The Calm Between the Storms

I finally have a little bit of time to devote to writing, as my schedule is experiencing a brief lull into normalcy.

This past week was a busy one, since it was my birthday and my wife came to visit from Iowa and my mom came out from Vermont. That was particularly exciting since I hadn't seen her in two years or so. Unfortunately, it happened to be the busiest weekend of the early part of the spring semester for me, but c'est la vie, which I think is French for "shit happens."

Saturday was the Wayne State College Honor Band. This is where area high school musicians send in tapes for auditions, and We The Faculty choose the Best and Brightest to form three bands: one for middle/jr. high and two for high school. I was asked to direct the high school symphonic band for the festival, which lasts one day. Rehearsal begins at 8:30 am and the concert is at 4:30. With such little rehearsal time this has the potential for disaster, depending on the repertoire chosen, the skill of the players and their preparation level prior to the event.

Fortunately, my kids were GREAT. The arrived prepared, they worked their butts off all day long, and they did a fantastic job in the concert. To say I was relieved would be an understatement, since I had never done one of these things before, at least not with my back to the audience. I felt a great deal of accomplishment in what we were able to achieve. All of the responses were positive, I was able to do a bit of networking and I hope that it further cements my appeal for continued employment at Wayne.

Speaking of which, Lauren, Mom and I went out to do some preliminary house shopping during their visit as well. There are a lot of available properties in Wayne, but one in particular jumped out at us and, frankly, I've been daydreaming about the house all week. It's become something of a preoccupation for me, I'm afraid. It's an old house, c. 1916, but it has been impeccably maintained and has recent renovations throughout. It's got everything we need: multiple bedrooms with potential for music room, office and den/library space, a game room (yay bar and pool table), a spacious yard with TWO porches, and a two car garage. Best of all, all of the work it needs (seemingly) is purely cosmetic so we could move in immediately.

All I need is a job.

I really want to stay here. I love my work, I like the town OK, the college is great, the students are awesome, my colleagues are easy to work with, I almost live on a golf course, there's a bike trail nearby... The only thing missing is, well, civilization. No, that's not the right word. I can get anything I want, but it requires an hour-each-way drive if I can't find it in Wayne. I guess the right word is "convenience." That's the biggest drawback to living here, but it's a very small price to pay to get everything else I want, in my opinion.

OK, almost everything. There was always the lingering hope that I'd find a job closer to my family. Seeing my mom or dad once every two years is not nearly enough, to say nothing of my extended family. Still, if we have steady income and a house with four bedrooms, visits will be much easier...

So now I'm back into my normal groove, with one glaring exception: my "may I please keep this job" interview will be next week.

Hooray for life-changing events, and GO PATRIOTS!!!