Contest
I was one of the most disorganized messes you could ever imagine when it came to getting my act together for going to competition.
Normally I’m one of those "list" kind of people. I make a list, dividing the paper into sections for each day, and start writing down all the things I might possibly need to get through the weekend.
Not this time.
I was scrambling around at the last minute, ironing, tossing stuff into the suitcase and praying I wasn’t forgetting anything essential. I think it made leaving more stressful than it needed to be.
I know it set me back by at least a half hour from what my planned departure time had been. Not that it really mattered, as we didn’t care what time we got there. I didn’t even drive like a bat out of hell to make up for lost time.
We finally got there at about three thirty and were able to check into our room immediately. This was unusual because they never seem to be ready for the Adeline onslaught. They know for months in advance that this enormous group of singers is arriving, but then seem to be shocked when we are all crammed into their lobby.
We did have a problem with the room, as Dee and I choose to not go into a quad. We prefer to just have the two of us in the room and to each have our own bed. There are several of us in the chorus who request this specifically because we feel as if we sleep better and aren’t falling over each other when we’re trying to get ready for contest.
Well, when we got to the room there was a king-size bed and a cot. We pay extra to have a double and then we don’t each get a bed??? We are irritated. I think I’m going to write to the Marriott and complain. This isn’t what we requested and it’s not good business to do something like this. At the very least we should be given a price break.
We went to dinner at a restaurant called the Student Prince. It’s a German restaurant that Dee likes to go to each year. I’m not crazy about it, but it doesn’t bother me to go either. She just likes to have her weinerschnitzel. I can usually find something on the menu to like. I ordered pork chops this time, but they were awful. They had a funny taste to them. I didn’t know it was possible for pork chops to taste gamy.
After dinner we went to the quartet contest. We missed the first two quartets, but they didn’t place well, so we apparently didn’t miss much. One of the quartets had been the anticipated winners, and they ended up placing fifteenth.
This was an endless contest!! I didn’t think anything could ever be that deadly. There were twenty-two quartets. The last one didn’t finish singing until 11:45. Each quartet can only sing two songs, but the judges take forever to score and write their comments! It was so boring and dragged out! (I’m not a quartet fan in any case.)
The good new was that we had two quartets that had members of our chorus singing in them and one placed second and the other third! It was just wonderful! We were so excited for them. I was especially excited for the group that placed third, as this was the best they had ever done and they are splitting up after this contest. One of my good friends, Laura, is the lead, and the chorus director is the tenor, so we were quite psyched that this was a good omen.
They arrived in our room at about 1 am (ugh) to share their score sheets with us.
It was an exiting and happy night.
Listening to: My friend Michael’s compositions
Reading: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Weather: 72, cloudy
Trivia: Where were maps deliberately published with errors?
In the old Soviet Union, maps were often made with deliberate errors. Towns, rivers, and roads were placed incorrectly, and entire towns would be missing in some versions. Moscow street maps were especially inaccurate. The false maps were part of a plan to prevent foreigners and even the Soviet citizens from knowing the details of the geography of the Soviet Union. It was thought that this would increase security, but actually it made the whole country less efficient. The false maps were part of a much broader concept called Maskirovka, a word that has meanings relating to misdirection, camouflage, misinformation, and diversion. According to some experts, the Maskirovka philosophy is still very much a part of Russian strategy, and influences many parts of the society.
Cool word: karaoke [n. care-e-OH-key]
Some critics might define karaoke as shrill off-key singing that is torture for listeners, but that is just an unfortunate element of this amusement. Karaoke is a form of public entertainment in which the music from songs is played while people sing the words, reading the words from a monitor. Sometimes television screens show scenes intended to create a suitable atmosphere for the song. Karaoke started out as an amusement for business people in Japan in 1981. The word is taken from the Japanese kara (from karrapo for empty) and oke (from Okesutora which means orchestra).
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Horoscope
ARIES
Tempting as it may be to abandon all your efforts and hard work in earning money and cash income, this is not entirely realistic if you have not yet worked out how you can bring in beneficial changes. There is no point in burning your boats until you have at least established what the new situation you hanker after should be. Pangs of discontent should be seen as a drive to do better, you know you can.
You may have an opportunity to attend some kind of business or other organized function today. It's possible, however, that you'll feel somehow out of place. Perhaps the conversations will seem somewhat inappropriate for the setting. At best, the event may seem surrealistic to you. Take whatever happens with a grain of salt, and have a good laugh after the experience. There are better and more meaningful occasions than these.