What · tree?

Wow. I am SO over conflict it beggars belief...well, not that I know many people who seek it out, but....It's funny, because I'm quite good at dealing with it, especially when third party in the middle. I wonder if that's why I go out of my way to avoid confrontation. It's a shame...I'm sure my little world would be a better place (for me, of course) if I occasionally stepped up to bat. Maybe that's not worth the harm it would do to other people though...and I already have enough trouble getting honest opinions on ANYTHING. Unconscious intimidation...weird.

Ah...long time no post. Too much has been happening. The boy gets his doctorate tomorrow night - yay, finally! VIolin kiddies are ticking over and I'm about to start Intermediate teacher deveopment - next Monday. That will be good. time to get excited about repertoire and philosophy again. Falling more in love with the idea of starting a baby group - next year, I think. That way can run some time of parent orientation this term and pack people off with cds and maybe even get them observing classes ahead of commencing classes next year. My budget would certainly like it. Ah, the crazee. Some time back at the ashram when this year is over will be good.

In case you haven't seen it all over LJ like a rash these past few weeks, the Challenge:
- Post 3 things you've done in your lifetime that you don't think anybody else on your friends list has done.
- See if anybody else responds with "I've done that." If they have, you need to add another!(2.b., 2.c., etc...)
- Have your friends cut & paste this into their journal to see what unique things they've done

Ok, I think that last bit's negotiable.

Hm...

Played violin to a fashion photographer in the crew rest area of a 747 en route Sydney - Tokyo.

Finished school and got accepted to uni before I turned 16 (goes with the homeschooling bit)

bought a house?

http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter05/PATTpomatomus.html
and
http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter05/patterns.html#ksbbb

Erk. Violin concert tomorrow. GREAT kirtan tonight though, and despite getting another concert cancellation ("It's her dad's birthday party" - yeah, and I bet THAT was booked from the start of this term. grump grump grump) I have decided it's going to be great. And I will CANE any of my teenagers who fail to play well...they've only had a month to prepare their (review) repertoire. It's going to be good. So..teaching, ballet, concert, drop in at a farewell while channelling Cyndi Lauper en route to the 70s/80s 50th birthday party we will be late to. Never mind. Can't do everything well all the time. and then yoga workhop on Sunday.

Although the morning is set to be a rather routine one, you are going to have to be careful about how you interact with others simply because you may be overly sensitive and take things the wrong way. You have to watch that because it could cause a serious mistake or judgement call to be made (by you)! Be prepared to listen to what others have to say too.

Day 91 of cello challenge. One day I may even be able to play all of Book 3. For now I'm making my cello debut playing the solo from Evanescence's "Hello" for a churchy thing. Should be fun. The cello, not so much the church. Not that I have anything against church per se; it's just not my thing. That's ok. For now I seem to be on top of things. Wedding thank yous are out, I bought the pug a kennel, and the next five weekends are booked by birthday parties and yaga workshops. Weird. ANd maybe a little wonderful. Some days I think I'm learning to find beauty in the mundane. That's possibly the most underrated skill I know. And some days I really feel in touch with my inner bitch. Like attending our school reunion. Sigh. You really do STAY two/three years younger than everyone else.

I'm going to start taking soundings on the idea of a mini festival - considering MM house or Benton Square community centre as venues. Not sure how it would go, but if I could get half my studio to participate that would be 18-19 kids and I think it's important to do it. Suzuki are never going to run anything closer and more affordable, so I'll damn well do it myself! May also be able to pick up some kids from Woodleigh, but I'll ring and confer before relying on that to boost numbers. If they're not playing a lot of Suzuki repertoire or playing from memory then I'd rather limit inclusion to my own students.

Cello is going well. Today is day 76 and I can play all of Book 1 and 2, and the first 3 pieces of Book 3 reasonably well and mostly without music. Of course I know most of the melodies already, but there are sneaky position shifts and I want to learn good habits and technique, so sometimes I have to check. My aim is to complete Book 3 by the end of the year...that's seven pieces (most of which I DON'T know the melody too, since they're not shared with violin repertoire) and about a month to master each. I think I can do it.

At present I am adrift in a bleak winter.
My only ray of light is a small pugfaced dog.
She has conceived a grand passion for a particular towel.
I throw the towel and she capers. My, how she capers.
My spare time is greedily consumed by a manuscript requiring much red writing.
It's author and I lunched together today. I gave her poetry to read.
She wrote a poem and a half of her own.
I have 409 pages to go.
Tomorrow I will teach small children how to play a wonderous four stringed instrument.
Also how to save the world by tidying people's shoes.
And then I will cause them to remove their tap shoes if they're tapping while I'm speaking.
This may, I realise, cause some consternation. It will be worth it.
Now I will go and practice my own fourstringed instrument.
It will not save the world,
(unless I should happen to stumble across an atomic bomb which will destroy the world unless a cellist plays Scherzo into the microphone plugged into the ticking timer thingy )
but mastering Scherzo may take me to a higher realm of patience.
I am sure this will prove to be a useful skill.

P.S. My bed seems to have been plunged into the centre of the Arctic Circle.
Thus slumber is proving a little problematic.

Right. ToDAY IS DAY 69! HOORAH!I finish (or should finish) on June 5th, just before half-year concert. I should probably play something, right? The Boy has gone to Germany for two weeks, so i now have a little more practice time, but the week looks a bit full. Bring on the weekend (she says on MONDAY). sigh. Oh well. Today my osteo said "Yes, you do hbave one leg about 2 cm longer than the other because your pelvis is twisted, causing THIS leg to drop and THIS leg feels more impacted because then, when you walk, it's REALLY taking the impact of each step. He also said I'll feel like I've been bashed with a phone book tomorrow. Yay. On the upside, VistaPrint sent me the business-cards-I-made-look-like-stave-flashcards today and it's so much faster to make notecard sets now. I'm going to order more so I can do key signatures as well. Then I'm going to go and make some more sets. 17 cards per....they're not the QUICKEST thing in the world.

Bah. Sick of being sick already.
About Day 56 (I think) of cello. Can play all of Book 1 & 2, making a start on 3.
Wish I had MUCH more time.

Chelsea likes to sew & draw!!

Chelsea likes to use RLOS as an opportunity to taunt. Jack for missing the key signature and being a pain, as. well as an excuse to try to make Robert screw ...

Chelsea likes to grate cheese
(title of a youtube post)

Chelsea likes to be lazy and surround herself with pillows.

Chelsea likes to tease her and call her by her full name.

Chelsea likes to do a whole lot.

Chelsea likes to walk too fast for heels, but "Pretty Chelsea" doesn't mind taking her time.

Chelsea likes to sew, kayak, see plays, visit pet shops, play at the park, and devise fake movie plots with her friends.

Chelsea likes to visit after church on Sundays when the shelter is closed.

Day Thirteen of practice Challenge. Can play nearly all of Book 1 but my music reading skills are abysmal (I'm going to keep blaming bass clef and the fact that i really haven't invested any quality time in the 'notes' - just peek for fingering assistance occasionally. Started trying out a little position changing last night (wow, THAT sounds wrong) and as i keep consolidating basic skills I should improve that reasonably quickly. Now, if only i could get some Pachelbel music to drop magically from the sky - I found Suzuki vol 1 and 2 for cello in an op shop for $2 each, so thus far this enterprise has been pretty economical! breakfast then getting dressed then practice, i think.

You may find yourself easily taken from your path of thinking today and find you are completely off track before you even realise it. So if you want to make the day positive and successful be aware of this and do whatever you can to stay focussed. The evening however is a different story and an impulsive if not, reckless energy takes hold. Great if you're single and out and about with friends but it could spell disaster if you are attached.

Yep...only 11.17 am and I'm already drifting...but I have worked out how to use coffee machine and it is definitely the way to some kind of bliss.... albeit a slightly jittery one. And really must hang out washing. This is Day... six of my challenge and I tried out Etude last night. As long as I have the discipline to play all my pieces every day I think Book One will be within grasp by end of March. Am now writing list of tasks to do today. itunes is so slooooooow! Still, much better than stupid fricking sanity kiosk with defunct touch-screen. Gee, i love tech that makes life harder than it already has to be.

Day three and I can play Perpetual Motion without thinking about EVERY note and kind of get through Rigadoon (well, I've only heard it about five times, so that's ok). I'm sure it will be better tomorrow.

You should be careful how you broach things with a loved one (probably a child or sibling) this morning. If you don't approach things diplomatically you could find yourself in the midst of turmoil before you've even started the day properly! In fact, it might be in everyone's best interest if you don't say anything! You are actually better off in the company of good friends tonight rather than just being with your loved one.

Yes and yes. Answering someone's "Oops, I think I've parked you in" with a low growl and slamming keys is NOT the best start to the day. The best end is NOT coming home to a loved one who pathetically and sick-ly says "I'd love ham steaks and mashed potatoes and vegies" and starting said dinner before discovering we don't have any potatoes. And there's one lone rubbery carrot (best left to the pug) in the fridge. So then the supermarket (where I HATE buying vegetables) must be visited, and THEN dinner can be cooked. And cello practice done. Did I mention it was a viewing day at ballet tonight and all my friday classes are VERY full?

Right. Practice CHallenge. Two days and counting. And i can play Allegro and Perpetual Motion. And Long, long Ago.

I have a cello!
And I can play Twinkles
Lightly Row (better when you know ALL fingers are spaced a semitone apart)
Song of the Wind
French Folk Song
Go Tell Aunt Rhody
(nearly) Long long ago.

With GREAT concentration.
And no finger tapes! Hooray for good ears.

This is a time for the gaining of wisdom and knowledge, for contemplating what has gone and where you have achieved your objectives and where you did not. It is a time for quiet reflection in order to come to those understandings. There may be a rush of intuitive and creative energy in the afternoon that is expansive and highly creative and will help you in any partnership matter that needs handling in a different manner other than traditionally.

Ah ...yes.
Well, I've made a to do list. And I've crossed a few things off it already. One was composing an email to a parent whose daughter I've taught for four years. In that time the child's come up to a nice standard of playing, and she received a music scholarship to a private school on the strength of her playing. OK. That's cool. But now the parent (after having asked for a couple weeks to ease into the term) hasn't communicated with/contacted me about lessons AT ALL, other that to complain that a half-hour drive for a forty-five minute lesson and then a half-hour drive home was a HUGE chunk of time. Lady, you just don't get it. And sadly, I don't think less than an hour of travelling time EVER factored into my violin lessons. And (oh, HOW unfortunate), your daughter is at a level where she needs a skilled, focused and ABLE teacher. Don't trust her to any old moron (not that all teachers in schools are morons, but a LOT just amble along aimlessly, and I have heard horror stories about kids learning at this particular school. If she's LUCKY she might just emerge with the same set of skills she went in with). ARGH!!!! WHY do parents DO this???? (The other side of it all is, of course, having held her place for four weeks (and this is week five) while I have a WAITING LIST means I've cost myself money. How DUMB is that????

Overall it is a positive morning where the settlement of opposing factions should be easily accomplished. Some physical energy needs to be expended midday; work should be attended to before lunchtime. Much should be done to harmonise life today, as leisure, recreational pursuits and simply enjoying a long lunch are all favoured. But if you don't feel like socialising this aspect can also help you to give full expression to your creative side too.

AND I have a sewing machine now, (Janome; fancy stitching and changeable feet! woot woot! We love Nannas.) so fabric beware! My cello got delivered on Friday, but I wasn't home to take receipt of it (well, the email said MONDAY) so I've had to reorganise and reschedule to Tues. Which is a bastard, because I won't get to look at it until Thursday...but never mind. It will hardly kill me. Hideous and stupid teaching morning with lots of stopping and starting and have four classes to teach this afternoon because of a wedding. sigh. Would like SO much to got to the free MSO concert tonight, but weather is miserable and I think I will be out of my brain by the time I get home at 5.30 (optimistic) from Morno. Consolation: Ainzy-lu is booking tix to the Mikado and it's a Friday matinee...so I have to miss yoga for one week, but otherwise will be great.

I'm just struggling to understand people and I think the effort has broken my brain. Example: email from parent and reply.

"Good morning,
>
> Do you have a 4-5pm time slot available anywhere midweek?
>
> Thanks
>
> Lucy"

Ummm.....no. I'm teaching two afternoons (the others are all taken up with other work, it's not a lifestyle choice) and that is the time EVERYONE wants their lesson. Get in the (lengthy) queue.

my reply:
"Nope. I'm currently booked until 5.30 pm on Mondays and 6pm on Thursdays - and that's just students rolling over times from last year (or the year before). As I remarked to Michael last night: once I have a student in a spot, that seems to be it! I guess it is much easier to have violin be a constant thing. At present my Saturday looks like: (names changed here)

9-9.45 Maya

11.00 Sarah
11.30 Nadia
12.00 Kate
12.30 Alicia"

Read: I'm diplomatically telling you you're SILLY and since we've previously discussed my need to finish teaching at 1.30, your choice is as follows: 9.45 - 10.45 or 10.00 - 11.00 (which is when they came last year).

reply:
"We had better take the 12.30 -1.30 time slot then so that Reese is good to start Little Athletics in Sept.

Thanks, Lucy"

Um, NO. If you THOUGHT about the schedule (and yes, my fault for not spelling it out) everyone has a half-hour lesson. So Alicia's 12.30 lesson will conclude at 1pm. ARRRRRGH.
And no, it's not as simple as asking Alicia to move because she has swimming at 10.00. And I COULD maybe, perhaps move everyone half an hour earlier, except Sarah (well, her mother) will be coming from PHILLIP ISLAND for her lessons as of term 2, so that means asking Nadia to come an HOUR earlier and Kate specifically asked for the 12.00 (it's her time from last year). If anyone else can see a simple and fair-ish solution to this, TELL ME!!!!!!

Man, sometimes I just want to work a five-day nine-to-five. How is life over there on simple work-in-the-same-place, start (AND FINISH)-at-the-same-time Street? (I know, I know....the grass is always hydroponic on the other side.) I'm going to go to bed now. If you read any of this, I applaud you.