stories

as you probably know, i give private piano and voice lessons here in Lincoln.  Yesterday, 3 of my lessons that happen to be back-to-back-to-back were a 67 year old lady, a 15 year old girl and a 5 year old boy.  That's kinda fun :)

so I have this kid who is 5. he is so stinkin' cute.  every week his mom comes with a new "john story."  something he did that is hilarious.  this week's story as told by his mother:  so i was quizzing john on his flash cards.  and every day he would get the notes right. and when i was little we learned "every good boy does fine" but he only had 4 cards, and they seemed random so i wasn't sure how you were teaching them, but he was getting it right every day.  so we did this all week and on the last day, he saw a card and had to think about it for a long time.  after a long time of thinking, he got the right answer, so i asked him - "john, how do you know the right answer? what's your thought process?" and he said "i can see through the card to the answer on the back."  
BAHAHHAA!!! hilarious.  should i feel a teacher-failure moment?   (i quizzed him without being able to see through and he got them right, so i guess not...)

another student i had recently is a lady in her mid-50s. we'll call her jane. i really like her!  she's very personable and positive despite a lot of obstacles she's had to overcome.  and she loves jesus.  so, we were working on 2 arrangements of 2 different hymns. one has a funny rhythm pattern that we worked on last week.  she came this week and opened it and said "i'm just not doing this one." and closed the book. haha and that was that. (teacher side note- we can learn that rhythm in a different song.  if someone has made up their mind not to learn it, they won't learn it, so you might as well move on and sneak that concept in later) :)

Wednesday.

Last weekend, we got this dining room table.  On craigslist....

for $140.  We had been looking at similar tables and they were running $300 or so new.  And this one is sturdier than some that we looked at.  The guy told us it was almost brand new and barely used.  Sometimes ads say that and it's NOT true... but this one looks brand new and has almost no scratches :) hip hip hooray for us.  I love a good deal... especially a good deal on something we need/want/were already planning to purchase.

So, in lieu of my recent craigslist success, I have been re-inspired to keep an out on craigslist for a good couch.  Probably we will just buy one new.  Couches are tricky to find used at a good deal- smells, stains, etc...  And the good ones go fast.  Plus they're a hassle to haul.  Anyway, while browsing craigslist, I came across this couch ad:

Ashley 3 piece set - $20 (Omaha)

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Date: 2011-09-13, 2:50PM CDT
Reply to: see below ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

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I have a 3 piece ashley retro style couch set.It has couch loveseat and ottoman.Its dirty needs cleaned.It was in a smoking enviroment and there are a few burn holes.They are still comfortable.They are a red fabric material and have chrome legs.Im only asking $20 considering the condition.Structurally still good and once cleaned they will be nice or throw a sheet over.All three pieces $20 Firm.If you can pickup and have cash Call me 402-612-2198 NO TEXTS These are not perfect so dont think you are getting perfect.They are dirty and have some burn holes but structually good.I dont have pictures.You haul I will remove once sold Thanks

What do you think?  Should I go for it? ;)

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In other random news, I was chit-chatting with my bro on g-chat yesterday afternoon.  To catch you up, he just moved to Palo Alto, California to start at Stanford - working towards a phd in engineering physics, more specifically the mini-field of "fluid dynamics."  The "quotes" are because I don't really know what it means. :)  If you'd like to read me bragging about Brian in a previous blog post, you may click here.  [What can I say? I'm a proud older sister... Plus he's probably the closest chance I'll ever have to knowing someone who will likely earn some sort of science prize or invent something really cool.]  Perhaps you'll find this conversation amusing.  

 me:  what project did you pick?

 brianpierce1010:  ahh yes

 brianpierce1010:  well for projects, my choices were 1) super hydrophobic surfaces research (something w/ navy), 2) flat plate boundary layer transition from laminar to turbulent flow, and 3) application of a new numerical method to Poissons equation.  I am pretty sure I am going to go w/ number 3

 me:  that's what i would have suggested

 brianpierce1010:  even though 1 probably sounds coolets in terms of the name

the actual work...not so much

 me:  and in terms of the the navy.  so number 3 will be the most interesting?

 brianpierce1010:  #3 is great though, cause if its successful, it could really save like everyone in the lab lots of simulation time

 me:  of course! what does that mean? like what will you do?

 brianpierce1010:  so like, a professor here came up w/ a new method for solving systems and i'll be trying to see if it can be applied to a common problem

u remember systems of equations? from like jr high, where u have maybe 2 equations, and two variables?

like, 2x + 4y = 6
and 3x + 2y = 4

something like that

 me:  oh yeah i know that.  i could totally be an engineer...

 brianpierce1010:  haha exactly  so to summarize, that is a 2x2 system (you don't count the 6 and 4)  its all abou twhats on the left hand side of the =

 me:  right... and you would be working with like 100 x 100 systems?

 brianpierce1010:  lol, that would be small

maybe like 10000x10000

maybe 1000x1000

something along those lines

and then u solve like 1000 of them

 me:  LOL  i was trying to exaggerate wtih 100

 brianpierce1010:  and so what computers all do now is use "Gaussian Elimination" which says you can solve it in about n^3 operations, but if n=10000, then n^3 is huge

 me:  woah. you lost me.

For the record, I did go on to have a fraction of understanding. but blah blah blah.

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I had the cutest piano student yesterday. She's 5 and smart.  From the first lesson, we learn a song by rote using the rhythm-words "pepperoni pizza" to play this rhythm:  (kids love this.  it mostly is for their finger technique/ hand position development)

   

So this little tyke is singing at the top of her lungs "PEPPERONI PIZZA- PEPPERONI PIZZA" while she plays her notes.  So cute.  Almost in tune.  :) 

Then, she looks over and giggles when she's done.  She loves the piano.  I wanted to video tape her singing, but decided that'd be creepy. Borderline pedifile since this is only her 3rd lesson with me.  Maybe once mom knows for sure I'm not a weirdo.  [or maybe the jury's still out on that... ;)]

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I'm going to work on blogging more regularly.  I enjoy it.  it's like journaling kinda.  but public.  so kinda not. 

ciao!

p.s. did you check out this post about my amazing husband running the Chicago Marathon???  you should.

 

Studio Calendar

So, I keep a blog for my piano and voice students.  With the popularity of blogs, and everyone getting internet on their phones, I thought it might be helpful to have a studio blog for parents and students.  Plus, I can give this website to people who call for more information and they can see that I'm not a random creepo, which is always helpful for teaching young children.  or anyone for that matter. 

Anywho, one thing I was hoping to use this blog/website for was scheduling.  In my perfect business setup, people browsing for a teacher online would be able to find my page in their searches for "awesome piano teacher" on the world wide web and see my availability on a calendar.  I also think it'd be helpful for planning weeks or days off (i.e. weekend trips or winter vacation).  AND I was hoping to get a list of all students' contact info so that they could just contact each other if they need to swap times one week instead of going through me as a middle-man-rescheduler.  Well, middle-WOman :)

anywho, I finally figured out how to get a calendar from google into my blog!!!

Check it out!

woohoo!!! I am having a little happy dance all by myself. no shame.

So, do you think it's helpful!? Or is it a stupid waste of my time?  (b/c I'll have to update it and don't want to spend time doing something that's useless....)  What would make it easier to understand or more helpful?  

Piano Spot

in case you didn't know, i've opened a "piano studio."  i use quotes because it just feels so official, i'm not sure what to do about it.  speaking of official, i have 2 official students as of yesterday. woohoo!  one is 6, the other is 5, and they are so dang cute.  can't give you their pics b/c
1. didn't take any during the "meet and greet free lesson" -that'd be creepy.
2. pictures of littles on the web by their teachers - also creepy.

maybe after a recital on my studio blog? not as creepy.

anyway, I have this little space in the front room (which will function as living/ dining/ piano).

and a different angle

and a view from the other side of the room.  

 That last one is an okay shot of the whole space... card table? you ask.  borrowing while saving.  our previous place was furnished soooo we're saving for furniture one little bit at a time.  what are those pictures over on the right wall? i'm so glad you asked.  i took it before fixing the crooked shelf. oh, and must fill blank frames.  i was pretty proud of the fact that i could hang those shelves (with anchors, drill, and all) by myself... with a little training session from my fabulous husband!  and i love that we can just keep adding to it.

anyway, back to the piano "studio..." spot.

i'd like those walls to be fun, colorful, but not too much like a 1st grade classroom if you know what i mean.  also, perhaps some sort of magnetic, cork, or chalkboard for changing activities, contests, info etc...

i've been looking for ideas of pics to frame...

if i was crazy, i'd just paint the piano. ha jk. i am crazy and i will not paint my piano. although maybe one day, i'll buy a cheap piano from craigslist and paint it for fun.  probably that won't happen.  anyway, i like something similar to this as a print.

fun. artsy. maybe too artsy? i dont know if i would put a picture of colored pencils in a frame. but i like it.

in a different direction... work hard!

haha this like the poster that your dorky music teacher had pinned up in the front of her classroom. oh wait i am a dorky music teacher.  which is why i like it.



sooo if you see anything that "fits" let me know. "fits" because i don't even know what i'm going for :)