"...than people in a room, singing unafraid the same tune" (P.K. "Carried Away")
If you are a follower of Denise's blog, then I am sorry for the similar post today. But. But.
Peter Katz. (thank heavens he will never read this and know of his crazy stalker. It's true. I even watched him get out of his van from my car last night!) The show was incredibly intimate, funny, emotional, breathtaking, heart-breaking, friendly, basically everything you could want in an evening. We sat right up close, and there were not a lot of people there. I guess this was pretty sad for Peter Katz, but fantastic for us. We sang along with all of our favorites, and delighted in the new songs. He mentioned a few times how much he was enjoying the small show, and we cheered him to the end. After his set, and after we got the chance to meet him (and hug him!!), he did another 40 minutes of requests from the audience. We talked to him again before we finally got out around midnight. It was late, but the time went so quickly, and I could have stayed there all night listening to him.
His music was filled with every emotion, and he radiated with a love for what he was doing. He is such a kind and compassionate man, and it came through in everything he said and sang. He let us know how grateful he was that we were there to support him, and I am surprised that he was not more taken aback by our great excitement to talk with him. Did I mention that he hugged me?
Back to the real world today, I think I had some kind of music hang-over all morning. I was also still under the PK musical spell, and couldn't really focus on anything. So...not a great day for the work. Tomorrow I am attending a training session that will enable me to teach Abuse Protocol. It is aptly named..."Train the Trainer". It goes from 9:30am-4:00pm, and there will be lunch provided. I don't know whether I will be able to contain my excitement or not. However, it will be nice to get a break from the school for a day. I really do like my job, but it is pretty stressful right now.
I think I will end my post with a little segment I will have running until Christmas Day. It is entitled "Things I don't want for Christmas":
1. A blanket that has a picture of my family on it...or really any picture.
I have to see said blanket every time I venture out to the Walmart (I know, the best solution would be to stop going there) and it creeps me out every time.
More to come next post!!
Listen to Peter Katz...you will not be sorry. Find him at www.peterkatz.com, or of course, on Youtube.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Why I will never be an elementary teacher...
So, here is the news for the day. I have been writing here on the blogger for 2 years this month. I looked back to my first posts, and realized that 2 years ago this last weekend, I went on my first and only preference date. (If you were not a reader then, check out the story from November 2006...it's a gooder).
Last week was extremely busy, and here are a few of the things I was doing:
1. Working at Chapters on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Monday and Wednesday were pretty slow with not a lot of customers. In fact, on Wednesday, we were supposed to sell about $ 17, 000 (for those of you who do not have to attend Chapters meetings, that is a ridiculous amount to come up with on a Wednesday not in December!), and we made about 10, 000. I was actually a little afraid that I was going to be fired because that is the furthest from the budget we have probably ever been. Yeah! Friday and Saturday, however, were absolutely insane with Christmas shoppers out in spades. And, along with the Christmas shoppers comes some of our favorite things at Chapters Lethbridge: cranky people, line-ups, books that no one can find, messes around the store of gargantuan proportions, complaints about the U.S. / Canadian price differences (really? really?), and cranky people.
2. Work at the College is pretty insane right now with new students, old ones leaving, trying to pick out classes for students when they say no to every class you suggest (*$%@...), trying to compile schedules that don't conflict with everyone else's, tracking down instructors to sign audit forms, assignments to help finish, tests to study for... Come January, things will certainly settle down, but right now I am just counting the days until Christmas.
3. This past Saturday I taught the first session of a two part class through the Family and Life Studies here at the College. The class is called "Home Alone" and it is for children ages 8 - 12 who are going to be alone at home for whatever reason. It goes over safetly issues, leisure activities, nutrition, responsibilities and then first aid and the test are next week. I prepared for it all last week, and I was pretty nervous as I didn't really know what to expect. It went...o.k, but the kids were pretty crazy, and when they weren't crazy, they were really whiny. I found that 5 hours was a long time to have them for. Fortunately, next week there will be more activities, and I am going to make the test review as fun and as interactive as possible. It has been a good experience, and it is also great to get myself known here at the College in case I want to move to another department,
4. I attended Emily's baby shower and I got a chance to hold little Max, who is absolutely adorable. It was great to see Emily again, and spend a little time with her. I really do need to get together with her and tell her all the news.
This week I don't work as much, but I am going to see Peter Katz tonight at "The Slice" AWESOME!! He is so wonderful live. On Wednesday, I am going to Kade, Erinn, and Cam's Christmas concert at Southminister, and on Thursday we go out to Cardston for the Telethon. Telethon!!
Enjoy the week, everyone, and look for a PK review tomorrow!
Last week was extremely busy, and here are a few of the things I was doing:
1. Working at Chapters on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Monday and Wednesday were pretty slow with not a lot of customers. In fact, on Wednesday, we were supposed to sell about $ 17, 000 (for those of you who do not have to attend Chapters meetings, that is a ridiculous amount to come up with on a Wednesday not in December!), and we made about 10, 000. I was actually a little afraid that I was going to be fired because that is the furthest from the budget we have probably ever been. Yeah! Friday and Saturday, however, were absolutely insane with Christmas shoppers out in spades. And, along with the Christmas shoppers comes some of our favorite things at Chapters Lethbridge: cranky people, line-ups, books that no one can find, messes around the store of gargantuan proportions, complaints about the U.S. / Canadian price differences (really? really?), and cranky people.
2. Work at the College is pretty insane right now with new students, old ones leaving, trying to pick out classes for students when they say no to every class you suggest (*$%@...), trying to compile schedules that don't conflict with everyone else's, tracking down instructors to sign audit forms, assignments to help finish, tests to study for... Come January, things will certainly settle down, but right now I am just counting the days until Christmas.
3. This past Saturday I taught the first session of a two part class through the Family and Life Studies here at the College. The class is called "Home Alone" and it is for children ages 8 - 12 who are going to be alone at home for whatever reason. It goes over safetly issues, leisure activities, nutrition, responsibilities and then first aid and the test are next week. I prepared for it all last week, and I was pretty nervous as I didn't really know what to expect. It went...o.k, but the kids were pretty crazy, and when they weren't crazy, they were really whiny. I found that 5 hours was a long time to have them for. Fortunately, next week there will be more activities, and I am going to make the test review as fun and as interactive as possible. It has been a good experience, and it is also great to get myself known here at the College in case I want to move to another department,
4. I attended Emily's baby shower and I got a chance to hold little Max, who is absolutely adorable. It was great to see Emily again, and spend a little time with her. I really do need to get together with her and tell her all the news.
This week I don't work as much, but I am going to see Peter Katz tonight at "The Slice" AWESOME!! He is so wonderful live. On Wednesday, I am going to Kade, Erinn, and Cam's Christmas concert at Southminister, and on Thursday we go out to Cardston for the Telethon. Telethon!!
Enjoy the week, everyone, and look for a PK review tomorrow!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Local spinster makes good
Before I explain what the title is referring to, I have a warning for all of you who are currently featured on the facebook. Don't do anything, ever, without at least considering the possibility that someone will be there with a camera to capture the moment, and then display it to the virtual world. I have had a few experiences lately with this, and I have just had to reconcile myself to the fact that my extremely non-photogenic face will probably be featured at any given time in someone's album. I mean, they weren't exactly beating down my door prior to Facebook, so it's not like it is hindering my dating chances. However, please consider the fact that whatever you do, and wherever you go, there will probably be someone wielding a camera close by. You may not even know it until 3 days later, when you are regretting saying the things you did, or wearing the shirt that you did.
So, if you are tired of being caught unawares, here are a few things that you can do to avoid future regret.
1. Take a page out of Denise's book, and never, ever, go into public without your face on. This includes late night visitors to your house, early morning pop-ins, (and now that I have a camera Denise, really any time you are not in your room. And that does include the possibility of me waiting out in the hallway for you to come out of the bathroom)
2. Don't say anything that could be taken out of context, misunderstood, make you sound boy-crazy, or really anything at all. Many cameras have video recorders on them now.
3. Un-tag yourself in any picture that comes up on your profile. This is time-consuming if you are a social person, or just friends with someone who loves to take and display pictures, or really, if you leave you house at all. So, quit your job, and stay in to be there the second a picture of you goes up.
4. This next one may seem drastic, but follow my example and just don't go out at all. If you are not where the cameras are, you should be safe.
5. Pull an Alec Baldwin or Russell Crowe, and just go beat the crap out of the paparazzi scum who tried to photograph you in a bad pose. Although, remember that you are not a celebrity, so you may not be treated with the kid gloves by the law.
6. Get off Facebook. It's just another popularity contest, High School nightmare, way to be rejected kind of place anyway. (O.k., yes, the hypocrite is coming out in me here as I will probably be ion Facebook for awhile to come!)
7. Just go with it.
O.k., onto the title. Last night I went back to the 2nd Ward to sing some War-tyme music for their Remembrance Day Fireside. It went very well, and people were quite pleased to see me back. I really enjoyed it because I got to sing my favorite songs from that time period, and as I looked out over the audience, I could see people singing along, or smiling as they remembered hearing that music back in the day. I, myself got a little choked up when I finished the set off with "The White Cliffs of Dover"
Have a great Saturday everyone, and if you want to see me, come in the Chapters. I will be there all day...
So, if you are tired of being caught unawares, here are a few things that you can do to avoid future regret.
1. Take a page out of Denise's book, and never, ever, go into public without your face on. This includes late night visitors to your house, early morning pop-ins, (and now that I have a camera Denise, really any time you are not in your room. And that does include the possibility of me waiting out in the hallway for you to come out of the bathroom)
2. Don't say anything that could be taken out of context, misunderstood, make you sound boy-crazy, or really anything at all. Many cameras have video recorders on them now.
3. Un-tag yourself in any picture that comes up on your profile. This is time-consuming if you are a social person, or just friends with someone who loves to take and display pictures, or really, if you leave you house at all. So, quit your job, and stay in to be there the second a picture of you goes up.
4. This next one may seem drastic, but follow my example and just don't go out at all. If you are not where the cameras are, you should be safe.
5. Pull an Alec Baldwin or Russell Crowe, and just go beat the crap out of the paparazzi scum who tried to photograph you in a bad pose. Although, remember that you are not a celebrity, so you may not be treated with the kid gloves by the law.
6. Get off Facebook. It's just another popularity contest, High School nightmare, way to be rejected kind of place anyway. (O.k., yes, the hypocrite is coming out in me here as I will probably be ion Facebook for awhile to come!)
7. Just go with it.
O.k., onto the title. Last night I went back to the 2nd Ward to sing some War-tyme music for their Remembrance Day Fireside. It went very well, and people were quite pleased to see me back. I really enjoyed it because I got to sing my favorite songs from that time period, and as I looked out over the audience, I could see people singing along, or smiling as they remembered hearing that music back in the day. I, myself got a little choked up when I finished the set off with "The White Cliffs of Dover"
Have a great Saturday everyone, and if you want to see me, come in the Chapters. I will be there all day...
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
"We lived our lives in fear!"
November 12th, 2008.
Last night I had the opportunity to watch one of my all-time favorite movies: Strictly Ballroom. For those of you who do not know of this movie, contact me immediately and I will lend it to you, for you must see it. It focuses on the ball-room dancing community in Australia, and it is worth watching for the costumes, the delightful histrionics of the different women in the movie, some great dancing, and some really crazy characters. It is directed by Baz Luhrman, and it predates “Romeo and Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge”. If you didn’t like these movies, you should still watch it because it isn’t as drug-induced as R and J, or as obnoxiously loud as MR.
I was talking with my parents about movies you can find that are real gems. My mom and I discussed the argument that if you have never heard of a movie, it might be an indicator that it is not overly awesome. This point has been proved probably hundreds of times, specifically when my Dad goes to the library to pick movies. He will come back with titles you have never heard of, and they are usually the worst movies ever made. However, in favor of hidden gems, I thought of “Cold Comfort Farm”, and “Persuasion”. Both of these I discovered by accident, and both are absolutely wonderful. They are both British movies, and quite independently made, so that may explain why they were virtually unheard of here.
Any thoughts or examples for either point?
Last night I had the opportunity to watch one of my all-time favorite movies: Strictly Ballroom. For those of you who do not know of this movie, contact me immediately and I will lend it to you, for you must see it. It focuses on the ball-room dancing community in Australia, and it is worth watching for the costumes, the delightful histrionics of the different women in the movie, some great dancing, and some really crazy characters. It is directed by Baz Luhrman, and it predates “Romeo and Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge”. If you didn’t like these movies, you should still watch it because it isn’t as drug-induced as R and J, or as obnoxiously loud as MR.
I was talking with my parents about movies you can find that are real gems. My mom and I discussed the argument that if you have never heard of a movie, it might be an indicator that it is not overly awesome. This point has been proved probably hundreds of times, specifically when my Dad goes to the library to pick movies. He will come back with titles you have never heard of, and they are usually the worst movies ever made. However, in favor of hidden gems, I thought of “Cold Comfort Farm”, and “Persuasion”. Both of these I discovered by accident, and both are absolutely wonderful. They are both British movies, and quite independently made, so that may explain why they were virtually unheard of here.
Any thoughts or examples for either point?
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
"A little bit softer now"
If anyone tells you that I am a prolific blog writer, it is a lie and you should not believe him or her. Push this person down and tell him/her to stop lying. I could say that there are good reasons that I have not written in a while, but that also would be a falsehood. We all know that lying is bad, and I really want to go to the picnic at Barry's farm, so I will tell the truth. Here are the reasons: I am lazy, I have not been to the computer lab with the students at work lately (which probably means I have actually been working), my life is extremely boring with the only drama being semi-real (really, more imagined); there were brunches to plan and wow people with, episodes of "Bones" to watch, First-Aid courses with kind of adorable instructors to take, Irewards contests to win, a nursery to get organized, a roommate to make time for, and let's not forget staff meetings, getting stood up, Haunted houses to go through, costumes to make, and flirting to do.
So, I apologize to people who read my humble entries, but I don't have any excuses at all.
I am taking advantage of the holiday today to update, and also to stay out in Magrath...in the fantastic bed!! Today is Remembrance Day, and as the College is closed, I am enjoying my first day off in a couple of weeks. This morning Denise and I prepared a brunch for our friend Amy's birthday, and if I do say so myself, it was quite a success. We had bagels and cream cheese, mini muffins, fresh fruit, and a frittata. It had been some time since we had hosted any kind of gathering, and I remembered my love of being a hostess. I am already thinking about doing a Christmas party, so if anyone has any ideas for one, let me know. I was just invited to a Christmas party on the facebook, but I declined due to it being named an "Adult-only" party. Now, I know it was only thusly named so that people won't bring their young children, but I just couldn't bring myself to attend. Plus it is being hosted by a married couple, and I get enough of that at church.
This last Sunday I was standing outside the Bishop's office, waiting to be set apart, and I was surrounded by a goodly number of ward members. The executive secretary, who is an older man, came up to me and asked/yelled "Do you have a husband here?" I replied "no, no" as quietly as I could while simultaneously trying to fade into the wall. Now I know that he was just seeing if I had some family to be there for my setting apart, he didn't really know who I was, and he could possibly be the new poster-child for low-grade voice immodulation, but I was not overly thrilled for the reminder.
Anyway, I am feeling a terrible desire to read some "Pride and Prejudice", and I think my laundry is about done.
Please, everyone enjoy the rest of your holiday.
So, I apologize to people who read my humble entries, but I don't have any excuses at all.
I am taking advantage of the holiday today to update, and also to stay out in Magrath...in the fantastic bed!! Today is Remembrance Day, and as the College is closed, I am enjoying my first day off in a couple of weeks. This morning Denise and I prepared a brunch for our friend Amy's birthday, and if I do say so myself, it was quite a success. We had bagels and cream cheese, mini muffins, fresh fruit, and a frittata. It had been some time since we had hosted any kind of gathering, and I remembered my love of being a hostess. I am already thinking about doing a Christmas party, so if anyone has any ideas for one, let me know. I was just invited to a Christmas party on the facebook, but I declined due to it being named an "Adult-only" party. Now, I know it was only thusly named so that people won't bring their young children, but I just couldn't bring myself to attend. Plus it is being hosted by a married couple, and I get enough of that at church.
This last Sunday I was standing outside the Bishop's office, waiting to be set apart, and I was surrounded by a goodly number of ward members. The executive secretary, who is an older man, came up to me and asked/yelled "Do you have a husband here?" I replied "no, no" as quietly as I could while simultaneously trying to fade into the wall. Now I know that he was just seeing if I had some family to be there for my setting apart, he didn't really know who I was, and he could possibly be the new poster-child for low-grade voice immodulation, but I was not overly thrilled for the reminder.
Anyway, I am feeling a terrible desire to read some "Pride and Prejudice", and I think my laundry is about done.
Please, everyone enjoy the rest of your holiday.
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