Scenes from a rehearsal:
Director: “How’s it going, tenors?”
The Oldest Tenor: “In order to preserve our dignity, we shoot accusatory glances at one another.”
Alto 1: “That is really high.”
Alto 2: “Yeah, but sopranos like that.”
Soprano: “What planet do you live on?”
Mezzo: “We came in early because the sopranos came in late.”
Alto 1: “I can’t even hear the sopranos.”
Soprano to director: “You need to bring us in a little better.”
Alto 2: “Has anyone blamed the organist yet?”
That was the church choir.
A while back, I went to a rehearsal of the Master Chorale, and enjoyed it. However, it meant rushing straight to rehearsal from work, and the difficulty of parking at the university, and my youngest objected to my being out so many nights, so I regretfully gave it up.
La Bella has just emailed me saying that the director has asked her how they could get me back and offered all kinds of assistance, and there are just three rehearsals left before the concert — so I am going to take it back up again.
My lack of skill with reading music will of course make this a challenge, but challenges are always fun, aren’t they?
Frankly, I was very surprised that the director had even noticed me. As I recall, my name is coming up on the cookie rota, so it may be that rather than my voice which has inspired this…
For those of us doing the HGP, this is “checkpoint week.” If a handmade gift is going badly, this is the time to cut line and move on to Plan B. Mine are going well, I think — here is a completed one — but I know that I must step it up with the knitting if I am to finish all the gifts I have planned.
I try not to apologize for my photos, because I find it irritating in others, but it does seem to me that the flash has washed away the cables, which are the whole point of this project. Apart, that is, from the wooly-cozy thing. I intend to wrap these up with plenty of homemade cookies and candy, books, and DVDs, so the recipients can cocoon in comfort.
Crazy Aunt Purl has invented the special means of posting about holiday gifts which allows no one to see the pictures or other information without a special decoder ring. This allows all knitters to post freely about their holiday gift knitting, even if the recipients might wander by the blog, because they will not be able to see thier own gifts.
Tut, tut, not being able to read music…
My sister and I are technically altos we think but we’re not sure what the difference between a mezzo and an alto is. We always sang alto parts when we were in a choir (for me that was a whole year when I forced myself to go to a singing class for people who couldn’t sing – now there’s a blogworthy subject, I might tell that story…)
What purpose does the pink fuzzy cabled item actually serve?
Yes to the job hunting, both in and out of the dept and both in and out of NZ. Not actually enjoying it but knew that would be the case before I handed in the resignation – been here, done this before. Getting out of the job was the right thing to do – waking up in the morning and hating the thought of going to work is not a natural state for me and is definitely not healthy. Originally the job was flexible enough to allow time for a number of tasks – teaching, research, and admin – but it is no longer like that (partly my fault admittedly – when I get bored I have to find new things to do and that’s pretty much what I did over the last 4 years – the job now consistes of more work than it did when I started – my gift to the next incumbent) and I no longer have the time to do the things that I actually enjoy. So, time to change. Every now and then the idea of being a drifter appeals – what are the career opportunities inherent to being a hobo I wonder 🙂
Not being formally musically inclined I thought it meant they were early/late to the practice itself.
Silly Fee.
I don’t actually dislike job hunting but I have never had much luck with it. I always seem to be considered overqualified – partly because I gained qualifications earlier than most of my friends who either went to varsity or ended up in jobs that did not provide formal qualifications. Working for 11 years in one place was also considered bizarre during my young adulthood – young people were expected to chop and change jobs as frequently as they chopped and changed outfits. I’m even more overqualified now of course. One day, just for fun I’m going to make a business card with my whole title and full letters after my name just to be all pompous and arrogant – there are more meaningless letters in the qualification letters than there are in my first and last name combined 🙂 I will be a long-lettered unemployed dole bludger flicking business cards like switchblades to all and sundry – when I’m not being a hobo that is.
ifelloffmybike says just learn it by ear. I say, talk to Mrs Brown about a quick lesson and record it which would be learning it by ear.
Or you can pluck it out on the piano which is always a good idea.
I am currently without internet so I am writing to you from the Loud Madhouse of the Frathouse.
Lata~
Oh – and ‘hot water bottle’ is one of the rare terms that means the same in your parlance and in my own – we often shorten it to ‘hottie’. I also like the elegant idea of a jersey for a hottie – a polo-neck jersey no less – very swish and upmarket.
I like feebeeglee’s definition of alto and mezzo and soprano 🙂 It’s very cool and you should take it as a lesson in what happens when you write ambiguous sentences.