working out for Disney

[HouCuseChickie]

Hello-

I have been lifting weights and walking. Today was a full body day.

My husband brought this gnarly upper respiratory virus from work. Everyone is showing up sick because they are afraid of getting fired. He was pretty bad and he's turned the corner, but I started feeling off and coughing my head off this afternoon. I just got over something like this a few weeks ago (that he never picked up). I did buy NyQuil when I had that and I have loads left.

I watched a bit of the Oscars last night. It's not really my thing. The only movie I have seen from the Best Movie nominations was Anora. I liked it. I want to see Conclave and I have been debating watching The Substance. I just have such a visceral reaction to body horror. I watched a clip on YouTube where her "younger, more perfect version" emerged from Demi Moore's spine. NOPE!

Oh no! Hopefully you don't catch what he had. That is another pro of a remote work environment. I definitely don't get sick nearly as often.

I also watched the Oscars, although I usually do it for the fashion. It's rare that I've seen more than a couple of the movies that have been nominated. I don't think I could get into The Substance but I wouldn't mind seeing Anora. The storyline sounds like something I might enjoy and the clips I've seen look appealing.

 

[Songbird76]

In the early days, even before applying to college, I knew I wanted to sing but wasn't sold on doing it all the time or the academics behind it. It's why I immediately eliminated anything that was strictly an arts-based school. It also helped me eliminate schools that wouldn't let me freely change majors if I was accepted as a music major. I switched to psychology, but in hindsight, I wish I'd taken a different angle. Not exactly sure what, but I wish I knew of campus resources at the time that could have better guided me on my options for a change. It didn't help that many of the degree paths of interest were tied to our communications school, which at the time was harder to get into than Harvard and I just didn't have the first year grades or courses to make it happen. Still, psychology was a better fit than a music major. With the exception of voice lessons and choir, I took all core classes for psych during my sophomore year. I came to the conclusion that I will always love singing but I am a performer vs. a musician. Seeing your likes and interests after the fact reminded me of how I thought about going back to school to start over. I went as far as getting admitted to UH for post baccalaureate studies. At that point, I was torn between law and veterinary, but it became an unrealistic goal and I started losing interest as I started learning more. I've come to realize that I'm one of those people that likes a lot of things and just has a hard time picking one.

E has always sounded super bright and a kid that's really going places. I'm glad that she has options to shift if she decides she's not on the right path. That middle road is really where I was thinking. Granted, I've seen a lot of kids get lost there too, lacking the guidance and drive to decide on something. Still, not everyone knows until they've taken some college level courses and matured a little.

I think that's exactly my problem....you know that old saying, Jack of all trades, master of none. I have so many interests, but nothing that I feel like I could make a career out of. I love singing, but I'm not a soloist. I have a nice voice, but not one that is better than anyone else's. I have a good ear, but I'm not ever going to write my own music, and I don't play any instrument with any proficiency. I'm more of a hobby singer than a professional one, and I kind of want to keep it that way. I bake, but I'd never want my own bakery or pastry shop. HAVING to make certain things would make it less fun, plus there's always a danger when making food...buy some contaminated fruit and you've got a lawsuit from people getting sick. Plus, I've worked in food service and hated it. I don't want to work in Food service again. I love to read, and I'd love to work IN a bookstore, but the local bookstore isn't hiring, and I doubt I could make a living on having my own. I could easily do a cafe with baked goods and drinks like coffee and tea, and have a bookstore attached...I think such a thing would do well, but again, I don't want to work in food service and I don't want my own business because bookkeeping is my idea of H E double hockey sticks. It's just so hard to find something that ticks all the boxes...something I wouldn't mind doing every day, but that I wouldn't have sole responsibility for. I'm just not an entrepreneur.

E is very bright....I can't wait to see where she ends up. And so far, she LOVES Molecular Life Sciences. It's the perfect fit so far. She considered Bio Technology, but I guess that has a lot more marketing in it and she HATES marketing. She's another one who has a LOT of interests and it's hard to pick one. She could have gone the Tech route and done engineering, or product design, but her passion is biology and chemistry, so I hope she continues to love what she's doing. So many people discover too late that they are on the wrong career path, but they have already invested so much in it that they don't dare to change their minds. If I could go back, I might have gotten my English Education degree and I could have taught English here. Or maybe done Pychology.

So did you get your degree in psychology?

 

[Songbird76]

While she joined a cheaper house, it's still like a car payment each month. Sisters who live in house will pay more because they have room and board to cover, but everyone has dues on top of that to cover the wide variety of social activities and other essentials that go with them. Things like parties, happy hours, supplies for contests, participating in fraternity charitable events (which is usually just a lot of partying and games), homecoming activities, and other social gatherings and chapter requirements are all part of these dues. Any fundraisers you see being done by houses are usually to benefit their organization's philanthropy and never actually goes back to the girls associated with the house. Everything we did charity-wise either went back to our literacy foundation or one of the community groups we'd chosen to support. New members, like K, have higher fees because there are all kinds of extra activities with pledging that cost $ (like new member education and required dinners at the house) as well as costs behind things like their official badge and any chapter traditions for gifts to new pledges and initiates. She was semi-interested last summer but decided to give herself time to acclimate before jumping into Greek life. I was hoping she'd wait until formal recruitment so she could see all of the houses, but she signed up for something called open bidding and was invited to several houses. The one she picked is known for being the smart girls. I'm a little sad that she won't be going for my house, but from what I've seen and heard, that chapter would not be the right fit for K.

It was MUCH cheaper to take Voo to the regular vet. We walked out of there spending $100...and that's including medication. We spent close to $1,500 at the emergency vet back in September.

Giorgio. It's now considered cheap stuff and old, but it used to be really popular back in the day and it was my go-to. Sung and Design were my others, which I also still wear...but Giorgio was really me.

When I started college, I really had a negative image of the greek system. I have never been a partier, and it's always depicted as very superficial and clique-ish in movies and TV, which I know you can't always trust, but having grown up in a trailer park, and being bullied my whole life, I wasn't eager to put myself out there for judgement. There were two sisters in the non-audition choir with me who were snotty as heck. They were in the sorority known for the rich girls. They were always looking at people and whispering to each other and then giggling, and it just really kind of reaffirmed everything I thought about sorority girls. But then I met a couple of other girls from different sororities, and some of them were super sweet. There was a girl in the same choir who was a Tri-delt and she was the opposite of what I thought sorority girls were. I don't have a negative image of them anymore, but the idea of the parties and social obligations is still NOT appealing to me, so I don't think I'd change my decision not to join one, either. I hope K enjoys hers, though. That's cool that it has a good reputation for academics. It's interesting that they all have such different reputations.

Giorgio....I remember that one. And I think walmart sold a knock-off version of that for a while.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I think that's exactly my problem....you know that old saying, Jack of all trades, master of none. I have so many interests, but nothing that I feel like I could make a career out of. I love singing, but I'm not a soloist. I have a nice voice, but not one that is better than anyone else's. I have a good ear, but I'm not ever going to write my own music, and I don't play any instrument with any proficiency. I'm more of a hobby singer than a professional one, and I kind of want to keep it that way. I bake, but I'd never want my own bakery or pastry shop. HAVING to make certain things would make it less fun, plus there's always a danger when making food...buy some contaminated fruit and you've got a lawsuit from people getting sick. Plus, I've worked in food service and hated it. I don't want to work in Food service again. I love to read, and I'd love to work IN a bookstore, but the local bookstore isn't hiring, and I doubt I could make a living on having my own. I could easily do a cafe with baked goods and drinks like coffee and tea, and have a bookstore attached...I think such a thing would do well, but again, I don't want to work in food service and I don't want my own business because bookkeeping is my idea of H E double hockey sticks. It's just so hard to find something that ticks all the boxes...something I wouldn't mind doing every day, but that I wouldn't have sole responsibility for. I'm just not an entrepreneur.

E is very bright....I can't wait to see where she ends up. And so far, she LOVES Molecular Life Sciences. It's the perfect fit so far. She considered Bio Technology, but I guess that has a lot more marketing in it and she HATES marketing. She's another one who has a LOT of interests and it's hard to pick one. She could have gone the Tech route and done engineering, or product design, but her passion is biology and chemistry, so I hope she continues to love what she's doing. So many people discover too late that they are on the wrong career path, but they have already invested so much in it that they don't dare to change their minds. If I could go back, I might have gotten my English Education degree and I could have taught English here. Or maybe done Pychology.

So did you get your degree in psychology?

Exactly! I still joke that I don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I see all of these people working in fields tied to their majors and while I applaud and somewhat envy the satisfaction for them in that singular focal point, it's just not me. There was a part of me that wanted to sing professionally for a living, but I just couldn't stomach the idea of being a starving artist...especially since I was more performer than musician. I have tried piano many times and even clarinet for a while but my struggles with reading music always made it too frustrating to go on. I don't know why but I had started training my ear as a really young child. I'd listen to Broadway soundtracks of my favorites and work on mirroring pitch and tonal qualities. I can remember doing this as young as age 5. It also helped build my tonal memory abilities. I may not be able to read very well, but I learn really quickly and it stays in my head like a steel trap. When I auditioned for the symphony, the director took me up on my tonal memory challenge. It was like we were playing a vocal game of Simon. We went on for several minutes before he gave up and declared me the winner. I'd been told since a very young age that my voice was something really special and that continued into adulthood but again, starving artist wasn't for me and I was also seriously worried about getting bored and eventually hating it if that's all I did. You mentioned baking... I tried my hand and custom cakes for a while but like you said, there's so much risk and honestly, there was a lot of stress with being an amateur and trying to make something that pleased the customer. Starting your own business also often means working all the time. I need breaks.

That's great that she's loving it! Also good that she already knows that things involving marketing are not for her. Engineering tends to be one of the coveted and prestigious degrees of late over here...partly because of the wide variety of engineering, but also the starting pay in most of them is very high.

Yes, I have a B.A. in Psychology. About a year after graduation and a number of dead-end interviews, I decided to go back to school. I got into a dual program that would have resulted in a masters in counseling following by a PSY-D (doctor of psychology). I had a 4.0 after the first semester but I hated it. So, I dropped and took a few courses in things like marketing, advertising, and business before just trying to use what I've got and target corporate America wherever I could work my way in.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

When I started college, I really had a negative image of the greek system. I have never been a partier, and it's always depicted as very superficial and clique-ish in movies and TV, which I know you can't always trust, but having grown up in a trailer park, and being bullied my whole life, I wasn't eager to put myself out there for judgement. There were two sisters in the non-audition choir with me who were snotty as heck. They were in the sorority known for the rich girls. They were always looking at people and whispering to each other and then giggling, and it just really kind of reaffirmed everything I thought about sorority girls. But then I met a couple of other girls from different sororities, and some of them were super sweet. There was a girl in the same choir who was a Tri-delt and she was the opposite of what I thought sorority girls were. I don't have a negative image of them anymore, but the idea of the parties and social obligations is still NOT appealing to me, so I don't think I'd change my decision not to join one, either. I hope K enjoys hers, though. That's cool that it has a good reputation for academics. It's interesting that they all have such different reputations.

Giorgio....I remember that one. And I think walmart sold a knock-off version of that for a while.

While not quite as bad as the movies and tv shows, I do feel that my Greek life experience was closer to your preliminary perceptions of it all. It's like each house was its own clique and within each house there were additionally underlying cliques. There were definitely girls in my house who only went out to a few parties here and there vs. those of us that didn't miss a single opportunity to go out. Some houses were notorious for only taking really wealthy girls. I had a few sisters that were doing work-study and were by no means wealthy, but many others had a lot more than my family. Each house may also have its share of snotty girls, nice girls, and ones who are a blend. I know I wasn't nearly as bad as some of my friends, but I certainly had my moments and there was surely some guilt by association. I was also one of the partiers. In fact, I helped coordinate and plan a number of those parties. K recently asked how often I would go out and she was floored when I said it was sometimes 7 days a week. There were definitely social obligations but I also went Greek because that's what I wanted. I've joked that some people bash sororities because it's buying friends yet I really just bought a better party. I do hope K enjoys. While a lot of mine was shallow and superficial with some sister use and abuse of me mixed in, I did have a lot of fun and it gave me a feeling of home among the thousands of kids on campus.

Yeah...they had those imposters body sprays. I think they still make them!

 

[Songbird76]

Exactly! I still joke that I don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I see all of these people working in fields tied to their majors and while I applaud and somewhat envy the satisfaction for them in that singular focal point, it's just not me. There was a part of me that wanted to sing professionally for a living, but I just couldn't stomach the idea of being a starving artist...especially since I was more performer than musician. I have tried piano many times and even clarinet for a while but my struggles with reading music always made it too frustrating to go on. I don't know why but I had started training my ear as a really young child. I'd listen to Broadway soundtracks of my favorites and work on mirroring pitch and tonal qualities. I can remember doing this as young as age 5. It also helped build my tonal memory abilities. I may not be able to read very well, but I learn really quickly and it stays in my head like a steel trap. When I auditioned for the symphony, the director took me up on my tonal memory challenge. It was like we were playing a vocal game of Simon. We went on for several minutes before he gave up and declared me the winner. I'd been told since a very young age that my voice was something really special and that continued into adulthood but again, starving artist wasn't for me and I was also seriously worried about getting bored and eventually hating it if that's all I did. You mentioned baking... I tried my hand and custom cakes for a while but like you said, there's so much risk and honestly, there was a lot of stress with being an amateur and trying to make something that pleased the customer. Starting your own business also often means working all the time. I need breaks.

That's great that she's loving it! Also good that she already knows that things involving marketing are not for her. Engineering tends to be one of the coveted and prestigious degrees of late over here...partly because of the wide variety of engineering, but also the starting pay in most of them is very high.

Yes, I have a B.A. in Psychology. About a year after graduation and a number of dead-end interviews, I decided to go back to school. I got into a dual program that would have resulted in a masters in counseling following by a PSY-D (doctor of psychology). I had a 4.0 after the first semester but I hated it. So, I dropped and took a few courses in things like marketing, advertising, and business before just trying to use what I've got and target corporate America wherever I could work my way in.

I think I might have been ok in the music field if I had had training as a kid. Growing up in a town of 1200 people doesn't offer many opportunities for things like voice lessons, and where we were living below the poverty line anyway, there was no money there for it even had there been someone to give me lessons. There were some teachers in the next town over, 40 miles away, but there was no way to get me there weekly for something like voice lessons. We had this AMAZING music teacher at the Jr. Sr. high school, right up until I got there. I had her for choir and band in 7th grade, and then she ended up quitting because she was tired of fighting the administration. Her students always did so well at the competitions, and the jazz band traveled to like....California for a Bowl game parade or something once when I was still in elementary school. She was a really really good teacher. I'm sad I only had her for one year. But we had such broken education in band....we went through 3 teachers in one year when I was in 6th grade. I never got a good foundation in theory, and the choir teacher we got to replace the really good teacher was terrible. She couldn't play the piano, had no conducting lessons really, and she didn't teach us any sort of sight singing or theory, so I got to college never having even learned key signatures, much less anything else. I didn't know how to tell if something was major or minor. I didn't know there were different KINDS of minor scales. I only knew the major scale. I was so far behind. I think if I had had all those things when I was younger, I would have felt more.....professional. I have a degree and still don't feel like a professional. I always kind of felt like I was faking it..


E is lucky she made it to her test today. There was a HUGE fire in Arnhem, and she has to take a train to Arnhem and then transfer to a different train at Arnhem Centraal. The fire was in the shopping Centrum of the city, which is close to the station, and they had the entire Centrum closed down today, and we weren't sure if trains were going to be going, but the trains were. Busses weren't, but trains were. Looks like the Centrum might be closed down tomorrow, too, or at least part of it.

Drone footage shows extent of major Arnhem fire; Situation now under control

A devastating fire in the city center of Arnhem has been brought under control, though it remains active in some areas. Around 100 residents are being cared for as emergency services continue to manage the aftermath of the blaze, which has left a visible scar on the city’s historic center, drone...

nltimes.nl

 

[Songbird76]

While not quite as bad as the movies and tv shows, I do feel that my Greek life experience was closer to your preliminary perceptions of it all. It's like each house was its own clique and within each house there were additionally underlying cliques. There were definitely girls in my house who only went out to a few parties here and there vs. those of us that didn't miss a single opportunity to go out. Some houses were notorious for only taking really wealthy girls. I had a few sisters that were doing work-study and were by no means wealthy, but many others had a lot more than my family. Each house may also have its share of snotty girls, nice girls, and ones who are a blend. I know I wasn't nearly as bad as some of my friends, but I certainly had my moments and there was surely some guilt by association. I was also one of the partiers. In fact, I helped coordinate and plan a number of those parties. K recently asked how often I would go out and she was floored when I said it was sometimes 7 days a week. There were definitely social obligations but I also went Greek because that's what I wanted. I've joked that some people bash sororities because it's buying friends yet I really just bought a better party. I do hope K enjoys. While a lot of mine was shallow and superficial with some sister use and abuse of me mixed in, I did have a lot of fun and it gave me a feeling of home among the thousands of kids on campus.

Yeah...they had those imposters body sprays. I think they still make them!

Well, I don't think you are a whole lot older than me, so the greek system was probably similar. There were definitely parties a lot. I never went to any of them, but our dorms were right next to "fraternity lane" where all the fraternity and sorority houses were, so you could always see people out there and hear music and such. The Pikes were the worst, and their house was right next to my dorm. Girls knew not to walk by there after dark. One of my friends was almost assaulted there...well I guess she WAS assaulted, but she got away. The fine arts building was across a parking lot from the dorms, so I had to walk past the pike house to get to it, and I had a guy friend who was in choir with me and he would walk 3 of us girls home after rehearsals to make sure we were safe. There were other houses that had a reputation for being the good guys....I think it was maybe ATO? There was one that actually had escorts who would stay sober and walk girls home after parties, and they were also known for accepting a lot of guys who wouldn't have been accepted into most frats. But I didn't know about most of that stuff until I was in my last year or so, because I never went to parties. Not that I was ever invited to one, but I had some friends who ended up dating guys from that one and they said they always felt safe there going to parties. So I know not all of it was bad, it was just I was VERY sheltered and scared of everything, and I had been taught not to "put myself into dangerous situations" like parties.

 

[Sans Souci]

Well, she had a stroke a few years ago and lost her short term memory. It's just gotten worse and worse. Several months ago, she was having some issues where suddenly her blood sugar and blood pressure both spiked, but her heart rate plummeted or something like that....she was rushed to the hospital and DH got the call to come, this could be it. She pulled through and I don't think they ever completely figured out what happened, except they said she was retaining fluids. But he had to stay in the hospital overnight with her for several nights, because she didn't remember what happened, where she was, why she was in the hospital, and she'd wake up in a panic, so he had to stay with her to calm her down and explain. She's not happy that they are in a nursing home, but she can't do anything by herself. At Christmas, we told them we'd be there for lunch and we'd bring it with us, so they didn't need to go downstairs to the cafeteria, and BIL would bring them dinner. We got there and they were still in bed. We got the lunch stuff out, had lunch, and they kept saying they needed to go to the cafeteria for lunch. We told them they had just eaten. They didn't remember. DH was like "Do you feel hungry? No? That's because you just ate. Now you can go take your nap." They always sleep after they eat lunch. "Oh, but don't we need to go to Erik's?" "No, Erik is coming here for dinner tonight." "Aren't you staying for dinner?" "No, you don't have enough space for all of us. That's why we did lunch, and Erik will bring dinner." "Dinner at Erik's? Do we need to put our shoes on?" "No, Erik is bringing it here." "Oh.....I guess we should get our coats on to go to lunch." "No, you just ate lunch." It took us 10 minutes to get out the door without them trying to follow us downstairs to eat lunch. They have no idea what's going on. She's completely incontinent, but doesn't want to wear the adult diapers, so they've put towels all over the seats for when she has an accident, and we can't take her anywhere. She can't follow a conversation, because she doesn't remember what was just said. Both of them are just really in poor health.

That's difficult to witness. I was close to my great-grandma and she passed away from Alzheimer's disease. It was truly devastating to watch her deteriorate.

 

[Sans Souci]

Oh no! Hopefully you don't catch what he had. That is another pro of a remote work environment. I definitely don't get sick nearly as often.

I also watched the Oscars, although I usually do it for the fashion. It's rare that I've seen more than a couple of the movies that have been nominated. I don't think I could get into The Substance but I wouldn't mind seeing Anora. The storyline sounds like something I might enjoy and the clips I've seen look appealing.

Just so you know, if you watch Anora, there are a lot of adult scenes. Someone was complaining about it. She's a sex worker--but it's not like "Pretty Woman." I think some people were expecting that type of movie. It's not explicit, but implied and it's not ""graphic."

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

I have not worked out since Monday. My son and I both caught my husband's virus. I have congestion and it's all in my chest. When I cough, it's like crackly and wheezy and doesn't feel "complete"--if that makes sense. I am just exhausted, but luckily I have nothing else. No fever, no stuff nose, no aches--just a headache from these incomplete coughs.

My husband left for Tokyo this AM, so my son and I are two sickies looking after each other. lol He is making dinner for us, because he's feeling a bit better today. I am hoping my husband's work CC doesn't get zeroed out during this trip. He was told he was good to go, but I honestly don't trust anything right now. He left at 9;45 AM EST and I checked his flight about 20 min ago and he was over Alaska. That's wild! He doesn't land until 12:30 AM EST. I am not sure I could take a flight that long. I was originally supposed to go with him, but by the time he got the definite go ahead, it was Tuesday. So the airfare was insane. I am ok, though. I struggle with the flight to Phoenix and that's 5.5 hrs. lol

I am hoping I can workout tomorrow. My chest is so congested and I am wheezing a bit. If I can, it's probably going to be something low-key.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Hello-

I have not worked out since Monday. My son and I both caught my husband's virus. I have congestion and it's all in my chest. When I cough, it's like crackly and wheezy and doesn't feel "complete"--if that makes sense. I am just exhausted, but luckily I have nothing else. No fever, no stuff nose, no aches--just a headache from these incomplete coughs.

My husband left for Tokyo this AM, so my son and I are two sickies looking after each other. lol He is making dinner for us, because he's feeling a bit better today. I am hoping my husband's work CC doesn't get zeroed out during this trip. He was told he was good to go, but I honestly don't trust anything right now. He left at 9;45 AM EST and I checked his flight about 20 min ago and he was over Alaska. That's wild! He doesn't land until 12:30 AM EST. I am not sure I could take a flight that long. I was originally supposed to go with him, but by the time he got the definite go ahead, it was Tuesday. So the airfare was insane. I am ok, though. I struggle with the flight to Phoenix and that's 5.5 hrs. lol

I am hoping I can workout tomorrow. My chest is so congested and I am wheezing a bit. If I can, it's probably going to be something low-key.

I hope you feel better. I hope your husband cc stays ok. I was planning to go to Tokyo this summer but air fare has been crazy, we are planning on just Orlando instead. We found a cheap airfare for that.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I think I might have been ok in the music field if I had had training as a kid. Growing up in a town of 1200 people doesn't offer many opportunities for things like voice lessons, and where we were living below the poverty line anyway, there was no money there for it even had there been someone to give me lessons. There were some teachers in the next town over, 40 miles away, but there was no way to get me there weekly for something like voice lessons. We had this AMAZING music teacher at the Jr. Sr. high school, right up until I got there. I had her for choir and band in 7th grade, and then she ended up quitting because she was tired of fighting the administration. Her students always did so well at the competitions, and the jazz band traveled to like....California for a Bowl game parade or something once when I was still in elementary school. She was a really really good teacher. I'm sad I only had her for one year. But we had such broken education in band....we went through 3 teachers in one year when I was in 6th grade. I never got a good foundation in theory, and the choir teacher we got to replace the really good teacher was terrible. She couldn't play the piano, had no conducting lessons really, and she didn't teach us any sort of sight singing or theory, so I got to college never having even learned key signatures, much less anything else. I didn't know how to tell if something was major or minor. I didn't know there were different KINDS of minor scales. I only knew the major scale. I was so far behind. I think if I had had all those things when I was younger, I would have felt more.....professional. I have a degree and still don't feel like a professional. I always kind of felt like I was faking it..


E is lucky she made it to her test today. There was a HUGE fire in Arnhem, and she has to take a train to Arnhem and then transfer to a different train at Arnhem Centraal. The fire was in the shopping Centrum of the city, which is close to the station, and they had the entire Centrum closed down today, and we weren't sure if trains were going to be going, but the trains were. Busses weren't, but trains were. Looks like the Centrum might be closed down tomorrow, too, or at least part of it.

Drone footage shows extent of major Arnhem fire; Situation now under control

A devastating fire in the city center of Arnhem has been brought under control, though it remains active in some areas. Around 100 residents are being cared for as emergency services continue to manage the aftermath of the blaze, which has left a visible scar on the city’s historic center, drone...

nltimes.nl

Sadly, even with great funding and resources, not every school music program teaches kids to be musicians. We had an incredible music department in my school but everything was performance based. That was fine by me as I'm much more performer than musician, but I had zero prep for things like theory, sight singing, and my required secondary instrument in college. The only reason I knew anything about minor scales was because Region and All-State auditions required two major and one minor. I tried to fake it, but you can't really fake theory. I could get by in sight singing, but theory...nope. In the long run, I knew that I really just wanted to sing and I didn't need a degree to be a singer.

That's some fire! I'm glad she made it.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Well, I don't think you are a whole lot older than me, so the greek system was probably similar. There were definitely parties a lot. I never went to any of them, but our dorms were right next to "fraternity lane" where all the fraternity and sorority houses were, so you could always see people out there and hear music and such. The Pikes were the worst, and their house was right next to my dorm. Girls knew not to walk by there after dark. One of my friends was almost assaulted there...well I guess she WAS assaulted, but she got away. The fine arts building was across a parking lot from the dorms, so I had to walk past the pike house to get to it, and I had a guy friend who was in choir with me and he would walk 3 of us girls home after rehearsals to make sure we were safe. There were other houses that had a reputation for being the good guys....I think it was maybe ATO? There was one that actually had escorts who would stay sober and walk girls home after parties, and they were also known for accepting a lot of guys who wouldn't have been accepted into most frats. But I didn't know about most of that stuff until I was in my last year or so, because I never went to parties. Not that I was ever invited to one, but I had some friends who ended up dating guys from that one and they said they always felt safe there going to parties. So I know not all of it was bad, it was just I was VERY sheltered and scared of everything, and I had been taught not to "put myself into dangerous situations" like parties.

I think we had 24 fraternities at its peak while I was in college. I don't think there was a single dorm or academic building close enough to any of them where you'd have to walk by. Ours were also clustered in several different areas. My house was on the park... which was a 2-street segment of Greek houses facing each other with a large 3 block park in the middle. 16 of the fraternities and sororities were in this section. The park faced the main library, backed on the student center and the campus hotel, and was one block off the area with all of the campus bars. There was another street about a block or two up the hill that had the bulk of the rest of the houses. The remaining others were tucked on side streets in these general areas. Some houses definitely had better reputations than others when it came to safety. Most of the houses had some kind of honor code and I had connections in pretty much all of them to protect me, but that doesn't mean all of the brothers would honor their codes.

Example (hopefully, this isn't TMI)- I dated a guy in a house for a bit that was known the have such a code. Even before I dated him, I had several instances over the course of my first 2 years where brothers from that specific house walked me home to make sure I was safe. The guy I wound up dating gave me that vibe though...like he wasn't the kind to take no for an answer. Still, at that point, it was just a vibe. He was a pledge when I dated him, and some higher-ranking brothers warned him that there would be consequences if he hurt me in any way. He wound up cheating on me and breaking it off. He was beaten badly for this and forced to clean the house for a week (which they made sure to make extra gross). A couple of years later, I was taking a break from studying, stopped to talk to a younger sister and we got to talking about guys who hurt us. She confided in me about a guy that raped her. To add insult to injury, his fraternity brothers came after her, threatening to kill her and hurt her family if she reported him or the house. She begged me to not tell anyone. Turns out the guy that raped her was the same guy I dated that cheated on me. So, those same brothers that went out of their way to protect me and teach him a lesson when he hurt me were the same brothers that covered up his rape and threatened my sister when he hurt her.

In any event, I survived and generally had a lot of fun, but I was very well protected and sadly learned that not everyone was afforded that same kind of protection and care.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

It's the start of week 13.

I went to the dr last week and it was my first time on a scale in a while. I wasn't down to where I thought I might be, but I am definitely losing. All in all, I've lost a little over 30 pounds. I still have a long way to go, which shows how far I let things get out of hand, but it's a really encouraging start. I'm still contemplating weekly weigh ins. I just don't know if I want to do it. It messes with my head but it could help keep me accountable.

Friday was supposed to be a break day, but I forgot and wound up walking about 3.1 miles before work. I was still planning on walking on break days...just not nearly that much. I decided to use the weekend to increase my long day distances. I was initially hoping for 10 miles on Saturday, but I started feeling some pain and was also a bit tired and thirsty. So, I stopped at 8.75 miles. Still a respectable distance all things considered. Sunday I did less (7.30 miles) because I went the directly that takes me up the steep inclines. Both days, I also got in some time on the bike to loosen up my legs (about 10.5 miles each day). Of course, after that it was whatever workouts for strength and toning. I know I did squat machine on Saturday as well as some kettlebells and shoulder work with my lighter weights. Sunday was with the big ball where I do things like pushups, a variation on a Roman chair, and some other leg and core work. I've been naturally waking up early, so got up today and walked about 2.5 miles, but I'm thinking about going out and doing a little more when I got to lunch. Not sure yet. It'll be back to a long bike ride tonight.

I still haven't done any meaningful writing. I think it's because I'm still sorting things out. I got another odd sign yesterday along with a couple of interesting tarot readings. The odd sign came in the form of a rather full Boston fern in another shopper's cart yesterday while I was grocery shopping. My brain was recently thinking about nicknames and how one of my friends used to say I looked like a giant potted fern when I kept my hair curly and wore it in a ponytail on top of my head. Of course, this is pure coincidence, but it had been on the brain the last few days and suddenly I'm face to face with a cart with a big potted fern when most people are in there food shopping. The tarot stuff pointed to the future of reuniting with an old love. I don't remember all of the details, but it was odd considering all of this that's been on my mind. The rational side of me says it's probably nothing and to start looking at other themes in these daydreams and signs to see if there's something else hidden in there. Common theme often involves me on stage performing, so maybe it's a call to get my singing voice back in shape for auditions? It's an idea...and a far more productive one than dwelling on the past. I just don't think I have the time for it until Sam is squared away with college.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Just so you know, if you watch Anora, there are a lot of adult scenes. Someone was complaining about it. She's a sex worker--but it's not like "Pretty Woman." I think some people were expecting that type of movie. It's not explicit, but implied and it's not ""graphic."

I'm good with it. I knew they had a lot of input from people in the adult industry, so I gathered it skewed heavily in that direction.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Hello-

I have not worked out since Monday. My son and I both caught my husband's virus. I have congestion and it's all in my chest. When I cough, it's like crackly and wheezy and doesn't feel "complete"--if that makes sense. I am just exhausted, but luckily I have nothing else. No fever, no stuff nose, no aches--just a headache from these incomplete coughs.

My husband left for Tokyo this AM, so my son and I are two sickies looking after each other. lol He is making dinner for us, because he's feeling a bit better today. I am hoping my husband's work CC doesn't get zeroed out during this trip. He was told he was good to go, but I honestly don't trust anything right now. He left at 9;45 AM EST and I checked his flight about 20 min ago and he was over Alaska. That's wild! He doesn't land until 12:30 AM EST. I am not sure I could take a flight that long. I was originally supposed to go with him, but by the time he got the definite go ahead, it was Tuesday. So the airfare was insane. I am ok, though. I struggle with the flight to Phoenix and that's 5.5 hrs. lol

I am hoping I can workout tomorrow. My chest is so congested and I am wheezing a bit. If I can, it's probably going to be something low-key.

Feel better! Don't push it too much if you have chest congestion.

 

[Sans Souci]

I hope you feel better. I hope your husband cc stays ok. I was planning to go to Tokyo this summer but air fare has been crazy, we are planning on just Orlando instead. We found a cheap airfare for that.

My husband says he wants to go back, maybe next year. I think I need to do something like spend a few days in LA and then fly on to Tokyo. Where are you staying in Orlando?

 

[Sans Souci]

o add insult to injury, his fraternity brothers came after her, threatening to kill her and hurt her family if she reported him or the house. She begged me to not tell anyone. Turns out the guy that raped her was the same guy I dated that cheated on me. So, those same brothers that went out of their way to protect me and teach him a lesson when he hurt me were the same brothers that covered up his rape and threatened my sister when he hurt her.

This...this is messed up right here. I need to rewatch Promising Young Woman after reading this. I feel for that young woman. Threatening to kill her family when she has already. been traumatized. I'll bet these guys are doing well in life, too. They are probably doctors, hedge fund managers, CEOs, etc.

 

[Sans Souci]

It's the start of week 13.

I went to the dr last week and it was my first time on a scale in a while. I wasn't down to where I thought I might be, but I am definitely losing. All in all, I've lost a little over 30 pounds. I still have a long way to go, which shows how far I let things get out of hand, but it's a really encouraging start. I'm still contemplating weekly weigh ins. I just don't know if I want to do it. It messes with my head but it could help keep me accountable.

Friday was supposed to be a break day, but I forgot and wound up walking about 3.1 miles before work. I was still planning on walking on break days...just not nearly that much. I decided to use the weekend to increase my long day distances. I was initially hoping for 10 miles on Saturday, but I started feeling some pain and was also a bit tired and thirsty. So, I stopped at 8.75 miles. Still a respectable distance all things considered. Sunday I did less (7.30 miles) because I went the directly that takes me up the steep inclines. Both days, I also got in some time on the bike to loosen up my legs (about 10.5 miles each day). Of course, after that it was whatever workouts for strength and toning. I know I did squat machine on Saturday as well as some kettlebells and shoulder work with my lighter weights. Sunday was with the big ball where I do things like pushups, a variation on a Roman chair, and some other leg and core work. I've been naturally waking up early, so got up today and walked about 2.5 miles, but I'm thinking about going out and doing a little more when I got to lunch. Not sure yet. It'll be back to a long bike ride tonight.

I still haven't done any meaningful writing. I think it's because I'm still sorting things out. I got another odd sign yesterday along with a couple of interesting tarot readings. The odd sign came in the form of a rather full Boston fern in another shopper's cart yesterday while I was grocery shopping. My brain was recently thinking about nicknames and how one of my friends used to say I looked like a giant potted fern when I kept my hair curly and wore it in a ponytail on top of my head. Of course, this is pure coincidence, but it had been on the brain the last few days and suddenly I'm face to face with a cart with a big potted fern when most people are in there food shopping. The tarot stuff pointed to the future of reuniting with an old love. I don't remember all of the details, but it was odd considering all of this that's been on my mind. The rational side of me says it's probably nothing and to start looking at other themes in these daydreams and signs to see if there's something else hidden in there. Common theme often involves me on stage performing, so maybe it's a call to get my singing voice back in shape for auditions? It's an idea...and a far more productive one than dwelling on the past. I just don't think I have the time for it until Sam is squared away with college.

That's really good. I know how difficult it can be to lose weight.

Maybe the reuniting with an old flame card(s) was for you to get reunited with something you used to love to do. Obviously, I am probably wrong, because I didn't do the reading, but when you said you wanted to get your singing voice back in shape to audition--that can be like a "reunion", too. I know from what you have posted here over the years that you liked to sing.

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

I got back on track with my workouts yesterday, so I have been lifting weights and walking. It's been so beautiful here--probably the nicest days we've have since the fall. It was mid 60 yesterday and 70 today.

I...am not ok. I am feeling overwhelmed by everything. It is so much, all at once that is only done for the good of a few. It just doesn't stop. I am talking my husband down from a ledge every night. I am glad he is on this work trip. He is busy with work and he is 13 hours ahead. He is occupied with that. I am honestly not trying to be a downer. But this existential dread is there all the time. I feel like this is surreal and I am untethered from reality. I am probably not the only one who feels like this, so I take solace in that.

On the bright side, my husband's birthday was Sunday and he was out of town for it. So, I am going to bake a cake this weekend and we're planning on going out to eat. I am thinking of baking a chocolate Guinness cake-which are two of his favorite things in cake form.