Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Hits and Misses (August 25-31)

This week's Hits & Misses come to you on Wednesday morning because of the Labor Day holiday.  They will return to their regular Monday morning slot beginning next week. Enough of that....let's get into the week that was.

HITS!

  • There's nothing like finding out that your Saturday morning class has been cancelled due to low enrollment. I had my fingers crossed for this one. Volunteering to teach the course showed that I'm a team player, but I really wasn't looking forward to doing it. It all worked out for the best in the end.  
  • After the class was cancelled, I was offered some additional hours in the office. That wasn't such a big deal until the supervisor informed me that the salary is pro-rated according to the highest degree earned. (What a concept, huh?) That means I can earn $20 per hour if I decide to add some hours to my already full schedule. Now that I've gotten all of my work schedules finalized, I plan to offer to be in the office on Friday afternoons. I'll let you know how that works out.
  • For the first time in a long time, I had some time this week to get back into the library and do some research in order to keep my lectures fresh. The more that I get to focus on teaching and making music, the more I know my decision to resign the church job earlier this summer was the right thing to do. (I've known that all along, but it's still nice to get confirmation from time to time.)
  • Last week saw a lot of personal study about prayer. That also lead to a more active prayer life. I found myself bringing everything that was on my heart before the Lord -- from the really significant to the downright mundane aspects of my life. What a refreshing reminder that God really cares about what concerns me when my prayers were answered about technology that wasn't operating properly (and was impacting my ability to perform).
  • I was thrilled to get to be part of the solution for one student's problems this week. After hearing about his frustration that courses he needed for his program were never offered, I decided to send an email to my program coordinator. The issue began to make its way up the chain and things appear to be getting done. Although I didn't really "do" anything, it was rewarding to be able to communicate a problem on behalf of the student with the confidence that I wouldn't simply be ignored.
  • Believe it or not, I have to admit that I've enjoyed doing some cleaning this week. I have spent several hours working through the mess that is my personal library. It's certainly not complete, but anyone who has seen it recently will definitely notice a HUGE difference in its appearance. The purging was significant; Dad and I carried three trash bags along with three boxes full of stuff away. Productivity is always a good motivator to do more.
  • The semester is in full swing and I see lots of music in my future!  For the first time in a long time, I will be spending 30 hours each week working in my field. That's thrilling to me! What will I be doing? It's a combination of lecturing about music history, teaching piano, rehearsing with vocalists and instrumentalists, and performing in recital. I'm still not full-time at any one institution, but I'm gaining experience and building my resume. I'm more fulfilled in work than I have been in years and more confident now than ever that things are moving in the right direction.
MISSES
  • Arrogant students really get under my skin. The eye-rolling and sarcastic mumbling will annoy me quicker than anything. Thankfully I only have two severe cases of arrogance this term. One of them has already been addressed; the other is on the path to a very rude awakening. "Pride goeth before a fall" after all!
  • Getting bad information is never fun. I was informed early this week that my students needed to complete a survey that would require most of the class time. Although I had planned a lecture before learning about the survey, I revised my plan. Guess what? The blasted thing took all of 20 minutes! The slide show wouldn't download to present the lecture, so I had to step back and punt. It wasn't my finest moment in the classroom, but it proved to be a valuable exercise nonetheless.
That's it. It's always refreshing when the good completely outweighs the bad!

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