It IS a full time job

[rmurphy@siue.edu]

Quoting Wimblees@aol.com:

> When I first heard about university technicians, I thought to myself, how
> can
> taking care of 75 pianos be considered a full time job. Now, after three
> months on the job, I\'m asking myself, how in the world can one technician
> take care of 75 pianos?
>
> When I accepted the job here at the University of Alabama, I was looking
> forward to spending time some quality with Jan, working in the yard,

    hang in there.  I found that once the spring semester started the pianos 
stayed relatively stable and that left a lot more time for doing much needed 
repairs and regulation- a task that done once correctly is done.  It\'s good to 
hear from you Wim

  Richard Murphy
  rmurphy@siue.edu
 




> three years behind. I find myself working more than 8 hours a day, and
> sometimes more than 5 days a week. What hasn\'t helped is that for the past
> 25
> years, the pianos were \"tuned\" and most of them have been \"repaired,\" and
> some have even been \"rebuilt,\" but certainly not up to university
> standards.
> There is lots of catching up to do.
>
> I am starting to keep track of my hours, so that I don\'t work more than 40
> hours a week. I am very lucky to have a very appreciative faculty, and an
> even more appreciate department chair. I\'m left alone, and I can work any
> time I want. No time card to punch. My office is next to the piano faculty
> studios. It\'s big enough to rebuild a piano in, with a large window,
> overlooking a grass yard, with large trees with squirrels climbing up and
> down. And one of the most enjoyable benefits of working at the university
> is
> attending the numerous recitals and concerts by the faculty and students.
> (I\'ve not been to a football game, but maybe that will happen next year.)
>
> I\'m not complaining, and I\'m not asking for advice, I\'m just expressing my
> thoughts. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure this is really
> happening. I know someday the honeymoon will be over, but for now, I\'m
> enjoying every moment.  I love my job
>
> Happy Thanksgiving.
>
> Wim
>
>
>