Yoga and Doggies in the Window

"Hey Lady!"

I turn around, half expecting to see some bag lady calling out to hassle me for money but then I remember where I am - the "bums" here want no more from you than to wish you a good day.
"Oh, sorry," the not-so-baggish woman yelled back when she saw my face, "Wrong lady."

I kept walking. I was on my lunch break from work and had just finished my sack lunch sitting in my usual spot, enjoying the spring air at the sadly empty, yet sunny downtown "plaza". I was interested in checking out a little fitness studio I had recently discovered across the street.

Reaching my destination, I tried to open the fitness club door, but it seemed to be stuck. I pulled harder, noticing it was jammed somehow at the top. With one final massive, fruitless yank, I decided it was locked, despite the "open" sign in front.

"You can only get in with a card," the same woman said behind me, who had just caught up, "though I don't know how they expect to get new members that way".

I agreed, mentioning I was curious to learn if they offered a Pilate's course or something similar. Now that I'm downtown everyday (and actually have a regular paycheck, which was my stipulation for joining a gym or class), I've thought the possibility of taking a fitness class of some sort again. I've been enjoying the weather by taking walks and just took a long bike ride with my mom this weekend, but I have wanted to try a course again since my adventures with my "Healthy Back" and "Breathing and Moving" classes at the conservatory in Berlin.

"I'm a yoga teacher here, downtown," said the woman, who also happened to be appropriately dressed in workout attire. "My studio is right down the street. You should join one of my yoga classes - it's a great workout and I think you'd love it!"

Interested, I listened to her talk more about her yoga studio and all the places she had gone to study yoga. Then she mentioned she also teaches a belly dancing course. Who would've known this kind of thing exists in NW Iowa!

Still chatting, we walked the 2 blocks to her studio where she opened a deceivingly plain door of one of the older buildings downtown, revealing a large, bright room of wooden floors, mirrors, and colorful middle eastern scarves decorating the walls and windows. I took the pamphlet she gave me and though I was eager to try out some of the classes, I wondered how I would be able to organize the different classes with my carpooling schedule (as well as the days I "get" to take the car - remember, I work 25 miles from home and don't have my own car).

While it probably won't work out with my schedule, I'd still be really interested in finally trying a yoga course. In my "Healthy Back" class we practiced several yogic positions but they were among many other aerobic/stretching moves. I've always heard yoga is good for musicians for the physical and mental concentration training, but I tried Pilate's instead, for the intense workout. Apparently yoga does the same sort of ab training, according to this teacher. As for belly dancing - I've actually been interested in trying that for awhile. I think it would be a really fun workout.

On the same street as the original, locked fitness studio, a different shop caught my attention from all the noise that was coming from inside. It was a pet store filled with tons of puppies, yipping loudly enough to be heard on the street outside, as well as jumping all over each other from inside their pens.

I knew I wanted to see the puppies, so today I decided to take a little excursion to the pet shop in the second half of my lunch hour. When I walked in, I was hit by a wall of horrible stench from too many animals being crowed into one window-less space, not to mention the smoking owner. Nonetheless I was warmly greeted by hoards of energetic little pups who literally jumped straight up in the air from behind their pens in order to be the first one to lick my outstretched hand. Slowly I made way around all the cages and pens, sad about the ridiculously small living quarters of the little dogs, but happy to spend a little time with each of them and let them lick my hand or scratch behind their neglected little ears.

If I could've, I would've taken at least three puppies home with me, especially the little ones cowering in the corner who were just crying out for a loving home. I've wanted a dog since I moved to Berlin almost 3 years ago, but for logistical reasons it has never worked out, not to mention the cost, which I couldn't even begin to consider on my non-existent budget. Now, back at home, my parents are all-too-happy to keep their new house pet free after years of 2 precious cats and various dogs.

So, much to my dismay, I'll just have to keep waiting for the day when I live in a pet-friendly place and finally get to take a furry little bundle home with me. I think it'll be awhile, because in this regard, I think American landlords are much stricter than Germans dealing with pets in apartments. There are so many apartment-dwelling dogs there. True, most Americans places use carpet, whereas Europeans don't, but still. Here you're lucky if you can have a bird or maybe a cat. So, until I can call a dog my own, I will probably just continue to visit the puppies in the pet store on my lunch break. It's just too bad after a trip there I smell like a puppy, myself, for the rest of the day!

What's all this job talk?

My boss surprised me on Monday by asking if I'd like to come into work everyday, Monday-Friday, instead of just 3x a week. In the interview there had been talk of the position turning into more hours, but I didn't realize it would this soon! But currently there's lots of work to be done, especially since it's tax season, and I readily agreed to the new schedule. I'm more than happy to speed up the loan repayment/savings process!

So far I really like the work I'm doing. The days go by fast and I enjoy the organizational nature of the work. I have to admit, having my own desk is fun, plus my boss has been nice to work for so far. I also like the routine, but I'm still trying to get used to going to bed earlier so I can pull myself out in time to leave town by as early as 7a.m. to carpool the 25 or so miles to the next city over with my Dad or our family friend. Of course, then I end up getting to work way too early (just love not having my own car! Where's the train?), but tomorrow I've decided to get a cup of coffee at the cafe around the corner from my workplace and read for a little bit instead of beating my boss into the office.

Although I've had more odd-jobs in my life than I can count, this is the first full-time job that could last for more than a summer vacation from school. For that reason, somehow in my mind this job gets rated differently because, at the risk of sounding melodramatic, I know this is the type of thing I could potentially do lifelong. Although it's just been four days, and I do enjoy the work, I have found myself thinking that I'm somehow confined to an 8-5 job in Northwest Iowa and my chances for a musical day job (not to mention moving out) are over for good!

Of course, logically I know that with anything in life, things come and go in phases and it God uses things for the future in ways we can't see now. Not only that, but it's about time I have a consistent job to pay back my student debt. At the same time, it has inspired me to want to consistently practice even harder knowing how fast I could become complacent, slowly forgetting about my musical dream, and it could all slip away! Now with my bargain mini disk recorder and microphone I ordered from e-bay, I can even start recording myself to catch all the bad habits I've probably acquired from not having a teacher in over 7 months!

I finally got a (real) job!

It only took, well...5 1/2 months, and it isn't what I studied or even a full-time position, but it is a good job as a secretary/assistant to an attorney 3 days a week and I'm happy!

Since being back home in Iowa I have slowly been able to earn money in various ways to pay back loans from 7 years of studying music (and German). The best surprise for a job has been playing in the local symphony, especially I didn't know they would even be looking for a replacement principal oboist until I moved back. Working at the fine jewelry counter in the department has been a fun job with really nice co-workers, but unfortunately just not enough hours (though I'm still "on call" there). Add in the school concerts, the extra music gigs, and that one-day-job in the previous post, and you have a potpourri of odd-jobs, slowly putting pennies back into the bank account.

But needing something a bit more consistent, I signed up with the job placement agency after not having much luck of my own with the local job market. After a few false alarm job options, the first one being a position I was trained in for which ended up being cut entirely, as well as a few others that didn't work with my inflexible schedule (symphony school concerts, trip to Chicago) the search was put on hold.

Since then, however, I've been back and ready to start a job. I've also been counting the days until my first hefty student loan repayment bill comes due this month. Last weekend I signed up with a nanny agency and that has already shown some serious possibilities which I will have to consider. But, as far as immediate work, I finally decided I needed to bite the bullet and apply for the part-time position cleaning rooms at a local motel. Almost as soon as I made that decision, I got a phone call from the job placement agency, telling me I had an interview the next morning at a law firm.

The interview went well and I was asked to start Friday (today). I was excited, but with my experience from the last agency-recommended jobs, I wasn't sure if it would end up working out as planned. Sure enough, inevitable drama ensued and I found myself caught up in the middle of a debate between the employer and the job agency. Turns out the employer didn't want to necessarily pay the agency their steep service fee for "finding" me, therefore breaching their contract. So the agency basically told me the job was off and I was not to go in on Friday.

However, in the midst of several phone calls, finally a compromise was made: The agency would discount their fee dramatically, and the employer would pay IF I committed to working for at least the next 60 days (so as to make it worth paying the agency fee for finding me...). Well, what the employer suggested next caught me off guard: If I committed to working at least the next 60 days and then for some reason I left before the 60-day period was over, I would need to pay half of the fee back.

If it had been much more than 60 days, I would never have consented since I really can't promise I will stay here. But since I know that I will be here for at least the next 60 days, I did commit. So the employer, the agency, and I all decided I would, indeed, come into work on Friday since an agreement had been met. (In case of having to sign a contract committing me to the fee-repayment, I did write my own contract protecting myself in the case the employer wanted to abuse my commitment in any way).

With a bit of trepidation, I went to work today curious to see what it would be like to work with this person, but am happy to say that the issue was thankfully not brought up, absolutely no contracts were brought out, and it seems that everyone is happy. I liked my first day and the work seems like it will be interesting. Yay!

A Spring Forward

The clocks have moved forward - but my job search is ticking somewhat behind!

Well I did have my little one-day job last week Monday. Because of the blizzard we had one 1/2 weeks ago, the training session for the job had been postponed twice, but it finally took place. Going into it, I really wasn't quite sure of what to expect. However once I learned what we were doing, it was all very easy. I was to bid on property taxes which hadn't been paid by their owners. The company which I was employed by would purchase these expensive property taxes and in turn charge the original owners (pretty high) interest, giving them the opportunity to keep their land or property instead of losing it.

So, with that acquired knowledge, I rolled out out of bed early Monday morning and was on the road shortly after 4:30 a.m. en route to a "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" village in Nebraska. Worried I'd be too tired after a late symphony rehearsal the night before, I actually found the dark morning drive on the winding Nebraska state highways accompanied later by the sunrise, and of course a thermos of coffee, to be a pleasant drive.

After the almost 3 hour drive I made it to the tiny town consisting of a courthouse and a few other buildings. Since I'd arrived twenty minutes early, I hung out in my car until 7:30 a.m. when I got out to go sign in and get my bidding number. An elderly farm couple waiting in their pick-up truck saw me open my car door and they jumped out just in time to beat me to the courthouse door in order to be first in line (the bidding was "first come, first serve"). Although it didn't make any difference to me since I was bidding on completely different things, I was amused by their "skill". As we waited an hour for the county treasurer to show up to hand out numbers, more and more people came in to stand in line. Finally the bidding numbers were handed out and I thought we could begin, but turned out the auction wouldn't start for another two hours.

Luckily amid the few farm buildings and other strange, unidentifiable shacks which made up this town, there happened to be a "cafe" right across the street where greasy breakfasts were to be found. Glad to be able to kill time and put food in my increasingly hungy stomach, I gleefully crossed the street, hopping over snowdrifts, and opened the door of the dark, smokey little mystery cafe. I was happy to see two familiar faces of ladies who had also just gotten their bidding numbers, and we ended up having a nice chat over eggs, fried bacon, and toast smothered in butter and jam. The auction follwed swiftly, and before I knew it, I was on the road back to Iowa. Too bad there's only one property tax auction a year because I'd love to do a job like that full time!

In addition to having orchestra rehearsals in the evenings all last week, with a concluding concert last night, I drove to Sioux Falls, South Dakota last Wednesday to audition for the sub list of their orchestra. Though I hadn't felt nervous going there, I found my hands shaking mercilessly after the first few notes I played. I tried to stay focused and blow through the nervousness, and except for a couple bumps in the road, the audition went pretty well overall and luckily I made the sub list. Since the orchestra doesn't currently need any oboes, I may not get called for the remainder of this season, but it's good to just make myself available whenever possible and who knows when they might call.

And referring back to the introduction of this post, my first priority remains, as always, finding a job. While I continue to wait for the job placement agency to work its magic (they keep telling me something will turn up), I have actually just applied for with a nanny agency. I don't necessarily want to be at the mercy of an unknown family, living under a foreign roof and following the rules of surrogate parents at this point in my life, but I do love working with kids. In addition to teaching English/babysitting the 3 German kids in Berlin, I've worked with kids virtually every summer since high school in some form or another. And with a live-in position I could pay back student loans and save money by not paying rent. I'm curious to see what that option holds!

I also received another invitation to a German orchestra, much to my surprise, this one in Cologne. Finding it hard to pass this up, but with absolutely no money to fly over for the audition, I mustered the courage to call the orchestra office last week to ask about the possibility of sending a CD recording of myself playing the audition repertoire. The audition coordinator couldn't give me an answer (I thought they'd scoff at the idea), but very nicely gave me the private numbers of the orchestra's oboists so I could call them and ask personally (was I dealing with a German office person??). However, after many attempts to get past the answering machine, I still haven't reached them but I will certainly continue to try until I get my answer - even if it's a "no". Can't hurt trying!

City Daily Photo Blogs

My newest fascination on the Internet, helping to ease the travel bug (or perhaps make it worse) are: City Daily Photo Blogs. Of course, being partial to Berlin I already have that photo blog under my list of links. But it's really cool to go through different cities - some big, some small - all around the world and see things through the lens of people who live there.

I just saw a funny picture from a photo blog in Cairo at a supermarket. The sign advertises "Austrich Chunks" in Arabic and English. The blogger clarifies the poorly translated phrase as "ostrich steaks," making the meat then sound slightly more appealing. Seeing that reminded me of when Bethany and I tried in vain to describe the word "chunk" to a group of Germans in our orchestra in Freiburg. We finally settled with "stückchen," or, "little piece". Don't ask me how that got started, but some words just don't translate well!

Still snowed in by the storm (which is why I have so much time to look at these photo blogs and blog about it!). My training was postponed again, this time till Sunday when everything should be cleared by then. We have a huge drift of snow out the kitchen window that is close to 6 feet tall and growing as the wind keeps blowing the snow!

Iowa Gets a Blizzard!

This is the view from our front door and back door. The fuzzy image is snow falling and being blown wildly around. It looks much worse in real life, getting whiter by the minute. (You can see the police car in the first picture; we have 2 neighbors who are policemen.)

Today we woke up to all the schools being cancelled, the interstate closing, and the winter weather advisory warning people to not travel but if you still had to, to bring a winter survival kit along in the car. My dad (a teacher, so off for the day) drove my mom to work but picked her up early as conditions (snow blowing/white outs) are getting worse as the day progresses. They saw several cars in the ditch just on the brief stretch of highway.

Because of the blizzard, the two things I had planned today didn't happen. One was a training session today for a one-day job which I was informed about through my job placement agency. Apparently a group of us are going to bid on foreclosed property next Monday. I don't know much about it yet, but I suppose that is what the training is for. The training has been postponed until tomorrow, but the winter weather advisory is not over until tomorrow evening at 6 p.m. so we'll see if it even happens.

I was also supposed to go in to work at my fine jewelry job all afternoon/evening. The mall actually closed, but my department store didn't (like anyone would willingly go out in this weather anyway), but someone who lives right in the city near the mall is going in for me (I live 25 miles away), even though I was counting on these hours. That's just the unpredictable winter, I guess! It's funny to hear that Germany is so mild this winter and hasn't had much snow, if any. I know the Midwest will always experience more winter than most of Germany, but even last winter we had a cold, slightly snowy winter there!

Click here for the storm story!