Friday!! :)

Today is Friday. More importantly, though, today is the first day in a long time that I'm not doing/supposed to be doing something important. Today is just for enjoying (until I have to leave for Emporia to record the concert tonight, but I'm trying to block that out).

So now I'm trying to figure out what to do. I haven't had fun in so long, I've almost forgotten what it feels like.

...

Okay, okay, SO untrue.

But it does seem like I haven't had Me Time in a long time.

Wow, that sure is.......some...thing.

I finished my thesis thing tonight. (I keep calling it a thesis "thing" because it's not a traditional thesis...at my school performance emphasis kids can choose to write a "Graduate Performance Research Project." In it I talk about topics relevant to my recital pieces.)

I finished it so I could give my advisor something fun to read over the weekend. Okay, not really.

It's done because I had a deadline to meet, and it was yesterday (or, if you want to get technical about it, since it's after midnight and officially Thursday, 2 days ago). Better late than never, right? It's a somewhat flexible deadline...my project has to be done & approved by my recital on April 7th. That's 9 days away...a lifetime, really.

So I'm going to put this thing in my advisor's box. There will be no in-personal handing in of the paper...putting it in his box lets me avoid eye contact. He's read my best papers...he knows what I'm capable of. He's read my worst paper. He knows what I'm capable of on that end of the spectrum as well. This is somewhere in the middle. It's a 4-part paper. One part is Graduate Genius, another part is more like a middle school book report. I wish he could shake his head with fatherly forgiveness over that middle school part and pass me.

Sadly, it doesn't work that way. Revisions will follow.

Unless, of course, I could give him a truckload of marzipan with my paper. So yeah, revisions will follow.

I'm trying to come up with some other blog header. "The World...as I perceive it..." is now very old and tired. Part of me (the childish part that refuses to grow up) wants to put "Amy's World" because it reminds me of that old cartoon with Howie Mandel, "Bobby's World." (Does anyone else remember that show, and Howie's hair at the time?) I loved that show. Who wouldn't love a cartoon child with a very large head and equally large feet who navigates the world on his big wheel while inventing fabulous stories to explain normal occurances (and whose voice was done by the grown man who also produced the show)?



My headline will not be "Amy's World," partly because of the reason I want it to be "Amy's World." And partly because, come on, I know I can do better than that.

Sit. Stay. Pet. Good Amy.

(Depending upon the person, this might be a more-than-you-want-to-know-about-Amy post. Sorry...or enjoy, whichever works best for you.)

I've been feeling pretty stressed lately, and when that happens my System (you know what I'm talking about) doesn't work like it's supposed to. I turned in my 20 page research paper and performed in a recital today, both of which have been keeping me up at night and contributing to the overall System thing. So, now that those are crossed off my list, I'm feeling more...functional. So when I got home today I said hello to June on my way by. I had business to attend to. June followed me down the hall to see what could be more important than giving her more than a passing coo.

Amy: Yeah. Hi, June. Mommy's busy right now. Why don't you go...away?

June: Ummm, no. You forgot to bring a book...looks like you need a doggie to pet. Here I am!

So Helper June offered her services and, as usual, she wouldn't take no for an answer.

How...cute.

Hello, Blog?

Hello, Blog? Is this you? It's been so long, I can hardly recognize you! What's new? Not much? Er, yeah, I know.

So I've been rather busy lately. I wrote my paper for music history during most of last week. It's the bulk of my thesis thing, just have to add some more (and hopefully interesting and awe inspiring) stuff to that to make it Turn In-able. For tomorrow. Or Thursday. Thursday looks better...

...because my summer job is keeping me CRAZY BUSY!!! I worked 9 hours both Saturday & Sunday. When I got home I was supposed to do more for my paper and practice a few hours for my recital. Due to the fact that I walked in the door and went to sleep, those things did not get done.

I was going to do a little catching up today. Unfortunately I work all day. This is my lunch break. (I could be practicing or writing my paper, but whatever, I'd rather complain about how I'm so busy.)

Tomorrow I have school/teach, Wednesday is free (for catching up on what I was supposed to do for the last 2 weeks), Thursday I have school, Friday I'm supposed to go find a dress for my recital with my mom in KC and record a recital that night in Emporia.

If I can just make it to April 8th. My recital is the 7th. The 8th marks First Day of the Rest of My Life. Just...need...to...make...it...a...little...........farther.

I'll be fine. Really. I'm great. I'm super.

I do handle stress really well. Until I don't anymore, of course.

Preview

I will blog in the next few days......about my paper (what did and did not happen in 1822), my cute little summer job (that started a couple months before summer), and my new purse (that I actually dreamed about before I got it). For now, though, I'm off to bed to get some lovely sleep before going to work tomorrow morning.

Stay tuned...

8 pages and counting

I spent a (small) part of yesterday and a lot of today working on my thesis thing. So far I have 8 pages. After all the typing/reading/organizing/typing/footnoting I feel more confused than learned. Lucky me, I have have another few days of this to get it all straightened out.

Oh goody.

June does like my paper-writing days...I do my best work on the couch where I can spread my books out around me. I haven't really been able to spread my books out since we got June...she takes up more than her fair share...but I make do. So we spent quite a few hours working on my paper together. I typed & read, she reminded me to take breaks every so often by pawing at the screen on my laptop. Isn't she sweet?

34 cents

I worked yesterday and today. Yesterday my drawer was perfect after 99 transactions. Today, after 222, I was .34 off. I know when it happened too.....

A guy tossed a box of screws and some sort of fastener on my counter. He was on his phone. I greeted him pleasantly, he ignored me. That's fine, I'm sure he was having a very important conversation. I rang up his screws and fastener. I did it with a smile despite the fact that he hadn't yet looked at me. Kind of my thing. Just like listening in on his phone call with great delight and feigned indifference is my thing.

So I gave the Big Talker his total. He reached into his pocket, counted out the correct amount of bills, sorted through some coins on his palm, and tossed them on the counter. Tossed. Nice, thanks. As I was counting and collecting he walked away.

Unfortunately he gave me too much money. 34 cents too much. He messed up my drawer. But worse than that, his conversation was not interesting. The injustice.

I had a couple impatient customers, but the vast majority were nice. A few were funny. And a few were my favorite kind of customer...middle aged to older men who are slightly sexist. The ones who could simply ask, "What's today's date?" but instead say, "What's the date, honey?" I imagine a lot of girls don't like this. For some reason I feel most relaxed with those guys. As long as there aren't any personal space boundaries crossed, thank you.

I don't worry about doing everything quickly and correctly with those guys. I feel like they expect me to be a little bit dim...like they want me to be cute and flirty and not figure their change too quickly. And if there's one thing I do well, it's not figure change quickly. :P

How may I help you?

I officially have my summer job...I officially started training today. I watched the safety & service videos, talked and joked with the other employees, and did half of the 70 training exercises for cashiers. I go back in on Friday to finish up and actually start working. (Training exercises=pretend transactions. Basic sale, tax exempt, store credit, void this return that, etc.) Everyone is pretty laid back and it turns out the store manager knows where I live because he used to live 3 doors down (before we moved in).

Of course this whole get-a-job thing couldn't be happening at a worse time. I'm in training for my 2 free days this week when I should be writing my thesis and practicing for my recital (because I have my Big Audition For Recital That Decides My Fate tomorrow), but some things can't be helped. I still have Spring Break next week to do all that boring writing. My boss lady wants me to work some next week, but not a lot. So far I'm only scheduled for this and next weekend.

And Russell is already tired of, "Oh, this is funny, one of the other cashiers and I were talking and she said..." or "My boss lady is so funny because we were talking about our dogs and her little Yorkies are so cute..." or "So when you're ringing up a sale and the person changes their mind you have to highlight the last line by pressing the up arrow..."

But I will make enough money to not bankrupt us (or make a certain full time working person upset) with my boredom-relieving shopping this summer, and that's a good thing.

Nothing ruins Spring Break more...

...than having things to do during Spring Break. I found out today that my thesis paper is due before my recital. Since I'm a music kid my thesis can be "expanded program notes." Meaning I can write about the composers of the pieces I'm playing.

For example, the bulk of my paper will be over Theobald Boehm and how his theme & variations of "Nel Cor Piu" showcase his technological improvements for the flute.

A real page turner.

So I found out that instead of it being do at the end of the semester it's due the Tuesday after Spring Break.

Oh darn.

The Boehm part has to be about 20 pages long...the rest has to be about 10 pages I think. It's not impossible to do that in a week, but it also doesn't allow for much Do Nothing Time. And that's sad.

Oh, look at the bull rider!

I had lunch with my parents today. We went to a fairly new place around here...we call it the Cowboy Restaurant. I'm not sure what its real name is, something not nearly as memorable having to do with saddles. So this was my first visit to the Cowboy Restaurant, and I was surprised to see a mechanical bull in the middle of the dining room. I was even more surprised to see someone actually ride it halfway through the meal.

Evidently there was a birthday at the next table and the birthday girl needed to ride the bull. It looked pretty fun, actually. And the operator was nice enough to give her a good 7 seconds of easy ride and 1 second of sure-to-knock-you-off. :)

Oh, the food was pretty good.

And when we go back I will want to ride the bull, but will talk myself out of it because I do not want to visit the chiropractor.

Indecision

I can't decide....which is the better Girl Scout Cookie: Samoas (formerly known as Caramel Delights) or Thin Mints??

Big Life Moment

Today is a big day for me: I am interviewing for my first summer job.

I'm not really sure how to feel on this momentous occasion. Should I feel happy for the milestone that has been reached? Or should I feel sad for the loss of my innocense?

I will not mourn the end of my childhood because that's still years away.

(By the way, Russell is ecstatic about even just the possibility of me having a summer job. And isn't that cute. Hm.)

Update:
The nice lady who interviewed me...and by interviewed I mean we discussed our dogs, the fact that we've both worked in travel, energy drinks, the general manager, and a little bit about the actual job...said that I unofficially have the job. Evidently there's some kind of background check (to make sure I'm not a convicted felon or terrorist or whatever) and she has to wait for that to come back before I can actually be hired. She went ahead and submitted it yesterday on a hunch.

What a nice lady. :)

I think it was probably the most fun interview ever. Like I said, we mostly just chatted about random stuff, a few employees walked through to talk to my interviewer about various things, and a cashier whose line I've gone through numerous times came over to say hi.

I think I'm going to like it there...due in part to the fact that I can wear jeans and tennis shoes.

Everybody Loves June

Today started off like any normal Friday but quickly became June Day. First we cleaned her ears which she severely disliked. Usually if i do something she doesn't like, such as cutting her toenails, she looks at me like I abused her but will still let me pet her. Ear cleaning is different. After that's done she gets as far away from me as she can and won't come when I call her. It isn't until I offer some sort of peace offering (food) that she'll start to trust me again. Because you can always trust people who feed you.

After that we went to the park where she got to run around without a leash for a while. Happy June Time. From there we went to Sonic for drinks. It's always important to be well hydrated, you know. June was disappointed with her boring water...she wanted a cherry limeade.

From there we went back home to relax for a while...before bath time. She didn't think that part was very great, though she did have fun sniffing bottoms with the other doggies there. I try not to look around too much when we're there because it's Doggie Owner Heaven. Little tiny shirts, so many cute toys, treats of every kind (including doggie cupcakes), and SO many useful things I never thought to look for! (Those are the things Russell would like me to overlook.)

Today I saw a neat leash/seat belt connector. June has to ride in the back seat of New Baby Rabbit. Otherwise her toenails might scratch up my new interior and she might try to sit on my lap. I made a divider to keep her from crawling between the seats to sit up front. It works just like it should, she stays in the back seat. Every once in a while she puts her little head on my shoulder because she wants me to pet her. It's pretty cute.

I used to complain about her lack of restraint in the last car. I spent a lot of time and attention keeping her from getting onto my lap. Very not safe. I don't miss her constant distraction, but I do miss having her up front with me. And I think she misses having me pet her while I drive. Imagine that.

So I went ahead and got the seat belt thing. (It was even on sale!) Russell isn't going to think this is nearly as exciting (or advisable) as I do, but that's how it goes.

But I digress.

When we first walked into the dog bath place one of the owners saw June and said, "Junebug!!" June went over to her for some love. The shop dogs came over and shared in some butt sniffing. It was a little doggie party.

She was considerably less excited about the actual bath, but I took her for an extra walk when we got home to make up for it. Good day in doggie land.

2 Years Old!!

This month marks the 2 year anniversary of this blog! I got my first blog in 1999, back when it was still called an online diary. I've had a few over the years, but this is the one that's stood the test of time. It doesn't seem like as much time now that I've thought back to that first online diary thing, but for me and commitment, 2 years is huge.

Happy Birthday to My Blog!

I think I should get it a purse and some shoes to celebrate. In my size, of course.

Fire!!!

While away from the school getting some lunch yesterday I happened to look up at the sky and see a huge cloud of billowing, black smoke. This being Kansas I thought that perhaps someone was burning their field (on purpose). Then I realized it didn't look like any burning field smoke I'd ever seen and, having nothing better to do, I drove around and tried to find the source. I found it...







It was a house. Key word: was.



The firetrucks were there but I don't think there was a whole lot they could do. The entire house was burning as well the trees around it. I hope the owners are okay and that they had someplace to sleep last night. And that they managed to grab their photo albums, and baby blankets, and favorite jeans.

Organization: new and exciting

I am not known for being organized. I am, in fact, quite disorganized. It's worked fairly well so far (depending upon who you ask, I suppose), but I decided to learn from Russell and try a little organization. (He has a gift...obsession...for it.)

So we got me a Thing With Places to Put Stuff.

Here is a little of my yarn collection. All of it starts out as a plan...some of it turns into Yarn Without Purpose, as seen here.


A pile of past projects that now just sit in a pile somewhere. So sad. And in the background are some of the bags that held my yarn.


And here's June helping yet again. When the yarn comes out she gets in touch with her cat side.

Midterms, yay!!

Or should I say midterms are over, yay!!

I won't know how I did on my Romantic Music History test until probably Tuesday, so I've decided not to worry about it until then. (Or I've told myself I've decided not to worry about it until then.) I'm not actually worried about it, more curious. I put in a good 2 hours of studying the weekend before, there's nothing to worry about! hehehe

My class took their recorder tests yesterday. Each student met with me for about 5 minutes to play their little solo as well as all the notes we know. All 5 notes we know. Everyone did well. I would have been worried if they hadn't. The song I picked was one they got extra credit for knowing a couple weeks ago. One of them came in and played it memorized. I told him he got 1 extra credit point for that.

I'm guessing he's been exposed to music in the past.

He also is trying to work the system. They all have to turn in 2 concert reports over the course of the semester. They've known about this since the first day of class. So all but 1 of them went to the last possible concert before the first one was due yesterday. I sat in the same row as this student for the 1st half. I saw him go out to the lobby at intermission, I moved down to the front of the auditorium to take over the recording of the 2nd half.

When he handed me his concert report it was all about the 1st half. Really. All. 1st half.

My Super Teacher Sense tells me he didn't come back after intermission.

I don't think many students realize that just because they're not looking at me doesn't mean I'm not looking at them. Yes, girl who was probably a cheerleader in high school, I see you text messaging instead of paying attention. Yes, person who comes in late every day, I notice and remember for grade figuring time when I get to choose whether to round up or round down. Yes, person who really tries, I see you too, and I think you're wonderful. And you, person whose face I do not remember, I would suggest you come to class more often. Just a suggestion.

Seeing as how sublty is not a gift I possess, none of this would really be news to my class. But some of them seem to be lacking in...life skills learnability.