So the college part of my schedule begins this morning at 8:30 AM. I have been assigned classes with breaks in between. 8:30 to 10 AM, then an hour break, 11 to noon, than a two hour break, 2 to 3 PM. Those breaks are challenging. Today I’m thinking of reading/practicing during the first break. During the second, I will have lunch with Eileen, then meet with my boss. Today after the 2 PM class I go back to church for a meeting with people deciding what kind of sound system we should purchase. Then at 4 PM I drive a few miles north to give my one student his piano lesson.
Eventually I will end Wednesdays with a choir rehearsal. I’m pretty curious to see how I hold up under this schedule. By the end of the school year last spring, I was exhausted physically and mentally. I’m hoping I can strategize in ways that will address this in the upcoming year: pacing myself better and getting lots of rest. We’ll see, eh?
Eileen will do the Farmers Market duty today. We made out a list and I gave her the twenty dollars I had set aside for it. I have been cooking more. Last night I made the Fish Fragrant Aubergine dish I have been making. Eileen doesn’t eat it, so I made some rice to go with leftovers of stir fry I made earlier. When I stir fry I tend to make a veggie version and a carnivore version. The cooking is a hopeful sign that I am truly getting a bit of my groove back.
Eileen went with me to church yesterday afternoon and helped me sort music. This has been on our agenda for a while. I worked with her for about an hour and then started poking around trying to decide about what choral music to choose for upcoming stuff. I had the unfortunate insight that I should start the choir earlier than I had planned. That means a week from this Sunday, on Sept 7, I am inviting choir members to come and sing a one rehearsal anthem. I have also invited them to sing the following Sunday, Sept 14. Then I go to China and they get the 21st off. I will resume with an easy anthem on Sept 28. I think it looks doable.
I changed my mind for two reasons. First I read where a colleague of mine ran a creative Summer Sing for choir people who are off during the summer. He invites people to come and sing through a major choral work together. No performance just a read through. He also asks them for a donation for costs and prepares soloists. I thought that was pretty cool. Here’s a link to the article about him he posted on Facebooger.
Summer of sounds: Choristers keep up with the music – Connecticut Post
The other reason is that I was planning Sept 7 which is my church’s “Kick Off”Sunday and I thought it would be weird to not include the choir.
When the church changed it’s orientation (they flipped the room around so that what was the front altar now became the back area where the choir remained), it literally turned its back on the choir. I have pointed this out to my boss ironically. The choir is a motley crew and I have difficulty getting members of the church to join us. It has crossed my mind that we are too eccentric for them. So it’s important to keep the choir on board.
Well if you have read this far you have noticed there aren’t many pictures. That’s my solution to blogging in less time. Now to get ready and leave for class.