Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Graduations
My violin/viola studio recital was on Sunday. What fun to see a year's improvement in my students. I played too, this year, and that was fun. It could have been stressful, playing for all of my students who know what good technique is--but I put on the forehead and the quiet stomach, and everything flowed.
Then on Monday I graduated my latest class of beginning tango dancers. Out of 4 sessions, this class was the one with the highest number of people who don't think of themselves as "movers". But they really were looking good yesterday, leading and following the cruzada like pros. I was so proud.
This is a graduation of sorts for me, too, though less well-defined. After a year of teaching high school, violin, and tango, I definitely feel that I've settled into my role as "teacher". And each of those teaching experiences has been extremely helpful in improving my general teaching skills. I was born to teach, it seems. This is the summer I'll be getting organized, starting to formalize my violin teaching technique and thinking about how to formally assess students and help them set goals. I'm looking to accomplish that for the computer and violin curricula. Tango will have to wait for a bit, but I am thinking about it in odd moments.
This teacher is tired, too. Very tired.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
When it Sucks Not to Have Depth Perception
One word: mosquitos.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Listening
The eye is still sucky, but is now getting back to how it was before the eye doctor dumped the dilating chemicals in it three weeks ago. It got much worse after that. Blech. So now it is back to being crappy instead of unbearable. It makes applying eyeliner to my right eyelid very difficult on North Star nights. I've been using The Force.
Then there's the whole matter of my destiny. I'm not sure exactly what it is yet. I get glimpses here and there. There's a lot of chatter going on in my mind. I close my eyes and can practically hear the babble, all in my own voice, so I've been practicing letting that get quiet enough so that I might hear my destiny talking. So far I just hear E above middle C. Huh. I suppose this is like meditating or talking to God, only I'm trying not to do any talking. Will keep trying to listen.
Dork Alert
On my bicycle ride home from North Star tonight I was thinking how much I like it that the light at Washington Street and Veranda will turn green for me on my bike if I ride slowly over the sensor loop on Veranda, just slow enough for the light to turn red on Washington Ave and green for me, and then if I hurry I have just enough time to get through the intersection as the light is turning yellow. I find that whole process very satisfying.
