knights_say_nih: (sunshine)
Undrwo ([personal profile] knights_say_nih) wrote2006-05-07 09:05 pm

Classics

Oh my fucking God, Classics conference is over and I feel like I don’t know what I’m going to bloody DO with myself now that it is. Holy crap it was fun. So busy, but so much fun. What follows will be a brilliant, long, and dramatic retelling of what’s been happening over the week.

So, for those of you with no background information about my life, over the past few days (read Tuesday to Friday evening) I’ve been at Brock University, living in residence there and helping to run the thing. This is five hundred students, over ten schools, some of them over forty five students. So incredibly fucking busy, is the only way to describe it. We have a small team, only ten people, and were competing in basically all the major events as well as doing the organizing.

Okay, so I ended up being semi in charge of the team as our main teacher crashed around and tried to keep things running smoothly. As it turns out I ended up being the emcee of the Fashion Show (which is basically THE event of the entire conference) all by myself. It went spectacularly well, and was wonderful and exhilarating and I spent the next three days getting all sorts of lovely compliments.

Of course, it was hectic, too. My least favorite moment was probably getting back the evening of the awards ceremony, after which we’d arranged for there to be chips and pop for every student waiting in the hall to their common room, only to discover that Glebe had stolen Banting’s goodies. So here I am, in surgical scrub pants, a black tank top with no bra (NOT cool, I’m a C cup) and ready to settle down to watch an evening movie with the girls from my school when this guy storms in.

It’s not as bad as it sounds. I grabbed my ukata (knee length, cotton Japanese bathrobe, mine is dusky blue with wisteria blossoms on it) and wrangled up all the pop and chips I could from our school (ten kids) and then the extra from our neighbors (Barrie, 37 kids) and stormed down the elevator with all the stuff on a trolley. Only to arrive at Banting in my pyjamas, hair flying everywhere and marching like a soldier charging into battle, only to find the place full of chips and pop. Apparently they found it and neglected to tell us.

The other thing was, of course, the fact that we were doing all the work there. There is royal blue paint ALL OVER that university now, due to our large, Styrofoam, Ishtar Gates which turned out beautifully. Won fourth place too, though that’s not as good as our fashion show which tied for first place!!!!!!

The fashion show was beautiful. We had Ma’at (gold, red and blue dress and crown, gold painted skin and hair.) Anaat (white, blue, gold and purple dress and gold skin with purple jewels and coins worked through her hair.) A Siren (blues, pearls, lovely) and then Alcestis (silvers, greys, she’s a dead chick, wearing also a silver crown bejeweled with purple pearl-like beads which I made myself.) and then Medea (black, red, gold) and Ariadne (blue, Minoan) and last but not least, the Fury, with sweeping orange and gold and black wings which I made myself and I’m very proud of.

We also succeeded in thoroughly traumatizing our male chaperone. Largely when Al reached around to cup my left breast and introduced it as ‘Ed’ and then my right and that it was ‘Myrtle’ and then he happened to walk in just in time to see this.

Man, my internal clock is off. I was up till two EVERY night and now even though I’m exhausted I’m not going to be able to crash for ages.

[identity profile] buggy-542.livejournal.com 2006-05-08 01:13 am (UTC)(link)
Well it sounds like you had fun!!! I'm glad you guys won the fashion thing... Where did you come overall?

While you were gone I took your dog to dog day. She won a prize for sitting for longer than all but two other dogs! A bone and little pepperoni-ish treats. :P

[identity profile] knights-say-nih.livejournal.com 2006-05-08 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
Man, it was cool. I'm tired now and have gone through an entire half box of lotion-enhanced kleenex on the busride home and then over supper.

*has emotional breakdown*

[identity profile] buggy-542.livejournal.com 2006-05-08 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
*hands more kleenex* (Random thought: I find it hilarious that people can spell 'kleenex', and don't know how to spell 'definitely'.)

But ZOMG STEE this is our SECOND LAST YEAR!! Whether that's a good or bad thing... WAAAAAAAAAH.

Are you classicsy peoples going to show the school the fashion show this year?

[identity profile] knights-say-nih.livejournal.com 2006-05-08 02:06 am (UTC)(link)
Yep. Even though I'm not in it :( I was the emcee, as you read. 500 people BGEE!!!! IT WAS SO COOL! Man, I had fun.

Also, we're doing the skit, which I wrote with Al J and we won 2nd place for.

[identity profile] fightingthecage.livejournal.com 2006-05-08 01:14 am (UTC)(link)
Eeee! Sounds like it was awesome fun, that's so cool. And dude, male chaperones are there to be traumatised. *nodnod*

Great that you're back though! :D

[identity profile] knights-say-nih.livejournal.com 2006-05-08 01:41 am (UTC)(link)
He was... very traumatized. Especially as he was handing out ribbons during awards and Anna flashed him some thigh from the audience and made him snort really loudly as he announced the winners for the Junior Oral Mythology Competition.

[identity profile] astral-zephyr.livejournal.com 2006-05-08 02:22 am (UTC)(link)
Hi, I'm a student from Unionville High School and president of the UHS Classics Club, from Markham, Ontario (a Toronto suburb). Our school would have attended the OSCC but we were disqualified for the lack of a Latin course.

I am, however, a HUGE fan of the Elmwood fashion shows, and you guys were always an inspiration each year I attended the OSCC. I just stumbled across your LJ in hopes of finding photos from the OSCC.

If you have any, especially of the fashion shows, I would be delighted if you can show them to me. My email is shakira_luver@hotmail.com

Thank you!
Si vales, valeo

[identity profile] knights-say-nih.livejournal.com 2006-05-08 02:54 am (UTC)(link)
Hi!
Well, this is a surreal place to meet. It's a small world after all, and all that.

I don't have any photos yet, I'm afraid, but am looking into downloading from those friends that do have cameras.

A shame you couldn't come. Has your school ever been to conference? And did you see our show last year? I sewed a lot of our costumes and did a whole ton of the jewlery.

But I'll look into photos, for sure! I do, however, want to know what you've thought of characters previous. Please excuse the shameless opportunism, but it's always good to get outside feedback, and now we're looking at getting next years!

Always welcome,
...I wish I knew how to speak Latin. Salve?

[identity profile] astral-zephyr.livejournal.com 2006-05-08 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
Don't worry, I don't know Latin much either, yet I'm fluent in Greek, but only because I am Greek myself, heh.

Last year I was IN LOVE with your fashion show. I loved how you guys took characters from all over the Mediterranean like Egypt, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Crete, Greece, and Rome. I loved it so much that as head of fashion show as well, I wanted to do an international theme for this year (also, it was the original idea I had in 2005 but then switched it). Also, you guys chose lots of my favorite mythological characters.

If I had any complaints at all whatsoever, the only thing is that it felt like everything was gold. But I didn't care, I love gold!

Yes, Unionville has been in the OSCC for 3 years, 03 till 05, winning 4th fashion show each year we attended. Sadly, we got a phone call from Mrs Ellison in late October saying that we were banned due to not having a Latin course at our school, yet we learned all our Latin on our own and still won some places. Yet, the sad part was that we already had half our fashion show completed in October, so what we did was perform it for the school in a big production fashion show in December.

Our characters (mostly inspired by you guys) were the Minoan Snake Goddess, Isis, Astarte, Cybele, Thetis, Augustus, and Byzantine Empress Theodora. We also threw in our old stuff from last year too.

Oh, a small piece of wisdom I'd like to pass on to you for next year, though you may not need it... I noticed that each year I did fashion show, the judges always came to our teachers or something of that nature and commented how wonderful it was to actually have ethnic Greek music. In 2004 we used music by a composer known as Pavlo, and last year we used traditional belly dance pipes that melted into techno dance rhythms. The audience was clapping like mad.

Well, I'd love to see photos! And if you'd like photos from 2005, I have A LOT, and I am more than willing to give you some.

[identity profile] knights-say-nih.livejournal.com 2006-05-08 02:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Man, that's wonderful to hear!

As for the gold thing, I notice it myself. But a funny fact; Ms Ellison is OBSESSED with gold. We almost never have any silver. Ever. EVER. It drives me crazy, and I managed to strongarm her into doing a silver/dead/ghostly Alcestis this year.

I think for sure I'll talk to her about Unionville then. If there could be a test/knowledge thing to prove that the students are in fact dedicated.... it seems like a double standard. I've never taken Greek, Latin, or Classics and yet, I can come just because me school offers the program? Yeah, no. I'll see what I can do.

Last year I sewed Anna (red haired girl, wearing reds and purples) and Lavinia (same sort of style, but more purple) and all of the Minoan dress, which I modelled, actually.

We have almost NO photos of last year, due to camera failure, so if you could send me any of the fashion show, my adress is underwater.owl@gmail.com

[identity profile] astral-zephyr.livejournal.com 2006-05-08 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, Ellison and I (or at least my teachers) have had a long dispute about us getting kicked out of the OSCC. Even Gillis from Barrie got roped in, and yet Bales, Rogow, and McClearan were just standing from afar watching this. It didn't get ugly until Holy Name of Mary, who was also knicked, complained, then they were sent a nasty letter which I read myself. However, we're over it here at UHS and moved on. Sure the Classics Club has died now, but our entire club was made of of grade 12s who will be gone next year. At least we were able to campaign for a Classical Civilizations course, and we got it.

I remember the Phoenician and Roman costumes from last year, they were actually my two favorites of the bunch! The Minoan costume was cool also, we even attempted to make our own this year, basing it off yours, yet our outcome was different of course. The fabrics though, for the first 2 costumes, where did you get them and how did you add the glittery designs? We just use fabric paints but that turned out icky on us.

In Wal-Mart they sold this blindingly gold fabric in the fabric section, our school has dubbed it the "Elmwood Fabric", and we still call it that to date.

Also, if you remember the girl who won best costume at the OSCC this year, she's my best friend from Markham District and I made that costume as well as the headdress, yet they weren't all part of the same costume originally.

Oh, and if you remember the UHS fashion show from last year (we were the first group to perform), I was the narrator and played Helios, and wore a sun-crown which was frequently mistaken for the statue of liberty.

[identity profile] knights-say-nih.livejournal.com 2006-05-08 10:07 pm (UTC)(link)
I can't tell you how sorry I am you couldn't make it. It sounds like an absolute drag, and a student from Markham definitely mentioned the situation to me. Unfortunately it was at a pretty bad time, as I was dealing with the Banting situation from above, and was pretty curt.

Not only did I remember the costume, but I had a long conversation with the girl wearing it! I was next to her for the judging (wearing last year's Roman one) and she mentioned you, and your Minoan. The headpiece was lovely, I have to say. And now I have the chorus of 'it's a small world after all' going through my head, damnit.

We're notorious at the local Wal-Mart. And get all kinds of 'best customer' certificates from Fabricland (which is where we get most of the overpiece fabrics, though I should double check.) The gold lamee is a pain to sew, and is very shiny, but was perfect for our Athena, as beaten gold and all.

Our glitter is indeed fabric paint. The key to using it is to get a fine stencil, but to wipe the stencil off with paper towel throroughly before setting it back on the fabric, otherwise it smudges. On top of that, be sure to get garbage bags between the layers of cloth, otherwise you get strange residue lines.

Say hi to your friend for me!

[identity profile] astral-zephyr.livejournal.com 2006-05-08 10:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow, my friend even mentioned you too before! She was like "and again I stood next to the same girl from last year for best costume from Elmwood". I also made her last-year's costume.

Well, pretty soon you'll be seeing more of my stuff, since I'm giving all of this year's fashion show items over to Markham District, since they are our sister school.

This really is a small small world.
ashen_key: (this is good...right?)

[personal profile] ashen_key 2006-05-08 10:18 am (UTC)(link)
Now that sounds like fuuuuuun.