So, this week didn't start out so great.  Monday my cooperating teacher sent me home with a HUGE stack of scores--7?--to look through, making it sound like no big deal... and then at the end of 6th period asked me to spend all of 8th period middle school band rehearsing one of them.  Gee, thanks buddy.  Then afterwords, of course, we spent a good 20 minutes or so discussing how it went (not so hot, thanks to my minimal prep time!).... My teacher needs to work on the GNP "praise-suggestion-praise."  Just a thought.  So I went to tuesday night sem quite grouchy, and of course tired... And I didn't want to drive myself to sem, since Katie and Bekah were already going, but they wanted to go out for wings after--which is fine, except for that whole I-don't-eat-meat thing.  But we went out, and a lot of the other student teachers came as well and it ended up being a very nice time.  

I was still pretty grouchy yesterday, but today we started pull-out lessons and it. was. wonderful.  We're starting with the high schoolers (middle schoolers are my favorite), but it was so nice to have something to do every period.  The last week I've just had two classes every day--in the 8-block day--and so much down time has been KILLING me.  I get so sleepy and grouchy just sitting in the office doing paperwork or watching my teacher type out emails soooooo slooooooooowly.  But I enjoyed sitting in on the lessons today, and actually learning some students' names--and having kids stop me in the hall and say "Hi Miss Mayo!"  It was wonderful.  Also, the high school band has been practicing marching during class for the homecoming parade in October.  I. LOVE. marching percussion!  I tend to get in trouble with my teacher, because I want them to be BOA good, and that's just not where this school is.  At all.  By any stretch of the imagination.  Like, they don't even have a marching posture.  Seriously, kids--SET!  It means nothing to them.  If they were my band, they would be running SO many laps and doing crazy pushups.  But they aren't, and that's ok.  It still warms my heart to hear drum cadences and see guard flags, even if they are just practice flags and everyone's out of step and it sounds questionable.  It makes me think of the beginning of the season, early summer, when everyone's still excited to be there and cute little freshmen look scared and intimidated and new seniors are starting to be leaders.  I love it.  Mmmm...I love band.

Also, I'm going to Houghton this weekend! How exciting, right?  Bekah has to go down for a piano lesson, and pestered me to come with her. But she has to be there by 4:30, and I usually don't get out of school until at least 4 so there was no way. But! The orchestra director is flying to Virginia for the weekend for a... wedding shower?... and her husband couldn't get out of work to take her, so I said I'd drive her since the airport is so, so, so close to my apartment.  She wants to be at the airport around 3, which gives me plenty of time to get to Houghton with Bekah!  Mrs. K just told me she needed a ride for sure today, so I'm quite excited.  It's funny how I've spent the past 3 years trying to find excuses to leave Houghton, and now I go out of my way to find excuses to go back.  But, I'm excited. 

What are YOU excited about?

Student teaching is going well so far, despite a million (some-not-so) little stress inducers that should be driving me crazy.  Like that my school is forty-frigging-five minutes from my apartment, or that my GPS sent me down a road with a closed bridge the first day, or that the second day I was so nervous about meeting kids for the first time I left my lights on all day and had to get my car jumped, or that when the secretary called maintenance they said they weren't allowed to jump cars (but no worries! The Transportation folks are!), or that my football game Friday night got rained out during the second quarter, or that I have to wake up really early, or that my apartment doesn't have wireless so I'm paying to use Starbucks', or that gas is like 50 cents more expensive in NY, or that I didn't actually get a key to my apartment until Wednesday despite having lived here for like a week and a half at that point, or that I still can't check my mail, or that my cooperating teacher doesn't like lesson plans and straight up told me he wants me not to "depend on" (read: use) them and that he'll steal things from me.  Oy.

But! It's not so bad.  I like my school and the kids are (mostly) very well behaved, though they are quite chatty.  I like the other teachers I've met so far and I don't even mind the drive, just that I have to wake up so early to accomodate it.  Thankfully, school doesn't start until 8 AM so I don't have to get up as early as I expected... though I am still waking up at 5:30.  But, Friday I slept in until 6!  (So depressing, right?)  And I'm learning my way around Cheektowaga and Akron quite well.  My apartment is nice and close to Tops and Target and Starbucks, which are really all I need in life.  And I love, love, love my apartment and living outside of Houghton.  I love Houghton, don't get me wrong--I miss the people and being able to walk everywhere and stars and a practice room and my heart breaks because I can't go to Menno every Sunday.  But it's so nice to be able to go to Target!  Or to run to the grocery store whenever I need to.  Or to spend hours and hours people-watching in a big, comfy purple chair in Starbucks, though admittedly I did that all the time down in Java.  But I love my apartment, with its balconies and nearby laundry and playground and my wonderful roommates (even Katie).  I love watching Smallville--or, really, anything!--with Sarah, because she gets so involved and it cracks me up.  I love, love, love living with Bekah--she is wonderful.  I'm quite jealous of Allison getting to live with her for the last three years!  I love living with other student teachers, and working with teachers.  Even though poor Sarah has to hear us babble on about music lessons all the time, she loves it--she went to the school Katie student teaches at, and was in band--and she loves middle schoolers too, so we talk about them a lot and it's wonderful.  And I love cooking, even though I haven't very much yet.  Basically, I am happy.  I'm completely terrified of the future, but I'm sure that one day I'll be good at all of these little things that scare me.  I'm this weird mix of scared and nervous and completely content.  

How are you?

Umm... hi.  Sorry I've been secret blogging.  I've been thinking a lot about the weird role blogging plays in society and I wanted to see how I felt about writing the same sorts of things without an audience, I suppose to see why I was blogging and evaluating the merits of my motives.  But talking to Dana yesterday (two days ago?) made me realize that when I was secret blogging I wasn't real blogging and now she knows nothing about my life.  But I'm not too keen on new xanga, so here I am.  I'm still not sure how I feel about the student teaching updates, but what I have to say will be here.  In other news, a quick summer wrap-up in pictures:

first,  Physics of Music. POM was so hard, but very interesting. I'm not sure it made me a better musician, but I'm definitely more of a snob now.  And look! I can use a calculator!

I came home... and went to the zoo. 

We visited my brother and his fam in Wisconsin: this is my sister and her kid Hannah, my brother and his kid Ramona. They're a few months apart in age.

Melissa and i went to the dunes and it was gorgeous.

And the state fair! I like animals.

And now I live here!

And, oh yeah... I drive this :D

Well. I start teaching in 2 weeks.  How crazy is that?  Before that, I'm...

• getting my eyes checked (hopefully tomorrow)
• leaving for NY Friday
• getting there and moving in Saturday
• Going down to houghton, getting my things out of storage and then back to Buffalo
• Driving Katie and Jody to the airport (I think) Sunday
• Trying my best to settle in
• Trying my best to assemble bunk beds Monday
• Flying back to Indiana Wednesday
• Yeah, that part's ridiculous. RIDICULOUS!
• Back to NY Sunday
• Driving to Menno, fingers crossed
• Sleepover with LD
• Making pancakes for her floorlings
• student teaching orientation on the first 
• Yes, that is a national holiday. So?
• School orientation on the second
• Teaching on the third. Eeep.

Two weeks ago, I referred to the week (quietly and to myself) as The Week in Which I Make Plans that are Completely Unlike Myself and Then Back Out At The Last Minute.  This is the week of Sucking It Up and Doing Things Even Though They Make Me Uncomfortable. (I think June will now be The Month In Which I Use Titles That Are Entirely Too Long.)

O LORD my God, I called out to you for help and you healed me.

He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.

Blogging Happens More When I'm Bored

I never know whether or not to capitalize every word in a blog title. Thoughts?
Oh, right. No one reads this. Nevermind.

I just wanted to brag about scoring a free lesson (though I do feel pretty crappy about still not having a job).
And about an awesome new uke site I found.
And I wanted to mention that Carnival of Animals by Saint-Saens is AMAZING and that I think Bekah and I are going to play "Elephant" for our recital. You should Ruckus it. Go! I downloaded the album that also has Ravel's Mother Goose Suite and, of course(!) Dukas' Sorcerer's Apprentice. I am too much of a wuss to play that at my recital, but I can play enough of it to impress children at school concerts, and that makes me happy. Anyway, I am rather fond of the narrator on that album, though I'm not sure who he is. Johnny Morris? He's no David Attenborough, but he is quite good.

Catch Up, Mustard!

I know, I know.. I hate puns. But that one is probably my favorite. I'm not sure if you're allowed to have a favorite in something you don't like, but I hate that one a little less, ok?

anyway.

Semester? Decent. Too big to talk about, really.

Finals? So many of them were performance that actual finals week wasn't so bad. I totally choked on the "List the three minimalists we've studied in class" question in music history (this might have something to do with me not going to class for a week, but only one of those was my fault!)... so I answered "Philip Glass, Philip Glass, and Philip Glass." It's funny if you know who he is, promise.

Week at Bekah B's? Homeschoolicious. Which is odd, because, "how can you want to be a teacher if you were homeschooled?" But I like Bekah B anyway, so I'll let the intense homeschooling slide (just this once. I know, this post is all about exceptions.)

Physics of Music? oh-holy-crap. I took Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language for two years in high school, and for the longest time it made no sense at all. (it was, after all... chinese.) And then one day I decided to just accept it. "Ok, Chinese. That 'H' looking thing is a horse and those boxes are mouths and when you put them together, it means...mother. Sure Chinese. I'll take your word for that." And then this funny thing happened: it made sense. One day, I totally understand how a little man wearing a hat represented the number 6, and why the word for tea had hair in it... Made total sense. And PoM was kind of like that. Once I just accepted that there is no way any of it will ever make sense, I was pretty decent at it. Unfortunately, I didn't accept it until after my 46% on the midterm. Oops. But, overall, I got a B, which is totally good enough for me. And, we went to Darien Lake (in the rain) and I had numerous coffee dates and watched quite a few movies (that may or may not have contributed to the 46%).... so, probably not the worst class ever. The best part, however, was probably when our TA (grumble) had just finished (butchering) explaining something long and complicated on the board, and had written out a number of practice questions next to it for us. He gestured vaguely and asked "clear as Chinese?" and I could honestly say that no, Chinese is considerably clearer.

And now? I'm home, have no job, have no car, nothing to do. I don't have any new music yet, so I find myself quite unmotivated to practice. Woot?