Tales from my living room

[chanaleh]

Last night I went to see Apocalyptica at the Paradise. For the uninitiated, they are a five-piece heavy metal cover band consisting of a drummer... and four cellos. (Played, as it turns out, by hot young Finnish men.) Awww yeah. As I said to kalessin, I clearly lack some of the vocabulary to appreciate the fine points (there was approximately one song of which I actually knew the original version), but it was still great. I only found out about the show on Wednesday; sadly, it never occurred to me to tell mrmorse (who is the reason I even know the band) about it until I was actually at the Paradise; and if he made it there I didn't see him (other than in my mind's eye, but that's another story).

And I had been all pleased about not having to go to work the next day... but when I got home sometime after midnight, there was a message that there would be a shiva minyan -- on behalf of one of my very favorite people at the shul -- this morning. At 7am. In Arlington. Well, of course I got up and went. :-} I suppose I can always take a nap this afternoon if I happen to feel like it. That's a sufficiently rare and beautiful thing.

Other things I've done on my interstitial week off:

• Worked an additional 6+ hours at MIT trying to finish all the things I had wanted to get cleared up (it took until this past Wednesday).
  
• Cleaned out my desk at home. (I can now see portions of the desk and the floor that I haven't seen in months, possibly years.)
  
• Made buttons. Lots and lots of buttons. I am hoping to vend at arisia next January.
  
• Bought groceries and did dishes.
  
• Did a bunch of other random shopping, including finding a dress to wear to S&L's wedding. :-)
  
• Had lunch with a variety of people I've been meaning to see for months.
  
• Watched most of the first episode of Firefly chez ablock. Yes, I am now psyched to see the rest.
  
• Rehearsed for my high holiday choir gig.
  
• Attended a rehearsal for Merry Wives, of which I was actually needed for about three seconds, but which was a treat to watch (it was the first full run of Act I, and was it ever impressive). Also, watching dpolicar gave me the amusing sensation of "My, he reminds me of someone I married in a previous life." :-)
  
• Rehearsed for Theatre@First's Broadway Night cabaret-show fundraiser a week from Saturday (9/24, 7pm at First Church, admission a whopping $5 that includes dessert, gilana and I are singing a duet, you should all come).
  
• Baked brownies to send to the shiva house (for the minyan I had to miss earlier yesterday evening, due to that last-mentioned rehearsal).
  
• Saw my boyfriend for approximately 2 hours total, due to a looming paper deadline that happened to coincide with my vacation week. :-P We're supposed to have a whole day together tomorrow, anyway... even though the paper deadline has now been extended to this coming Wednesday... :-PPP

It took until about Tuesday for me to feel that the week was going to be far too short. But, y'know. (Also, I've been online considerably less than normal, which is a refreshing feeling.)

I still have a bunch of housely things I intend to do today (cook, clean, maybe get my hair trimmed, mail something to jessruth *ahem*...). And then it's Shabbat, and then I'll go see Sweeney Todd, and then I'll see my boy, and Sunday if it's stopped raining we'll go canoeing.

Comments

[moria923.livejournal.com]

When's the High Holiday gig? I've been meaning to hear your choir perform and to learn more about Jewish culture.

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

It's basically a backup choir for the cantor during the actual High Holiday synagogue services, at Temple Israel in Swampscott. (Hence, to answer your question: the first night and both mornings of Rosh Hashanah, which falls Oct. 3-5 this year, and the night and morning of Yom Kippur, Oct. 12-13.)

This is altogether a different choir from my a cappella group -- which does give public concerts a couple times a year, and I'll try to publicize the next one!