Ape's Life

Giant Pretzel

2009-08-17T22:18:00.002-05:00

I am always amazed when i walk through the cafeteria at school at lunch... Today's special was a giant pretzel with a side of fries.. the other day it was 2 bread sticks with some marinara and a side of fries.. yuck! its pretty bad.. i cant believe that colorado is such a healthy state and the school lunches are like that.. it gross

school is moving right along... trying to get all the kids to remember their instruments and getting music ready.. so far so good.. i havent looked like a complete idiot in front of any of my classes yet which is good. still not quite use to the middle school annoying-ness.. geez..

luckily the choir direct is an awesome guy. we talk about gardening

being a band director is really weird still.. like i completely blanked on what a bari-sax was.. or what the case might look like for one.. a baritone is the same as a euphonium right? i guess.. didnt know they came in different sizes.. concert F is a lot more compliacated than would think it would be..

my orch classes are good.. the kids need alot of help with holding their instruments and getting shoulder rests and finger tapes. a lot of work to be done.. i just wish my classes were more even. one orch has 42 kids the other has 7. they are my biggest and smallest classes

i thought i could write more but i am really tired.. i didnt even get to talk about vegas.. it was an awesome weekend and check out my pics on FB

1st day on the new job

2009-08-06T18:30:00.004-05:00

If i were to describe my day in 2 words it would be "mass chaos"

The school has been going through a massive renovation this summer. one teacher told me they were trying to do two summers worth of work in one summer.. every classroom had to be packed up at the end of last year. they are still not done with the building. the upstairs was only approved by the fire marshall yesterday. there are movers and workers and teachers and students all over the place. it was kinda hard to concentrate with all the chaos going on around me. oh did i mention that they are repaving the road infront of the school as well? the workers decided to lay fresh assfault right around lunch time so no one could get out.. ended up jumping the curb in another teacher's car... we were hungry

So all the school instruments have been in storage all summer.. and the movers just dumped everything in my room. talk about overwhelming.. i didnt know where to start. there are boxes and boxes and i have no idea what is in any of them. and one of the movers came up to me and was like "did we get all your stuff back ok?" i was like well.. i guess.. i really dont know what they had or if that giant gash in the drum was there before or if you guys did it.. ::sigh::

so the beginning of the day was a staff meeting with lots of introductions and such. i met alot of teachers and they all seem super awesome. the choir director is sooo nice and totally on board with me.. i feel better when people believe i can do it.

i just have so much to do!! lucky the expectation is that the first few weeks are still going to be chaotic for everyone so its ok if not much goes on in the classroom. and the new motto is less is more.. teach less things more in depth.. i can do that!

but i think i am going to like it there. everyone so far has been super awesome. they cant get over how young i look and freaked out that i was at a high school last year. even the movers didnt believe i was the teacher.. they thought i was 19.. ha

the plan for tomorrow is to try to finish cleaning my giant room. there is soo much crap and i am like what is all this??? i got about half way done today.. boo..

and i am trying to start the trend of eliminating the title of band director. so far it is catching on... and i guess the administration is taking a leap in hiring me.. in my introduction the AP said that in the past they have always leaned towards hiring band directors for the job. soon they will realize that orchestra teachers are better for everything. haha

i have a job! finally...

2009-08-05T13:05:00.002-05:00

well it had to come down to the wire but i finally got a job!!! its a middle school band and orch. and guitar position. yes i will be a band director! scary! i feel like i have been punished by the band gods for all my hatred... but that was TX band.. this is colorado band, there is a big difference.

but all joking aside.. this is a big opportunity for me.. learning and teaching band will be nothing but good for me. it will give me experience that will make me more "marketable" as a teacher and for full orchestra positions. and the middle school level will be a perfect place to learn.

and i will have my own office and my own room. which is very nice. and i would prefer to call it the music hall instead of the band hall and i am the instrumental music director.. not the band director. haha

and i start tomorrow. i only got the job yesterday but like i said it came down to the wire. school starts monday!! eek!! my mom is sending me her flute so i can start practicing and i am going to go look for other band instruments i can learn.

my only fear is transposing.. wtf. why?? why cant the note you read on the page be the note that comes out of your instrument.. whose dumb idea was that? a band person of course.. jk

when i was at the school yesterday there were a group of 7th graders and seeing them made me feel so much better.. you forget how young a 12 year old really is.. and it will be nice not being mistaken for a student for a change..

im sure i will be updating alot more on my trials and tribulations on becoming a band director.. hopefully it wont be too bad and mostly highlarious..

"It sounds like a boat": My recent un-funemployment

2009-06-24T18:29:00.008-05:00

I'm definetly starting to freak out about this whole job thing. I'm starting to loose hope. There is absolutely nothing out there as far as orchestra jobs are concerned. There have been only 3 actual orchestra positions that I have seen. 2 were in the same district but they were only 1 classes each (they should just combine them!) and the other one was at Denver School of the Arts. I didnt feel too bad when I got that rejection letter. I figured they went with someone with more experience.

But everything else I have been applying for are elementary music or general music. I passed on the posting for one class of orch. and 3 classes of choir at a high school. I just cant do it. I could sing for little kids but not teenagers. what a mess that would be.

I have alot of apps out in Denver public school for all kinds of stuff. but i havent freakin heard anything. and its been a month now... it just feels like forever.

I had one interview at an elementary school. the principal was freakin hott! so hott. it was nice. I got a second interview where I had to give a lesson to their summer school/camp kids. all different ages. I didnt know what the crap to do. so i just brought my violins and cello and made little coloring worksheets. so we learned about the instruments then i threw crayons at them and let them color violins and cellos. it was fun and so not as bad as i thought. and the kids were super cute. I played both instruments for them and asked what they thought they sounded like or how the sounded and one little boy was like "It sounds like a boat." I was like yeah! it does kinda sound like a boat! I didnt get that job.

One of the reasons I am freaking out so much is because im not even seeing band jobs or choir jobs. there are very few out their. and the ones you do see are band/orchestra (shudder) or I even saw one for the entire music program at an elementary school. band/orchestra/and choir! I am definetly not on that level yet. thats crazy talk.

Regular teaching positions are on the decline as well. its freaking me out. what is your deal, Colorado?! why is your school system freaking me out right now? put some of the park and recs money toward the schools please! I even heard an interview on NPR today about how the state is cutting funding to the schools. the state can't give the schools the "cushion money" aka if shit goes down for the schools their f'ed. School districts are even not hiring new subs. or they are waiting until the last minute to post their subbing applications. It is going to be hard for me to even sub in the district i worked in. lame.

Colorado does alot of stories on the schools districts in colorado. its kinda cool

well this "funemployment" has led me to work in tim's office part time. Its pretty sweet and I am so glad to have the opportunity to make money while my future employment is questionable. I am having to get use to a full work day though.. my hours were sweet at the high school.

Its offically been a year since tim and i moved to denver. kinda weird. Im in the same position i was when i got here. lookin for a job. and not knowing where to look for jobs. oh hum.

The last 2 yrs of my life

2009-06-22T16:47:00.002-05:00

This is the offical update on my life since my last posts.. ok lets see how short I can make this.

*Finished classes at Sam and graduated!
*Student taught at Wunderlich (yay) and KF (boo)
*got job in cyfair (yay)
*decided to move to denver with tim (awesome place to live)
*got our first puppy max
*got job in denver at a high school
*got laid off from job due to budget cuts
*currently working at tim's job for the summer for extra money (yay)
*now looking for new job teaching orchestra (not going well)
*missing family and friends in houston but not houston (too hot)

well those were the big points.. not bad- 2 yrs in 10 lines.

so now that you are caught up i guess i can start posting regularly.

Sorry Blog

2009-06-22T14:05:00.000-05:00

Dear Blog,

I am so sorry i have neglected you for so long. I promise I will write more to you.

Love,

April

The Sun is Still Going to Come out Tomorrow

2007-03-27T20:49:00.000-05:00

makes me feel better..

yesterday sucked

today was better, but then sucked some more..

its almost over

Way to go Walmart

2006-07-20T09:35:00.000-05:00

looks like chicken to me..

i dunno

this week has kinda sucked... i feel like im doing really bad in my english class.. i dont know why.. i think he hates me b/c i refuse to buy back that damn book.. oh well.. he wont respond to my emails either.. bitch..

think im getting over being sick..

greg called me last night.. it was random.. but i hope i get to see him this weekend and catch up and stuff..

storm fucked me up last night.. i was really scared and tim laughed at me..

anyways

kisses

ouch

2006-07-14T09:35:00.000-05:00

well i went running on wednesday and my calfs hurt really bad and i look funny when i walk... yah..

dont know what is going on this weekend.. hopefully me and tim will make it out to galveston to ride jet skis... i dont think we have ever done that together so it will be fun.

i really really really dont want to go to english..

BAH

ok well what else?

i dont know.. nothing really

im tired and naps are my friend

=)

Jump Rope Camp

2006-07-13T09:21:00.000-05:00

apprently shsu holds a jump rope camp.. im very dissappointed i didnt know about this.. curse!

deja vu

2006-07-12T14:19:00.000-05:00

i really hate when the same thing happens over and over again at the same time everyday.. usually it is something little like hitting the same stop light or something but it really bugs me.. guess i just dont want to feel like im in a rut..

Wasting Time

2006-07-06T09:28:00.000-05:00

well summer school started again today... right now i have an hour break between classes so i thought i would kill some time..

today is sam's birthday! yay! so hopefully we will do something fun tonight.. i must nap first tho.. im freakin tired..

my first class was pol sci.. my teacher seemed really cool.. i think she is one of those nutty older ladies.. she was saying some pretty weird stuff.. but i think i will like that class.. tim's neighbor angela is in there so thats good and tony is in there too so i know some people.

next i have english.. and i went to go see what the book was and i think it is the same book that i used last session but i freakin sold it back already and got like 10 bucks for a $50 book.. im upset.. i think ill just ask my mom for the money =)

tim is taking a class too so thats kool

i feel bad for allison.. she is in school for like 5hrs everyday.. that sucks

my tummy hurts today

i cant wait to start workin out again... it is going to be so awesome.. hopefully i will have some energy then..

still havent heard back on any of the jobs i have applied for.. no one is freaking hiring.. ugh

ok must do other stuff now.. peace

June: in review

2006-07-03T18:32:00.000-05:00

a lot has happened in the last month.. it has been really crazy around here..

well lets see

summer school was ok.. i ended up with a B and 2 A's my classes were crazy, the teachers were crazy, and i had some stupid people to listen to.. but i made some friends and stuff like that

well june 11th tim's dad passed away. he had heart problems and was in austin when it happened.. it has been really hard but tim, misty, his mom and i are taking it one day at a time. so thanks for all the thoughts and prayers for tim's family.

finally got settled into the new apartment. i still havent slept in my bed because i dont like being there alone.. most of the time i stay with tim. but i love my place.. just gets lonely every now and then

well i got a new car =) the jimmy bit the dust.. when a mechanic refuses to fix your car, you know something is wrong.. so i convinced my mom to put some money down on a brand new car for me. i got an 06 chevy cobalt and im obbessed with it. i love it so much. yay!

so we have been trying to relax lately after everything that went down this month.. currently we are working on having a garage sale at tim's house tomorrow.. hopefully they will be able to get rid of a lot of their stuff.

but thats all really that has been going on with me... in case you were wondering.. but ill try to post more.. i know i say that like all the time but i will try still

okie dokie

quickie

2006-05-30T21:34:00.000-05:00

well its been awhile again..

i was in houston with tim for almost the entire week last week..

lots of stuff happened like graduation and parties and seeing old friends..

it was a crazy week..

so ive been moving all my stuff over to wendi's.. finally out of hillside and i dont have to go back. i hate moving..

so summer school starts in the morning.. not excited.. and i need to buy books ugh

this is whats up

2006-05-12T11:44:00.000-05:00

ok this post might be somewhat random, seeing as i have had about NO sleep lately.. ::shakes fist at mexicans::

ok well school is offically over.. i am waiting on ONE grade to be posted.. if it is an A (pleasee lord) then i will have the 4.0 i have wanted all semester! and that would be amazing.. then i could brag..

i hate mexican labor.. been working at my dad's this week.. til like 2-3am.. not fun.. and i cant find my work shoes b/c im on my feet for ridicolous amounts of time and my other shoes are too small and my feet feel like they are bleeding.. and i cant bend over right now b/c my back hurts so bad.. i think i might have to invest in those gellin shoe insert things.. they better help or i might kill a mexican..

so now im working at the doctor's office.. yes i worked til 3am and got up at 8am to work some more.. why cant money be free?

or rent be free? yes that would be better..

so today tim and i are leaving for nach-a-nowhere for my sisters graduation tomorrow.. get to see the family and such and hopefully eat some good food.. i guess thats when u know u are in college and poor when being excited about going out to eat real food is almost more exciting than seeing your family..

TUESDAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! early gifts are excepted.. already got two.. wendi got me the purse i have been eyeing at walmart (hah) and christina got me a bottle of margarita (brown paper bag included) oh and hannah got me he most awesomest sunglasses that cover up my ugliness..

plans for the birthday are kinda just going with the flow.. well considering that tom's birthday is sunday and clints is monday, we will already be partying..so i figure it will just continue for another day..

then thursday next week we are off to the river! im way excited b/c huntsville friends are going and me and tim will be sleeping in the same tent this time..

anyways i have a headache so i think im going to stop there.. OH BTW LOST is awesome.. cant wait til next week =)

ALMOST DONE!

2006-05-03T18:33:00.000-05:00

school is close to being done that i think i might go crazy..

im soo ready to be done with this semester from hell..

had my meeting with dr. smith and it went really really well.. i was really nervous b4 but once i got in her office it was just easy to talk to her and stuff.. and i told her everything i wanted to so it was good

been trying to eat really healthy lately.. seems to be going well

LOST is all new tongiht!!! im way excited

hannah an i decided that we should never do anything alone together... we have the worst freakin luck in the world.. its kinda ridiculous... first we went to the woodlands high school to do some observing and no one was freakin there with their orchestras.. so we were like NOO so then we were like fuck it lets go to the mall.. so we went to wet seal and i was trying on sun glasses and i dropped a pair and they totally broke, so i was like RUN AWAY! then we went to the pet fair and they had PUPPIES out so we were playing with them and they were like super hyper and hannah picked one up and it like jumped out of her arms and landed really hard on the floor and it started crying and it was really bad.. so i broke sunglasses and she broke a puppy.. then we got back to huntsville and i had to go teach and my car wouldnt start!!! worst day ever..
this is one of the puppies but not the one that fell... cute huh?

but my car started again.. so yay

so im saying FUCK YOU to everything else today and sitting on my butt and waiting for LOST..

freakin tired..

2006-04-21T09:14:00.000-05:00

im so unbelieveably tired right now.. i could cry im so tired... and last night i did..

ugh i hate my 9 am class... this is the second class she has cancelled this week.. i could so be sleeping right now... UGH

requium is going to be outrageously shitty...

its really sad how often i hear freshman talk about me behind my back.. thats pretty highschool... but if u are going to do it then try not to tell it to MY FRIENDS... so hears an idea.. just tell other freshman b/c they arent my friends.. glad i could narrow it down for u.. now go sit in the back of the section now..

ok

tim started bartending at jose's last night.. me anu christina allison and heather had dinner there together last night.. and dr. hanna and kyle kindred where there.. and it was weird

it was like an "orchestration project= done" party.. i only had one margarita tho.. it was way yummy.

but i think it made me sick.. or maybe its the lack of sleep

either way

i wish i was in my bed right now

i guess i could go to the bank but walking does not sound appealing right now..

LORD help me if we dont have band director today..

i'm bored

2006-04-20T11:24:00.000-05:00

yes.. i dont know what to do with myself right now... the last couple of days has been deicated to my orchestration project.. which has been really really shitty.. but now its done and i dont know what to do...

im really mad at the whole project thing.. especially since i was done yesterday and then i asked him what to do since my piece just kinda stopped... and he was like well where is your last page? and i was like U ONLY GAVE ME 2! so he went searching and made me do another page of music.. i was way pissed..

yesterday was hell and the worst day ever to try to look cute in a skirt and heels.. my feet felt like they were bleeding by the end of the day..

orchestra rehearsal was questionable..

its my mom's birthday

happy Easter

2006-04-16T15:34:00.000-05:00

what an easter..

played a church gig this morning with heather brad and mike.. it was pretty kool.. we hardly played but got paid $125.. so it was alright..

i was suppose to drive out to friendswood to see the family but decided that i wasnt going to make it out there b4 my grandma want to leave to go back to san antonio.. so im doing laundry and listening to music and doing homework... alone...

yeah i have so much freakin laundry to do.. and the dryer isnt drying like it should so im still on my first load.. ugh..

i found an abundance of hangers..

im so bored.. i cleaned most of tim's house.. guess that will be my easter present to him..

oh and my give-a-damn's busted..

Yes

2006-04-15T22:47:00.000-05:00

orchestra is driving me CRAZY!!!!! it sucks that im starting to hate it.. kinda sad actually.. but im glad i have people that i can talk to about it to..

its just the issuse of people not caring and there being no motivation/standard...

if no one tells u that u are doing something wrong, then u wont change anything.

if no one pushes u or expects better out of you, then y try?

if u do work hard and dont get rewarded for it, then y try?

im tired of not "hurting peoples feelings" or "having a bad attitude"

and i let someone have it one their evaluation last week... i even wrote out a rough draft for the comments section so i wouldnt forget anything.. and i should have done that same thing on others but i got distracted and didnt think about it.. but i hope that person reads what i wrote.. and i know they prob wont think it was me that wrote it and that might be my only regret is that i didnt put my name in big bold letters next to the phrase "FUCK YOU"

i dont care if orchestra people read this.. if any are, then for u i say: GO FUCKIN PRACTICE, U NEED IT, TRUST ME

and like there are just little things that go on and i am like, wait a min.... what? but i was informed of the motto: "dont let them know we suck" and it all made sense.

and i mean am i a bad person for not wanting to settle for anything less than the best? i dont think so.. esp. since im paying money for it now..

it is just slowly slowly going down hill.. and it bothers me b/c i dont know how it is going to be a year from now.. like when i am playing my last concert with the orchestra and the choir this time next year, is it something that i am going to be proud of and say yeah im proud to be in that orchestra, or am i just going to be cut? i dont want to be in that situation!

there are so many situations that i dont like to be in right now.. but i dont know what to do b/c 1. i have allowed myself to be treated that way, 2. im not doing a damn thing about it but venting to my orch friends and writing what ever the hell i want to about on here...

music does not/should not equal politics

if u are good then u sit in the front, if u are bad u sit in the back. why is that such a hard concept?

i dont know.. i have probably said too much... dont want big brother on my ass now..

p.s. its very late and i am extremly tired but i cant sleep

i forgot about LOST

2006-04-09T21:04:00.000-05:00

... in my last post...

just wanted to say that i think it is starting to get really good.. i think it is to the point in the season where they need to just wrapping up all the loose ends and creating new ones that can roll over to the next season.. because i want answers damnit. and it seems to be going that way so yay

oh and on a side note: oprah will be really good this week..

ok thats all

i am obsessed with Lost and oprah

=)

my week in review

2006-04-09T20:41:00.000-05:00

well monday was the doctors office.. ::sigh:: it just wont get any better for me..
not only do i have crohn's disease but also ulcerative colitis.. yum.. so ulcers in the intestines and now in the colon too.. score(sarcasm) so i guess the blood test he ran on me was like ok u either have one or the other.. so my crohns disease part of it was threw the roof.. like he had a bar gar of me compared to a normal person and it was like 3 times.. and he was like the graph only goes so high, u maxed out the graph.. so i was like oh yay (again sacasm) so then he shows me the ulcerative colitis part and it was across the board positive..

so now the meds... oh god the meds.. its quite insane in my opinion.. 2 pills three times a day.. thats 6 pills a day, 180 pills a month. they came in the tallest medicine bottle i have ever seen and there were two of them full.. and the pills are really huge and bright ass blue.. like i have one of those giant gradma pill boxes with the 7 days in like huge letters and they fill up the box for each day.. and it costs 100 bucks a month with insurance, 360 without.. thats alot.. to me..

so there is that..

recitals everyday this week! they are killing me.. i always have to say to myself "keep your eyes on the prize" i.e. graduation a sesmter earlier

well friday was allison's birthday! it was super fun. we went out to dinner in college station then went out to northgate to go clubbin.. and it was somewhat disasterous but it was all over eventually and everyone is still alive.. aaaaaamen

and then saturday night we went to see the blacked eyed peas in concert at the woodlands.. it was super fun too. =) milly and bisty came out too. cant wait for the rascal flatts to come!

so pics from this weekend's festivities up in the gallery under mine and sam and allisons

what else.. tonight in starting to study for music history ugh

this week was kinda pointless musically. i think if u are in the orch it would make more sense.. except for friday..

friday was the chamber orch in the contempary festival.. playing (dun dun) the shostachovich... we practiced for like 2 hours after not playing it all week.. rehearsal was ok and then i had to convince myself just to go for it.. some times i have to tell myself that i know it and i know the fingerings and everything so just go for it.. and i did and it was amazing.. it was like so amazing it wasnt even funny.. it was soo good, i did so good and i was soo nervous.. this goes on my list of great musical experiences.. it was that good.. and tim came and i think this was one of the only ones he truely enjoyed.. he was like walking with me back to the music building and he was singing it and askin me all these questions about it.. it was really cute.. he was like hyper over it. but so was i..

ouch.. i just dropped this glass thing on my foot and hurts and i dont want to look at it yet..

this post is getting long but i dont care..

i had the biggest piece of cheesecake ever this weekend at johnny carinos.. and i loved it

ok i guess ill cut it off here.. sounds good

Quick Post

2006-04-03T15:34:00.000-05:00

ahh going back to the doctor today.. he proved one thing.. IM NOT CRAZY.. i DO have crohn;s disease.. its official..

but now he wants to put me back on this medicine that my other doctor told me wasnt even for what i had.. so me and my mom are going to go see whats up..

i went to three recitals yesterday.. i was going to cry

chamber orchestra concert went well.. i could have done better.. just want to prove that i can do it.. but then mr. wilson called me a badass at anu's party so that made my day..

misty got wasted saturday...

FYI

LOST is getting really good.. im super excited about this weeks episode..

ALLISON IS GOING TO BE 21 ON FRIDAY! yay! off to college station for some mad partying.. then saturday to the woodlands for black eyed peas concert

tim worked at my dads this past saturday.. now he cant give me a hard time about mexican labor.. we are going to work together next week so hopefully that will be better..

requium stared today.. i guess im sitting first chair.. i dont know

bah.

my ipod is completely dead sad day

i know some people that are pretty fucked up.. and i dont understand..

well i guess i better go out to tomball now.. just want to start updating more often

Word Search

2006-03-31T09:39:00.000-06:00

this past week has been crazy...

it all started last friday when i went to get advised... dr. barrett told me that i could graduate in december of 2007! i was like what?! i was so freakin excited.. i was like skipping out of AB4.. i thought i wasnt going to graduate til spring 08..

but the only thing is i have to take summer school and my schedule has to be perfection..

so i have been running around all week trying to make it work.. i had to be approved to take an overload semester in the summer b/c u can only take 6 hours each session and i want to take 9.. but that is all taken care of.. and i got permission to do two concert credits in one semester so im going to be like living in the recital hall the rest of the semester..

but everything has fallen into place.. the only thing i am waiting on is department approval for one of my education classes and today i made a request for summer financial aid.. coming up with $3000 this summer is NOT going to happen.. but i will make it happen..

im going to be sooo poor.. wait i am poor.. there is absolutley no food in my apartment or tim's apartment.. its weird but i can actually say that i have no food.. oh wait.. i have a can of walmart brand ravioli and like 2 little bottles of ensure.. =(

the same old crap with orchestra.. SHOSTAKOVICH IS TAKING OVER MY LIFE..

thats all for now.. im going to go listen to hannah play piano now..

ah today

2006-03-09T00:29:00.001-06:00

this is...

a giant rice krispy treat..

they sell this in the store at school.. it kinda disturbs me.. but if i ever saw someone on campus eating it i might think they were my hero..

soo i spent two hours in the kat klub today with heather.. it was amazing.. then we decided to go to orchestra

my brain is offically on spring break

not going to class tomorrow.. just orch at 12:30

allison sam and me when on spring break shopping spree today.. i spent 85 on new clothes and shoes today.. im really glad i found shoes tho cuz i really needed them.. and i got a lot of cute clothes to wear in florida yay!

sam cracks me up.. she had me almost peeing my pants in Ross..

LOST tonight was a rerun.. sad day

laura winters will be on every game show known to man
she rules

i like how i have offically made my week so much easier for myself.. bah!

i wish it were monday!

night shift #1 tomorrow night.. oh joy

i need a swim suit

that is all