Visiting the Homeland

I'm off to South Carolina today for the long weekend. I'll be visiting my parents, attending a family reunion, singing at church, enjoying a dinner party, and seeing an exhibit at the State Museum. While it won't be a "relaxing" weekend, it will be fun, and busy is just what I need right now.

I haven't flown anywhere in about a year, so packing was an interesting project last night! I had to dig out all of my 3oz or smaller liquid containers (3 days is not long enough to go through the hassle of checking a bag), and think about which outfits could do double duty so that all of my stuff would fit into a carryon. I think I was successful...

Well, I plan on having a great Labor Day Weekend, and I hope all of you do, too!

And...Check!

I've checked another thing off the "Things to do in my lifetime" list. Of course, I had no idea this one was on it...

• Run a marathon....check!
• Do a triathlon........check!
• Record a jingle for a commercial....check?

On Tuesday evening, a few other members of my chorus and I traipsed up to "Baltimore" (really Essex) to record a few lines for a jingle that is being written for an Annapolis tourism commercial. I had never been to Essex and was astounded that there are areas in Maryland that look just like deserted towns in the Deep South. Who knew?

We arrived at the address provided, and the only thing we could see on the street was a diner and a deserted hair salon (named Studio 529...at first I thought it was the recording studio). Someone finally found a "4" on one of the doors leading into the warehouse. We timidly crept in, making comments about the interesting "field trips" we end up on for this adventure we call "singing". A few flights of stairs down, we found the studio. Once we were inside, it was pretty much like any other recording studio (I've only been near one other...).

In the studio, we stood around the mics, learned the 3 lines we were responsible for, and started recording. It actually sounded ok...but on a recording you can definitely hear tiny mistakes...usually with diction or pronunciation. I would say we probably had about 10 takes of each line. A few of us had the "cans" (headphones) on to listen to the playback of the recording (I'm picking up the sound engineer lingo...can you tell?). I felt a little bit like we were on an old radio show. Once a few tracks had been laid down and the engineers had enough to work with, we headed back to our cars. It was quick, painless, and a pretty interesting adventure.

So, if you see a commercial in the next few weeks for Anne Arundel County/Annapolis and hear a jingle that starts with "Come Sail Away...", listen for the chorus parts. That's us!

De-Lurk Request

Ok, folks. After looking at my site-meter today to see where my blog hits come from, I'm curious to find out who actually reads my blog! There are some that I can figure out pretty easily (Madrid...you know who you are and so do I!) and Columbia (unless someone else who works for the State reads my blog...I know who you are, too. :)), but there are some that I am curious about.

What I found most interesting were the search terms that brought people to my blog. Most often was "tornado dreams" or "choral diction". Funny.

Anyway, if you read my blog, leave a comment and let me know who you are (although I know it's pretty likely that I already know you!)

About the Triathlon...

Ok, so I couldn't wait to post about the tri. I was afraid I would forget the details...see my Running Blog if you want to read the blow-by-blow.

At Peace

(The above is a photo taken on our last night in Maine by my friend Jean)

I feel at peace with the world. Not that too many of you knew I wasn't at peace...for some reason I kept the feeling to myself for a few weeks. I think it was a combination of end-of-summer blues (though I don't know why...I don't really love summer), end-of-vacation blues, feeling inadequate while watching Olympic athletes, and perhaps some apprehension about the triathlon.

The triathlon is over, and I did better than I could have anticipated! I was under my goal time, which really amazed me. More on the triathlon later...I'm still waiting on a few photos from the event (and all blogs are better with photos!).

Chorus rehearsals have started again, and while that does signal the end of summer, I'm glad to get back into a routine. Grabbing a coffee before rehearsal last night and sitting in a familiar place felt right to me. I guess this just proves what a creature of habit I really am!

Anyway, I'm happy that I feel right with the world again...just in time for my favorite season....Fall!

Globalization

A year or so ago I picked up Thomas Friedman's acclaimed book, The World is Flat. Unfortunately, I put it down (probably to pick up some trashy novel with no substance) and now I can't find it. I'd really love to finish it. Anyway, it's all about globalization and the effect us Westerners are having on the world.

I was thinking about globalization last night as I was on an online training with some clients from Asia. It amazes me that I can be sitting in my kitchen at 9PM at night (in my pjs), showing people from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia how to use an internet-based software. What amazes me even more is that even without body language, they were able to understand an ordinary 20-something Southern girl enough to ask good questions and actually understand what I was teaching.

As mind-boggling as that is, my situation last night is pretty much par for the course when it comes to business these days. Almost everything is global. Just look at Beijing...and how westernized it has become in the past few years...especially for the Olympics. Yet, 3/4 of China probably still doesn't know who Michael Phelps is (incidentally, if you want a laugh, read this story from the Onion). In the US, only those who live in a cave haven't seen his face plastered everywhere.

I wonder, though...with so many cultures adopting some form of Western culture (ok...and a lot of US culture), are we going to end up as one big homogenized world? I fear losing some of the amazing traditions that have been cultivated and preserved in countries like China. Being so different is part of what makes us human.

Anyway...I could write more on this topic, but it could take hours! It just struck me last night during that training how "globalized" our world is becoming.

In My Head

There are quite a lot of odd thoughts rolling around in my head these days. I'll try to capture them here in cyberspace:

-I had my first tomato sandwich of the season on Monday night. It was so tasty! There is not much better than garden-grown tomatoes fresh off the vine and on soft bread with mayo. Mmm. Unfortunately, it may be a few days before I get more tomatoes.

-I ran out of my $25 a bottle shampoo a few weeks ago and picked up a new brand from my salon. I like it a lot...it keeps my hair pretty soft and smells delicious! I keep slinging my hair in my face just so I can smell it. I bet I look like a strange skater chick or something as I sling my head back and forth...

-For some reason, I've been coveting an iPhone for the past 2 days. Well, actually, I think it's due to this blog. Thanks, Ron. Now I want all the cool music related apps you can add to the iPhone. Normally I don't get too caught up in recent technology...especially when it comes to phones. I barely used my cell for the longest time. Then texting came about, and I started missing out on fun events because my phone was off...so now I pretty much have it on all the time. Plus, being an internet junkie, I love borrowing Maureen's phone to update my facebook status and check my email...even when I'm not near my computer. We'll have to see if this iPhone craving goes away...

-The triathlon is this Sunday and I'm starting to get a little nervous. I think I'm nervous simply because it's an unknown thing...not sure how the transitions will go, if I will be too grossed out by the lake to actually swim, etc. But, I think that is part of the fun of it. There is definitely excitement mixed in with the nervousness, so I guess that is a good thing!

-I think I've recovered from vacation and am pretty much back into a normal routine. The routine will be very familiar next week when chorus rehearsals start up again. Is summer really almost over? Wow. This one went by like a flash!