Today I Received a Sign from God

So today, I taught a few cello lessons, finished up a few wedding contracts and received a sign from God. At least, I feel that it was a sign from God. As I have mentioned, the hubs and I have been considering purchasing a home and moving back to Kansas City, MO, so I have been in contact with several mortgage brokers. I had been going back and forth with a few different people, sending some info here and there and not really getting much real feedback. So today, I finally spoke to one who informed me (very nicely by the way) that there was no real way we could get a loan what with being self-employed and our income levels. She explained how, if one of us could move back and get a salaried position, then after 30 days we might be able to make it work and during that time we could rent a place in KC or stay with one of our families. This totally sounded gross to me (my main interest in moving back was to purchase a giant Victorian mansion for $50,000 and live happily ever after), but I thanked her and hang up and was sad.

However, during the phone call, someone else had called on the other line. I recognized the number and thought it was my student who was supposed to arrive at any moment so I went ahead and checked the message in case she needed something right away. It turns out it was another friend who works at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music). He was calling to let me know that one of my all-time favorite artists - Joanna Newsom - was recording her next studio album here in Brooklyn and needed a cellist. Was I available? I called him immediately and received his voice mail. Called a few dozen more times (crazily) and finally spoke with him on his way to somewhere and found out the dates of the show. BOOM. It was during the time I was supposed to be in Guatemala on vacation.

There is always a risk of booking anything too far in advance when you are a freelance musician. Especially in this city. Many times my schedule doesn't fill up until a week even just a day or two before an event. I knew when I booked the trip that there was a possibility of needing to cancel it if I got a really great gig, so I went ahead and paid the $20 for trip protection. That's the good news. The bad news was that the girl I was going with would now need to go to Guatemala by herself (I feel mean) and the dates for the recording weren't set so I wouldn't be seeing any type of contract any time soon. I could go ahead with the hassle of canceling the trip, but I might get a call later from someone telling me that the recording had been postponed or they had decided to go with someone else.

So now I'm playing the waiting game. I'm going to go ahead and warn my friend that there's a good possibility that I might not be able to go on the trip, and wait for a contract to appear. If the recording happens, I'll feel terrible about my friend, but opportunities like these are the reason I live in New York. If the recording doesn't end up happening, I'll go to Guatemala as planned.

Although it may not be perfect situation, I still feel like I received a sign from God today to stay in New York. At the exact moment I was getting the bad news that there was really no way we could purchase a home in KC, someone was calling me to record an upcoming album with one of my favorite and most inspiring artists here in NYC. Seems like divine intervention to me.