Less sick.

My fever has broken. I can eat popsicles and ice cream sandwiches and crackers. Toast and butter is a little iffy. I had two naps today. I went to a brief choir practice tonight.

I think it's possible I may return to the working world tomorrow.

August 1995

August 1995.

That's the last time I vomitted. It's not something I do.

Until this morning.

I've spent the whole day fighting off waves of nausea, and I'm having a hard time maintaining a sitting position. Sort of ironic considering I got a flu shot last week.

All we like sheep.

My computer froze just as I hit the post button. Grr. This is Take Two.

I've spent most of the weekend immersed in Handel's Messiah. We're currently having our rehearsals at the performance venue with our conductor and the orchestra. Everything is finally coming together.

At first I was miffed because I didn't get a seat in the choir loft. I've spent most of the term trying to establish myself in the back row, but there are so many sopranos and altos that we've been forced to spill over onto the floor behind the orchestra. So now I'm in the front row. The advantage of this is that I can hear the orchestra really well, especially the 2nd oboe, who happens to play the same as the alto part. Plus, I've bonded with some of the other "supplementary" altos, so I think my position is just fine.

Here is a picture from our performance last weekend. See if you can find me. Hint: I don't have grey hair.

Now it's off to practice some more. I'm still a little shaky on some parts, so I want to see if I can improve a bit before tomorrow evening's dress rehearsal.

Tradition!

The first time I saw Fiddler on the Roof was almost two years ago at the Imperial Theatre in Saint John. I made the perilous journey on icy roads to watch a mostly lackluster performance from a touring company. Naturally, I was disappointed, and regretted spending $75 for my seat.

Tonight, I gave the show another chance to win me over, as I attended a production from Fredericton High School. The ticket was still a little pricey for my taste ($18 to see a high school musical?), but I think I almost got my money's worth.

Fiddler follows the characters of Tevye, his wife, and their five daughters as they struggle to keep their traditional ways in a rapidly changing world. It's a classic musical with many familiar songs, including the first three songs that open the show: "Tradition", "Matchmaker", and "If I Were a Rich Man". The plot is not the most uplifting one you'll ever see, in fact, the second half is quite sad, but the show manages to strike a balance between tears and laughter.

One of the first things I noticed about FHS's production was the sheer volume of kids onstage. I counted over 100 chorus members in the program, which reminds me of a few prior Colonel Gray shows I've seen. While it's great to see so many kids participating, sometimes having that many cast members affected the flow of the performance. To their credit, the directors attempted to deal with the inflated cast by having them stream into the audience during several songs. I found that this was mostly distracting, except during the "Sabbath Prayer", where clusters of singers throughout the house filled the space with haunting harmonies.

The production was very well cast, particularly Tevye and his family. While Warren Macauley's rendition of "If I Were a Rich Man" fell a little flat vocally, he more than made up for it with his solid acting and ease of movement on stage. He handled Tevye's numerous asides with ease. Adele Dicks was excellent as the sarcastic, sharp-tounged Golde. Ashleigh Brooks, Lauren Richard, and Amy Welcher showed both vocal prowess and natural acting ability as Tevye's daughters, Tzeital, Hodel, and Chava. I also particularly enjoyed Kristy LaPointe's spot-on characterization of Yente the Matchmaker, and the unnamed chorus member with the green vest and grey hat.

Choreography for the show was hit and miss. My favourite dance sequence was during "To Life", a showcase for all the male dancers. It was lively, energetic, and featured impressive acrobatic dancing. I think that some of the other dance sequences suffered because of the overly large cast. It must have been difficult to choreograph the dances for the wedding scene, because two-thirds of the stage were occupied by "mamas" and "daughters". There was also some unfortunate "prancing" moves given to some male characters that seemed a bit out of place.

I also found that some of the blocking choices were a little awkward. For example, during the wedding of Tzeital and Motel, the rabbi was blocking my view of the bride and groom, and the entire cast was virtually motionless, even the characters who were singing. There were a lot of sloppy endings to various scenes and songs, and this seemed to slow down the flow of the performance.

Happily, the production featured a live orchestra. I would compare their ability to that of a typical Charlotteown Rural pit orchestra - they made valiant attempts at sounding good and achieved moderate success a lot of the time. A live orchestra adds so much to my enjoyment of a musical, so I was thrilled to listen to them, muddy sounding or not.

Overall, I was pleased by what I saw. The show's theme of dealing with changes in life struck a personal chord with me. I got goosebumps listening to several songs. I was sad to see many subtle humourous bits of dialogue sail over the audience's heads, but that did not diminish my own amusement. FHS appears to have many talented people involved in their musicals, and I look forward to seeing next year's effort.

Komm. Komm. Komm.

So my Wednesday night choir had our first rehearsal with "Choir I" for our Big, Bad Bach piece. It went remarkably well, and I think we sounded great, probably because the other choir was so good, but I think we "Choir II" people held our own. It was pretty amazing to finally hear the complete piece all the way through. We've been working really hard on it forever, and I think we're going to be really really good.

It makes me really excited for our series of concerts, the first of which is December 5th. Admission is free for students, so everyone should come. We're singing lots of Swedish songs, and we're doing a medley of fabulous Christmas songs with the bad. It's our most exciting concert yet. It's totally doable. All you have to do is get here. My couches are totally available. Piece of cake, right?

But don't worry, there are many many more chances to see Lynda in concert before Christmas. Details to follow...

It's late, and I can't think of a title. Be happy I posted.

I wore my new coat to work today, and my coworkers were suitably impressed. It's about time. I have been subtly introducing new wardrobe items for the past two weeks, and no one has batted an eyelash. Granted, I was exiled in Woodstock for the majority of that time, but still, I wore new stuff when I was in Fredericton expressly for the purpose of being noticed.

I have also just realized that I have a rehearsal/party/commitment/performance every evening from now until December 1st.

And I got my flu shot today, and now my arm is sore. But I'm not sick. Yet.

Hallelujah

Tonight my Tuesday choir had a concert. We performed a French song and selections from Handel's Messiah. We were a little ragged around the edges, but all was forgotten when the Hallelujah chorus started. It's not my favourite part of the Messiah to sing, but it's hard not to feel a rush of overpowering joy when one hundred voices sing while accompanied by an orchestra and every single audience member rises to their feet. This is why I drag myself to rehearsals every week. This is why I've loaded up my downtime with copious quantities of choir activities. I love performing.

Lynda's Noisy Day

Today Lynda's Downstairs Neighbour played music (very loudly) for several hours. So instead of enjoying a leisurely Saturday, Lynda was forced to escape her apartment and shop. She bought a filing cabinet and new speakers.

Lynda wonders when she is going to stop shopping for herself and start her Christmas shopping.

Once her apartment was finally quiet, Lynda made a loaf of bread, watched this week's Heroes (hoohoo!), and had a bubble bath.

Itchy itchy scratchy scratchy.

Right now, my back is covered in numbers and hives. They're remnants of my allergy testing. It was my latest attempt to figure out why my nose has been stuffed up for months. Turns out I'm really allergic to dust. As in, the minute my back was scratched, it started to itch. A lot. It still itches. I'm also allergic to trees and ragweed.

The funny thing is, I knew I was allergic to dust. The reason I know this is whenever I do heavy-duty "spring cleaning", my nose fills up, my eyes get watery, and I can't stop sneezing. Same thing happens when I put on a sweater I haven't worn in a while.

So this makes me glad that I got rid of the 30 year old mattress that used to live in my bedroom. It also makes me want to get my vacuum fixed, buy new pillows and a mattress pad, and scratch my back with some sort of sharp instrument to relieve the itching. Maybe I'll just go take my new medicine.

George is the best.

Thanks, CTV, for screwing up Grey's. Again. I really didn't want to see what happened after Alex kissed Izzie in the stairwell. I'm so glad that Employee X decided to start the commercial break at that very moment. Commercials are always more fun to watch that the actual show. Seriously.

How much do I love George's dad? I really hope he doesn't die. And I also really hope that he's not going to keep showing up every season as a patient in the hospital. Because that could get old. That is, of course, if Grey's lasts another season. And I'm sure it will, but I'm finding that my passionate enthusiasm for this show is settling into a gentle fondness, and I'm wondering when the rest of the tv audience will start to feel the same.

Also, kudos to ER for making me cry two weeks in a row. I'm a sucker for homeless kids with rabies. Gets me every time.

Sing your own special song.

So, my dearest iPod Mini appears to be on its last legs. It doesn't seem to want to hold its charge for any longer than an hour, which is most inconvenient, because it means I have to charge it every time I use it. And sometimes it's really finicky, and will only work for 15 minutes before dying.

This makes me want to buy a new mp3 player. Perhaps a Nano? Or a regular iPod? Or should I switch brands? The advantage of sticking with the iPod is I can use my Airmiles and buy giftcards for Chapters/Indigo, and then purchase the iPod, which reduces my actual cost. Plus they're so pretty. I am, however, open to suggestions.

Update: So now I'm thinking I'll go for the new Shuffle, which will meet my needs very well. I'm mostly using my iPod while running/walking, and while in the car. I've only been using one playlist, so I don't think I'll need the display screen or a lot of storage. And, if I use my gift cards, it will be basically free!

Okay, time for bed.

Monday morning, it was all I hoped it would be.

Today was a great day, and by great, I mean fantastic. This was likely due to the fact that I didn't have to get up early, and also because I didn't have to work. I didn't get out of bed until 11:00, after which I watched last night's Studio 60 while enjoying a leisurely breakfast. I didn't even leave the house until the afternoon. I ran some errands, went for a walk, and went grocery shopping with Michelle. Super nice.

I am a bit worried, though, about my recent lack of prowess in the kitchen. I had another food failure this evening. Granted, the only mistake I made was buying the package of Lipton Sidekicks at the grocery store and thinking that it would be tasty, but still, I just want to eat something yummy and nourishing. A girl can only have so many granola bars and Oreo thinsations. To that end, tonight I bought another pork tenderloin, and it's marinating as we speak. As long as I can remember to remove the marinade before roasting it tomorrow night, it should come out edible. I shall conquer this!

12 of 12 - November 2006

Well, this month's 12 of 12 sure did creep up on me! It's Chad Darnell's idea. Enjoy!

1:51 a.m. Holy frickety frack. SNL was actually funny. I laughed out loud several times, especially during the Tony Bennett sketch!


10:47 a.m. I had great plans to go to 9:00 church, then clean my apartment, then go for a run, then head off for rehearsal. But who wants to get up early on a rainy day? Not me.


11:29 a.m. I did make it to 11:30 church. I was only a little late. Hey, I made it before the Gospel reading, and that's all that counts.

12:41 p.m. I was taking the poppy off my jacket when I realized that I think I lost the earring back that I was using to secure it to my lapel. It must be around somewhere...

12:50 p.m. This guy was in my class in Grade 9. And he's on the tv.

4:17 p.m. I went to my show rehearsal, where we sang Christmas songs for a few hours. Then I got ambitious and decided to go for a run.

4:19 p.m. Did I mention that it was raining outside?

5:02 p.m. Did you know that if you go for a run in the rain you get wet?

6:49 p.m. Once I dried off, I made some french fries for supper. After my culinary failures from yesterday (disasterous baked oatmeal and pizza), I wanted to make something that required minimal cooking skills.

7:24 p.m. Then I downloaded some of the songs I'm learning for my Wednesday night choir so I can practice my Swedish.

9:07 p.m. Off to Michelle's apartment to watch a movie! I was actually there for longer than five minutes!

9:12 p.m. Bonus Pic! I am very thankful that I have the privilege of drinking Pepsi from a glass bottle.

9:30 p.m. We watched The Barbarian Invasions. If you haven't seen it, you should watch it, too. Have some kleenex nearby.

And now, off to bed. Yay for statutory holidays, because I don't have to work tomorrow!

Insert joyful exclamation here.

Anne of Green Gables - '70s BBC Anne of Avonlea


Double squee! How delightful is this gem? How cool is it to see Barbara Hamilton as Marilla? She was the original Marilla in Charlottetown, and I think she also performed the role in the West End production. I love her accent, and I love hearing the other actors try to sound Canadian.

Must. Have. This.

I spy.

Today I celebrated the end of a most busy workweek by seeing Stranger than Fiction with Michelle. I wore my contacts to the movie theater, which is a big deal, because I can count on my hands the number of times I've worn them in public. I got them so I can be on stage and not have any glare, and with several concerts looming, I thought it was time to practice.

When I wear my contacts, I feel so odd. For one thing, everything looks bigger. I'm amazed at how huge my hands are. I've always insisted I have short, stubby fingers, because that's how they look when I have my glasses on. Turns out they're a little less stump-like and a little more normal-ish.

There's also the fact that when I look in the mirror, I don't recognize my face. I think I look ridiculous, and that I resemble my dad's side of the family. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but wearing my glasses seems to counteract my more manly facial features.

And at the moment, I'm seeing fuzzy halos around objects in my right eye. Plus my eyes are tired of focusing and everything is getting blurry. Methinks it's time to put my eyes to bed.

Blaf.

History: Patient has spent the last three days working at a feverish pace in an isolated, poorly-ventilated, crowded room up the river. She reports occasional right-sided tinnitus and the desire to bang her head repeatedly against the wall and/or hide under her desk. She also reports dreaming about hearing aids and making earmolds and having difficulty composing sentences that aren't audiologicially related.

Results: Results of testing showed normal auditory function bilaterally, however, patient appears slightly giddy yet cranky.

Recommendations: 1. Patient should take the rest of the week off. Or perhaps the rest of the month. 2. Retest on request.

One day more.

Let it snow!

This is the sight that greeted me this morning - 2 to 4 cm of snow. My initial delight at the season's first snowfall was soon squashed by the terrible highway conditions. My zippy one hour drive to Woodstock turned into a cautious one hour and forty-five minute crawl. Of course, the roads were fine on the way home, and I'm really glad I nixed plans to stay overnight up river.

I know the snow won't last, because it's supposed to be 10 degrees tomorrow. So today, I took a few minutes to breathe in the thick, snowy air and revel in the loveliness of it all. Hopefully there's more on the way!

I made this.

Behold the lastest addition to the walls of my apartment. I made it all by myself. I've been wanting something green on that wall for the longest time, and on Friday night, I was inspired to create this. It's basically painted squares of canvas held together with S-hooks. The cool part is I can switch the squares around to change the pattern if I want. It's not perfect, but I kinda like it.

This week I'm doing another mini Ear Fest in Woodstock. It's a long, exhausting, useless exercise, and it tends to prompt posts like this one. This time I'm attempting to maintain my sanity, so I'm only doing four extra clinics instead of a whole month's worth. Bring it on.

Hello shopping karma.

Well. There was a "20% off" sale at the mall today.

After a three hour shopping adventure, I now own a black jersey-knit wrap dress. It's suitable for Christmas party-type functions. Feel free to invite me to one, because I will be most appropriately attired. I also now own a brown pair of magic pants, which Michelle has graciously offered to shorten for me. My apartment will also be happy with the addition of some artificial plants, candle holders, and picture frames.

I spent the rest of the day working on an art project for one of my walls. It's still in development, so I don't have full details at the moment. Suffice it to say there is lots of green involved. I'll keep you posted.

Squee! Skating on tv!!

It's been a long summer without skating. I know Skate America was last week, but for me, the skating season really starts with Skate Canada. Right now I'm watching the men's short program, and our own Vaughn Chipeur just laid down a personal best program with most excellent jumps. So exciting!

Earlier this evening I saw the original dance. I'm not the biggest fan of the tango as a dance rhythm, because it seems to produce melodramatic programs full of contorted facial expressions and wildly flailing arm movements. I really did enjoy the delightfully "gentle" tango of Dubreuil and Lauzon and the razor-sharp tango of Virtue and Moir, even if both pairs used the same song.

And, I can't believe Rod Black shaved off his moustache! What the heck? However, just when I thought the world was coming to an end, there was the obligatory "Elvis" love-fest of the telecast, followed shortly by the numerous obligatory Buttle/Sandhu references, with a few "Kurt Browning" and "Brian Orser" moments thrown in. So predictable, CTV/TSN.

About Grey's...

Okay, so remember when I was vehemently opposed to the Izzie/Denny thing? Well, same goes for this whole business with Cristina/Burke. How are they getting away with this? It's so unprofessional! Burke needs to wake up and take control of this situation. And poor Bailey! Don't even try to mess with Bailey. It's not cool. Seriously.

Did everyone else see the name "Robertson" on the OR board tonight? I feel so special! I didn't catch what kind of surgery it was, but hopefully it was ear-related!

And for those of you who saw the preview for next week's episode, I just want you to know that two nights ago I had a dream that me and the people from Grey's were camping in the woods. I even documented my dream in an email to my sister. If by chance next week's show also features a scene with Burke running a bear off the road and hitting a tree, I'm gonna start making my superhero costume.