STANK!

Today was certainly different. When I was talking to Julia at the beginning of the day, a loud noise started up just below the window to her office. There was a white rectangle spray-painted onto the sidewalk and a man was taking a large circular saw to the concrete while three others watched. (“Why is it always one guy doing the work while three people, now five I guess, watch?”) I eventually retreated to my own workspace, both glad to get away from the noise and reluctant to lose the chance to learn what was going on. The office I work in is on the opposite side of the suite from Julia’s, so the noise barely carried at all. This became more significant as the day progressed.

You see, what was being dug up was a sewer line. All of a sudden, Janet and Julia, whose windows face towards the work that was being done, began exclaiming that their rooms smelled like poo. Suddenly, any jealousy and curiosity was wiped out of me. After some commotion, the custodian happened to come up to empty our trash bins and was able to explain what was going on. Of course, the most essential information—that someone was digging into a sewage line—was all too apparent without explanation. Janet was eventually able to get a hold of the manager of the building and after a short while of talking with him on the phone, she and Julia decided to go to Panera to work rather than stay in their putrid offices.

This left me without a great deal to do. The office was certainly much quieter without Janet, Julia or Ashley. (Ashley went to New York this weekend and will be back tomorrow) Mostly I guess it’s quiet without Ashley. It’s not that I had nothing to do, but I didn’t feel any need to push things along with any gusto. It was Monday, after all. My office thankfully never got to smell hardly at all, but when I went farther back to print something it was already pretty bad. I’m sure that since Julia and Janet’s offices overlook the construction it must have been intolerable. I finished what Julia had given me to do and helped Joe some with a mailing. Ah mailings, how fun they are.

Julia and Janet came back around 4:00 and the air was pretty much back to normal. I did a little more work for Julia but I ended up leaving a little early. My dad was on a business trip today (but just today. He left ridiculously early in the morning and was home for dinner) so I drove myself to ProMusica and back. It was nice too, because it made it so that I could leave early. I think tomorrow we’ll be checking over all that needs to be done for the April concert and making a game plan. Things will definitely be picking up soon with that concert coming up. I’m excited because it will be just as important as the February concert with preparations on about the same scale (although it is all taking place at the Southern—no Josephinum) except this time I’ll understand what’s going on and be on top of things.

If you think about it, it’s all been broken up quite nicely. I started the week of the February concert, which was absolutely insane. I was utterly overwhelmed, but I picked up a lot quickly and had to establish my place almost immediately. I learned a lot right there at the beginning and basically saw most of what I’d be working on for the rest of the Walkabout in action. Then things slowed down significantly and I got to actually get my bearings and fill in all the missing pieces slowly. I learned about the Student Board and the gala and began working on that. The March concert came and went, and I was able to have quite a bit to do with it because it wasn’t a huge production. Now something much larger is coming up, very much like February, but now I will really be a part of it and will be able to say that I significantly contributed instead of just getting caught up in the whirlwind. Now, if I were I nerd, I’d refer to whatever it’s called when a piece is written in the ABA form (ternary form) and call it my Walkabout… Oh I guess I just did... well, I guess the truth comes out.