Homeland Thanksgiving 2008

Well, I had a very relaxing and typical Thanksgiving. When I got up this morning, my Daddy had coffee ready...as well as ham biscuits and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Since I'm the turkey expert at the house, I spent the morning basting and roasting our turkey. As usual, it was moist and perfect. :)


My Godmother came to join us and brought the McCulloch special...Broccoli Spinach casserole. Yum!


Dinner was delicious, and my Mama set a beautiful table, as always.









Dessert was fantastic, as well. It's her secret recipe for chocolate mousse with my Daddy's yummy chocolate chip cookies.





After eating we sat around and chatted for a bit until all the food settled and we could go for a quick walk around the neighborhood. The high today was about 65...quite a change from last Thursday in Annapolis when I don't think we got above freezing!


Once we got back, the four of us turned the gas logs on in the living room and played a fun round of Scrabble...which eventually led to Round 2 of the food. Magnificat had 4 rounds of turkey...his favorite. All in all, a successful Thanksgiving for everyone!

You Know You're a Southern Belle When...

...you celebrate the 100th anniversary of your sterling silver. Of course, I haven't had it for 100 years, but this set of sterling has an interesting story.

A few years ago, I complained that it wasn't fair that you have to get married to have fine china, sterling, and crystal. My Southern Mama agreed, so she spent 6 months searching antique malls and auctions for affordable fine tableware. So, my Christmas present that year was a set of crystal, 2 sets of fine china, and 4 place settings of sterling. The sterling had an interesting story...my mom bought it for almost nothing at an estate auction of a 100 year old friend of ours from church. It was such a unique pattern, no one seemed to realize it was sterling. The pattern is Cairo, and was inspired by the fact that Egyptology was all the rage at the turn of the century. The motif engraved into the silver is quite Egyptian.

One of the neat things about Ms. Huggins' set is that the knives are engraved with "Thanksgiving '08". Obviously, that is 1908!

Unfortunately, we didn't know to ask Ms. Huggins about the story of the silver before she passed away, but the pattern came out in 1908, so I imagine it was a Thanksgiving gift to her parents. I used the silver at one of the first Thanksgivings I hosted in 2002. Anyway, this was the 100th anniversary of the silver, so of course, we had to use it for this year's Thanksgiving dinner!

Ummm...FAIL!

So, I have officially failed at NaBloPoMo. Oh well. When I missed posting Saturday, I knew it would all be over. Don't worry, I didn't fall off the face of the earth, I've just been zipping up and down highways to and in SC. After a super fun housewarming party that I attended on Saturday evening, I got up Sunday morning and drove the 8 hours to Spartanburg. I stayed with my old roommate, Ashley. Monday, I drove to Greer to spend the day/evening with my college roommate, Rachel and her family. I got the bonus of seeing my dear friend Holly and her son Andrew for a few minutes! Tuesday, I drove to Charleston and visited with my college friend Amy and her 2 sons (one of whom is 3 weeks old). Tuesday evening, I went to dinner and stayed with my high school friend Sallie and her husband. Yikes! It's been a wild few days, and I didn't really want to miss out on "people time" to get on the computer and blog. Now, I'm at my parents' house in Columbia in a content mood since I ran, had a yummy dinner, and my parents are making desserts in the kitchen.

Here are a few highlights from the past few days:

1. Meeting 5 new babies/children (whew!) and getting to see what it's like to have a family (spent the day with Rachel).

2. Having adult time with adult beverages after meeting 5 new babies/children!

3. A tasty French dinner in downtown Chaaaaasssston.

4. Sleeping in (relatively).

5. Having a good audiobook to listen to on my iPod.

6. Good food!

7. Catching up with old friends that I haven't seen in way too long.

8. Not having to tell the same stories about my life over and over again (Thank you to everyone who reads my blog!)

9. Remembering that there are some things I still love about SC.

10. Warmer weather than where I left!

Ipod Game- Quick We Have But A Second

While I was driving around town running errands during lunch, I composed a blog post in my head about how cold it is and that it is snowing. Seriously...it's not even Thanksgiving yet! The current temperature outside is 28 degrees. It feels more like January...and there I go. So, to stop my whining about the cold and rejoicing that it's supposed to be in the 60s when I'm in SC next week, I stole an iPod game from Facebook and decided to post it as a cop out blog. At least I added comments to the results...

1. Put your Ipod on shuffle.
2. For each question, hit the next button and get the answer.
3. Write the song no matter how silly it sounds.

1. If someone asks "Is this okay?" you answer: If Ye Love Me- Choir of King’s College (Maybe I should start saying that...)

2. How would you describe yourself? Sweet Baby James- James Taylor (Or Sweet Baby Page)

3. What do you like in a guy/girl? I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City- Sinead O’Connor (Well yes..they should love the Lord...and NYC would be nice except I don't live there)

4. How do you feel today? Zadok the Priest- Handel (Baroque? Yeah...kind of)

5. What is your life's purpose? Baal, We Cry to Thee- Mendelssohn’s Elijah (Seriously? My life’s purpose is to worship an idol??)

6. What's your motto? Tu…Amonasro!....tu!...il Re?- Verdi’s Aida (translated “You Amonasro, you the King?”) (Nonsense.)

7. What do you think about often? To be sung of a summer night on the water II- Cambridge Singers (singing...yes, I think about that...water, too. Summer....not so much)

8. What is 2+2? To Zucchabar- Gladiator Soundtrack (No comment)

9. What do you think of your best friend? How Sweet It is to be loved by you- James Taylor (Aww..yes, this is true)

10. What do you think of the person you like? Never Again- Kelly Clarkson (Maybe this would apply a few years ago...)

11. What is your life story? Stormy Weather- Ella Fitzgerald (Ha! Funny, but not true)

12. What do you want to be when you grow up? Seasons of Love- Rent (Yes, I want to love people when I grow up)

13. What do you think of when you see the person you like? Oh, the Deep Deep Love of Jesus (hymn) (Ok. I'll take that...)

14. What will you dance to at your wedding? Sicut Locutus Est- Vivaldi Magnificat (Ummm...no. Maybe during the ceremony)

15. What will they play at your funeral? Airplane- Indigo Girls (Sure, why not? I won't be there...)

16. What is your hobby/interest?Oh Day of Rest and Gladness (Hymn) (Yes! One of my hobbies is sleeping...and it makes me glad!)

17. What is your biggest fear? Torture- Voices of Light (This one is pretty apt).

18. What is your biggest secret? With You- Pippin (With Who?)

19. What do you think of your friends? Lady Marmalade- Patti LaBelle (Cool sistas...yeah).

20. What will you post this as? Quick We have but a second- Cambridge Singers (Yes...but a second to write...)

Jumbled Thoughts in the Head

I have a busy day at work today...as well as a bunch of stuff I need to get done before I leave for SC on Sunday. Unfortunately, I don't have much time to get any of that stuff done...

Thus, my head becomes a bunch of jumbled thoughts. Since I'm a visual thinker, I probably need to make a schedule of what I will do when. OCD, I know...but it helps me calm down and get myself together.

So...hopefully my slow day at work tomorrow will allow for a little more blogging than this measly little post...

Facebook

Facebook thinks it knows me oh-so-well. Some advanced software program obviously finds things in my profile and tailors the ads on the sidebar to my preferences. I'll see ads for bikes and cycling gear, swimming diets, music, singing lessons...but my all-time favorite is the one that says "29 and Alone again?".

This summer, during a moment of silly vacation relaxation, Maureen, our friend Jean and I thought it would be funny to create a Facebook account for Jean's cat, Byzwaden. When we visited them in Maine last year, Byzwaden fell madly in love with me and followed me around the house. So, in a fit of laughter, we posted that Byzwaden and I were in a relationship. I figured that people would see he was a cat...and think it was funny. Well, apparently his kitty face on the profile pic was not big enough, and seeing that I was in a relationship with Byzwaden Nowak...some of my friends thought I had found some crazy Polish/Eastern European guy to be my boyfriend. Everyone kept asking me how to say his name (it's actually a nonsense word made up by Jean's friend). Anyway, when I "broke up" with Byz on Facebook, I started getting these ads on the side saying "29 and Alone again?", and "Was it your fault that he left?". I mean seriously...does Facebook think I tell it everything? What does Facebook know about my dating life? There is no option on Facebook that says "dating"...just Single, In a Relationship, Engaged, or Married. So....I choose Single. But Facebook chooses to portray me as some washed-up 29 (almost 30) year old who does everything wrong when trying to "keep" a man. What if I had broken up with him...and I had done nothing wrong?

Anyway, a few weeks ago my pastor made the statement that Facebook requires us to maintain an image that we present to the world...whatever image it is that we are trying to maintain. I get annoyed by people who post passive-aggressive statements as their status...exactly what are they trying to tell people? I do find that I'm trying to maintain an image on Facebook...and I'd like to try and move on from that. I'll just try to be honest from now on. And not post that I'm in a relationship with a cat. :)

Anonymity

I spent my lunch today reading blog posts that were exchanged through BlogSecret, a blogosphere project where bloggers anonymously wrote a secret they have been carrying around and didn't feel they could post on their own blog. While reading these posts, I became a little jealous and wished that I had participated.

Not that I have any really juicy secrets. I'm kind of a boring person in that sense. I haven't done anything shocking in my life, I'm pretty normal, and my opinions on life are fairly run of the mill. But, there is a part of me that wishes my blog was completely anonymous. That I could write about all kinds of things on an anonymous blog that I can't on this one because most people who read my blog know who I am IRL (In real life- for my non internet-speak readers). Things like my real thoughts on politics, dating experiences, issues with friends...there is something quite cathartic about writing anonymously. When I first started my blog on xanga 4 years ago, the only people who read it were strangers. It was easier then to be honest, because I knew that I would likely never meet these folks. Now, well, I know my family reads my blog, friends around the country read my blog, and I occasionally have random visitors who don't know me IRL.

**Warning..I'm going to get a little vulnerable below...proceed at your own risk!**

I think the reason I'm not completely forthcoming about things on the blog is that I am a people-pleaser. Even when I pretend to make decisions based on my own thoughts and feelings, I know a huge part of me is looking for approval from others in those decisions. I feel like I have grown up a lot in the 4 years that I've lived away from SC, not just because I moved away, but also because I've spent the last part of my twenties here...which is where many of us mature a lot anyway. Some of the decisions I've made in the past two years would have been unfathomable to me 5 years ago. I think I had a narrow view of what my life should look like, and made decisions based on the little box of values and ideals that I had created for my life. If something was outside of the box, it was out of the question.

In the past two years, I've made some decisions that have taken me outside of the box. I've matured a lot, and the person I am is very different from who I thought I was. I'm still fundamentally the same- I love Jesus, I want to see His Kingdom advanced in the world, I'm seeking God's Will for my life, my theology is the same...but practically, these things are manifesting themselves in ways that I could never have thought of 4 years ago. I'm outside of the conservative evangelical box that I built for myself, and I think that God is teaching me a lot through being oustside of the box. During the years I lived "in the box", I thought I was a very analytical introvert. Surprise! I'm really more of an extrovert...although I am pretty analytical. I saw God as giving me very strict rules to live by...and I always felt like I never measured up. I understand His grace so much more now because I don't feel bound by the rules and behaviors that I thought I was supposed to have. I feel free...and I think that was His intention for me all along...it just took a peek outside of the box for me to see it.

There is a part of me that is afraid that those who knew me when I was inside the box will be disappointed that I have not followed the traditional "in the box" path. That because my life isn't centered around a church or full-time ministry...I will be seen as someone who has "fallen away". Because that is so far from the truth. I think I love God more now than I ever did before...simply because I have seen His hand in my life in so many ways and I've learned so much by just knowing Him and not trying to make my life look like the cookie-cutter single Christian girl. My idea of a perfect evening is sitting around with friends drinking wine on our deck (or in the kitchen in the winter), discussing life. Those friends may or may not share my spiritual beliefs. I like to discuss my beliefs with them, and listen as they share what they believe. That to me is more fulfilling these days than sitting around with women who believe the same thing that I do...patting each other on the back for believing what we do, and lamenting the sad state of the world. That last statement isn't meant to be offensive...it just describes some situations that I've found myself in and what I sometimes think is expected of me as a "single Christian woman".

I guess I just long to look to God for His approval, and not the approval of man. I believe that I am living my life the way He intends for me to...and I pray that I will continue to mature and be able to hold to that and have Him be my only concern.

Anyway...for those of you who stuck with this post- thanks! See, I guess I can use this blog to write cathartically even though I'm not anonymous!

Argh! Navy vs. Notre Dame and Other Shenanigans

Ok, so I missed blogging yesterday and have now failed at NaBloPoMo. I really had every intention of blogging yesterday about my weekend...but if I had blogged in the morning, then I would have missed out on writing about the exciting (relatively) part of the day.

Anyway, after only sleeping for about 2.5 hours on Friday night (that's what happens when you stay up until 3 AM having serious conversations), I arrived at Ravens Stadium with my tailgate crew at 7:00 AM on Saturday (hence the 2.5 hours of sleep). It took about 2 hours, 2 cups of coffee, an egg, potatoes and bacon, as well as a mimosa for me to get to a point where I could carry on a coherent conversation. Around 11:00, Maureen got a call from our midshipman Maile saying that the mids were being "held" near Camden Yards and she hadn't eaten all day. So, I stole some barbecue from the tailgate, made a sandwich, and walked it over to her.

The game was great, despite my tiredness, the rain, and the fact that Navy lost. It started out as a beautiful sunny day...but the weather was kinda weird and in the middle of the 3rd quarter the sky opened up and a monsoon arrived. Our seats were amazing...it was the first time I have ever sat on the front row at a football game...ever! It was a lot of fun, especially when the mids were actually playing well. I had a blast!

After we made it home aroun 6:30 or so, I crashed and attempted to catch up on my missed sleep. I also made the decision that running a 10K the next morning in windy conditions with my sleep deprivation might not be the best plan (ok...really it was a good excuse not to have to run!).

Sunday morning I woke up, had some coffee, started watching a movie...and fell asleep again. About 11:45, Maureen came into the living room and woke me up to tell me she had cut her finger (she had been cooking breakfast in the kitchen). I got up and walked into the kitchen. I wasn't worried until she said, "I don't think I cut it off". I grab her finger and look...she had what looked to be a pretty deep cut that was bleeding profusely. We called all of our medically oriented friends, but couldn't get in touch with any of them to see if they could take a look at her finger and see if she needed stitches. So- we headed off to two Urgent care facilities (the first one didn't take insurance). After a 2 hour wait, we were back home and she was taken care of (no stitches, but it took awhile for the doctor to stop the bleeding). Thus, I ended up cooking dinner...and we had a lovely Sunday evening despite the stress of the first part of the day.

Exhausted

2.5 hours of sleep + Page and football game= skimpy blog post. More on the last 24 hours tomorrow...

Friday Drain

This would normally be a day that I wouldn't post anything, since my brain is pretty darn empty. However, in the spirit of NaBloPoMo...I have to at least post something. I spent the morning organzing news clips in my company's software while listening to Messiah. Hence, the brain drain. You'd think I'd be tired of that piece...but it seemed the perfect companion to the boring task of cataloguing clips. Of course, I'd prefer an audiobook, but I'm trying to save those for my roadtrip to SC next weekend.

On tap for the weekend- a wine-tasting fundraiser this evening in Baltimore, the Navy vs. Notre Dame game in Baltimore tomorrow...and a 10K race Sunday morning, and an early Thanksgiving dinner with a group from church Sunday afternoon. And probably a little bit of time spent getting ready to go away for a week next weekend.

Let's hope I can find something more interesting to post about tomorrow!

Random Thursday

Well, this week is going to be another departure from "The Thursday Commute". The darkness accounts for our lack of seeing strange things...but mostly Laura and I have been thinking through big life events and using each other as external processing outlets. In other words, we've been talking too much to see anything strange happening on the roads. So, today's post is going to be a random jumble of thoughts and occurences.

• Somehow, I've managed to un-align some of the vetebrae or discs in my neck. My PT friend Sharon says it should be ok on its own...but in the meantime I can't lift my head all the way up. I spent most of last night after rehearsal laying on the floor with an ice pack at the base of my neck.
• Because of the afore-mentioned neck issue...I felt like I was singing horribly at rehearsal last night. Not being able to lift your head properly doesn't make for correct singing posture. It didn't help that our conductor kept saying, "Sopranos- what's up with the thin, reedy sound? You don't normally sound like that." There are only 10 of us. I'm pretty sure that was all me and my inability to properly hold my head up. Ok, maybe not...but it sure felt that way!
• It's a cool, rainy day in Maryland today. The absolute last thing I wanted to do this morning was get out of bed. The neck issue didn't help either. Yesterday my coworker forwarded this link. I think I need one of those...
• I know it's getting colder because my sensitive facial skin is starting to get a little dry. This means it is time to switch back to liquid foundation for the winter. I'm not a fan of liquid foundation, but hey...if it keeps my face from getting so dry that it flakes off and breaks out, I'm all for a little extra time to apply it in the AM.
• I bought a Neti Pot yesterday. I'm breathing through my nose just fine...but I can tell that the fall/winter lovely post-nasal drip has started again. Hopefully the Neti Pot will help combat that.
• Since it's raining, I'm not running tonight. I think I'm going to plan on a nice, cozy night in...watching Grey's Anatomy, playing with my iPod, cuddling with my Wofford blanket on the couch...yeah. Sounds like a perfect evening...
• Let's all hope the rain stops before Saturday and the Navy vs. Notre Dame game that I'm headed to in Baltimore. Rainy football games are not my favorite...but I always feel compelled to go anyway.

Ok, that's it for Random Thursday. Hope I haven't bored you all to tears...

Playlists on my iPod

One thing I keep meaning to do, but haven't gotten around to, is create playlists on my iPod. I actually have one I created a while back titled "Mellow Vocal". I'd like to create more...for driving, based on a particular genre, for working out, etc. I also need a "mood-lifting" playlist..you know, for those days that you need to be reminded that there are good things in the world. I like the shuffle feature on the iPod, but I'm getting a little tired of hearing random songs every now and then.

I think I miss my mix CDs mostly because I'm tired of shuffle. This morning, I put in one titled "I Like Boys and Boys are Icky". It's a mix made by a Furman student that somehow made its way to me. It cracks me up...the first 10 songs are all kinda sappy love songs, and the last 9 or so are all angry-girl songs. A little bit schizophrenic, but fun. I also have "Page's Favorite Songs of the South", "Movin' On Boston Mix" (for my 2003 trip to Massachusetts), "Driving Mix" and a few other good ones. I think I need some fun playlists like that.

Does anyone have any favorite playlists? If so, leave some suggestions in the comments!

Support the Arts!

As my regular readers/friends know or have guessed, I am a big fan/supporter of the Arts. Music in particular, but I have an appreciation for all of them. As a late 20-something, I'm not able to be a huge financial supporter of the arts (I live a comfortable lifestyle, but I would not be able to hand an Arts organization $2000 "just because"). However, I give huge chunks of my time to supporting the arts as a performer, and in the past year I've been on a quest to see more live performances (music, theater..and even a few art galleries). And yes, most live performances cost money.

Based on conversations I've had with those in the Arts recently, and news clips that I've read, I think we can make the statement that just like the economy, Arts organizations are in a crisis. Don't believe me? Opera Pacific closed it's doors, the Washington National Opera "postponed" it's Ring Cycle, and the New York City Opera is holding on by a tiny, fraying thread. This does not bode well for the future of the Arts in our country.

I am often frustrated when I invite friends to my concerts, and they say, "Oh, that ticket is too expensive". Why is it that we think performances should be free? It's nothing personal...I'm not upset that they don't want to come see me...but that they will miss out on a good performance. When I say "community chorus", I imagine people think the quality is going to be bad. Let me tell you, it's not. While we are not "professional", what we do is good. And worth $33 for a ticket. Maybe I'm just not selling it well. Support of the Arts is crashing almost as quickly as the stock market these days. I'm not saying that I expect "Joe the Plumber" to pay $30 for a music concert instead of buying food. But there are plenty of us that have not been hit too hard by this economic crisis and need to step up our support.

But Page, why should we support the Arts? Well, I think the reasons are different for everyone. I write about my relationship with music often, and I still can't quite describe it. Personally, I believe that the Artistic realm displays the creativity of God's creation, and thus brings glory to Him. The Arts also reflect His glory, and they show us that beauty can exist in a world that is becoming more and more depraved. Who doesn't want to hold on to something that is beautiful, when fear, ugliness, and despair are threatening to take over the hearts of many?

So, wherever you are, I challenge you to go out and support the Arts. Instead of buying a new pair of shoes, go to a concert. Need a Sunday afternoon activity? Don't sit on the couch watching tv- head to an art gallery or museum. Take your little girl (or boy) to the ballet. Spend an evening watching passion light up the stage at the opera.

**A quick shameless plug for my "community chorus"....click here to buy tickets to any of our Christmas performances...I'm telling you....you won't be sorry you did...Both the Celebration of Christmas and Messiah are bound to get you in the holiday spirit!**

Popcorn

I love popcorn. I always have. It was tragic for me to have braces for 4 years as a teenager because I wasn't supposed to eat popcorn (I snuck some every now and then anyway...). Microwave popcorn came out when I was a kid (along with microwaves), and I thought it was the best thing ever. I ate it almost every day for awhile. In college, one of the things I took with me to school was an air-popper for popcorn. Movie popcorn is my favorite, though. With butter. Extra butter. One of my favorite most recent evolutions in the movie theater is the "pour your own" butter machine. Mmmmm...and yes, I know it's like eating pure cholesterol. Luckily, I only go to the movies a few times a year.

Anyway, I digress. I'm actually going to write about burned popcorn. And how much I hate it. I would prefer a bag that is half-popped than a bag that has a little bit burned. And there are few things worse than the smell of burned popcorn. In college, we used to smell burned popcorn in the dorms all the time. I always assumed it was because everyone liked popcorn as much as I did but were too stupid to figure out how to keep it from burning (although...I shouldn't give college freshman girls too much credit...we had one set the fire alarm off in the dorm when she put a pop-tart in the microwave for 2 minutes and it exploded). When I became an RA my senior year, I was told that people burn popcorn to mask the smell of Pot. I was shocked...but it made sense that our hall always smelled like burned popcorn...I was (am?) so naive.

So...people seem to have issues with burning popcorn in my office as well. Although people are free to do what they like on their own time around here (no drug testing) ...drugs are not allowed in the office. So, that means that people really are burning popcorn out of stupidity. Seriously? Just take it out early. One friend of mine put a mini-bag in and then hit the "popcorn" button on the microwave without selecting a size. It caught on fire. Today, someone must have burned another bag because it was super stinky! I guess I just don't understand how people can repeatedly burn popcorn...what a waste of a beautiful thing!

A Saturday Full of Parties...

After getting home late Friday night (more like early Saturday morning), I slept in a bit and then Maureen and I made my famous grits casserole and headed over to her friend Katherine's for a Tug O War party. Since it was a nice day, most of the party occured outside by the chimnea:

Just before the Crack O' Noon (the official start of the tug), we headed over to the Eastport side of the Tug. Somehow Eastport managed to lose (but we didn't see it because we only stayed for 4 of the 7 tugs).

Maureen and I at the Tug (I'm still kinda sleepy)

The Tug site near the Chart House (if you look towards the water you'll see the middle of the Tug and the Annapolis side)

Tuggers

At one point, these older ladies just jumped onto the line without signing up...so no official tugger t-shirts. Notice the outfit...

But really check out the shoes...not quite appropriate Tugging-wear!

After the tug, I came home and spent the rest of the afternoon in my bed taking a nap and watching football and movies. It was really lovely...just what I needed. I don't have any pictures of me napping, though. (At least not from yesterday!)

After regaining some energy, we drove up to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for Party #2 of the day. One of my running buddies, Steve, turned 40. His wife Maria threw a huge party complete with barbecue, beer, and a great band (his brother's band, the Cheaters). It was a lot of fun hanging out with my running friends...chatting, dancing, and listening to the band.

The Cheaters....great band!

My friend Dawn being silly


Dawn, Katie and I (not a good hold the camera yourself pic)


Katie and I on the dance floor

Katie and Dave having fun dancing

Wallflowers Matt, Maureen, Lauren, and Scott

At the end of the night, Steve joined the band for a song.

All in all, it was quite the fun "party" day. :) I made it home by midnight so that I would be able to get up for church in the morning.

Lucrezia Borgia...Again

But this time with a different Soprano in the lead. Vastly different, but still fabulous. I said her voice seemed a little brighter than Renee Fleming's...everyone else disagreed and said it was darker. Definitely not quite as smooth, but she had a lot of power. All in all, it was another really great performance, and I'm glad I got to see it again. A drink afterwards made it a late night (you know...in bed around 1:30 AM), but a very enjoyable one.

Tomorrow, I'll post pictures of my activities today...

Fun Times

The end of this week has and hopefully will continue to be a fun one. Last night, I went on what amounted to a super double date! It was a friend's birthday, and the celebration began with a Scotch tasting at one of the wine stores in downtown Baltimore. I am not usually a Scotch fan (my usual assessment is that it tastes like windex), but some of these were pretty tasty. Of course, the last one that we tried was a bit windexy...and that is the one that stuck with me. :) After the tasting, we went to Pazo, a tapas bar in Baltimore. It was fantastic...the food, the wine, the company...kinda one of those nights that will always bring up fond memories. We had so much yummy food that I had to stop eating at one point...or I would have moved on to the "uncomfortably full" stage. The night ended at the Owl Bar in Baltimore...always a fun place to see folks. I thought that I might be able to go all day today without eating...but then I walked in this morning and it is Crack-Fil-A Friday at the office...when my boss brings in Chick'n minis for everyone. Yum.

Anyway, tonight Maureen and I are headed back to the Kennedy Center Opera House to see Lucrezia Borgia (again). This is an actual performance, not the dress rehearsal, and the soprano is different. Sondra Radvanovsky. I've read good things about her, so it will be interesting to compare her performance to Renee Fleming's.

Saturday is the Annual Tug of War between Eastport and Annapolis. Always a fun time. Maureen's friend Katherine throws a killer party in the morning pre-tug. Last year, I brought my famous Grits Casserole, and it was a hit, so we'll be bringing it again. I suppose Saturday is going to be a party day since one of my running friends is turning 40. His wife is throwing a major Beach Bash at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation complete with barbecue and a great band. I've never been to a party on the beach of the Bay, so it should be fun (the weather is supposed to cooperate, as well). The party is only about 2 miles from our house, so I ought to be able to stay pretty late.

I guess I'll be recovering from my fun, busy weekend on Sunday!

The Thursday Commute- Standard Time Edition

Welcome to this week's installment of the Thursday Commute. Now that we are back on Standard Time, the afternoon commute is completely in the dark. We leave work at 5:30 PM...and here in the Eastern part of the Eastern Time Zone...it's pretty darn dark at 5:30 PM. Shoot, come the end of December, it'll be pretty darn dark at 5:00 PM. Anyway, we don't see as many strange things on the road in the dark. I guess it's more difficult to see people in their cars.

However, we did catch a lady from Colorado sleeping in her car last evening. We were sitting on Aris T Allen Blvd (AA, for those of you who get my frustrated "I hate AA" texts), in the normal bottleneck that occurs EVERY SINGLE DAY, and noticed that an SUV beside us wasn't keeping up with the stop and go cars in its lane. When we got up close, there was a woman nodding off with her eyes closed. She woke up, drove forward, and nodded off again. It was pretty entertaining...but I made sure to give her a wide berth when I passed her. The sad part? When I am having sleeping problems and I'm in the car by myself...I have sooooooo been that sleepy person!

My next thought relates to commuting, but only has to do with me...not anything strange that we have seen. Does anyone else absolutely hate morning talk shows on the radio? I am the type of person who just wants to listen to music while I'm driving in the morning. I drove by myself into work this morning, and my iPod died 2 minutes into the trip, so I turned the radio on to find some music. It took about 5 minutes to find a station that didn't have some radio personality giving his/her opinion on entertainment, the election, etc. I guess I must be the opposite of most people...I like to listen to music on the way to work in the morning, and listen to the news (usually NPR) on the way home in the afternoon. In the morning, I'm often processing my dreams (they are usually pretty vivid), solving problems, or just daydreaming. Since I usually don't feel completely awake on the way to work, my brain is still in that productive dream-like state. The last thing I want to hear is Jack Diamond talking about why some actress got kicked off of Grey's Anatomy. This morning, I had to settle on the country station because even the Classical stations had someone prattling away. I guess it's a good thing that I can usually just plug in my iPod...

Interesting Demographics

I don't generally write about politics on this blog because my blog is not intended to be controversial. I'm also not going to write about who I voted for, because I think that is a private decision that should be made conscientiously, without too much influence from others. Personally, I'm pretty cynical when it comes to politics and I don't think I'll ever be able to back any candidate 100%. Maybe not even like 80%. If I could find a morally conservative, social liberal that doesn't believe in legislating morality to the nth degree...well, then I wouldn't live in America. :) Some of you would be shocked to know who I voted for, and some of you would be ecstatic. Jesus isn't a Republican or a Democrat, and I could never fully support anyone who doesn't attempt to think like He did.

Anyway, I really have been shocked at how many people declared their voting preference on Facebook. And not only that, I was most shocked that the voting preferences fell exactly along predictable lines among my friends. This analysis isn't meant to offend anyone...I am just taking what has been put out there on Facebook by my friends and analyzing the data. Southern College ministry friends...all but one for McCain. Friends from my church in Maryland ...about 70% McCain/30% Obama. Friends from other groups in Maryland...about 95% for Obama.

I mean, that's what I would have predicted...but it makes me wonder if we aren't being too heavily influenced by our friends and family when making political decisions. I would consider almost all of my friends on Facebook very well-educated (a lot from private liberal arts colleges), and yet the fact that there is such a geographic and spiritual split is interesting. I can't tell you how many political email forwards I received from people where facts were not checked and the email was just sent around (again...if you sent me one of these emails...I'm not trying to offend you...just found them interesting).

I guess my point is that I hope everyone does their own research when it comes to voting for a candidate, and doesn't just rely on who our friends or family support. I also hope that we are all taking a hard look at the issues, and while voting our conscience, also look realistically at what can be changed in our country and what can't.

In any case, those of us that voted were able to take part in a historic election that showed how far our country has come with regard to race. I don't think our grandparents could have imagined an African-American as President. No matter what our political leanings, I hope we all realize that our country has taken a big step in upholding our creed that all men are created equal.

Voting and Caffeine

Well, I managed to get up an hour early this morning to hit the polls and do my civic duty. Thankfully, I only had to wait 20 minutes or so to vote. Some of my coworkers were not so lucky...considering I heard stories of over an hour wait at some polling places. Considering my love of coffee, I'm sure some of you think that I used my "I Voted" sticker to get a free cup of coffee at Starbucks. Truthfully, I'm a little caffeined out. I haven't been sleeping well for the past few nights, and I think it has something to do with my afternoon and evening caffeine intake, so I'm cutting back. Sigh. Coffee just doesn't taste quite the same when it's decaf...

Navy Football

Somehow in the last 4 years that I've lived in Annapolis, I've become a Navy Football fan. It's pretty simple, actually. When I first moved to Annapolis, I lived about mile from the stadium. I could hear most of the games from my house. I'm a huge football fan, and at the time I wished I could go to the games. Unfortunately, I didn't know anyone in town very well yet, and didn't want to go to the games by myself (I had a few good friends, but they didn't LOVE football the way I do). I used to sit in my apartment with the windows open listening to the game, the echo of the drums of the bands, and just feel kinda homesick and lonely.

Fast forward a few years when I moved in with Maureen. She is not only a huge football fan, but also a Navy fan (her brother went to the Academy, and she worked there for 15 years). So, I started going to games with her. I've been to about 10 Navy games in the past 3 years, and have had lots of fun at all of them. There is something pretty cool about the traditions of the Academy...the mids marching on the field, the flyover (although we haven't had jets at any games I've been at this year), the Drum and Bugle Corps...I love it all. This year, a friend has tickets to the Navy vs. Notre Dame game at Ravens Stadium in Baltimore. I'm excited about going, and I plan on being an all-out Navy fan complete with hat, shirt, and face tattoos. It should be a lot of fun!

Early Darkness

You know, so many people complain about going back to Standard Time because it gets darker earlier. For me, I don't mind it so much. It reminds me of my childhood a bit...I was always amazed that one night, it was light at 6 PM, and then the next, it was dark at 6 PM. Shows that time is really just a perception, anyway...

I always like that it gets dark early...means that it is Fall (my favorite season), and that the fun holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas are on their way. It's kind of cozy, in a way. So, I am celebrating the time change...and looking forward to the coming holidays!

Privileged

I think in life, I have a tendency to forget how privileged and blessed I am in so many ways. Materially, monetarily, spiritually, physically (good health), and other ways. But often while performing during concerts, it strikes me that all the little annoying things I focus on in my musical endeavors prevent me from seeing the amazing privilege it is to perform great works of great composers with a talented conductor, talented orchestra...and dedicated chorus. When I think about all of the amazing works I've had the chance to perform, and the cool things I've gotten to do...I'm embarrassed by the pettiness of my complaints about what happens during rehearsal. Ultimately, having to sing next to an under-pitched voice, an uber-vibrato voice, or a harsh-toned voice is worth it. And thankfully, for this concert, I'm surrounded by basses and the only soprano I hear happens to be my favorite person to sing next to-she has a lovely voice, knows the notes, and is very easy for me to blend with. I am blessed, indeed.

**If you want to read my attempts to explain my relationship with music, try here (this one has links to old xanga posts on music, too), or here.**