I must be a sheep. I have as much wool around my skin as one and I tend to follow what my friends are doing. So two of my friends have updated their blog, another one has started one, so guess what this sheep has decided to do. Baaaaaa...
OK, so the last time we spoke in a non-review way I mentioned a move to Melbourne. That was the plan. The universe, however, seems determined to keep me here. After applying to Melbourne Uni for a Masters In Music (Conducting) course I auditioned for the course (with the help of a few friends) via a dvd. I sent it registered express post. It got there on December 2nd. After that I heard nothing. Not even a notification they got it. That's ok, I thought they have to sift through the many applications they have for all their courses. It will take time, probably not until the new year. I quit my teaching jobs thinking I would be in Melbourne (or close to leaving) by this time. January rolled on. Still nothing. Emails were sent. nothing. Phone calls (up to 4 different numbers in one day) were made and messages left. Friends tried to eke out of them some kind of timetable. Nothing. How does a Uni get away with this? Do they not realise people have PUT THEIR LIFE ON HOLD for this?? I figured if I didn't get in I would find out soon enough to consider other options including schools etc. January turned into February. School came back. Still nothing. I sent an email to the Professor in charge of the course- he replied that he was amazed that I hadn't heard as my application had been discussed weeks ago. He told me he would take it up with the proper people so I could "find out through the proper channels". Stuff the proper channels. I WANT TO KNOW NOW!!! Silence ensued. Finally, on February 25th (my birthday of all days!) I finally got what I had predicted I would get- the rejection letter. This was the email that came attached to the letter-
Dear Rodney,
Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in notifying you of the outcome of your Master of Music (Music Performance) application. We experienced some difficulties receiving communication from the external assessor overseeing your application.
You will find details in the letter attached, which I have also sent via post so that you will be in receipt of a hard copy.
Again, my apologies for the time it has taken to respond – I understand the need to resolve your plans for the year ahead.
With best wishes...
What a crock of crap. "Difficulties receiving communications"? Give me a break. It's 2011. Not 1991. People have mobile phones, smart phones, laptops, emails, text messages, internet cafes etc. I find it hard to believe that anyone who helps assess masters applications can be difficult to reach unless they decided to spend a month with some order of Monks in the Himalayas or trek around Ahmish country. And don't even get me started with the disingenuous last sentence. If they were that concerned about my "plans for the year ahead" they might have considered an email "Dear Rodney, your application results have been delayed until etc...." I can't begin to tell you the burning rage I feel at this moment. It increased as I found myself- for the first time EVER- going to Centrelink and asking for help. I have joined the ranks of the unemployed for now. It sucks to me right now.
Having basically said my goodbyes I had decided to go to Melbourne anyway and try my luck there. Funny how the universe then throws you another twist- I got an offer from State Opera to sing in "Moby Dick". It's a well paid gig that will require me to get into shape (and possibly wear contacts). If I was in Melbourne I would turn it down- but I'm here. It would be stupid to waste this opportunity. So it looks like Adelaide will have to put up with me for a while longer. In the meantime it's about finding some work to cover the bills and get off Centrelink. Sigh.
It's times like this I wonder what some of my less talkative friends would say. I envisage Josh Penley would give me a dose of tough love- something like "Suck it up- don't be a victim, take your destiny into your own hands". Maggie Wood would say something beautiful, profound and totally moving (although being Scottish she may just as easily tell me to get my off my arse and stop whining like a donkey). I have many wonderful friends who, despite my flaws, still remain friends with me and I know they will be here to support me and help me. maybe I can get that concert back on track?
My life is like a roulette wheel at the moment and it's making me dizzy.
===============================================================
In the meantime I've been catching up on "Glee". To be honest I had started to go off it after a very lacklustre start to the season. I slowly ground my way to episode 5 of Season 2 (The one based on Rocky Horror) and then stopped. All of my fellow Gleeks kept telling me that it got better. By the time I had started watching again I had a further episodes saved. I now only have two. Why haven't I been as enamoured with Glee this season? And what has made me keep watching??
Let's start off with the good things. The bully storyline. It hits (pardon the pun) so very close to home. Kurt (for the uninitiated) is a member of the Glee club who is openly gay and he starts to get harrassed by one boy in the school. What the producers did was start it out like the regular taunts of the school (including regular slushie dunkings) but then they ramped it up. At one point Kurt is told by another gay boy from a different school that he needs to confront them and show them he won't be a victim. It's one of those scenes where, as a victim of bullying myself, I get shivers down my spine. He runs into the locker room and starts confronting him at which point the bully kisses him. So this big, hulking boy is gay! The very next time we see him he threatens to kill Kurt if he ever tells anybody. Kurt is forced to change schools. For a show in a kid-friendly timeslot it's an amazing storyline and very confrontational. Many organisations in America have praised it for the shows handling of it. As I said, the whole scenario hits a little too close to home for me (being overweight is almost as much of a target for bullies as being gay it seems). Kudos for the producers for going down that path and sticking to it and especially to Chris Colfer who plays Kurt for delivering such a believable performance.
Actually I think most of the casting is still very good. I loved Idina Menzel as Rachel's mum and Kristin Chenowith as a drunken ex-school friend of Mr. Schuster. Also hard to look past Neil Patrick-Harris and this season we had Gwyneth Paltrow playing one of the best roles of her career. Clearly the producers are using celebrities well most of the time. Also the choice of songs, by and large, seems a good mix. It's true I don't like every single song they do but they seem to fit the situation right. One of my favourite moments was when Kurt realised he had been trying to do everything to please his dad and when he shrugs him Kurt turns to the camera and the end of "Roses Turn" from Gypsy starts. It's a perfect moment. The whole storyline had been working towards it. What was even better was that the scene following the song played out almost word for word like it does in the show.
But why is the show not quite grabbing em the way it used to? I suppose I have to suspend a lot of disbelief but there a couple of things that I feel push that a little too far even for me.
For example, why is the piano guy ALWAYS there? Doesn't he have a home? Does he skulk around the school all the time waiting for the next Glee member to break into a song (which of course he knows)? Do the kids actually study any other subject? Do they do homework? When do the band rehearse (you know the band that, like the piano player, seem to always be around when it needs to be?)? Who does all the arrangements so fast? It's like Rachel will walk into a room and say "I've just decided to sing this song" and the music starts. Even professional bands (let alone ones from high school) would struggle under those circumstances. Also, why do they have to use autotune on all the kids?? It's clear these people can sing, seems really fake to me- also the harmonies seem to be the choir setting on a keyboard rather than actual harmonies sung from real vocal chords.
Then there's Sue Sylvester. Don't get me wrong, I understand that she's a mean old thing (played expertly by Jane Lynch) but at what point does Principal Figgins fire her? (he did at the end of season one but then she was rehired). She fires a student out of a cannon!! A CANNON!!! Even if Figgins doesn't have the backbone to do it (and if that is the case how does he become a Principal anyway?) then surely the school board does... Also, how does she get by having a retarded girl as a secretary? How does a gym teacher even GET a secretary?? And how exactly does the Glee club (who have to resort to kissing booths to raise money apparently) afford all the lights and costumes for their numbers... bloody hell, Rachel and Gwyneth Paltrow did the final number from Chicago complete with dazzling light display and all!! Am I missing the point? And does it really matter? Glee is a fun show that has, at times, succumbed to it's own hype (like the Britney Spears or Madonna episodes) which in my books is a shame. It has the potential to be so much more.
Have I said too much? There's nothing more I can think of to say to you...
