Erin's Journal

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I hear they're changing the name to something much less funny, and, more relevantly, less likely to cause pork farmers to unnecessarily go out of business. Mixed feelings on this.

Student teaching: great, but whose bright idea was it to also work several jobs and plan a wedding at the same time?

Random: I just realized that my bracket has the following mascot matchups in the Elite Eight:
Cardinals vs. Jayhawks
Huskies vs. Tigers (Tigers vs. Tigers in Sweet Sixteen!)
Tarheels vs. Orangemen
Panthers vs. Wildcats

I just find that funny. It was funnier when I was looking at the wrong round and had Tigers vs. Tigers.

I have been looking at the following screen for nearly the last two hours:

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT PATRONS ARE SELECTED FROM THIS VIRTUAL WAITING ROOM ON A RANDOM BASIS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE TICKETS.

We are experiencing very high demand. As a result, all requests for seats cannot be served simultaneously. Please be patient, and your browser will be refreshed in: 2 seconds.

When we refresh your browser, we will determine your status in the waiting room and if appropriate give you an opportunity to request seats. DO NOT REFRESH THIS WINDOW. We appreciate your patience.

It should not be this difficult to give my money to the Boston Red Sox. It was not this difficult to give my money to the Boston Red Sox before about 2003. I remember going to a game in 1996 with my mom and my brother when we walked up to the box office in Boston a couple hours before the game started and were able to purchase tickets without an issue. Now all the tickets for the season will be sold out on the first day they are made available to the public.

I firmly believe that people who were fans pre-2000 should have ticket purchasing priority, because we liked them even when they weren't winning every year.

Anyway, I'm trying to buy tickets for TJ so he can go to his first game at Fenway. I guess this is a little hypocritical, because he wasn't a fan until 2005. But that was less of a factor of their winning tendencies and more of a factor of starting to date me, so he's exempt, too. And since there's no end in sight to the virtual waiting room, I figured I might as well post here while waiting.

Life has been busy, but good. I've made a lot of progress in wedding planning, have finished classes forever (let me qualify "forever": until I decide to get my PhD or DMA), and completed my first semester as the director of a university ensemble. Next semester I will be student teaching at Avon Lake, which has a super-excellent music program. I am especially excited that the high school teacher not only leads choral ensembles but also teaches AP Theory, so I'll get some experience with that, as well. In my "ideal job," I'd teach history and theory in addition to leading choral ensembles. And eventually I'd want to throw in musical acoustics, music cognition, or music technology electives to get more of the general population of the school into the music room, but none of those things would happen in my first few years.

Anyway, teaching University Singers this semester has been really, really great. A lot of students in my program who have gone before me have found this semester to be really hard, in terms of staying motivated and inspired in what they want to do. Almost all of them spend the end of the semester right before they student teach burned out and wondering if they've chosen the right profession, if they really want to teach. That hasn't happened for me, at all, and I know that University Singers is the reason for it. Even though it was only 2 hours a week, teaching that class has been so incredibly rewarding and energizing. I look forward to it every week, and at the end of each rehearsal I feel refreshed. When the group learned something difficult, it made all the stupidity of some of my other classes disappear. I was so proud of our performance at the end of the semester (although I haven't gotten a recording of it yet). The group really has come a long way from where it was last year (when I was a GA instead of an instructor), and all I had to do was insist that they spend their time at rehearsal, well, rehearsing. My biggest concern was finding a balance between keeping them on-task and having fun, but my course evaluations repeatedly mentioned that the class had a fun atmosphere, so I guess I did a good job. They also have asked for more difficult repertoire next semester. And I think they're up to it. It makes me so happy.

Anyway, I guess I'm just grateful for this confirmation that I'm doing something with my life that I know will make me happy. And I'm grateful for the timing of it, so I could remain energized throughout this incredibly draining program. And I'm grateful for the salary that goes along with it, which is really paying for most of my wedding :)

It has, however, been a little interesting in terms of my role in the department. People in my program are already kind of like undergraduates and grad students at the same time, because we take about an equal number of classes in both schools. This semester I found myself simultaneously in the role of undergraduate, graduate, and staff member. It presented a couple of issues. For instance, the man in the exact same appointment as director of the ensemble last year was allowed to have 4 graduate assistants for the same ensemble (I was one of them). I wasn't allowed to have any, but no one told me this until the week before my concert, so the poor girl who had been helping me was told she couldn't count any of those hours towards her assistantship. I had to contact the department head about it and argue my case with him, but it was hard, I think, for both of us to view me as a peer instead of a pupil, since I was kind of both. In the end we reached a weird kind of agreement where I can have graduate assistants help me, but they technically report to the other choral director, who lets me "borrow" them. I can see both sides of the issue - it is a little weird to have one graduate assistant "in charge" of another, but in that capacity I am not a graduate assistant, I am a staff member, and it's a little insulting that I get fewer resources to complete the same job just because I lack a PhD.

In other news, my mom is coming out to visit me at the end of the month/early 2009, and I'm very excited. We're going to take a day or so to go up to Michigan so she can meet TJ's mom, but other than that we'll actually have almost a week to show her around Cleveland. I'm excited - she's only been here once since I moved here, and it was only for 2 days so she could sell me her car. Then we're carpooling back to MA, where I'll spend another week or so. The only plans I have right now are to go to a Bridal Expo on Jan 4th. I'll return to Cleveland on Jan 10th. Jan 12th I start student teaching. Jan 15 and 16 I will be in Columbus for the OMEA Convention, where I will actually be presenting the results from my research study I did last spring. June 16-19 will be spend in New Orleans, where we will be attending operachk19's wedding and also Emeril's restaurant. We'll be flying back into Columbus at 11:30pm on the 19th, driving back to Cleveland, and I'll have to be back student teaching early on the morning of the 20th, so that should be a good time :)

Anyway, hopefully further updates will be a little more timely :) I'm going to risk losing my spot in the virtual waiting room to get some lunch and my knitting. And the power cable for this computer, because it's going to run out of battery power soon. Wish me luck getting tickets!

I definitely just wrote an episode of a soap opera demonstrating archetypal psychology and its use in literary criticism called The Jung and the Restless. I will force the members of my English class to act it out tomorrow, and it will be excellent.

( Script under the cut! )

Remember to vote today! Obviously, I'd prefer you vote for Obama, but it's more important to me that you just vote! TJ and I are off right now!

TJ looked at my LJ last night and was aghast that I hadn't posted about how my comprehensive exams went.

So, here you are, TJ:

I passed!!!!!!!!!!

Yay.

1) Bought my wedding dress yesterday. At a heavy discount, because it was discontinued.

2) My research paper was selected for presentation at the 2009 OMEA Convention - woo!

3) Why Case is awesome:
Students who want to participate in future Ohio elections can now receive a copy of a "utility bill" from the Office of Housing, Residence Life & Greek Life to verify their residency in Ohio. The Ohio Secretary of State decided that utility bills would be considered appropriate verification of residency for college students. In addition, students who registered by the state's deadline will be able to use this letter for absentee voting in the November 4 election. Students interested in obtaining this verification of residence should stop by one of three offices for the Office of Housing, Residence Life & Greek Life—Yost Hall, Wade Commons or Fribley Commons—to receive a copy of the letter.

I love the quotes around "utility bill." Does anyone know whether Oberlin has started doing this?

4) Fall break starts in approximately 6 hours.

My sentence: They spent 8 minutes listening and responding to tonal patterns using I and V7 functions at the “Verbal Association” skill level.

MS Word suggests that my grammar should be corrected to "V7 functions and I."

In related news, I've officially submitted a paper for presentation at the OMEA conference this coming January (a fairly big deal). Wish me luck!

I am amused that I just received an e-mail from Washington Mutual titled "WaMu News" but does not have any mention of the company having just been seized by the government. I'd say that's a headline. I'd also say that it's not a good excuse to opt out of a presidential debate.

Things are progressing very quickly for me this semester!

I have gotten the first of my two student teaching placements set up. I will be working with a man regarded as one of the best high school choral directors in the area! Yay! He not only has great performance groups, but he teaches them solfége, theory, and history as well, which is exactly what I want to do. Well, not exactly. I'm also interested in teaching a musical acoustics course, but I doubt I'll find that anywhere :) I'm still looking for an elementary placement (Ohio licensure requires both), but I feel like I already have a good deal of practical experience with that age group, so I am less concerned. I officially apply (submit my e-portfolio, transcript, and resume to the department) a week from today.

I just got my questions for my comprehensive examinations approved. They are my program's version of a thesis. I have to write two questions, and then defend my answers to them in two 15-minute presentations with comprehensive handouts. One has to deal with repertoire, and one has to deal with some other issue in music education. ( My questions, for the interested. ) I defend these the last week of October.

The class that I am teaching is going really well! As much as I loved the past director of the group, he was really pretty lackadaisical about keeping the singers on-task, which, really, doesn't need to be hard in a college ensemble. I feel like simply by doing this, even with building in a 5-minute break each rehearsal we have been able to accomplish a lot. I'm still working on getting a balance between having fun in rehearsal and holding people accountable (not mutually exclusive!), but it's really been a great experience for me, and I've been getting a lot of positive feedback from veteran members of the group. Our first concert is October 25. We will definitely be performing 3 pieces, maybe 4 if we continue to progress at our current rate.

Wedding planning is also going well, and you can always check out erinandtj for more info there. I've been dress shopping the past two weekends, and will be coming to MA in mid-October to hammer down some details with the venue and hopefully find a florist.

And tonight is the season premiere of Heroes, so TJ and I are celebrating by having hero sandwiches for dinner and watching the two-hour event.

So, yes, busy, but doing well!

Stolen from treeling.

I am answering these questions about TJ. If I'ma marry him, I should know the answers probably :)

1. Sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
Baseball, the Food Network, or Whose Wedding is it, Anyway? Not even kidding. And, soon, Heroes.

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does s/he get on her/his salad?
Usually ranch, but every once in a while he decides to go wild and vary it a little.

3. What's one food s/he doesn't like?
Raw tomatoes. But he's getting better.

4. You go out to the bar. What does s/he order?
Either some craft brew (he tries to order something different every time), a Guinness, or perhaps a chocolate cake shot.

5. Where did s/he go to high school?
Grand Rapids Christian

6. What size shoe does s/he wear?
10 or 10 1/2, I'm not sure.

7. If s/he was to collect anything, what would it be?
TJ would collect anything and everything. We have a huge baseball card collection taking up several shelves in his closet. Lots of musical scores and guitar magazines. I don't think he's ever actually collected coins, but I do see the spirit of a numismatist inside him.

8. What is her/his favorite type of sandwich?
Jimmy John's, either the turkey or the roast beef, with lettuce, cheese, mayo, and sprouts

9. What would this person eat every day if s/he could?
Corn beef hash (well done) with eggs, toast, and bacon.

10. What is her/his favorite cereal?
He doesn't really eat cereal, but if I had to guess a favorite I would say Cocoa Puffs.

11. What would s/he never wear?
I would be surprised if there was anything he wouldn't wear. I've definitely seen him in a kilt before. It used to be jeans, because he thought they were uncomfortable, but he wore a pair at random a couple months ago because we were going to get all muddy, and now they're his favorite pair of pants.

12. What is her/his favorite sports team?
Boston Red Sox!!! (mwahaha)

13. Who will s/he vote for?
Definitely Obama.

14. Who is her/his best friend?
Scott, who lives in Germany, Joe and Walker, and I guess I count, too.

15. What is something you do that s/he wishes you wouldn't do?
Leave my crap all over the living room.

16. How many states has s/he lived in?
Michigan and Ohio.

17. What is her/his heritage?
Irish, Italian, Dutch, and then a mix

18. You bake her/him a cake for her/his birthday; what kind of cake?
Chocolate. I'd make him a mayonnaise cake, but not tell him until he already ate it.

19. Did s/he play sports in high school?
Football for the first two years.

20. What could s/he spend hours doing?
Playing around with his fantasy baseball team, or tracing tone rows in Webern pieces.

Well, TJ, how'd I do?

Apparently I have now paid enough into Social Security that I qualify for disability if I get injured or die. For some reason, this makes me feel old. Still not enough credits to get retirement benefits yet, which is somewhat unfortunate, since I don't think teachers in public schools in MA pay into Social Security. This might make continuing summer employment for a few years worthwhile. I should have enough credits in 5-7 years.

I'm sure you all care :)

You might care that I've started a wedding planning blog at erinandtj. That way I don't bore my usual readers who don't really care when I gush about fonts I've chosen for my invitations, but I know there are some real wedding voyeurs out there, and I'd like to please them.

No separate journals for Social Security-related posts, though, sorry.

So. I just got an e-mail from the head of the music department at Case informing me that the former director of University Singers (the un-auditioned group) had decided not to renew his contract. He then said that my former advisor had recommended that I would do well at running the group, and offered me the position.

Holy cow, you guys, I'm going to be on faculty at a University. Directing my own choir. Which is a real class.

Well, I guess it's staff. But still. MY OWN COLLEGIATE GROUP.




Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

:-D

Best campaign parody video so far.

TJ and I took engagement photos of ourselves today. You can see them at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2035282&l=a4241&id=4301183 , which should be viewable by everyone even if you don't have Facebook.

This was a fun adventure, punctuated with trying to set up a "tripod" out of stacking crates, magazines, and tray tables on top of each other in a public nature preserve. Once I dropped my camera (not while it was on a tripod), and once I bumped the tripod as I was walking away from it, knocking the entire thing over but managing to catch the camera by its lanyard with the tip of my pinky. Also, TJ and I came very close to falling in a lake for our art.

Anyway, let me know if you have a favorite!

OK, who else thinks it's funny that the Sons of Italy Lodge in Pittsfield has a motto of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"? Anyway, we might get married there. They seem to be the only place in the whole county with any availability Saturdays in June. We're also looking at some other venues for a Friday wedding.

Here's a poll, then:
Do you think if would be easier for out-of-towners to attend a wedding that was:
a) On a Friday, but at a hotel, or
b) On a Saturday, but not at a hotel.

It should be noted that the wedding will be a good hour's drive from any airport and in a place where you need a car to get from one place to another, so having everything at a hotel might have some major advantages. But major enough to warrant an extra day off of work?

In sadder news, Inky was put down today. She was my kitty for the past 19 years, and will be sorely missed. RIP Inky.

TJ and I have some happy news - we got engaged tonight!

We are currently visiting my family in Dalton, MA, and we went on a date tonight to see a concert at Tanglewood. When it was over, TJ suggested we go for a walk out on the grounds. I was a little hesitant, because I thought they were trying to clear the grounds and that there might be bears. Luckily, there were no bears, but TJ said that he had something for me, fished around in his jacket for a bit, and then got down on one knee and asked if I would marry him. I said "yes."

So now we are engaged! Yay!

More about the concert, the rest of our trip, and pictures of the gorgeous ring to come, but I wanted to get this up here :)

A lack-of-sleep-induced fit of self-googling has revealed that my alter-ego, Erin Grady, who writes paranormal romantic mystery novels, has adopted a pen name and will henceforth be known as Erin Quinn! Nooooooooo!

I guess I will have to buy a copy of Whispers while I can still get it with my name on it. I found that reading the reviews of that book was an oddly flattering experience :)

In other news, I will be in MA visiting friends and family from July 13-July 22. Are you a friend or a family in the area? I'd like to see you, so contact me.

My "top spots" from www.findyourspot.com.  I just loved the little descriptions of the towns.

1) Burlington, VT - The Enlightened Town

2) Middlebury, VT - Progressive College Town
3) Danbury, CT - Small-Town Charm Near the Big Apple
4) Hartford, CT - The Insurance Capital
5) Shelburne Falls, MA - New England at its Best
6) Nantucket, MA - New England at its Finest
7) Brattleboro, VT - The Hub of New England
8) Montpelier, VT - A Capital Place to Live
9) Northampton, MA - Arts Town Extraordinaire
10) Williamstown, MA - Old New England at its Best
11) Providence, RI - New England's Best Kept Secret
12) New Haven, CT - Home of Yale University
13) Johnson, VT - The Heart of the Green Mountains
14) Woodstock, VT - Prettiest Small Town in America
15) Andover, MA - The Best of New England
16) Amherst, MA - The Charm of Massachusetts
17) Charleston, WV - The Home of Hospitality
18) Essex, CT - America's Best Small Town
19) Cape Cod, MA - Jewel of the New England Coast
20) Worcester, MA - The Heart of the Commonwealth
21) Fayetteville, AR - Light of the Ozarks
22) Alexandria, LA - The Crossroads of Louisiana
23) Morgantown, WV - Best Little City in the East
24) Salisbury, MD - Maryland's Secluded Retreat
25) Boston, MA - America's Walking City
26) Cambridge, MA - Boston's Spirited Sister

DfD= Distance from Dalton

It also gives really cool profiles of all the places, but the links I tried to make didn't work because you need to be logged in. You'll have to trust me on this one :)

Anyway, I liked my list. TJ is making one of his own now, so hopefully some of our results will match up. Because our lives should be dictated by an internet quiz.

( My Life According to Google )

For the record, I will never, ever eat 90 pickles, but I might quit my job to perform poetry indefinitely.