ilwyngirl

Nick's desk is a mess. There is a cupcake on the computer monitor that has been there for over 2 weeks. Ick! So far nothing's grown on it, but I'm surprised that the janitor hasn't throuwn a hissy fit. I would have.

The 7th graders were only here for like 10 minutes today because they had some sort of church thing that nobody told me about. That's ok. At least I was able to give the teacher a 10 minute break.
Boy they can be obnoxious. I had to ding the triangle once. But I didn't know where the dinger was, so I had to use the scissors. They thought that was funny, so I had to snap at them. But overall, today was pretty good.

The 3rd graders liked Peter and the Wolf. They thought it was pretty cool.

Yep.

Well, I haven't written in this thing in almost a year. Oh well.

Well, I quit my job at the incredibly close-minded ridiculously conservative school that made me wear skirts and dresses and forbid me to wear pants, even though I was constantly building sets, using powertools, and climbing ladders. Yay! It was a good experience, though, and I'm grateful for the 2 years teaching experience I gained there. The students were really wonderful, and I hope that maybe I've helped to open their eyes just a little.

So then, the summer. Nick and I moved went on a trip to Europe where we traveled all over Italy, then to Paris, then Wales (YAY!!!!) and then a few other parts of England and spent some time in London. In London we got to see spikedsunshine and her boyfriend. We had lots of fun and her boyfriend is really nice. We went to the V&A museum and to a pub.

Then, after we got back, I ended up taking a job in Perryville. We just didn't have the financial means for me to work on my M.A. full time like we originally planned. So I took the job teaching Drama, Speech, and English in Perryville. For those who are unfamiliar with Missouri Geography, Perryville is 80 miles south of St. Louis.
Yes. 80. I don't know what the I was thinking. But I took the job, only to find out that unlike what they originally said, I was unable to have rehearsal after school, and rehearsals would have to be in the evenings. That didn't work with me driving 80 miles to school everyday. Plus, they had some serious budget problems. the Pastor had to pre-approve anything that was purchased. For example, the first week of school, all the teachers got a memo saying: "We only have 40 more envelopes left for the rest of the year, so please conserve." The priest had refused to approve funds to purchase more envelopes. So, after a week, I soon realized that this was NOT a good situation. I told them I had to resign. So I ended up working there until they found someone else (which was in October)and I worked there (commuting everyday) from August till October.

After this, I substituted a few times, and was applying for some possible full/part time positions in St. Louis, when an opportunity came along. A High School in St. Louis needed someone to fill a music/drama position immediately as a teacher had quit without any notice. This was to be a long term substitute position until the end of the semester. Also, I could apply for the full time position starting in January after the Christmas Break.

Everything was going well. I planned all my lessons, restructured some of the classes, did all the grades, wrote tests. The kids and the teachers all really liked me. It looked like I was going to get the full-time job, which would have been REALLY cool. Then they got an applicant who just happened to be the assistant director for the St. Louis Cathedral Choir. So yeah. Friday they told me that it was between the two of us, but they were going with him since he had more experience in choral music directing. Yeah. So then Mon. Tues. and Wed. I gave my final exams, and packed my stuff up, and here I am less than a week later unemployed once again. Yay.

Today I'm substituting for Nick's classes today, however, cause he is sick. So I'll get $75 today which is nice. Especially since Nick will get paid for staying home and I'll get paid for being here. That works out well.

So, other than that...I'm hoping to apply for (and get) a music position at a charter school that just opened up. We'll see. Wish me luck. I REALLY need it.

So sucks to lose the job. Oh well. Hopefully we don't rack up too much debt until I get a new job. Debt sucks.

I found this picture. It's of 2 Beloiters hanging lights in 1958.

What's pathetic is that the fresnel they are hanging looks like some of the lights Nick and I hang at the Grandel.

To me, this picture could be a picture of Nick and I at Beloit in 1958. If we were alive then.

Which we were not.

Happy anniversary Nick! I love you.

So I don't really write in this. but I should.

Today is my anniversary. Yay Nick and I. I really do enjoy being married. It keeps things not boring. And you always have someone to bitch to when you really need it.

I am quitting my job. I'm sick of working at a place where I am not allowed to wear pants. Where the administration has no idea how to educate. Where the parents have the power to complain and convince the principal to make the teacher change a student's grade. I'm sick of having to deal with 12 and 16 hour days and no respect from the faculty and no pay increases.

I have built a REALLY good choral and drama department here. I have turned it around from nothing to being something that is highly competitive with other schools. In fact, it is the only thing at this school that actually brings in money.

But oh well. If they want to treat me like crap...I'll leave.

I'm really excited. Nick and I are going to go to Europe. I'm most excited about going to Wales. I have dreamed about that for years. Especially since we're going to be there in time to see the international eisteddfod. Yay!!!

I'm going to get my M.A. in ethnomusicology and work part time. Anywhere except here, that is. Regum Christi and the NCE really have no idea about education. They just want to breed more non-thinking sheep-like robots with 90th percentile standardized test scores.

Well, I hope that I have inspired some of these kids to think for themselves and question and learn and make their own decisions. If I have, then I've done my job.

Ooops!

Today is my mom's b-day.

I completely forgot. I teach every day from 7:15-3:00. Then I have rehearsal with the little kids from 3:30-5:00. Then with the big kids from 5:00-7:00. When am I going to get anything done?


AAAARRRGGGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!Head is exploding. Too much to do. God I'm looking forward to April when this show is over.



AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaanyways. It's time to start rehearsal.

Shoot me now.

Last night, I was singing for about 2 straight hours. I was trying to work through some arias and other stuff that I hadn't worked on for awhile. I was really, really working.

I don't know what happened, but when I moved to the midwest, my voice changed. Maybe it's something I'm allergic to, maybe it's the weather, maybe just my body changing. In any case, my voice has not been what it should be for about 5 or 6 years.

Yesterday, it came back. Somehow, singing so much must have broke through whatever was going on. My voice just came back. Who knows, maybe I need a 2 hour warm-up. My voice teacher and I were working on this all through college. We just couldn't figure it out. So yesterday, when all of a sudden everything was working right I kept on singing. I probably sang for another hour after that.

My throat is a little raw today. I don't know if it's from the singing, or maybe I'm catching Nick's sore throat. AAAaaaaaaaanyways, I was so happy, I couldn't stop singing. I was even crying I was so happy. I sang everything from show tunes to opera. And it was good. I had no breaks, no fuzziness, it wasn't a struggle, there was almost no effort. I loved it.

Today when I woke up, it wasn't as good as it was yesterday, but I warmed up in the car all the way to work and the 1/2 hour warm up helped. It isn't as good as it was last night, but at least now I know it's still there, and hopefully I'll be able to start really using it again.

Well, my husband is all hooked on this live journal. I used to do open diary, but always seemed to run out of time to update it. I'll have to see which I like best.

AAAaaaaaaaaaaanyways, he signed me up for this, and seems pretty excited. I don't know how often I'll have time to update it. I'm really cramped for time. But I'll see what I can do.