:: Venting Insanity ::

:: Monday, April 07, 2003 ::

home again
Well, I am back home now. And it's snowing. O.O;; Yeah... Long Island is getting snow in April. I think the Apocalypse is on its way or something. >P

WARNING: I have a whole weekend to catch you guys up on, so this post will be long.

grand assembly
We got on the road seriously by about a quarter to eight on Thursday morning. Before that, I had picked up Aly at her house, and Lisa M and Missy M picked up Charsie at her house. We met at the coffee truck on the LIE service road. Traffic wasn't too horrendous on the LIE, even with Lisa forgetting to get into the HOV lane. ^^;; It was normal weekday morning rush with the usual slow downs in all the usual places, but we made pretty good time the whole trip up to the Friar Tuck. And it wasn't a bad drive, despite what looked like might be nasty weather. The fog made it hard to see anything when we crossed the bridges, but it wasn't bad driving. My main issue was that Lisa M apparently doesn't use cruise control. We ranged in speed from 60 mph to 80 mph. My legs were already stiff and achy by the time we walked into the hotel, and I was seriously wishing I had led the way on the ride up.

Is it me or is getting your picture taken the last thing you want to have happen right after you walk in the door after a four or five hour drive? Well, that's what they did to us at the Registration table in the lobby. We signed in, got our pictures taken, received passports, and were given our program schedules for the weekend. The passports were our ID badges for the weekend since the weekend theme this year was "It's a Small World". We had to get them stamped at everything we went to. The person with the most stamps at the end of the weekend was the winner.

We were on the first floor for the weekend, which wasn't too bad. The major problem with that was the hotel had redone all their flooring on the first floor. Now, the entire hotel except the dining room, the main lobby, and the guest rooms were stone tile. Ouch. My feet started hurting, then my knees, then it worked its way to my ankles, hips, and lower back. And the beds were way too firm for me, so I was in pain the whole weekend. Mom didn't go this year and I forgot to bring my ibuprophen with me, so I was not happy camper in that department.

The entire hotel was drafty and freezing. So, we put the heat on in our room. The room turned into an oven. We finally figured out that you had to turn the heat on and off at certain times to maintain a comfortable temperature because the thermostat was apparently broken and didn't maintain it for us. We had a nice bowed down ceiling tile in our bathroom, right over the shower (that suggested some water damage) which freaked Aly out early in the morning one day. We weren't the only room with it, too.

Rehearsals went on pretty much all Thursday afternoon. I had choir rehearsal right after lunch. We practiced the walk-in with them, which they only had to walk in for the opening during Thursday night's session. Then, we moved to another room to practice the songs they would be singing for the weekend. The choir was extremely well-behaved this year, as opposed to the little monsters we ended up with last year. I was properly impressed by the way they stayed quiet and sat nicely in the Grand East all during sessions. None of them crossed their legs or sat with their knees wide open in their gowns. They didn't slouch or anything. They didn't chat or whisper to whole time (which would have been bad since there's a microphone right in front of them). They did really well for a group of young girls. I was very happy with them. They also did very well for their walk-in.

Thursday night's "It's a Small World" dinner was when we had to wear our Bolivia costumes. We weren't the only District that did a quick and easy costume this year. Nothing overly elaborate, thank goodness. We had our bowler hats with the scarves. Kings-Queens had the Phillipines, so they used umbrellas that they attatched silver curling ribbing and blue construction paper rain drops to. Nassau had Canada, so they all had red felt maple leaves pinned to their outfits and Amanda H had a Canadian flag jacket on over her gown. Rockland-Westchester had one of the Australian jurisdictions, so they added 'pouches' to their aprons and walked around with little plush kangaroos in the 'pouches'. Orange had the US, so they wore Uncle Sam hats, and they all put on red/white/blue outfits for dinner. Erie-Genessee had Brazil, so they made little bowls of fake fruit that they tied ribbons on and wore as hats like the Chiquita Banana girl. I don't remember what other Districts had what. ^^;;

Opening night came. I stood at the door beforehand and caught people as they were coming in, stamping their passports. Aly was sitting on the South side of the Assembly room as a floor Page. She had met with "Mom" Brannan at dinner earlier. Aly was personal Page to her. Missy M and Lisa M participated in the Flag ceremony this year by carrying in flags. Virginia's speech really touched everyone, too. Her section on the American flag really hit home for a lot of us this year because of the war. She even had to make an effort to stop herself from crying while she was giving it. I found out that Cheryl A's husband had been called up to active duty. I don't know if he's been deployed, yet, though. Lisa M then took her seat as the microphone helper for Grand Hope and the other officers on the South side of the Assembly room that needed microphones.

Sessions were surprisingly quick this year. I was pleasantly surprised. Deidre read her Charity report during the session. There were several reports that were read before we informally closed for the night. After closing, they did the Rainbow Memorial Service instead of Majority Recognition this year. It was an interesting change. Thursday night left us with very few dry eyes in the Assembly room with everything we were doing.

Afterwards, we had "Rainopoly". They made a large board that they double-stick taped to the floor. We had two spots for each color, a "stop" and a road/drive/circle/lane/etc, that were all named after the lesson for that color. We also had a white section called "Prospect". Instead of railroads, we used the Line Officer positions, and we had a spot for "New Ideas". Jail was Rehearsal, and Just Visiting was Just Studying. It was fun. I got a couple of pictures of Aly being the Suffolk District's 'token'. ~_^ Deidre handled our money, which were Petitions.

Friday morning brought us our Grand Rep session. We heard the reports from around the Rainbow world from our various Grand Representatives. We also heard more speeches, this time from our out-of-state guests. After informal closing, we had the Majority Recognition. They did a lovely degree this year, and I got quite a few really good pictures from my spot in the Grand East. Once I get the film developed, I'll be scanning them in and e-mailing them to the three girls that got Majority this year. I'm friends with all of them.

We usually had our Worthy Advisor/Mother Advisor Luncheon on Fridays, but they stopped doing that last year. Mom was glad last year. She hated having to bring her white gown to wear to lunch. I think Patty was pretty happy she didn't have to bring hers this year, too. LOL...

Friday afternoon was Initiation. We initiated three new girls. The ceremony was great. Everyone knew their parts and did an excellent job. One of the Initiates was Mindy's little sister. Between getting Initiated at Grand Assembly, by her sister as Grand Worthy Advisor, and finally getting Initiated after waiting for so long, the girl couldn't stop crying the whole time. She wasn't outright sobbing, but she was so overwhelmed, she just started crying during the Obligation. It was actually kind of cute. We also had quite a few speeches again, this time from guests representing other organizations. Sheryl M was presented with her Temple Pin, which is an honor given to those who have done a great service for Rainbow, and Kerri was introduced as the new Ritual Committee Representative for Suffolk District. We then had retiring for the presiding Grand Officers. It went well, no huge sobbing or anything. It was really nice.

I feel sorry for anyone that drove up specifically for that session and then planned on leaving. We got snow and ice! I took a few pictures of the snow in one of the courtyards. There was about an inch, maybe a little less. Plus, it was mostly ice. It's been quite a few years since we've had snow at Grand Assembly. The last time was when we were still staying at the Granit in Kerhonkson.

I helped out as one of the Advisors and 'stampers' for the arts and crafts session down near the pool. I forgot my camera bag down there (which had all my meal tickets, my check for Grand Cross dues, my camera, all my film, and my room key) and went back to get it, but everyone had cleaned up and left by then. I was pretty upset. I hurried about for most of the day, trying to track it down. I finally got it back before dinner that night, minus my room key. Needless to say, Deidre, Aly, and I spent the rest of the weekend wondering if anyone was going to try to trash our room. ^^;;

Friday's dinner was in honor of the outgoing Grand Officers. They were all introduced and given their Grand Officer certificates, along with a small gift. Then Mindy was introduced as Grand Worthy Advisor for the last time. I also managed to get in some time to decorate our door for the door decorating contest. That night there was a reception down by the pool for the adults with the Supreme Worthy Advisor, Supreme Faith, and "Mom" Betsy. The girls were in another room down there having karaoke. In the lobby outside the pool, they had Make Your Own Sundaes with ice cream and all sorts of toppings. I didn't stay very long for the little reception. The room was cold and they weren't doing anything really special, just talking about all sorts of things that were more personal than Rainbow oriented. Instead, I went back upstairs and finished decorating our door with the girls. Aly and Deidre had stayed in the room finishing up homework that their teachers had given them before they left, so I was able to get in.

Saturday, we had a second arts and crafts session in morning, which I was at again to sit for Kathy K. She had a meeting with Betsy that morning and needed someone to sit in there for her. No one really came to that one, just two people from Connecticut, and Aly stopped by with our swaps after her rehearsal. So, we just sat and chatted for a while.

Right after lunch, there was a Membership Taskforce meeting in the dining room. We hung out and listened to what they had to say. The girls were in a different section and did some other things. I found out that we got our grant from the Shriners, I think, for a NY Rainbow website. Apparently, Claire and Jen had no idea about it either. At least now I know I can start working on it and maybe send out a letter to the Assemblies requesting ideas for what they want on it. I figure, if the website is supposed to represent NY Rainbow, then all of NY Rainbow should have a say as to what goes on it.

Saturday afternoon was Installation. Aly was installed as Grand Rep to MA and KS. Arkansas, Kansas, they're close enough. I got it wrong a few posts ago and said Arkansas instead of Kansas. {{shrugs}} Oh well. Deidre was installed as Grand Hope. We were joking that she's going down the line instead of up. She had Grand Worthy Associate Advisor, then Grand Charity, now she's Grand Hope. We found it amusing. She's probably getting her Majority soon, so I don't think she'll ever be Grand Faith. Plus, she doesn't sound like she ever wants to do Grand Faith. I still think it would be funny.

Valerie is our new Grand Worthy Advisor. Her theme is "Let Rainbow Light Up Your Life" and her colors are yellow and white. Her symbol is the candle. She had a very short address after her Installation. Everyone was a bit surprised, but I think we were all secretly relieved. Then, we had speeches from anyone who hadn't spoken yet all weekend. It was fairly quick, which was nice, and we all headed back to our rooms to prepare for pictures and the banquet.

Patty had scheduled us for our Assembly picture at 6, but the photographer finished everyone earlier than that. He then decided he didn't want to wait for us and the woman said she'd take our picture at dinner. {{grumbles}} Go figure. We all then had to order the picture to be blown up since the only camera she had left was the one that makes the keychains with the viewer. Oh well.

Like the rest of the weekend, the food was typical, mass produced, convention food. They presented a few awards at the banquet, the girls sang and did all their meal games (which they'd been doing all weekend at all meals, including making people walk around the table for having their elbows on it). Then, we all headed downstairs to line up for the march. We came into the Assembly room in groups of four. All the stations and chairs and things had been put away right after Installation (which I had helped with also, some of those things are heavy!!!), and the room was completely cleared out for us to come in. We all sat down and they handed out awards to everyone for different things. Aly won the scavenger hunt. Harmony-Pilgrim won second place in the poster contest. Pearl River got Assembly of the Year. Middletown got the membership award. Not surprisingly, we didn't get much for our Assembly. I was hoping we'd get the poster award, or something for our door. I had a feeling we'd get something for the scavenger hunt. We had a lot of stuff that we all gave to Aly.

While it was a group effort, we let her get the credit. Missy M had brought back a lot of the paint brushes we had to find. Apparently, their timing had worked out, and she, Kristin, and Kerri were following the people placing the paintbrushes. They didn't even realize it until they saw one of the people leaving one behind. They grabbed like eight of them. The Grand Assembly Committee used paper cut-outs of paintbrushes that they colored the bristles in different colors and then wrote different destinations that Mindy visited during her year on the handles. We had to find as many as possible without any duplicates. You were allowed to swap locations with others who had found paintbrushes in order to get more to win. I think Aly ended up with 18 total (not counting duplicates) between all of us looking.

After the awards, they had a dance, which actually turned out pretty good. We didn't think it was going to be all that great, since the DJ admitted to the girls that he usually catered to older people and didn't have a lot of new music. He had been walking around the hotel earlier that day and was asking the girls to bring their own CDs to play. The music wasn't bad, and he also set up the karaoke machine again, so the girls had fun.

Sunday morning brought Grand Cross and the display table with the finished professional pictures. I picked up the Grand Choir/Go-Fer picture that I was in, and I bought one of the keychains for our Assembly picture. I also ordered to have the picture blown up into a full size. Then, I got Aly her Grand Page group picture and a keychain as well. I had posted before I left that Grand Cross was on Friday. We had done that last year, but they put it back to Sunday morning this year. I had to wake up early anyway, but this was the last day of the convention, and I was exhausted! So, I watched the degree. Kerri did Keeper of the Door. Amanda H was one of the new designates. After Grand Cross was Church Service. It wasn't as bad as some of the ones I've been to in the past. I've been skipping them in favor of packing up and getting on the road early the last few years with Mom. This year, we stayed and went since I was at Grand Cross that morning anyway. Plus, Aly had to go because she's a Grand Rep now. I gave her the pictures I had gotten for her earlier as a "Happy Grand Assembly and Installation" present. We packed up the car (which I had to clean snow off of) and were back on the Thruway south by noon.

Again, traffic was fairly clear. We stopped about an hour after being on the road (Meridan rest area) because we were starved. Just south/east the Tappanzee, there's all sorts of construction. It got a bit confusing and I got off too soon. I ended up on the Sawmill instead of the Sprain Brook and had to deal with a lot of cars and some traffic lights. I don't like the Sawmill. But, I got myself back to the Hutchinson quite nicely anyway. The construction again on 287 made it hard to figure out which lane I had to be in to get to the Throgs Neck Bridge. I missed the correct turn and had to wind my way around. I ended up on the Whitestone instead. It was slow going, but moving. We had a great view of the city as we crossed the bridge, though. It was so clear on the trip home yesterday, unlike Friday's trip up which was hazy. It looked like the Hudson river just disappeared into the fog. The Cross Island wasn't bad until we hit the LIE ramp. The cars were crawling up the ramp, so I skipped the LIE and headed for Southern State instead. There was some traffic near Eagle Rd as usual, but we got past that okay. I took the Meadowbrook down to Ocean and took the scenic route home. With such a nice day, it was worth it.

summary
All in all, it wasn't a bad trip. There were a few points of contention I had, like Kerri getting picked as the District's Ritual Committee Rep. It's awfully hard to decide on what to do about things when half the people keep saying they want me around and they ask me to help out while the other half puts on a fake smile and politely tells me they don't need me. If it wasn't such a long drive on a weeknight, I'd go help out at Harmony-Pilgrim or Bellmore instead of Suwassett. I feel more welcome in those Assemblies than my own.

I'm glad I got asked to help out with some stuff, tho'. I've been feeling a bit pushed away lately with things in Rainbow. Also, there was a lot I couldn't do with my Net Lab & Troubleshooting midterm anyway, so I would have been bored. Luckily, it's not due until Thursday. I seriously have to work on my C midterm before I leave tonight... if I leave tonight. Depends on the weather. According to News 12, Briarcliffe-Patchogue is listed as "No PM Classes". I don't know if that applies to me, but I kind of hope it does. ^^;;;

Anyway, I'm glad I got to see people, though. Kelly H and Geraldine both got Majority with Missy M this year, and I would have felt bad if I had missed that. Plus, Amanda H getting Grand Cross was important, too. There's so many girls that I'm friends with that there's still a few good reasons for me to go to Grand Assembly.

tit-for-tat
As usual, you can't stay with the same people for four days straight like that without some arguments. It wouldn't be Grand Assembly with the Mirabelli's if they weren't at each other's throats. They were arguing by Thursday night. Plus, Deidre and Patty had a bit of a fall-out at the dance on Saturday night, but they seemed like they had everything sorted out by the time Aly and I came into Patty's and Lyn's room (where Deidre was talking with them) Sunday morning to say good-bye. Then there were the issues that Bellmore seems to keep having with the current state leadership. I naturally heard all about that from the Hulse girls.

There were also the usual room trashings, though some got a bit mean over the weekend. It's one thing to toilet paper someone's room, or put clear cling wrap on the toilet seat, or whatever, but don't mess with their personal belongings. That's just plain mean, especially if you're not from the same Assembly. Bellmore had their gowns wrapped up the shower curtain and left crumpled in the tub, as well as having something left in front of their door, making it hard to get back into their room. Harmony-Pilgrim had their stuff pulled out of the drawers and thrown all over the room... three times. People had their mirrors written on with soap and lipstick, which is hard to clean off. It's just plain mean to do all that. While Amanda H and her mom teamed up to get the younger Bellmore girls by flipping their mattresses onto their sides instead of just short-sheeting them, that's within the same Assembly. Plus, the younger girls thought it was pretty cool that Amanda H had done it to them. And she didn't do it so it was hard for them to fix. They left the mattress so it was easy to put back.

After hearing about these room trashings, Deidre, Aly, and I walked around in fear for almost the whole weekend because we found out who had kept my key during the camera bag fiasco. Pearl River girls are known for going a bit overboard with everything, especially room trashing. I found out later that Cheryl A had kept my key after she found my camera bag. She's a Majority girl from Pearl River who was active around the same time as me, so we were just a bit worried.

sigh
Anyway, time to go look outside and see how the snow is doing. Plus, I want to get all the laundry I didn't pack out of the basement. Mom said she wanted to do Dad's laundry tonight. I have stuff I want to do tomorrow. I was too tired to do anything at all yesterday. ^^;;;