Working my ass off

What's new on the home front? Nada. Just working my ass off...and I mean that quite literally. I've lost about 60 pounds since this summer. I think I still look exactly the same, but I have been told the scale doesn't lie. I imagine that is a true statement, I just wonder where all that extra came off of. Some of my pants are a little bit bigger, but other than that I don't really know. Oh, I only have 1.5 chins now! That is the true weight loss test. The diminishing size of the tried and true double chin.

Work is alright...I am on my way to some serious burnout though. I still like my job, I just don't really enjoy the millions of hours. The bank account LOVES them though ;). Nothing like making $500 in overtime when your original check would have been $480. Nice! I started working at the Dollar counter. Before the corporate takeover Dollar was the outcast of airport auto rentals in the Wichita Mid Continent Airport. Situated in the dingy corner of the airport next to the exit this sad little counter is often forgotten about. This is partially due to the fact that NO ONE rents there. Today I had a total of 4 reservations in my 9 hour shift. Talk about a boring day. One thing I can say for sure is that the customers at Dollar sure are nice. I am much more comfortable talking with them than I was conversing with the customers over at the Thrifty counter. Maybe that's because I don't have to compete with Enterprise chit chat. (Awww I miss those guys.) OK, no one wants to hear about work and all that boring stuff. For all I know I am the only one even reading this blog.

Christmas is just around the corner. And I have turned batty. I was totally anti Christmas for the longest time. And then some Christmas spirit bit me in the ass. I have a tree (I decorated Frank (my rubber tree plant, I am sure Katie remembers him) with lights and balls and I have some presents under him. And I bought Phineas an outfit. OK so it's not really an outfit. It's more of a hat. With antlers. He looks soooo damn cute in it. I laughed so hard when I first saw him in it. He just looked so unhappy and sour. Totally cracked me up! I will post pictures sometime soon.

(Insert Fun and Amazing Title Here)

I don't have any super exciting news or any funny stories. I just thought I would post an update. I haven't really had much time to do anything fun or exciting. I am a girl on the go. That's all I do....go go go. Working at Thrifty (DTAG) has been keeping much of my time occupied. The Corporate location bought out the franchise and lucky me, I got re-hired. Lot's of changes though. I didn't think the transition was going to be quite this crazy. It certainly has settled down since all the help left. But now we are sort of a skeleton crew. Not too many employees at the moment. We all are working more days and longer hours. Whenever that first paycheck comes it will be some sweet ass cash in the bank. I was pretty sure I wanted to quit after the 1st week that we switched, but now things are alright. I am still stressed out and running around frantically at times. But for the most part I am hanging in there. I was told once in undergrad by a professor that when you are in school you think you just can't get any busier, then you graduate and life hits you smack in the face. I certainly thought that was true. I was under the impression 5 years ago that classes all day was a busy day. Life has officially given me the smack down. It takes a period of adjustment, and I think I am almost there! I still haven't gone grocery shopping in like 3 weeks though. I need to work out the whole balancing of my schedule.

Since September I have been trying to create a wonderful balancing act between Wichita Symphony, Wichita Grand Opera, Wichita Professional Wind Ensemble, maintaining a private studio of 12 students, random gigs and working 40-60 hours a week at Thrifty. I think that officially qualifies a girl as busy don't you?

The best part about all of this is that when I look at my bank account there is actually a positive balance.

I miss my friends though. I haven't had a Wednesday date with Jeff "the Hotness" in weeks. And I don't hardly ever get to go play with Jeffery anymore. I miss my cat too. Phineas got a new bed which he loves. He didn't quite fit into it (you know he is a fat kitty) so I had to modify it to create a wonderful comfort zone for Mr. Phineas Snazzy Fatsu Mc Poopy Pants.

Now I am just rambling and I am sure no one really cares. Anywho, Happy Holidays to all and I wish you all safe travels.

Spanxgiving

I'm going to be blunt here. This Thanksgiving and Holiday season in general sucks. It seems like I have always worked on holiday's. That's not the problem. Now, I just don't have anywhere to go or anyone to spend the holidays with. All my friends are away with their families. And my family is far away. Working holidays doesn't suck quite as bad when you can at least go home to a left over plate of mom's turkey and stuffing. Tonight I will get off of work and go home to a can of Campbells vegetable soup. I tried to think that today is just Thursday. Not Thanksgiving, just a Thursday. It worked for about 5 min. Then I got to work and the whole airport is full of people running to family and laughing and smiling. My counter is not a very happy place. Out of the 6 people I rented cars to today 4 of them were nasty to me. I am used to the bitchy customers and the ones who think the world stops for them. But I am NOT in the mood for crap today. If you give me guff I WILL send you away without a car. Don't think I won't because I already did to a customer. I don't care if you call customer service and tell them that I was not accommodating. That's B.S. and that lady can kiss my ass. I was pleasant and nice to her for the first 15 min. then I lost it and took the keys to my van out of her hand and told her that she should look for a car elsewhere. I know. Bitch, bitch, bitch. That's all I do is complain. Well, deal with it. I'm getting old and bitter. Look out Maxine, I am ready to give you a run for your money.

Promise

I may be pegged as a feminist for buying myself a "right hand" ring, but who the hell cares. I like to think of my new bling as a promise ring. The best part about this promise ring is that I don't have to rely on anyone else to keep a promise. It is a promise that I have made to myself.

I promise to never give up on myself or my dreams,
to love myself, to work hard for the things I believe in,
and to be better than I was the day before.

Life is short.
Break the rules, forgive quickly,
kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably,
and never regret anything that made me smile.

That is my promise.

Good Times

I've been busy! After many many weeks and a few unsatisfying jobs I finally have something that is worth hanging onto for awhile. I now realize that being in school full time really wasn't as time consuming as I once thought. In undergrad my theory teacher Dr. Wegren said that once you leave school you will be busier than you have ever been. I didn't believe him, and I should have. Working full time at the airport keeps a person busy enough. On top of that I have the exciting privilege of playing with Wichita Grand Opera, the Wichita Professional Wind Ensemble, teaching some wonderful kids, and my newest horn playing endeavor-Assistant Horn for the Wichita Symphony (1 year position). All that tends to keep a girl out of trouble! It is also good for my bank account. I never have time to spend any money and everything I do tends to give me some sort of income.

I am absolutely stoked to be playing with the Wichita Symphony this year! I can't even describe the feeling I had at the audition. It was unreal...a sort of quite calm confidence. Totally unlike the doubt that usually consumes me day in and day out. Of course the audition wasn't perfect and there are things I wish I could have done better. But for me I just wanted to play a damn good audition...I wanted to play like I know I can play...Like I play when I think no one is listening. I came pretty darn close to that on Wednesday night. The mistakes I made just rolled off and didn't affect the next note or phrase. I never snowballed into an uncontrollable mess. I was in complete control the entire time. It may have been the most intense musical moment of my life thus far.

So, all is well in the world of Amanda. I just need to figure out what I am going to do next. I kind of want to just sit and hang out doing what I am doing for awhile. But alas, the only thing that is constant in the world is change and I will be ready for the next change whenever it comes my way or whenever I decide to make it so.

Dangerous?

Out of what I like to think of as pure boredom I entertained the thought of joining a gym. I even took about 2 minutes to look at some in Wichita on the wonderful World Wide Web (does anyone even call it that anymore or am I dating myself?) I never realized just how dangerous gyms can be. One I checked out online had a consent form that is required, sounds pretty normal I thought. And then I read it.

You should be aware of the possible risk you might encounter by participating in fitness and recreation activities and/or participating in a fitness evaluation. The programs will be centered around activities that include running/jogging/walking, stretching, muscle strengthening and exercise using fitness equipment. (Well, gosh, I certainly hope so. I don't really want to pay $40 a month to go somewhere and watch TV, I can do that at home for free. And there is food at home.)
The most acute risk would be death caused from cardiac failure during exercise. Other medical problems that could result from your participation, but are not limited to: sore muscles, cramping, torn or pulled muscles, sprains, fractures, cartilage or ligament damage to major joint, nausea during exercise, rapid loss of weight and possible loss of appetite.
You may also incur some environmental risk if exercising outside, such as dog bites and traffic /pedestrian accidents. If you participate in water exercise, death from drowning would also be a risk.

Sounds dangerous. I think I will stay home today.

Know Thyself Before Entering Public

Rule of life #264 Know Thyself Before Entering Public
Example: If it is your tendency to sing while listening to your iPod do not, I repeat DO NOT listen in a public place.

Official embarrassing moment #2 ( OK, so I am sure I have had many many embarrassing moments, I am just choosing to forget about those.) I broke rule #264 in a bad way! I finally paid my library fines and decided to check out the good old Wichita Public Library for some literary fulfillment. I also decided to listen to my iPod and just tool around being happy. I got caught singing. Not humming. Singing. Pretty loudly. Oopsie. Sorry Mrs. Librarian, I forgot to use my inside voice. It's not the decibel disturbance that I created that bothers me. It's the lyrics. Of course I couldn't be listening to something classy like Ein Heldenleben or checking out my excerpt playlist for various auditions. Nope. I went balls out on Bob and Tom. Thats right. The conservative Wichita public along with a bus load of children from summer experience heard me belting BOTH "Enormous Penis" AND "Camel Toe". Why couldn't I have been listening to some indecipherable rap. At least then it wouldn't have been quite as obvious. But NO, I was listening to a barber shop quartet sing a memorable melody about a great big amount in the place where it counts and it feels like a bright sun shiny day and beavage. I am now officially totally and completely mortified and I think I will have to hire an assistant to return my books. If you are interested in applying please email your resume and three letters of recommendation. Thanks!

Random Notes from the Road

I am wide awake and exhausted at the same time courtesy of a wonderful weekend away from Wichita and a 20 oz of Diet Pepsi. I just got back from my audition in Omaha, NE. Good times and noodle salad is what it was. (Thanks Katie for the reminder!)

1. Road trips are fun.
2. A 1999 Ford Contour can get 37 MPG. Miracles do happen.
3. I really want to give Phineas a belt with a sword, some nice thigh high boots, and a hat with a feather and teach him to talk like Puss in Boots from Shrek.
4. If you are going to do an audition you really should have looked at ALL the excerpts on the list. It is Murphy's law that the one excerpt you suck at is going to be the one they ask. And no matter how wonderful your solo is the committee is going to remember candidate #26 with a smile on their face because the Haydn #31 sounded like a cat being squeezed and then squeezed again-thanks to a very well placed repeat.
5. I can get from York, NE all the way to Park City, KS using only the cruise control settings on the steering wheel. The one city with stop lights was sketchy, but due to the late hour and timed stop lights we made it.
6. A big shout out goes to the family driving the dark blue Chrysler minivan from South Dakota. Thanks for letting me watch The Emperors New Groove with your kids. Technology is a wonderful thing and even if I couldn't hear the words because I was in a different car it doesn't really matter cause I came up with my own storyline.
7. A ponderance....is it possible that Midol can be the best road trip drug ever? Minus the actual menstruation part I suffered all the symptoms that it covers. Cramps-Yes, my leg cramped up once or twice partially due to the fact that I was sitting Indian Style in my car. Headache-Yes, the setting Kansas sun piercing my retina did cause a disturbance. Backache-Of course. I sat for over 5 hours straight, of course my back is going to start to ache. Muscle aches-I think that is covered in back aches and probably cramps too. Fatigue-Yes, I just drove 800 miles over 2 days did an audition and spent the remainder of the time hanging out with a friend. Of course I am fatigued. Water-weight gain. YES-drinking all that water before the audition did cause me to swell like a raisin sitting in a pool of water. Breast tenderness-Sure. Keeping the ladies restrained for such a long period of time will cause them to get cranky. And the final symptom that Midol claims to relieve....Bloating. Oh hell YES! After eating a bag of Cooler Ranch Doritos and a 2 liter of Pepsi on the way home I was most certainly bloated. It seems to me that Midol could double their marketing and repackage their product as a road trip remedy. I'll give the people at Bayer a call.
8. Popeye's biscuits with honey are my new favorite thing!

Signing off...

I love technology....

C'mon Tiffany belt it out. You know the words...I love technology...but not as much as you you see....etc. O.K. so the blue and underlined text in the previous post turned out to be green and underlined! FANTASTIC! Rhymes with SARCASTIC....ahhhh I feel better. Thanks Mangorummermelon for the open venting!

Graduation

BLAH!!! I've got the post graduation blues! No more school, no job, just a huge pile of bills and a shrinking bank account. I promised Ma that I would post some pictures from that glorious day that I graduated with my Master's Degree in Music Performance. I think I might look a little special in most of them, so please, feel free to cut and paste in characters of your own choice. My favorite is Oprah- Successful, beautiful AND intelligent. And why in the hell is the text blue and underlined?!?!?! ARGH!

Amanda Staffon M.M.

I have officially graduated with my masters degree!! Woo! Woot! I will have pictures posted soon, but I gotta finish off my camera....cause I used ....GASP!!! a camera with real film! Anyway, graduation without your family is a little bit sad. But I want to say THANK YOU to the friends and family of friends and teachers that were there for my graduation. It really made my day! And, you all totally made up for the fact that the one person...Ahem!... that I did invite and who maybe probably should have been there totally flaked out, but I suppose that was to be expected. Now I have a M.M. or at least I will once I go to the library and request the one time fee reduction and pay my exorbitant library fines! Now I am officially over qualified for Wal-Mart and Target and under qualified for any sort of collegiate teaching position or symphony job! Ahhhhhh yeah!!!

My World Has Crumbled...

Did you know that boys don't use the pee holes that come with their little tighty whitey underwear? I sure didn't, I just assumed that because it was a feature included in the design of the underwear it was there for a purpose. I've heard a rumor that this unused feature can act like a Chinese finger trap. Yikes!

Proud Mama

My last post was Crazy Cat Lady. Now I am going to prove it. I like my cat sooo much that I am going to go off the deep end and post a bunch of pictures. Enjoy!

Bath time with Uncle David.




Yearning to be a basketball star.




Walking outside.





King of the Hill.....or at least my horn case. He enjoys the various styles of Marcus Bonna horn cases so much I think I will e-mail Bonna and see about a cat compartment or side car for my case.

Licking himself dry after his bath time torture.

I told him he could have a pony, he is practicing his riding skills.




Looks like a Vegas Wedding Night.



All tuckered out after playtime.





I know, I know...studying for orals can be grueling and tiresome.

Crazy Cat Lady

Kara and I made a pact about 5 years ago and I think I skipped some steps.
1. Graduate College
2. Have fabulous careers and cute little apartments to call our own.
3. Get married and stay married for 20+ years
4. Husbands die tragically young
5. Both relocate to cute little neighborhood with 2 neighboring homes for sale
6. Continue our fabulous lifestyle
7. Get cats 2-3 each
8. Drink tea daily in each others garden/sun porch and gossip about old times


I went straight for step 7 CATS! Alright, so I only have one, but he might have made me into the neighborhood crazy cat lady. Already I am getting questioning glances from the neighbors. But now that I think about it I probably would do the same thing if I saw someone walking a cat down the road with a cute little harness and leash. And besides, what else am I supposed to do when I am pissed that YET ANOTHER lesson has been cancelled.

Country Music Back Up Orchestra

Country music back up orchestra? I know it sounds weird, but that's the reason I got to go to Tennessee. When you are my age 14 hours in a car doesn't seem that bad in theory, but when you get right down to the nitty gritty of it your ass crack seals over and your legs forget how to function properly. Even as I sit here in my ganky "chair" typing I think to myself "Hell yeah I'd do it again."

I imagine that the most memorable moment of the trip was not performing in the Smokey Mountain Symphony Orchestra, but rather sitting in the employee parking lot of the Grand Ole Opry Hotel getting up the gumption to sneak in through the back catering entrance. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to bet past the security. It took a lot of persuading and some angry faces from Jeffery before I left the safety of my car but it was worth it. I have never seen such a huge hotel. There were a bunch of shops and rivers and trees and waterfalls in the center atrium. Very cool. And the place was crawling with more rustic types that were there for the Wild Turkey Convention. The bird not the booze!

I got to see where the "Tennessee Tech Trio" went to school and I met Mr. Labar (if you play horn you might be more excited than the rest of you folks reading). After going to Tech Jeffery showed me a waterfall that was 10 minutes away from school. I think that if I went to school so close to such a neat waterfall I wouldn't get any school work done.

Getting this picture was kinda scary. It is even higher than it looks if you can believe that! And the drop is sooooo steep. Yup, it was barfy.




O.K. I know it may not be classy to post such a picture but it was puzzling. What are you supposed to do when you are driving down the Interstate and see a big truck with a thing of sorts on it that says "Do Not Hump."? I just thought it was funny. Very similar to my iPod fiasco and its "failure to mount" syndrome.

The Contemplation of Bravery

Bravery 1) face something dangerous or unpleasant with courage and resolution 2) defy something against the odds.

Let's face it. The Microsoft Encarta Dictionary just doesn't get into the graphic details of bravery. I felt a moment of extreme bravery and stoicism today and I just don't feel justified by the definition.

What was this extreme act of bravery that I endured you ask? Today I decided that I was going to blow dry my hair like I did yesterday in some sort of vain attempt at looking less like a mongrel. I decided this too late in the morning and as part of my Maya Angelou "I will not change my mind like a girl" phase/attitude I stuck with it. I didn't have much time to shower and dry my hair. And I certainly didn't allot any time for airing out the stinky man turd that was deposited just moments before my anticipated arrival in the shower. I knew it was going to be bad when I knew the whereabouts of all of my roommates/pets and none of them were in the bathroom and yet the door was closed and the fan was whirring away. That my friends is the first sign-DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR. I certainly should have learned this before I moved off to college. Being the fool that I am I decided to risk it in the name of vanity. I needed to blow dry my hair and there was no talking me out of it today. Thanks Maya! I thought surely the cloud of grossness would dissipate as I showered and squirted lovely girly shampoo and body wash around the bathroom. I was wrong. Now that I look back on the events of the morning I know that I was naive in my thinking. I should know that when you mix a highly toxic boy poop smell and the steam of a great morning shower nothing good cam come of it. All I ended up with was a very hot and steamy boy poop smell. NO GOOD. Still, I was determined to tame my locks. As soon as I plugged in the blow dryer I remembered that yesterday I had dropped the entire thing into the toilet. Yay me! I was just so happy that my toothbrush didn't jump from it's 3rd floor home to its demise that I completely forgot about my blow dryer's swimming lesson. Nothing happened, just a quick heart palpitation as I awaited a surge of electricity that never came and a funny smell coming from the motor. I think it was burning toilet paper, but I guess I will never know.

Alright, so maybe I am being a little dramatic about the braveness that is me. Still I think I deserve some sort of award for living with boys. I think mom deserves an award too. I know she is very much aware of the highly toxic combination of shower and boy poop.

Brasil Part Um

Some random pictures from my amazing trip to Brazil.

The southern hemisphere is so much more delightful in January than Kansas!

Nate was so good at being our interpreter that we treated him to a cooler full of his favorite beer. The cooler doubles as a pretty lady with bodacious ta ta's.

Beach time frolicking!

Man in tiny swimwear handing out pamphlets.

The last day of masterclass. So sad.

This flower was my outdoor practice buddy. I called him Ted.

The Catholic Church where the girls stayed. (I think Nate was breaking the law by standing so close to their sleeping quarters)

Crossing the bridge on the way to SCAR.

Did you know that Brazilians eat ice cream with spoons and give you crazy looks if you just lick it? Well, I have to say that when it is 90 degrees out you better lick or else you will be wearing it.

On the plane ride back from Brazil I was pondering, as well as sleeping, and swelling. My provocative ponderance was why aren't all countries called the same thing everywhere. For example Spain/Espana and why do we change spellings from Brasil to Brazil. I don't really know. Anyway the FEMUSC festival in Santa Catarina was absolutely fantastic. I had the time of my life. Had there not been an amazing teacher and great horn players at the top of those six flights of stairs in an unairconditioned building I think I may have just laid at the hotel and bathed in the glory of our little air conditioner that could.

Friends will be friends running naked in the sand

Cats and dogs really can be friends. Just look at these two all snuggled in bed together.