What I learned at the NCMEA conference...

This past Saturday through Tuesday, I attended the NC Music Educators Association conference and NC Honors Chorus.  My parents graciously let me stay at their house and commute the hour to Winston-Salem each day, while they (especially my mom) took special care of Abbie.
Although this wasn't one of the best conferences I've attended, I did learn quite a few things, or in many cases have them reinforced, as I tend to forget a lot when I'm caught up in the day-to-day "Abbie stuff".  In no particular order, here is what I learned:

1.  I miss working with great young singers.  My church youth choir is okay, but it doesn't give me near the same high as hearing the music the honors chorus kids were making.
2.  I have/had awesome colleagues.  One, Diane Covington, won NCMEA High School Choral Section Teacher of the Year, and boy does she deserve it! 
3.  I miss socializing with people in the chorus world.
4.  Parents of students can be incredibly rude: yelling out their kid's name at the start of a formal concert, answering their cell phone in the middle of a concert, allowing whiny babies to stay in the audience...
5.  Adults have the same musical faults as kids.  Many of the methods I learned at conference would be very helpful to the women's choir I sing with.
6.  I LOVE the children's choir sound.  But, I hate their outfits.
7.  People have vastly different interpretations of what constitutes a quality performing group.  I heard quite a few that were, in my opinion, substantially below par to be performing at conference.
8.  I loved my choirs from 2007-2008 school year.  I listened one of their concert CDs while driving to and from the conference, and it brought back great memories.  I especially think the Adv. Middle School kids were awesome that year.
9.  I need glasses.  Turns out the distance vision in my right eye is pretty blurry.  My left eye seems to be close to perfect, and perhaps has been compensating for the right.  I guess I don't notice it so much day-to-day because I don't spend much time trying to read stuff that's far away (except street signs, and their print is large enough to not be too much of an issue).
10.  I am very sensitive to ladies' perfumes, but not so much men's colognes.  Maybe that's because women tend to put on a lot more than men.  Whatever the case, it gives me an awful headache!
11.  I need sleep!!  Waking up off and on for 7 hours every night simply doesn't cut it.  I had to take a nap when I got home on Wednesday.  Luckily, Abbie is back to sleeping at least 8-9 hours before she begins to rustle.
12.  Everyone thinks they are right... especially people presenting their research in workshops.  I attended two similarly themed sessions by different presenters and found them to have done much of the same research on Kodaly methods, the use of the pentatonic scale, and its relevance to American folk music, but they arrived at conflicting conclusions in many aspects.  It's good to hear different opinions, but I thought it was funny to go back and forth between the two sessions and hear each person tell me that their way is the right way.
13.  Many traditional choirs do not loosen up enough to sing spirituals, or even just happy songs. 
14.  Training choirs in single sex classes/rehearsals makes a difference!!
15.  I love friends.  I hate cliques.
16.  Abbie loves my mom... a lot!

I'm sure there's more, but that's enough for now.  I had a great time, and enjoyed getting to see so many colleagues, along with my parents, and Amanda (Allen) Crago and her adorable twins, Will and Ava!