The Prodigal Singer
I went back to chorus on Saturday after having been gone since Dec 1. I have to say it's like watching a soap opera.
You know, you get hooked on "Days of Our Lives" and know all the ins and outs of the characters because you've watched every single day all summer long. Then you have to go to work, and don't see it for a couple of months. Finally one day you have the chance to catch an episode and you realize that nothing has changed. You've missed very little and can pick up right where you've left off.
I'm not sure that this is a good thing.
I was greeted really warmly by lots of people and it was nice to feel as if I had been missed. Some people I never thought would even notice my absence even came over to tell me they were glad to see me.
Too bad the director- who is telling all my friends how upset she is that I took a leave – couldn’t have been bothered to be as enthusiastic in her greeting.
When our coach noticed everyone saying hello to me she came over to fine out what had gone one. She was shocked to hear that I had been away. She is a person I admire tremendously and who I have a really nice relationship with, so I found her reaction gratifying.
It was a long day, and of course I have no stamina being so out of practice, so six hours on the risers (we did break for lunch) was exhausting.
My voice is really out of shape too. I haven't sung for real and I could feel it when I tried to sing correctly.
I guess I'll go back Tuesday night, but I can't say I have a ton of enthusiasm bursting from me.
After rehearsal Dee and I went out to dinner with the director, the coach and two other chorus members. It was a bit strange.
The thing is that I just love this coach. She has a wonderful way of interpreting music and building character into the songs. She is very right-brained in her approach, and we are in desperate need of that. Our director is so technical that she loses sight of the character and the performance part.
It’s great to sing well... but we need to do a lot more than just words and music.
We finished dinner fairly early, but I’d had enough. I just wanted to come home, collapse, and watch the ice skating championships on television.
I don’t think Michelle Kwan deserved to win.
Listening to: Broadway’s love songs
Reading: Call it Destiny Jayne Ann Krentz
Weather: 35, sunny
Trivia:What was snow removal like in the 19th century?
It may be nice to think of images of snow from the century preceding the 20th as quiet, tranquil ones, with horse drawn sleighs conveying families to cozy, warm cottages for a delicious holiday meal. And, indeed, such images may have been accurate ones in rural areas of the country. But in the cities, where thousands upon thousands of people crowded together in areas not entirely dissimilar to today, it was an entirely different story. Snow would come down for much of the season in the northern climes and would pile up nearly to one's waist, making passage seemingly impossible. People may complain about snow removal (or the lack of such) today, but in the 1870s and 1880s the term was a mostly hypothetical one. The snow typically remained exactly where it was for virtually the entire winter, with perhaps the worst of it being shifted out of the way. Snow would bring the city to a virtual standstill, but life continued. Keeping the streets clear for the horse trolleys was the uppermost priority for the cities, and cumbersome eight-horse-team plows banked the sidewalks with enormous heaps of snow. Often, the plows themselves became stuck, aggravating the public's seasonal misery by blocking the roads to other traffic. Extra horses would then be harnessed to free the machine, and the ensuing uproar as the animals were lashed by their handlers simply made things all the worse. Additionally, it wasn't unusual for trolley passengers to disembark and push their car as its horses floundered, unable to find purchase on the icy surface. Needless to say, things may be bad today when it first snows, but it's usually cleared up in a few days. Denizens of the Victorian era couldn't really say the same thing.
Cool word:disingenuous (diss-in-JEN-yoo-uss) - Not inclined toward open dealing; less than truthful; other than appearances would suggest. "The wording in the new employee handbook made it seem that the
upper muckity-mucks were being more than a bit disingenuous in how they'd explained new policies regarding maternity leave."unanimity (yoo-nuh-nim-ih-tee) - Agreement without dissent. "Marilyn was genuinely surprised at the unanimity with which her proposal was accepted by the board."
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