Hello! Maybe you thought I forgot about this blog. I didn’t. I was just doing a million other things. September was a rough month: I knew it would be rough, I had a wonderful time being extremely busy and working the equivalent of two full time jobs, and now it’s done and behind me, and I have money in the bank, and finally a bit of free time. Now I’m only working 1 1/2 full time jobs so I feel like I have these decadent hours of free time here and there, and I even got done working today at 6:30, which was insane!

So here we are. I finally managed to change the strings on my violin, and I cooked myself a dinner, and I am now relaxing in front of the computer (Louie is off at a conference so I’m on my own this week.).

It was a crazy month. I played 30 shows of Evita at the Repertory Theater of St Louis, and the truth is, I had a great time. I also taught as many of my students each week as I could…I have, by my current count, 43 students. I actually thought it was less than that, so I’m not sure what that means. I remember there was a point last year where I realized I had 45 students, and then I’ve lost a few, but somehow I’m still at 43, and I feel like my teaching schedule is light. You get used to what you get used to, I guess! I also am teaching a chamber music class and not counting those students, and in September I also played a few extra gigs and did a quartet concert.

Oddly I found I had enough time to FINALLY put some stuff up on the walls in my house, and I began reorganizing my music collection. I’ve bought a few frames and things like that in order to put up pictures and I am super happy with what I’ve done so far. But that was all in September. Now I’m in October, and I’m getting lazy again already…I’m just kidding. I did skip an online workshop I was considering doing in order to have lunch with a friend, and that was so worth it. Seeing friends is definitely something that I put by the wayside this semester, at least so far, and while I haven’t missed it too much (I still have Louie, and perhaps at this time of my life that has to be enough), PLUS I had fantastic colleagues for Evita that I saw constantly…I forget the beginning of this sentence (how do people write long sentences? Editors, I suppose?).

I had some fun with selfies during the show. I just went back through my photos to see if there was anything worth sharing for those of you who don’t follow me on instagram (I didn’t give up on doing social during the month, just blogging and having friends!).

I think this was early in the show’s run.

Just a note: because I needed to wear headphones that meant I had to wear my hair up and take off my earrings.

One of my favorite tops.

One of my colleagues made us some Eva Peron signs to hold up. I should mention, the pit was completely under the stand so the audience really couldn’t see us, so we got to wear whatever we wanted and be a little sillier than usual.

Why don’t they just share the hedge?

What else have I been up to? Browsing etsy for various décor has become a good pastime. I’ve also started planning a summer road trip for next summer (so far away, but I have big plans—Yellowstone, Glacier, and Banff- and it diverts my mind from the current political awfulness that is going on). And I’ve been reading, and doing a little practicing, and watching Ozark and Tin Star. And I got back into running, a little bit.

Plans for October: continue decluttering house. Continue adding wall decorations, both at home at and at my office at Wash U (I’m there only twice a week this year, but I am only sharing with one other person so I wanted to personalize it more), run 2 to 3 times a week, do blogilates 2-3 times a week, try to eat more vegetables and less snacks, see a few more friends, and facetime with Athena my niece more often! And teach those 43 students, keep up on my October gigs, and rest up for a three week run of Aladdin in November.

I might also finish blogging about the trip in August, if only to do a summary and tell you some fun things and remind myself for the future!

You guys. Transitions are HARD. Remember a few months ago when I was all, oh hey, it’s summer, isn’t this great, but why isn’t anybody calling me for stuff? Now I’m like, oh my gosh, I’m so tired and I’m running around and everybody is calling and emailing me except for the people I’m waiting to hear from, and I’ve had rehearsal every night till 10…it’s pretty invigorating though!

I’m trying to stay organized and up on things, and while I’ve let a few things slip unintentionally, I think I’m getting a grip on everything that I need to do. There is definitely something to the idea that the more you have to do, the more scheduled and organized you have to be, the more you get done. I’ve practiced more this past week that I did any one week during the summer, and that’s definitely not because I have more time: it’s because I have less time and I know it needs to get done.

The academic year gives a nice ebb and flow to life though. This was Louie’s first week of classes (he is a lecturer at the college), and he’s been crazy busy getting everything going…but you know there’s only so many weeks (15 or so) of this, and then it’s a break for a bit. It keeps you sane, but keeps life interesting. Or at least that’s what we tell ourselves.

I’m working pretty much straight through the month of September, and then October will give me a little breather. I’m still not sure how this will all work…this week I’ve been pushing through knowing that I have Sunday and Monday  off (LABOR DABOR) and then that’s it, no more days off for the foreseeable future. You’ll hear about it too, for sure! But I’m loving the Evita show so far, and it’s good to see my students again and I’m getting them ready for festivals and recitals and teaching them vibrato and theory and other things I’d been sort of trying to ignore…basically I’m starting the school year full speed ahead WHILE trying to pace myself. I realize that actually might not make any sense, but it does to me. In other words, I feel energized.

So since I’m not blogging about our trip to SC, I will at least mention the cats. CATS.

(This picture makes me see how much we really should consider redoing the stairs to the basement, but…there are bigger house issues.)

When I got the mail after the trip, there was a notice from the City Health Department/Animal Control. They wanted $50 to register Muriel! It seems that if you give your pet a rabies shot but they aren’t spayed or neutered they want $50 from you. If you have had your pet spayed or neutered you only owe $4 which has already been paid by the vet. It’s a good idea—it encourages people to spay or neuter their pets, BUT it also seems to me that it discourages people who haven’t done so from getting their pets rabies shots. I then found out that Miles had received the same letter at the home he first lived! Even though they received their rabies shots three months or so apart, the city must only check these things every once in awhile. No worries, both little guys are spayed and neutered now.

Muriel DOES fit into my lunch bag. It’s a large lunch bag, so it’s not terribly surprising that she fits. Now there is probably cat fur all over though!

One of the things that Louie and I always say about Muriel is that she is a very stereotypical CAT. All the cat things you think of, she does them. She’s adorable and predictable like that. I think she must have read a book on how to be a cat and followed it to the letter. She is helping Miles better understand how cats are to behave.

In any case: that’s where I am today. I have 2 rehearsals ahead of me, and then tomorrow I’m teaching in the morning and have a wedding/cocktail hour in the afternoon that is a bit of a drive so it takes up a good portion of time. And then two days off—planning on a movie/dinner thing with friends, hopefully a bike ride, and who knows what else…probably watching OITNB and Ozark, house cleaning, some cooking, relaxing, and that’s about it

Hi readers! I’m back home, I survived my two week vacation, and I’m back teaching and trying to get ready for an insane September.

The trip was really neat. It was different than some of our vacations the past few summers but was really fun. I thought about blogging the other day but instead I organized all my photos and ended up ordering a photo book online instead. So I’ll get to that soon. I’ll just tell you the highlights involve staying in a teepee and cheese grits!

Being back home has its advantages, of course. The cats, easy access to a variety of bathrooms…

I’ve been working hard finalized my teaching schedule for my private students and at Lindenwood. Wash U is still a crap shoot—classes start Monday and I know nothing about my students yet, so who knows how that will work. I have a 5 week run of Evita starting on Tuesday night (1 week rehearsing, 4 weeks of performances) and I’m kind of in denial about how busy I’ll be. I think it’ll be okay: things are always worse looking at them in advance than just doing them. And I’m looking forward to playing the show—I think it’ll be loads of fun and I am working with some excellent colleagues (and I’m not just saying that in case they are reading this, haha!).

It was also nice visiting my parents and my hometown of Clinton, South Carolina. People are always shocked that I grew up in the South, probably because I have no discernable accent and I don’t dye my hair blonde. But I grew up in a town of about 8000 people, in rural South Carolina.

Anyway. I’m off to do a few computer tasks, work out, run a couple of errands, practice, and then teach for 3 1/2 hours. Not a bad day!

I have one more week of teaching until vacation…two weeks off then, until the fall semester starts.

I realized this time last year (thanks timehop app) I was updating syllabi and whatnot for one of my adjunct positions. I suppose I should do that before vacation, or I’ll be stuck doing it after vacation. I’ll add that to my to do list for next week, I suppose.

This week has been dedicated to annoying bank errands. Two visits later, I’m almost done with what I was trying to do! It’s going to be awkward when I return to the bank tomorrow for an appointment with a notary for another annoying bank errand…not really, but that WILL be my third visit this week. How do normal people take care of things? I feel like I’m racing against the clock to get my summer to-do’s taken care of before summer is over and the college lessons start up (and the GIGS, my goodness, the GIGS).

It’s a funny day weather wise. It has been cooler all week (yes!) and today it is raining. I guess that’s not terribly funny, except in July I just expect oppressive, crushing heat and humidity.

I was feeling better enough today to finally get back on the workout train. I’d been feeling better probably for a few days but the last two days were just too busy for me to get up earlier to work out (opera dress rehearsals until 11 pm really take a lot out of one). But today felt good and I’m glad to be back at it. I’ve been slowly updating my working out wardrobe as well, so that makes things more fun!

It’s possible that this year will be easier than last year. I am sort of dreading it, but I’m also just sort of gearing up for things to be busier. I know that won’t even really kick in until last August or early September, and I know that I don’t have quite as much on my plate as last fall (well, in some ways I do, in that I’m playing a few more weeks of shows, but not as many solo and chamber music performances). It’s just that this summer has been deceptively easy.

I appreciate all the comments on my blog! I sometimes feel like I blog just for me, but obviously that’s not the case. I do blog for me, because I like having a record, but I like to put my thoughts out there in the hopes that other people can either relate, or that it makes them feel better about themselves, or perhaps it gives someone inspiration (positively or negatively—as in, be like me, or DON’T be like me) or who knows. There’s certainly a bit of “look at me” in blogging, and everybody says blogging is passe and dead (and so is classical music, so why am I even here)…but I still read a few blogs, I still enjoy writing, and I think it helps! So keep commenting, keep reading, and keep judging and being entertained

Did I mention we are headed to Savannah and Charleston soon? (Among a few other places. ) If you have any must do suggestions, please let me know! We are also visiting family, friends, and the beach. I’m very excited.

I had a busy weekend and I was dealing with a head cold the whole time, so I took this morning off to just relax. I had some errands to run in the afternoon so I did that and now I’m back, killing time until I have a rehearsal tonight.

It’s a busy week ahead, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m still a little worried about being overwhelmed in the fall, but I’m trying to stay positive and organized. I’m coming to terms with some things in my head, and I think after another year I might make some tweaks, but I can do it!

I sometimes think about what the future will bring. I have done a lot of different things in my career so far, and anytime I think I know the future things tend to change. I’ve been in St Louis for about 10 years now, can you believe it? I’m still considered “new” because I didn’t grow up here, but that’s almost as long as I lived in my “hometown” before college started! Louie and I occasionally ponder if we should stay here or consider moving elsewhere, and while I won’t be repeating my earlier mistakes of moving for a guy without a financial guarantee from him, I don’t want to live my life in fear of making mistakes! I haven’t in the past, and while I find myself wanting to be more cautious as I get older (isn’t that normal?) I still don’t want to be afraid to make any changes.

I know this is vague sounding, but it’s vague just because…I don’t have any concrete plans. Right now I’m just trying to figure out how to keep my stress levels down and how to have some semblance of a life while I’m working. I used to worry about work-life balance, now I feel like I’m so far tipped towards work that life went out the window. I don’t feel that I have close friends like I used to—I know that everybody says this is normal as we all get older and we are paired off—but I also see that many people I know seem to have close friends still, so I know it’s possible. Maybe it’s not possible for me, or maybe I’ll have to settle with a few decent friends rather than really close ones I can discuss hard topics with, but I can dream!

I went by the library today to renew my expired library card, but I couldn’t find it so I assumed I had left it in another wallet. A little later I did find it, but “renew library card” is still on my to-do list. I did get to the bank, though I have to go back later this week for another task, and it’s possible what I did at the bank won’t work so fingers crossed. (Transferring from one IRA to another…there were difficulties, which made me glad I enlisted help rather than doing it myself!)

Now the choice: what to do with the rest of the afternoon? Practice, read, clean? I think I know the answer to that one. Remember, I’m still getting over a cold and I already cleaned the upstairs thinking I was going to teach (student got sick).