In other news...

Ballet politics are the same. Childish and annoying.

Nutcracker is in performance now. So that means a lot of schlepping over to UNLV for performances. D is adorable in her silver princess gown, but keeping her hair curled is a booger! Also, she got about half the rehearsal time as the other girls because she is the ONLY one NOT in A or B casts and RH-N never bothered with her--but she seems to be doing pretty well for learning by watching. Petty beotches think they were clever, but OOPSIES! D has proven once again that she is more than up to the task despite them.

D wrote her contest essay for the NBT (I'll post it later). The prize is a month's paid tuition, some academy store credit, a small check and tickets to the Black and White ball next month. But I am sure she won't win... I don't spend enough money there to buy her a victory like the likely winner's parents do. In fact, most of us have private bets as to who will "win" and we all have the usual suspects names in the hat. Besides, her essay was not all full of BS about lightness and ethereal thoughts and kissing ass vicariously. It was an honest assessment of how she feels when she dances even when she is treated like crap, so you know that went over really well.

This year, her last performance is Christmas Eve, so most of Winter Break will be resting time for her--except for catching up on homework and finishing a book report. School is a nightmare for D because she cannot keep track of her papers and she ends up getting in trouble for not turning in her work--even though she does it. She is the only person I know who can lose an assignment in the five feet between her desk and the teacher's. At least, after the quarter ends, she will be put in another math class so that she might get better attention (her current math teacher has decided D will be her scapegoat this year and has made life hell for D).

Oh, yeah--I found out today that D's "grandmother" died in the Spring without ever meeting the grandchild she wanted from J. Despite his lies over the years that she never wanted to see D, the awful truth (as I heard it) is that he never told her D even existed. So two people were cheated out of some extra joy. I also hear that J and F are divorcing now. Eventually, I will get to hear why, but I have my suspicions.

Finally, I hope made S very happy because I found the perfect Christmas present for him. After this last month, he needed something cool and I think this was the schitz! Enjoy, my friend!

Clicking like mad! The great Hannah Montana ticket battle!

Well, Hannah Montana fever hit Vegas this week with the announcement of Miley Cyrus' shows at the MGM. The tickets went on sale at precisely 12 PM local and Ticketmaster was overwhelmed by 12:01. I had someone on another computer, also clicking furiously in an effort to score the golden tickets as an early birthday present for D. I kept getting bumped, the other person's had tickets but then the system released them just as the CC was being processed... Then the two shows came up as sold out. WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

But then... Just as one sad little Diva was about to cry, a third show was posted. Clicking again madly, we scored decent seats on the floor. YES!!!! Just for S & G, we tried to get another set of tickets for speculation and found that even that show was gone in less than five minutes.

So now, for at least a few minutes, D has bragging rights like crazy. That is, until I sell them because she still doesn't want to do her homework. Yeah, I'm mean like that.

Oh, yeah! Someplace in all of this...

I GOT TO GO TO HAWAI'I FOR UNION TRAINING!!!

It was only for a few days, but it was HAWAI'I!!!

It was good training and I have a lot of good information for our local to use. I didn't get a lot of down time, but I made the time to go to the beach and watch the sunset. It was raining in the distance, but even that was picturesque.


Yes, there were hula boys with muscles and tattoos in all their island goodness!

Of course, the assmunches at the place where I work had the overwhelming need to call me constantly for piddly stuff. And, of course, I put in for overtime. Ruin my last day in Hawai'i, will they?

Just about to contact the ACLU

Today was another rehearsal for "Nutcracker". The kids had to be there at 9:00. Party scene didn't even get to start rehearsing until almost 11:00 and RH-N didn't let D rehearse--AGAIN!!! D is the only one who is not in A or B cast, so she didn't even get a single run-through. Since RH-N ran most of the main dances over and over, there should have been a chance for D to rehearse each dance at least once. The part of Russian Princess #2 is being filled by three girls--D and two others. One is in A cast and one is in B. D is in C & D. So she was the ONLY party scene girl who didn't get to rehearse.

I asked RH-N why not. She hemmed and hawed about why, but you know--she just whined about time and how she had to do what she could. I basically told her (and JK later) that people don't know who is in what cast and they are paying the same amount for tickets no matter what. She just rolled her eyes and stomped off. JK wanted to go back to the day D left class to throw up after he made the girls do 50 reps of crunches followed by 50 reps of sit-ups and leg lifts. I asked him what that had to do with rehearsing for a show that opens in two weeks and of course he had no answer either. I told him the same thing I told RH-N: they want to complain when D messes up, but then they don't let her rehearse, so of course she isn't as prepared, therefore she messes up and then they bitch again. I also repeated the thing about the ticket-holders paying the same price no matter who is dancing. I know it will get back to VS-K because he cannot help but tell his missus.

My kid isn't there as a "Future Dancer" charity case or on scholarship. I pay the same freakin' tuition as every other parent does for their child and I expect that she get the same treatment. I am not in the mood to hear all the ephemeral crap about "art" and "grace" and "the soul of a dancer" as an excuse for discriminating against my child. And that is what I am seeing--they know D has neurological issues and therefore not "perfect" enough to be in what is fast becoming an exclusionary environment.

Why do I keep her there? Because they were supposed to let the girls start pointe in August...! Now, JK keeps putting the girls off and they haven't done anything with pointe since observation week (and that was only for the parents' benefit). I am seriously considering other dance studios--mainly Fern Adair, but it is too late for this year. If she does switch, Adair's girls get to dance with the Moscow Ballet when they do The Nutcracker (in Henderson every November). I also understand that they aren't as assholish about their students actually having lives outside of dance.

Besides, D is of the mood to prove them wrong. She even wants to write an essay for their silly contest about why she loves dance. I might just help write that one. Let's just say that I could open some eyes with it. Unfortunately, I expect that the silly beotch will "accidentally" lose D's entry. I am still trying to figure out why the receptionist was proofreading entries. Makes me wonder who ghostwrote the pre-selected winner (one of the usual suspects, no doubt).