Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Midweek Meanderings and Miscellany xxxxvi: Endings, and Beginnings!

Well, it's the end of January, and I say whew! Seems like the longest month of the year to me every year, most likely because of the cold, dreary drab weather, the post holiday let down, the disappearance of holiday decor and cheer, and reality fully back on one's plate in the form of work, taxes, exercise, and general "no more holidays on the horizon for a while!". (One colleague at MENC, however, did a very smart thing - she spent two weeks just after the holidays in HAWAII on a well deserved vacation....talk about a good way to spend the first two weeks of January!! Here's a quick view to help you forget winter gloom!)




Now, don't you feel better!?

I for one am glad the short and sweet month of February is upon us! Days are longer, birds are starting to chirp (at least in Virginia!), and you get a good sense that Spring IS On the way....

(candy always helps, too!)
And speaking of short and sweet, this will be a short and sweet blog today....!

A quick update to last week's (1/23) posting about the MENC Social.....On Friday 1/25, Dr. M hosted the MENC Monthly staff social. The Theme? Ice Cream Sundaes!
You may think it strange to have ice cream in January....but, it went down WARMLY and WELL thanks to the wonderful member who made a Christmas gift of her state's famous hot fudge sauce. A VERY big thank you to member RAK for her generous "donation" ! The large can of the milk chocolate sauce was gently heated in a pot of warm water, until just the right consistency for spooning and drizzling.......here's one of the finished creations....(although, it seems to be missing a cherry!)


And here are three happy MENC staff (2 of the super hardworking mail room/handyman/know how to get it done guys...and one staffer who I'm sorry I'm not able to identify..... ) pausing from their labors to have the treat:

There were several other interesting photos, particularly of Dr. M drizzling the sauce from on high like a chef........and another of him sitting with staff with a diet soda in his hand! Many other photos (courtesy of BS, super photographer!) of staff in various states of ice cream enjoyment and concentration as they constructed their sundaes...but, you will have to imagine these scenes........Overall, staff enjoyed and got the appropriate sugar high to see them through Friday afternoon on a dreary winter day!

As for the endings, in addition to the month disappearing........today we say goodbye to MENC Teaching Music Managing Editor, BP. She has been a real boon to MENC. BP contributed to MENC not only with her fine managing editorship, but she co-directed, and performed in the MENC Recorder ensemble (playing AND singing!), and one summer she even ran a yoga class for interested staff! BP is also a licensed pilot, an accomplished singer and choral conductor, and Mom! She will be missed!

And, a new beginning: this week, a handful of staff will be receiving special "write for the web" training, as soon, the MENC website will be completely converted with a new look for members (sometime late spring, early summer), and it will have a new technical interface for staff, so staff can post materials directly to the website themselves, instead of having to rely on our production/web team. Stay tuned!

Hope to bring you, in coming weeks, comments and segments from our monthly on-line survey, The Question of the Month, most recently about musicians and health. Some good suggestions and feedback received in January from members! February's question of the month topic will be TECHNOLOGY in the music classroom, and, separately, RETIRED MUSIC EDUCATORS..... Please take a look after 2/1! (and see below for some TECH in MUSIC links!)

Knowing you are all busy, so below are just a few bits and pieces of resources/interest. Hope your week goes well, and til next week, SR
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