Back to School

Well, I go back to school today. It's actually going to be a little weird. I've spent the last week and a half (which actually feels like a month) working with Goin' Band pretty much around the clock, so actually starting classes today will be a nice change of pace. I'm interested to see how different this whole graduate school thing is. I'm taking 9 hours, just enough to be full time, but I'm sure that I will be plenty busy all the same.

I'm enrolled in trombone lessons, and I found out last night that I auditioned into Symphonic Wind Ensemble. I'm really looking forward to playing on a regular basis again. What I'm most interested in, though is what I actually came back to school for-the conducting. Ironically enough, it's the one thing that has sort of been forgotten in the weeks leading up to today. I'm sure that will all change soon, as I have my first seminar class with Dr. McKoin today.

As dumb as it sounds, I sort of feel like a freshman all over again. I'm not really sure what to expect this week, but I'm excited that it's finally here.

The Power of Thanks

(Sorry, this is long, but it's sort of been building for awhile...)

So, it's been awhile since I've posted. I can blame this on extended hours at Pizza Hut (which I'm now done with... for now at least), arranging music for Jeff's marching show, writing drill for Jeff's marching show, arranging stand tunes for Goin' Band, and, as I found out earlier this week, writing drill for Goin' Band. Or I could just say that, on my list of things to do when relaxing, blogging hasn't exactly been at the top.

However, I have had something stewing in my mind for a couple weeks, though. It's something that came to my attention as a result of my part-time pizza delivery job that, over the past few weeks, pretty much became a full time job. In the course of delivering pizzas, you come across all kinds of people. The delivery area of the Pizza Hut I worked at encompasses about 30 square miles. For those of you familiar with southwest Lubbock/Wolfforth, it runs from 34th St. to Woodrow Rd. (aka CR 7600) and from Frankford Ave. to CR 1300 (one mile west of FM 179). In that area, there are at least 3 fairly upscale neighborhoods with several other isolated mansionettes, and at least 5 mobile home parks with several more isolated mobile homes (usually sitting on about 5-10 acres of land... go figure).

Naturally, the basis of making money as a delivery driver comes from tips, both the quality and quantity. In addition to tips, I got a dollar per delivery. So, even if the average tip wasn't particularly high, I could still make good money if I took several deliveries. However, taking more deliveries means driving more miles, using more gas, etc. As I drive a Hybrid, the gas doesn't hit me as hard, anyway.

Interestingly enough, the size of the house I delivered to, was not always an indication of the size of tip I received. Some people that are obviously doing very well for themselves tip very small... or not at all. Some people that obviously work a 12 hour blue collar shift just to make ends meet tip very well. Oh, sure, I never walked up to a mobile home expecting to get much of a tip, but it was a nice surprise when I did. And, naturally, I was never very understanding when I walked away from a 4000 sq. ft. home on a 4 acre plot with a check for the exact amount of the order. But, that's just the nature of the job. Sometimes you have to drive to the farthest corner of the area to deliver one order to some jerk that doesn't understand why it took so long, doesn't tip you, and tries to get it for free. And sometimes, you get to take 3 orders all on the same block and all within a mile of the store, all to very nice people who tip very well, even if there order was a couple minutes late. I used to get very irked by the "injustices" of the pizza delivery business. Eventually, I realized that it is what it is, and there wasn't much point in letting it bother me.

Over the past few weeks, I began to take notice of something entirely different. It sort of changed my perspective on the job I was doing. I started to notice when people were genuinely appreciative for my bringing them a meal. You see, whether it was only feeding one person or a houseful of extended friends and family, they were paying for a convenience, and I was the provider of that convenience. Over the past few weeks, the most important part of a delivery wasn't whether I got a big tip or not. Certainly, I appreciated getting a tip. But the biggest difference for me was between the people who simply said "Thank you" and the people who acted like I had imposed on their life. It seems like an unbelievably simple thing, but you wouldn't believe how many people wouldn't even utter so much as a "thanks" when I brought food to their door.

Now, I don't claim to be a lifer in the service industry. I'm a band director. That's my career. But, having spent time working several different jobs in both food service and retail, I have a soft spot for people who work in that industry. It can be, at many times, a thankless and unrewarding occupation. So the next time that you're out shopping, or out eating, or better yet, if someone brings something to your home so that you don't have to go get it, please say "Thank you" and mean it. Sure, they're just doing their job. But, they're doing it to make your life a little easier.