Just the Way I Left It

When I was little I had a dollhouse in my room—the snazzy Playmobil Victorian home with rooms and furniture whose beauty were not nearly matched by its figures (seriously, a dollhouse with ugly dolls?). I meticulously arranged every room’s scene and I knew the house backward and forward. Every time Grandma visited she would alter one thing in the dollhouse and I would have to sleuth out the difference. From reshelved flatwear to bathroom towels to flower gardens, I was always able to return the house to its original state. There’s a comfort in the order of “the way things were”.

I’m happy to report post-vacation New York is largely the way it was pre-vacation, summer-city smells, Dominican music, and all. I had the opportunity to enjoy it in higher doses when my computer succumbed to the evils of malware and spent a stint with the Geek Squad. For the minor inconveniences five days without regular computer and Internet access bring, I quite appreciated the silence and imperative to fill my time with activities that don’t start with an inbox or a Netflix search.

Much money and concern later, I received my computer back, free of viruses AND completely reloaded with all of my files and settings. Considering I had spent the repair period collecting software CDs to reinstall and compiling settings and passwords I would have to reprogram, this came as welcome—downright glorious--news.

Last week brought the first ETM training day of the year, complete with smiling faces, friendly conversation, and a lovely rooftop barbecue. If the pay weren’t so lousy, I would work with them forever. Seriously.

Last week also brought me back into my classroom at PS 43. If you recall, my first glimpse of the same room last summer included roughly 20 extra desks, 50 extra chairs, and 4 broken iMacs. Oof. This year, I unlocked the door expecting a similar scene… And the room looked like this:

What. A. Difference. And they had not locked my instruments (or keyboards!) in storage. I had everything I needed and no more (even the 2 remaining dud iMacs were removed by this week!). Cleaning and furniture consolidation aside, the room was just the way I left it at the end of last year. I nearly cried tears of elation. Pictures of the reconstructed—and slightly redesigned—classroom to come!

In the short-lived spirit of restlessly empty late summer, I have decided to audition for that choir… The actual audition is next week but I participated in their first rehearsal last night. Sight-reading “real” (read: “intended for ages above 11”) choral music requires cognitive muscles that are a little stiff after a year and a half hiatus, but it was so great to SING again. And, truthfully, to use those “muscles” again. Like the first run after an elliptical winter, the technique is a little rusty but the energy is through the roof. Now I just have to dust off an old aria for the audition… Eep.

Lesson planning, a full week of training, then a new school year! Ah, the 5am alarm… Good to know that the view out my window at the crack of dawn is also just how I left it:

Love & Hugs!

Kate =)