working out for Disney

[Songbird76]

They aren't a lot of clinical PhD programs and it's not like law school or business school, where large numbers of students are expected. These programs only admit so many people, so it's very competitive. The school where I got my social work degree had a PhD program; they only accepted 5-8 people into the program a year, but the tuition is free.

Honestly, I would not come here to study from overseas. Schools (and society in general) are at this weird inflection point. I'd stay away until things calm down. E is much better off staying there. I'd imagine it's much cheaper as well. It seems like a less dramatic process for university, too.

Ella has no desire to study in the US anyway, and the school that she's going to is like...the nerd school. The netherlands are known for their research programs. A lot of groundbreaking studies come from Dutch universities, so she's confident she'll get a better education here than if she went to the US. I kind of have to agree with her...when I see just what she learned in HIGH SCHOOL, it's more than I learned in college in the sciences. And if she were to go to University in the States, she'd have to do all the generals....humanities, English, Math, etc. They don't do that at the college level here. It's all geared toward your chosen field, but you can't go into a field you don't have the basics for. If you didn't take Biology in high school, you can't go into that in college. You have to have the foundation. They don't start from scratch like you do in the US. It's more intensive here.

Her classmate is going to Texas somewhere to study geology apparently. I'm not sure why she wanted to go to school in the US...I suppose there are probably more opportinities there in that particular field. I don't think the Netherlands are known for geology, but I don't know. Wyoming was just in the news the other day because a team of Paleantologists from the Netherlands spent several years digging there and found 5 skeletons of Triceritops, which they are now going to display all over the Netherlands this summer. But you don't usually hear about digs in the Netherlands....you have to go somewhere else to do that work, and I imagine geology might be a similar thing. You go where the opportunities are. But it's a pretty big step for a 17 or 18 year old to move overseas for college. I hope she likes it...and yikes...Texas is going to be a culture shock, I'm sure.

 

[Songbird76]

I hope you're feeling better and can perform tomorrow.

Your choir sounds cool. I had idea you guys performed with a band. I guess in my mind, there was someone playing the piano, while you all sang. lol How often do you perform these shows?

Lately, we've been doing performances with either piano or with recorded backing. It kind of depends on what comes up. There was a Winter fair in November that we sang for, and a whole bunch of Christmas performances in different venues....the open air museum, a Christmas Market, extra shopping days, etc. We've done retirement parties, weddings, etc....usually just a few songs. Like, the one wedding, the groom was a huge coldplay fan, and he LOVED Christmas, so we sang Christmas Lights in the middle of like June, and then just some fun party songs like Don't Stop Me Now. And then we have stuff like today that's just a bunch of different choirs coming to showcase what they do and kind of network I guess? But we haven't been able to plan anything with a live band because we have to find band members available for the specific date. A couple of years ago, we were asked to sing at a benefit concert...concert for Dreams. They asked a bunch of local musicians and some more well -known artists in the Netherlands to come, and perform, so everyone would do like 4 songs or so, some of the more prominent groups would do longer sets, but it would be a whole evening of music and people would buy tickets, and there was going to be an auction of some artwork, etc. They ended up losing money, because even though they didn't PAY the artists, they barely sold any tickets. And then some of the artists took longer than their allotted time. We were given 4 songs to do...we didn't get to do our own music. So it was a Blues theme, and we were given the music and it wasn't what we usually do, and they hadn't even given us arrangements, just titles, and our director was supposed to make the arrangements. We ended up improving most of it because he didn't have time to write out scores, etc, and there was no practice time with a band, and it wasn't our band. Some of the other artists would play the music and we were just supposed to sing. I'm the only trained singer in the group, and no one else is used to improv, etc, so it was really kind of difficult for most of them, and then the organization asked us to provide backup vocals for a few songs this other band was doing. 3 women volunteered to do it. I didn't because there was no rehearsal and that just seemed like asking for trouble. Long story short, this was right when things were opening up after covid, and they weren't requiring masks, so one of the gals who had volunteered to do backup backed out the day of, so the other two needed someone to take that part and I am the only one who could learn the music within the half hour they had to warm up. So I got roped into doing it, but because they were running behind, they canceled all but one song. So we did backups for Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, I think? And then we were supposed to do 4 numbers with our whole choir...which then they said we needed to drop one....then they said we needed to drop 2. We were last on the schedule before a number with all the other artists together that we were not invited to join. So we were all standing there waiting to go on, and they announced that they only had time for one more number, and so they were doing the number with all the other artists because that involved the most people. We got completely scrapped. All of us had taken days off work and such to be there for this, we had spent months learning music that we would never use again, and spent hours basically making our own arrangements of the songs they gave us, and then the only ones of us who made it onstage were the three of us who did back up vocals for the one song. The organization had the audacity to ask us the next year if we'd participate in the same event. We were like, Um no. Had we gotten paid, it might have been worth the months of learning new music, etc. But to spend that much time on stuff we couldn't use in our OWN performances, and the time to make the arrangements ourselves, and then not be guaranteed to even get to perform....and we had to pay our director for all the time he spent on those arrangements, teaching us the music, rehearsing, and for being there that night. So we spent hundreds of Euros on this and got absolutely nothing out of it. It was billed as one of those "We can't pay you, but You'll get exposure...free publicity! Everyone there will hear you, and it could lead to paid gigs through other venues. And there are some big names coming, so there should be a pretty big audience!" And then there were like 30 people people there, most of them family or friends of the performing artists, some of whom never even got to perform. I think we may have been the only ones scrapped completely, but the woman who was the main organizer was agonizing over telling certain artists they needed to shorten their sets and drop a couple of pieces. So anyone who paid for a ticket just to see that performer would be disappointed that they only got to see them do a few songs. The whole thing was just so poorly organized. But that's what we do, basically....we go where the offers are. Someone wants a performance for the nursing home, or for a market/fair, or an event, and we do it.

 

[Songbird76]

Hello-

I finally tested positive yesterday morning. It was very faint, but positive nonetheless. I had gotten so bad overnight. I had this cough that was like a machine gun and it was hard to catch my breath, plus it was a dry cough. This is what I wanted to avoid, because it's awful. I felt like I can't catch my breath and I get breathless-but no, it was a sinus infection.

So, my husband called the doctor for me the next morning and left a message because I could only squeak out words. lol An hour later, I got a text from CVS to pick up my Paxlovid. Hallelujah! That stuff is magic. By about 7 o'clock, I was able to move from the bed to the couch in my bedroom to watch TV. It was only like 30 min, but to me, it was a sign the meds were working. I felt even better when I woke up. I was even able to go downstairs to check for Callie. I regretted it because the kitchen was a mess--only after 2 days of me being in bed.I have done light stuff like loading the dishwasher and laundry. I am not pushing it.

I am worried about my son, not only is he unvaxxed, he refuses to wear a mask. So, I am wearing a mask when I have to leave my room and I have been staying in my room with the door shut. Today is last day I am staying in my room with the door shut. If he can't wear a mask, he needs to stay in his room. I am done humoring his paranoia. I am not staying in my room until I am testing negative, especially if I am feeling better.

Then my gyn NP called me yesterday to tell me they saw dodgy stuff on my ultrasound. I was out of it and struggled to talk with all chest congestion. But to get a polyp removed/biospied and something else biopsied. This is not a place I want to be have a biopsy, tbh. Allegedly, the doctor's office where I am supposed to have this done is supposed to call me today to schedule, but knowing this medical system, I will hear from them in 2 months and the earliest they will fit me in will be March 2025. I am half-joking.

Ugh, did your husband have to call the same doctor that swore you had a sinus infection? I hope she felt like an absolute moron, because she is. Most people would be able to put 2 and 2 together...."Oh, someone who has covid symptoms and her husband is positive? AND she has the same symptoms she had LAST time she had covid?" If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, how in the world did she come up with canary??

 

[Songbird76]

If you are curious about my choir. This was from about a year ago, so it's a bit outdated, but it's an impression anyway.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Hello-

I finally tested positive yesterday morning. It was very faint, but positive nonetheless. I had gotten so bad overnight. I had this cough that was like a machine gun and it was hard to catch my breath, plus it was a dry cough. This is what I wanted to avoid, because it's awful. I felt like I can't catch my breath and I get breathless-but no, it was a sinus infection.

So, my husband called the doctor for me the next morning and left a message because I could only squeak out words. lol An hour later, I got a text from CVS to pick up my Paxlovid. Hallelujah! That stuff is magic. By about 7 o'clock, I was able to move from the bed to the couch in my bedroom to watch TV. It was only like 30 min, but to me, it was a sign the meds were working. I felt even better when I woke up. I was even able to go downstairs to check for Callie. I regretted it because the kitchen was a mess--only after 2 days of me being in bed.I have done light stuff like loading the dishwasher and laundry. I am not pushing it.

I am worried about my son, not only is he unvaxxed, he refuses to wear a mask. So, I am wearing a mask when I have to leave my room and I have been staying in my room with the door shut. Today is last day I am staying in my room with the door shut. If he can't wear a mask, he needs to stay in his room. I am done humoring his paranoia. I am not staying in my room until I am testing negative, especially if I am feeling better.

Then my gyn NP called me yesterday to tell me they saw dodgy stuff on my ultrasound. I was out of it and struggled to talk with all chest congestion. But to get a polyp removed/biospied and something else biopsied. This is not a place I want to be have a biopsy, tbh. Allegedly, the doctor's office where I am supposed to have this done is supposed to call me today to schedule, but knowing this medical system, I will hear from them in 2 months and the earliest they will fit me in will be March 2025. I am half-joking.

It's so maddening when medical professionals get caught up in an idea and you wind up needlessly suffering. I'm glad you're finally on Paxlovid for it. Hopefully, you'll be back to normal quickly. I hope everything with the polyp also doesn't wind up to be anything bad and can happen in a more timely manner. Waiting creates so much anxiety and frustration.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I swear...when it rains it pours!

I can't recall if I mentioned that David's brand new truck from the tree totaling incident has a check engine light issue. It came on shortly after he bought the truck. He took it in, they found nothing wrong, but it came back on a day later. They've now got him in a loaner, but it's a little Jeep that can't be used for more than puttering around town. He has to take it in every 5 days just to prove he still has it and it's OK. This morning was his second or third check in. Based on the short period of time he was there and his lack of call, I expect him to be returning with the electric blue mini Jeep. My vehicle is also still in the shop for repairs. We are praying that I get it back today or tomorrow since we need to head to Colorado on Wednesday. My insurance rental is a minivan, which I'm allowed to take a distance and only has telephone check ins every 5 days. We wound up having to take it up to Oklahoma this past week for K's orientation and softball for Sam. Fingers crossed that I get some good news today on my vehicle being ready. EDIT- UGH!!! I cannot win! They said today or tomorrow. It turns out they ordered the wrong windshield. Now it's end of week at the earliest. Really hoping David's truck is good by tomorrow so I can turn in the rental van and his loaner and HOPEFULLY have that headache out of the way.

On top of this, when we got home from OK on Saturday, I accidentally pulled our metal driveway gate into my ankle/heel. I now have 9 stitches, I'm on three meds including topical and oral antibiotics, and I got a tetanus shot. It's my left ankle/heel, so I can drive, but I am supposed to limit walking and joint movement until tomorrow afternoon. I guess this is the universe getting back at me for not getting stitches last month after the softball hit.

OK was at least a decent trip, minus K having a complete freak out over seeing the college costs up on a big screen and coping with the next stage of reality that she isn't going to UT. I told her that if she does really well at OU in the first year or two, she can try to transfer. She also should have some work opportunities to help some. She's just blue. To be honest, the bulk of the orientation was a frustrating waste of time. The only good parts were all of the goodies we received (shirts, decals, etc.), first semester class selection, and the stadium send off. The rest was pep rally style filler, redundant tours, and general financial information. She did really perk up over the class selection, she met a few girls that will be living in her dorm, and she got her own rooming situation ironed out so that she's in with the people she wanted to live with...so, hopefully that helps.

Sam's tournament was at least worth it. The deeper we go into the summer season, the more collegiate scouting we're seeing. We were one of the youngest groups out there and the bulk of the girls won't have their D1 recruiting window open until Sept 2025, so not all of the coaches in attendance checked us out. Still, something like 17 coaches came by to watch at various points in the tournament and approached our team rep for more info. Sam also played well. I think some of the changes she's working on with her new hitting coach are starting to click. I just hope she can keep it going in Colorado.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Her classmate is going to Texas somewhere to study geology apparently. I'm not sure why she wanted to go to school in the US...I suppose there are probably more opportinities there in that particular field. I don't think the Netherlands are known for geology, but I don't know. Wyoming was just in the news the other day because a team of Paleantologists from the Netherlands spent several years digging there and found 5 skeletons of Triceritops, which they are now going to display all over the Netherlands this summer. But you don't usually hear about digs in the Netherlands....you have to go somewhere else to do that work, and I imagine geology might be a similar thing. You go where the opportunities are. But it's a pretty big step for a 17 or 18 year old to move overseas for college. I hope she likes it...and yikes...Texas is going to be a culture shock, I'm sure.

UT Austin is supposed to have a top-notch geology/geosciences program. I never know how much to buy into the US News collegiate rankings, but that program usually ranks 1 or 2 every year. While Austin has lots of "Texasy" things like good BBQ and Tex Mex, it's the most liberal of the Texas cities. They even have a saying... "Keep Austin Weird." I know you didn't mention the specific school, but this seems like the most likely one to draw really bright students on an international level. Of all of the Texas cities, it also would probably be the lowest in culture shock. Texas A&M in College Station would probably be considered the #2 program in the state...and that would likely be a big culture shock. It's got the college town vibe, but it's a massive campus and it's really REALLY Texasy. It's an excellent school, but there's a definite Aggie culture that plays into enjoying the A&M experience.

 

[Lilofan]

UT Austin is supposed to have a top-notch geology/geosciences program. I never know how much to buy into the US News collegiate rankings, but that program usually ranks 1 or 2 every year. While Austin has lots of "Texasy" things like good BBQ and Tex Mex, it's the most liberal of the Texas cities. They even have a saying... "Keep Austin Weird." I know you didn't mention the specific school, but this seems like the most likely one to draw really bright students on an international level. Of all of the Texas cities, it also would probably be the lowest in culture shock. Texas A&M in College Station would probably be considered the #2 program in the state...and that would likely be a big culture shock. It's got the college town vibe, but it's a massive campus and it's really REALLY Texasy. It's an excellent school, but there's a definite Aggie culture that plays into enjoying the A&M experience.

UT Austin is a huge party school and they love their football team. Hook em' Horns! The Salt Lick is superior BBQ.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

UT Austin is a huge party school and they love their football team. Hook em' Horns! The Salt Lick is superior BBQ.

It's currently #24 on the 2024 list of party schools I located, but it's also currently ranked #32 overall in terms of academics. So, it's just one of those big schools that knows how to have fun while also staying academically superior to most in the nation. The reality is that neighboring Texas State University is really more of what you'd think of when talking about party schools. That's not to say UT doesn't party (most schools do), but it definitely lacks the Animal House vibe of legit party schools. It's been a while since we've been to Salt Lick. I know we waited for Franklin on a recent Austin visit, and it was worth the line time. There was another really good one we went to last summer, but the name is escaping me at the moment.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

 

[StarWarsGirl]

UT Austin is supposed to have a top-notch geology/geosciences program.

Sorry, had to.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Ella has no desire to study in the US anyway, and the school that she's going to is like...the nerd school. The netherlands are known for their research programs. A lot of groundbreaking studies come from Dutch universities, so she's confident she'll get a better education here than if she went to the US. I kind of have to agree with her...when I see just what she learned in HIGH SCHOOL, it's more than I learned in college in the sciences. And if she were to go to University in the States, she'd have to do all the generals....humanities, English, Math, etc. They don't do that at the college level here. It's all geared toward your chosen field, but you can't go into a field you don't have the basics for. If you didn't take Biology in high school, you can't go into that in college. You have to have the foundation. They don't start from scratch like you do in the US. It's more intensive here.

Her classmate is going to Texas somewhere to study geology apparently. I'm not sure why she wanted to go to school in the US...I suppose there are probably more opportinities there in that particular field. I don't think the Netherlands are known for geology, but I don't know. Wyoming was just in the news the other day because a team of Paleantologists from the Netherlands spent several years digging there and found 5 skeletons of Triceritops, which they are now going to display all over the Netherlands this summer. But you don't usually hear about digs in the Netherlands....you have to go somewhere else to do that work, and I imagine geology might be a similar thing. You go where the opportunities are. But it's a pretty big step for a 17 or 18 year old to move overseas for college. I hope she likes it...and yikes...Texas is going to be a culture shock, I'm sure.

My second cousin went to school in Scotland. He's still there and has told his parents that he isn't coming back to the US. He was 18 when he moved; pretty big change but he seems happy there. I know a few kids from my graduating class went abroad for college and we had some international students at my school too.

My longtime bestie has cousins in Italy. One of them did study abroad here because for some reason, in order to be certified as being fluent in English there, she had to live in an English-speaking country for a year, and since she had family here and Lord knows MD has plenty of decent colleges, she lived here for about a year.

I don't blame E for not wanting to move overseas. I wouldn't have wanted to leave the east coast at that age, let alone the country.

 

[Lilofan]

It's currently #24 on the 2024 list of party schools I located, but it's also currently ranked #32 overall in terms of academics. So, it's just one of those big schools that knows how to have fun while also staying academically superior to most in the nation. The reality is that neighboring Texas State University is really more of what you'd think of when talking about party schools. That's not to say UT doesn't party (most schools do), but it definitely lacks the Animal House vibe of legit party schools. It's been a while since we've been to Salt Lick. I know we waited for Franklin on a recent Austin visit, and it was worth the line time. There was another really good one we went to last summer, but the name is escaping me at the moment.

UT Austin has some good academic programs but for drinking , students go to West 6th street which is 17 bars in a 1 block radius. There was a TX girl who did academically very well at UT ( premed ) , went to Harvard Medical School and now is an ER doctor in San Francisco.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

UT Austin has some good academic programs but for drinking , students go to West 6th street which is 17 bars in a 1 block radius. There was a TX girl who did academically very well at UT ( premed ) , went to Harvard Medical School and now is an ER doctor in San Francisco.

So the way this reads, at least to me, there was only one girl that did well at that school? ! I would think many girls do well at that school and many other schools as well.

 

[Lilofan]

So the way this reads, at least to me, there was only one girl that did well at that school? ! I would think many girls do well at that school and many other schools as well.

One that we know. I’m sure many others did well in school.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

One that we know. I’m sure many others did well in school.

 

[Lilofan]

Odd way of interpreting my post.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Odd way of interpreting my post.

Clearly you don’t realize how your posts about women are coming across, at least to me, so that is my response. I don’t feel the need to discuss it with you further. It is typical of your posts.

 

[Sans Souci]

Thank you. I'm almost there.

 

[Sans Souci]

Ugh, did your husband have to call the same doctor that swore you had a sinus infection? I hope she felt like an absolute moron, because she is. Most people would be able to put 2 and 2 together...."Oh, someone who has covid symptoms and her husband is positive? AND she has the same symptoms she had LAST time she had covid?" If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, how in the world did she come up with canary??

No, last Wed was Juneteenth, so my doctor was off. My husband called my regular doctor following morning and I had my paxlovid by lunch time. The on call doctor told my husband that Tylenol does not work on fevers. He said he didn't want to get into with her because he realized she was full of it, so he just said OK. It says on the freaking bottle "fever reducer."