Four Holidays and a Funeral

December 21st marks the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.  For centuries people have celebrated this day because it is the shortest day of the year.  That means less time at the office, right?  It actually means that the year, which has been continually "dying" as the days get shorter and shorter, will now start to be "reborn" as the days get longer and longer.  In other words, the sun comes back and keeps us all from freezing and starving to death.  The celebration is called "Winter Solstice."  And I'm sure all of you know this already.  The idea I want to draw out is this- it is a celebration of the natural world.  Even without being pagan, I think most of us can see the value of honoring the natural world around us and learning from its lessons.

Coincidentally, this year Hanukkah started at on the Solstice.  Even though I'm not Jewish, I love Hanukkah.  I think it's a really neat holiday.  Hanukkah is a celebration of a miracle that happened in Israel around the year 175 BC.  While the temple was under siege by Syrian armies, they ran out of oil for the sacred lamps that must always be kept burning.  Miraculously, oil for one day lasted for eight days, which is exactly enough time for new oil to be pressed.  This explains why the celebration lasts for eight days and why candles and lights are such an important part of the festival.  Each family is encouraged to light candles in their own homes to remind them of how the Divine interceded in the world of the natural.  In other words, contrasted with the Solstice, a fully natural celebration, Hanukkah celebrates the intervention of the Divine in the natural.

This brings me to the funeral.  On December 23rd this year, I attended the funeral of our stake president.  For those of you who don't speak Mormon, a stake president presides over a group of congregations in much the same way that a Catholic bishop presides over all the parishes in a diocese.  He had struggled with cancer for a short time, but it was very difficult.  His strength and health left him very quickly and were replaced with a great deal of pain.  However, he didn't wish to be released from his duties.  He served for nearly a year with his disease, right up to the time of his death.  He continued to speak at meetings where it was his duty to do so and continued to work for the members of the church in his area.  At his funeral, the message of Christ and of Christmas was everywhere.  Not only did those who spoke remind us of Jesus' teachings of comfort and joy, but they also reminded us of the miracle of the resurrection and Christ's triumph over death.  This man who died was not scared.  He knew that his natural life would be joined to the Divine when he died.

At Christmas we talk a lot about Baby Jesus.  This year, I thought a lot about the triumphant Jesus who became "natural" at his birth, but who shattered the sorrows of the natural world by virtue of his Divinity.  And not only did He do it for Himself, but for each of us.  Christmas is more than a celebration of the natural, or of the Divine interceding in the natural.  It is a celebration of the natural becoming Divine.  Christ made his natural life Divine and offers us the same promise if we follow Him.

Today is New Year's Eve.  As we watch another year die, we can rejoice in the Divine gift of Jesus Christ and resolve to join ourselves to Him more resolutely in the next one.

Good old fashioned update

ATB: Hey Desiree.  What's up?

DB: Not much, How about you?

ATB: Oh, just writing a blog with you!

DB: Really?  What else has been going on lately?

ATB: Funny you should ask!  That leads us right to the title of the blog: "Good old fashioned update."  Well I guess the biggest news for me centers around the opera company here.  I got to sing a really great role in "Rigoletto" a couple of weeks ago.  It went pretty darn well.

DB: Yeah.  It did.  I should know.  I was there.  You sang the role of The Duke (sleazy guy that he is) really well.  Even if meant you had to make out with a couple of women. :)

ATB: I can't believe you told everyone that!  Don't worry everyone.  It was only onstage.  I got to sing lots of high notes and wear tights.  And have my hair curled.  And wear makeup.  This sounds worse and worse.  But really, it was fun and went really well.  And what do you mean by "I was there," Desiree?

DB: How nice of you to ask.  I had a great time being a "Super" (a person in an opera that does not sing).  There was a big party scene, and you can't have a party without women, and Verdi did not write any music for a women's chorus.  The result:  I wore a really pretty dress and makeup and flirted with a bunch of gay men (most of whom were twice my age) wearing makeup and tights.  It was a lot of fun to be onstage instead of backstage.  I think I might just try it again sometime.  What else has been happening for you, Anthony?

ATB: Well, now I'm rehearsing the Christmas opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors."  Some of you may remember when I directed it in 2006.  Now I'm singing Kaspar.  It's a nice role and more along the lines of things I'm used to singing.  Too bad you're not in this one too, Desiree.

DB: It will be a little weird not to be in this one too.  It was fun seeing you back stage and stuff.  It is nice to have my evenings available though.  After all, I have an 8-5 job.

ATB: An 8 2 5 job?  Why, whatever do you mean?

DB: I technically work for Kelly Services (temp agency) but I have been working every day at a place called STCR - stands for Southern Tier Cash Register.  Did you know Binghamton is in the "Southern Tier"?  Apparently it is what they call the part of New York that is not "The City" and not "Upstate".  Anyway, I am doing the billing for maintenance the company provides to its clients - independent grocery stores.

ATB: That's very informative!  But I wouldn't understand any of that.  I just sing high and try to look pretty.

DB:  Well, that is what you went to school for.

ATB:  Except for the looking pretty part.

DB: Yep.  You did not need school for that.  It just came naturally.  But I get the feeling that people don't want to hear us have a conversation like that (I am inserting that for Anneke's benefit.)  So, how about them Senators?

ATB: And by Senators, you mean the local hockey team?  I have no idea.  I still don't follow sports.  But speaking of things: Maybe we could tell people about our "Thanksgiving- Round 1" event.

DB: OK.  Here's the scoop.  We have a bunch of friends here that are a little bit like family, but the thing is- most of them are going to be with people that don't live in this area for the holiday.  So I thought we should have a dinner for all of us to just get together and have a nice time.

ATB: So you made a lemon meringue pie, a chocolate cream pie, an apple pie and a pumpkin pie.  Oh yeah, there was turkey and stuffing too.

DB: And all of our friends made things that are traditional for their Thanksgivings too.  Now I know how to make "Ellen Potatoes".  Ellen is one of our friends who thinks that if it involves the microwave it is cooking... I am so proud of her - she learned how to use a vegetable peeler and a hand mixer all in the same day.  And the potatoes were delicious.

ATB: So true.  So let's see... work, opera, friends... oh church!  Since we both voted Democratic for the presidential election, are we still allowed to go to church?

DB:  Silly, Anthony.  We have gone to church since then... and they even gave us callings too!  I am now on the activities committee and you teach sunday school for the 14 and 15 year olds.

ATB:  Well, it sounds like we're doing pretty well.

DB: I think so.  I think we both miss people in Salt Lake though.

ATB:  Yeah.  That's true.  But who knows where we will land next year.  I do have an audition with Utah Opera again this year!

DB: And with several other companies.  I am sure people don't want to hear about all the places that want to hear you sing.  How about we just tell them where you are going when we find out in February... or March... or April?

ATB: Fair enough.  Let's call this blog "good enough."

DB:  Ok.  Thanks for encouraging me to send everyone an update and even helping me make it happen.

ATB:  You bet.  It's only because I love you.

Advertisement for Arrogance

So, Desiree has titled this blog "Life Happens."  I think I may have mentioned somewhere that I'm not in love with this title.  But that's only because I have a superiority complex the size of Lake Superior.  Ha ha.  Seriously.  I do.  And that's what this post will be about.  So those who are faint of heart around conceit, please avert your eyes.

I'm a pretty talented person.  I'm also a pretty smart person.  I'm also a pretty nice person.  I feel good about these statements.  When I was finishing my Master's degree, I felt really great about myself.  I was happy with the work I was doing and with the people around me.  When I was at Ohio Light Opera last summer, I felt like the king of the world.  I not only enjoyed my work but I was also extremely good at it.  I had good relationships with the people around me.  I just felt awesome.  Feeling awesome made me act awesome-er.  It grew on itself.  And it wasn't just for me.  Other performers told me that they enjoyed being on stage with me because my confidence gave them confidence.  It was good all around.

Then I came here to Binghamton.  The program here has a lot of strengths and I am getting a lot from it.  I don't want to deny that.  (Here comes the but...)  But it has placed me in situations where I feel out of my element.  I have been left to question the level of talent and intelligence I always thought I had.  Sometimes I have even wondered if I'm not really as nice a person as I always thought.  Surprise, surprise- my ability to perform has diminished at a corresponding rate!  I guess it's kind of like Peter trying to walk to Jesus on the water.  If only I'd believe, I could do it.

So I guess this seems like an advertisement for arrogance.  If thinking I'm awesome makes me awesome, then why not be arrogant and be REALLY awesome?  That's only partially true.  At the same time that telling myself I'm good at singing high notes makes me sing high notes better, telling myself that I'm great at ping-pong will never change the fact that my hand-eye coordination rivals that of a 2 month old.  It's about knowing your strengths and owning them proudly.  And at the same time acknowledging who gave them to you.  Obviously God made me a performer.  (Insert joke about God having a vindictive sense of humor here.)  And many people have helped me shape that talent over the years.  Not the least of those contributors is myself.  I have worked hard for this and to deny myself that credit is dishonest and undermines my ability to "walk on the water" with out doubting myself.  I tried the other day to ask God to sing my arias for me and he told me not to be silly.  They are my arias and God doesn't want to take them away from me.  My strength.  My responsibility.

Additionally, there's a degree of humility necessary in this process.  When I don't feel good about myself and what I'm doing, there's always someone there to tell me that my work, though not perfect, still has merit.  My prideful tendency is stubbornly to deny this, thereby ignoring the gifts God has given me and the opinions and help of the one encouraging me.  This "false humility" is actually the real and dangerous arrogance in disguise.  Humility would teach me to "honor the divine" in both myself and all around me.  In other words: I'm awesome, you're awesome too.

So here's the cutesy part where I "bring it full circle."  This process is Life Happening.  I'm learning my relationship with God and myself.  It's happening through singing a leading tenor role in a Verdi opera.  For someone else it might be teaching a child to ride a bike, or dealing with a difficult co-worker.  But the human being I am becoming is the most important happening of my life.

Palmyra excursion

In church last week, a member of the temple presidency came to speak to our ward.  We live in the Palmyra temple district.  Strangely enough, he and his wife spoke about the importance of attending the temple.  What a surprise!  All kidding aside, the message was loud and clear to me and Desiree.  We needed to go to the temple.  We had not been since very shortly before we left Salt Lake City in May.  As it was then the very end of September we knew it was long overdue.  We made plans to go that Wednesday night since I didn't have rehearsal.  It's a three hour drive, so Desiree had to leave work a bit early to make it.  (She was temping for the opera company that week.)

As we were leaving home, we checked to see if we had our recommends.  Desiree's eagle eyes spotted our foolish deficiency.  Our recommends had expired at the end of April.  Color us embarrassed!  It seems even stranger since our bishop in Salt Lake asked us if we needed them renewed before we left.  We blissfully and ignorantly said we were just fine.  So now we needed to make a decision.  We felt strongly that we should go to the temple, but were not able to go in.  Should we go anyway?  Since the Palmyra temple is located practically next door to the Sacred Grove, we decided to follow the promptings of the Spirit and go on the errand anyway, even if we were not able to fulfill it entirely.

By the time we got to Palmyra it was very dark.  We made a brief stop at the grounds of the temple.  It is beautiful there.  The windows all have gold and green stained-glass representations of trees in them.  The grounds are very colorful and perfectly manicured.  It was great to be there even if we couldn't go inside.  Then we went to the grove.  Since it was dark, we used a flash light to go down the somewhat lengthy path that leads to it.  There was no one else there.  This was kind of a comfort to me and Desiree since we both have a mild aversion to tour guides at Church history sites.

Honestly, the path was kind of scary.  The woods are frightening at night when the mist is gathering.  Perhaps if I had been there before it would have been different.  Maybe if I wasn't from the suburbs of Salt Lake where "woods" is more likely a last name than a topographical occurrence I would have been more at ease.  In any case, I was aware of every tiny noise around us as we started our journey down a path to what we hoped would be a place of spiritual enlightenment.  The clearness of the path laid out before us by people who knew the way was a quieting comfort.

We arrived at a small area that served as an outdoor chapel, with log pews facing the area where Priesthood leaders no doubt instruct and inspire those who want to enter the sacred area ahead.  Right before we stepped into the small clearing among the trees where Joseph saw his first vision, a foghorn went off in the distance.  It startled us.  Quite a lot.  We held our breaths in the way one does when frightened in an unfamiliar, foggy, dark wood.  But since we had come this far already, we decided to see the grove regardless of reservations and fears.  We stepped through the curtain of foliage into the sacred area and almost immediately the heavens opened and rain fell.  It seemed to me to be a gift from above.  I then realized that the foghorn was to warn us of the coming storm.  The canopy above sheltered us for the few moments we stood and felt that we were in a special place.  I felt giddy as we ran back through the rain to our car in the parking lot.

God watches us and gives us what is good for us even if it isn't exactly what we expect at the time.

Charlie Chaplin

When Desiree and I first moved to Binghamton, we had little to do.  There were a few days before I had any rehearsals and Desiree had no job (as you all know from her previous post).  We had no TV reception, we didn't have internet and we didn't know anybody in town.  It was pretty dull.  But across the street from us is the Broome County Public Library.  Ah ha!  Entertainment!  All those books just waiting to be read!  So we checked out some movies to watch.  (Insert ironic facial expression here.)

But I don't feel badly about this decision in the least because the movies we checked out were of Olympian significance in the world of film and in our American (and world) culture.  We watched 4 movies written by, directed by, and starring Charles Chaplin.  Let me just say; this guy was an absolute genius.

The first film we watched was "The Gold Rush."  Chaplin made this movie as a silent film originally, but re-released it decades later with his own original score and narration replacing the text panels common to silent films.  Next was "The Great Dictator," in which Chaplin first spoke.   We next "Modern Times," which was released before "The Great Dictator" but in which Chaplin first sang.  Most recently we saw "Limelight," which was his last film made in the U.S.

Each of these movies is a masterpiece.  I think the word "masterpiece" can be over-used since in theory, an artist should only produce one work to define him or her as a true artist, but I can't help it.  Each of them is a masterpiece.  I had the erroneous conception that Chaplin only made short films with little to no significant plot.  I also thought they were all written by someone else.  I further thought that he only played the "Little Tramp" character with whom he is so permanently identified.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The plots of these four films are not only his own creations, they each have a distinct voice and powerful message.  Each is evocative of a tone and theme that speak as resonantly today as they did at the time.  I can't recommend enough a viewing of each of these jewels.

The cool thing about watching these movies (besides the movies themselves) was the special features disc available with each film.  From them I learned a good deal about Chaplin's life.  There is one thing that I cannot pass up mentioning:  Charlie Chaplin, the undisputedly best loved and most famous film maker of his day was banned from the United States during the McCarthy trials of the late 40's and early 50's.  He returned to his native England and returned only to receive an Oscar for which he was only allowed to stay for a few short days.  He had lived and worked in the U.S. for 40 years.  I was absolutely crushed to hear our beautiful country had done something so coldhearted to a man whose only work was to make the whole world smile.  

Luckily those days of ideological intolerance are past.   Today careers of good-hearted men and women aren't smeared by insensitive stereotypes and accusations.  It would be a tragedy if a vocal minority of purportedly morally high-minded people convinced the rest of us that those who are well-intentioned are evil just because they are looking forward to a brighter future.

Livin' on Love

We have been in Binghamton one month and I still don't have a job.  It has been so much fun!  Ever since we got married we have been trying to figure out how to "live on love."  We used to say that we needed a wife... someone to cook and clean for us while we were busy being students and working.  Now, we have begun saying we need a husband to get a job that pays a little more than it pays to be establishing a career as an opera singer.

It has been so much fun just kicking around and spending lots of time together.  We have been playing board games, going for long walks along the river, taking drives to explore some of the surrounding area, having good conversations and spending time with friends from the opera company and church.

When Anthony is gone to rehearsal, I take great pleasure in cleaning our apartment and making fabulous meals... just this morning, Anthony told me that people in the opera company had begun asking when they were going to be invited over to eat the great meals I have been creating.  I guess word has spread that I have been going crazy in the kitchen.  It has been so much fun!  In the last couple of weeks I have made enough food to feed an army... and think we almost have.  I have been experimenting with new recipe I have wanted to try for a while and have just not had the time.  The result is usually that after getting the ingredients, when I am ready to start the preparations I realize "this recipe is not for two people... it is for six... or eight."  This would not normally be a problem, but one of the things I have been looking forward to each day has been making dinner, so leftovers kind of put a damper on things.  The result has been that we are having people over for dinner almost all the time.  It has been nice to get to know people in this way.

I think I could really get used to this... too bad the savings will be running out in not too long.  Besides that, I don't think that "living on our savings account" is the same as "living on love," oh well.  It has been fun... not to mention that while I have been able to get creative with our menu Anthony doesn't suggest going out to eat nearly as often.  I am loving this.

From Anthony: Two for the price of one!

Here's another oldie but goody back-log.  But this time it's a double-header!  Have fun with two topics in one.  There are comments left by people from the first time I posted this at the bottom.

Friday, June 06, 2008

hot

Must... write... blog... in... June!

For real. I really feel like I have to write a blog this month. I usually wait until something presents itself in a way that demands a written response. But today I just wanna write a blog, dang it!

So the topic du jour- Heat wave in Ohio. It's hot. And it's wicked humid here. We're talking over 90% humidity. And for a guy from Utah, that's more humid than a box of humid humidity with a side-order of humid. My skin is sticking to everything and I'm a pile of disgusting sweat. I stink all the time which really grosses me out.

Whenever I go to a really extreme climate (which isn't that often unless you consider living in Utah for approximately 27 years) I always think about what crazy kind of people settled those areas way back in the day. Like, think of living in Siberia in the 1700's or something like that. How did those people survive that crazy climate without all the exciting conveniences we have our modern world? Comparatively, living in humid Ohio in the early 21st century seems pretty easy.

I guess that brings me to another point I have visited several times on this blog; things really are relative. If I think my life sucks, it probably does for me, even if it may seem great to other people from the outside. Luckily, I don't think my life sucks. I'm probably right.

Well folks, that's it. Tune in next time for a discussion of how I always forget how strange I can come across to people.

Saturday, June 07, 2008

As promised...

I really don't love it when people brag about how weird they are. "I'm totally wild and crazy!" "You've never met anyone like me!" "I can't stand people who don't want to be the center of attention all the time! I mean... what?" You know the kind- the folks who really, really, really need attention and can't get it by simply being good at something or by being nice. They have to resort to wearing funny hats all the time or coining really loud and obnoxious catch phrases instead.

I know that may seem like a strange thing for me to say because I often seem to come across that exact way. But here's what I'm getting at- I really don't try for it. I try to behave myself. It turns out I'm just a... well... weird-o.

Right now I work with singers and assorted other artsy sorts all day everyday. This is part of the problem. Hanging out on a regular basis with people like this only gives me permission to continue to act like a freak because I rarely go too far beyond the bounds of what any of the rest of them have seen or have actually done themselves. The rest of the problem comes when I get back into the land of reality and suddenly have to switch gears to "don't-embarrass-Desiree-Anthony."

When artsy people would be laughing along with me or just not even noticing anything strange at all, normal people laugh their heads off or just leave the room and won't speak to me.

So that leads me back to my original point- I really don't love it when people talk about how strange they are, and that includes myself. I hate feeling like I'm a big freak whose life looks like a big act to get laughs or reactions.

Discuss.

Micky Jo: In highschool I was totally afride to talk to most people, so instead I died my hair every color and cut my hair in crazy ways. I liked being the freak because I knew people were talking about me and I didn't have to really talk to them. Now days I am the loudest person I know. I guess I am trying to make up for all the time I wasn't talking. 

I would love to be noticed for what I can do but the problem is I am not musicaly inclined (unless you count gutair hero), I am not a great actress, I can't really write and I insist on hanging out with the artsy types (like you) who with out trying at all make me feel very small. So to make up for it I am loud and crazy.

I know it drives people crazy and I kinda like that too. 

Maybe the problem isn't the loud and crazy people it is people like you who are to talented for there own good. Stop being so amazing Anthony and I will stop being crazy. (I would love to see either one of us try it....who do you think it would kill first)

ATB: Your comment is better than my blog! I love it. 

Desiree seems to have the same sort of feeling when hanging around with the artsy-types. When she went to study in France last summer, she found ways to branch out and feel less like a "small" person. So I don't need to be less talented and you don't need to stop being crazy, we just need to go to France a lot.

Sissy: I have no idea what either o' you are talking about.

 

From Anthony: Delaware

I was going to post a blog from the myspace site as a "classic" (meaning "re-run"), but I'm so enamoured of this Delaware concept that I think a new essay I wrote last night will pre-empt it.  Here it is:

As Desiree and I drove across the country this year, we played a game.  It was the “see-a-license-plate-from-every-state-in-the-country” game.  We have actually played it two years in a row.  The rules are these: 1. we have from the time we leave home until the time we arrive back home again to see all fifty, and 2. we must both be present in order to count the plate (though only one of us need actually see it).  Since we started from our old apartment right by a college campus that has lots of out-of-state cars parked by it, and spent the summer at a music festival that attracts people from all over the country, we had a great deal of success.  This year we saw all of them except for Delaware.  Last year we found all of them except for Hawaii and Delaware.  This is the part where every reader should say to him or herself, “What!?  They didn’t see Delaware either year?  Isn’t Delaware like… a state?  One of the lower 48?”  And I would reply, “Yes, reader!  Delaware is in fact the first state!  It would stand to reason that it still exists today and is issuing license plates to its residents.”

For a long time I made fun of Wyoming.  Part of this is because I was in a car accident there in 2001 and found everyone we dealt with there to be less than pleasant.  But part of it is because there doesn’t seem to be much of anything there.  I actually saw a cartoon lampooning this once.  It showed a map of the U.S that omitted Wyoming and everything still looked surprisingly complete without it.  I think I shall soon have to cease this mockery and take up mockery of Delaware instead.  How on Earth could we see a plate from every state but Delaware?  It defies the imagination!

I remember looking at license plates when I was a kid.  They all followed a simple pattern then.  Each plate had a background color and a different color for the type.  There were no real illustrations, except maybe for a little insignia between the letter part and the number part.  I think in those days, Pennsylvania had a little blue keystone on its yellow background.  Utah was just plain black and white if I recall.  But now all the states have fancy plates with lots of colors and intricate illustrations.  And those are just the regular ones!  I’m not even talking about the “specialty plates.”  For instance, Michigan is now white with a blue banner across the top.  The word “Michigan” is then inlaid in white in that little banner.  But there’s also a Michigan that looks like some sort of crazy Renoir painting screwed to the back of every other SUV from Ann Arbor.  Or how about the cute little New Jersey plate that has a little cartoon kitty and puppy on it to symbolize some sort of donation to the humane society?  I remember when the really snazzy “Ski Utah” plate came out.  I’ve only skied once, but I still thought the plate was pretty cool.  And I’ve always gone for the one with delicate arch on it.  I like the orange and blue together I guess.

But let me tell you about Delaware’s plate.  True, in order to do that I would have to confess that I have actually seen one.  And that means admitting that there probably still is a Delaware out there lurking on the Eastern seaboard.  Alright, I admit it all.  Sort of.  Here’s the tale of seeing a Delaware plate.  Immediately after Desiree and I pulled into our parking lot last year (thus officially ending the game) I walked across the street and saw a little dinky trailer with a nasty Delaware license plate hanging off it’s rear corner.  I ran inside to get Desiree so that she could witness the grime-coated wonder.  It was gross yellow with a non-descript dark-ish color for the lettering.  It was too late to officially be part of the game (of course… rude), but I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt even though it was so ugly.  Trailer plates are often ugly even from states that traditionally have nice plates.  And often they don’t get renewed for decades, so the old-fashioned bi-chromatic ones can linger long into the Technicolor era.  So I waited for the next summer to see Delaware redeem itself.

Well, it didn’t.  It was the one lousy plate we didn’t see this summer.  A week after the game was over, I finally saw one.  Two of them right next to each other, ironically.  But since we live in another college town I shouldn’t have been too surprised.  And I shouldn’t have been surprised that it was butt ugly either.  Two-tone, non-illustrated, puke-colored Delaware.

Yeah.  I think Delaware is my new state to make fun of.

back-logging: from Anthony

I just finished looking at Brian Tanner's blog.  He blogs a lot.  It made me wish I blogged more.  So instead of blogging more, I'm just going to re-post a blog here that was originally written for my blog on myspace.  That's the easy way around things.

A little about the way I approach blogging.  I usually don't like to narrate much about my life.  I prefer to talk about ideas that have been on my mind.  I also like to keep them rather brief.  Additionally- I am media-tarded.  I have no idea how to put cool pictures or film clips into them.  I just write a little something in the hopes that it will provoke some sort of discussion.  I posted this particular blog on July 15th.

Perhaps the transfer of back-logged myspace blogs signals the end of myspace blogs altogether.  I'm not sure.  We'll see what happens.  But for now, here is the blog entitled "too cool for school."

"Ohio Light Opera does a little Fourth of July concert on the town square of Wooster Ohio every year. We put together a few little patriotic choral numbers and the orchestra plays. It's really... cheesy... and awesome. I mean both of those adjectives with all my heart. This year we did an Irving Berlin medley and an Armed Forces salute. The music is not great. It's cheesy. But when we stand up on those risers and look out at the veterans stand up and be recognized and then sing to them... that's awesome in the real sense of the word.

The guy I stood next to runs wardrobe for the company and also plays little parts in a few of the shows every season. He had in his music folder a photo of his son who just joined the army last year. He may have thought it was cheesy, but you couldn't tell. He gladly stood up, proud to be an American and said God bless the USA.

Then we went to see the town fireworks display. Keep in mind, this is Wooster Ohio. Of course, that doesn't mean anything to most people. That's my point. The town is small enough that most people don't know it exists. So you'd kinda expect a wimpy fireworks display. Nope. It rocked. These people got it. This is our nation's frickin' birthday! Let's shoot the wad to say happy birthday to Uncle Sam! There maybe problems in Capitol Hill and in the White House, but we don't need to pretend we're too cool for America.

The Wooster Independence Day celebration isn't the only thing that has got me on the anti-too-cool-for-school rant. Singing operetta sure helps. None of these shows are Shakespeare. Some of them are kinda (or a lot) deficient in the theme, plot, and dialogue departments. But nothing sends an audience running away screaming better than the actors apologizing for the material. If we can just get past our too-cool mentality, we enjoy the shows and so do the audience.

Last on the "let's not pretend we're above everything" checklist comes from subbing as the Gospel Doctrine Sunday School teacher at church on Sunday. I got to stand up and tell people how excited I am to have the Book of Mormon in my life. I didn't use the Afterglow church voice for it either. I'm proud to report that I could use the same voice I use to tell people how excited I am for LOST to come back in the fall to tell people how much I love the Book of Mormon. I don't have to pretend to be cool about church. I really love it.

It feels awesome to not have to be cool."

I understand that ended with a split infinitive, but oh well.  Discuss.

Randomness

I am sitting here in Ohio thinking. "If I was in Utah, I could go to fireworks tonight." It's pioneer day, but only in Utah.  

Things that are happening here... OLO is finally in REP (meaning that there are no more rehearsals, just performances).  Yesterday the last show "Marinka: The Mayerling Story" opened. Anthony is not in that one, but it means that none of the people we live with have rehearsal any more... and it is going to be good.  

Here is a picture of the people we are living with this summer., we all get along very well. and are have a nice time sharing "family dinner" and good conversations.

On the front row from left to Right: Carissa, Sahara, Anthony, Amanda O. 

On the back row from left to Right: Amanda K., Jack, Paul

The picture was taken after the 4th of July concert that OLO puts on for the town of Wooster every year.  I hope to have more pictures to post soon.  The only thing is that I have misplaced our camera, and until I find it, or people we are here with post pictures online this is about all we have.  I hope to post more soon anyway.

Not Homeless Anymore

I am pleased to announce that we are no longer homeless.  We have an address that is not c/o Ohio Light Opera and it is in Binghamton, New York!  I am not going to publish it here, partially because we won't be able to get mail there for about a month.  The important thing is that we know where we are going to live when we leave here in a month.  In a lot of ways it is really a miracle.  In my hunting process I found out that Binghamton University decided to admit 3,000 additional students this year, so that is why housing is going fast.

I started to look at craigslist and apartments.com a couple of weeks ago.  About a week and a half ago I started calling people about apartments and found out that things were going quickly (affordable apartments were going within 72 hours of being posted), so I knew that I needed to get to Binghamton and secure a place for us... and fast.  I was able to go on Tuesday this week.  I enjoyed the 7 hour drive - there are lots of trees and some beautiful lakes between here and there.  At one point I was admiring the hills I was driving through, just to notice what could only be a ski slope and realized I was in the "mountains" in Western New York.  I had several appointments set up for that evening to see some places, most of which ended up being way too big, or way too small, or just plain scary.  

Wednesday morning I had some luck and found our apartment.  It is in a building that was completely gutted and is being rebuilt.  Our apartment is the first one that will be done, so there will be construction for a little while while we are there, but it will be worth it.  It has hard wood floors throughout and brand new everything as far as appliances go... and it includes a washer and a dryer (No more Quarters! Yeah!).  It also includes all new fixtures in the bathroom, and one of the interior walls is exposed brick.  It is really charming.  It is on the east end of downtown (which is less run down that a lot of the city, and according to the LDS missionaries is a great part of town).  And all of this is going to be within our projected budget. I was the first person to put money down on moving into the building, but there were three people in line behind me with checkbooks in hand.  

Wednesday afternoon as I was driving home with my receipt for the deposit in-hand I felt like we have definitely been led to be in New York State at this time, and like our Heavenly Father is doing everything in his power to make sure we actually get there.  This all makes me feel so loved and blessed. 

Teachers

I know Anthony just posted a blog a few days ago, but I have been wanting to post something and am finally finding the time.  

This summer I have gained a new appreciation for teachers.  When I say teachers I mean just about any kind - but especially the kind that get up in front of a classroom and entertain kids for hours on end.

I have been teaching reading classes this summer.  When I tell people that they frequently assume that I studied education or literature.  Nope, the degree was in international studies with an emphasis in global health.  I will be teaching 2 sessions of 5 weeks each.  I am halfway through my fourth week of my first session.  Each week (in this session) I have 10 classes of 8 different levels (pre-kindergarten through adult).  The program is interesting.  I did about 3 weeks of training on how to work with people of different age groups to effectively teach them and studying the theories and methods I would be teaching as well as reviewing the lesson plans I would be teaching.  After the three weeks, I was assigned classes and that was that.

In so many ways I am spoiled, because my supplies are provided for me, the program is through a private company, which means it is a little expensive and the parents are invested in their children doing well, and I do not have to figure out what I will be teaching.  I re-read and do a little preparation the night before I teach and Voila! that is it.  During class I listen to the children read, or for the older classes, check out their reading speeds and have a short conversation about how things are going.  I also teach different reading or studying skills depending on the level, but in every class there is time for good solid reading practice with the skills I am teaching.  After class I enter the information online I gathered in class about the students' reading  online and maybe make a few phone calls to the parents.

In a lot of ways, I feel like what I do is cheating.  I watched my mom spend hours upon end preparing lesson plans in the first couple years of teaching.  She had many meetings with other teachers and parents and administration throughout each month.  She has to struggle with children who parents don't care about their child's education.  She works in a public school, so unfortunately, that means that she does not always have the supplies she needs either.  If she has a difficult class she gets to figure out what to do differently for the very next day, five days a week for an entire nine months.  I know that when I have a tough class there is a week before I have to deal with those students again, and that I only have to see the students for a total of 5 times.  Besides all that, Kids are tough to teach. They want to be entertained.  I find that the second I am doing something that is not entertaining I start to lose kids attention... and for the most part I have less than 15 kids in my classes... I can't imagine trying to keep focus with twice as many students.

In any case, I arrive home at the end of the day exhausted, and I only teach between three and a half and six hours in a day... with 45 minutes in between classes.  I have no idea how teachers do it 5 days a week, 9 months a year, year after year.

From Anthony

I have my own blog on Myspace.  It most often tends to be a journal of ideas with little emphasis on events in my life.  This blog seems dedicated to telling people what is going on in our lives, so here it is.

This summer with Ohio Light Opera (OLO) has been a real joy so far.  For those of you who don't know how this company works, here is a brief explanation.  The company produces 7 or 8 operettas, light operas, or musicals a summer.  Some of the shows are very familiar (such as Oklahoma! and The Mikado this summer) and some of them are very obscure.  More on that later.  The shows run in repertory, which means we never do the same show 2 days in a row.   The cast members, orchestra and crew all come from different parts of the country and are all pursuing careers in the arts.  We are live in college housing on the campus of the school that operates the company.  Desiree and I live in a very large house with 6 other cast members.  We both get along with all of them very, very well.  It is not unusual for all of us to share a big meal together or to sit in the living room and talk until the wee hours of the morning.  

This is the company's 30th season and my 3rd with them.  My first summer I did almost exclusively chorus roles, which did not please me very much.  Last year I had a few more things to do and this year I am playing fun and interesting roles in 5 shows and assistant-directing one other.  It is great fun.  Today we opened a show entitled The Cabaret Girl.   This performance was a land-mark in numerous ways.  Most importantly, this was the U.S. premiere of the work.  It opened in London in 1927 and has never made it across the ocean.  This show is also the 100th title produced by OLO.  It was composed by the 40th composer whose works have played at OLO.  One of the songs my character sings is not included in the orchestrations of the show, which makes most of us believe that it was not included in the original production.  If that is true, that means that I sang a song today that has never been performed before.  As I sit and placidly type this I want to stand up and shout "Yeah, baby!  That rocks!"  I feel so lucky to be having such a great experience this summer.  Audiences have been very receptive to me so far and I am having a great time.

Of course the great draw-back is that the "summer of Desiree and I living together" has turned into the "summer of me staying in Wooster OH, and Desiree going to trainings in Chicago, flying to a funeral in Utah, and working 4 days a week in Columbus."  Oh well.  We still have 3 days a week together which is WAY better than nothing at all.

The moral of the story:  moving away from our comfy little womb in Utah was a scary thing.  But I feel very blessed to be having a great time pursuing my crazy career in a pleasant place with nice people.

The last month of our life

If you are reading this, chances are you know Anthony and me.  We both graduated from the University of Utah a month ago and hit the road.  We are now in Wooster, OH experiencing the first heatwave of summer.  The last month, in many ways, has been almost more intense than the last month of school.  Or maybe my memory is failing me, I think I will never know.  

A brief synopsis of what has happened since April 30th:

• Pack our bags and give a lot of our stuff away and move out of our favorite place to live and stay with my fabulous sister, Anneke and her husband Billy.
  
• Attend graduation.
  
• Continue to get rid of stuff (A Toyota Corolla is not that big).
  
• See as many people as possible and say farewell.
  
• Re-pack the car with the things we did not get rid of.
  
• Drive across the oh-so-interesting Midwest and stay with friends on the way.  One highlight was meeting new friends that generously opened their home to us and Anthony's audition for Chicago Lyric Opera.  We probably won't have any official word from them until the fall.
  
• Arrive in Wooster, unpack and start work.  Anthony is singing some cool stuff this summer with Ohio Light Opera (OLO) and I am teaching reading skills to people pre-K - Adult.
  
• Training for me just ended yesterday (I had to pack another suitcase to go to Chicago to finish my training) and I begin teaching tomorrow.  
• Anthony is in the middle of the rehearsal process and the shows begin opening next weekend.  One cool thing about that is OLO's 30th Anniversary season and Anthony is starring in the 100th show that the company is adding to its repertoire. 

That is the last month in a nutshell with one exception.

  

Yesterday morning I got a call from my parents letting me know that my grandmother just finished the last month of her life the night before.  She died.  I thought I was ready for it.  She has been sick and in pain and unable to sleep for so long and just took a turn for the worse about a week and a half ago.  I thought I would be able to take it in stride and be happy for her that she is in a better place with her daughter, my beloved Aunt Annette and her mother, Great Grandma Beesley.  I am glad for her, but I am so sad.  I feel like I am living in slow motion.  I've lost grandparents before, so it is not a new experience, but it feels differently this time and I am not sure why.  I think it helps to share the experience with people.  I am going to be fortunate enough to be able to go back to Salt Lake for the funeral and I think it will help to be surrounded with people that all knew and loved Grandma Steenblik.  I don't know what Grandma was able to do with the last month, but I know that she loved a lot of people and continued to be thoughtful and giving. 

As I have been sitting here for the last couple of days pondering life the only real conclusion I can come to is that loving other people - and knowing how to show it has got to be about the most important thing in this world.  Thank you Grandma Steenblik... and all the grandmas out there that love us unconditionally and do the little things that let us know.