Night Out

Last weekend I went to see Joshua Bell play Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto.  It was really amazing.  We were given the tickets as a prize from an auction at A's preschool.  I have listened to Heifetz play this concerto for years on a CD that I have, but have never seen it live.  It was breathtaking to watch the music come through him.  His cadenzas were virtuosic and beautiful.  It's strange how much music moves me.  I'm sure this has something to do with having played the violin for so long and growing up with a father who is a music teacher.  

When he finished, he did the funny ritual of receiving applause, going backstage, and coming out again several times until finally, he played an encore.  Yet he didn't play some other great classical work, he played Yankee Doodle.  It started out sounding much like an alternate cadenza to the concerto, but then all of a sudden, you could hear the melody.  He then did multiple variations on the melody with clever use of double stops and even one using solely harmonics (a technique of touching the string very lightly).  It was great as it really showcased the violin's and music's whimsical potential.  Most would expect that classical music and the violin is monotone in it's solemnity, but he truly demonstrated how funny it can really be.  The whole crowd was cracking up.  

The night was made better by happy hour at Park Kitchen and a walk through the Park Blocks with Ariana.  Sweet relief from life's stress.  Now it's time to dust off my fiddle.  

Semi Update

So I finally spoke with the HR lady at the recruiting company I'm applying to and she said that she now forwards my application onto the Early Intervention clinic in Sicily and they will contact me to set up a phone interview after which point I will either be hired or not.  Hopefully this will happen rather quickly.  It also turns out that only one other person, so far, is competing with me for this position.  So, chances are good.  

On another note, the tone seems to be changing at my work regarding layoffs.  It now sounds as if I might not get laid off as the least senior staff member was merely asked to be bumped to another department.  So, perhaps I will have a job.  It is interesting, though, that this comes up as this entire threat of losing my job has put me into a tail spin of sorts and led me on a new path toward this Dept. of Defense position.  I was talking with a colleague today about the necessity of changing course during different moments in life.  It was as I was talking with him that I began to wonder if God brought this whole threat of layoff just so that I would look into another opportunity for something really amazing for my family.  I would not have considered   this at all had this not come up.  I had dreams of retiring at this place.  It has been my feeling that God wants to do something to bless Ariana and I really want to do something that will do that as well.  And this may just be it.  Also, I have been really concerned that if I were to be laid off, what would I do for 4 months while waiting to start work as this position starts in October?  Perhaps, if I did keep my job, it would carry me through those 4 months and I would be able to sustain our family until we leave.  It's all just my human conjecture of God's workings.  We'll see.  Thanks for all the prayers!

The Golden Ticket

So after my last post, it probably comes as no surprise that life seems to be a constant stress at the moment:  impending job loss, moldy cupboards/wall/insulation from holy pipe, increasing debts.  I could really use some good news about now and it seems that I might get it.  After one tough night of tears, A and I decided to pray about our situation.  The next day at work, I read in our E-newsletter about opportunities working for the US Department of Defense as an educator.  I thought it was a huge long shot, but wanted to cast my nets wide.  I first applied for a coordinator-type position that felt a bit beyond me.  Then I applied for a job at my current work in another department.  Then I heard about this certain recruiter.  I inquired and sent them  my resume.  They were interested so they sent me a Technical Interview (TI), a long list of questions to answer, and I spent almost a whole day doing it.  I submitted that this week and got a call back today saying that my TI looked "really good" and that they would like to find out where my location preference is.  The choices are Seoul, Korea, Landstuhl, Germany, or Sigonella, Italy (Sicily).  She also mentioned that I should be getting an informational packet via UPS.  Also in an e-mail she said that the TI looked really good and she would like to speak to me about where I would like to proceed from here.  All that sounds really positive to me, so it's really hard not to jump ahead of myself and think that there's a good chance I got the position.  But, I do not want to count chickens.  

Not only is this Sicily, but the job itself sounds wonderful.  It's all Early Intervention, which means service to children birth to 3 and their families.  From the questions on the TI, it sounds like they hold the same philosophy as my current agency:  trans-disciplinary model of service, role-release, etc.  I would love the opportunity to hone my skills with Early Intervention and work more with families.  

On so many levels, it feels like the golden ticket to our problems.  I am not able to disclose any of the benefits, but we would most certainly be taken care of, thus financial stress would be so much less, Ariana would be happier in the sunny climate of her youth, we would be eating food we love, in a place that is just beautiful, I would be working in a position that I really like.  It's really hard not to feel that God has put this in place for us.  It is a lesson in patience and trust for which I am thankful.  

So, as Ariana said, for all you praying types, please pray for that which God wants for us.