This weekend I’m running my…fourth (?) Rock and Roll Event. It’s the St Louis Rock and Roll Half Marathon, and I am probably a little crazy, but the memory of last weekend’s pain is already starting to fade…so…I’ll be there!

Tomorrow I’ll hit up the expo. RNR does a good job with the expo, or at least they have in the past. I’ve only run the St Louis race once and that was the first year. I’ve run the one in Phoenix twice and LOVE that race—it’s just so giant and the energy is great. Interesting fact: my half PR (personal record) is from the St Louis RNR Half a few years ago. I won’t be setting any new records on Sunday but I am totally okay with that. I was so happy after last week’s race and that is enough for me right now.

I went for a run in my new running shoes this morning. They felt fantastic, so I think I won’t be out of line running in them this weekend. “They” say don’t wear anything new on race day, but the shoes aren’t new. 1) I already ran in them and 2) They are the exact same model I’ve been running in for around two years now.

Okay, non-running talk…hmmm…well, there’s teaching. I’ve been doing lots of teaching, as usual. LOTS of repetition and patience (I don’t know that I agree that patience is controlled frustration, as some say…I think that patience means knowing that things that many might find annoying are important and necessary steps and so I don’t get bothered) and lots of trying to prepare kids for the recital in November. It’s still over a month away but that means that NOW is the time to be really putting in the work. I don’t know how other teachers do it, but I think of one month away as the time to really be decided on what piece (or pieces) to play and be polishing the piece. It’s not the time to be still learning anything, at least not for the younger and less experienced performers, because performing is hard enough without having to perform something you aren’t 100 percent comfortable playing by yourself!

Louie and I had to skip Taco Thursday this week due to other commitments and I won’t pretend I wasn’t disappointed. It looks like we’ll be having Taco Friday though, so that’s a good compromise. I figure that mexican food is good carb loading two nights pre-race. I don’t think that it would be that great the night before…especially not beans or anything spicy! Louie has been having a really stressful semester this fall, and it’s been hard on me as well, feeling like I have to pick up some of the slack. Between that and dealing with sick pets, I’ve been a little overly stressed the past few weeks, but I’m hoping that soon things will turn around. We have some traveling ahead of us for a wedding and some family events, so that will at least put some variety into the daily grind.

Being a musician isn’t all fun and games…there’s a lot that just feels like work and like each day of the week is like the same day a week prior, and that nothing ever changes! I suppose that’s how most people feel with their jobs, but people often say “inspirational” things like “If you do what you love, you won’t work a day in your life” or other such BS things, that are obviously written by somebody who hasn’t turned their passion into work. Or maybe it’s that my true passion is for performing, but all the work that goes into THAT, and all the teaching that is required in order to have the money and time to be able to practice in order to perform at a high level…all of that isn’t totally my passion…and therefore I’m just working my butt off! I do LIKE teaching, and some days I have a great time, and some students are simply delightful, and other days it’s like pulling teeth and I just dread it (sorry students, it’s not personal, it’s just that teaching is HARD WORK and exhausting sometimes!) I do a lot of unpaid work and sometimes I wonder if I should have just done something easier! But eh, I kind of love what I do and I certainly don’t intend to change much about it other than trying to feel more secure, and make more meaningful performance opportunities and more opportunities for my students. And maybe write more, and try to write better…

Okay, time to get to work: I’m taking an EdX course on Italian Opera and I’m only part way through watching the Marriage of Figaro. I think taking online courses can be a fun way to improve yourself (is it super nerdy that I think learning is fun? ) and I’m eager to learn more about opera—I have played a good number of operas over the years but I’ve really only seen a select few!