Ah! Three performances in one day! I think this is easily the most I've done. Sometimes two -- no wait, maybe with Melody Lane we'd have that kind of turn around. I'm so tired, but I had SOOOOOOO much fun! My role wasn't the comedy role, but I got to dance around singing at the top of my lungs. With the little kids this afternoon they only laughed at the wolf. Robyn and I would being acting and singing our hearts out, and all he had to do was walk onstage and they were on the floor laughing. Ah well -- the majority of the studio came tonight, and it was so much fun to perform for them! They liked it! They really liked it! I wish I'd gotten some pictures, but I forgot to get my camera back from Adrian before I left town today. I'm going to go wash the ringlets out of my hair. It's all crusty from hair products, and having to recurl them between shows. Night! I'm still in post performance glow! I think I"ll put off my project until tomorrow morning -- I"m too tired!

Do you ever have one of those days when NOTHING goes right?

This morning I woke up on time, and wound up running late -- go figure. I plugged in the iron, and decided that my new lamp would look much better behind my dining room table...so I tried to slide it behind without actually moving anything. And my table broke -- and fell -- with my sewing machine on it. The machine is fine.

Class was not bad except that I have a project due friday, and no time to do it except between shows tomorrow. But we don't have class. But we do have to slide it under his door before class time tomorrow morning. So I still have to wake up earl.

Choir -- always atrocious. I hate that class with a raving passion. I'm not a mezzo, and I'm singing alto. It was long, and boring, and we're singing bad music.

My coaching with Aslanian went well, and I had time to go to lunch beforehand and sit in the hall with my part-time "boyfriend." His fiance lets me babysit him while she's not around to keep her eye on him.On a bad note, I was relaying a funny "tenor" story to Chris, and VC heard me, and jumped all over my case for telling a story that wasn't true. It was -- I got it straight from Carol. But he gave me the "you know you're making that up" tone of voice, and then proceeded to tell my friends I was sitting with that things like that don't happen in the real world.

Italian was long. I was tired by then. I just wanted out.

AH and then for the fun part! My voice lesson. I walked in and VC asks who's next. The lesson was Adrian's, but since he coudln't come and my recital is pending, he said I could have it. VC started the first rampage. How can he just give lessons away like that? No one does that (actually its very common practice in the studio. We switch lessons about as often as we change socks.) Then for the next 15 minutes, everything I did was wrong. My singing was wrong (you used to be able to do this. Two years ago you had this down! Why can't you do it now?), my reactions were wrong, (What was wrong with that? Stretch? NO! BREATH. Now what was wrong with that? Um, breath? NO! STRETCH! What was wrong with THAT? Um........stretch? NO! BREATH! Now what was wrong this THAT? Um............I don't know? See! That's your problem. You don't pay attention when you sing! You should be paying attention. You need to think more! What's wrong with you today? Is this a bad day? You seem distracted. I can always tell when Rachel's going to have a bad lesson because she gets spacey.) Last week, by the way, the problem was that I was thinking too hard. You see my confusion. Anyway, thank God MY part of the lesson went well once my accompanist came in. But my mood was ruined. And I beat a hasty retreat. To go work with Glenn for another hour. He remembered hearing the "tenor story" before -- so See? It did happen! That's total today one hour of lessons, and two hours of coaching. I should practice some tonight, but I'm going to take a bath and go to bed. It is after all the night before three performances.

ANyway....being :Lent I suppose I should say something about giving things up. Which I am. But my day was so bad that I forgot to think of anything before I got to the service. So: upon post-service reflection I am going to give up: 1) being emotional in my lessons instead of clinical. 2) Looking to other people for my approval and self image instead of to God, who frankly, knows me better. I'm also working on 3) Some relationship issues that came up recently, and then I haven't decided what to take on. I already read my bible and pray daily (Yay new years resolutions) and I don't want to give up chocolate or sweets -- I haven't given up anything material in a long time. I've tried to give up character flaws for the past couple of years. Maybe I'll keep working on giving thanks for everything. Starting with my lesson this afternoon. That should take all night. I'm off to a bath

Thanks to Stacey Fredrick for the following contribution! Too funny for words!

What is a Praise Chorus?

An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city
church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.

"Well," said the farmer, "It was good. They did something different,
>however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns."

"Praise choruses," said his wife, "What are those?"

"Oh, they're okay. They're sort of like hymns, only different," said the farmer.

"Well, what's the difference?" asked his wife.

The farmer said, "Well it's like this: If I were to say to you: 'Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well, that would be a hymn. If, on the other
hand, I were to say to you: 'Martha, Martha, Martha, Oh, Martha,
MARTHA, MARTHA, the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows, the
white
cows, the black and white cows, the COWS, COWS, COWS are in the corn,
are
in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn, the CORN, CORN, CORN.'

Then, if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well that
would be a praise chorus."

What is a Hymn?MA young, new Christian went to his local church usually, but one weekend attended a church in the city. He came home and his wife asked him how
it was.

"Well," said the young man, "It was good. They did something different, however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs."

"Hymns," said his wife, "What are those?"

"Oh, they're okay. They're sort of like regular songs, only different," said the young man.

"Well, what's the difference?" asked his wife.

The young man said, "Well it's like this: If I were to say to you, 'Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well that would be a regular song.

If, on the other hand, I were to say to you: 'Oh Martha, dear Martha, hear
thou my cry. Inclinest thine ear to the words of my mouth. Turn thou thy
whole wondrous ear by and by to the righteous, inimitable, glorious truth.
For the way of the animals who can explain; There in their heads is no
shadow of sense. Hearkenest they in God's sun or his rain unless from the
mild, tempting corn they are fenced. Yea those cows in glad bovine,
rebellious delight,Have broke free their shackles, their warm pens eschewed. Then goaded
by minions of darkness and night, they all my mild Chilliwack sweet corn
have chewed. So look to that bright shining day by and by, where all foul corruptions
of earth are reborn, where no vicious animal makes my soul cry And I no longer see those foul cows in the corn.'

"Then, if I were to do only verses 1, 3, and 4, and do a key change on
the last verse, well, that would be a hymn."

I'm having a melt down. My accompanist isn't going to be here for spring break. My recital hearing is the week we come back from spring break. I have little red riding hood up until thursday before spring break. I'm not happy. In fact I'm very very very stressed out. Back to practicing

I just met my new neighbor -- an assistant football coach, graduate student in sports merchandising? sports something -- um...dang it! Goes to baylor...nice guy.

So this evening I'm going to sew. Definatly. It must be done. My dress is sitting in the living room draped over my wingback chair, screaming at me "finish me! Hurry! You're running out of time!" And my first finger is sliced open. I'm not sure how it happened....but I looked up after cutting up some strawberry glace pie and my finger had a long diagonal line running down it. Oh yes. Hurts like crazy. Try writing without your first finger. yeah. Then try opening doors, turning on your car, signing a reciept....yeah. Its been a blast. Its stopped throbbing, so now it must go back into use. Healed or not. yes.

I saw my rector today. While we were rehearsing. They were having a bike race in Saledo and as we came back from lunch, here comes the rector of my church walking towards me in bike shorts sweating up a storm. That was interested. I've never seen her without a clerical collar on. She did recognise me after a bit -- of course she wasn't planning on seeing me there either. Then Mrs. Dr. VC stopped her to tell her about some friends of hers that had been going to St. Albans for years without ever being approached by a rector. Seems that Janne's going to search them out. yay!

Alright, I'm off to sew! Think happy thoughts in my direction. Where's the neosporin and a bandaid?

Well, that was just the longest rehearsal! Robyn and I went to Saledo at 9 today, arrived at 10, and rehearsed until 4:30. We got through the show 3 times. It's something of an issue of too many cooks. We'll get going, and Ken will stop for something, then VC and his wife will decide they have something that need to be addressed. And usually something does need to be addressed -- but when they all talk at once, it's hard to know where to look! Ok, now I'm going to go sew for a few hours...learn a chant....and then go to bed. I'm SOOOO TIRED!!!!!!

I have a quiz today in orchestration. I'm just going to have to blow it. I practiced and practiced and practiced last night -- no time for homework or studying until after my recital....in 5 weeks. AAAAAAAHHH

I have the hardest recital in the world! I sang through it once today, then parts of it with Glenn later this evening. It's really really really tough -- deceptively simple for parts, and then just stinking hard. It should be good if I pull it off...if not, frightening! And Glenn thinks I need an encore. Would you encore me? really? Ok, so now what for an encore? Chi sa? Non so.