I know I shouldn’t care what other people think, but twice in the last week I’ve gotten comments about my career. Here’s how it goes: I am introduced to somebody, and they ask, what do you do for a living. I say, oh, I play violin: I teach and freelance, and then they say something along the lines of, hopefully you get your real job soon.

I remember reading once in David Leibowitz’s blog or book, can’t recall, that the French consider it rude to ask what people do for a living. Maybe we should consider that.

I definitely think it’s rude to tell me that someday my real job will come. I haven’t told any of these people that I’m looking for a different job than what I have. I don’t think they are saying it to me to be rude, but they are definitely assuming that I am not planning to teach and freelance for the rest of my life. Why no, I’m not.

I’m planning to retire and spend my days traveling, reading, taking walks, baking, and perhaps some volunteer work. Until then, I will teach and freelance, as that’s what I’ve decided I’m doing. Some days I think maybe I should do something else..maybe I should work at the IRS or become an accountant. But other days (sunny days like today), I think, well this isn’t so bad. I’m on top of my scheduling, I’ve got a pretty good relationship with most of my students and their parents, and I am currently not being too overworked. I’ve got a few fun gigs coming up, and it’s all going okay right now. I make enough to get by, and I’m doubtful that more money would bring me more happiness. I haven’t found that many of my friends who are not freelance musicians are happy every minute of their work day either, so I think that’s okay!

So here’s a thought, when you meet somebody who is a freelancer, don’t tell them one day they’ll be lucky enough to have a full time employer. They are their own boss RIGHT NOW, and it’s very possible they enjoy that immensely. What might help is supporting public policies to help them get benefits such as health care without having an employer. Help freelancers by voting for people who respect their place in society. Every violin teacher I know is super busy, yet we aren’t valued by society. Our time isn’t considered valuable until someone needs a teacher for their child, and suddenly our time is too valuable!

And don’t tell us how much a high schooler would charge to do the same thing. I charge less than I should for lessons, but trust that I am well qualified to do what I do. I also run my operation as any other small business: I pay estimated taxes, I keep detailed records, I carry liability insurance and various other insurances that I need, and I am constantly marketing myself and trying to learn more about my field and my business. I enjoy all of these things, most of the time.

I wrote on twitter than the next person who asks, I’m just going to yell “violin” at them and then dump coffee on their head. When I tell people I am a violinist, they take a breath (I can see this happen) and then they ask “Oh, are you in the symphony?” It makes me feel like I am greatly disappointing them when I say no. And sometimes I just say no. Other times I try to tell them some of the groups I play with, but normally they don’t care. When they don’t care, that’s totally fine. It’s when they tell me that hopefully soon I’ll get my real music job that I am bothered.

I feel better writing this down though. Sometimes I think I should go back to school (this is because Louie is in school still) and get a DMA or PhD in order to be able to write more. And then I remember that I am probably too busy for that.

What bothers you most about your job? Do you get ill advised comments about your job or career?

Ah, the joys of homeownership. We had some sewer issues the other week during a big storm, and thought we’d solved them, but upon returning home from Branson discovered that was not true. In fact, one of the pipes in the back yard was completely broken, and so that means that a large sum of money is spent fixing it, and that also I had to send an email to my students saying, please don’t use the bathroom here until further notice. Good times!

The work is being done quickly though, and for that I am so grateful. Shortly after we made the decision to get the work done with the company we chose (Roto-Rooter, because they could do it right away, and the other places were booked until at least early next week, and we were at a “do not flush anything” point already,) people were stopping by the house marking with spray paint where not to dig. Seriously, that happened within an hour! And then before 8 am this morning we got a knock on the door, and then before I knew it, this machine was in our back yard!

Then the man used it to dig a giant hole, and we saw when he dug up some of the old broken red clay pipe.

The house I live in is from 1906, so the sewer system is pretty old and strange. There are definitely some weird things, but it had worked really well up until it didn’t. The pipes under the house are evidently going to be in need of replace sometimes “soon” but they aren’t an emergency.  I’d love to do some different repairs on the house (look at that porch, it’s a sad thing!) but time and money aren’t infinite, as we know. I’m just thankful that this work is being done now, and that our plumbing systems will be back in full service soon. I have often said that indoor plumbing is man’s greatest invention.

These guys are such buddies, aren’t they? The weather is getting warm, the cats are adorable, the toilets will be able to be flushed with abandon soon, and the semester is more than half over. Life is good.

We woke up this morning, thinking it would be a nice lazy morning with coffee drinking and perhaps even french toast, reading a book while listening to the sound of the rain hitting the windows.

But no. Because the sewer drain in the basement was flooding, and suddenly it was a fight against the water. The perils of home ownership and a finished basement! Louie worked valiantly but we soon realized this was a job for a professional with more than a shop-vac and a little pump, so we called Roto Rooter. They were great and were there within 20-30 minutes, and solved the problem. Then we had some cleaning up to do which I won’t discuss, but I’ll just say, what a morning. The cats were very excited and couldn’t decide whether to be terrified of the water or explore it. I’m sure they’ve actually tracked unimaginable things all over the house, but I’m sure it’s not actually worse than what they normally do either.

It’s been a stressful week. Things are getting settled, and soon I’ll be on “spring break”, but I was hoping to spend most of today relaxing. The good news is that I’m relaxing now, and that I’m looking forward to our trip later next week. Both of my college teaching jobs are off next week so I canceled a few days of lessons so Louie and I can get out of town for a few days. We are heading to Branson, Missouri to relax, hike, see a show, and be touristy. We know that most of our friends are saying, why Branson, but we are saying, because we haven’t been! So it should be fun (it will be fun with Louie no matter what because he always loves new places) and it will be a nice diversion.

I think I’m getting all my summer travel dates figured out too. We planned a trip to visit Chautauqua, NY this summer where my sister Leslie will be with her new baby, and we have a Memorial Day trip planned with friends, and then a long road trip at the end of the summer. I must admit I feel very lucky to be able to do so much, though I hardly feel it sometimes! I know that most people can’t take a 3 week trip, but I also know that most people don’t work as many days and hours as Louie and I do on a regular basis (he rarely takes a day off either). In other words, we feel lucky, but not too much. If you add up your weekends, if you have them, you have way more vacation time than I do . But nonetheless, I’m also happy and grateful that having to pay for the plumber didn’t knock our finances too badly either, and that we can still afford to leave town. I know others aren’t so fortunate.

No pictures lately, which is a sad oversight—well, not of the water, but of say, the cats or something delicious I’ve been eating or something funny I saw. I’ve been feeling a little low and stressed, and that means less pictures. It’s nothing huge, just a million tiny things adding up. I think a few days out of town will be just the ticket, and I can’t wait to share the trip with you here later. I’m hopeful the weather will cooperate and not be too rainy, and we are definitely planning to see Dolly Parton’s Stampede and probably stopping by Mansfield Missouri en route to see the Laura Ingalls Museum and House.

Have you been to Branson? What are your recommended activities or places to eat?

Do you get your sewer lines cleaned preemptively or do you wait until there’s a problem?

This winter has been kind of outrageous as far as precipitation. This morning schools were canceled due to ice. I didn’t have anywhere to be in the morning and so I didn’t go anywhere. (Deep, I know). I did have some errands to run after noon and I hoped my car would have warmed up. No such luck!

I did not drive away like that.

It’s still precipitating a bit but the roads seemed okay, and the sidewalks are pretty icy where they are untreated but if you do the penguin walk you’re probably okay. I haven’t heard any cancellations from my students so I’m assuming we are on…we’ll see what happens!

As far as illness and inclement weather, I do let my students cancel. I trust that they won’t take advantage, but if they are sick, I don’t want them to come or feel obligated, and I don’t want the responsibility of them coming out in bad weather they aren’t comfortable with either. It’s how I run my studio. I do request them to come otherwise, and I try to be particular about absences when possible, and I am especially sticky about “no-show” absences, when they don’t let me know and don’t show up. (In case you are a music teacher and reading this! I have them pay for the month in advance and then if I miss a lesson or they do they carry over, but I have my money in advance most of the time. A few end up paying later and to me it’s not a huge deal as I actually enjoy getting a few more paychecks over the course of the month.) I keep track of all the payments by hand in my little book and if somebody hasn’t paid or gets behind I get in touch.

But you probably don’t read this for my business ideas do you? Actually, let me know if you have more questions about how I run things at the studio-I’m happy to share. I’m always thinking about things and reevaluating, but I’m pretty happy with my current policies. There’s always some teeth pulling and at times I feel like I’m herding cats, but the students keep showing up and the parents keep paying me and giving my name to other parents so I think it’s working well enough!

Obviously I’m in work mode right now. I was on the computer doing some other things (reconciling accounts for February, getting things planned for March, looking at hikes at Glacier National Park) and figured I’d pop in for a blog post. Maybe that’s the way to get more readers?  Posting?

I saw this on facebook and thought it was worth sharing. I kind of miss being a kid on Valentine’s Day! It’s a Thursday this year (in case you are unaware) and so that means it’s just a work day. Louie and I are cooking a nice meal tonight and I got some gelato for dessert.

It’s been a busy but productive week. I ended up filing my taxes—I started them just to see how things were looking, and the truth was, they were looking good (as in, I am getting a refund) so I figured I’d better just go ahead and file. I did some of those “adult” things such as moving money into various tax deductible accounts for retirement and health savings, and I feel very responsible and am patting myself on the back.

As far as my schedule and feeling overwhelmed, I’ve tweaked some things and had to back out of a couple things I agreed to, but nothing last minute. I hate backing out of things, but sometimes it’s necessary, and sometimes I do overextend myself. Generally I do what I agree to, but as a freelancer, I have to set priorities, and lately I’m trying to set the priority of “not going insane with stress” and that’s a new one for me, so I have to keep verifying I’m on track.

And! This morning I made the last reservation for camping on our big road trip in late July/August. We’re looking at a trip that encompasses Yellowstone, Glacier, Waterton Lakes, Banff, Jasper, Theodore Roosevelt NP, and the Badlands, with a couple more small stops along the way. I’ve been researching our trip and looking at campgrounds for months now, and this morning was the day to make the last reservation. It’s still nearly 6 months away, so no reason to get overly excited, but I am excited, and I had to plan it this early in order to get some of the campgrounds we wanted (Banff and Jasper in particular seemed like the most likely to fill up, followed by Glacier). People sure love camping and seeing National Parks, and I am no exception.

This weekend should be okay. Tomorrow we are supposed to get snow so we’ll see how that affects things. Saturday I have a makeup lesson or so, maybe a short activity in the afternoon, and we are attending a concert that night. Sunday we have an event in the afternoon, and otherwise, I have to practice for our upcoming quartet concert on Tuesday night (at the Sheldon!).

That’s where I am right now. Boring stuff, mostly, but maybe boring is good. Oh, and I’m reading a book about the Oregon Trail, so maybe I’ll have time to finish that.

This week went by fast! I suppose the holiday on Monday helped the speed, though I did of course have a few things to do on Monday. Otherwise, the week has been taken up with teaching and opera rehearsals, with some quartet sprinkled in. I’ve been making a concerted effort this year to work out nearly every day and I have to pat myself on the back a little bit because I’ve been keeping at it! Has the scale moved, not exactly. But I’m feeling good about it, and I think ultimately that’s what matters.

Life is busy, but good. I feel much more positive this January than last one, and I am enjoying quite a lot of what I’m doing. I’m not loving every minute, but who is. I have finally gotten my college teaching schedule organized (that took longer than expected, and I should know better!) and I’m even feeling a bit caught up on some odds and ends I’d been putting off. As you all know, I tend to take on more than I should because I feel like I can, and then sometimes things get back-burnered for entirely too long. I’m trying to stay more on top of things this year with a planner/bullet journal combination, and so far it’s been working. Only working 40 to 50 hours a week helps as well, rather than closer to 60…(that is even counting my emailing/admin/business time!) January is a good time to reflect and refresh, and the more I reflect the more I want to keep being less busy…or at least appreciate the time when I am.

Pictures! My mother shared a few things from my grandmother’s house.

This adorable picture of my dad. He already looks like himself here too, as I believe that is his natural expression.

My grandparents came to visit me at Interlochen one summer, and I guess they saved the concert program! I come by my hoarding tendencies genetically But I am tickled that they saved it. I remember looking out and seeing them in the audience from the stage, and it was a nice feeling.

My niece, practicing for being a big sister. (I didn’t take this photo as I’m not there, but love it.)

Miles and Muriel, sitting together. What usually happens is that Muriel sits somewhere and Miles joins her. It’s not as often the other way… I’m not sure what that means, but aren’t they cute? Miles has also been stealing all of my pencils, so I need to either find his stash, or get some new ones. Or both, I suppose.

This weekend I have two opera performances, one performance at a retirement community, and some relaxing to do. I haven’t gotten as much reading in the past few days so I’d like to be able to do that. I’m also planning to get some good workouts in, and maybe even a walk outside in the neighborhood if weather allows—it’s been so cold and gross here, but as I type the sun is shining and who knows, maybe it’ll be possible. We’ve gotten quite a lot of snow here this winter, and …it’s funny, I still love seeing the flakes come down, and seeing everything covered in snow, and that quiet that comes with it all, but then, ugh, being wet, and shoveling sidewalks and digging out cars and worrying about people following too closely and driving too fast, and all the salt and the cold and the grey slush…yuck. I guess that’s a pretty normal way to feel about the snow, but still.

What’s up with your weekend? Have you ever attended an opera before?