FINALS!!!!
Actually, for those of us who teach, finals aren't that big of a deal (shh... don't tell anyone!), but the two weeks or so leading up to finals are a bit of a nightmare, especially when you have concerts to attend, conduct, or play in every day, as is the case with me.
It's not the performances that are the issue, it's the time that goes into the final prep... making programs, scheduling last minute rehearsals, making sure the venues are good to go, all of that needs to be done in order for a performance to be a success.
In addition to that, I've been judging at some district public school music festivals, which has kept me on the road over weekends.
And the keystone in my castle of madness is that Lauren and I BOUGHT A HOUSE! Talk about a big step. After we signed the papers, we left the realtor's office and I turned to Lauren and said "Holy @#!%, did that really just happen?"
Yep, it did. And I couldn't be happier. The place is in great shape, Lauren and I can LIVE TOGETHER again, and money will be going into equity instead of just going into some landlord's pocket every month. And before you get all "owning a house is hard work you don't know what you're in for it'll own you as much as you own it there goes all your free time be prepared to dump all your money into the house blah blah blah" on me, I'll let you in on another dirty little secret: I like doing the house stuff. I like yard work. I like that if something breaks, I can do it myself instead of calling a landlord and hoping they can get to it before the place floods. I like power tools and painting and building things and decorating, and I find it rewarding beyond belief. Other than a big fat mortgage, there is not any part of owning a house that isn't an improvement over renting as far as I'm concerned. Truth be told, even the mortgage won't be too much of a stretch for us.
I know I'm new at this, but let me hang onto my optimism for at least a few months.
The new Casa de Calkin, as of the closing on May 30:
This dark and fuzzy picture courtesy of my iPhone coupled with a less than stellar Nebraska day.
It's going to be a busy summer: I've been contracted to play in the Cedar Rapids Municipal Band again this summer, I'm going to the International Tuba/Euphonium Conference in Cincinnati in June, I've got some wedding and church gigs lined up, I have two new courses to develop and, of course, there's the whole moving to our new pad thing.
Hopefully I find some time (and money) for a little golf every now and then.
