The Job

I'm four weeks in, and still really loving the new job. It is keeping me very busy, on top of the private lessons and workout regime, but I knew that it would going in. My weeks fly by in a flurry of activity, and I relish my lazy Sundays more than ever. With football starting tomorrow, expect me to be mostly at home on Sunday afternoons, relaxing and zoning out. Maybe drooling over Colin Kaepernick a little.

In my attempt to get my choir program out there on campus, I've been the subject of two interviews recently on the student-produced news site. The first (New Choir Teacher Brings Huge Changes) was by one of my choir students, and the second, was a profile on some of the new staff at school. The 2nd one had some fun questions, and they played up my love of Keane, which makes me laugh.

Yesterday was our first home football game. I had been assigned supervision duty at a tailgate party before hand, and found myself grilling hotdogs and watching students cheer and use green face paint to draw all over themselves. It was a fun duty to have, though it involved a lot of being on my feet, so by the third quarter of the game, I was ready to go home. My body was tired, and I wanted to get out of there before the mass rush of cars began trickling out of two exits.

The game was fun, though. Our guests were none other than Folsom High School, my own alma mater, and I had fun pointing out to people on the Grizzly side of the field that I had a wee bit of divided loyalty. In the end, I was cheering for the GB Grizzlies, but they lost, 30-14. We'll get 'em next time!

This week, I start a three-week gig of subbing a first-period guitar class. It will add to the hectic nature of my life, and I'll have quite a few twelve-hour days, when you factor in my piano and voice lessons, etc. But the extra money will be nice, and it gets me out there on campus a little more. I could choose to limit my workouts for those three weeks, but that's simply not an option for me. I'm determined to keep that going, both the running and the trips to the gym. I'm mostly managing to keep my eating habits healthy, though there've been a few more Frappuccinos than I really needed in the last month, when I haven't planned well. Today I bought some simple things I can take to snack on throughout the day.

My one concern is a possible outbreak of strep throat on campus. Towards the end of this week, kids started dropping like flies, with voices getting crackly and a few more absences than usual. I'm washing my hands a lot, and drinking a lot of fluids. Despite my long days, I do manage to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night (I read in bed for about 10-15 minutes before the book falls on my face and I decide it's time for the lights to go off).

My students are delightful, quick to pick things up, and really fun to work with. They don't bat an eyelash when I make them do doggie whimper sounds to warm up ("What'd you do at school today? Oh, I acted like a dog in choir class!" was met with giggles a few days ago), and they love having input in our upcoming concert while also deferring to me as the teacher. I love giving them some input, because it gives them buy-in.

And that's it. Taking this job was absolutely the right move, and I'm incredibly thankful this opportunity came along.