Don't worry about your spelling, Kara! We can mispell together! I know I would never be a good English teacher! I haven't taken any classes yet where I need an audition to get in; that starts this summer. But, with honor bands, I see that all the time, when there is a performer sitting in a higher chair than you are and it's like they picked up the flute a week ago! I always get kinda sad, because I always wonder if they feel overwhelmed and know they are playing bad, or if they really think they sound good. But, then again, I always get mad when I find out who their director is. Where I live, there have been problems with director "politics." So, basically, if you are auditioning under your director's name (like everyone has to here for honor events), the board choosing the students will actually sit the student in rank of where their director is in the organization. So, I auditioned a few years ago under a director of mine. Didn't make it. Auditioned the next year under another director. Made it. Auditioned the year after that under the director I had the first time I tried out, and I was not accepted. Listening to the tapes, I think I sounded better the last time than I did when I was accepted. Apparently, at the state director's conference, there was a big blowup about this and there are actually people looking into years of honor records to see if there was favortisim. It's very sad. I hope I don't have to deal with that when I finish my degree!

Kara,

You will absolutely never hurt my feelings about how I play. I placed well in many many competitions over the years in this state and have many more creditals to back up my ability to play. Where are yours? You claim to be in a professional orchestra. Funny I don't see your name on the roster of the only professional symphony orchestra in this state.

Your rudeness and pettiness because you do not like me are showing your level of immaturity. I have not once attacked you on a personal level on this site. I have not said what I think about your playing, your personal actions, or your behavior in general. However, you continue to make rude comments about everything from my playing, to my personal life, and even to how much money my husband makes. It would do you well to remember that you can attack my playing all day long and I don't care. You can talk about me all day long and I don't care, nor am I bothered by it in the least. In fact it goes to prove again that you have been rude over and over on this site to so many people, yet they continue to tolerate your actions.

I will continue to give my opinion on this site as I see fit. I am not concerned about your reputation here and whether or not anyone else thinks better of you than me. It doesn't matter in the slightest to me. I enjoy several of the people here, I have learned some interesting information and techniques, and I have enjoyed giving out advice to some of the others who have asked. I am not here to annoy you nor to appease you. If you can't tolerate that, it is your short coming, and not mine. Have a good day.

Kara:
"Sorry for all the spelling errors in that last post. We all know that I would never make it throught college as an English teaher. Lol!!"

Hav u kunscidurd usenig a spel checkur?
tey realy wurk fur mie

Best wishus
~Bilbo

DottedEighthNote,
I was not even talking about you. A little sensitive? Geesh! Just to answer your question, I do play substitute chair for the local symphony. You are welcome to contact Bill Fox if you don't beleive me.

No harm done. I have jumped to conclusions myself before and made that mistake.

DottedEighthNote,
I was not even talking about you. A little sensitive? Geesh! Just to answer your question, I do play substitute chair for the local symphony. You are welcome to contact Bill Fox if you don't beleive me.

No harm done. I have jumped to conclusions myself before and made that mistake.

<Added>

I would appreciate it if you would stop badgering me. I don't recall ever making any comments about how much money your husband makes. I honestly could care less. That is your own insecurities talking. The only reason you joined this site is because you found out I was posting as Kara on here. So please don't come on here and tell me how immature I am being. If we are going to post on the same site, the lets agree to avoid each other, as it just ends badly for both of us.

<Added>

Care to add a recording to this site to show off those "credentials?"

Lol, Bilbo! I did have a spell checker on my computer, but it kept on gumming up everything on here.

Oh my....DottedEighthNote...you are a very mean-spirited woman. You should never jump to conclusions about what people are talking about. You know what that is right? That's called an assumption, and not to sound cliche, but you know what assumptions make......I have never heard Kara say one bad thing about people (and what she said about this flute player in the choir is not that bad). She is very positive and helps people whenever they need it. Please be mature, and act like an adult on this website's forum. Thanks!

-Dennis

DottedEigthNote, that was really not very nice! Kara didn't do anything or say anything to you and I doubt she would! She is one of the most respected members on this forum and you are making yourself and unrespectable member very quickly. Please, we all hate fights on this forum; we are here to help people and discuss music, not pick fights or bash others. I have nothing against you, either, as I am writing this, but, !please! leave Kara alone!!! Nothing you say will tarnish her reputation here, so if that is the purpose of your posts, it is not going to work!
I respect you as a person and, as you have bluntly told me earlier, I know nothing really about you, and I am not meaning to insult you in any way by this post.
Kara doesn't deserve any of this. Please don't.

Ah.. she doesn't bother me. I used to be in flute choir with her and for some reason she is fixated on bringing me down. Jeoulousy comes to mind.

Yes, Kara, anyone who reads this site knows who you were referencing.

I will dig around through some of these old posts from back in the day when I have time to support the other things I have said, if that is what you really want... I'll make sure I even copy the quotes were you apologized for it a time or two, and I ignored those posts because you have a tendency of doing it all over again. They are around, however digging through 100's of old threads just to prove a point is nothing that lights my fire.

The only reason you joined this site is because you found out I was posting as Kara on here

Ok sure...it couldn't be that there are other people in the site who are great people with information, theories, and ideas that I enjoy reading about and discussing with them. Although I do not spend my time accumulating an ungodly post count, I do read every day and laugh at some of the stories that tickle me, read about technical issues on playing, listen to some of the sound files etc. It is vain on your part to assume I only come here because of you.

If we are going to post on the same site, the lets agree to avoid each other, as it just ends badly for both of us.

If avoiding you means agreeing with everything you say, and not stating my opinion ever on an open flute board, I am sorry that won't be the case. However, if avoiding each other means leaving personal judgements at the login screen, and not making petty comments about one and other I will be happy to do that.

Care to add a recording to this site to show off those "credentials?"

For what purpose? To "prove" I am right? I don't have the desire to "prove" anything. I am not the flutist I was 10 years ago and I am perfectly comfortable enough with myself to admit that. I don't come here and tout myself as a professional musician. I have said before I play for fun, and I have some flute students that I teach. Were life as easy now as it was 10 years ago when parents paid the bills and I had time to practice 3 hours a night I would be more than willing to post a recording, but I do not feel the need to have what I do now judged as an example of what I am capable of should I choose to put in the time and effort.

Unless, you were in a flute choir in NY, then I was not talking about you. I don't recall you ever playing flat and not have any tone. I am going to stop here. I don't want to play this bait game, I would certainly hope that I am better then that.

No hard feelings of course. I dont' hold grudges.

Cheers!
Kara

Oh well, since you were talking about some girl in NY I guess Dennis is right and I am just a mean spirited person. It must have just been my feeling personally attacked since on a thread two days ago you accused me of being jealous of your playing and specifically stated I was in flute choir with you. Then randomly you make a comment today about some person in a flute choir with you again.

Please accept my most sincere apologies for assuming that you were talking about me. I don't know how I could have possibly come to that conclusion.

No harm done. Of course I accept your apology. Like I said, I have jumped to the wrong conclusions before myself. We all have done it before.

<Added>

And, I apoligize as I can see how you could have jumped to that conclusion.

jose_luis
When you get back, give us a report on you diving experience. I'm curious. I've done some snorkeling but never SCUBA. The fish in the Fla. Keys are fantastic..exccept for the Barracuda.

My wife, the two dogs and I have taken up sailing and will be spending the summer trying to not get too wet. But in this shot from last Oct. Our Lucy has got a bit smile on:
[img]http://baggins.150m.com/Sailing/IMG_1908s.jpg[/img]
http://baggins.150m.com/Sailing/IMG_1908s.jpg
~Bilbo
N.E. Ohio

<Added>

ahHAAA...pay no attention to the above links and check out:
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/Bilbo_Baggins/Sailing/IMG_1908s.jpg[/IMG]
or
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/Bilbo_Baggins/Sailing/IMG_1908s.jpg

Thanks Lera,
That pup, Lucy is about 4.

OK, I'm back. Safe and happy.

I must say I felt a little sad when I followed this thread and noticed all that misunderstanding!. Just wondered how it would end!. But I'm relaxed and happy to see it could be solved. The most important thing in life is to enjoy it, without hurting others.

Bilbo asked about the experience of scuba diving. Well, it was an ambitious goal for us, but we could do it and was very rewarding. The main problem is that one can become an addict!

If anybody ever wants to try it, I would recommend to contact a serious PADI center, as we did. PADI is the acronym for Professional Association of Diver Instructors. It is based in Switzerland, but I believe its origin is the USA and it's very active there.

They have a method of theory + practise + exams that takes about 6 days. It can be split in several sessions. We did it in two long week ends, with a total of 3 + 3 immersions.

The cost (here in Spain) is about 400 US$, including the rental of the complete equipment, ship, instructor, books, etc. Probably in the US would be cheaper.

The licence one gets can be used for diving down to 25 meters (some 75 feet).

It's such a strong and different experience one cannot imagine, provided you are interested in natural beauties, wild fauna and the sharing of strong personal experiences. i.e. it is mandatory to dive with a companion, never alone and normally you dive with a group, forming "couples" of divers.

Probably playing a wind instrument could help, as the pulmonary capacity for wind players is reputed to be higher than normal.

I will post some photo(s) as soon I develop the film and get copies scanned (sorry, no digital camera yet...)

But may be I'm abusing on the patience of other forum goers. I know it's not the main subject of the thread. But I wanted to share the experience, that's why I announced it before.


I did not imagine that majoring in music could be so hard. But it's well known that obtaining positions (or is it "chairs"?) is based on auditioning -and winning.

I think this is quite universal and may be they do it also at music schools as a way to prepare the student to what he/she will find in real life.

Maybe in music it is a little harder, but this competition for scarce posts is the same in all professions.

In others, say, nuclear physics, you do not audition (it would be funny if it was so), but the selection is based on the Curriculum Vitae (experience), education achievements and positions obtained (mostly for the first employment), and most certainly on one or several personal interviews.

And there are always lots of candidates for very few positions. That's life, these days.


My new Flute is already in Madrid!. But I will get it tomorrow. I'll see how I manage to sleep tonight!






<Added>

I must apologize for my eurocentric point of view. PADI is based in USA (PO Box 7006, Rancho Santa Clara, CA92688 USA). The european branch (PADI Europe AG) is based in Switzerland