thought:  I was surfing the web (yes, I am old to use that term) and ran across a quiz called “how bad is your diet?”  The quiz intrigued me since it assumed my diet was bad (I think it’s actually pretty good, since I lost 35 pounds on it and now have maintained for months…).  The questions had to do with chocolate, caffeine, and artificial sweeteners.  Now, I’m not a diet expert.  But—what I needed in my diet when Joe changed it was more fruits/veggies and more lean protein.  What was the key for me was thinking of food as something GOOD for you.  Food gives you energy to live.  Versus, trying NOT to eat certain things, or eating dark chocolate because it’s “good for you” and using that as an excuse to be 100 pounds overweight.  Seriously.  More vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, cut out the junk.  Oh, and portion sizes.  I consider vegetables to be an unlimited portion, just fyi—as much as you want.  (I will stick to my old “nobody gets fat from eating too many fruits or vegetables”).  And guess what people:  every meal doesn’t need dessert, and if you want to lose weight, you’ll probably need to go to bed hungry on occasion.  And I probably should drink less coffee, but seriously, I’m not a saint. Okay, rant over.

HBBC:  January 5: 4 miles: 4 points, 7 f/v: 1 point, total: 5 points, January 6: o points, January 7: 1.3 miles: 1.3 points, workout with Mike: 4 points, 7 f/v: 1 point, total: 6.3 points

Random thoughts

4 to 10 more weeks of winter

2 Comments

Tonight is the last Sunday night before “school starts back.”  It’s the last day of Christmas vacation.

Christmas vacation is so hyped up, so exciting.  Ever since I was a young child, I absolutely loved Christmas vacation, I counted down, I became giddy with excitement.  I’m sure I’m not alone, but Christmas vacation may possible have been the greatest thing in my life.

Therefore, the last night of it is very depressing.  Not crying on the floor unable to move depressing, but nonetheless a bit sad.  No matter how the actual vacation was, the build up was certainly exciting, and now there is almost an entire year until the fun begins again.  (And yes, I will insist upon waiting for Thanksgiving to pass before beginning to celebrate the Christmas season next year…I refuse to start on Labor Day).

Now all we have to look forward to is a few months of dreary weather.  In Cleveland this could go on for up to five more months—in St. Louis probably only three, but still…what is there to look forward to now?  I think that’s why so many people make New Year’s resolutions.  Resolutions give us something to focus on, something to be excited about.  Many people focus on living in the now and enjoying “the moment.”

It might be better if Christmas (or winter break, if you don’t celebrate) took place more towards the end of January.  That’s when we need it!  Frankly, the end of November is interesting enough in the US with Thanksgiving—we don’t need another major holiday in a month, especially a holiday that is followed one week later by yet another holiday! We need to spread these things out.  February has Valentine’s, but that’s not a really fun holiday after grade school (too much pressure), then there’s St. Patrick’s…boring…Easter is a good one, but doesn’t always mean much more than a long weekend.  There’s Memorial Day, and then summer– when most people get at least a bit of vacation (us school people quite a bit more, but it seems that most of my friends take time then for some sort of vacation), so that’s covered, then Labor Day, Halloween…and so on.

But that’s how it is calendar wise, and I should just accept it.  My issue really is that it’s over now.  I don’t WANT to return to work.  I would prefer to keep sleeping in, enjoying my flannel sheets, and being generally lazy watching bad 80’s movies on ABC Family.

Oh, well.  That’s life!  I’d rather return to work than be back in middle school again.  I’ll keep that thought in mind to prop up my spirits.  Tomorrow I have 6 or 7 private students.  At least I’m starting slow!

 

Side note:  I wasn’t happy with my new theme, so I’ve chosen a different one.  I’ll be messing around with it a little bit, but I hope you’ll like it.  I especially like how the front page shows several recent posts instead of one at a time.