Ugh, busy day!
It's my day off work today, but that didn't mean I got to laze around doing sod-all. I wish... ;-)
The singing group I'm involved in at work had a gig at lunchtime, at the Institute of Directors lunch in the Park Plaza hotel. We had to sing 'Somebody To Love' (Our biggest hit so far but, to be honest, it's getting old...) then we had to give a forty-second burst of the 70's theme tune 'Wonder Woman' to introduce one of the keynote speakers; Ruth Badger from 'The Apprentice'.
Yeah, I don't know who she is either. Don't worry, I don't think we're the only ones. ;-)
I was just a tad late getting there, as I wanted to drop my bag - which had my coursework in it - at my desk so I didn't have to lug it with me to the hotel. I misjudged how long it would take me to get to the office, however, due to the current bus service disruptions, and typically the lift coming back down wasn't on my side. So by the time I made it back to the lobby everyone else had already headed over the road, so I had to leg it over there. Thankfully nothing had started yet and I was settled in amongst the ranks with about five minutes to spare.
'Somebody To Love' went well, despite a really ropey rehearsal yesterday. Us Altos almost entirely forgot our harmonies, and Andrea sent me and Zoe to the back of the group to belt it out, in the hopes the others would be able to pick it up again. I was quietly freaking, as I don't get it completely right myself, but the technique seemed to work! The other advantage is that it meant I got to stand in the middle today, whereas Andrea and George had sneakily managed to get me into the front recently! ;-) I'm far, far happier in the second row, where my poor attempts at the movements aren't as obvious.
Andrea also designated me 'Section Leader' for the Altos, since the two strongest voices haven't been able to attend; Laura's been off sick, and Mel is on maternity leave. That totally freaked me out - but I don't know if this was a one-off thing or permanent. A permanent arrangement would be quite scary...dunno if I'm up to the responsibility, frankly.
'Wonder Woman' was also successful, though it was hard to hear the music so we came very close to ballsing up our entrance. We ended it with a flourish, however, turning to point at Ms Badger as we shouted out "Wonder Woman!" *chuckles*
Andrea and George seemed thrilled with us afterwards, before they headed back in to properly attend the dinner. Their company is supposed to be a motivational one, granted, but they've never bullshitted us - and are not above giving us a gentle lecture during the rehearsals- so we're sure we did a decent job at the very least.
I then retrieved my bag - should have left it at reception really, but ah well! - and grabbed a bite to eat. My plan was then to head to the Council's central housing office, to get them to stamp the OU financial support application that finally arrived in the post this morning, then go to the library for an hour or so to work on my final assignment before I had to go collect Rowan.
Ah, me and best-laid plans....
Last year, the task of getting the form signed took five minutes. I spoke to the woman on the front desk, she took it off me and headed out back to the main office, then returned with it signed and stamped. This year, the guy made me go queue at the 'Fast Track' window *snort* - I think because I couldn't remember if I still qualify for Council Tax Benefit as well as Housing Benefit (I don't, but I have done once or twice in the past, so I get confused whether I still do), and he decided it was best to make sure :-p Almost an hour later, I finally get out of there and there's barely an hour before I need to go get the bus to the school. So that put a complete kybosh on going to the library...
I have to work on the assignment through the weekend, as this one needs to be posted to Milton Keynes to be marked, rather than uploaded to the website like all the previous ones. So I have to allow for the postal system - and they're gearing up for the Christmas season by starting up their autumn industrial action :-p Apologies to anyone on my flist who may have a friend or relative working for the Royal Mail, but I've seen this too often now to not get cynical about it. A theory in the office is that they do this to ensure Christmas overtime...
It's my youngest nephew's second birthday party tomorrow, so my Saturday's going to be fairly busy. It's a very long way to my brother's house, by public transport. *sigh*
The singing group I'm involved in at work had a gig at lunchtime, at the Institute of Directors lunch in the Park Plaza hotel. We had to sing 'Somebody To Love' (Our biggest hit so far but, to be honest, it's getting old...) then we had to give a forty-second burst of the 70's theme tune 'Wonder Woman' to introduce one of the keynote speakers; Ruth Badger from 'The Apprentice'.
Yeah, I don't know who she is either. Don't worry, I don't think we're the only ones. ;-)
I was just a tad late getting there, as I wanted to drop my bag - which had my coursework in it - at my desk so I didn't have to lug it with me to the hotel. I misjudged how long it would take me to get to the office, however, due to the current bus service disruptions, and typically the lift coming back down wasn't on my side. So by the time I made it back to the lobby everyone else had already headed over the road, so I had to leg it over there. Thankfully nothing had started yet and I was settled in amongst the ranks with about five minutes to spare.
'Somebody To Love' went well, despite a really ropey rehearsal yesterday. Us Altos almost entirely forgot our harmonies, and Andrea sent me and Zoe to the back of the group to belt it out, in the hopes the others would be able to pick it up again. I was quietly freaking, as I don't get it completely right myself, but the technique seemed to work! The other advantage is that it meant I got to stand in the middle today, whereas Andrea and George had sneakily managed to get me into the front recently! ;-) I'm far, far happier in the second row, where my poor attempts at the movements aren't as obvious.
Andrea also designated me 'Section Leader' for the Altos, since the two strongest voices haven't been able to attend; Laura's been off sick, and Mel is on maternity leave. That totally freaked me out - but I don't know if this was a one-off thing or permanent. A permanent arrangement would be quite scary...dunno if I'm up to the responsibility, frankly.
'Wonder Woman' was also successful, though it was hard to hear the music so we came very close to ballsing up our entrance. We ended it with a flourish, however, turning to point at Ms Badger as we shouted out "Wonder Woman!" *chuckles*
Andrea and George seemed thrilled with us afterwards, before they headed back in to properly attend the dinner. Their company is supposed to be a motivational one, granted, but they've never bullshitted us - and are not above giving us a gentle lecture during the rehearsals- so we're sure we did a decent job at the very least.
I then retrieved my bag - should have left it at reception really, but ah well! - and grabbed a bite to eat. My plan was then to head to the Council's central housing office, to get them to stamp the OU financial support application that finally arrived in the post this morning, then go to the library for an hour or so to work on my final assignment before I had to go collect Rowan.
Ah, me and best-laid plans....
Last year, the task of getting the form signed took five minutes. I spoke to the woman on the front desk, she took it off me and headed out back to the main office, then returned with it signed and stamped. This year, the guy made me go queue at the 'Fast Track' window *snort* - I think because I couldn't remember if I still qualify for Council Tax Benefit as well as Housing Benefit (I don't, but I have done once or twice in the past, so I get confused whether I still do), and he decided it was best to make sure :-p Almost an hour later, I finally get out of there and there's barely an hour before I need to go get the bus to the school. So that put a complete kybosh on going to the library...
I have to work on the assignment through the weekend, as this one needs to be posted to Milton Keynes to be marked, rather than uploaded to the website like all the previous ones. So I have to allow for the postal system - and they're gearing up for the Christmas season by starting up their autumn industrial action :-p Apologies to anyone on my flist who may have a friend or relative working for the Royal Mail, but I've seen this too often now to not get cynical about it. A theory in the office is that they do this to ensure Christmas overtime...
It's my youngest nephew's second birthday party tomorrow, so my Saturday's going to be fairly busy. It's a very long way to my brother's house, by public transport. *sigh*