February 2008
...'cause you're ooooold...
February 27, 2008 19:21Sponge Bob's boss Mr. Krabs wakes up in his hammock and he hears the following song on the oldies station:
"You're old, groaning like a geezer. (Mr. Krabs opens his eyes covered with white, crusty gunk)
"Yourself a-crackin' like an old has-been. (he gets out of bed, joints cracking, and walks to the bathroom)
"Look at yourself, old man, you've got multiple chins..." (looking in the mirror, he pulls down the neck of his nightshirt to reveal lots of chins)
"...'cause you're ooooold... "
Yep. At 3:38 a.m. on Thursday I will be 44.
4 replies
why you should not skimp on rehearsals
February 18, 2008 16:17Saturday night's symphony concert of famous opera choruses was yet another oddball event with lots of little weird strangenesses. Perhaps management should not have cut one of our rehearsals ;). First, the opening chords of the overture to Rienzi had some quite wayward (as in different key entirely) flute notes. Then, in the beginning of Pilgrim's Chorus from Tannhauser, our conductor cued the chorus in early so that the strings could not resolve their phrase. The first half of the program ended with Polyvetsian Dances. The big clarinet solo was begun two measures early. The flautist tried to come in twice, but we basically had 32 measures with gaping holes of nothingness until the upper strings entered. The end of the concert featured the second suite from Carmen. One of the featured college choruses is conducted by a mezzo, so she sang the last movement, the Danse Boheme. And while she sang nicely enough, our conductor gave her a couple of bows, acknowledged the other chorus masters, and totally neglected to give the orchestra a final bow. His backstage glass of scotch was not forgotten, however.
I would also personally like to thank all those college chorus students who moved all the violinists' cases off the table so they could have room for their colorful purses. Oh, I am so middle aged!
surprise
February 9, 2008 06:12Besides anxiety about a lack of extra funds, what happens when your subdivision association fees, your daughter's school registration fees, and a dentist bill all converge? A surprise check arrives in the mail, payment for an additional showing of you-know-who's "Favorite Things" episode. Sweet!
the hunt is on
February 3, 2008 19:31Yet another evening preparing materials for students who are more interested in sleeping than actually participating...
That is one of many reasons why I am beginning the whole "look for another job process". I attended a teacher job fair in a neighboring county. You get to drop off resumes, shake hands, and do mini-screening interviews. The problem with being certified in music is that you can only do one thing, so the job fair is really not the best venue for finding that new job. But you have to do it anyway, if nothing else to practice the interview process.
These job fairs are basically big cattle calls for teachers, similar to an audition where far too many applicants show up for one opening. Only instead of playing Don Juan or the Classical Symphony, you must answer "What would your standards based classroom look like?" "How do you differentiate instruction in your classroom?", "How would you handle an irate parent?".
There is also a state-wide website that lists all openings as they occur, and those openings will begin to increase as contracts go out. It's an interesting process, because you must anticipate what a particular district is looking for while you are also self evaluating your whole philosophy of teaching. We'll see how this all turns out.
There is also another oddball concert approaching--the next symphony concert is a strange potpourri of opera choruses with a cast of thousands (well maybe hundreds). And a local university is killing its string program. Never a dull moment here...
More entries: March 2008 • January 2008
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