I miss gravy....
Thanksgiving
So...the long Thanksgiving weekend had its ups and downs. Thanksgiving Day itself wasn't that special. I mean, my immediate family had already celebrated earlier this month in order to include Dad, which was great since he unfortunately got stiffed of the opportunity to eat something other than rice & fishheads while stuck in the Pacific Rim on Thanksgiving Day.
Thus, the actual day itself was kind of bland. Not that I didn't get the opportunity to stuff myself. I went to two places, one of which: Grandma's. The visit to Grandma's was the same old song-n-dance:
1. sit down at the table
2. hope grandma's rotating cast of stray cats haven't walked across the table, thereby possibly leaving fur or paw prints (laced with god knows what) on your plate and placesetting
3. have a few helpings of her well-prepared traditional meal
4. during #3, listen to her wax poetic or rant on any of the following topics: dead relatives she hates, dead relatives she loves, blacks, mexicans, a recently deceased relative that I really admired, east saint louis...and much more, though those are the core topics
5. smile and nod during #4
6. feel bad for grandpa--for many reasons
7. have some pie (usually pumpkin or peach...of which she baked both this year)
8. watch football with grandpa (if only because he won't watch anything else...and that's fine...it's his house, after all.)
9. listen to grandma wonder aloud why nobody else has come over...to which I try to avoid responding because I know that the truth isn't always rose-colored.
(I expect to go through a variation of the above on Christmas Day, too.)
It's all so...pathetic? I'm the only relative around that came to see her. I don't say this to claim any sort of moral authority over the rest of my family. Part of me feels bad for her, but I also fully recognize her blatant lack of social skills...which puts people off in the worst way. My family members are somewhat justified in going other places. Don't get me wrong. I love Grandma, just not her mania.
Afterwards, I joined mom to attend another Thanksgiving gathering in Town & Country, given by the daughter of our next door neighbor. The food was great and the Becker/Nash folks we know and love were great to be around, but it was weird to be in a place where you cannot really relate to the other 90% of the guests. As a result, mom and I politely split a bit earlier than we thought we would. Thus ends the official Thanksgiving Day
Since I had no sick desire to witness the downfall of western society at the local shopping center(s), Black Friday was spent drafting and completing a Christmas List (Santa, pleeeeeeeze bring me a futon!), did some cleaning, spent some time generally being a big slob.
Saturday, though, was great fun. Doug hosted Tryptofête 2007 at his new loft in the Lafayette Square area. It was a great way to have a friends-based Thanksgiving after the holiday proper (usually with family) is done. Doug, with some--actually lots of--help from Chef Clark, made a sumptuous meal. We dined on one of the most succulent turkeys...and the gravy was such a great touch. Oh, I could compose a freaking sonnet about how great that gravy was. mmm, mmm, MMMM, HONEY! Good food, good friends, good times.
Church Jobbersmagoo
Over at the Church Job, we're about to begin the crazy Advent season. Aside from the customary singing we do in services, we have two big projects to be accomplished in the next three weeks:
1. The Recording: We've been releasing a recording every Christmas season. Two years ago when I was a newbie to the UACCCC (yes, that's a lot of 'C's), we recorded Gaudete, a collection of Christmas music. Last year was Near to the Heart of God, a collection of hymns and spirituals. This year, it's Choir's Favorites--basically a "greatest hits" album of pieces the choir members like to sing. Among them: "Ave Verum Corpus" (Mozart), "The Lily of the Valley" (spiritual), "Sicut cervus" (Palestrina), "Gloria" (Taverner), and many others. (I'm a little disappointed that one of my submissions--Fauré's "Cantique de Jean Racine"--didn't make the cut, but Scott had good reason to exclude it...honestly, there'd be a buttload of French to learn, and we're short on time as it is.) We hammer out the recording in two sessions this coming Sunday and the following Wednesday, for a possible release before Christmas services roll around.
2. Vivaldi Magnificat: Near the time of major Church holidays, it's always fun to treat the congregation to a classical work with orchestra. Last xmas, we sang the Bach Magnificat and so we follow up this year with Vivaldi's setting...well, one of the versions of it, anyway :) I'm not a huge fan of Vivaldi, but I'm enjoying delving into his harmony and structure, which definitely keeps me on my toes, musically.
Auditions?
I've been looking into several auditions, but I'm looking towards a couple staples: UAO and the MUNY. UAO is doing Elixir (shoot for chorus?), Otello (probably cannot do it) and Carmen (gunning for two roles in this one, fo sho!). The MUNY...well, something tells me that I'm going to have to take the dancing a little more seriously than I did last year. I just hope that for the first round, I'm put with a group that sings especially for Paul Blake. I really want to prove to him this time that I'm worth it.
I'd previously mentioned New Line's Assassins as a distinct possibility for auditioning... but... their website has not mentioned anything about auditions. In fact, they've got an audition posting for High Fidelity which comes a few months AFTER Assassins. I've emailed the company about it...but I also realize that the artistic director may have just pre-cast the whole thing. It's plausible, as that show has a relatively small cast and he's amassed a decent repertory of local actors over the past decade. I give this one a few more weeks, then I'm done with it...
Ok, g'bye folks.
So...the long Thanksgiving weekend had its ups and downs. Thanksgiving Day itself wasn't that special. I mean, my immediate family had already celebrated earlier this month in order to include Dad, which was great since he unfortunately got stiffed of the opportunity to eat something other than rice & fishheads while stuck in the Pacific Rim on Thanksgiving Day.
Thus, the actual day itself was kind of bland. Not that I didn't get the opportunity to stuff myself. I went to two places, one of which: Grandma's. The visit to Grandma's was the same old song-n-dance:
1. sit down at the table
2. hope grandma's rotating cast of stray cats haven't walked across the table, thereby possibly leaving fur or paw prints (laced with god knows what) on your plate and placesetting
3. have a few helpings of her well-prepared traditional meal
4. during #3, listen to her wax poetic or rant on any of the following topics: dead relatives she hates, dead relatives she loves, blacks, mexicans, a recently deceased relative that I really admired, east saint louis...and much more, though those are the core topics
5. smile and nod during #4
6. feel bad for grandpa--for many reasons
7. have some pie (usually pumpkin or peach...of which she baked both this year)
8. watch football with grandpa (if only because he won't watch anything else...and that's fine...it's his house, after all.)
9. listen to grandma wonder aloud why nobody else has come over...to which I try to avoid responding because I know that the truth isn't always rose-colored.
(I expect to go through a variation of the above on Christmas Day, too.)
It's all so...pathetic? I'm the only relative around that came to see her. I don't say this to claim any sort of moral authority over the rest of my family. Part of me feels bad for her, but I also fully recognize her blatant lack of social skills...which puts people off in the worst way. My family members are somewhat justified in going other places. Don't get me wrong. I love Grandma, just not her mania.
Afterwards, I joined mom to attend another Thanksgiving gathering in Town & Country, given by the daughter of our next door neighbor. The food was great and the Becker/Nash folks we know and love were great to be around, but it was weird to be in a place where you cannot really relate to the other 90% of the guests. As a result, mom and I politely split a bit earlier than we thought we would. Thus ends the official Thanksgiving Day
Since I had no sick desire to witness the downfall of western society at the local shopping center(s), Black Friday was spent drafting and completing a Christmas List (Santa, pleeeeeeeze bring me a futon!), did some cleaning, spent some time generally being a big slob.
Saturday, though, was great fun. Doug hosted Tryptofête 2007 at his new loft in the Lafayette Square area. It was a great way to have a friends-based Thanksgiving after the holiday proper (usually with family) is done. Doug, with some--actually lots of--help from Chef Clark, made a sumptuous meal. We dined on one of the most succulent turkeys...and the gravy was such a great touch. Oh, I could compose a freaking sonnet about how great that gravy was. mmm, mmm, MMMM, HONEY! Good food, good friends, good times.
Church Jobbersmagoo
Over at the Church Job, we're about to begin the crazy Advent season. Aside from the customary singing we do in services, we have two big projects to be accomplished in the next three weeks:
1. The Recording: We've been releasing a recording every Christmas season. Two years ago when I was a newbie to the UACCCC (yes, that's a lot of 'C's), we recorded Gaudete, a collection of Christmas music. Last year was Near to the Heart of God, a collection of hymns and spirituals. This year, it's Choir's Favorites--basically a "greatest hits" album of pieces the choir members like to sing. Among them: "Ave Verum Corpus" (Mozart), "The Lily of the Valley" (spiritual), "Sicut cervus" (Palestrina), "Gloria" (Taverner), and many others. (I'm a little disappointed that one of my submissions--Fauré's "Cantique de Jean Racine"--didn't make the cut, but Scott had good reason to exclude it...honestly, there'd be a buttload of French to learn, and we're short on time as it is.) We hammer out the recording in two sessions this coming Sunday and the following Wednesday, for a possible release before Christmas services roll around.
2. Vivaldi Magnificat: Near the time of major Church holidays, it's always fun to treat the congregation to a classical work with orchestra. Last xmas, we sang the Bach Magnificat and so we follow up this year with Vivaldi's setting...well, one of the versions of it, anyway :) I'm not a huge fan of Vivaldi, but I'm enjoying delving into his harmony and structure, which definitely keeps me on my toes, musically.
Auditions?
I've been looking into several auditions, but I'm looking towards a couple staples: UAO and the MUNY. UAO is doing Elixir (shoot for chorus?), Otello (probably cannot do it) and Carmen (gunning for two roles in this one, fo sho!). The MUNY...well, something tells me that I'm going to have to take the dancing a little more seriously than I did last year. I just hope that for the first round, I'm put with a group that sings especially for Paul Blake. I really want to prove to him this time that I'm worth it.
I'd previously mentioned New Line's Assassins as a distinct possibility for auditioning... but... their website has not mentioned anything about auditions. In fact, they've got an audition posting for High Fidelity which comes a few months AFTER Assassins. I've emailed the company about it...but I also realize that the artistic director may have just pre-cast the whole thing. It's plausible, as that show has a relatively small cast and he's amassed a decent repertory of local actors over the past decade. I give this one a few more weeks, then I'm done with it...
Ok, g'bye folks.