Awaiting the end of tax season

The Chief is a tax preparer.  He just started his business a few years ago, with about 6 or 8 clients.  This year he picked up several more, with 4 of them calling him just this week.  (Nothing like waiting until the last minute, eh?)  Tonight he took 15 minutes to grab a bite of dinner after the first client left, and before his next 2 appointments.  His clients are stacking up like planes over LaGuardia!  He's glad to have the additional income, of course, but it would certainly help him if people would call him in February or March instead of waiting until April.  Bringing all their paperwork when they meet with him would be useful too.

Allow me to brag a little.  If you want a conscientious tax preparer, the Chief is your man.  He has spent hours and hours poring over each return, making sure he didn't miss any potential deductions or penalty-inducing errors (it's surprising what some people's accountants have missed or mis-entered).  He makes sure he knows the tax code citation or court case to support every deduction, just to be sure.  He pays for a subscription to a tax advisory service and has used it an average of once or twice on every account, clarifying issues open to interpretation or confirming that he was handling something correctly.  He's found cases where an amended return earned the clients several hundred dollars in refunds.  He has literally lost sleep because he was ruminating on a particularly complicated tax issue for a client, or woken at 4 a.m. with an idea that could help them.  You want meticulous, painstaking, thorough, and scrupulously honest?  The Chief is the one to call.  If you incur penalties as a result of an error he made, he'll pay the penalty.  He even throws in free tax planning advice.  I worry that he's wearing himself to a frazzle ("They had to wait until ONE WEEK before the filing deadline to call you?!?") but I'm very proud of how well he does this.

This painting thing is kinda fun!

In today's Fundamentals of Theatrical Design, we finally got to the part I'd been dreading - painting!  They started us off nice and slow, though - basic color mixing, painting on a grid with the combinations labeled for us (e.g., "red + yellow").  Then it got a little harder - "approximate your skin and hair colors on those 2 faces (on the handout, next to the color-mixing grid); you get two tries."  Yike!  To my relief, however, I managed to come reasonably close.

The next step was to pick one of two costumed figures on a second handout and fill in colors matching the colors in one of two sample photos.  I decided against the pretty green bird only because there weren't enough different colors to suit me. ;)  Instead, I went for the autumn leaves against the old blue door.  Sadly, my palette doesn't include turquoise, only darker blues, so  couldn't use blue for my figure.  That still left me a greenish yellow and a variety of oranges, so my 18th-century court lady was all in autumn tones, including her orangey-red hair. :)  The instructor who's a costume design MFA candidate was complimentary when I handed it in, so I'm hoping for a decent grade.  (I was very surprised to get full credit on the design copying exercise we did last week.)

What I've learned this semester in my Scene Painting class came in handy, especially the color mixing exercise (even if it did kick my butt).  Nice when things overlap and reinforce each other like that.  However, it didn't prepare me for the difference between acrylics (Scene Painting) and watercolors.  I quickly learned the hard way that you don't need very much water at all.

I decided that this painting thing is actually kinda fun!  I wouldn't want to try starting from absolutely nothing, but coloring in a design someone else came up with is just playing with colors, which is always fun.  Maybe after the end of the semester, I'll get one of those adult coloring books and use up my watercolors on it (now that I know the dangers of too much water).

In case you were wondering...

... whether I got into those classes I had to audition and interview for.  I'm waitlisted for the Alexander Technique class, but got into Voice for the Actor.

The latter class is at the same time as the costume construction class I wanted to take, but the instructor told me today that "you're probably too advanced for it."  It's for rank beginners - sewing terminology, how to use a sewing machine, a few very basic projects.  Too bad - sounded like it would be fun.  I wonder what the homework would have consisted of?

I came to a fork in the road...

... but I didn't take it.  A few weeks ago, coming back from the choir trip, I was walking from the bus to my car when I saw a cafeteria-issue fork just sitting there on the sidewalk.  I immediately thought of Yogi Berra but didn't take his advice.  About 10 days later, coming back to classes after spring break, the fork was still there.  No one else took that fork in the road, either. :)

It's the little things

The other day I removed Dad from my phone's contacts.  Actually, I could have done it a year ago, or whenever it was that I realized calling him was just frustrating him, so I started writing him little notes instead.  Every so often I still start to head down the greeting card aisle in the store to look for a card for him, then stop myself.

The inurnment ceremony was short but very nice.  The "family priest" (cousin of Mom's) did a lovely job as always.  He shared a memory of Dad.  Father M was at Mom's bedside when she died and told us of Dad holding Mom's hand that last time.  The Army also sent a bugler to play Taps (I think we all started "leaking" at the first note) and two NCOs to do the flag thing.  Dad would have been so pleased and proud.

M&D have two side-by-side slots in a "quadruplex" at the columbarium.  When the cemetery rep asked if we'd like to have the divider between their slots removed, we said "Yes, please!"  It won't make any difference to them, of course, but we love the idea of their "dusty boxes" (as Sister3 christened them) side by side.

I have a PAID church gig!

I got an email yesterday from one of the other singers in the benefit concert I did last summer.  She wondered if I could sub for her at her church job for 2 weeks while she & her husband are out of town for a wedding.  My calendar's clear for the dates, so I said yes.  After singing for free at my own church essentially all my life, I'm actually gonna get PAID to go to 2 choir rehearsals and sing 2 services along with the rest of the choir.    Not my denomination, so I'll have to pay close attention to the order of service, but that's a minor point.  I have no plans to give up singing at my own church, but it's a nice little change of pace, and the cash will be a nice bonus. :)

I guess they liked it...

We had our first performance of the Brahms last night.  The audience must have enjoyed it - they started standing up as soon as the maestro's body language told them it was over, and they kept applauding through three sets of bows!

This conductor is a lot of fun to work with.  His joy in the music is obvious, and his conducting body language is so expressive, it's almost as if he dances through it.  He certainly gets good music out of both chorus and orchestra, and I think we all enjoy the experience.

Never had to audition for a class before

I need to take at least 2 more performance classes in order to graduate.  In this program, that means you audition or interview.  Yesterday was my audition for the Alexander Technique class.  I had no idea what to expect - I'd never heard of interviewing to get into a class!  And getting in isn't a given; the class is limited to 12, and 18 people signed up for interviews.  The instructor expects to notify people by the middle of next week.

Today was my audition for Voice for the Actor.  I trimmed down the Veta Louise monologue I've used before.  It went well enough, and the professor then had me start it again as if Veta were seriously pissed off about this situation.  (I'd been playing her as at her wits' end.)  She warned me that she'd cut me off before I finished, and she did, but she explained that anger seems to play funnier.  The whole thing took maybe 5 minutes, tops.  I told her it was the shortest, most painless audition I think I've ever had.  She expects to post her list by the end of the day tomorrow.  While I don't have class at this building tomorrow, we do meet here for the "Brahms buses", so I can check the list before we have to board the buses for our concert.

I've now been introduced to this concept of having to audition for a class.  The scary part is that they only let you audition (or interview) twice; after that, you're out of luck.    Yike!

The wheels on the bus...

And we're off!  Two busloads of singers, headed to our first rehearsal with the orchestra.  (We had our first run-through with the maestro last night.)  My seatmate, a middle school music teacher, is working on lesson plans.  I've got my music, my water bottle, a coupla pencils, and a little dinner - I'm ready for this. Looking forward to singing with a professional orchestra!

Marble

In this week's Scene Painting class we played with creating the effect of marble.  I'm happy with how mine turned out.  I had a little trouble getting some of the effects I wanted, so we got into a little bit of a time crunch (no wonder we meet for a single 4-hour session!), but I still think my "marble" looks pretty decent.  The curving arc makes it look kinda like a geode.  Not bad for someone who'd never attempted anything like this until I started this class.

This singing stuff is an unpredictable business.

Yesterday's voice lesson was one of those that happen every so often and make you wonder why you bother.  Seemed like everything I tried to sing below the staff was mushy, muddy, back in the throat - you name a technical problem, I had it.  My low audition piece (lots of it below the staff) was giving me so much trouble that my teacher and I both decided that I would definitely not be using it for the audition I had last night.  Five hours just wouldn't be enough to whip it into shape.

So that audition last night.  I sang my two higher pieces (one G&S, one Rodgers & Hammerstein).  They both felt good, the audition panel laughed (they're comic pieces, so that's a good thing), and the audition accompanist sightread like a champ and followed nicely, so it was all good.  I'm sure it helped that we'd touched on both pieces in my lesson yesterday afternoon, so all those technical niceties were fresh in my mind.

This afternoon was the mock run of next Saturday's NATS competition.  C has 7 students who'll be competing and 6 of us sang this afternoon.  We had an "adjudicator", we stood in the crook of the piano to sing, just as we will next week, and we were coached in how to introduce ourselves and our pieces.  C had us in age order, starting with her youngest students, which meant I "batted clean-up".  It wasn't too bad being last, as I only had to wait through 5 other people's music.  Having had the benefit of C's training, they all did well.  I got a little over-the-top with my brindisi, which caused one of my notes to "splat", but in general I was pretty happy with how it went, and did have fun singing the music.  Better, C was delighted with how my lowest song went.  She thought it was worlds better than yesterday and was very happy with how quickly I'd managed to incorporate her corrections.  Now if I can just manage to keep them in mind through the week so I've internalized them by next Saturday, when I have to sing for the judges...

The Chief came along for the ride.  (It helped, I'm sure, that I promised him dinner afterwards at a nearby restaurant we love.)  He said that, when I was warming up in the car going over, he wasn't so sure how I'd do, but thought that when it came down to it, I did just fine. :)

"Travel team"

I'm registered in Chorale as one of my classes this semester.  This has already meant an outside rehearsal (this afternoon), with more coming up.  Our first performance series consists of 3 concerts split between 2 venues, about 30-40 miles apart.  We got an email earlier this week with the schedule, including when we have to be on the buses.

We're also on tap to sing at a directors' conference in mid-March.  That one's out of town, which means packing an overnight bag (and probably sharing a hotel room with a fellow chorister).  Because we leave late on a Friday morning, I also have to arrange to make up my Scene Painting work for that day.

I never realized, when I registered, that I was signing up for a "travel team"! :D

I painted something!

Today was the first day we actually painted in Scene Painting class.  (Last week was the customary administrative stuff, "getting to know you" session, and a quick tour of the building.)  Today was about creating visual texture. We practiced several techniques that were new to me:

- painting with a brush on the end of a pole

- wet blend (paint, then water on the brush, so the colors combine readily), using X strokes

- scumbling (near as I can tell, it's like wet blend, except that the colors remain somewhat discrete)

- spattering (tips: keep the brush horizontal, don't use too much water unless you want the color to be diluted, don't use a brush with really stiff bristles)

- using a sea sponge (wet or dry) for dappling or blending

- using a feather duster(!) to dapple or blend

We each had a 4' x 4' board to practice on.  Some of my classmates are definitely artists and had very good-looking results.

Interestingly, nearly everyone else had darker, more muted colors, in part because of the way their colors blended.  I chose bright blue, green and yellow, so I had the one board with fairly bright colors.  Our instructor said they made her happy. :)  I was pleasantly surprised that something I dove into with no plan and no real clue what I was doing turned out reasonably well.  I painted a thing and I actually kinda like it! :)  (That funny-looking stick-like thing in the middle is just some dribbled paint.)

I used the sponge on this corner to get the streaky effect here:

Some spatter and just a touch of feather duster:

Here are everyone's boards (the one on the brown paper is the instructor's demo):

Been a very eventful few weeks

The biggest event was that Dad finally succumbed to his health issues on Jan. 15th.  We're relieved for his sake, and glad he's reunited with Mom, but of course his passing leaves a big hole in our lives.

The Chief and I flew out for the funeral.  My siblings planned a very nice one, so we gave him a good send-off.  (Mom would've loved the music.)

Getting back was tricky, however.  The East Coast got hit with a blizzard that weekend (one of Dad's cousins and his wife decided, wisely, not to fly out), so our flight home Sunday was cancelled.  We finally got home Monday afternoon.  Classes were cancelled both Monday and Tuesday, which gave me a little time to get ready for a new semester at a new school.

Getting into the new semester has been tricky because I was waitlisted for two classes I needed.  I did manage to get into both, but I only got approved for the second one yesterday, and didn't get my shop hours scheduled until this morning.  

This has made it hard to reschedule my voice lesson, too.  C's schedule is pretty full, so I was afraid we might not be able to work something out.  As it is, I couldn't get a lesson this week, but we did work something out.  Good thing, with NATS only a few weeks away!

It's hard changing schools mid-year.

Classes have been in session for about a week now, my schedule is finalized at last, but I'm still feeling unsettled.  Part of it is that no two days have the same schedule, but there's also the fact that my of my classmates seem to know each other.  Ah well, I've done this before; once in 2nd grade and again in 8th.  At least this time I have the advantage of perspective and experience.  I know I'll live, and at this level people are far more likely to ignore the new "kid" than pick on her, especially given that she's probably at least as old as their parents. ;)

Gonna be a busy semester.  I'm taking 14 credit hours, and I can see already that I'm gonna be quite busy with reading and researching design projects.  My two "artsy" classes - Fundamentals of Theatrical Design  and Scene Painting - are a bit intimidating because I have never felt that I had much design imagination or *any* drawing ability.  They'll certainly challenge me, pushing me to step way out of my comfort zone and to force my imagination to get off dead center and do something.  Wish me luck!

Getting psyched for this semester

Went to new student orientation last Friday and got a preliminary schedule.  I'm waitlisted for two classes I need, so they gave me two others to fill out my hours.  Today I met with someone in the Theater dept. about registering for one of the four 1-credit practicums I need for my degree.  She sent me to the costume shop to get a contract for the 40 hours I need to put in.  I'm now slated to spend 4 hours every Monday afternoon during the semester working in the costume shop, learning some tricks of the trade and, if I'm lucky, being trusted to work on some of the fancier projects.  

Poor me - "forced" to work in the costume shop.   When I got home and told the Chief, he teased me about staying past closing so I can continue to play in the costumes.  That's probably not too far from the truth - I full expect to have NO trouble getting in my 40 hours.  At 4 hours a week, I'll probably hit that number before the end of the semester.

They also have an arrangement they call a "fire sale".  Instead of spacing your 40 hours over the semester, you do a single 40-hour week during the week before classes start.  You get the same credit, but knock it out in a single week.  Not all of the technical shops offer this arrangement, but it's nice to know it's out there, in case I want to get a jump-start on my semester.

How to make a fun semester even better

I requested an unofficial transcript for the semester so I could print a copy to take to the university's new student orientation.  I was delighted to see that I have STRAIGHT A's for the semester!  Woohoo!  I got straight A's for having fun - gotta love it!

This university's administration is SO messed up!

First it was all those auto-emails from Admissions, promising a response to my query within 3 business days.  I think the shortest time I waited for a response was 2 calendar weeks.  Then the system took a coupla days to acknowledge that I'd paid the enrollment confirmation fee.  Now it's New Student Orientation (NSO henceforth).

First, navigating their NSO page is an exercise in frustration, as many of the links keep circling back to ones I've already visited.  NSO is mandatory; can't register for classes until you attend.  However - there are no NSO sessions left before the start of the semester!  I might have been able to sign up sooner if:
1) they'd responded to my application in mid-October as promised, instead of Dec. 2nd;
2) they'd responded immediately, or at least within the promised "3 business days", to my deferral request (submitted Dec. 3rd), instead of waiting until Dec. 17th.
Their foot-dragging put me a good 5 or 6 weeks behind where I might have been had they responded as promised.

And of course I didn't get a chance to get online to register for NSO until after dinner tonight, long after the Orientation office had closed.  I'm hoping there'll be someone in the office Monday morning who can help me with this little problem.  Wish me luck!

The university didn't cooperate with my plans.

Finally heard back from the university admissions office today.  I went by there Tuesday and was told I needed to accept their admission offer (which included submitting a hefty, non-refundable (natch!) deposit) before they'd even consider my deferral request. I went through those steps, sent them their money, then requested a deferral from the admissions officer in charge of such things.  I finally heard back this afternoon that they don't grant deferrals just so you can complete a degree elsewhere.  Never mind that when I submitted my application way back last July, I didn't know how close I was to an A.A., and no word of acknowledgement of how hard it is to get hold of a real person to give you a straight answer.  Harrumph!  However, given the glorious facility that is their performing arts space, and the wealth of wonderful-sounding course offerings, I'm not too broken up.  I just have to shift mental gears, from "community college" to "university".  And to think of the hoops I jumped through to test outta that computer literacy class.  Oh well.

I also heard back about my prescreening audition for the School of Music.  I was not surprised to learn that I wasn't invited for an in-person audition, given all the vocal problems I was still recovering from when I had to do the recording.  No matter; this just gives me that much more time to select and work on audition pieces for the Fall 2017 cycle.

So no, they didn't cooperate with my plans, but in January I get to start sinking my teeth into their banquet of "Theatre" offerings, so yay!

And that's the semester!

Finally finished and submitted the research paper for my last class (Script Analysis).  At 10 pages (and could've gone longer), it was easily the longest paper I've written this semester.  In fact, it's at least as long as my next two longest papers combined, just because the professor had so very many things we needed to cover.  A useful exercise, but oh did it take a long time to pull together everything I needed!

Now my time is my own again and I can spend time on voice practice, Lend Me a Tenor research, Regency sewing, Christmas cards...