I refuse to get sick! Not this week...it just ain't happening!

Barbershop contest went well - we finished 13th out of 17 choruses, but considering it was the first time we had ever made it to district contest, that's not a bad spot to start. (It looks even better if you ignore two categories, and just look at our singing score...that would have put us 7th!)

The high school concert went very well - and is the first time I've ever run out of programs. According to the choir director, the stacks I had sitting on music stands at the back of St. Henry's were gone by ten to 7...and there was still a steady stream of people coming in until nearly concert time at 7:30. It was a little difficult for set-up, but...considering it was a one-shot deal being out of the auditorium... We'll take it.

Next concert is tomorrow night - I probably should be a bit more concerned about it than I am, but at this point, they're either ready or they aren't, and there isn't much I can do about it either way. On the bright side, the fifth graders have only had their instruments for 6 weeks, so anything they play that is recognizable will most likely go over well.

Sanity check on aisle 3, please! The Long Prairie Orchestra doesn't have a bass player...and apparently, they couldn't find one to come in as a ringer. So, in a fit of (temporary??) insanity, I volunteered to jump from viola to bass - after last night's rehearsal. This means I have today and tomorrow to practice before the dress rehearsal with the soloists. Spent a couple of hours this afternoon going through spots...won't have a chance to look at it tomorrow because of the concert. This could be highly amusing...or hideously embarrassing. Ah, well...it's in Long Prairie, so the chances of running into anyone I know at the concert is pretty slim.

Current countdowns (only including those under 10...so the Trivia Countdown isn't included) :

Barbershop contest: 2 days
HS concert: 5 days (3 school days), 2 rehearsals
5th orch/6th band concert: 8 days (6 school days), 1 rehearsal for the orch, 2 for band
Long Prairie orchestra concert: 10 days, 2 rehearsals

I need something else going on! And if anyone tries to add anything to my schedule, I'm likely to bite them!

Thank goodness this will be a short week. The two days off on Thursday & Friday (for the state teachers' convention) will be a very welcome break, especially after the hectic pace of this last week.

Monday - p/t conferences
Tuesday - barbershop rehearsal (got home around 1)
Wednesday - crashed
Thursday - Heartland Symphony Orchestra rehearsal...then got a phone call around midnight.
Friday - trying to recover from screwed-up sleep schedule
Saturday - HSO dress rehearsal / performance
today - HSO performance

I'm going to have Schubert's "Unfinished" running through my head for a few days now - especially those two nasty little sections with all the accidentals on the 16th notes.

Busy is definitely going to be the word of the year at school, too. Between the high school group (or groups, depending on how you look at it - symphony, string orchestra, band - although it meets as one big group), the 6th-8th orchestra, 7th-8th band, 6th band, and 5th orchestra (31 kids! ), I'll be staying busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.

Can I take a nap now, please? Three days should about do it...

Am also definitely looking forward to the possibility of getting to Beergle on Friday.