... that I'm working in the right place. It's Jan 1, Thursday night, and I've been off work since the 19th. I'm going back to work on the 5th, so a few more days off still. As my MSDN pals pop up on IM Messenger (and more and more of them have today), I have to hold myself back from bugging them (sometimes I can't, but they're very understanding). I'm excited to see them online, and even more excited to get back to work. So much fun to be had at MSDN coming up in the new year! I have lots of things that I want to accomplish on my list, but one of the first things that I'm going to check off is to get a process in place to make sure that the tech support emails that get directed to MSDN folks ALL get answered in a timely manner. Right now some get answered right away, but others don't get answered so quickly. The problem stems, I believe, from emails going to only one person (rather than an alias) and because some people don't understand the expectations. Easy problems to fix. I'm betting we'll be able to get our stats up pretty quickly. (I'll keep you posted, of course :)
Last Sunday we went to see The Sound of Music, with a twist. It was billed as a "sing-a-long". The movie is one of M's favorites, so I took a chance and got tickets for the three of us to go as one of her Christmas gifts. It wasn't until Sunday morning that I dug in detail to find out what it was about... and was surprised to read that this particular Seattle tradition involved props and a costume contest, in addition to the songs being subtitled. "Uh oh," I thought, "this might turn out to be a bust." (And, having been surprised before at a midnight showing of Rocky Horror, "I wonder if I need to dig out my umbrella?") But we trundled over the lake for the event, and it was all kinds of fun.
As we approached, I was surprised to see a large crowd outside the theater -- I had assumed that it would be lightly attended given that I had been able to get good seats just 3 weeks before Christmas. As we walked in, we were handed a small goody/prop bag. We got our snacks and proceeded to our seats. As we looked around, we saw a few people in costume (well, it seemed like they were in costume, but you never know in Seattle), some people in dress up clothes, and everywhere in between. The 5th Avenue Theater is glorious, and there's lots to look at while you wait. Finally, the MC came out and walked us through the use of the props in our goody bag, as well as coached us on our role as the audience. Bark when you see Rolf, the telegram guy (since he treats Liesel like a dog), say "Ahhhhhh" when you see Greta, hiss for the baroness, and boo at the Nazis. As he talked, people in costume started lining up along the wall near us, and then it was time for the costume contest! There were lots of Marias, of course, and nuns, but the best costumes (at least in my opinion) were generally the more obscure ones. My favorites were the tuba guy (from the puppet show), the bowing lady (from the festival, played by a teen who had the hair, but most importantly the bowing, down perfectly) and a young girl of maybe 12 or so, who looked just like the baroness, with a cigarette holder, the attitude and everything!
After the contest, and a few last minute instructions, we were ready to see the movie. If you remember the opening, there are about two minutes at the beginning that pans scenery, coming closer and closer to where Maria is standing. As she came into view, everyone yelled "There she is!" and we were off on an experience that is sure to become one of our Christmas Traditions. I loved being able to sing along with every song since the words were on the screen, and was surprised at some of the words (not being a die-hard fan) like flibbertigibbet (we even had a card for that one in our goodie bag) -- who knew? All week I've had the songs running through my head, causing me to occasionally burst out with "How do you solve a problem like Maria?" or "I am sixteen going on seventeen" or even "High on a hill was a lonely goatherd". Rodgers and Hammerstein were quite amazing (separately, too, but especially together), weren't they?
Sound of Music Sing-a-long is a traveling production. Check here to see if it's coming to your town.