A Tale of Two Cities
This past week has been a huge series of ups and downs, and I’ll keep things a bit shorter today.
The downs are more recent, and I might start there and get them out of the way. First of all, I have had my worst day of substitute teaching in years - just a class that were perfectly calibrated to push all my buttons. At my lunch break I was so frustrated/stressed/angry that I could feel every nerve in my body like a live wire.
I think, in many ways, I find a lot of natural ability in being a teacher/guide/helper - but at the same time I find the work very variable and punishing. There are times I really struggle not to just walk off in a huff, so frustrated that for, like, the seventh time, I’ve said ‘questions at the end’.
Additionally, with one artist I keep having a different version of the same conversation. One I think we’ll fundamentally not resolve, but one I feel very frustrated by. Each time I think we’re done it somehow seems to rear its head again. Something in my personality feels like once a plan is made I move on, and then, plot twist, the plan isn’t quite done, grrr.
Finally, I am so sick of summer. I’ve been a massive indoor person this week just avoiding the heat wave here in Melbourne. It looks like Saturday is the last hot day for a while. Thank goodness. I feel so tired, uncomfortable and lethargic in the heat.
However, there are some good things:
I have had a few money things come my way. A friend needed some help curating their work, another person got in touch and wanted some book design work. I’ve also done plenty of CRT work.
The work I’m doing for our second book of the year is really paying off - the book is coming along, the artist is creating excellent opportunities and I think this will be a really big step for us. We have media and institutional support that we’ve never had - and I hope those things will go far!
Amy’s book - our first of the year - arrives on Monday, a big stack of books on a huge pallet. Yes!
I have had some good CRT days, yesterday I was on an excursion, tomorrow I’m taking a PE class to a boxing gym then to an indoor Ninja Warrior course. Not a bad way to make some bucks.
It’s been good to have a few weeks away from workshops - good to have some weekends.
I’m on a podcast next week - I love doing these :)
Overall, this was a week where a lot of things went well, but I’ve had a few things hovering over me a little, then the class from hell today, yikes.
Anyway - onwards and upwards.