We are looking for a new apartment. After living for almost an entire school year in a thin floored, fly infested, somewhat dumpy place downwind from the University of Illinois swine research facility, next to a credit union and the Illinois Water Survey station we have decided it's time to move. Going back I have to say that we made the right choice since we moved here in the midst of last summer's chaos (leaving our jobs, going back to grad school, moving, trip to Europe, Carmen and Oscar's wedding) since we didn't have the chance to make it down here to look for housing. We could have ended up in a real dump or in a bad neighborhood - you know, one with shootings - or something equally awful. It's not been a terrible place it's just that, well, we're longing for an actual neighborhood, trees, and better access to downtown and campus.
So we've spent the past week and a half scouring classifieds, craigslist, and local rental companies looking for the right place to call "home." This is especially important since we are both going to be here for a few more years than we originally planned. Kaia and I will both be finishing up our masters degrees (me next December and Kaia in the spring) and moving directly into doctoral programs at the U of I. I will be the first ever doctoral student in orchestral conducting starting next spring and Kaia will be starting a PhD program in English in the fall of 2012. As a result, we would like to live in a place where we will be comfortable for a few years. We're getting closer to finding the right place and we might even sign a lease sometime this week.
In other news, I interviewed for a youth orchestra music director job in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago on Thursday night. It was a phone interview and I spent a good portion of the afternoon preparing (see photo below) myself. I think it would be an absolutely great position in a fantastic organization. If I get invited for the second round, I will get a chance to rehearse the group sometime this month. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Last night we went to concert number four of our five season ticket subscription to the Chicago Symphony (see photo at the top of this post). We got to see Kurt Masur conduct Bruckner Symphony No. 4. I really appreciate what a gift these season tickets have been (thank you NHS band students) because I'm getting to see some truly legendary conductors this year. We saw Pierre Boulez in January, Masur last night, and in June we will get to see Bernard Haitink conduct Mahler 9! It's been an incredible opportunity to see these conductors work - I'm learning so much from each performance. Plus, because we hold season tickets, we get to go back on Tuesday to watch an open rehearsal of Verdi's Otello with Riccardo Muti and the orchestra (for free!).
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