Grease Is Not the Word

Right now I'm killing time serving as a rehearsal accompanist for some university-affiliated group's production of Grease. I'm not doing it out of the goodness of my heart. I'm getting much-needed performance credits that I need as a music major. This and the two separate senior recitals will push me just just barely above the minimum. I'm considering doing the a capella group just for the fun of it, but it will be nice to do it because I want to  and not because I must. That way, if  I become too stressed, I can tell them I have to miss a rehearsal and that they're free to take it or leave it.

Grease really needs a performance pianist, but playing for the entire run of the show is too much of my summer to give up. The girl playing the lead was supposed to play for rehearsals and performances, but no one remotely qualified auditioned for the role of "Sandy,"  so she ended up taking the role, leaving both the rehearsal and performance pianist positions vacant. If the producer could line up one or two others who could each take a few nights, I'd be willing to do up to five performances, but that's my maximum. It even pays a little, but not enough to make it worth my time. I'm willing to help out a bit, but fifteen performances takes up too big a portion of my summer. I'm also doing my three-days-a-week  lab internship.

My friend Alyssa is here from Utah. She flew out with her aunt, who was traveling with twin six-month-olds and a  sixteen-month-old. (The aunt also has three other girls eight and under. It's crazy in my opinion, but no one asked for my opinion.) Alyssa comes with me to Grease rehearsals. She turns pages with me or goes into another room with a piano to plunk out parts for people who need help, as she plays piano reasonably well.  She said she's going to the beach when I go to the lab. I hope she uses tons of sunblock, as she's very Nordic in coloring, and I've seen a two new students who underestimated the power of the sun and ended up with third-degree burns.

My lab internship begins tomorrow. I predict that I will spend a whole lot of time mopping up spills and getting coffee for the employees and won't come within a foot of the lens of a microscope for at least three weeks.  Sometimes nepotism works in one's favor,  though, so I may get to look into a microscope in two weeks instead of in three.

I have my TV on, which I often do in times of insomnia. I tend to turn it on, then log onto my laptop and not switch channels. Right now a healer I haven't seen before is shaking people's heads and telling them that Dr. Jesus has healed them. It's all fine, well, and wonderful, but if any of these people Dr. Jesus has healed have bona fide illnesses, I suspect even Dr. Jesus himself would agree with me that they should be seeking the care of living, breathing, licensed physicians as well. God often works His greatest miracles through modern medicine.