Job Search Update

If you regularly check the blog, you are probably wondering how my job search goes. In all honesty, it hasn't gone well. I've sent out around two dozen applications and gotten exactly zero interviews, let alone job offers. The biggest disappointment came yesterday. Recently Dr. Russell informed me the Metropolitan Opera had contacted him about my qualifications for the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program for Pianist/Conductors. Apparently they had a very positive discussion (Dr. Russell made me sound like I walk on water) and the indications were that I would be invited to New York for a daunting but exciting audition. For three uneasy weeks no news came, until yesterday. As we suspected (given their long silence), the Met opted not to invite me for an audition.

While disappointing, I am not too upset by this outcome. When it comes to "big breaks," you want them to come at the right time. If you get your chance before you are ready, you can do irreparable damage to your career. Nobody wants to eat a cake before it has fully baked! So I am happy to continue working hard and getting better at what I do before being exposed in the big leagues of the music profession.

There are some glimmers of hope. Along with the Met's interest, I was encouraged by a call from the Calgary Philharmonic. They let me know that they were very interested in me but that my lack of Canadian citizenship would exclude me from being a candidate for their resident conductor position. Also, a colleague of mine recently won a conducting job at Michigan Technological University. This is good for me because his resume looks almost exactly like mine (he studied at both BYU and ASU) but he graduated back in 2006. So when our applications go to the same search committees, they likely preferred him over me due to the fact that he has a bit more experience. So, phew, he's out of the job market and my resume no longer has a twin!

The job market has been very quiet since January, but in the last couple of weeks a few last-minute positions popped up. Here are job applications I'm waiting on:

Simpson College (Indianola, IA). Vocal Coach/Opera Conductor, One-year sabbatical replacement position. I've had this one sent off for more than a month; likely this committee has already passed on me.

State University of New York, Purchase. Assistant Professor of Conducting, part-time position.

Metropolitan State Collge of Denver. Director of Orchestras and String Studies, tenure-track position.

Elon University (NC). Music Director of Music Theatre, tenure-track position.

Interschools Orchestras of New York, Music Director. This is a youth orchestra position.

Orchestra Toronto. Apprentice Conductor, part-time position with community orchestra.

Royal Conservatory of Music (London). Professor of Conducting, part-time position teaching class conducting courses to music majors.

And that's it for now. If I haven't secured an interview by the beginning of May, we will likely be staying in Mesa for the forseeable future (possibly six months, maybe until the 2010-2011 school year begins) while I continue the hunt for employment. That's not all bad; we have great friends here, Meghan has a good job, and I can have time to find the very best opportunity.

We feel hopeful that this will all work out in due time, and lucky to be living a happy, healthy, and provident life! And we are especially grateful all of you care about us and give us your support and well wishes.

We'll keep you posted!

Matthews Safari: A Crawling Tour...by Sylvia

Today we will be exploring a wild and treacherous land known as "The Matthews Home." My name is Sylvia and I will be your tour guide this afternoon. (Spoken in a highly affected British accent).




Notice to your left the hind quarters of a ferocious animal the natives refer to as "Bobo." Rather a ridiculous name, if you ask me, but what can you expect from people who use their feet to walk around on. Everybody knows that feet are meant to be sucked on, anything else would just be vulgar.



Moving on. Oh my...hmmm...it appears as though the Redheaded Milk Machine has not mopped this floor in weeks. It is exceptionally deplorable. I did warn you that this was a treacherous place.



Ah, we have now come upon a truly majestic creature; full of both terrifying mystery and irresistible fluffiness. If only he would let me grasp him for just a moment...Alas, every time I get close he looks at me with contempt, bites my arm and scampers away. I have heard rumors that the animal is possessed of an evil spirit, inflicted on him by the Bald One's constant abuse.

I can see how this is possible; I too am often a victim of this man.






Never fear, one day he will be paying my therapy bills.



Oh, I see we have come to the dangerous precipice. One must navigate carefully.




Slowly...

Slowly...

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

I curse you, unfinished and useless step! Why must you impede my journey into the land of moving pictures?

Oh. You saw that? Well, perhaps we better conclude this crawling tour. As you can see, the peril is great. Maybe at some later date we can explore the black snakes that grow out of the wall or the green bowl that holds those delicious brown pellets.


Until next time.

Starting the Indoctrination Early

Sylvie and I had our first Mother-Daughter outing this past weekend. We took a little roadtrip up to Southern California with my good friends Jessawhy, Holly, G and EmilyCC to attend this conference. Sylvia was an angel during the drive and exceptional for the 8 hour conference. She was the best baby there! Okay, she was the only baby there but I think she added a much needed cuteness factor to this serious academic conference.

After the conference we headed up to Lake Arrowhead with some more friends for a two-night stay at a cabin in the mountains. It was so wonderful to talk and laugh and play with friends. And Sylvie had more snuggles and loves from her mom and the other curmudgeonly feminists than she could hope for. All in all, it was a wonderful trip!

Hopefully all the intelligence, empowerment and assertiveness seeped into Sylvie's beautiful little soul. She could do a lot worse than become like these women. And if she needs reminding, I'll just round them all up again in twelve years for a menarche ceremony :).

(Thanks to Jana and G for taking the pictures.)

A New Look, Transportation Update, and a Bath

Hope you like the new look for the blog. Springy, no? Here in Arizona spring is about to end and summer is arriving. Urgh.

In Matthews transportation news, little baby Goo (Sylvia) has discovered the joys of crawling. She's not yet mastered its intricacies, but she has begun full-fledged mobility.

George has a new set of clogs, and we are relieved to report that he likes them almost as much as his old ones; he's already slept with them and eaten with them as well. Oh the joys of "uh-shooooos." (That's Georgie speak.)

The babies also had their first bath together and it was completely adorable. Oh, how they will one day rue these photos...

I Want Justice...by George

LOST

One red & blue rubber clog.

Lost somewhere on Dobson Road, between Guadalupe & Baseline. An unfortunate arm twitch/throwing compulsion resulted in the misplacement of my beloved shoe.

WANTED

I am charging this man with criminal negligance for failing to notice me throw my shoe out of the jogging stroller.

The suspect is considered mean and unsympathetic.

The Lost Month

Yes, we're still alive here. Thanks for checking in periodically, and sorry that you have had nothing new to see for a while.

We have had a tough month. I spent all of February conducting an opera production, so I was basically absent from home. We enjoyed a visit from my parents and grandparents at the end of the month--they came down to see the show. Once they left, I immediately contracted some horrible illness from which I am only now recovering. Unfortunately, the kids both picked it up. They had a fever for three days and are still both congested--Sylvie sounds downright pathetic when she tries to cry and a raspy sqeak is all she can produce. Happily, they are getting better now, too. But Meghan just came down with it. That's the fun of living together as a family, I guess.

Anyway, we've been in a funk for a couple of weeks and have hardly felt the energy to do much, especially blog. But it would be a shame to let an entire month go by undocumented. So here are some shots:

George sporting a BYU hat and monkey-leash harness at the cactus arboretum. We went there with Grandma and Grandpa Matthews. Such a pity that the kid already has a monkey on his back at this age!

Sylvia gets more beautiful every day. Look at those eyes! And as an added bonus, she can also suck her own toes. So talented!

Last Saturday, we celebrated Pi Day (3-14, get it?) with our ward; everyone brings pie and pigs out. Meghan and I made a beautiful chocolate ricotta tort. Unfortunately, it looked better than it tasted. It was just too rich! Curse you, Giada di Laurentiis, and your over-the-top recipes! The pine nuts looked cool but overwhelmed the pie. Oh well.

Dear World: I Promise I'm A Good Mother

Dear Colleague:

I realize that despite the cold spell Arizona has had recently, Baby Sylvie consistently comes to work in little more than a onesie. I refuse to take responsibility for this...Brandon is perfectly capable of dressing her in weather appropriate clothing. He feels, however, that Sylvie has enough baby fat to withstand the elements.

I could fight this battle but I would lose, just like I lost the baby kissing/baby pinching battle. Plus, if I were to actually exert the energy it would take to insist that Brandon put a sweater on our Rubenesque child, I would no longer have enough energy to keep from telling you that "supposedly" is never pronounced "supposebly."

Dear Random Man at Church:

Yes, I know my son's hair is similar to that of a old, homeless man's. Despite my best efforts, I cannot tame the monster's mane...

I have cut, brushed, combed and gelled as much as one mother can do with a two year old. Unfortunately, I cannot overcome swift toddler hands or my father's genetic gift of cowlicks.

Don't worry, I'm fully intending on taking George's do from Transient to Skinhead as soon as the weather heats up. Yeah, that's how I roll.

Dear Judgemental Lady at Safeway:

I agree that perhaps m&m's at 10:00 a.m. is not the wisest nutritional choice for my child, especially as his genetic line is littered with people who have "the sugar." Nevertheless, I think that you'll agree that your shopping experience is much pleasanter without his goat-like bleating reverberating off the canned foods.

Also, thanks to your withering death stare, I just forgot to pick up the key ingredient I need to make dessert for Valentine's Day. So, ruiner of my self-esteem and chocolate bread pudding, if you would please remove your cart from the middle of the aisle so I can push my double stroller through, I would appreciate it.

Dear Neighbors:

If you think you hear my child screaming alone in the backyard and worry that he is being neglected, please don't call the police. I promise that he is actually in his screened-in playroom playing with the mountain of toys that I have bought him out of my hard-earned guilt...I mean money.

Your benevolence in this matter will save me a year's worth of humiliation, a fight with my husband and two days worth of crying.

Thank you all for your patience.

Sincerely,

One unexceptional, but earnest mother

Fashion Week

So we are creating new trends in haute couture here in the Matthews household. George has a real knack for choosing amazingly dapper ensembles. Featured below is his latest pick--he is wearing it as I write this post!--Pampers diaper (size 4), Sunday dress from waist up (blue shirt, red tie, suit vest), monkey leash harness (he literally asked Meghan to put it on him), and that "tie it all together" accessory, the fireman's helmet.

Doesn't he look reflective in that shot? Looks like it is straight out of the Neiman Marcus catalog.

Sylvie is wearing what I call the Rhapsody in Pink:


In case you assumed that Dad must have chosen such a get-up, I must inform you that you guessed wrong. This was Meghan's fashion sense, all the way.

Happy Birthday, George

This has been Georgie's birthday weekend. We have been very busy celebrating and having fun--and dealing with the rather disappointing reality that George doesn't yet understand how special a birthday is compared to every other day. Even when his Mom and Dad go to great lengths to have toddler-friendly festivities.

Friday, the birthday proper, began with the two-year old opening his presents. His favorite was a racing cart his parents have him. The video below shows his first drive; initially you will see that he was not pleased that he was being filmed so early in the morning. What a vain two-year old!

George had a monkey-themed weekend, and breakfast featured "monkey bread," basically cinnamon pullaparts with a carmel sauce. Very yummy. The rest of Friday was very busy--work for Mom, lunch appointment for Dad, and several voice lessons in the afternoon. That evening we had a fancy dinner in George's honor and saw a movie, The Tales of Desperaux. It was cute, and George enjoyed it (most of the time).

Saturday we invited some friends (the Steeds and Curtises) over to have lunch and monkey cake. We had a lot of fun, especially having other adults over to keep us company. We really had a blast--thanks for coming over, guys! Meghan created the most amazing cake, see below. Its creation was an odyssey in itself--ask us again sometime...

Everyone was happy to help George blow out the candles. We had at least four boys trying simultaneously. In the end, Meghan did the honors.

We were just relieved George seemed to enjoy the cake!

Call of the Valkyrie

As you may know, Sylvia is a vocal little baby. She loves to coo, goo, and shriek with delight. I've always wanted to catch her vocal outpourings, but whenever I got the camera in front of her, she clammed up. Well, this week she has become even more vociferous, and far less camera shy. So here are a couple of clips of Sylvie-speak, one filmed by me and the other by Meghan.