HITS
- The week got off to a great start with a wonderful Sunday. My family was together for worship at Marion First Baptist where we heard a wonderful sermon that was both timely and encouraging. Lunch at home followed and was filled with lots of laughter -- my Mom is hysterical! Tears were rolling down most of our faces before the day was over from laughing so hard with each other.
- It was great to reconnect with some friends who cannot be close by through text messages. I love texting! It allows me to communicate throughout the day as I can. It's not as good as face-to-face communication, but it certainly reminds me of precious times.
- Instrumental collaboration is my favorite type of piano accompanying. It was so refreshing to get to spend some time with a student and her coach as we worked our way through the opening movement of the Hindemith Clarinet Sonata. So much fun! Very rewarding work too.
- Students never fail to provide sources of humor in my life. This week, a student came to class and explained his absences for the past 2 1/2 weeks. It seems the young man was driving to a football game and saw his cousin walking along the street. As family should, the student offered to give his cousin a ride. What he didn't know was that his passenger had just been involved with a robbery! The police saw the villain get in the car and they pursued. My student was arrested and had been sitting in jail for aiding and abetting while he was missing my class. What can I say? Ya just can't make this stuff up!
- Thursday's recital hour at Union had me doing a fair amount of playing. It's always nice to walk away from a performance tired, but confident that you played well.
- On Friday afternoon, I hopped a flight to Los Angeles and got to SURPRISE friends with a visit. It was so much fun! I got to hang out with lots of friends in Westwood and on the beach the next morning before getting to help with a service project for a local camp of the Salvation Army. The laughter was contagious and very needed. I'm excited that I get to go back for a little work and more brotherhood in just over a week!
MISSES
- Apathy drives me crazy! My students did really poorly on their mid-term exam, so I offered to allow them a retake. I thought I was being extremely generous. Imagine my surprise when only 6 of the 22 enrolled in my class took advantage of my offer. Those 6 were very pleased with the resulting scores they earned.
- While getting to go to LA was one of the week's highlights, leaving southern California remains tough. No matter how many times I visit, it's never long enough. I still long for the day that my career allows me to work in the area that I love.
- Cancellations are never fun. Early in the week, a professor had to cancel a lesson for a personal emergency. Understandable…..only problem is that the professor and student both forgot to tell ME that things were cancelled! It was the first lesson of the day, so I could have relaxed on the drive up to Union if I had known; still, I was able to use the time.
- On Sunday, I arrived in Dallas for my connection to Little Rock only to learn that the flight had been cancelled! When I finally found a helpful agent, I learned that American Airlines was not able to guarantee that I would get home until the following morning. I was able to get put on a flight to Memphis so I wouldn't miss work…….but had to make an extra trip to Little Rock to retrieve my luggage and car.
As you can see, the week was packed and very busy. I'm really hoping this week is a bit calmer so I can catch my breath.
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