In my last post, I said that, by the next time I blogged, my life will have changed. Well, it certainly has!
My Day Job
I HAVE A DAY JOB!!! On 23 August, I
went for an interview at a nearby school, and a few days later, I started a
5-week substitute teaching post.
I can’t believe I’ve already completed
10 of the 24 days of this contract. I have learned something every day. Of course, schools
require a lot of structure, to run smoothly, so learning all the rules has
been one of my main priorities. This school, less than 3km from where I live,
is very well run, with a proud history of high-quality education and involvement in the anti-apartheid struggle, so it’s a real privilege to be teaching there. The
staff have been welcoming, the admin side impressive, and I’ve decided
that I will enjoy every day of this adventure, for as long as it lasts.
This part of the school year is all
about exams, invigilating, marking, and reports. In my first week, I had lesson time with all my classes, but exams started in the second week, so I’ve
been invigilating. An art to be mastered, indeed – you’re not allowed to read,
write, or do anything other than the required admin, watch the students, and
ensure that there are no irregularities. So, no - I can’t crochet! 😀
While updating my CV, I realised just how many times I’d ventured
down a path that I would never have considered before, or that others tried to
discourage me from. It meant being the new person at a school or company, and learning a whole set of new skills. It also
meant a whole set of new colleagues, some of whom became friends. But most of
all, because I’ve said Yes to those exciting opportunities, I’ve lived a very interesting
life.
There’s something funny (to me) about being the new person. People
make assumptions, based on my appearance, and they often misread me. I find it
funny, because when they learn new things about me, they’re surprised, meanwhile
I’ve known them all along. Anyway, that point is neither here nor there. I’m
new, the dynamics are familiar, and I know how to conduct myself in a
professional context. And because life has taught me that “people are people”,
I have no illusions. I don’t do pedestals anymore.
Today is my last day of being 61. Tomorrow, 10 September, is
my 62nd birthday. How do I feel? My overwhelming feeling is one of
gratitude. I’m grateful for many, many things. I’ve had a challenging year,
employment-wise, with the college not paying us from January to June this year. This, of course, threw my finances into chaos, but since last month,
I’ve felt that unmistakable energy of my world turning right-side-up again. I
am extremely grateful to be emerging from this difficult phase. (The official steps to get the college to pay us are gaining momentum.)
I’m grateful for my family, especially my children, who, in
their special ways, helped me get through this tough time. I’m grateful to
my friends, who’ve kept me laughing, crafting, making music and looking forward
to gatherings. I’m grateful to my handful of close friends, who’ve been a phone
call away when I’ve needed to pour my heart out. I want to be there for them in
the same way, when that time comes.
I’m grateful for this 5-week teaching stint, which ends on 30
September. While there are no guarantees, as I would be one of many applicants,
it could turn into a renewed contract for the 4th term. Signing that
contract would give me more peace of mind than I’ve had in a while. Right now,
I’m focussing on my current responsibilities, and being level-headed about the
way forward.
My Music World
I am very happy that the music adventure I’ve had for the
past year – my concert series called Solo Sessions – has not only brought me so
much joy, but has taught me so much, and shown me that, sometimes, when you
step out of your comfort zone, magic happens. (My cousin, Tracy, once told me:
Make your own magic!)
The bottom line is, with all the ups and downs of the past
year, I have absolutely NO regrets about putting on this concert series. I’ve
done eleven concerts so far, with a project budget of ZERO!! At a time of my
life when money was scarce, I bravely engaged with venue owners and managers,
negotiating mutually beneficial business models. While I got a few negative
responses, most of the owners I approached were very keen to give my concept a
chance.
My worst experience was with the owner of an art gallery in
Muizenberg: we emailed, we chatted on the phone, I visited the place, we got
along well, and we came to an agreement on the important things: where I’d hold
the concert, the sound, the ticket price and split, the refreshments, and the
publicity. When I got home, I sent her an email detailing our agreement. And
then, on the day that the poster (which she insisted her team would do, but
which never materialised) was meant to go public, she ghosted me! She simply stopped
taking my calls and replying to my WhatsApps and emails. At first, I was really
worried – I thought she’d been in an accident, or something, and I kept trying
to contact her. Eventually, I had to accept that she had just been one of those weird people you hear about and hope never to encounter. Did I let
that deter me? Not at all! It was an unpleasant experience, she’d wasted my
time completely, but the vision I had for the concert series was much bigger
than any single unscrupulous person. It reminded me that not all
women in positions of power use their power to assist other women. To this day,
I don’t know what happened, she did not take any of the opportunities to
explain herself, so I am not interested in ever working with her.
My Trudy Routines
Starting an on-site job, after operating from home, means “something’s
gotta give”. While I’ve managed to stick to my daily routines of meditating,
journalling and most of my health regimens, I haven’t kept up my dancing. This
can be remedied, of course, with a bit of added discipline. My goal, from Monday,
is to set my alarm for 30 minutes earlier, to include a dance workout before
leaving for school. Dancing makes me happy, I have a dancing goal for the year,
and there’s no reason I can’t achieve it. The one thing I have to do, to achieve
this morning routine, is get to sleep at a decent hour at night. Hmmmmm!
All day, there's been a fierce wind blowing - the kind that precedes a heavy storm - and all I want to do is curl up in bed and feel comfy and cosy. I brought marking home, and I need to do another stint tonight.
As I settle down for the evening, I am grateful to have had a whole day to catch up with things around the house, as well as with myself. Being around a lot of people requires a certain kind of energy, which I have to get used to again. My latest college job, which ended in June, was three days of teaching per week, so quite different to full-time teaching. But I am, and always have been, adaptable.
Thank you, universe, for this exciting new beginning. The wheel has indeed started to turn.
