Ladies Who Lunch

I could easily become one of these . . . there is so much to be learned by sitting with food and drink, actually focusing on what a person has to say. I consider myself a good listener. Had lunch with Maureen Milford on Friday. Hurray for Bennigan's Baked Potato Soup. Trying to connect with new people with the intention of generating job leads. No response from Kalmay Nyckel or DCAD. Courtesy of basic response in the job application game is dead, apparently. Just a postcard to say "Sorry, no" would be helpful. Have been mulling over the possibility of Birmingham and what it would mean to the household. Assuming I would make enough of a salary to send money home . . . I rather like the idea of taking a sabbatical from the household. Applied online for a program assistant position at The Providence Plan and a program something at Wolf Trap Foundation in Virginia. Still thinking about New England and being closer to family and roots. No word from Judith Cizek and the U of D position she's waiting for. Prepping for another teacher training at CCAC tomorrow. Monday morning visual arts. Onward and upward.

What . . . Me?

Spent today at DCCA (two-day gig) on a B2BW follow-up project. Will finish tomorrow afternoon. Cell phone rang . . . a recruiter from Birmingham, Alabama . . . found my resume on the net . . . Development Director position open at Birmingham Museum of Art . . . got up off the floor . . . yes, I'm interested . . . top tier recruiter calls me back an hour later . . . tells me there may be a Curator of Education position open as well . . . which one would I be more interested in . . . got up off the floor again . . . tells me to call him back tomorrow and he'll have an answer for me to confirm the availability of the education position. Quite possibly having hallucinations. Whoa. Do you really mean me??? Did the research tonight. Yes, it is the largest regional art museum in the southeast with amazing education programs in place (staff of 16 educators!) and what seems to be well-established and well-managed endowments. Director of Development has moved up to Deputy Director - smooooth transition possible. . . Lower cost of living than Delaware, bars that are open until 6am, lots of festivals and galleries, 4 universities in the area and . . . jeez, it's a real city with 2 bedroom apartments under $1,000! Later: Julie Van Blarcom comes in to pick up an art auction purchase. Chatted. Told her how much I loved working with Maxine and would love to come on board as her assistant. Julie asked me if Maxine is the only director I'd want to assist . . . Ummmm, well, no! Said to send her my resume and she'd send it around. . . Later: Kim Graham from CCAC calls to answer all my questions about the current PNC project we're doing together. Confirmed as a contractor, paid every two weeks, etc.

Did the planets realign? Is it the Democratic shift? Have I finished walking through the fire? Life is terribly mysterious.

Head First

Plunging head first into a Head Start classroom tomorrow morning for an observation . . . can't wait to see those fours steeped in learning. I suspect it will be inspirational and give me a reality check on future lesson plans as well. Although I still feel fragmented about this project the unknown is something I am learning to live with. As VT tells me, move through it. As MG told me, ask for a contract. As I've told myself, I need the paycheck. So, there you have it.

Janis Called

Janis Tomlinson from U of DE Museums just called for the reference for Judith Cizek, a candidate for the Curator/Exhibitions position. I hope with all my might that Judith lands this position. She is one of my colleagues from the 2004 DAM mess, and we've all had difficutly integrating back into the field since then. Landing this position feels like success for all of us.

Book Festival Tomorrow!

I may venture out to the Book Festival in Dover tomorrow. There is so much hidden activity in Delaware; so many arts events and I feel like it's all happening without me. Disengaged once again. It has been a rough week working on my lesson plans (due and submitted today!) without any official feedback from the last training session. I put way more than 10 hours in on research and writing. I probably shouldn't have. I'm trying to find out if I need to submit a time sheet or do I get paid automatically for 10 hours each week no matter what our activity is. As messy as my desk always seems to be, I am a planner and a details person, and I'm wrestling with myself about the process of this project. For now, I'm just trying to "get over it and move on" as I once had a supervisor tell me. . . On the other hand, I had a blast in the children's section at the library, and reading through the three new books about kids and art that my amazing and generous daughter bought me for my birthday. I am also very excited about the classroom observtion Paulette is setting up for me. I can't wait to see little ones in action.

Personally, I am dreading the holidays and the sadness that is already overtaking me. I'm starting to cry during shows on the food channel about Thanksgiving . . . this is not a good sign. On the good news side, Judith Cizek (curator slashed from DAM in 2004) interviewed at U of DE for the Curator/Exhibition Designer position, and they are checking her references! I am one of them, and gosh, the entire universe knows she deserves to land this job. We've exchanged a lot of thoughts during the past 2 years, and she thinks I bounced back better than she did. . . I am just a lot better at counseling other people than counseling myself. I think I'm at the point where I just need to find another career, like cashiering at a gas station. I can't obliterate the sadness.

Lessons and More Lessons

Spent the day working on lesson plans for the PNC Grant at CCAC. Ten lesson plans due on November 3. The 4 that I've done may be too extensive, so my goal is to do 2 of the remaining 6 on a more superficial level. After all, how much can a 4-year old do in 20 minutes?? Some of them are 4-6 session lessons, so I'll be offering a wide range of experiences to the teachers. I sent 2 to Kim for feedback, but discovered today that she is in Ghana. I knew she was going, but I didn't know the dates. (communication, communication, communication) So, I won't get feedback, or a sample lesson plan from last year's project. Why do I feel like I'm expecting too much? Um, because I probably am. I have a tendecy to overwork, being the workaholic that I am. As a good friend pointed out to me, my perception of things is different from that of a lot of other people . . . That's certainly something to consider working on, isn't it?!

Hopefully, I have a classroom observation coming up next week, which I believe will help. I would like to ask for some sample lesson plans from the teachers, but I'm not sure if that is invasive or feeling more like a policing thing. Will take it slow. Got my first paycheck from CCAC today which is lovely, but not enough. . . Are there more lessons in this for me than there are for the pre-school teachers? Hmmmm . . .

Did I mention that I believe in Santa, Fairy God Mothers and winning the power ball?

What Do Our Elected Officials Think About the Arts?

As you head for the polls, consider where your elected officials stand on support for the arts. Do they believe that all students need the arts as part of well rounded education? Do they understand that the arts are a vital part of an active community and commerce? Find out! Take a look at the CONGRESSIONAL REPORT CARD IN THE ARTS The Americans for the Arts Action Fund PAC issued a Congressional Arts Report Card saying 41 House Members received the highest possible grade (A+), a 24% increase over the 2004 Report Card.
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