| Mike Rowe's Wonder Boner |
[Dec. 22nd, 2008|09:22 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  amused | ] |
Yes... it's a little old... but it's new to me thanks to Wil Wheaton and his whacky blog...
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| Growth |
[Oct. 29th, 2008|09:08 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | happy | ] |
One of my big goals for Post Road is to grow them into a bigger chorus. Ultimately, I want 80 - 100 singers, but I know that isn't going to happen overnight. Right now, we're hovering around 25, so my goal between now and May (contest) is 35 - 40. If we do well at contest, it'll make our job easier recruiting new singers.
Last night, we auditioned a new (fabulous) singer and she passed with flying colors. Last week's guest night brought three potential singers in -- one of which came back this week who's really gung ho to join. And we have a third singer that came a few weeks ago that is getting geared up for the audition. All of them are young -- last night's auditionee is younger than me, in fact!!! -- and have great voices.
It's very exciting to watch the chorus grow!! |
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| Upcoming Music Stuff... |
[Oct. 26th, 2008|05:08 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  artistic | ] |
You've heard me babbling quite a bit about this one...
1st Congregational Church of Shrewsbury presents
The Music of Godspell
Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 7pm.
Tickets: $10 per individual or $25 per family.
(Note: There will be a childcare room, so if you're unsure if your kid can sit through the whole thing, there will be a safe place for your kids to go run around. Our church has several women who are fantastic with the kiddos).
1st Congo is at the corner of Main St and Rt 140 in the center of Shrewsbury.
And no, we're not doing the whole show -- just the majority of the music. We have a kickin' band and a great group of singers. Wombat's also performing in it. It'll be a great time! :) I have tickets. If you want to come and you don't see me before the 15th, let me know and I'll make sure there are tickets on reserve for you at the door. Oh. And we're going to have desserts and goodies.
AND...
If you're interested in hearing my chorus, we're performing for Simon Malls One Night of Giving. We'll be at the Solomon Pond Mall on Sunday, November 23rd from 7 - 9pm. We'll be doing 30 minute sets down near Macy's (I think). Tickets for this event are $10 -- some of this money goes to my chorus and some of it goes to the Simon Kids Charity. The ticket enters you into some sort of raffle and if presented at the stores that night, you'll get discounts. Again, I've got tickets if you want on -- unfortunately, I don't think I can put them on reserve at the door, so if you show up that night, you're on your own. (I doubt this will be an issue since it's not like there are a limited number of seats or something...) :) |
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| GSBGP |
[Oct. 25th, 2008|08:30 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | artistic | ] |
Godspell Seeking Bass Guitar Player
Hey all you closet (or not-so-closet) musicians out there! I'm in need of your help. I know I've made mention of an upcoming (music of) Godspell production I'm involved in on November 15th. We're putting together a kickin' band to back up the singers. Unfortunately, the person we thought we had lined up to be our bassist can't do it, so we're trying to find a last minute replacement.
There is a rehearsal this afternoon -- Saturday, Oct 25th, 3-5pm -- in Shrewsbury. There will be a few other rehearsals between now and the 15th -- most of these are to be deteremined. (Today is the first day we'll have the band together, so we'll figure it out then). The only one that's set in stone is Friday, November 14th at 6pm -- this is our dress rehearsal. The show is Sat 11/15 at 7pm (5pm call).
If you're interested -- even if you can't make today's rehearsal -- please get in touch with me ASAP. Either email KatatonicState (at) gmail (dot) com (or you can Google Talk me) or call me - 774 239 1512. If you can make today's rehearsal -- even better! And, of course, if you aren't musically inclined, but know someone who is, then by all means give them my info.
This is a fundraiser and we're trying to do this with all volunteers if possible. My director of music can hire a professional if needs be (and will do so if it comes to it), but would prefer to save the cash. So, compensation would be my undying gratitude -- which could include things like baked goodies, beer, and/or lunch or dinner on me. :) |
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| Officially Hanging out the Shingle |
[Mar. 16th, 2008|02:17 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | happy | ] |
So if you read my journal regularly, you know that I am starting to teach voice. If you or someone you know is interested, please let me know! Voice lessons aren't just for soloists. If you enjoy singing and want to learn how to better your sound and technique, then you might want to consider taking lessons.
Here's the info:
I teach at the First Congregational Church in Shrewsbury. (The corner of Rt. 140 and Main St - the big white church on the town green). I offer hour lessons at $35/hour (or $30/hour for fulltime students). I am happy to work with any age -- junior high or older. My services range from coaching / prep for some event (one-time or a set period of time) to general weekly/bi-weekly voice lessons for beginning and intermediate students. For those wishing to study with me (not just get some specific coaching), the first lesson is an evaluation of where you're at and is therefore free. (It's not an audition, so don't be intimidated!) Current students who successfully refer me to a new student receive a free lesson after the new student's 4th lesson.
You can either email me: KatatonicState (at) gmail.com or call me --- Seven Seven Four, Two Three Nine, One Five One Two.
Thanks! |
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| PSA: Email Addy Change |
[Jan. 9th, 2008|01:20 pm] |
I'm phasing out the my gamegeeksonline email address, so if y'all want to email me, please use:
KatatonicState (at) gmail (dot) com
That is all. |
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| In case you have money left over from Black Friday... |
[Nov. 24th, 2007|09:54 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | creative | ] |
My mother-in-law is part of a crafter’s co-op and they’re having their annual craft show/sale this weekend…
Here’s the skinny:
Holiday Cottage Hand-crafted Gifts
Gifts include – Quilted items, Knits for All (my MIL’s stuff), Pinecone Wreaths, Local Honey, Jewelry, Baskets, Doggie & Kitty Delights, and more!
Enjoy cider and cookies while you browse!
13 River St in Northborough
(This is behind the Harley Davidson Cycle Shop on Rt. 20)
Sat 11/24 (Today) – 10am - 8pm
Sun 11/25 – 12pm – 5pm |
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| Petition to keep toxins out of our kids' toys. |
[Aug. 17th, 2007|03:35 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  busy | ] |
I just got this off a mommies mailing list I'm on. I didn't realize that the CPSC was so... neutered.
You can find the petition at
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/momsrising/signUp.jsp?key=2362
THE LOWDOWN: CPSC is an under-funded agency with an outdated
regulatory authority. It needs the resources and authority to keep our
children safe. It's time to pass legislation to make sure CPSC can do
its job to keep dangerous products out of our homes. Congress can take
several steps to keep children safe:
1) Give real teeth and authority to CPSC to keep toxics out of toys
and set firm toxic limits (since there are only guidelines now);
2) Create a third-party testing system and increase the fines for
those companies who put toxics in toys;
3) Fully fund the CPSC, which has had a stagnant budget since 2005, so
it can enforce the laws;
4) Increase staffing at CPSC since their current staffing is at its
lowest level since the 1980s;
5) Give authority to quickly release safety warnings about imminent
hazards without manufacture approval.
Two recently introduced bills in the Senate propose to do just this.
Let's make sure that Congress hears our strong support for this
legislation. Our children need safe products NOW.
PASS IT ON--KEEP TOXICS AWAY FROM KIDS: Can you think of any list you
have not yet posted this petition on? Any friends who have been
sneaking into their children's rooms late at night to confiscate that
special Big Bird toy? Get them involved and pass the petition on so we
can get as many signers as possible! |
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| You know you're a dork when... |
[May. 30th, 2007|12:59 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | busy | ] |
...you say, "I expended all my MP wrestling the sage plant..." I have a beautiful sage plant. It decided that the Mint in the herb garden was a little hard to take, so it relocated itself. It managed to work it's way out of the garden by growing in the narrow space where two of the railroad ties that border the garden meet. The (substantial) root was almost completely under the tie that's actually bolted down. Using a pry bar, Wombat was able to pull that tie up enough for me to wrestle the plant free - I managed to keep a good bit of the root intact and we didn't destroy the railroad tie. The Sage is now back where it used to be before it's big move. Here's hoping it survives. I also got the rest of the herbs that I have planted/moved this morning. I realized that while I still have a ways to go, things are starting to look really good. This weekend, I hope to buy everything else I need so I can just be done with the big stuff and start focussing on smaller things that I want to clean-up, etc.
We finally have a space to hold an organizational meeting for our theater group. I'll post here with the details in the next day or so. (I'll be posting all over creation, in fact).
Wombat's step-dad (the MIL's husband) called this morning and left a message while we were outside. He sounded beleaguered and asked Wombat to call him this afternoon. Sounds like it's time to sit down and discuss things. Ah, the passive-agressive life: have your husband deal with that which offends you. (When she's pissed, Wombat's step-dad is always the one to call us about it. Whatever - I like dealing with him because he's reasonable and understands a heckuva lot more about what's going on than the MIL ever gives him credit for). |
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| The taming of the Herbs. |
[May. 29th, 2007|03:47 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | accomplished | ] |
(Yes, I'm trying to actually update my journal regularly instead of only when I feel like I'm going to explode from stupid family drama.)
This morning, I cleaned out my Mint...err... Herb Garden. My gardens are in surprisingly ok shape this year given that they received little attention last summer. The worst garden is my herb garden. For some reason, the summer before last, it was neglected. (I can't remember the reason, but it was). The mint and lemon balm took over and killed off everything else except for the chives. Today, I took a shovel to it and dug it all out. What's left are a nice clump of chives and a cone flower. I have no idea where that Cone Flower came from, but it's there and it looks nice. Tomorrow, the cone flower will be moved to it's new home and I'll plant some lavender, thyme, sage, and parsley in the garden to get it going. This weekend, I'll buy more parsley, basil, oregano, and rosemary (to go into a container that lives in the garden in the summer and inside in the winter). I'm thrilled to get my herb garden back - it's great to just run outside and get what I need when I'm cooking.
I'm hoping to also get a veggie garden going this weekend. I know it's a little late, but I haven't gotten my act together to buy containers - most of what I want to do will be in containers since I don't have a decent bed to put stuff in. I had thought about joining a co-op, but for less than the money I'd invest doing that, I could put together my own container garden and then it'd be a minimal investment from here on out.
And now it's time for E to head out for the day. I must go entertain the Peanut until it's time for dinner. |
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| Pride and Joy. |
[May. 27th, 2007|08:56 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | content | ] |
It was a good day. I took Ruth to church with me this morning and left Wombat at home to have some time for himself. Church was sparsely attended today given the holiday weekend so it was a "low pressure" work morning. She spent the morning playing with her friends in the nursery, so she was a happy girl.
This afternoon was spent catching up with an old friend. The more we chatted, the more I realized that we probably have more in common now than we did 12+(!) years ago when we first met. I'm glad he and his family are back in the area so we can hopefully see each other more than once every year or two.
And to cap off this fine day, Ruth taught her parents a very important lesson -- Fresh Cherries + Corn + 24 Hours = Stupendous Diaper. Yowza.
Tomorrow promises to be another good one. We'll spend the morning doing the town festivities - pancake breakfast, book sale, plant sale, whatever else they've got going on at the Common. And then, I finally should be able to get some much needed gardening done. |
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| When the Real World messes up your Fantasy World. |
[May. 26th, 2007|02:43 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  frustrated | ] |
It's all come to a head. And I've come to the realization that I'm spending way too much mental energy on stupid petty bullshit. Unfortunately, I'm stuck playing someone else's game, but I don't know the rules.
( Another MIL Rant )
And that concludes my Mental Purge. Here's hoping I can stop focusing on it and get back to my Regularly (ha!) Scheduled Life. |
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| Eulogy 101 |
[May. 8th, 2007|02:18 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | amused | ] |
When I die, whoever plans my funeral needs to make sure that the person delivering the eulogy isn't bitter about the fact that I'm dead. Or, at least if they are, the bitterness does not spill into the eulogy.
I worked (sang) a funeral this weekend for a gentleman who apparently died after some illness. He died relatively young - early 60's - and had spent the last 120 days of his life in a hospital. He had a large family that took up 6 rows of pews in the church. His younger brother gave the eulogy.
Here's what his eulogy DID NOT cover: The deceased's life. The deceased's family (except incidentally). Funny/heartwarming/happy memories of the deceased. Anything uplifting or consoling.
Here's what the eulogy DID cover (rough quote): "Despite having a large family who [the deceased] loved spending time with, he died alone in the wee hours of the morning. It's my only hope that as he realized his time was coming that he had the strength to push the nurse call button." And on and on it went along these lines for 10-ish minutes. |
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| Calling all WPI theater alum (and other theater junkies) |
[Apr. 24th, 2007|11:44 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  curious | ] |
[I know this is geared toward WPI folks, but I'm interested to hear from all theater folks.]
I'm working with a couple of folks who are looking to develop a new community theater in the Shrewsbury area. We're looking at an MWRep-style of management - that is, we want to create a community of theater enthusiasts who want to share in the production of a show. Like MW, we'll create a system of democratically choosing what shows get done. If things take off like we hope, the system might be completely different than MW in that we may need to plan a season or two ahead for funding/grant purposes, but we want the community to drive this rather than one guy-in-charge. Also, like MW, we want to give people a chance to try new stuff. With this said, as we develop this idea, we need input to see if there's any interest. We understand that our lives are radically different than when we were in college and had 40 hours a week to devote to whatever production was happening at the time. We know that there are jobs, kids, houses, and other things that eat up your time at play here. We're really interested in hearing about what your priorities and how theater could potentially fit into your life. You can respond here or if you prefer, send me a private email with your thoughts -- KatatonicState (at) gmail (dot) com
Thanks for your input!
( Our Survey... )
++ I know there's tons of folks who aren't on LJ who did theater at WPI - if you know someone who might have some ideas/interest for us, please pass this along to them. We'd love to hear from them. Thanks! ++ |
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| It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round. |
[Feb. 8th, 2007|10:52 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | kitchen table | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | amused | ] |
| [ | music |
| | whatever wombat's listening to in the next room | ] |
Note to self: If I ever need to hire a nanny again, don't bother registering with a nanny site, just use Craigslist.
I'm still getting (qualified) responses -- which works out because I have another friend who's looking, so I'm just bouncing the responses to her. This morning, I got a not-so-qualified response... ok.. she's not from around here, but...
Dear to whoever this may concern.
Please accept this letter as a application to your nanny part time position.
My name is [foo] and I am very keen to apply to be a child care assistant will be 19 in March and have been around children basically my hole life as I've got three younger siblings.
Ive done quite a few babysiting and am very child orientated love being in the company of children.
I would love to look after your infant and give it all the care it requires will be doing a CPR course on the 10 of february at the Red cross Hospital.
As i only completed High School last year this is the first child care job i will be doing besides the baby sitting and interactive child care I've done in the past.
References:
Ive done a few baby sittings for the following people and other but they are located in different countries:
Locals:
[foo] and [foo] (Both numbers written as +1 508 [blah])
If there are any questions you can email me back.
Thank you for your time in reading my application
[foo].
I don't think I'll pass this one along to my friend... |
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| Nanny Sagas |
[Jan. 29th, 2007|05:28 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | accomplished | ] |
Wow... Hiring a nanny without the use of an agency can be an adventure. I posted my add to the Worcester LJ Community and to the Worcester Craigslist. (Try for free... then move onto the avenues I'd have to pay for). I got a ton of responses. After wading through all the "nannies" who were actually moms looking to make a little money watching someone else's kid(s) while schlepping their own kids along and women who were looking for a non-retail job that pays better than minimum wage but don't have any relevant experience (except that they did a babysitting job in high school), I came up with four candidates:
Candidate #1: A resident of Boylston who has been a nanny for years. Her last gig (which just ended) was for a set of twins. She nannied them from age 3 months to 4 years. The mom worked out of the home - a similar situation to our own.
Candidate #2: A woman from Oxford who has also been a nanny and/or preschool teacher for years. Her current gig is a night nanny position and she wants to get daytime hours so she can spend more time with her 5 kids (this includes triplets... she must *really* like kids).
Candidate #3: A woman looking to make a career change. She was tapped to sit on a Federal Grand Jury a couple of years ago -- the time committment as well as the cases she was handling forced her to quit her job. (She had previously been city planning -- a mob case she was working hit close to home, apparently -- she ended up knowing several of the people indicted through her work with various construction companies). Her service is about up and she's trying to figure out what to do with her life.
Candidate #4: A young woman (Freshman in college) majoring in Early Childhood Development. She's currently working for a daycare, but wants to do more one-on-one. She's held summer nanny positions and has a list a mile long of kids she babysits/has babysat for.
We interviewed #1 and #2 last week hoping that one of them would work out. We set up in the living room - I put a playmat in the middle of the floor with some toys and sat there with Ruth. I wanted to see how our potential nanny interacted with her. Candidate #2 - #4 did to varying degrees. Candidate #1 didn't. At all. Scratch #1 off the list.
I wanted to hire #2. She had some ideas as to how to handle a few minor challenges that Ruth has been presenting. She had a warm personality and seemed like she'd be great with Ruth. I called on Friday and left a message with her 15 year old son. She never called me back... because she never got the message. She emailed me late Friday (after I went to bed) saying that since she hadn't heard from me, she accepted another position. Scratch #2 off the list. When I called her again on Saturday, she was very apologetic, but what was done was done - can't blame her there. I made appointments with #3 and #4 for today.
Both were great. I really liked #3 - she seemed like a really cool person in general. But she lacks experience. She was tentative with Ruth, but was open to her. I think ultimately, she'd be good with Ruth, but it'd take some guidance from me about what to do. She was upfront about the fact that this probably would be a temporary thing.. and she's allergic to cats. Between that and the fact that I don't really want to train a nanny, I decided that she wasn't a good fit for our needs. Scratch #3.
#4 was AWESOME. She was actually everything I was looking for and more. Great personality. Great with Ruth. Wonderful references who think the world of her. More experience and certifications than you can shake a stick at. I hired her on the spot. She starts Thursday. In a way, #2's annoying son was a blessing in disguise.
All-in-all, it wasn't a terrible process, but not one that I'd like to do regularly. I'm happy with the decision we made -- I think she'll work out great. But I'm also glad ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) milknut is able to continue working at least on Fridays (and probably some on Monday too). |
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| Need a Nanny... |
[Jan. 23rd, 2007|01:57 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | working | ] |
Sadly, milknut needs to cut back her hours. All the while, our needs are growing. So it's time to find someone who can fill in the gaps. (milknut will still do what she can for us. She's awesome with Ruth, so we're looking to supplement, not replace...)
Anyways, if you know someone who might be interested, here's the job listing...
We need a part-time nanny for their 8 month old girl. We are both are independent consultants that work out of the home in Boylston. The nanny would be responsible for caring for the infant while the parents work. (Dad works full time while Mom works part time). Time permitting, the nanny will be expected to also take care of some light housework.
Duties:
• Managing child’s nap and feeding schedule
• Meal preparation (baby only)
• Clean up after the baby including picking up toys and doing some laundry for her. (Time permitting, we may ask the nanny to handle some of the family’s laundry as well since we usually combine everyone’s laundry.)
• Playing with / occupying the baby
• Time permitting, some housekeeping, such as vacuuming, dust-mopping the floors, dusting, washing dishes, etc.
Hours: 12 - 16 hours per week divided between three or four days. We’re hoping for some flexibility in case we need the nanny for an extra hour or two or for an occasional evening. We will be able to provide advanced warning for when we need this. We will not exceed 20 hours in any given week.
Requirements:
• Certified in infant/toddler CPR and first aid. (Or a willingness to obtain this certification within a few weeks of being hired, class schedule permitting).
• Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation |
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| Unexpected Christmas Visit |
[Dec. 30th, 2006|10:47 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sleepy | ] |
Huh. Aunt Flo came to visit me for the first time since a year ago last August. And here I thought I was bitchy this week because the family was making me so. |
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