working out for Disney

[HouCuseChickie]

The planes that go from BWI to Charleston are still 747s because that's all Southwest has, but it's inevitably bumpier.

My grandfather used to be a licensed pilot, and he had his own small plane. He always had to put my mom in the middle because 1. He had to balance the plane and 2. It prevented her from getting airsick, which they learned the hard way happened to her. At least I know I got it honestly.

That is true! I've never really thought about Southwest only having larger planes.

I guess at least he came up with a system. It may also factor into what works for you now in adulthood.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

That is a great picture and a fun way to do senior pictures

Thanks! Now we have to come up with some options for cap and gown photos. I think we're going to involve the dog.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Great picture! Do they exchange photos with classmates? We would get 50 wallet-size copies or so of ours to give out to our friends and classmates, and some people would put them in their graduation announcements. Most people were pretty limited because there was really only one good professional photographer in the area and he was EXPENSIVE, but my mom did mine and my brothers and we had unique pictures and could take as many as we wanted. We traveled to Mount Rushmore/black hills to do some, and to a foresty area in Tongue River, and one of my mom's clients (mom cleaned houses) had this gorgeous home out in the country. Her family owned a Bison ranch, and she let us come out there to take pictures on her property and she had this beautiful fireplace that her dad or grandfather had built himself and it made a great backdrop for my brother's picture. But it was nice for us that my mom had a good camera and could take our pictures for us. It saved SO much money.

No physical photo exchange. It's much more of a social media thing these days. I think it's Instagram where they do Senior Sundays and the kids all share whatever photos they've had done and tag this and that. She hasn't shared these yet...so I guess on a future Sunday. The physical pictures I ordered from the pro photographer hired by the school were absolutely awful. So we're not buying anything else from them. The cost for the digital was bad enough. Back in the day, my high school had everyone go to a professional photographer. I think they took 10 proofs in cap and gown and another 10 in a drape for girls and suit for boys. We picked one of each. The drape photo was for the yearbook and the cap and gown was for announcements. It sounds like you had much more interesting photos than your classmates. I've heard that the average price for these kinds of senior photoshoots kids are doing these days is $500-$1,500, so I was happy to have some gear to pull off something respectable. So, sort of in the same vein as your mom's savings by doing it herself.

 

[Sans Souci]

I'm getting pretty annoyed with my position on the school choir board. Most of the board is made up for SAHMs, so there's no real understanding of a work schedule. I mean, they try...but It's rare that my opinions are taken into consideration, which makes me sour. On top of that, we had a concert the other week and my name was omitted from the program. I guess I won't be helping recruit my replacement!

I missed this the other day. I am sorry. I would be angry that if I was part of a board and my opinions are not being taken seriously. Do you think they genuinely forgot your name on the program or was it some sort of passive aggressive way of telling you you're no longer on the board. If it was the ladder, I wouldn't lift a finger to help them with any sort of recruiting. Good grief. Some women only physically graduated from HS.

 

[Sans Souci]

Good morning! It's the start of another week of standing and walking. My legs and feet were really fatigued and sore by Friday afternoon. I didn't walk as much on Friday (closer to 2 miles) but I still stood for 80-90% of the workday. I was curious to see how I'd feel on Saturday. The biggest thing was that I didn't want to sit for long. I guess it's that whole body in motion tends to stay in motion philosophy. I stayed on my feet for the first 2-3 hours walking around trying to find birds to photograph since I could hear the wrens and see them in the treetops. No birds, but I did get a lazy butterfly! LOL K and I put in some more walking later on with several hours of shopping prep for her senior pics. I swear, these kids do pics for everything! Senior school pics (which were awful), commitment pics, a formal senior photoshoot (what we did yesterday), and then official cap and gown pics.

We did her senior photoshoot at the Houston Zoo yesterday. We wanted something that others hadn't done that also had meaning for us. I can't map all of the sections of the zoo and wasn't counting steps, but we walked around for nearly 5 hours with minimal sitting. I took around 330 pics and she had five outfit changes with a couple of accessories. I didn't hire a pro like most families and we only bought two things that she didn't already have going into this...which cost me under $15. So, the only real expense was the zoo admission and things like food and a giraffe feeding. This pic in front of the flamingos is my favorite. I tried to attach more, but the files are large. I may be able to share more later with BB Codes.

View attachment 774647

Aw. I love her dress. That's great that more people are doing their own senior photos. You're not confined to a studio and it keeps costs down. I think there were a few girls taking their senior photos at the Tidal Basin this weekend. I had my senior photos taken with my toy poodle. I remember holding him back because he was growling and he did not like the photographer.

 

[Sans Souci]

Great picture! Do they exchange photos with classmates? We would get 50 wallet-size copies or so of ours to give out to our friends and classmates, and some people would put them in their graduation announcements. Most people were pretty limited because there was really only one good professional photographer in the area and he was EXPENSIVE, but my mom did mine and my brothers and we had unique pictures and could take as many as we wanted. We traveled to Mount Rushmore/black hills to do some, and to a foresty area in Tongue River, and one of my mom's clients (mom cleaned houses) had this gorgeous home out in the country. Her family owned a Bison ranch, and she let us come out there to take pictures on her property and she had this beautiful fireplace that her dad or grandfather had built himself and it made a great backdrop for my brother's picture. But it was nice for us that my mom had a good camera and could take our pictures for us. It saved SO much money.

I remember those tiny photos and writing little messages on the back when you gave them to your friends. I think we only had two photographers that were sanctioned by the school. If you didn't use either photographer, your photo would not appear in the yearbook. That was really nice of your mom's client to let you take photos at her ranch. I bet they look very unique.

 

[Sans Souci]

My mom used to hide certain snacks from my dad. She let my sister and I know where they were but my dad never found them.

I have to do this with my son. A few weeks ago, I bought a pint of Van Leeuwen ice cream. Stuff's stupid expensive for ice cream. I don't even think they sell pints, it's like 3 oz short of a pint. Anyway, I hid it under bags of frozen vegetables. Because he will eat it and leave like 2 spoonfuls and think he's a considerate hero because he technically left some for someone else.

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

Checking in with a jump rope/leg workout (yesterday) and a jump rope/full body workout today.

We got back from Washington on Sunday. I would not stay at this hotel again (Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill). It needed a refresh, but the bigger issue was the opaque billing. I got three copies of my bill within an hour and they all had different amounts owed. I went to the front desk to ask and she printed off a bill that was a lot less than what they emailed me, so I settled it there. She assured me this was the correct amount. About 15 min after we left, I got another, more expensive bill. Check in was 4 PM and we arrived at 2. While I was waiting to check in, I got a text that our room was ready. So, I checked in and went to the room. They tried to charge me $45 for early check in when I got my bill! I didn't even ask for it. The location was great. You stepped outside and the Capitol Building is right there, so it was great for going to the museums. But the sketchy billing put me off of staying there again. We usually stay at a Westin, but what they wanted for one night, I got 2 at the Hyatt Regency. The people who worked there were very friendly, but I hate having to be a forensic accountant to make sense of a bill.

Here is Callie practically withering away waiting for me to feed for the second time in an hour.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Yeah, I do have some things I hide in my night stand and E knows where it all is and she'll come in and take a bit of chocolate when she's had a bad day, but she always tells me so I can replace it, and she doesn't take the whole thing. But things like bags of chips and stuff won't fit in my drawer, so there's nowhere to hide it and I rarely go for the salty snacks. I also don't sit and eat a whole bag of chips in one sitting. It can take me more than a week to go through a bag of chips, but if my husband finds it, it will be gone immediately. He'll eat the whole thing.

My mom has ways of hiding chips in the pantry... Like that random cookie jar at the bottom there? Chips.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Here is Callie practically withering away waiting for me to feed for the second time in an hour.

Didn't you know? If they can see the bottom of their bowl, they will wither away before long...

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I have to do this with my son. A few weeks ago, I bought a pint of Van Leeuwen ice cream. Stuff's stupid expensive for ice cream. I don't even think they sell pints, it's like 3 oz short of a pint. Anyway, I hid it under bags of frozen vegetables. Because he will eat it and leave like 2 spoonfuls and think he's a considerate hero because he technically left some for someone else.

I saw that brand of ice cream for sale the other day, I've never had it so I was intrigued. Ultimately I decided to not waste the calories or money, although I regretted it later that night. Very smart to put it under bags of frozen vegetables. I've heard of people putting frozen treats in other containers with labels of things like vegetables or liver so no one in their house eats their ice cream.

 

[Sans Souci]

Didn't you know? If they can see the bottom of their bowl, they will wither away before long...

Yes! lol I have seen that video of a chonky cat tipping his empty bowl back and forth with his paw, while looking at his human. Poor thing, just wasting away.

 

[Sans Souci]

I saw that brand of ice cream for sale the other day, I've never had it so I was intrigued. Ultimately I decided to not waste the calories or money, although I regretted it later that night. Very smart to put it under bags of frozen vegetables. I've heard of people putting frozen treats in other containers with labels of things like vegetables or liver so no one in their house eats their ice cream.

It's really good. I am not a big ice cream fan, but this brand is so good. The Honeycomb flavor is delicious. There is no honey in it, just caramel. I think it's called honey comb because the caramel swirls look like honey. The texture of the ice cream is rich and velvety. It's French style, so it is made with lots of egg yolks. It's an occasional treat in this house.

 

[Sans Souci]

Good morning.

Checking in with a jump rope/back and shoulder workout. I am going to get out for a walk, too, depending on the weather.

It's pretty boring here. I have a lot of cooking cut out for me this weekend. I am making an Easter feast for 2 people. I can't wait for my son's Lent to end. I came home Sunday afternoon and he was steaming snow crab legs. He made this soup that had leeks, chives and baby spinach in it to go along with the legs. He never makes anything simple. It's always these labor and equipment intensive meals that he makes. Then he takes his time cleaning up his mess. I went downstairs Monday morning and crab shells were stacked up in a large pile on a plate in the kitchen. He did nothing to tidy up after his dinner. It smelled absolutely awful and my husband threatened to ban him from the kitchen for life.

I am going to have to stake my claim to the kitchen this weekend. lol

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Yes! lol I have seen that video of a chonky cat tipping his empty bowl back and forth with his paw, while looking at his human. Poor thing, just wasting away.

My cat Ella is a nibbler. We just fill her bowl and she finishes it over about two days or so. But if she can see the bottom of it, she'll come and complain at us, even though the bowl still has food in it. And she's the thin one.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I missed this the other day. I am sorry. I would be angry that if I was part of a board and my opinions are not being taken seriously. Do you think they genuinely forgot your name on the program or was it some sort of passive aggressive way of telling you you're no longer on the board. If it was the ladder, I wouldn't lift a finger to help them with any sort of recruiting. Good grief. Some women only physically graduated from HS.

I'm definitely still on the board. They made it quite clear that none of them want to do my job. I feel like it's a blend of some people being innocently scatterbrained and some people playing intentional little nasty games. I think you're on to something with women that only physically graduated from high school. Her daughter, who is an underclassmen, has gotten really chummy with a highly toxic senior choir member and I think the gossip and lies are rubbing off on the mom. At this point, I think K and I are both just trying to make it until the end of the year. She also deserves all of the special stuff they're talking about for seniors, and she deserves one of the four scholarships that will be awarded. I know that sounds a bit entitled and presumptuous, but her resume and list of qualifications is a mile long compared to all of the other seniors. It'll be interesting to see how all of this plays out.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Aw. I love her dress. That's great that more people are doing their own senior photos. You're not confined to a studio and it keeps costs down. I think there were a few girls taking their senior photos at the Tidal Basin this weekend. I had my senior photos taken with my toy poodle. I remember holding him back because he was growling and he did not like the photographer.

Thanks! This one worked really well with a lot of the zoo areas. She also wore a beige printed romper for some, a navy and white printed jumpsuit, jeans and an OU tee, and a sequined red dress with white cowboy boots. She also put on her letterman for some shots and had a class of 2024 pennant for some as well. Her school cap and gown pic was a traditional studio shot. Her actual cap and gown arrive next month and I’m hoping for better pics. Voo is pretty even tempered and will be fine with me as photographer, but if we don’t do this in the yard, she will try and chase everything she sees. So, I might need to create a backdrop.

 

[Songbird76]

No physical photo exchange. It's much more of a social media thing these days. I think it's Instagram where they do Senior Sundays and the kids all share whatever photos they've had done and tag this and that. She hasn't shared these yet...so I guess on a future Sunday. The physical pictures I ordered from the pro photographer hired by the school were absolutely awful. So we're not buying anything else from them. The cost for the digital was bad enough. Back in the day, my high school had everyone go to a professional photographer. I think they took 10 proofs in cap and gown and another 10 in a drape for girls and suit for boys. We picked one of each. The drape photo was for the yearbook and the cap and gown was for announcements. It sounds like you had much more interesting photos than your classmates. I've heard that the average price for these kinds of senior photoshoots kids are doing these days is $500-$1,500, so I was happy to have some gear to pull off something respectable. So, sort of in the same vein as your mom's savings by doing it herself.

Oh wow...we didn't have cap and gown photos, nor school pictures in senior year. Our Senior pictures were used for the yearbook. There was always a special section for the senior class. The whole yearbook was black and white, except for the senior pictures, which were color. You picked whichever one you wanted in the yearbook and handed it in, and that's what they used. Everyone else got the standard school picture with the photographer they hired, and those pictures were usually not the best. Then we also wrote "Senior wills" where we left things to underclassmen. "I leave my memories of the speech and debate trip to so and so, and pass on the tradition of annoying this teacher to so and so." There was a girl who wrote a very mean senior will when I was a freshman that bullied me. I had made All-state music as a freshman, which most freshmen don't make, and this sophomore girl was jealous and had been using her friends to threaten to beat me up if I didn't stop trying to outsing her since I was in elementary school. I got solos and she didn't, I made special choirs and she didn't, I scored higher than her at solo and ensemble festival...she was just jealous that I was a better singer. She tried to sabbotage me at homecoming my freshman year where the teacher didn't want to make a decision between the two of us to sing the national anthem. She had seniority, but I was more reliable and a better singer, so the teacher decided we'd do it together. But there was no arrangement, and she didn't want to sing with me, so it was decided that I'd improvise a harmony part and she'd sing melody. No problem. But then she just didn't show up. We were supposed to meet outside the announcer's box before the game and she didn't go, so I had to sing it myself. Then she didn't show up for All-state auditions, so the teacher replaced her at Honor choir, which she had only given the spot to her because she had seniority, with me. So the girl really hated me. Her friend's senior will was something like "I'm willing my singing voice to ---- so that she can kick a certain person's ###, because she's not nearly as good as she thinks she is." and other such comments. My brother was in yearbook, and it was shown to me, but the school refused to print it and she had to change it. I'm glad they didn't just do away with senior wills, because the tradition was pretty fun usually. It was nice to look up your friends' to see if they "left" you anything. It would have been a shame to get rid of the whole thing because of one person writing something nasty. I suppose in bigger schools, there's no room for such a thing, but there were only around 30 kids per class in my school, so we got our own yearbook section.

And yeah, those professional photo packages are really expensive. We didn't have $1000 to spend on pictures. We only had to pay for the film, travel expenses, and developing.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Oh wow...we didn't have cap and gown photos, nor school pictures in senior year. Our Senior pictures were used for the yearbook. There was always a special section for the senior class. The whole yearbook was black and white, except for the senior pictures, which were color. You picked whichever one you wanted in the yearbook and handed it in, and that's what they used. Everyone else got the standard school picture with the photographer they hired, and those pictures were usually not the best. Then we also wrote "Senior wills" where we left things to underclassmen. "I leave my memories of the speech and debate trip to so and so, and pass on the tradition of annoying this teacher to so and so." There was a girl who wrote a very mean senior will when I was a freshman that bullied me. I had made All-state music as a freshman, which most freshmen don't make, and this sophomore girl was jealous and had been using her friends to threaten to beat me up if I didn't stop trying to outsing her since I was in elementary school. I got solos and she didn't, I made special choirs and she didn't, I scored higher than her at solo and ensemble festival...she was just jealous that I was a better singer. She tried to sabbotage me at homecoming my freshman year where the teacher didn't want to make a decision between the two of us to sing the national anthem. She had seniority, but I was more reliable and a better singer, so the teacher decided we'd do it together. But there was no arrangement, and she didn't want to sing with me, so it was decided that I'd improvise a harmony part and she'd sing melody. No problem. But then she just didn't show up. We were supposed to meet outside the announcer's box before the game and she didn't go, so I had to sing it myself. Then she didn't show up for All-state auditions, so the teacher replaced her at Honor choir, which she had only given the spot to her because she had seniority, with me. So the girl really hated me. Her friend's senior will was something like "I'm willing my singing voice to ---- so that she can kick a certain person's ###, because she's not nearly as good as she thinks she is." and other such comments. My brother was in yearbook, and it was shown to me, but the school refused to print it and she had to change it. I'm glad they didn't just do away with senior wills, because the tradition was pretty fun usually. It was nice to look up your friends' to see if they "left" you anything. It would have been a shame to get rid of the whole thing because of one person writing something nasty. I suppose in bigger schools, there's no room for such a thing, but there were only around 30 kids per class in my school, so we got our own yearbook section.

And yeah, those professional photo packages are really expensive. We didn't have $1000 to spend on pictures. We only had to pay for the film, travel expenses, and developing.

I have my physical cap and gown pic somewhere. It was a big deal for the girls and nails because you placed your hand over your cap in front of you (vs wearing it), which in turn showed off your nails. You can see the drape pic is what we selected as my yearbook photo. I didn't like the standard black drape and opted for a 2-tone thing my mom put together. We didn't do wills, but you can see the write up I put together for our yearbook. It was all reviewed to ensure nothing mean or too tasteless went in, but someone obviously didn't proofread their typing when entering mine. I'm still bothered that they typed in "LUCH" vs luck. I'm sure people snuck in some mean and nasty things since most people took up every space and used acronyms and codewords. Oh, and they didn't cut off my hair in the pic. I just cut off the screenshot since there's some personal info at the top of my wording. The copy they uploaded for the digital archives also appears to have something dirty on my chin...meaning the page of the yearbook they scanned was dirty. Oh well. I know the pics weren't cheap since every senior did a sitting with a pro-photographer in their studio offsite during the summer leading up to senior year. I know there were some families that just took the pics and declined to buy anything due to the costs...which had to have still cost something because it was actual film back and hand development back then.



That's awful with that girl. Great that your brother and the others tied to the yearbook stopped it from going in, but how nasty and petty. Of course, it wouldn't be the first time jealousy and insecurity created a high school drama mess. I feel like the teacher could have helped with some of this. Teachers in these areas area usually well aware of the issue potential and personalities in the mix that can make things worse. They really should have made a decision and had a clear cut plan from the beginning. Was there any punishment for the girl being a no show? While there was no seniority involved, I dealt with a girl who was the choir darling in middle school. She wasn't bad, but I never felt she deserved the special treatment. When we got to high school, we both made all of the select choirs, but she immediately grew bitter when I got a soprano solo and she got nothing. It intensified when I made region that fall, which seemed silly since those were impartial judges from districts over an hour away that had no clue who either one of us was beyond our assigned number. She left the school before All State rolled around. Our director at least did a good job of divvying up solos so that none of the upper classmen go ugly. I could see the one girl K is dealing with in choir doing something like what you experienced. She's talented, but she has a horrible attitude and loves spreading lies about everyone. While she's a senior, it's only her first year in choir. She's been given solos because of that talent, which is great and for the most part deserved, but she's completely disrespectful to the officers and refuses to follow etiquette and dress code...which has hurt the choir in recent competitions. Just last week, she thought the sopranos were messing up, so she audibly shhh'd them numerous times during a competition piece in front of a panel of judges and very visibly expressed her anger and frustration with hand, arm and facial gestures/expressions. She reprimanded some of the girls even though it's not her position to do so, and it turned out that she just couldn't hear things because she's on the back row and these girls are three rows in front of her/beneath her. K said that this is the first year the choir failed to get top marks and it's due in part to this girl. K had to report her in the fall because she wore brown Birkenstock sandals to a formal performance where everyone was supposed to be in black closed toe dress shoes. That's worse than the girl that showed up in black Converse high tops with white soles.

 

[Songbird76]

I have my physical cap and gown pic somewhere. It was a big deal for the girls and nails because you placed your hand over your cap in front of you (vs wearing it), which in turn showed off your nails. You can see the drape pic is what we selected as my yearbook photo. I didn't like the standard black drape and opted for a 2-tone thing my mom put together. We didn't do wills, but you can see the write up I put together for our yearbook. It was all reviewed to ensure nothing mean or too tasteless went in, but someone obviously didn't proofread their typing when entering mine. I'm still bothered that they typed in "LUCH" vs luck. I'm sure people snuck in some mean and nasty things since most people took up every space and used acronyms and codewords. Oh, and they didn't cut off my hair in the pic. I just cut off the screenshot since there's some personal info at the top of my wording. The copy they uploaded for the digital archives also appears to have something dirty on my chin...meaning the page of the yearbook they scanned was dirty. Oh well. I know the pics weren't cheap since every senior did a sitting with a pro-photographer in their studio offsite during the summer leading up to senior year. I know there were some families that just took the pics and declined to buy anything due to the costs...which had to have still cost something because it was actual film back and hand development back then.

View attachment 775311

That's awful with that girl. Great that your brother and the others tied to the yearbook stopped it from going in, but how nasty and petty. Of course, it wouldn't be the first time jealousy and insecurity created a high school drama mess. I feel like the teacher could have helped with some of this. Teachers in these areas area usually well aware of the issue potential and personalities in the mix that can make things worse. They really should have made a decision and had a clear cut plan from the beginning. Was there any punishment for the girl being a no show? While there was no seniority involved, I dealt with a girl who was the choir darling in middle school. She wasn't bad, but I never felt she deserved the special treatment. When we got to high school, we both made all of the select choirs, but she immediately grew bitter when I got a soprano solo and she got nothing. It intensified when I made region that fall, which seemed silly since those were impartial judges from districts over an hour away that had no clue who either one of us was beyond our assigned number. She left the school before All State rolled around. Our director at least did a good job of divvying up solos so that none of the upper classmen go ugly. I could see the one girl K is dealing with in choir doing something like what you experienced. She's talented, but she has a horrible attitude and loves spreading lies about everyone. While she's a senior, it's only her first year in choir. She's been given solos because of that talent, which is great and for the most part deserved, but she's completely disrespectful to the officers and refuses to follow etiquette and dress code...which has hurt the choir in recent competitions. Just last week, she thought the sopranos were messing up, so she audibly shhh'd them numerous times during a competition piece in front of a panel of judges and very visibly expressed her anger and frustration with hand, arm and facial gestures/expressions. She reprimanded some of the girls even though it's not her position to do so, and it turned out that she just couldn't hear things because she's on the back row and these girls are three rows in front of her/beneath her. K said that this is the first year the choir failed to get top marks and it's due in part to this girl. K had to report her in the fall because she wore brown Birkenstock sandals to a formal performance where everyone was supposed to be in black closed toe dress shoes. That's worse than the girl that showed up in black Converse high tops with white soles.

It's so interesting to me how different things are in different areas. Cute picture!! I'll have to grab my yearbook and take a picture of the senior page. Ours is SOOOO different than yours. And I'm sure it was the yearbook advisor who stopped the girl's will getting put in as it was. I'm sure my brother and some friends who worked on the yearbook probably asked her what to do, and I'm sure she'd have gone to the girl and told her it was inappropriate and she needed to redo it.

As for the girl who was a no show, she had been chosen to go to the honor choir that year. You could only take 10% of your choir, and that year, there were only 5 people in choir, I think? Or maybe we increased by a few, but 10% was still only 1 student. All-staters from previous years didn't count in that number, but as a freshman, I hadn't even auditioned at that time. We had had an AWESOME music teacher who did both band and choir....she was phenomenal and she had built a really strong program. The Jazz Band went to California to play at some bowl game, they always got top ratings at the festivals. And it was considered cool to be in music. But the principal was not a supporter of the arts because they didn't bring in a whole bunch of revenue. It was never proven to my knowledge, but it was rumored that he skimmed money off the top of every account for his own private slush fund....so every class, student council, every team....we all had accounts with our fund raiser money in it or what was budgeted for that activity by the district, and he was taking money out of those accounts. Music didn't charge for the concerts, so there wasn't much for him to embezzle. He made it too hard for her and she ended up retiring early and starting a business as a realtor instead. She just got fed up trying to cut through all the red tape. I had her for 7th grade choir and band. We didn't have a teacher for the first week of my 8th grade year. He asked us all what we wanted in a music teacher, and we had said we wanted someone who could play the piano...the previous teacher was great at piano, but our elementary teacher could barely plunk out notes and couldn't accompany at all. We said we DIDN'T want someone like her....guess who he hired to replace the amazing teacher! Then by my freshman year, they had rigged the schedule so that almost no one could fit choir into their schedules, so we only had 5 kids. And he consistently hired HORRIBLE people for band....one of them ended up getting fired for choking a girl, and then when they investigated the incident, they found alcohol stashed all over the classroom. That was my 8th grade year. Then my freshman year, they brought in a guy who was "on sabatical" from a neighboring town, and he told us every day that we were losers and he hated us, and he was verbally abusive. I had quit band....the one and only time my mom let me quit something halfway through the year, and I guess at the end of the year concert, he told all the parents their kids were whiners and losers who would never amount to anything, etc. So we had problems recruiting for the music program....no one wanted to be part of that, and with only a couple kids, it made it very competitive for solos, honors, etc. Val was a year older than me and so when I was in 8th grade, she was in the high school choir rather than junior high, and she didn't have me to compete with. But there was another girl who was a few years older than her who had seniority and got all the solos, the lead in the musical, etc. So she was happy when these girls graduated and she would have seniority over me....but none of those senior girls had ever made all-state. Our school had only had 1 girl who made it to all-state I think my 8th grade year, when she was a senior. No one had made it from band in a few years, was my understanding. So when I made it as a freshman, Val was furious. She was already jealous, and then she tried to make me look bad by bailing on the national anthem...but I did a good job, and didn't look bad at all. SHE did. And then when she didn't show up for all-state auditions, the teacher decided to pull her from honor choir and send me instead. So that was the consequence....no real punishment, I guess, but not getting the honor was a huge thing to her. And then I ended up being sick and not having a voice, so I didn't get to go, but neither did she. And then I made all-state, so I got to go every year, AND I got the lead in the musical that year because she was considered unreliable. I think she maybe didn't take choir after that year, because she was so angry that she wasn't getting the special treatment she wanted. There was an incident my senior year with some underclassmen...we all had to make posters for the auditions for the school musical, and these girls made posters that said "Hurry up and audition before Susan steals your part!" and such, and the teacher hadn't even looked at them to make sure they were ok before they were hung up all over the school. Jealousy really makes it hard. I was always the nice girl...nice to everyone, even people who were awful to me. I just kept my mouth shut and tried not to let it bother me, but to this day, I'd prefer not to sing solo. It's just not worth the hatefulness it brings out in people who didn't get the part. I still love singing, but I've had too many experiences with mean girls in choir who just get nasty...even if I don't go for the solos. There was someone in my last choir who would mumble things under her breath just because the director asked me to sing a particular part that wasn't going well. I was the only one who could sightread music, and it was a passage with a big run and everyone was having difficulty with it, and the director was a percussionist, and couldn't play it on piano as easily as I could sing it. So he asked me to demonstrate, and she started shooting daggers. And this was a 60 year old woman. There were other things she did, but it was obvious that she was upset because I was classically trained and she had been with the choir for 20 years and considered herself an authority...so when I was recognized as knowing something she didn't, she got angry and started being passive-aggressive. And that was AFTER I declined to audition for any solos because I DIDN'T want that kind of cattiness. I ended up leaving the choir because of her and one other woman. It's just not worth it to me, and I never thought I'd experience that outside of the competitive milieu in high school and college, but I think it's just inevitable. And directors tend to figure people should be mature enough to behave themselves, and they shouldn't have to police that among adults. So I don't do solos anymore unless I'm pretty much forced to. The choir I'm in now isn't really like that...it's a much higher level group and not everybody gets in. It's audition only, and while no one is classically trained except me, and no one can read music except me, everyone can at least match pitch and carry their part. But everyone appreciates the talents that everyone brings to the group, too, and I still avoid doing solos. I can't come across as arrogant if I won't audition for a solo....I hope. So far, there have been no passive aggressive behaviors towards me, and I've been there for 6 or 7 years now.

I'm sorry about the girl in K's choir. We never had officers or section leaders or anything. We barely had a choir. But there's always one person, isn't there?