so it's been a while since I've given an actually personal update.

My jobs have changed.
Palette of the Prairie's retail area really is ceasing to exist as we sell the majority of our stuff to faux finishers here in town and as people are deciding just to hire us to do the finishes. Thus the availability of hours that I needed was not there and they really didn't have the funding to pay me for sitting around all day Friday and Saturday. (Though I do find it odd how, after 5 months, I still refer to the shop and all it's people as "we" and "our". I love them all so much and miss them terribly)

But I've managed to land an amazing job at Coffea. The people I work with are superb, the customers I serve are (almost always) incredibly pleasant and fun to talk to, the hours are wonderful, and the Coffee? beautiful. I could go on through a much longer paragraph describing all the great things that have come from this job - but I figure that, should you really want to know more - you can just ask via comment. Not everyone cares

School is drawing to a close and it's, well to be honest, it's shittier than shittastic ( ) right now. I've got a major presentation due Wednesday, Juries next Tuesday, Performance on Thursday (solo performance on trombone, which is why it sucks), Aural skills exam and program completion due within a week, journal entries due from my mentoring experience (oh boy, and have I got stuff to say about that), exams in all classes, a composition due Wednesday.

And all I want to do is go outside and garden/exercise. That's all.

I digress.
Mentoring experience.
I finished mentoring my little dude (we'll call him "Otto") last Wednesday. This kid was seriously awesome. Oldest of 3 and (as a third grader) was responsible for babysitting not only his siblings, but his cousins. Wicked smart mathematically and a very, very genuine kid.

So when the counselor tells me that his Mum complains about acting up and being a bad kid, I can't help but blame the Mum for not having enough structure in her household and for expecting way too much out of this little guy.

Which is why I almost always just went down to the computer lab and played games with him. Everyone deserves to be a kid. If you have an authentically mature personality just as a nature (Vs. nurture) aspect, then cool. That's how I've been and I don't have a problem with that. But no one should force a child to become an adult so young. Everyone can learn something from the crazy kid years and the angsty teen years. It's what forms a person.

Anyway, I'm hoping to mentor him again next fall, but I'm leaving that choice up to him. I do miss the kid though.

Continuing on:
My friends that I've made at Augie have proven to be some of the best there are. They are absolutely wonderful. On more than one occasion they've proven that they truly, truly care about me (and have actually been noted to be a little protective, which I'm okay with ).

The friends that I've kept from high school are wonderful as well. I love having my guy friends around to be big brothers and to give me Hell when I deserve it. Mah lady friends are just as beautiful as they have always been. I miss them all a lot and am stoked for this summer.

The whole Sjogren's syndrome thing is going along fine,
well, until I don't get to go to the gym daily (due to ass backwards amounts of homework)
I know it sounds counter-intuitive and if you really want it all explained, ask via comment. But basically: no exercise = fatigue. Exercise = surprising amounts of energy.

As for the near future (1 years time).
1) I'm still working on my music education degree with the long term goal of being a music therapist.
2) I'm doing my best to weasel my way in to going to Greece again next year as a Teacher's Aid (if you all know about my personal blog, you'll know how much it's killing me not to be there).
3) Friends and I are hopefully going to make it to Ireland/Scotland next summer when school is done as well (if we survive the school year next year).
4) I'm working full time this summer at Coffea. However, oddly enough, this will still give me more free time than working two part time jobs like I did last summer.

I would love to sit and type (and procrastinate) even more. But now I've actually got a meeting I have to get to (with my accompanist for my juries).

Hope you all are doing wonderfully! I know that, outside of this stress, I'm doing absolutely fantastically.

Best -
Feege