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Taking online classes at Santa Monica College really pays! Not only am I slowly making my way up the salary ladder in LAUSD, but I’m also able to take advantage of some great benefits that come as a result of having a student ID.

Por ejemplo, last night, I was able to take in the Oregon Symphony, which plays right here in Portland. Because I am a student, the ticket cost me a whopping $10.

Was there a downside to this? Absolutely. After hearing a Rachmaninov’s marvelous Variations on a Theme of Paganini, and Lindberg’s 1997 Feria, I had to sit through Ravel’s Bolero. Seriously, I have no idea why audiences can tolerate this piece, which in essence, is a 14-minute-long crescendo-ing repetition of the same two chords with an 8-bar melody on top of it. Over and over and over and over and over.

Anyway, today I’m going to check out the river, and maybe some of the other neighborhoods that I didn’t get to visit 2 years ago. Then tonight it’s dinner with my high school friend, her husband, and their (nearly two-year old) kid! Wow…feeling kind of old now.