And now...

I got completely thrown off on Tuesday. I was doing some accounting homework at Homer's and I got a call from the HR big chief from the Blue Valley School District asking me to come in for an interview for elementary/middle-school strings. It would have been my dream job a year ago, but now I'm not so sure because of income. Anyway, it's funny because I worked my butt off last year trying to land an interview with him (or with somebody not from the KCK district), and this year I'm not even looking for a teaching job and it comes to me! Well, not the job, but at least an interview.

So I went and made a fool of myself. In my defense, I was completely flustered and, I think, rightfully so. He called me at about 3:00 on Tuesday and asked me to come in for an interview the next morning at 10:30. And it's not like I had time that night to study-up for it. I had accounting class from 5:45 to 9:45. And, yes, it lasted till 9:45.

Anyway, as for the interview, he asked me how I was planning on recruiting, and he could probably tell that I didn't have the slightest clue, despite my ability to BS. Then--this is when the dookie really hit the fan--he asked me how I planned to teach vibrato. I remembered watching my cooperating teacher do it when I was student teaching, but for some reason, I was thinking that vibrato was done on the bow instead of the neck of the instrument. Please don't laugh too hard--I'm really not that dumb. I think I was just nervous and unprepared. Imagine: You're on a date with a chick (spare me, girls) and instead of running your fingers through a her hair, you rub your wrist against her left elbow, not thinking about how rubbing your wrist against someone's left elbow has absolutely nothing to do with anything. And then she gives you this confused, scared, weirded-out look, like, "What the crap are you doing?"

I talked to Alicia about the prospect of teaching (it was a prospect when we talked about it, which was before the interview), and we THOUGHT we could get by on a teaching salary if I made sure to get a decent-paying summer position with my MBA. But then I crunched some numbers on Excel, and man--it is expensive to live! We're gonna have to cut down big time or buy some cheap shack in the ghetto. Say a mortgage is $1000 (insurance and everything included), plus we put money into our IRAs each month, we send money to our Malaysia parents each month (Malaysian custom), gas, student loans, utilities, insurance, phone, and cable. For us, that adds up to $2700/month. Okay, so if we cut cable, we pay $2600 and we don't have internet. That's not including tithing (because it's a percentage of income), all of the miscellaneous stuff like food, clothing, car maintenance, travel, birthday/Christmas gifts, haircuts, and etc. I know--everyone's told me that you just make sacrifices and you find a way to make it work. Ideas anyone?

pizza

I just got this joke in an email:

what is the difference between a pianist and a medium pizza? a medium pizza can feed a family of four.

Now I have something to tell people to justify my change of careers when people harrass me about quitting music. No one outside of the music industry realizes how competitive music careers are! All these people tell me to "follow my dreams" and all that stuff, and they might think I'm a good pianist and they might have faith in me and all that, but I just don't think they understand how many other good pianists there are out there who are a lot more passionate about encouraging other pianists to pursue their dreams while, in the back of their head, they know these people will never make it. They just want to keep their jobs, so that's what music teachers do. Not all, but most. (I'm 26 and I've got the world all figured out.)

There was a job posting from Kansas City KS Community College about an opening for a piano instructor to teach class piano, applied piano, music theory, music appreciation, and other stuff. Here's the requirement: "Master's degree in Music, Music Education, Music Theory, Piano, or a related field is required. Graduate level training in piano and music theory with a demonstrated ability to teach in both areas is required." So here I am--probably perfectly qualified, having done the exact same thing at SMU. I have a master's in piano performance and pedagogy (study of teaching) from SMU, where I taught class piano, applied piano, and was a music theory GTA. I have a bachelor's in music education. The catch: They don't pay jack. It's ridiculous! Just imagine if I were equally and specifically qualified in business as I am in piano. A business would pay me twice as much... at least!... for a full-time position. Why did I waste my time in music school?

Well, if it was God leading me to my wife, then that sounds good to me. Really--if I hadn't done everything I did in music (and ended up at SMU and met people from my current church) I wouldn't have met Alicia. And she's frickin' AWESOME! So that works.

(This is all from an email I sent a friend. I'm lazy.)

Bummer

It's not me. The job didn't work out. Apparently, the next chick came and, indeed, knocked his socks off. So I'll keep chuggin' along at Farmers.

You ask for it--you got it! Toyota!

Alright, everyone. I apologize for the blogging delay. And unlike some of my competitors, I've been listening to your requests and hearing your cries. And I plan to act on it. So without further ado, your wish is my command! My latest blog has finally arrived!

So, ... uh, ... Hey. How's it goin'?

I'm trusting that no one I work with or who knows anyone I work with is reading this blog. Don't get me wrong--for the most part, I really like my job. But last Thursday I received a phone call from a guy from church who's a commercial real estate broker and he said he needs a right hand man. The pay is $30K--certainly more than what I'm making now--but the intangible is that I'll get some great experience in the business and learn from the best. He's pretty successful.

I've considered commercial real estate sales before but I've heard that it's very difficult to get in. In fact, when the guy from church started, someone basically gave him a phone book and said "Get to work." So this definitely seems like a better way to start. This guy owns his own business and right now it's just him and another chick who's moving to California. She was never interested in sales--in fact, I think she's going off to fashion design school. So the guy told me that he's probably gonna have to expand because right now he has to turn down $3K and $4K deals just because he doesn't have enough time.

So anyway, I've talked to a few people who all think it's an offer I can't refuse. Now I'm just waiting for the guy to call me back after he interviews one other person. Hopefully she doesn't knock his socks off! Actually, as much as I want the job, I really want whatever God wants and I hope that the guy has someone who's good for his company. And hopefully that's me!

Beavis's (Brett's) wedding is this weekend--I'm throwing the bachelor party for him. It'll be funny. If anyone can think of some ways to embarrass him, please let me know.

Alicia's doing well--she also has another attractive job prospect, so we'll see what happens with that. With this new job we're hoping for, she'll have a lot better hours (no nights or weekends) and we'll probably get to see each other more.

So keep us in your prayers.