New Job

I haven't written for a while because I've been busy at my new job as a Student Activities Coordinator for the Community College. While I loved being an Academic Advisor, my last position was in an isolated office with little traffic. It was pretty boring compared to what I'm used to.

While I'm still in the "I love my new job" phase, I thought I'd savor the moment and reflect on why I am happy I took the job. It'll give me something to look back on in case I'm ever in the "Why did I take this job again?" phase.

Reasons I love my new job:
1) I'm busy
2) People People Everywhere!
3) Working with college students--it's what I love (and what I spent all of that money on my master's degree for)
3) I get to build many programs from the ground up
4) I often feel like I'm teaching even though I'm not in the classroom
5) I am waist-deep in Halloween planning--who wouldn't love that?
6) There are so many 1st generation college students on campus, it's nice to be able to give back to that population since I'm one too.
7) Well...there's the money.
8) My co-workers are great, but even if they weren't at least I have more people around me.
9) The students really seem to listen to what I have to say and are beginning to see me as a resource.
10) Ever since I started a week and a half ago, my voice has made tremendous improvement. I'd say it's almost back to normal!!!! I guess being happier is great medicine!

Voice Update

I went to see the surgeons on Friday.
They basically tell me to be patient and give it another 6 weeks.

I guess the problem is scar tissue around or between the vocal cords which are keeping them from vibrating properly. I have to wait for the tissue to break up or something like that.

Meanwhile, I'm seriously considering ordering a pair of Minnie Mouse ears.

People may stop asking me if I have Laryngitis if they think I'm a Mouseketeer.
There's a new Wendy's commercial out now where people are in line to inhale helium. If you see it, you'll have an idea of how my voice sounds.

Confession # 2

Confession: I have a lot more free time now that I'm done with school.
I wish I could say I've been donating my time to some great organization, but sadly, no.

I've been beading.

Here's a picture of a necklace I just made to cover the scar from my surgery (yes, even I need a break from scarves now and then).

So far I've made earrings, bracelets, and anklets. I prefer working with real stones as opposed to plastic beads. The one below is made of aventurine and lapis lazuli.

A Tenor for Heaven’s Choir

Luciano Pavarotti died today.



I've never been a huge opera fan, but I enjoy it sometimes. I noticed today that when I asked people if they'd heard he died, they all said they were sad even though they weren't opera fans. That's how I feel too.

I’ve been listening/watching some of his performances that are up on Youtube today.

I think it’s good therapy for my vocal cords.
I’m hoping they’ll get inspired! ; )

Who was your Harry Potter?

I recently (finally!) finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (No Spoilers in this post). I would have finished it a lot earlier, but Alec & I were reading it aloud (as we have the whole series) and after my surgery, we were reduced to a sole reader.

So I had to wait very patiently for him to be in the mood. I began to devise opportunities for him to read…

“I’ll wash the dishes if you read Harry Potter.”
“Why don’t you read to me and I’ll start dinner.”
“Do you want a foot rub while you read?”

I have to say it was a good finish.

The New York Times had a post up last month that I shared with a few folks already. If it’s still up, it’s at: http://news.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/19/who-was-your-harry-potter/#comment-74379

If not, I’ve copied the main post below.

July 19, 2007, 1:00 am
Who
Was Your Harry Potter?
In the 10 years since the first “Harry Potter” book was published, the series has sold 325 million copies worldwide, with 121.5 million in print in the United States.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the eagerly awaited seventh and final installment, is due out at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Around the world, children can’t wait to start reading it. What were your favorite books when you were a kid?

My Harry Potter was "Anne of Green Gables." My sister, Ann, bought me the first two books and I've read the whole series too many times to count now. Who was yours?