Friday 10th August - The Skill of Waiting Patiently



http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-definition/possess



Yesterday I spent hours and hours just waiting. Literally. It was a "clinic day", which means going to London for a routine check up, and also the various tests to do with the drug trial I am in. The clinic visit usually takes a longish time, and involves a lot of sitting around waiting. Yesterday was no exception, so I wasn't unduly surprised that, having arrived at 9am in order to get the drug trial tests and consultations completed before the actual clinic appointment at 10:45, it was still well after 1pm before I left the hospital.

There we were, all facing each other, seated in two rows of uncomfortable chairs along the basement corridor between the consulting rooms. We were all in a reasonably patient, resigned frame of mind. Every so often a door would open, and a name be called, and a little sigh escape from those of us left to wait a little longer. Actually, to wait a lot longer. No-one complained. We could all see that the consultants and staff were working as fast as they could, and at the same time, giving each of us as much time as we needed.

After all, we were only there for a morning. The hospital staff would be facing the same long queues of people day after day after day.

I wouldn't have commented any of this at all, if I hadn't googled the phrase "possess yourself in patience" to check I had remembered it correctly. It is the eighth of nine definitions of "possess"; what made me smile were the words in green!



Wednesday 8th August - what happens to your CV

I'm one of the lucky ones - I want to work, and I am working. I have two separate hourly paid teaching jobs (the sort where you get payslips!), and then I am self-employed for the rest of the hours. During term time my work is intense, demanding, all-consuming, and I can only maintain this level of "output" because of half terms and holidays.

In a previous existence, I worked in the computer departments of various companies, and occasionally had to recruit staff. This was years and years ago now, but my husband has also, in a previous years, been in the position of recruiting staff, and he followed the same procedure.

You place the advertisement. Or the HR dept, or the employment agency places the advertisement.

The applications come flooding in, thick and fast, and accumulate in a file, or a folder, or even just a pile. The pile gets randomly shuffled as more forms are added to the back or the front, or the whole lot falls on the floor.

After the closing date, you sit down for half an hour with a cup of coffee, and skim through the applications; (by now there will be perhaps a hundred or so). no, no, yes, no, no, no, no, yes, er...no.

Once you have found fifteen possibles, you stop, and return the rest of the application forms to the pile. Unread.

From the fifteen you have chosen, a careful reading should result in a shortlist of maybe five to call for interview. If not, the trawl through the next dozen of the pile will make up the list.

Sorry folks. It's really not fair, but that's how it is.

I, and my husband, have been on the receiving end of this lottery - and it is a lottery - as well as dealing it out.     

Your application may have been the first, or the last. It probably makes no difference. The only thing that can be said with any certainty is the that the slightest error on your CV will mean it WILL be discarded.

Don't be discouraged by this - it just means that it isn't necessarily your fault that you didn't get the interview. It's a numbers game - a lottery. One day, you WILL hit the jackpot. I did. My husband did. You will. Just keep the applications going, and keep your balance.

Wednesday 8th August- Olympic losers

We were all given a songbook for the Olympics, created by Portsmouth Music Services. It is a cornucopia of songs covering all aspects of the Olympic games, and I taught a number of them to the children. There was one song which stood out, written by someone called Iain Gilmour, dealt with one of the most important aspects of the games; "Losers like me"

The chorus goes

"I'm not the fastest, I'm not the best.
Look past the podium, you'll find me with the rest
There will be champions, they would agree,
There'd be no winners without losers like me"

The verses give the viewpoint of an anonymous athlete, who knows that that are not in contention for any medal, but have reached the standard of taking part in the olympic games, and can hold their head up high for that achievement. If these "also-ran" athletes didn't take part, and run as best as they can, there would be no games, no winners, no medallists.

Some of the lines from the song:

"I know I beat the odds to get this far, I know that I will never be a star"

"They say that taking part is what is key, they mean that winnng isn't meant for me"

"And I will race them one and all, I will give it all I have to give, and know that I have truly lived"

Some teachers were appalled at discovering a song about "losing" in the collection. I couldn't disagree more. It is so important to "look past the podium" in all aspects of life.

Tuesday 7th August - Nibble, munch, chomp

Today is an eating sort of day. Every so often there is a day when no packet of biscuits is safe, no bar of chocolate can hide, and toast, cereal, sweets, even fruit is all at risk.

I find myself snacking on bits and pieces of food all day.

Oh well. If I eat it all today, then it won't be there to tempt me tomorrow.

(If it happened too often then that would soon become serious! Luckily I know from experience that this mood will won't last long)

Sunday 5th August - Madame Butterfly

Last night I had the unexpected pleasure of going to see Madame Butterfly at Petworth House. We sat in a tidy sized audience, enjoying a pic-nic supper before the performance began, and then sat spell-bound through it all.

It was put on by Opera Brava, and was totally brilliant. If you get the chance to see them, I urge you to go. Sometimes there is an orchestra, but not this time. They had a pianist instead, who played superbly, sensitively, orchestrally, and the singers were amazing, all completely committed to their roles. I was caught up in it all from start to finish.

I have never seen Madame Butterfly before, and I didn't know the plot until I read it in the programme. It's a very sad story, and I was absorbed in the implications of what was happening. I had to keep reminding myself "it's just a story". The only characters that appeared to behave with any common sense seemed to by Suzuki (the maid), and Kate (Pinkerton's American wife). Oh, and the little boy, beautifully played by a nine-year-old girl.

How dare a Naval officer take advantage of such a young girl, apparently in her teens, knowing that he planned to ditch her? His opening aria was so cynical - the world there for his taking, to grasp and use as he chose?

What must Kate think, finding herself married to such a shallow, self-centred, irresponsible, heartless man, and stuck with him for ever.

How on earth did the boy ever manage to recover from finding his mother's body, and then being carried off to America by strangers?

What an extraordinarily modern story, especially since it was composed in 1904.

Hey, calm down. It's only a story. Fiction. Right.

Wednesday 1st August - Planning the First Samba Course

This has been a real slog through the paperwork, but I think I'm about there now.

Dates - sorted
Venue - booked
Flyers - err; two errors on the first run, so will have to reprint.
Session planning - complete
Public Liability Insurance - sorted (I'm a member of the Incorporate Society of Musicians which provides this as part of the membership package)
Risk Assessment - sorted
Costs - after a lot of heart searching, some research, and several changes of mind, fixed

this image, and the one above, from www.themusicjungle.co.uk
copyright themusicjungle.co.uk

Now all I have to do is hope and pray that some children actually come!