Grr. Was working on truffles about 45 minutes ago, and managed to break the spatula handle - just above the scraper part. So...the truffles will be delayed another two days, since I won't have a chance to work on them tomorrow. (school concerts...)

A random bits-and-pieces entry...
Didn't shoot any deer during hunting season. In fact, I only shot once - on opening day. Didn't even see another one long enough to get another shot the rest of the season.
My knee hurts. Running into a hayrake will do that...I would have been able to avoid it, if I hadn't just turned on the lights and then walked toward the brushpile without letting my eyes adjust back to the dark. The bonfire was cool, though.
Had a nice surprise in the mailbox - a check for playing in the pit for Oklahoma! a couple of weekends ago. Always nice to have some unexpected income, no? :-)
Not sure I'm ready to referee basketball tomorrow night. The combination of a sore knee, first game of the year, and varsity guys could be a big challenge. I hope the swelling at least disappears by then, even if the bruise is still there.

I've come to a conclusion about part of the afterlife...

Hell will include a really great radio, tuned permanently to NPR. And it will be permanently stuck in their pledge drive.

Ahh...it's nice to have an internet at home again! It's even nicer that it's a DSL connection (12 MB) instead of 28K dial-up. Now I just have to find my webcam again, and I'll be completely set up...

Random tidbits from the past week or so:
- Oklahoma! went well...given another three weeks to practice, I probably would have been able to play most of the flute part, instead of only half to 2/3 of it.
- Judged a solo-ensemble contest last Saturday...only two schools, and just 7th & 8th grade, so it wasn't too difficult. Heard a few really well-prepared kids, and a handful that needed more practice time...
- Was definitely not ready to deal with the 3" of snow that came down last Friday. Blecch. More slop this morning, too - snow, but it was warm enough that it melted almost as soon as it landed, which made everything a sloppy mess.
- Basketball season is starting already...will be running the clock for a game tomorrow night. Time to start doing some running to get in shape for reffing. Don't have a game to work until the first week of December, but still...
- Really can't be arsed to do any decorating of the apartment. It looks pretty spartan, but considering how little time I spend here, and the fact that chances are very slim that I'll have visitors...doesn't bother me. I have my comfy chair and recliner situated so I can read in either one, the computer corner (in the bedroom, actually, since the only other place close to a telephone line hook up is in the kitchen), and the kitchen table (currently buried under a few boxes that still need to be unpacked). All the essentials are unpacked - just some random bits and a handful of kitchen things still boxed up.
- Have been devouring books again while waiting for the internet connection to be set up. The librarian gave me a funny look when I checked out two 300-plus page novels one day, and returned them the next. After doing that for 3 days in a row, the funny looks stopped. :D The list of what I've been reading includes mainly murder mysteries (featuring a detective in the "cold case" department of the LAPD) and action-adventure type (James Bond type...but not Bond).
- Elementary kids can be a bunch of nosy little pests. Have lost count of the number of times I've been asked if I'm married, have kids, have a girlfriend, when they get to meet my girlfriend (since they decided I have one, they want to meet her), why my girlfriend doesn't live with me (where did that come from?!?) and lots of other silly questions. :p

YES!!!
I am once again employed!! Granted, it's still as a substitute, but it's a long-term gig - for the rest of the year, I think. No more having to jump out of bed at 6 a.m. to answer the phone for an "are you available to sub today" call.
It starts Monday, which means I need to find a place to live soon. (soon: pronounced /yes-tir-da/) Well...I wouldn't have to find an apartment, but I'd much rather pay rent than drive an hour and 15 minutes every morning on curvy roads with gazillions of deer just waiting to jump out and become venison burger.

Subbing in a school during their homecoming week is getting old. As a group, the kids don't pay attention; the few who do have to fight lots of extra noise from the screwballs to get anything out of it. Am glad I won't have that bunch tomorrow.

I suppose I should be flattered... Recently put a profile on a dating website, and have gotten a few responses from 19- to 22-year olds. Obviously, they aren't reading the details in my profile very carefully, or they'd know that I'm not interested in dating someone that much younger than I am. Have to admit they've been cute, which has made it harder to say, "Thanks, but no thanks" - but an age difference of 17 years? No thanks...I'm not looking for a daughter!

SpEd was more like a resource room than actual SpEd - kids whose reading levels are around 2nd grade level, mostly, or who need more indivivualized lessons. Not too bad, all in all.

Ross the intern could disappear from the Tonight Show, and it would improve tremendously. He is a blithering idiot, and is either the world's biggest wuss or has rocks in his skull. Biggest waste of 5 minutes Leno has ever had on - and he's a more-or-less regular fixture lately. I swear some of the SpEd kids I worked with the last two days would be more amusing.

Found out tonight that we actually get paid for attending the tax prep class that I'm taking. Not only does it help boost my pay for doing taxes starting in January, but I get paid for showing up? Bonus!

You Should Learn Swedish

Fantastisk! You're laid back about learning a language - and about life in general.Peaceful, beautiful Sweden is ideal for you... And you won't even have to speak perfect Swedish to get around!

What Language Should You Learn?

Am definitely feeling drain-bamaged this morning. Getting less than three hours of sleep will do that - didn't get home after the quartet gig until 4, and the alarm went off a few minutes before 7. It's a good thing the guy I'm subbing for today starts off with a pretty easy class (web page design)...only 5 kids (3 of whom are here), and they're working on a resume project. It wouldn't be very difficult to fall asleep. :-P Math classes the rest of the day won't be nearly as easy - will have to be at least slightly awake for those...

Happy Birthday, wee_wee! :-)

I'm about ready to find a couple of muzzles for my nieces. The younger one, especially...jabbers incessantly about whatever happens to wander through her brain. They're here for the weekend - good thing I'll be out of the house most of tomorrow, or they'd drive me right up the wall.

Job-hunting is still a pain in the arse...although I have found a couple of positions just posted that I'll apply for - two are long-term sub deals. One is about 45 miles from here, the other in a Milwaukee suburb. There's also a half-time position in Waconia (near the Twin Cities) that starts after the first of the year. If I get that one, I'll have to check out a couple of other possibilities - South of the River has openings for private lesson teachers, Eden Prairie called today asking if I'd be interested in applying to teach in their community ed program...

Otherwise, it's pretty much same-old, same-old.

Hmph. Someone switched to the beta version, and now I can't leave comments. Bleah.

Bleah. As if I needed the present I got yesterday while on my way to SC for barbershop... A speeding ticket - 60 in a 45. Gonna cost me $156. And to think I almost skipped rehearsal. Hmph.

If I haven't answered my cell phone after the first 3 calls, why would calling again - 6 more times! - get me to answer? Take a hint. I either have the ringer off, am busy, or just plain don't want to talk.

I can't stand whiners. People who put themselves into spots where they know they aren't going to like what's going on get very little sympathy, either. Grr. It's a very good thing the nieces are gone, and won't be around when the rest of the chickens get butchered.

That had to be one of the most low-key and relaxed - but still positive - interviews ever. Even before it really got started, it was off to a great start...as I entered the room, one of the women said, "He has to go. He's an Ole." (meaning a St. Olaf alumni). My response: "You must be a Carleton grad." The principal laughed, and asked how I could tell from just that one sentence. Considering that Carleton and St. O. are crosstown rivals, it was really easy...the only other possibility would have been that she graduated from Loser...err, Luther...College in Decorah. (a huge rivalry with another Lutheran college) As I sat down, the other gal said that I wasn't going to escape that easily. She graduated from Gustavus Adolphus. (yet another Lutheran college rival)
Question for any of my former students (including the bandies who played in full orch) who might happen to read this: I've been asked in my last two interviews how my students would describe me. Other than saying I'm crazy/insane/cracked, I have no clue. Help me out, please?

Another interview scheduled for tomorrow - Eagle Ridge Academy (Eden Prairie). According to the person I talked to, they have interviewed "several people over the summer, but haven't found the right person yet, so I'm really glad to get your application." Sounds pretty positive to me! :-)
The barn and shed are now gone, and there's just a little bit of cleanup to finish - mainly picking up little bits of wood, oodles of nails, and lots of insulation. Should have the fill hauled in and spread out early next week. Amazing how quickly the tear-down went once the outer layer of sheet metal was pulled off. (And once my brother started using the forks on the loader of the tractor to pull off the sheet metal, that went super fast!)

Your Body Image is 4% Unhealthy, 96% Healthy

You have a great body image. You know that no one looks perfect, and you're happy the way you are. Also, you don't judge other people on their looks... and it helps them feel better about their own bodies!

How's Your Body Image?

Not wanting my picture taken contributes to an unhealthy body image? Pfft.

Had an interview this morning in Maplewood (east side of the Twin Cities)... Set it up yesterday afternoon - was one of the 6 stored voicemail messages that I didn't get right away... Fortunately, it was sent on Monday, so it wasn't too late to get the interview scheduled. Still - having to be there for a 9 a.m. interview meant rolling out of bed by 5:30 in order to be on the road by 6. Blecch.

Would definitely prefer this gig to the one in South Carolina - especially since I still haven't heard back from the principal. *rolling eyes* Wonder if there's a voicemail from them, too?

Am getting irritated with my cell. It just (within the last 2 minutes) buzzed to let me know that it sent a text message that I should have been sent on Monday. That's when I put it in, at any rate... Grr. So...I'm definitely calling Cingular to get this straightened out. And it isn't as though I haven't made/received any calls in the last week - have actually made more calls in the last 4 days than in most of June.
So...if you have sent me any text messages in the last week - I'm not ignoring them. I haven't gotten them! Wonder how many of the ones that were "sent" hadn't gone out before I emptied the outbox last time...

Yet another on-line app finished last night - Farmington, MN. It's a 7th grade band gig, so it isn't exactly what I'm looking for, but still...

Finally got a call from the Fine Arts Director in Columbia, SC this morning. He was supposed to call last Friday - at least, that's what the other gal who called said. Did a short phone interview with him, and he said he'd have the building principal to give me a call "soon". So...I muddle around for about an hour, waiting for the phone call, then figure they're all in their in-service meetings. (Those started today...students start next Tuesday!) I headed out to do various farm chores, and missed the call - four hours after the first one. Hmph. Nothing like a generous definition of "soon" - almost like the Caribbean version!

Am going to give the South JH band director (where I used to teach) a call tomorrow to see if she has any inside connections in Buffalo, since that's where she lives... Doubt she will, but it's worth a shot!

Rain again last night! :) With what we got last night, we've had an inch this week - very welcome after not having any measurable rainfall since the first part of June. I think it came in time to save the corn...would suck if we ended up with almost no sweet corn from the 30 rows my brother planted. (Over an acre!!)

Total cash through Gate 7A for the first three days of Rock Fest is over $100K. Boggles my mind. (Could be more, but we don't have a credit-card reader or a check scanner to do instant debits - those have to go through gate 3 or 8.)

File under "Duh!"...

Two guys drove up to the gate area, where the security bunch checks out all the vehicles (no fireworks, firearms, etc.) with a baggie of marijuana in their car...sitting in plain view on the dashboard. No clue what they thought they were doing, or if they expected to get away with it. Within 30 seconds, the county cops were there, talking to them.

Part two...

Not more than 15 minutes after the drug bust, the cops were called to break up a domestic abuse situation. Some chick was beating the living bejeepers out of her boyfriend, and not being even remotely quiet about it.

Part three...

Yet more weed... A big pick-up truck gets up to the checkpoint, stops, and then does a really high-speed u-turn and peels out of the gate area. Security was doing random searches of vehicles (as opposed to the quick visual inspection while making sure all the people in the car/truck had armbands), and that was one of the ones chosen... They refused to cooperate, but one of the security troop saw a couple of large bags of marijuana in the back of the truck. They got away - but the county cops did get their license plate number.

Final installment...

Yet another car with at least one ziploc bag of weed tried to go through the security area. They earned themselves a 6-person security escort to a waiting area while the police were summoned.

First night of concerts at RockFest. Over $32K through my gate. Crazy. That's more than I made in a year of teaching!

Next interview: Monday, in Bismarck, ND. Can't remember exactly what the job is, other than orchestra...middle school? high school? elementary? No clue. Oh, well - no matter what age level it is, it has to be a better option than Nowheresville, Utah.

Lots more beans cut and readied for the freezer today... I think we ended up with 43 quarts.

Raked hay that was cut yesterday - it was already dry enough to bale. Nothing like really dry weather. Anyone want to send rain this direction?

Found a non-teaching job that would definitely be interesting - Community Education & Outreach Manager for the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Will have to check it out, and apply - after all, the worst they can do is say "no". (Well, and laugh...but unles they call me up just to laugh at me, I won't know about that part...)

Mmmm....tough to beat a raspberry malt made with just-picked raspberries...

It's good to be back in the Midwest. Southwest Utah/northwest Arizona/southern Nevada are gorgeous, but I definitely missed the green up here. As dry as we have been, that area makes us look like a swamp. (Earlier in the week, Orderville had about .1" of rain...first rain since March!) :O

Sorry, kiddle...I won't be moving to Vegas any time soon. Interesting area to visit, but I don't wanna live there.

Had the first interview of the summer this afternoon - phone rang just as I was about to head out to the barn to get started on the evening milking chores. Spent ~35 minutes on the phone with three administrator-types from a little town in southwest Utah...and have just finished making flight reservations to go out for a look-see.

I'm not holding my breath, but it did sound pretty positive over the phone...

On-line job applications can be a huge pain in the rear end. Just finished up two of them - between them, it took nearly 4 hours...and almost none of the information could be copied from one to the other, because their questions were ever-so-slightly different. Grr.

Nine applications finished today - four in MN (Edina, Eden Prairie, West Saint Paul and Gibbons-Fairfax-Winthrop), two in WI (Baldwin-Woodville and Ladysmith), 3 in Kentucky (Louisville, Winchester, and Litchfield), and one in Utah. Talked to the principal of the school in Utah this afternoon - they're interviewing people this week. Might have to use my free flight ticket (the return from CI) to get there, although he did say they could do a telephone interview. I'd rather be on-site, though, so I can get a feel for the place. It looks like it's about 150 miles from Vegas, down in the southwest corner...close to Zion National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and Dixie National Forest.

Time to go finish the online one for Bismarck, NoDak...not quite the middle of nowhere, but you can see it from there. :P

Am seriously considering expanding the area where I've been job-hunting. I know of a couple of openings in Ohio, and one in Utah. Vegas is always hiring, too...

If chicky-poo tries to set me up again with someone she hasn't met (but I have), I'm gonna flip out. We've gone through the main reason why I will never date this person before, but for whatever reason, she can't get it through her head that we're just friends, and will never be more than that. Grr.

chicky-poo: But I just want someone to be happy, that's all.
me: Uh...I've been intentionally single for a long time. Think that's just by chance?

Some people just don't get it.

First crop of hay is almost done. Only one field left to do - have 6 rounds cut on it, but since it's supposed to rain tonight, that won't be ready to go tomorrow.

I hate having to be patient. The "hurry-up-and-wait" bit about applying for jobs is a pain in the arse.

Finished raking the hayfield today...baling was interrupted by rain, though. So much for yesterday morning's 3-day forecast that said clear until tomorrow.
Bonus points to Kate for diagnosing my cold on Monday...it finally showed up last night. Colds are bad enough, but during the summer? Bleah.

I might remember to post here every once in a while...if not, well, you'll just have to check the other blog that I do update more regularly. :)