HITS
- This week's Donut Trip with students was a blast! Classes were almost over, the last concert of the semester had been completed, and finals hadn't started yet. That meant the mood was light and the conversation was flying! Who knew that talking about our random food preferences would be such a fun conversation? Before things were over, the topic of race was on the table. The implications of that deep conversation will be one that I will continue to ponder in the weeks ahead.
- On Monday night, I received a phone call from Michigan. I had been looking for this potential call for several months now. When I saw the number pop up on my phone, I convinced myself I had to be wrong about the reason for the call since it was about a summer job that would start in just a few short weeks. Surely they weren't filling the position this late in the season! Just to be safe, I decided to answer the call. And I'm glad I did! It looks as though I will be working at the Interlochen Arts Camp this summer as a collaborative pianist in the vocal program. If everything goes as planned, I should be spending six weeks of my summer in this picturesque location before diving back into my responsibilities at WBU in the fall.
- Things have been winding down this week, so I have had a little more time to read. I finished my latest novel on Saturday morning -- a great book by Kristen Hannah! -- and couldn't wait to get started on my summer reading project, so I headed to Barnes and Noble in Lubbock to make the selection. I walked out with a stack of new paperbacks and can't wait to read them all this summer.
- Instrumental juries are held during the final week of classes here at WBU. Scheduling these final performance exams is challenging enough since voice lessons and other classes are continuing and everyone needs their pianist in attendance. Things became much more interesting as I learned on the morning of the exams that one of my vocalists was performing in chapel and had failed to pass that information on to me. After the frustration passed, I got in touch with all of the instrumentalists scheduled to take their exam during that hour and managed to move their performance. Or, I thought I had contacted everyone. I overlooked one of the students listed during that hour. When he heard me practicing his piece, he knocked on my door and informed me that I had missed the jury. I was embarrassed and apologized profusely. Luckily, we had a performance of the piece the following afternoon, so our work together wasn't a complete waste of time.
- I've been away from the Geriatric Ward for nearly 9 months now. But it doesn't always feel that way. During a call home on Saturday, Mom gently shifted the conversation to Dad's roster of doctors and the fact that they couldn't find the business cards of the ENT that had helped him get his hearing aids -- and actually led us on the path that discovered the need for triple bypass just a few weeks later! (In case you don't remember that story, you can check it out here in this post.) Don't get me wrong, I love my parents and help them out when I can. It's just frustrating because one of the reasons I expressed hesitancy in moving to Texas was because I didn't trust them to manage their own healthcare -- or to reach out to my siblings for help as they needed it. It's upsetting to see that it appears my words are coming true.
No comments:
Post a Comment