Catch A Quick Breath

The last series of concerts went very well. I was so proud to sing a choral piece in Hebrew for the first time in my life. Several friends in the community said they saw the concert and loved it.

This week I must re-audition for my chorale. It shouldn't be a big deal, although I'm a bit concerned about the sight-singing. The conductor told us we would have to sing a bit from the big MGM Musicals pops concert repetoire the group performed in March. I learned the entire score, although not as thoroughly as I would have liked. (Remember that I could not sing those concerts because I was still sick.) I'm hoping as long as I can read the score and remember my part that I'll be OK. The other sight-reading will come from Bernstein's Chichester Psalms which we just performed. Thankfully, there is no written test this year.

I am meeting with my book club co-director to discuss books for next month's meeting. We are thinking about The Secret of Lost Things, by Sheridan Hay; Acceptance, by Susan Coll; Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert; and Suite Française, by Irene Nemirovsky. I picked up Lost Things at the bookstore last week and read a few pages. Looks like it will be a captivating story. Several friends read Gilbert's book and loved it, although our group just read a non-fiction book 2 months ago. I'm anxious to read Nemirovsky's book, too. We read The Space Between Us (by Thrity Umrigar) last month, but no one could make the meeting to discuss the book. Needless to say, we're going to add a few new members to the group to enliven the discussion.

WineGuy's car goes into the shop tomorrow. That should read: I am taking his car in to be serviced; I am picking up the loaner; and, then I am driving the boys to school. WineGuy just needs to remember to take my car in the morning. I'm also supposed to take my iMac to the new Apple Store for a check-up. It's been having kernel panic attacks and crashing, which is very un-Maclike. I ran a couple of diagnostics today and backed up my entire system. I haven't had any more crashes or panics today, so I might just postpone my appointment until 2 weeks from now.

Why two weeks? Because we are leaving for a five-day trip to New Orleans on April 25th. It's our family's annual pilgrimage to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. JazzFest is the ultimate musical excursion! Every year, during the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May, stars of the musical world descend on The Big Easy to ply their trade. There is non-stop music from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. daily at the Fairgrounds Racetrack in Mid-City. There is traditional Dixieland Jazz, modern jazz, gospel, zydeco, rock & roll, rap, you name it. We are particularly psyched to hear Bonnie Raitt this year. Last year, in the aftermath of Katrina, JazzFest rose again like the proverbial phoenix. Jimmy Buffett buoyed the crowd and gave everyone hope for the entire Gulf Coast. Oh, and we will eat crawfish, oysters, softshell crabs, sweet tea, snowballs, and everything else under the sun.

After we get back from New Orleans, I have exactly 3 days to wash clothes and get everyone packed for a weekend trip to St. Louis. WineGuy's niece will be Bat Mitzvahed the first weekend of May. The following weekend WineGuy's step-niece will be Bat Mitzvahed in Fort Lauderdale; that's a quick evening trip. The following week I go to Orlando to audition for Jeopardy, and then WineGuy is supposed to attend a convention in DC in late May.

In the midst of all that chaos, I need to plan Wild Thing's 8th birthday party. It will probably be a movie party with his best friend, like we did last year. WT and friend would like to see "Shrek The Third". And, that's not all: we have a Bar Mitzvah to attend locally over Memorial Day Weekend. My niece will be Bat Mitzvahed in DC in June.

A quick breath is about all I have time for. So, what's new with you?