City of Brotherly Love

At last Spring’s annual auction for The Washington Chorus, I was the winning bidder on a live auction item which included a hotel stay in Philadelphia, concert tickets to a performance of the Philadelphia Singers, and a tour of the city with the group's musical director, David, who was a guest conductor for TWC last year. Well, I finally cashed in on the prize this weekend.

KB and I headed to Philadelphia on Saturday. Our trip started at 11:30, as we left my house with plans to stop for lunch along the way, arrive at the hotel around 3:00, check in, then go meet David at a rehearsal he was running for an upcoming performance of Mahler 8. We opted for lunch at Friendly’s, which offered tasty food, but horrific service, as is often the case at Friendly’s. If it weren’t for their Reese’s Pieces sundaes, I wouldn’t set foot in any of their restaurants again.

We got back on the road and arrived in Philly to find a Phillies game about to start, and us in the middle of stadium traffic. Once through it, we made it downtown to get stuck in even worse traffic. We spent close to an hour trying to cross just a handful of blocks to our hotel, avoiding Obama and Hillary demonstrators in the streets, as well as the buses that brought them to the city throughout the week. I left a voicemail for David, saying we weren’t going to make it to his rehearsal, and asking him to call when he was free, so we could make alternate plans. He called a few minutes later and we arranged to meet him in our hotel lobby at 5:00.

KB and I checked in, went to our room to drop our bags and clean up a bit, then back down to the lobby to meet David. He greeted us warmly and off we went on a walking tour of the city.

We walked many blocks, past beautiful historical and architectural sights, enjoying David’s educated and witty commentary about the city. Without a doubt, he offered more fascinating insight than you could expect from the best guidebook or any professional tour guide.

We decided to break at a quaint Belgian pub, where we sidled up to the bar and each chose a beer from their extensive selection; 325 options, to be exact. We talked for a few hours about all things musical: David’s involvement with Curtis, Mannes and the Philadelphia Singers, The Washington Chorus’ extensive search for a new conductor, what KB and I can do as singers to get work as professional soloists, etc.

Now, my closest friends are well aware of my...um..."fondness" for conductors. It all started with John DiCostanzo, my conductor for The Mikado at ONU. It continued with Harry Davidson, the conductor I studied with at the University of Akron. But my fondness hit its peak with David. How could it not? He’s a brilliant conductor with a great sense of humor, and his endearingly crooked smile certainly doesn’t hurt matters. I’d be lying if I said this fondness didn’t motivate me in a small way to bid on this very item at the auction last year.

So there I was, sitting next to David, enjoying a fantastic Belgian beer, laughing, talking like old friends, his hand occasionally resting on my arm to emphasize a particularly vital bit of a story. Then, it happened.

As David talked about his insane rehearsal schedule, bouncing back and forth from Philly to New York every week, KB said, “I don’t suppose you have any pets with that schedule.” David replied, “Well, my partner has a cat and a bird....”

Wait. Did he just say partner? As in life partner? As in... he's gay? At that point, I realized David’s lips were still moving, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying, and everything around us went kind of fuzzy. Okay, so of course I had my suspicions. I mean, how many unmarried, good looking, successful musicians in their 40s are straight? I knew from experience that the odds weren’t in my favor, but I decided to be optimistic for a change. It’s not that I expected to live happily ever after with him by ANY means, but it was fun to live the fantasy, if only for a weekend. Somehow, I managed not to fall off my barstool and pull myself back into the conversation, but the word "partner" was still echoing in my head.

We finished our beers and headed back out for a bit more sightseeing before returning to the hotel. We said our goodbyes for the night and KB and I thanked David for the fantastic tour, then headed up to the room to freshen up before going to a late dinner at Caribou Café (a recommendation from David). As you might suspect, KB and I had a lot to discuss; we talked and laughed about the day’s events over dinner and into the night.

On Sunday, KB and I went out for coffee, then enjoyed a leisurely stroll and lunch at Reading Terminal Market. We returned to the hotel, dressed for the concert, checked out, then walked to the Kimmel Center to meet David. He gave us our tickets, we chatted briefly, then KB and I thanked him for his hospitality before saying goodbye.

The concert opened with Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3 (“Kaddish”). It included narration by a holocaust survivor that was painfully stirring. Thank God for the tissues in my purse. The second half of the concert was a Korngold symphony, but we opted to leave at intermission. We both wanted to hear The Philadelphia Singers, who performed only during Kaddish, so we were ready to get on the road and head home. Which we did, arriving at my place around 6:30.

A very enjoyable, very memorable weekend.

Land that I love

Last night, I attended an Ohio Northern University Alumni Dinner at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in D.C. There were about 80 alums in attendence and the only people I knew were KB and Marty Cosgrove, which was perfectly fine by me. The food was great, the wine was flowing, and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Afterwards, the three of us headed home via the Metro. As we approached the Metro platform to wait for our train, we heard a loud voice shouting from the opposite side of the platform. It was a black man "preaching" about race and the upcoming election. We couldn't make out a lot of what he was saying, but were able to catch a few key words: white people...enslaved the black man...Obama...hate for the white man. Marty said he wished he had a sermon prepared that he could preach back at the guy. I said, "Well, we could sing something." KB liked the idea as well, so we spontaneously started singing God Bless America.

We were a little shy at first, but by the time we got a few lines into it and found people looking our way with smiles of approval, we really let 'er rip. An older gentleman sitting on a nearby bench took his hat off and placed it on the ground at our feet.

By the time we finished the song, the preacher's train had come and gone, but the people standing around us applauded our performance. As the gentleman picked up his hat, he thanked us and said, "That was just great!"

Home

And what a fantastically revitalizing week it was. Ernie and I left last Friday and drove five hours to Stamford, CT. We drove the rest of the way (six hours) on Saturday and arrived in Belgrade Lakes, ME around 4:00 p.m. The cabin was everything I’d hoped it would be—rustic, cozy, comfortable, nestled perfectly in the woods between Belgrade Steam and Great Pond, just far enough out of reach from the rest of the world.

The dock on Great Pond:

View of Great Pond from the dock:

View of the stream from the cabin's back porch:

The boathouse on the stream:

Stream view from the boathouse dock:

It was still sunny and warm when we arrived, so I quickly unloaded the car, unpacked my bathing suit and beach towel, and headed for the clear water of Great Pond. Ernie could not figure out what I was doing, but his curiosity was not enough to get him in the water. I told him he was a sorry excuse for a Lab, but he didn’t seem to mind the insult.

It rained hard all day on Sunday. No matter though. I spent the day reading and being lulled into occasional napping by the sound of raindrops on the roof. A disturbance came when I heard a "tap-tap-tap" coming from somewhere in the cabin. After hunting for the cause of the sound, I found that the fireplace was leaking and the entire hearth was soaked. I dug out a dish pan and old bucket from under the kitchen sink, positioned them in the fireplace to catch the dripping water, and called the rental agency. The voice at the other end of the line said he would call the owners to let them know what was happening, then apologized for the inconvenience. No trouble, really, although it didn’t look at though I’d be enjoying a fire anytime soon.

Monday was another relaxing day of reading, watching movies, browsing through the knick-knack shops in town, and walking in the woods with Ernie.

It rained all day on Tuesday, but I decided to venture out to Freeport anyway. Umbrella in hand, I browsed the beautiful town all day, spending most of my time in L.L.Bean. Man, I love that place! I would gladly take any piece of clothing, any shoes, any...anything...they sell. I bought a computer desk online from L.L.Bean about a year ago. I recently noticed the top of the desk had split, most likely from the heat generated by my laptop. When this was explained in an email to customer service, they apologized and offered a refund or exchange, my choice. Rather than trying to figure out a way to return a piece of furniture by mail, and knowing I’d be in Freeport sometime during my vacation, I decided I’d bring it with me and return it in person. So I went to the service desk, explained the situation and said I had the desk out in my car. I told her that I didn’t bring it in right away because (1) it was too much for me to carry by myself, and (2) it was raining and I’d hoped to find a drop-off location with easy access to the store. The woman was so friendly and kind. She arranged to have a refund check sent ASAP, then explained where I could drop the desk off. "Normally we ask that you drop off the item first, but it’s gross out there today and I don’t want to make you run around in the rain any more than you need to." Perfect! When I dropped the desk off at the loading area, I pointed out the crack in the wood. "Oh, yeah, I see it. But we don't ask why you're returning anything. If you aren't happy, we aren't happy and we'll take it back."

Wednesday was gorgeous. I made an omelet and toast for breakfast, then ate and read on the dock, enjoying the beautiful day. Life doesn’t get much better than that. In the evening, Chris and Angel (or as I prefer to call her, Big Yeller Dog) came down for a visit from Bangor. I showed them the cabin, the stream, the lake, and without hesitation, Angel dove off the dock into the water. I could hardly believe it! I told Ernie, "See? That’s what a real Lab does!"

Chris and I went into Waterville for dinner and a movie. We saw 3:10 to Yuma and both loved it. After coming across a fox, a raccoon and deer on the dark roads that night, we took our time getting home. Since it was after midnight when we walked in the door, and the hour-and-a-half drive back to Bangor wasn’t very appealing, Chris opted to crash at the cabin for the night.

Thursday, the weather was absolutely perfect; clear, blue skies and no more than 70 degrees. I got up with the dogs and let them out to romp in the woods while I sat on the porch, sipping coffee and reading. When Chris awoke, we chatted for a while, then went into town for an outdoor lunch, before he and Angel headed back home. Ernie and I spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching movies.

Friday, I spent the morning packing and cleaning up the cabin. Then Ernie and I enjoyed lunch on the dock before getting on the road around 2:45 p.m., bound for home. I initially thought we’d stop for the night somewhere to break up the trip for Ernie, but he seemed perfectly content in the back seat, so we just kept on driving. We arrived home at 1:20 a.m. on Saturday morning.

An absolutely perfect week.

On Holiday

Tomorrow, Ernie and I will head out of town for vacation: one week in a secluded cabin on a lake in Maine. My co-workers have been asking what I have planned while I’m there. My response is simple: read, nap, watch a movies, swim (if the lake is warm enough), and go to L.L.Bean. That’s about it. "Is that enough to keep you occupied for a whole week?" they ask. Plenty!

I can hardly wait....

New House, Chorus, Softball, etc.

I’ve been a bad blogger lately, posting so infrequently. Here's the latest 411:

I bought a house and moved in over the weekend. (Stay tuned for pictures.) I absolutely love my new home. The apartment I had was nice, but I didn’t realize how noisy it was…doors slamming, the almost constant murmur of a neighbor’s TV or stereo, cars in and out of the parking lot at all hours. Now, when I close my door, I’m in my own little world. It’s heavenly.

I’ve been singing with The Washington Chorus and my first concert with them is Sunday, April 15. Our guest conductor, David Hayes, is brilliant. We’re performing works by American composers: Bernstein, Barber, and Copland. I could do without some of the Copland, but Barber's “Prayers of Kierkegaard” – amazing! We definitely need every minute of our final few rehearsals, but if we can pull everything together, the concert will be fantastic.

My softball team’s season is about to start. Practices start in two short weeks, then games a week after that.

At work, there’s talk of a trip to Thailand and a stop in Kenya sometime in late summer or early autumn. After all the trips to Thailand last summer, I didn’t think I’d ever want to go back, but I think I’m finally ready again. And Kenya? I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Survey Says...

I grew up in a house where the VCR was set to record Jeopardy! every night, so my parents could watch it together after my mom finished teaching piano. That was, and still is, life in the Fischer household.

Game shows. I hate them, my mom loves them. After my dad goes to bed in the evenings, my mom copes with insomnia by flipping on GSN (Game Show Network) and watching old episodes of Family Feud, Password and Match Game (her favorite).

Every so often, I get a message from my mom in which she tells me about something that happened on one of the game shows the night before. As much as I hate the shows, I love reading my mom's messages about them. Today, I got one of those messages:

Subject: Jeez

Tonight on the new Family Feud, one of the championship questions (asked of 100 adults) was 'Name a word that most dogs know.'

The lady said "woof".

The scary thing is ... 7 people in the survey said that, too.

(Almost a month without any posts and this is what I have to share? Well, what do you expect when a child is raised with daily exposure to Alex Trebek and is taught to phrase everything in the form of a question?)

2006: Year in Review

FEBRUARY: My dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
MARCH: I saw Michael Bublé in concert and fell in love like a twelve-year-old schoolgirl.
APRIL: I joined a women’s softball team. I also made my first trip to Bangkok, Thailand.
MAY: My dad underwent prostate surgery and several weeks of recovery. He’s now cancer free. JUNE: Melissa, my dear friend from high school, got married. I took my second trip to Bangkok.
JULY: I got together with my college gang for a long weekend. Then, another trip to Bangkok.
AUGUST: Yet one more trip to Bangkok
SEPTEMBER: KB and I took a fabulous vacation to South Padre Island. I completed an intense ten-day makeover of sorts.
OCTOBER: I got a nice promotion and big ol' raise.
NOVEMBER: I turned 32 and bought my first brand-new car.
DECEMBER: I experienced my first mammogram and ultrasound. Fun!

Overall, it's been a really good year. I'm still finding it hard to believe that 2006 is over already, but alas, it is, and I'm looking forward to 2007.

Raindrops On Roses...

There are so many things to love about this time of year. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Christmas music on the radio 24/7
Houses decorated with tiny white lights
Finding beautiful cards in my mailbox almost every day
The Christmas Broom
Red Salvation Army buckets and volunteers outside stores
Wrapping presents
Ding - Fries Are Done!
Work luncheons that last several hours
Finding the perfect gift for that hard-to-shop-for person on my list
Messiah Sing-alongs
Reading on the couch, by the light of the Christmas tree

What are your favorites? Make time to appreciate them, because they'll be gone soon!

Blink And The Weekend's Gone

I can hardly believe the weekend is over, but since it's already lunchtime on Monday, I guess it's true.

Friday evening, my folks had their Christmas open house. The house was beautifully decorated and became even more festive as friends and family arrived. There were about 80 guests in all, touring the house, talking, laughing, eating, but not eating quite as much as Mom had planned. If I calculated correctly, we should finish the leftovers sometime in Spring 2009. But no matter, it was a fantastic time for all and reaffirmed the fact that I have a wonderful family and they have wonderful friends.

Saturday, I returned home in time to join KB, Ann, Chris and Conrad for KB's birthday party at Sakura. Afterwards, we returned to KB's house for cocktails and board games. As it was KB's birthday celebration, she got to choose the games. First on her list was Tabloid Teasers. In short, it's like Balderdash, but with tabloid headlines instead of definitions. Each player fills in the blank of a tabloid headline, then all headlines are read aloud, including the real one, and the players vote for the one they think is real. Everyone was very creative and we had some good laughs. We then played two short rounds of Family Feud, until we realized it was 2:00 AM and our beds were calling to us.

Sunday, I delighted in sleeping as late as Ernie would allow, then took him for a long walk, did some chores around the house, and treated KB to a birthday dinner at Bertucci's.

And now it's Monday. I get the feeling the rest of 2006 will be gone before I know it.