Why not everyone has.

Let's talk about the weather last Tuesday night. For me personally I don't give a shit about if the weather gets bad. After living in the middle of nowhere and being trapped in the house with your family for several days because the Ice Storm has sealed you in, all other storms mean nothing to me.

When the sirens went off I was in the middle of BGB rehearsal. I heard them I figured, "We are in a basement as long as the lights don't go out we are golden." Of course everyone freaked. People were running up to look outside, calling people, pulling up the radar on their cell phones. I on the other hand kept play. I felt like the musicians on the Titanic, as everyone ran around in histarics I just kept playing. Severe weather doesn't bother me. What does bother me is people freaking out for no reason. Which brings me to the next thing that happened that night.

The sirens stopped and people came back in and we continued playing. The storm had passed but more was on it's way. In the form of a bat that had gotten loose in the rehearsal area. It just wanted in fom the storm could you blame it? It apparently had been flying around for sometime till the giant black man squealed like a little girl. I mean come on we are gay but do we need to be that gay. I think my favorite were the guys who got up like they were going to catch it. They would start walking toward the area it was flying in and then it changed course and moved closer to them and they turned, screamed, and ran back the oppistite direction. Unless an animal is in a stance of protecting itself or attacking chances are it will leave you alone. If it doesn't in probably means it was scared and accidently ran into you and is just as freaked out as you. So running around with a flag in your hand trying to capture it (btw that plan would have worked if you could have brought yourself to go within 30 feet of the animal.) was not helping the situation. I am sure the thoughts running through the bats mind were. "Damnit I thought it was a mating call but it was just a piccolo." and "Damnit homos." After that fiasco the evening was pretty much done. We were not going to get through any more music that night.

I swear I am still rolling my eyes at that one.

Sidebar Speacial K stop talking to me. I am trying to blog here.

Ha ha

Titsworth

ha ha

Memo to my place of employment

From:Me
To: You
Subject: Seriously can we remove our heads from our asses please.

In regards to the volunteer work(forced volunteerism) we as a faculty will be participating in on Wednesday I just have a few clarifications and issues to address.

1. I am all for volunteering, I am a strong advocate of it. However when it is mandatory you really can't call it volunteering anymore. Volunteering should be for something you have a desire or interest in helping. When things go from a great idea you personally have to one that has been told to you to do by another party people tend to get testy, which brings me to the next point.

2. Is it really a good idea to make a decision to cancel classes with less than 3 weeks notice to do this wonderful day of giving. Many of us plan our semester to the hour and when we lose days of instruction for things outside of school we find it... whats a good way of putting it, frustrating (see also FUCKING ANNOYING). Also when many of the shifts end well outside our normal work day it really effects our personal routines. When people have things planned for 5pm or 4pm and they normally have that free that too becomes frustrating.

3. Consultation would be a wonderful thing. Many of the staff as you might have been aware at the faculty meeting, were less than pleased this had been decided. (see also FUCKING PISSED OFF) had we been let in on this decision or been given options I am sure this would have flown a bit smoother.

4. I am not sure how my times can be changed around at the last minute. Just this morning I had received an email from the event stating I would be working from 8-12:30. I just received an email from you say I would be working from 12-6:00. Please understand had this come two weeks ago I am sure I would have been fine with it and have dealt with it just fine, but less than 26 hours before said event. I say, and I hate using the word again, is just frustrating. (Or I say what the fuck people seriously can we get our act together.)

And another thing you justify this by stating that you do not see us doing volunteer work. Have you ever asked what we do I am sure you would be surprised at the amount of things we volunteer for every year. Our charity may manifest itself in many different ways and for you to make the assumption that we do nothing because we don't state it out loud its a bit offensive. But whatever what the fuck do I know I just teach here.


Sincerely
Your employee

Homo says what?

Netflix is one of my favorite things in this world. I watched this weekend a fun little piece of cinema called Girls Will Be Girls. Every "female" role was done by men in drag. So you can imagine the dialogue would be campy and bitchy, and it was. Example, one of the characters asks another one if she had had an abortion her reply" An abortion? Honey I have had more children pulled from me than a burning orphanage." I give it two fake tits up.

Speaking of tits I guess it is time for me to grow up. Why you may ask well I have an incoming freshman next year and her name is... wait for it...Titsworth. Thank god I didn't interview her. Every time I see her name I laugh out loud for 5 minutes solid. (Yes I am laughing now.) I really hope she decides not to join the band because I am not sure I can successfully suppress that laughter for 4 years.

Favorite story of the day. A student last week tells me that he tried out for the school musical. Not a big deal lots of people do, but this year the musical is Thoroughly Modern Millie. First of all terrible musical but whatever. Secondly it involves a lot of Tap and everyone had to try out on tap. This boy goes on to tell me he took tap from 4th grade to 8th grade. I raise an eyebrow. Friday he comes up so excited. "I got a major role and I didn't even try out for it." "Good for you." I reply. He goes on to say "I am so happy I could cry if it wasn't so unmanly." I raise an eyebrow, and say "Seriously, you took tap lessons for 4 years and crying would seem unmanly?" He turned and walked away.

Was it something I said?

To be so well spoken at that age.

I was marveled today. The school I work for interviews every student before they are admitted. So three Sundays in the month of January some of the faculty volunteer to do interviews. I enjoy it and I do get a small stipend for it. They are usually tedious and the kids usually offer one word answers to everything. But really what do you expect from 13 and 14 year olds.

Today however I had probably the best interview. He was so well spoken and was very articulate in the way he answered. I really had it figured out about 8 minutes into the interview that I wanted to recommend this kid. However you keep going because it wigs out the parents when you cut things short. So I asked a lot of questions and he continued to answer well. Then I closed with my usual last question and boy did he nail it. I asked what he thought of this whole interview process, application, essay and testing. He looked at me and said, "Well I think it's real good because I am going to have to do this all again for college and this is good practice and also for a job someday." Then he said the best thing "And if kids go through this then they must really want to come here and work hard and get good grades and who wouldn't want to do that."

I don't have the heart to tell him that isn't necessarily true. So many of our kids get in because they are a legacy and we almost always let them in no matter the quality of students and then you have some that have the money and so many of those kids do not realize or appreciate the opportunity they are getting. So many outside of the school think this is a wonderland of well behaved and studious kids. So not true. They are just as disruptive and ill behaved as any public school. In a way these families are being sold a bill of goods.

Don't get me wrong we do a lot of good work and the good kids do out number the bad ones but to think there is nothing but good will be a shock to the system.

Budgets, Budgets, Budgets

Here is a question for the general populous.

I have worked in several places and I have always found the business office to be the most anal retentive, on top of things, pain in my ass because of it departments. I mean you really have to be to do that kind of job. I am actually grateful they are that way. It keeps me honest and on task when it comes to financial issues involving my job. Now with all this in mind I am terribly frustrated with my current business office. They sent a reminder to have budgets to them and asked a very simple question. I asked if I could separate out the orchestra budget from the rest of the instrumental budget. Special K has a tendency to spend, spend, spend without regard for whether she is in her budget or not. So if mine was completely separate it would be great then I wouldn't have to worry about her spending money for my classes.


*Sidebar* Special K is telling her class to sit tight because she has to catch up on her grading from last Friday!!!???!?!?!?!? Are you kidding me. The rest of us can't do that why are you. Ridiculous I say. *end of sidebar*

So I sent the email like 3 weeks ago and got zero reply. I have also been asking since November to get an expenditure sheet to me for this fiscal year. I got zero reply. She sent a terse email from her yesterday demanding the budget. I replied that I needed to know what to do with splitting or not splitting before I can send it. I got zero reply. So today I sent A full music budget with both band and orchestra, a band budget, and an orchestra budget. I got one reply. Basically it said WTF? I calmly responded back what it all meant and just to tell me which one(s) I need to use come July 1st. This is the most disorganized business office I have ever worked with in my life.

Am I wrong in thinking this is odd for a business office? Of course this is the same business office that has allowed Special K to go over her budget by thousands of dollars for years, so I really shouldn't expect much.

Everywhere I go, There I am.

After spending much of this week banging my head against the wall and having headaches sneak upon me I have to ask myself, "How did I get to this place in my life?"

I say this not out of hating where I am and what I am doing but out of mild curiosity. Much in the same way I marvel at how in 5th grade I picked an instrument to play. I wanted to play drums but no one would let me. I couldn't play brass, my brother did that and I could never be like my brother, so I was left with woodwinds. I had no clue what a Bassoon was so that was out, I couldn't play Clarinet because people would beat me up and take my lunch money, I couldn't play Oboe, people would beat me up and take my lunch money, and I couldn't play the Flute because people would just beat me up on principle. Fair enough, so that left me with one option the Sax. I actually dislike this instrument and the fact I went into music despite that baffles me to no end.

I had never taken a lesson in my life, I really wasn't that good. How I got into the school of music is beyond me but there I was. I had plenty of other interests aside from music in High School. Why did I choose it? I still don't know. After leaving school I taught even though I wasn't in music ed. I worked in a ticket office, and then an advancement office doing fundraising. I hated that and yet there I was. Now I am back to teaching, again without a degree in education. How I got this and why I stay I don't know. I am perfectly fine with working other jobs and to do many things but I stay.

It's crazy how some choices we make put us where we are. I am sure had I not gone to the university that I did I would still have friends I wouldn't have the friends I do have. I am sure my life would be very different or maybe not. It's funny I really don't even think of the road not taken. I do think of the roads I could be taking in the future.

So here I am teaching at a private school, not just any private school but a catholic private school. I believe in public schools I believe that everyone should have the same opportunity in education. I don't believe that religion should be a main focus of an education unless you are in a seminary or something like that. I believe that religion should be part of your home life or part of your church or synagogue. So why am I here in a religion based private school. I don't know. I really don't. All I know is that I am not wanting to make this my life's pursuit.