Second Blooming: My Choir

My Choir

05/29/2014

Spin Cycle: Patriotic

I try not to get political around here. I can't stand political arguments and mean-spiritedness, and it's very easy to lean a little too far to either the left or the right and then opinion can become meanness. I do sometimes get on my highhorse regarding issues of social justice which I feel strongly about, but I don't think of that as political, just...right. But anyway...

I am basically a left-leaner. A bit of a bleeding heart. And I have to say that the thing about those on the opposite end of the spectrum that makes me most angry, is a nasty, knee-jerk belief that Democrats and political liberals are unpatriotic. It's mean-spiritedness at it's most mean-spirited. The assumption that if someone doesn't believe the same things that you believe then they don't love our country is ignorant and dangerous. And there's a condescending attitude that if you are anti-war, then you don't "support our troops". What the what?! How could you be more "supportive" of them than wanting them to get the hell out of a war and come home? I believe that being "anti-war" is the only Christian choice, how can you follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, the greatest pacifist of all time, and support any war? It's completely illogical.

I am ridiculously patriotic. I love my country. I think there are areas in which things could improve. But I am a firm believer that it's the best country in the world, and couldn't imagine living anywhere else. And our freedom to express our opinions as to where/how things could be improved is one of the most important elements that makes our country great. Maybe I am this way because I was raised by a daddy who was a veteran of WWII, a great one from the "Greatest Generation", a time when America truly saved the world's collective butt.

I love our flag. I love our armed forces. I love our national anthem. It's funny, just this morning Jude and I were talking about a report he's writing on The War of 1812, and we started discussing "The Star-Spangled Banner", which Francis Scott Key wrote during that war.

GRETCHEN

So, it was the Battle of Baltimore, and Key was watching from this

ship, and he knew that if the US flag was gone and had been destroyed,

then that meant the British had won the battle.

JUDE

Uh-huh.

GRETCHEN

(getting more animated)

So all through the night of the battle, every time there was "the rockets

red glare" or some "bombs bursting in air" he would look to see that

"our flag was still there"!

JUDE

(he already knows this because he read it in a book)

Right.

GRETCHEN

(starting to get teary)

And when he saw in "the dawn's early light" that "our flag was still

there", then he...he...sniff...knew that it was still...sniff...still...

JUDE

Mom. Why are you crying?

GRETCHEN

I'm not actually crying, I'm just emotional because he knew...sniff...

JUDE

Mom, this is embarrassing.

GRETCHEN

(starting to actually cry and need to blow her nose)

He knew it was still the "land of the free and the home of the brave"!

And we still are. We still are. Sniff.

Jude shakes his head and gets his mother a tissue.

On Memorial Day, this past Monday, I had the immense privilege of singing Verdi's Requiem with my church choir, together with five other choirs, a full orchestra, and four soloists from the LA Opera. It was a stunning experience.

Any of y'all who have been paying attention around here should remember that last year on Memorial Day weekend, we traveled to New York and performed Mozart's Requiem at Carnegie Hall. As far as I know, the timing of that concert had been kind of random, that's when the Carnegie people scheduled us. But before we went on, our choral director/maestro, Joe, had a revelation. We were singing a requiem, which is a mass for the repose of the dead, on Memorial Day! It was perfect.

So Joe developed a plan to produce a different requiem, Giuseppe Verdi's Messa da Requiem, at our church in Hollywood, on Memorial Day as an actual...memorial. He has been working his butt off for a whole year and damn if he didn't make it happen.

We were so good! Worth all that rehearsal! And the soloists were breathtaking. Verdi's Requiem is one of the most dramatic pieces of music ever written, combining the drama of opera with the thrill of a great symphony. The proceeds went to the Wounded Warrior Project, and we managed to get a huge crowd. Really successful.

That's me in the middle of the back row with the tall girls.

Joe also connected with an organization called Portraits of the Fallen, a group which recruits local artists to create portraits of Southern California service men and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the last movement of the requiem, the "Libera Me", they showed a slide show of the portraits. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. Here's a video my friend Foster made of the slide show. The soprano soloist, Stacey Tappan is amazing...

So many faces. So many families who lost someone. The good news for sentimental patriot me is that we couldn't see the screen from the risers where we were singing, or I wouldn't have been able to get through it.

It was really beautiful, and I am blown away by Joe's vision that put it all together. This lovely evening that brought together musicians from all over Southern California, a truly diverse group from all races and religions and ages and sexual orientations and both ends of the political spectrum , who came together to celebrate through music the lives of those who died serving this country we all love.

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Posted at 10:35 PM in Cool, Man, L.A. Stories, My Choir, Spin Cycle, Sweet Stuff, Yea, Me!, YouTubing | Permalink | Comments (5)

01/02/2014

Spin Cycle: 2013 - The Highlights

When Ginny Marie first suggested that we make this first Spin Cycle post of 2014 about the highlights of the past year, I became a little...depressed. It just felt like there was absolutely nothing that happened in 2013 that I would consider a "highlight". I didn't feel that I'd accomplished anything noteworthy or interesting, that I've just been plodding along on the same-old/same-old futile path. I looked back at last year's New Year's resolutions post, and discovered that of my resolutions for the year, I had accomplished exactly ZERO of them. ZERO.

But when I went back through my posts from the last year, I realized that there were quite a few things that happened which I would consider "good". Some of them even "quite good". Maybe this is a lesson for me to learn from, instead of looking back on the things I didn't do, look at the things I did do. It may not have been the year I had hoped for, but it was the year it was, filled with quite a few good and unexpected events.

Month of blogging - Last April 11th, which is just the most random date I could have chosen, I embarked upon a month of daily blogging. My thought had been that I was stuck in a blogging rut, and needed to think out of the box to find inspiration, so I forced myself to blog every single day for a month. And guess what? It worked. I wrote some of my most interesting posts of the year during that time, and definitely shook loose some preconceived notions I had about what I "had" to do. I'm thinking I should do it again this year at some point.

Carnegie Hall - I performed in Carnegie Hall, y'all! I really did. Well, my choir, of which I am but a minor member, performed Mozart's Requiem there along with several other choirs under the direction of Joe, our choral director. It really was a once-in-a-lifetime, goose bump-inducing experience, which I will never forget.

My friend Gwen and me at the stage door.

If you squint, you can see me - back row (tall girls are always on the back row, sigh...) third from the right.

Jude found his passion - The boy has finally found his favorite thing in the world. LA County Junior Lifeguards.

We seem to be raising a California boy!

It's a total mind/body experience for the kid - he runs, he swims, he paddleboards, he surfs, he learns how to save lives, he learns ocean safety, he learns CPR! From now on, his summer will be arranged around JGs.

Partnering with Ginny Marie - In September, after much thought and soul-searching, I decided that if I was going to continue hosting The Spin Cycle, I needed to get a partner. I had reached a point where I was completely unable to spend the time necessary on promoting the whole thing. And man, did I make a good choice. Ginny Marie has been a massive infusion of energy and inspiration! And here's a gigantic "Welcome!" to the new Spinners which she has brought in. Well done!

Emmys - I had SUCH a good time when I went to The Emmys as my friend Lynn's date! The glamour! The celebrities! The free food and booze!

Lynn and me, looking glam on the red carpet.

Oh, and did I mention that I shook hands with Louie C.K.? Oh yes, I did that.

Modern Family - After a ten year mothering hiatus from television, I booked a job! On Modern Family, no less. Yes it was a small part, yes I now look old and fat, but I don't care, it was great fun and I worked with terrific people who I respect tremendously! Lets hope I get more work soon!

Me, in my trailer.

Thirteen Chapters - The main reason I've been so absent and distracted lately is that I'm writing a book. I know that everybody says this, but I really am, and I'm finally at a place where I'm feeling pretty good about it. I have now written 13 chapters. I recently went back and rewrote and restructured quite a bit, and am now on a path that I'm happy about, and am moving forward at a decent pace. It's all I want to do. I find myself thinking about it constantly, and stealing moments to work. Ah, to be able to go off alone to a cabin somewhere for about a week! But alas, not possible. But I think that 13 chapters is something to be proud of. By next year at this time, lets hope it's finished!

So there you have it. The highlights of my year. Not as bad as I'd first thought. But definitely room for improvement next year!

Here's to an excellent 2014 for all of us!

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Posted at 11:36 PM in Cool, Man, My Child, My Choir, My Mediocre Career, Spin Cycle, Yea, Me! | Permalink | Comments (4)

09/24/2013

The Whole Emmy Thing

I did it! I touched Louis C.K.! But I'm getting ahead of myself.

If any of you don't know what I'm talking about, please read THIS post which tells you how I happened to end up going to the Emmys Sunday night as my friend Lynn's date. Really, you should read it, because I'm too worn out by all that glamour to tell the story again.

I promised that I would live Tweet the whole thing, which I did...kind of. I am a lazy Tweeter (Twitterer?) in the first place and kept forgetting to hashtag, and then I kind of forgot about the whole thing about halfway through the Governor's Ball, which was about the time of my third Grey Goose Vodka Emmy cocktail.

I'll drink anything with edible precious metal in it.

It's hard to Twitter and stalk celebrities at the same time.

I also must confess, that when I comes to going up to celebs who are total strangers, I am very shy. Those of you who know me just choked on your coffee, because I am for the most part not at all shy, but this accosting celebrities thing makes me very timid. I'm fine with tracking them down and looking at them, but that's about it. Luckily, Lynn is not even remotely shy about this kind of thing, and dragged me around and forced me to say hello to people. The woman is fearless.

But lets start at the beginning. After getting myself all dolled up, while waiting for Lynn to pick me up, I managed to take the BEST SELFIE EVER...

Elements that make it the BEST SELFIE EVER - 1. Blurriness soft-focuses out the wrinkles. 2. Holding the camera up lends the illusion of muscle tone to my arms and decolletage. 3. Cleavage is always a good thing.

After driving to the Nokia Theater downtown, we valet parked and made our way to the red carpet.

I think we look pretty damned good.

We, of course, were led to the "non-celebrity" section of the red carpet, behind where the celebrities are. Here's a shot of my view...

We saw lots of exciting folks making their way in, but it was too damned hot there in the sun, so we made our way inside the Nokia to the bar. And look who we found in line with us - Michelle, the winner of Project Runway Season 11!

Who actually said to me "I love your dress. I'm really into velvet right now." I swear to God that's what she said.

We milled around for a while before making our way to our seats. I must say that situations like this are very surreal and disconcerting. I found myself walking around going "Oh look, it's Sally Draper." Or "Oh look, it's Padma." Or "Oh look, that tiny old man is Michael Douglas." Or "Oh look, that's that scary girl from American Horror Story." Very strange.

The awards show itself was...dull. Sorry. But it was. And there was a lot of talk of dead people. And some dancing. Inexplicable, Carrie Underwood was chosen to sing a Beatles tribute. Elton John looked very sparkly for his Liberace tribute. I don't remember most of it. I was excited for Anna Gunn and Jeff Daniels. Mostly, my butt got sore. Luckily, Lynn has been to many, many of these events, and knows a thing or two about how to navigate them, so we got up and split for the last 30 minutes, and made our way over to the Governor's Ball ahead of the crowd.

The walk to the ball was lined with terribly polite waiters handing out champagne. Very civilized.

While standing there with our champagne, waiting for the doors of the ball to open, Lynn spotted Nigel Lythgoe, the producer of American Idol, and it took us a while to realize that the small, trashy-looking woman he was with was Paula Abdul. We looked at each other and in unison said "She looks awful!" which is catty...but true. Bless her heart, she looked like she was on one of those Real Housewives shows. Here she is on the Worst Dressed List...

Even tackier in person.

The theme of the Governor's Ball was "Enchanted Forest", and man oh man did they go there with the decorations. I'd say "Enchanted Forest on Acid" is more like it...

It was a HUGE space with hundreds of tables, thousands of guests almost that many in the wait staff. Lots of multi-colored sparkly lights, live music and the ugliest centerpieces I have EVER seen. Witness...

Yes, that is silver spray paint and tin foil.

Lynn and I located our table, ordered one of these...

...then got down to the important task at hand. The stalking. At every seat, they provide you with both a menu and a seating chart of where every single person who has confirmed that they will attend is seated. Jackpot!

I will spare you the back and forth rambling details of our stalking. But we found our man, Louis C.K., who was so amazingly nice. Thanks to Lynn's boldness, I SHOOK HIS HAND. It was very soft. The man truly could not have been nicer. I have no idea what I said to him. Something about how I liked him. There was much smiling and nodding. As we left I'm pretty sure I said "Congratulations!" even though he didn't win anything, so it was a really stupid thing to say. But he will always be a winner to me, which thankfully I did NOT say to him, because that would have been even stupider.

When we turned around from Louie's table, we ran smack dab into the middle of the House of Cards cast. Lynn went right up to Kevin Spacey and had what I thought was a legitimate thing to say to him, as they had worked together back in 1988, but he was kind of borderline rude. Not completely rude, but...dismissively tolerant. On the other hand, the actor who played the guy who died was nothing but sweet...

Lynn and the guy who died.

We both told him how sorry we were that he died, and he even figured out the stupid iOS7 on my phone so we could take the picture.

I desperately tried to find Peter Dinklage from Game of Thrones, because you know I love my imp, but alas, he didn't show. Here is the salad he would have eaten had he been there...

Salad was better than it looks in this picture.

...and Lynn even stole those cute little salt and pepper shakers for me, so I now own the salt and pepper shakers that Peter Dinklage would have used if he had shown up.

He's not The Imp, but here I am with Kenneth from 30 Rock...

I love Kenneth!!

But hands down, the best celebrity encounter of the evening was Stephen Colbert, who had just won TWO Emmys, but was still incredibly open and kind to us. Lynn told him that we were both in our church choir, and thanked him for making Catholics cool. He is an outspoken Catholic. I told him that Jude had been an altar boy that very morning, and Colbert congratulated him and said that he had been an altar boy for 10 years. He told us that earlier that night, he had accidentally bumped into Bob Newhart backstage, and that Newhart had told him that he'd heard he was a Catholic, and that he was too, and so he was absolved for any damage done. We talked to him for probably a whole 5 minutes, which in the great scheme of these things makes us now very dear friends.

Lynn and our new BFF Stephen Colbert.

The food, by the way, was fab. The salad was "Little gem lettuce, basil scented mozzarella, marinated sun-ripened tomatoes, heirloom baby beets, cider maple and sunflower seeds, basil chips, virgin olive oil". Doesn't that sound like they made about half of that stuff up? It was followed by filet mignon AND a red wine braised short rib, so I was a happy camper.

When we finally left, we made off with a good bit of free stuff handed out by the events sponsors. We each got a bottle of wine, a bunch of chocolates, two Loreal eyeliners and two Loreal lipsticks.

I want to go again next year, damn it. I totally forgot to try to find Tim Gunn (who I know would have been lovely). And next time I would be more outgoing with the celebrity encounters. What do you think I can do to Darren to get rid of him next year? Ideas?

Posted at 10:15 PM in Cool, Man, Hollyweird, I'm a Disaster, L.A. Stories, My Choir, Opinionated, Pop Cultured | Permalink | Comments (13)

05/28/2013

The Whole Carnegie Experience

Well, that was really just remarkably cool. This whole singing at Carnegie Hall thing = COOL! And I'm really not sure if I can do it justice, but I will try my best.

Saturday morning was our dress rehearsal in Carnegie Hall. Our call time was 9 am. I took the subway from Aunt Grace's, and while I'm usually extremely good with getting around in NYC, when I came up from the subway I got all turned around, and couldn't figure out which direction to go. I stopped and actually asked some guys at an outdoor cafe "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" They managed to resist the standard "practice, practice, practice" response, and simply pointed across the street, where it was, albeit covered with scaffolding, the reason I didn't recognize it.

For some reason (possibly because I am a poor listener), I thought that I had been told that the Stage Door entrance was on 47th Street, when in fact it is on 46th Street, which caused me to wander aimlessly around Carnegie Hall for about 15 minutes, searching for the backstage area, until I finally opened a random door and stumbled upon this...

Whoa!

...where I stood for a bit, oogling, until one of the orchestra members tuning up on stage asked me "What are you looking for lady?" and politely showed me how to get backstage.

I found the backstage area at Carnegie Hall to be extremely thought-provoking. I kept touching the wood on the handrail in the stairwell, thinking about what great musicians had passed this very way, and touched this very piece of wood. When we took the stage for our rehearsal, the first thing that my friend Lynn and I noticed was that the wall behind us could use a good dusting - but the second thing I thought of was which great artists had been on that stage before me. There truly is a hallowed vibe about the place.

Here I am with my friend Gwen, after I finally located the Stage Door on the way out...

Notice that we are both wearing coats and scarves - it was stinking FREEZING and RAINY.

Oh, by the way, after rehearsal, Gwen and I went to Carnegie Deli and stuffed ourselves silly...

Last dregs of a corned beef sandwich which started out as big as my head. I'm serious.

When we returned that night for the performance, I was a bit concerned about the behavior of the high school choirs which were singing with us. They were all completely hyped up and out of control and...well, high school students. But our fearless choral director, Joe, came in and gave us a truly inspired and inspiring talk, in which he reminded us of the profound nature of the fact that we were performing a requiem on Memorial Day weekend, and asked us each to think of someone we've lost, or of the people who have fought and died for our country, to make the performance of a requiem personal and profound. And damn, if it didn't work. Those kids focused like laser beams.

Since I was the third tallest woman in the chorus, I was the third choral member to step on the stage for our performance, and thus I had a very long time to stand there and take in the view. I remember standing there thinking that I should try to soak in as much about this moment as I could, but mostly I was worried that I looked fat and that my hair was too frumpy.

Here we are! If you squint really hard, you can see me - the third from the right on the top row!

But once we began, all vain thoughts flew out the window and I just sang. And I really think we did well. Everyone on that stage was focused like a laser beam on their music and on Joe's conducting. And he was deeply emotional, I think he actually teared up during the "Lacrimosa", and he thoroughly expressed it through his body - he's a wonderful conductor.

The 45-minute piece felt like it lasted 10 minutes. I achieved goose bumps a few times, and only had one hot flash - during the "Kyrie", which is as good a place as any for a hot flash. It was thrilling, it was. But as with all thrilling and much anticipated events in life, it was over too quickly, and now I feel like I didn't savor it enough, though I'm not sure what I could have done to be more present and more conscious. I feel this way about most huge events in my life - I am so aware of how "important" it is and how much I need to fully experience the event, that I forget to fully experience the event. Sigh...

Tomorrow...24 Hours With the Inlaws.

Posted at 11:08 PM in Aging Gracefully?, Cool, Man, I'm a Disaster, My Choir, Yea, Me! | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

05/25/2013

Choir Geeks Take Manhattan

Carnegie Hall update thus far...in bullet points...

Flew American Airlines for the first time in years. We had about a billion frequent flyer miles saved up, and thought I should use them. Okay, a billion is an exaggeration, but it was a bunch. I now remember why we haven't flown American in so long. CROWDED. NO LEG ROOM. NO TV. It was, however, FREE, so I really shouldn't complain. But I will. I had a terrible seat right across from the bathroom. Nasty. You know, I just don't understand the kind of person who goes into a airplane bathroom and takes a giant poo, so everybody has to breath it. Who can do that, anyway? I mean, I'm a little shit shy, but seriously, who does that?
Got to JFK late Wednesday afternoon, and Aunt Grace very graciously sent "a car" to pick me up at the airport, so I didn't have to hoof it or take a bus. So yes, there was a dude in a black suit standing there with my name on a sign, which is something that never gets old, no matter how many times it happens to you.

View from Aunt Grace's terrace. Yes, you may be jealous.

Thursday morning was our first rehearsal of Mozart's Requiem with the full chorus - 200 SINGERS. We all gathered in a ballroom at the NY Hilton, which was, in fact, the very place where I attended BlogHer a couple of years ago (ah, memories!). This ballroom was a great place for a blogger convention, but a lousy place to rehearse choral music, as the acoustics are dreadful. But even then as soon as we all started singing together, it was AMAZING. Such powerful music.
The heavens opened up and DRENCHED the city. Crazy rain. You know, I've been coming to New York once or twice a year for the past 20 years, and I NEVER remember the rain. We Los Angelenos forget that it rains in other parts of the country. For us, we have "rainy season", for which we prepare. But everywhere else, it rains all year round at random times. An amazing concept. So I, of course, was caught without an umbrella, and had to buy one on the way home, but still ended up soaked to the skin. Dang.
Thursday night was dinner with Cousins Steve and Lorraine. They took me to a wonderful restaurant - Destino on First Avenue. Big fat martinis. Big fat steak. Big fat Gretchen.
Friday morning rehearsal at 9:00 am. Should probably not have had so much martini and steak. It was still rousing though. They arranged us the way we'll be standing when we perform in Carnegie Hall, making us line up from shortest to tallest within each section. I am, naturally, the third to tallest alto, and so am on the very back row. The story of my life. Amazingly, Lynn (Curly Girl on my sidebar) is standing right next to me, so we two tall girls get to experience Carnegie Hall together. Which I'm very happy about.

Lynn & me. Tall girls on the back row.

Tonight I'm having a few of the choir friends over for a quick drink at Aunt Grace's apartment, and then joining my old college friends for dinner. I'm very excited to see them all - the FUNNEST group of people. I will try not to drink too many martinis and go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Try.
Tomorrow - Carnegie Hall!

Posted at 12:30 AM in Cool, Man, Day-to-Day La-Dee-Dah, I'm a Disaster, My Choir | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

05/21/2013

Carnegie Hall Here I Come

I'm on my way to New York to sing at Carnegie Hall!

If you missed this amazing turn of events, read HERE.

I'm so excited I can't stand it. Five days on my own in the Big Apple! Actually performing Mozart's Requiem in Carnegie Hall! Getting to see a bunch of my old college friends! Swinging by Long Island to visit Mommy and Pop! It's all so good. It's just what I need.

However, I've been a nervous wreck all week. Am I worried about singing Mozart's Requiem? No. Am I worried about performing in front of 2000 people in Carnegie Hall? No. Am I worried about what the hell I'm going to wear? Whether or not I'm going to trip and fall on my face? Come in at the wrong time? On the wrong note? No, no, no and no.

I am worried about the care and maintenance of Jude while I'm gone.

Yes, I know that Jude's a big boy, and Jimmy's an even bigger boy. And I know that I should trust Jimmy to take care of doing what needs to be done for his son. But...I don't. I just don't trust that he will get the boy where/when he needs to be for a whole 5 days.

So I have prepared. Ridiculously. I have made a detailed schedule and posted it to the cabinet in the kitchen...

I have written out exactly what he needs to pack for Jude's lunch every day. With bullet points...

All lunch food is arranged and labeled on the counter below the sign.

I have pre-packed bags with everything Jude will need for his various activities, and clearly labeled them...

I have arranged for a teenage neighbor to come over and "hang out" with Jude while Jimmy works on Thursday night (apparently, he is much too old for a "babysitter"), and have left money for him in an envelope on the mantel.

I have arranged for a sleepover on Friday night, and a ride to a party at the beach on Saturday. I have printed out detailed directions to all of these places, with numerous phone numbers for everyone involved.

I have filled the refrigerator with a massive amount of simple-to-prepare and/or frozen foods. I have affixed Post-it notes to various foods saying things like "Eat this" and "Microwave on High for 2 minutes".

I have arranged for him to stay after school on Wednesday and Thursday to ensure that he has time to complete the THREE school projects he has due over the next two weeks.

Okay, Gretchen, breathe in...breathe out. It's all fine. It will all be fine. How bad could it get? No, don't think about it. Just think about this...

Carnegie Hall - the view from the stage.

I'll try to check in with y'all during the week. Ooo, maybe I'll even Tweet. I could do that, I could Tweet.

Wish me luck!! And wish Jimmy luck too!

Posted at 09:59 PM in Attempts at Parenting, Cool, Man, Day-to-Day La-Dee-Dah, I'm a Disaster, Marital Bliss, My Child, My Choir | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

05/02/2013

Spin Cycle: Practice, Practice, Practice

I hate bucket lists.

Yes, I know I assigned "Bucket List" to you all as your Spin Cycle topic of the week, and now I'm saying I hate them. I don't hate other people's bucket lists, I just hate the idea of making one for myself.

I feel like it would just be setting myself up for failure. There are SOOOOOO many things I want to do in my life, and SOOOOOOO many places I want to go. And realistically, I won't get to most of them. I know it. So putting them down on a list is just too depressing.

But every now and then, there's something that you've always dreamed of doing, and never imagined that it could really happen for you, and then it just falls into your lap. Something you can officially check off your mental bucket list...

Y'all may or may not remember that I sing in my church choir. We're a small but mighty group, who sing at the 11:00 mass at Blessed Sacrament Church in Hollywood. We sing good music. I should make that with a capital g - Good music. Like Handel. And Beethoven. And classic hymns. And...Mozart. Hmmm, Wolfie.

A couple of years ago, we were blessed to get a new choral director, Dr. Joe. Doctor as in PhD. He's wonderfully talented and great fun too. Well, Joe has been invited to conduct Mozart's Requiem. In New York. At...brace yourselves...Carnegie Hall.

And yes, we are going with him.

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

And so, in three weeks, on May 22, I'll be flying to New York. We have rehearsals on Thursday and Friday, and then at 8:00 pm, Saturday, May 25 I will actually be performing in Carnegie Hall. I am so excited I could spit.

We will be part of a large chorus, composed of 5 choirs, and Joe will be conducting us along with a professional symphony and professional NYC soloists. A tiny voice in the large group. But I don't care, it's something that every performer anywhere always dreams of.

Now granted, I'm not performing based on my own personal talent or merit, but simply because I'm lucky enough to be in Joe's choir. But I don't care.

I don't know if any of you know Mozart's Requiem. It's one of the most beautiful and thrilling pieces of choral music ever written. I get goosebumps during every rehearsal. It's Big Good music - that's two capital letters. You may remember it as the last piece of music that Mozart wrote at the end of Amadeus, when he's dying and going sort of crazy and Salieri helps him notate the music.

Remember that part?

It is good stuff, y'all. Here's a video of the Dies Irae movement...

Outrageous, right?! I honestly don't know if I can describe the thrill that comes from singing something this beautiful in a choir. Especially a choir of people you love. And the idea of this choir that I love together in a huge choir + symphony + soloists in the most famous venue in the world is just mind-blowing. Here's the Kyrie...

We've been practicing hard, because we really want to sound good for Joe.

But more importantly, what am I going to wear?! Does anybody have a long black skirt I can borrow? Where does one even purchase a long black skirt?

If any of you are in the NYC area, and want to see a performance of Mozart's Requiem at Carnegie Hall, let me know. I have a connection for discounted tickets.

So I guess the answer to the age old question "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" isn't "Practice, practice, practice." but " Know Joe."

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Check out the other "Bucket List" spinners. Have you crossed off anything on their lists?

Vandy J at The Testosterone Three and Me!

Janice at I Got Nothing

Nain at View From Down Here - NEW on FRIDAY

Mama Badger at Out of the Boondocks and Into the Burbs - WELCOME BACK TO THE SP!

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Next week on The Spin Cycle...

Obsession

This one is for Jan at Jan's Sushi Bar.

I know we've all had them. Something we get so ridiculously involved in that we sort of lose our minds.

I mean, you might not be as bad as this lady...

Really, really likes dalmations.

or this guy...

Definitely becoming a problem.

But I bet you've had something that has just gotten a little out of hand, and kind of taken over your life.

Spin it. Post it. Tell me. I'll link it!

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Posted at 10:24 PM in Cool, Man, For Your Listening Pleasure, My Choir, Spin Cycle, YouTubing | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack (0)

04/01/2013

RTT: Easter, The Giving Tree and Ironic

It is Spring Break here in Second Blooming World. Which means I survived Holy Week and Easter. Not an easy feat, as I'm supposed to sing with my choir in 4 church services, including a 3 hour Good Friday service, and a 2 1/2 hour Holy Saturday mass. I ended up missing the Holy Thursday mass, because I was at Jude's track meet for SEVEN HOURS and missed it.

Easter Sunday was quite lovely. It started with what may well be Jude's last Easter egg hunt. He still believes, but just baaaaaaaaarely. And maybe only because he wants those eggs. He did suggest to me that next year we leave a note for the bunny, asking him to hide the eggs better, so he'd have more of a challenge.

"Lame" egg hunt

The view from the choir loft before church.

Choir with hats.

Jude with Lynn and Darren's daughters.

Then after church, we went to an excellent brunch at The Hungry Cat and gorged ourselves on seafood and eggs. After which, I curled up in my bed and played Farmville and watched Absolutely Fabulous on DVD. Which I consider an excellent end to a busy week.

You'll all be happy to know that my tiny virtual Farmville farm survived my Lenten games sacrifice without any loss of tiny virtual life. I know you were all worried.

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So, what is Jude doing for Spring Break? He'll be going to a fabulous resort in Palm Springs for 4 days of rest and relaxation. What are Jimmy and I doing? Nothing. That's right, the child is going with his friends, and not us. I'm so jealous I could spit. I'm hoping to use the time to catch up on my writing and various other tasks that I have let fall behind. Though I'm more likely to waste all of my time on my aforementioned tiny virtual farm.

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My friend Juliet told me this story the other day, and it's so terrible and yet hilarious that I knew I MUST share. Her daughter is in the CCD class at the church affiliated with Jude's school. The class is preparing for their first communion. The priest who leads the class (who shall remain nameless) decided that for a treat, he would show them a video of Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree, which he located on YouTube. Unfortunately, he failed to watch the video before showing it to a church full of 7-year olds. Please enjoy...

Oh yes, he did. Apparently, the poor priest managed to get the video turned off before things got really ugly, but not before freaking the crap out of all the children!

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Y'all should check this out - Where Should I Shop?

It's a site which lists and gives links to top shopping sites around the internet, divided into 39 categories, from Alcohol to Weddings. I like it because it not only gives the usual Amazon and Etsy links, but also lesser-known sites like AbeBooks and Coriandr. Pretty handy.

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Hehe.

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Becky, the Suburban Matron [I must insert here that just then, when I typed the word Suburban, I accidentally wrote Subourbon - which was almost certainly a Freudian slip, and would make a great title for something] posted this on Facebook last week, and I COMPLETELY identified.

Do y'all do this? I probably refer to my kid as "Dude" as often as I do by his name. I can't stop myself from saying things like 'sup and yo, which sounds completely idiotic coming out of the mouth of a middle-aged white woman. And I keep using silly rhyming phrases like "Easy peasy" and "Awesome Possom". What stupid slang words did you start out using ironically, but now just use like they're real words?

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That's it. GO see Stacy!

Posted at 10:04 PM in Attempts at Parenting, Cool, Man, Day-to-Day La-Dee-Dah, I'm a Disaster, Just Silly, My Child, My Choir, Pop Cultured, Random Thoughts Tuesday, Ranting/Complaining | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)

02/28/2013

Spin Cycle: Sometimes

Sometimes, I'll confidently walk into a room, filled with purpose, and absolutely focused on completing some very important task, something that would, no doubt, make our life infinitely better, but then I stop...and have absolutely no idea what I was about to do.

Sometimes, I get so excited when Jude's loving a book he's reading, that I'll hover just outside his bedroom door and surreptitiously watch him curled up with his book, on the verge of tears because it makes me so happy. And if he begs for me to let him stay up for "Just one more chapter!", I always let him, no matter how late it is.

Sometimes, I look into a mirror, expecting to see myself there, but instead, I see this slightly frumpy, saggy, middle-aged woman, who looks very, very much like...my mother.

Sometimes, I get tired of being Jimmy's straight man. Just once, I want to be the funny one. But then I once again find myself drawn into setting up the joke for him - I'm always the George Burns and he's always the Gracie.

Sometimes, I just assume that everyone likes me. But then, if I think about it, I realize that this is most likely not true.

Sometimes, I get secret joy from embarrassing Jude in public. I just can't seem to stop myself from singing a Christmas carol at the top of my lungs in the grocery store in April or some such thing. I know how much he hates it, but I do it anyway. I have no excuse for this behavior.

Sometimes, I wake up in the morning absolutely inspired to complete all of the many, many tasks I need to do, but then, somehow, I end up doing absolutely nothing all day but watching British tv shows which I've DVRed and fiddling on the internet.

Sometimes, I toss and turn in bed at night, unable to sleep. And after a while, I realize that the problem is that there is a tiny grain of sand, or maybe a tiny crumb underneath me. After I managed to flick it out of the bed, I'm good to go. I'm a total Princess and the Pea.

Sometimes, I find myself deliberately trying not to love our little dog, Fancy, too much, because I'm afraid she'll die and I won't be able to handle it. Then, I find myself deliberately trying to love her even more, because I'm afraid she'll die and I won't be able to handle it.

Sometimes, when I daydream, I plan my own funeral. I know all the music that my choir would perform, and who would sing the solos. It will be extremely dramatic and powerful. And I know exactly which people should eulogize me, who I know I can trust to strike just the right chord of humor and dignity. Many, many people will attend, and everyone will cry and cry. It's going to be fabulous.

Sometimes, I look at gorgeous bathrooms in magazines, rooms with huge, luxurious tubs with jacuzzis surrounded by candles, and while part of me desperately wishes that I had such a room, another part of me is afraid of them, because I already spend way too much time soaking in our plain jane old tub, and I think that if I had some kind of amazing bathroom sanctuary, I might never come out of there.

Sometimes, late at night, I sneak into Jude's room, kneel down next to his bed, bury my face deep into his neck and inhale. I'll just kneel there, smelling him for a rather long time.

Sometimes, I know that I will continue to sneak in and smell my boy until he is a grown up man, which I realize could possibly be considered creepy. I hope that he doesn't wake up and catch me and I am forced to pay for years of therapy to help him overcome this trauma.

Sometimes, I absolutely do not want to go to my choir rehearsal. It's late and I'm tired and I have to get up early the next morning and yada, yada, yada. But then I always force myself to go, I draaaaaaag my butt down there. And I'm ALWAYS glad I went because I love it. But then the next week I have completely wiped this knowledge from my memory and do not want to go to my choir rehearsal again.

Sometimes, I'm mortified that Jude will someday find out about all of the many naughty things I did in my ill-spent youth.

Sometimes, I think I was born to the wrong life. I would have done veeeeery well with more wealth and privilege.

Sometimes, I dream about moving to a peaceful place, some quiet, idyllic seaside town, far away from the hustle and bustle. But then I remember that quiet and idyllic bore the hell out of me.

Sometimes, I miss my parents so much that I close my eyes and try to remember exactly how their skin felt, what it felt like to hold each of their hands, their smells, the sound of their voices. And I can. And then I wonder if Jude will some day do the same with my memory, and I hope that my touch and smell are pleasant things to remember.

Sometimes, I go shopping for clothes, making my way around the store, gathering an armload of stuff I want to try on. But when I get into the dressing room, I realize that every single garment I chose, would have looked good on my body 15 years ago, but nowadays? Mmmm...no. I just can't seem to train myself to shop for clothing that is appropriate for my new age and size.

Sometimes, when Jude is doing something particularly good and saintlike, I worry that maybe he should do something really awful really quick, because if he's too virtuous God might take him from me, like those children who die young and become little angels. I realize that this is in no way rational.

Sometimes, I think I should stop hosting The Spin Cycle because I just don't have the time or energy to work at making it grow. I'm just not a "go-getter". But then I find a spin that I really love, like this "Sometimes" spin, inspired by the amazing Arnebya, and I decide that I love it and will never give it up.

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Sometimes, you MUST go and check out all the other "Sometimes" spins!!

Janice at I Got Nothing

Scriptor at Incognitus Scriptor

Vandy J at The Testosterone Three and Me

Arnebya at What Now and Why? -INSPIRED BY HER OWN SELF!

Suzicate at The Water Witch's Daughter

Kendra at Life in the slow lane

Ginny Marie at Lemon Drop Pie

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Next week on The Spin Cycle...

Why...?

Inspired by Vandy J's "Why?" section of her "Sometimes" post this week, which was inspired by Arnebya's post...are you following me here? As I said last week about Arnebya, if you don't read Vandy, you SHOULD. I'm very excited because in a couple of weeks I get to actually meet and hang out with Vandy in real life! Aren't you jealous? Check out Vandy's "why?" post HERE. Then make it your own.

Write it, post it, let me know, I'll link it!

Share your spin!
Highlight the code.
Copy to your HTML.
Et voila! Linked!

Posted at 09:53 PM in Aging Gracefully?, Attempts at Parenting, Bookishness, Day-to-Day La-Dee-Dah, I'm a Disaster, Mama and Daddy, My Child, My Choir, Ranting/Complaining, Spin Cycle, Sweet Stuff | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

11/22/2012

Spin Cycle: Giving Thanks

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for...

Jimmy, my weird husband. I love him despite his weirdness. And quite possibly because of his weirdness. Yes, he is high-maintenance. Yes, he has his issues. But he has a tremendous heart, and great integrity, and I believe the fact that he is universally beloved by old people, babies, special-needs children and dogs, is testament to the true nature of his spirit.
My boy, Jude. Every day, I thank God for the gift that is Jude, for entrusting him to me in this lifetime. I truly understand how blessed I am to have been able to finally have a child at the advanced age of 42, many women cannot. He is my light and my joy. Even when he's a pain in the butt.
Having had my Mama and Daddy. I miss them tremendously. They died too soon. But I would much rather have had a short time with these two loving, intelligent, fine people, than a lifetime with lesser parents.
Jimmy's family. Mommy, Pop, Aunt Grace, Tony, Niki, aaaaaaaaall of the extended Italian family. I came to them as a very tall, non-Italian, Texan, orphan, and they whole-heartedly took me in and embraced me as family. I am blessed to have them for me, and doubly blessed to have them for Jude. A boy needs grandparents (I never had any) and he couldn't ask for better.
My family and friends in Texas. Though I don't get to see much of them lately, just knowing that they are there, that I still have a link to my past and my childhood, that there are people who remember the child I was, gives me comfort. Plus, they're a lot of fun.
Friends. I'm blessed with a number of amazing, quality people around me who I believe truly have my back. I like to think that I have theirs as well.
Jude's tiny Catholic school. I have found a tremendously close-knit, loving, supportive, like-minded community, who believe in nurturing a child's body, mind and spirit. I may not adore every aspect of the place, or every teacher (or every parent - oops, did I say that?), but I wouldn't want him to be anyplace else. Plus, they're a lot of fun too - we Catholics love to party!
My church and church choir. What are the odds that I could find a church that is so liberal, with a choir that is so traditional? Always a joy.
Our sweet little house. It's not fancy. It's not big. But it is ours. And it's home.
Fancy, our dog. The sweetest little dog on the planet.
Health. My health, Jimmy's health, Jude's health, the in-law's health. Don't ever want to take that for granted.
Work when I can get it. I'd like to get more of it. But I'm grateful for what I get.
My writer's group. We've only been together for a few months, but this small group of women have been instrumental in getting me focused on some real writing. It's become a safe place, much "this can't leave this room" sharing is done. I look forward to it every month.
My old friends from college, who I've reconnected with. The best people on earth, and truly, the funniest human beings I've ever known. I adore them all.
Jude's Fourth Grade teacher, Miss Johnson. (Cue the music) Haaaaalelujah! I am LOVING this young woman. She's new this year, and she's also the most creative and most engaging teacher he's had so far. She seems to love teaching, and love all the children. And Jude is doing so well with her! Very happy.
Jude has finally found his sports. After years of watching him struggle with baseball and soccer, he has found his calling. Or callings I should say. That boy can run and swim. He loves it and he's good at it. And a special thank you to Roger, one of the fathers at our school, who has stepped up and stepped in to revamp the athletic department, and created the school's track and cross country teams. Changed my boy's life.
All of you faithful readers. Who read my ramblings and put up with the fact that I am a terrible reader of other people's blogs. I truly apologize, and am grateful for all of you. Even you lurkers who never comment!
Southern California's beautiful weather. Thanksgiving Day? High - 73 degrees. Low - 54 degrees. Couldn't ask for better weather.
Grandma's china/silver/crystal/linens. The one and only benefit of being the soul survivor of your family - you inherit it all. I love, love, love setting a table with all of Grandma's beautiful and elegant belongings.
The love of cooking and entertaining. I really do love it - preparing a special meal and serving it for special guests. It's one of my favorite things to do. And I think of what Thanksgiving must be for folks who don't much enjoy the preparation, and it must be a real drag.
This year's table of Thanksgiving guests. Family, friends, friends who are like family. Beautiful people, every one. Love them all.
Leftovers. Enough said.
That nice hot bath at the end of the night with a big glass of Cran-Bourbon Orange cocktail. Aaaaaah!

I hope you all had a beautiful, love-filled Thanksgiving that was as excellent as mine.

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Thankful spinners...

Vandy J at The Testosterone Three and Me - THANKS #!

Vandy J at The Testosterone Three and Me - THANKS #2!!

Nain at View From Down Here

Vandy J at The Testosterone Three and Me - THANKS #3!!!

Kendra at Life in the slow lane - NEW on THURSDAY!

Stacy at Stacy Uncorked - NEW on FRIDAY!

I am thankful for all of you!

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Next week on The Spin Cycle...

Holiday Cookie Exchange

It's the countdown to the holidays! And while it might prove tricky if we were to all try to actually send cookies to each other, I would love for us all to share our favorite holiday cookie recipes!!

Grandma Betty's Snickerdoodles? Cousin Mary Frances' Fudge? Aunt Hulga's Berlinerkransers? Share all your favorites! Your one very favorite recipe or a whole batch!

Spin it. Post it. I'll link it!

Share your spin!
Highlight the code.
Copy to your HTML.
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Posted at 11:05 PM in Cast of Characters, Fancy, Mama and Daddy, Marital Bliss, My Child, My Choir, Nutty Family, Spin Cycle, Sweet Stuff | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)