Singing in the Choir

I always wonder why anybody ever sings in a choir. There is certainly no glory in doing so. There is no spotlight shone on you - nothing to differentiate you from the other 150 people singing with you. You are so insignificant that you have to wear black - you must not stand out, either vocally or physically.

Every time I see a choral work performed, I am in awe that any person in their right mind would choose to sing in a choir. Yet everywhere I look there are hundreds of devoted choir members who will contentedly sing in a choir their entire life.

This is a result of those magical times (usually during a performance, though I've known them to happen during rehearsals) when the music completely takes over. When the orchestra and the rest of the choir swirls into oblivion and all that is left is you and the music - and all at once nothing else matters. The rest of your life disappears and for a moment music becomes your life. In these moments you realize what life is all about and just how beautifully significant you are.

This is why there will always be people singing in choirs - waiting for the moments when they not only get to create music, but when they are created by music.

Trader Joe's

Several times a week, when I'm hungry, I go shopping at Trader Joe's. Even though I go there all the time, and the variety there isn't great, I love walking through the store looking for healthy and delicious snacks.

When I get home, I usually make a salad from the fresh veggies I've bought, or try one of the new soups or dips that I discovered. And when I do so I feel very European.

When I was in Todi, Italy almost exactly a year ago, there was only one grocery store in the whole city, and that was only about the size of the corner store on my street at home. Instead, every street had a small shop (more like the size of my bedroom), where one could buy anything they really needed. These stores always smelled heavenly and they seemed always to be run by the most adorable, little, old men. My aunt would trot downstairs to the shop downstairs from our apartment and would pick up everything she needed to fix us dinner: meat, veggies, fresh herbs, fruit for dessert. Those meals were the freshest I've ever had.

I don't care if fruit goes bad after several days - that's what fruit does. I'd rather shop for smaller quantities more often then buy things that are under-ripe or full of preservatives to make them last longer. I guess as long as there's a Trader Joe's around, I won't have to move to Europe.

Why I write

A customer at work today nearly convinced me to join the Air Force.

As he talked about the great benefits such as traveling, education, etc., I just found myself nodding away. I had made the mistake of telling him that yes, in fact, I have thought of joining the Navy - that was all it took and he was off, expounding on the wonders of the service (because apparently his daughter joined the Air Force and loved it). Well I have to admit that it all sounds pretty good... Truth be told, ANYTHING sounds pretty good right now. I have so many amazing options in front of me, that I have no doubt that my life will be exciting in the near future (and in the far future I have a hard time imagining that it could be boring).

I'm not sure why I never thought of blogging before, since I'm such an avid journal writer. Just like my journals, I don't really expect anyone to read this, but life is too exciting for me not to write - even if it's only for myself.