Flush It Friday: What Day Is It Again?
You guys made it to the end of the week! And I did too, I think, maybe. What day is it again?
Sources are reporting that it is Friday. This is the day that we unload all of the worst parts of our lives (not that part, you weirdo) unto the internet, reflect on the positive, and move forward with jammin’ tunes. I’m afraid I can’t top the magnificence of a pulverized butt, creating a human, or being rammed by a pointy hell-wagon, but I can do one thing: complain loudly about very specific things that very few people can relate to.
Confession time: in the real world, I’m not actually a dead composer. Srs. I teach high school and middle school instrumental music, and this time of the school year is a non-stop assault of things that have to be done and kids that have to be yelled at. In the past 8 weeks we’ve had 3 solo and ensemble competitions, 4 state-wide band competitions, a percussion festival, two middle school festival trips, 4 rounds of auditions for next year, 4 evening concerts, and 2 events for incoming 5th graders. Many of these involve supervised bus rides and stupid amounts of planning. And, if you can maths, you’ll notice that that’s more than 8 things, so many of my weeks have ended with me drooling a lot while Lady Stockhausen attempts to revive me with beer and X-Files episodes. She’s a saint.
So if you’ve ever had to wear a tuxedo while managing dozens of kids on a stage full of 30+ percussion instruments and scrambling to track down music for the 8 kids that forgot theirs as you answer questions that you’ve already answered from 10 other kids at the same time that parents are asking even stupider questions while you try to find the 5 missing instruments for the 6th ensemble that’s performing that night in the midst of realizing that it’s only Monday, you can rejoice with me that summer is nigh. With all that in mind, I give you my Good, my Bad, and my Ugly, but not in that order.
The Ugly: The horrible personal toll from miraculously pulling off all the above, getting next year’s enrollment from the office, and seeing that your best students are dropping band class. I’ve lost collective hours from staring at rosters while my eyes and soul slowly melt.
The Bad: My concert tonight was rescheduled to next week due to potential severe weather. Next week is my state’s craft beer week; things were supposed let up, allowing me to attend some festivities to unwind from this semester. And I’m not kidding, one of my flute students has some sort of body spray that smells just like a citrusy IPA, so that sort of adds insult to injury during that class.
The Good: At the end of the day, I love my job. As stressful as it is, there’s a sincere and intangible payoff to being a music teacher. One of my 6th grade students wrote me a note today in which she told me how much she loves my class, and she can’t wait for next year because I’m an awesome teacher. I made the mistake of reading it on a quick break in class, and almost came back saying “Alright guys *SNIIIIFFFFFFF* let’s check out measure 70 *HUFF GUFF BLUBBBBB*.” Oh yeah, and we’ve got new Mamaleek on our hands! They premiered a new track over at Noisey yesterday, and if you’re familiar with this strange California duo, you’ll know to expect the unexpected. It’s definitely a different take than last years He Never Said A Mumblin’ Word, and I can’t wait to hear what they do with the new full length. Preorder physical copies here and keep tabs on their Bandcamp page for when the album arrives on May 26th.
Alright, you know the drill. Give me your good, your bad, your ugly, and share some sweet tunes if you feel obliged. Go!
