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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

planning for disaster.

I know what you’re wondering.  Where has Jersey BEEN all my life???!

Besides stressing out over graduate classes, teaching, and writing and grading papers, I recently discovered an incredibly important lesson regarding the logistics of Winter Concert disaster PLANNING. Emphasis on the planning for disaster part.  

I received approximately 147 permission slips from my lovely elementary children wishing to participate in the Winter Concert this year.  Horray! I thought to myself  I can actually handle this.

These were all numbers and projections in my head, apparently.  I assumed most children would bring only 1 parent, and perhaps 75% of these children would actually show for the concert in time.  This equals out to about 220 people sitting in the cafeteria in which the concert would take place. 

Fabulous!  I have enough chairs and plenty of space for the instrumentalists to do their thing.  (keep in mind, I’m the general elementary music teacher, there is a separate instrumental teacher). 

I arranged with maintenance for chair set up and sectioned-off areas for performers.  I collaborated with the instrument teacher to produce concert programs and work out logistics with risers, stands, etc.

About… 45824095862 aspects of the program went horrifically wrong.  Do not fret, I will not list all details since they stress me out just thinking about it.

Wrong, wrong wrong.

1. Remember that nice round expected number of 220 folks?  I ended up with nearly 500.

5-0-0.      not only was there standing room only, people were filtered out to the lobby and hallway straining to hear their children perform.  DISASTER.

  1. Trusting the instrumental teacher was a mistake. 
    1. There were 500 people there.  He printed 150 programs.  Why in the hell he thought 150 would be enough for 220 people, I don’t know.
    2. He refused to clear the music stands and chairs from the stage between sets.  Good lord. 
  2. 500 people in a tiny crowded cafeteria gets pretty effing HOT. My lovely black pencil skirt and blouse were melted, along with makeup and hair.  Sweaty doesn’t even begin to cover it.  I was running a marathon!
  3. We all have technical difficulties.  In this case, the speaker system simply could not be hooked up to my laptop.  Instead, I rigged a microphone to sit next to the laptop speakers. Ghettorific, but I suppose it mostly worked, despite me running back and forth to turn on/off the music.

I’d love to go on and on about this concert, but the absolutely ludicrous part is this:

I actually pulled it off.



How? I don’t know.  The children sang and played beautifully, the parents loved it despite the crowd (understatement), and the principal was astonished and impressed by the turn out.

Quite frankly, I’m astonished.

And in the end, it worked out. But not without me running around like a chicken with her head cut off, sweaty and wilted, cursing inherently at the ruined logistics.

And on the most positive note, the guy I’ve been seeing showed up unexpectedly.
In a suit.
With flowers.

And thought I was beautiful in all my sweaty glamour.

Go figure.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Jersey's 2010

2010 was certainly a busy, chaotic, rocky, and amazingly triumphant year.  I must say, however, I began 2010 celebrating in the heart of Edinburgh, which as my bestie describes it: "makes Times Square look like a barndance".  And it's true!  30,000 completely blasted Scottish people, Ceilidh dancing, fireworks set off every hour from the Castle.  It's indescribable.

Remember that time it snowed an insane amount in February? Yeah, that was a nightmare, and precisely one week before I moved from ghetto Maryland to Alexandria, Virginia.
In the last year I've completely seven graduate school classes while teaching full time.  Seven.  And many times, I wrote papers while drinking wine with my bestie.  How does anyone live without their own personal cheerleader? 
I cut my hair off, and grew it out again. I changed my hair color about seven times.  Yes, I am that indecisive.



I made new friends, acquaintances, and started dating (again). I looked back to move forward. 

I tried Moonshine for the first time.
Drink:
Recover:
I went to the opera

and enjoyed countless dirty martinis

I travelled to New Orleans and celebrated a friend's 30th birthday for a week,

held her hand while getting a first tattoo (and celebrated with a watermelon mojito),

 ate delicious but unhealthy food,


and drank more than my liver will ever forgive.


I travelled to Michigan and discovered the meaning of endless cornfields (big shocker for this Jersey girl!)

and even saw Carole King and James Taylor in concert.


I've got to say, 2010 was pretty fantastic, and it will be hard to beat in 2011. 

But for now, I am hopeful.