The 50th anniversary of the school is coming up.  There's a lot of hoopla about it in the upper echelons of the school but the peons, (the teachers and aides), haven't been paying enough attention evidently because when we walked into the monthly all staff meeting yesterday, there were computers set up with an on-line registration that we all had to fill out before sitting.  There are various activities stretching from Thursday to Sunday, the last week of October.  Some of the activities are within school hours and so mandatory.  Others are in the evening or over the weekend so supposedly we don't have to attend but it is expected that we do.  On the Saturday evening there is a Gala dinner for which the invitations went out last June.  At the time, the invitations said 60 euro, (about $75.00), per person, so GP and I said forget it.  With $150.00 we could go out for a seriously good dinner where I wouldn't even be obligated to behave myself.  Obviously we were not the only "peons" who weren't willing to pay so much for a dinner held by our employees because nobody from the school signed up.  When we sat down to register for the various activities the administration had changed the invitation to say that employees were free of charge.   So now I am going to the Gala but without the husband who refuses to go out of principle, because we already hand over an arm and a leg for school and he's offended that they are making parents, (and before backpedalling, employees), pay for dinner.  (I'm out of braeth after that run on sentence).  Sooooooooo.  My date for the Gala is my American friend and co-worker, Catherine, who is in the same situation as I am.  Her husband has also nixed the dinner.  It's formal so I will get to whip out the wedding and funeral pearls and wobble around on my one pair of heels, so that should be fun.  We'll sit as far away from the head honchos as possible and make snarky comments about the over dressed, over made-up, over botoxed, wealthy Italian wives.  Can't wait!  xxoo me