anything new in my world?
Not much.
I'm still at a crossroads career-wise.
One job I applied to has full-time hours, pays better than Peter, and is close to home, but it's for one year and I'd have to give up piano at the centre.
There are several potential applications at various music schools west of Toronto, but they demand higher quality playing out of me. I would have to put in a lot of practice time to catch up on that. Additionally, I can't take any more private students, since I'd be moving all the way out there.
I would prefer not to give up my private piano. I still have my quiet dream of teaching privately. I enjoy teaching at my own pace, I can control my hours, and it makes incredibly good money under the table, but I'm not acquiring students fast enough. But I'm slowly pushing it forward: on Monday I talked to several of my long-time playing students about going for examinations, and they're extremely excited. They've been playing at the centre for at least a year, and want to see serious playing going down.
Assuming they want private lessons (passing out the card does not necessarily equal instant student), it's a good deal of extra money in my pocket.
I'm hoping one of these three options plays out by the end of the year, because as much as I don't look forward to moving, Peter and I are talking about the future. We want a house, we want to save money to get married, and we have to do it in a reasonable time frame because, biologically, I don't have a lot of time left - not if we don't plan to raise our kids in our 50s.
I'm still at a crossroads career-wise.
One job I applied to has full-time hours, pays better than Peter, and is close to home, but it's for one year and I'd have to give up piano at the centre.
There are several potential applications at various music schools west of Toronto, but they demand higher quality playing out of me. I would have to put in a lot of practice time to catch up on that. Additionally, I can't take any more private students, since I'd be moving all the way out there.
I would prefer not to give up my private piano. I still have my quiet dream of teaching privately. I enjoy teaching at my own pace, I can control my hours, and it makes incredibly good money under the table, but I'm not acquiring students fast enough. But I'm slowly pushing it forward: on Monday I talked to several of my long-time playing students about going for examinations, and they're extremely excited. They've been playing at the centre for at least a year, and want to see serious playing going down.
Assuming they want private lessons (passing out the card does not necessarily equal instant student), it's a good deal of extra money in my pocket.
I'm hoping one of these three options plays out by the end of the year, because as much as I don't look forward to moving, Peter and I are talking about the future. We want a house, we want to save money to get married, and we have to do it in a reasonable time frame because, biologically, I don't have a lot of time left - not if we don't plan to raise our kids in our 50s.