What the future holds
I've been working on my thesis for weeks. It is not as near completion as I would like, but I'm still chugging away.
Of course, this has led me to thinking about what to do once I'm out of school. And, frankly, I'm tired of the singing world. I am sick and tired of auditions that lead nowhere and of the constant rejection. I'm tired, and I need a break. I asked myself, "What could I do that would get me away from all the unpleasant parts of singing." I realized, I just want a regular job so I don't need to worry about bills but that's flexible enough to sing when I want to. Something close to home would be great.
I sang a funeral at noon yesterday and stopped off at Target on my way home to pick up a few things. On a whim, I stopped by their employment station. The only thing that was remotely interesting to me was a position in the pharmacy since that's the pharmacy I use, anyways, and the people always are pleasant and seem happy. Since I was dressed up for the funeral already and had nothing to lose, I thought, "What the heck?". I walked back to the pharmacy and asked for the manager, and Maggie came out. I introduced myself and we just started chatting about the job, but also about the neighborhood (turns out, she lives about 3 blocks from me). We just hit it off, and before I knew it, she said, "I like you and I think you'd be an excellent addition to our team. When can you start?" I sputtered for a moment that I needed some time to think, so she said she'd give me until the end of the work day today (which is 8 at the pharmacy) to get back to her. Yikes!
The more I'm thinking about it, though, the more I'm also thinking it's April Fool's day, and you should know better. Gotcha!
Even though I am indeed tired of many aspects of my chosen field, I'm not giving up quite so easily. I am hopeful that something will come up for the fall close to home and with flexibility. I've got a couple of leads and am actually thinking about applying for several of the professional choirs in the area (Cantus, The Rose Ensemble) and that might tide me over until the University Job Market starts opening up again -- there is almost NOTHING available in Voice/Opera right now.
But, this isn't getting my thesis written now, is it? 20-ish pages written, and 10-20 more to go. My goal is to finish the writing by next week, and have it edited and submitted to my committee by Easter.
Of course, this has led me to thinking about what to do once I'm out of school. And, frankly, I'm tired of the singing world. I am sick and tired of auditions that lead nowhere and of the constant rejection. I'm tired, and I need a break. I asked myself, "What could I do that would get me away from all the unpleasant parts of singing." I realized, I just want a regular job so I don't need to worry about bills but that's flexible enough to sing when I want to. Something close to home would be great.
I sang a funeral at noon yesterday and stopped off at Target on my way home to pick up a few things. On a whim, I stopped by their employment station. The only thing that was remotely interesting to me was a position in the pharmacy since that's the pharmacy I use, anyways, and the people always are pleasant and seem happy. Since I was dressed up for the funeral already and had nothing to lose, I thought, "What the heck?". I walked back to the pharmacy and asked for the manager, and Maggie came out. I introduced myself and we just started chatting about the job, but also about the neighborhood (turns out, she lives about 3 blocks from me). We just hit it off, and before I knew it, she said, "I like you and I think you'd be an excellent addition to our team. When can you start?" I sputtered for a moment that I needed some time to think, so she said she'd give me until the end of the work day today (which is 8 at the pharmacy) to get back to her. Yikes!
The more I'm thinking about it, though, the more I'm also thinking it's April Fool's day, and you should know better. Gotcha!
Even though I am indeed tired of many aspects of my chosen field, I'm not giving up quite so easily. I am hopeful that something will come up for the fall close to home and with flexibility. I've got a couple of leads and am actually thinking about applying for several of the professional choirs in the area (Cantus, The Rose Ensemble) and that might tide me over until the University Job Market starts opening up again -- there is almost NOTHING available in Voice/Opera right now.
But, this isn't getting my thesis written now, is it? 20-ish pages written, and 10-20 more to go. My goal is to finish the writing by next week, and have it edited and submitted to my committee by Easter.