Night Noises, Slow Orders, and Tennis in HD

As I was lying in bed last night before I fell asleep, I heard a boat horn. When I first moved into my house, I used to hear boat horns at night and wonder if that really was what I was hearing. I guess I didn't realize how close I am to the water! I love the noises that I hear at night when I have my window open- boat horns, the wind rustling the leaves on the trees, the wind chime on the deck outside, the foghorn when it's foggy...

One night Maureen and I both swore that we heard a train whistle. It was nothing like a boat horn. Believe me, growing up hearing a train outside every night gives me knowledge of the difference! We still haven't figured out what we heard- whether it was a boat horn that is made to sound like a train whistle or something else. I suppose that can be our ongoing Edgewood mystery.

I was in the drive-thru line at Chick-Fil-A this morning and got really frustrated at people who take forever to order! 2 minutes is really ridiculous for ordering breakfast. Of course, talking on a cell phone and trying to order at the same time are not recommended. That doesn't seem to stop anyone around here...

I've been spending my lunch time this week in front of the 50inch HDTV in my office building. French Open tennis is on, and there's nothing like watching it in Hi-Def while sitting on a comfy leather couch that smells good. I wish I could transport our little tv area at the office to my house! I like that the French Open and Wimbledon are 5-6 hours ahead of us....all the good matches come on during the lunch hour!

The Long Day Closes

Yikes. Today was one of those days. Nothing "bad" happened, but I feel like I've been hit by a truck. I didn't sleep well last night...woke up with a headache...had a lot of trainings and meetings...all leading me to feel exhausted right now.

Thankfully, tomorrow and Friday should not be quite the same- I'm busy at work but it's all with admin type stuff. Maybe I'm so tired because I'm still recovering from my cold. We'll see...

Sorry for the negative, boring post. Hopefully a good night's sleep will make a difference tomorrow!

Thoughts at the End of a Long Weekend

Well, despite my cold, I managed to have an enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend. While it wasn't full of exercise as I had originally planned, it was lovely all the same. Friday evening's Piano Bar was quite a success. I managed to croak out a few songs before everyone arrived, so I did meet my musical quota for the evening. I slept in on Saturday morning...which was almost a necessity due to the cold! After lazing around for a bit, I ran a few errands (including picking up a few racing suits for the swim I hope to get in next weekend!), and then came back to the house for a relaxing evening on the deck with stuffed baked potatoes complete with chives from the herb garden.

Sunday was church, and then a relaxing Thai massage from my friend Alicia- this helped move the cold on through my body so that I will hopefully rid myself of it soon! Another friend was house-sitting at a home with a lovely deck, so we headed over there to eat Chicken Caesar salad and drink some wine. All in all, another lovely evening.

Today, Maureen and I headed downtown for breakfast and to watch the Memorial Day Parade. It was quite interesting... the highlight was the Navy band...and it just goes down from there. Entertaining, though...spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and reading. Finished the evening off with Fajitas on the deck. I just came in a few minutes ago...it's quite lovely outside this evening. As I was watching the light fade...I thought about how much I used to hate the last night of a long weekend...back when I used to hate my job. Now, I actually like my job, so it's not a burden to go to work. The only thing I don't like is having to get up at 7AM instead of 9AM!

I hope everyone else had an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend as well. Back to the normal week tomorrow...

Drat that Rhino Virus!

So I have a cold. When the sore, scratchy throat appeared on Tuesday, I brushed it off as my mold allergy. However, when it progressed to my nasal passages and the chills arrived, I admitted that it must be a real cold. One that requires rest and chicken soup.

I hate colds because they prevent me from doing everything I enjoy doing....like singing. While I don't have any official "singing engagements" for awhile, we do have a Piano Bar party at the house tonight. I'll be there to hang out, but I don't think I can sing. Bummer- it's one of my favorite things!

I also am supposed to begin my swimming adventure tomorrow, followed by a bike ride on the B&A trail. Since this is a real cold, I don't think I should tax my body too much while it is trying to heal. It's a perfect weekend for exercise, too. But I'm going to be resting and eating chicken soup. Bah.

I know lots of other folks have greater trials...but I do get frustrated when I'm sick and can't do the things I want to do! Not to mention the fact that this is the 3rd time this spring I've lost my speaking/singing voice. Oh well... I'll just trust that there is a greater plan in this...

Photo Update

Here are a few photos from my friend Alicia's 40th Birthday Bash at the Home for Wayward Chorus Girls:

Alicia and Ron at the Piano...the party turned into a Piano Bar

Phyllis and I performing the "Bring on the Men" choreography from Jekyll and Hyde while Alicia sang
My "scary" look...

Tidbits From My Mind

I haven't been very good at expressing myself in complete thoughts on this blog lately. Perhaps it's because there are so many thoughts running around in my head. Bullet points seem to be the way to go for me these days...so I'll take a stab at transferring the jumble of thoughts in my head to organized bullet points....HA!

Starbucks
A Starbucks recently opened up around the corner from my office. While I am definitely a fan of local coffee shops, in a pinch Starbucks more than does the trick. I find myself gravitating there when I need to get out of the office and want to read a book, journal, listen to music, or just sit and watch people. I usually get a cheap brewed coffee and just enjoy myself. I've been trying to go on Tuesdays recently because they have a free iTunes download that comes out on Tuesdays. So far, I haven't found any new musicians that I love...but I like the idea of free music!

The Everest Podcast
Speaking of free things on iTunes, I've recently gotten into Podcasts. I know they've been around awhile...but I can be slow to pick things up sometimes. For my less tech-savvy readers (ok...just my parents!), a podcast is essentially an audio or video recording of a tv show, part of a radio program, or a recording submitted by anyone who wants to get their message out there. My favorites are the NPR Piano Puzzler, A Prairie Home Companion's "News from Lake Wobegon", and the Everest Podcast. The Everest Podcast was recorded by a "city-slicker" who decided he wanted to travel to Nepal and trek to Everest (sound familiar?). Since this is what I plan to do in the fall of '09, I've been enjoying listening to his adventures. Maybe by the time I go I'll be savvy enough to create my own podcast!

Summer Plans
Remember my last blog where I talked about not wanting to be bored this summer? Well, it seems as if "I'm bored" will not be a phrase that even enters this jumbled brain of mine this summer. My friend Sharon and I decided to accept a musical opportunity that was presented to us, despite the hectic nature of the schedule. While it will be trying.... I think the challenge is worth it. I don't think we'll regret taking advantage of this opportunity. Between that and training for a triathlon...hmmm. No boredom there...

Triathlon Training
Well, I've at least got the hang of running and biking. I'm fairly slow at both, but I think I'll make it. I will begin my swimming adventure on Saturday. That will be interesting...I haven't used swimming for exercise since my college track days. Everyone says I have the body of a swimmer, so maybe my big shoulders will come in handy for once!

Time with Friends
I have very much been enjoying spending time with my friends recently. Between sitting on the deck at our house, enjoying dinner at an old friends' apartment and meeting her two boys, picnicing in Shady Shide on the Bay, and sitting on the deck at the Eastport Yacht Club, I've had some great conversations and some good times. I'll hope this trend of spending time with friends continues into the summer...

Yuppie, Yuppie

As I was riding into DC on the metro the other day to meet some old friends for dinner...it suddenly occurred to me...I'm a yuppie. Yep. When I was in high school and college, I always pictured yuppies as young people who lived in old bungalow houses with babies. But, as most of you know, the definition is "Young Professional". Somehow I've gotten there. It hit me as I was looking at a young woman in a suit listening to her iPod. I thought- "Now there's a Yuppie...". Then I looked at myself. While not in a suit, I was dressed nicely...and I was listening to Podcasts on my iPod (granted...it was a podcast about opera...which makes me more of a geek than a Yuppie...but you get the picture!)

I do Yuppie-type things...go to martini bars, drink wine, drop way too much on a dinner out, bike, ride the metro, drink expensive coffee, go to shows....yeah. I'm so there. It's quite frightening to me that I've hit that stage. I suppose I've been in it for awhile...but I have always considered myself more geek than Yuppie.

Anyway, I also noticed that the marketing in Metro stations is interesting. On the Orange Line, from Eastern Market in, all of the adds are for tech type things...iPods, gadgets, trendy alcohol, etc. Basically, it's marketing targeting Yuppies like me. :) But, as the demographics change from Eastern Market out into Prince George's county...the ads change. Almost every Ad from Stadium-Armory out to New Carrollton was "How to get the most out of your Medicaid". Interesting to say the least.

May

I think May is always a bittersweet month for me. Here in Maryland, May is when the weather finally stays nice (yet, as I write this...it's 57 and raining outside...take the last sentence as a generalization). The flowers are blooming, the air is nice, I've usually adjusted to the pollen...I like May. But, often May is also the end of things- a school year, a school career, non-summer activities...

I wrote last summer about how much I don't like summer. All non-work organized activities seem to come to a halt (Chorale, church activities, etc). May usually signals the end of those. It really does amaze me how the world runs on a 9 month "school" schedule...even for those of us not in school!

I'm attempting to stay busy this summer, though. Between looking for houses, training for a triathlon, a few trips, and an as yet undecided upon opportunity, I hope that I will not fall into the rut I managed to find myself in last summer!

But back to May. While I don't think I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), I am always happy when we can venture outside again into the nice weather. I've been spending a lot of time on our deck as well as time outside exercising. Even our crazy neighbor has been out more...though that is a scary thing. I'll have to recount her antics in another post. But, for those of you who have heard the Sound of Music piano bar police story...yeah. Wouldn't surprise me if that happens again soon...