I have, obviously, been neglecting this blog for the past couple of years. Mostly I've been busy: but it just so happens that these days I have an abundance of free time so I think it's time to blow the dust off and try my hand at blogging again.
First, I think it'd be nice to give you all an update. I mean, I think I'm directly related to more than half of the people who will be reading this, so most of you already know how I'm doing-- but on the other hand I also know that I am the WORST at remembering to tell people what's going on in my life so maybe you don't.
Anyway. I've been teaching Elementary Orchestra, before and after school classes at three different schools (and expecting to pick up another class in the fall.) Besides that I've been working on my music therapy private practice. And, despite my initial fears, things were actually starting to move. I was seeing several clients a week, and in January I hit the beautiful milestone of having made back as much money as I've put into the darn thing. Pretty exciting!
So then, of course, 2020 hit like a ton of bricks.
I'm not going to dwell on the bad too much. After all, things are rough on everyone right now and a lot of people have it worse than me. I'm doing... OK. I have a respectable savings account. I'm healthy and safe. I'm living with my parents, and my Dad still has work.
My business, however, has taken a blow. Some of my clients had to stop music therapy services for financial reasons, some had to stop for health concerns, and some just stopped answering my messages. I do have one memory care facility that I'm still working with: twice a month we set up a video chat so I can sing for them. There's some real limitations trying to work this way-- I can't collect much data because I can barely see my clients, and sometimes they have to turn their microphone off which makes it feel like I'm performing for a wall. But I'm grateful to have at least that much work, and it does seem to be doing the residents good.
Beyond that? I'm still trying to figure out how to find new clients in a world as crazy as this one, and it feels a lot like starting over from scratch. It's discouraging, but for now it's the best I can do.
I was able to continue teaching orchestra after the schools closed; online classes, taught over skype. Again, lucky to have the work. But let me tell you: teaching virtual orchestra is awful and I don't want to do it again. There are some things that are really, really hard to do without being together in person. Like play on the same beat. Or tune instruments. Or help a student who's struggling to figure out where their fingers go.
Though it certainly does make for a memorable class when your first ever virtual orchestra class thanks to a pandemic is interrupted by a 5.7 magnitude earthquake. March 2020 was a wild ride.
Anyway, now it's summertime. Orchestra is over for the year. I'm hoping it starts again in October but, right now, that's anyone's guess. Too much is still up in the air while school districts try to figure out how to balance safety and education and mental health. It might be some time before I know whether music classes are happening or not, whether they'll be in person or online. I honestly don't know where I'm going to be three months from now. Maybe this whole mess is leading towards some sort of career change, who knows? Like everyone else, I'm having to take things a day at a time.
So, as I said at the start, I find myself with a lot of time on my hands this summer.
I've had a few activities of varying usefulness to spend my time on. I've been playing more games on my phone than I care to admit, I reorganized and deep cleaned the kitchen pantry, I've been making "music videos" of dubious quality...
...I've done a lot of gardening, tried some new recipes, worked on my writing, and done plenty of arts and crafts. (In fact, here's a little sneak peak of a project that I think deserves it's own blog post)
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| Because nothing says "I've been in this house too long" like painting the walls. |
Also, my long-time fascination with vintage culture and fashion, particularly from the 1940s, has been turning into a full-blown obsession.
Partly that's because I've been discovering the online vintage community. It turns out that there are a bunch of people out there who are just living their everyday lives dressed like it's a different century-- because they like the history, or because they're taking a stand against "fast fashion", or just because they can. And it makes me very, very happy to think that there are currently people in the world playing video games and cooking dinner and other modern activities while dressed like Victorians, or flappers, or seventeenth century Scottish farmers, or something equally anachronistic. Seriously, if this pandemic goes on much longer there is very real danger that this blog is going to take a hard swerve and become a vintage fashion blog. So if you find future blog posts on topics like which shade of red lipstick is better or how to do pin curls-- well, I warned you.
Another reason for my particular fascination with the 40s at the moment, though, is that I'm finding that time period newly relatable. Something I've always admired about that decade is that even in the midst of truly awful things-- war and racism and devastation of all kinds-- there was a hopefulness and optimism in so much of the culture and music. A sense of everyone pulling together to navigate a world turned upside down. And, well, that's relevant these days.
(A video from one of the MANY vintage vloggers I am now watching obsessively, because I think it makes my point, if in a cheesier way than I probably would.)
Anyway, so that's how my life is going, circa July 2020. I haven't been going on as many "adventures" lately, but I do have a few stories to share so I intend to be more active on here for a while. Hopefully that'll mean spreading around some smiles and laughs. There may or may not be a new costume challenge in the works, too, if you're here for that kind of thing.
But wherever you are and however you're doing, I wish you the best. Take care of yourself! Here's to hoping for better days ahead.
