Tuesday – Day 225
March 16, 2013
Things this week just got better and better from then on. Though I was pretty tired today and the project still was not out, there was only good to come! Once I made it through Physics and too my singing lesson, I was excited by the new Jazz pieces I was working on, along with figuring out a little more of how to sing in secondo passagio (higher part of my voice). This was also the first week this semester that I self accompanied, and while it wasn’t perfect, it was a start. Misty by Errol Garner and Over the Rainbow from the Wizard of Oz. Great fun!
In the afternoon I had an interview with a certain renowned social networking firm (more on that to come results dependant) that went splendidly. I was interviewed by a really awesome engineer and tackled an interesting problem!
In the evening, I went to hear Dr. Richard Dawkins speak, and while he was interesting, he wasn’t fascinating. The usual barbs directed at theists, along with some interesting biology. Riled up a few people and that was amusing. The Q&A session was awful, mostly full of people saying “but what do you do without god?” to which his answers were both predictable, wry and somewhat amusing.
Rehearsal afterwards ran really late, but we’re singing some fantastic stuff at the moment, Beibl’s Ave Maria and more! If you’re in Pennsylvania come hear us and the Harvard Glee Club at 8:00PM this Saturday night!
Thursday/Friday – Day 213/214
March 6, 2013
Thursday morning was a complete and utter disaster. Yet despite this I really really enjoyed my day. I woke up on three hours of sleep to go to physics, definitely a bad idea, and from there, straight to my demo and assessment for my networking group project. Needless to say, we didn’t go too well, failing a number of the more difficult tests. I was a bit cut up.
The afternoon however was awesome. First up was a PGC gig singing to the board of trustees, as one of their number was retiring. We were hailed with large smiles and for me, a wink and a smile from Dean Keytack of Rodin. After that I gave Melody Cooke a call and headed over to the music building to find her practising her singing. After a while with the piano, I walked with her while she polished off a few errands and then presented to her the piano in Sweeten Alumni House (a beautiful Boston grand) before running out to Lover’s and Madmen for a hot chocolate and her lunch.
After a few hours of chatting it was a quick dinner and then another gig for the larger dinner for trustees and donors. Though our performance number was short (SATB version of the Red and the Blue), the mixed company of males and females (provided by the girls of Quaker Notes) was somewhat revelatory. Following that we got changed and a few of us went to a sushi bar where some of the guys did ‘sake bombs’ (don’t even ask). After that it was back to my room for one of the longest night sleeps I’ve had since leaving home. Perfect.
Friday I woke up somewhere around midday, coded a little in the afternoon, chatted to friends, prepared dinner for the evening, read a little and then went straight back to sleep. The way I needed my holiday.
Hell Week, Part 2 – Thursday, Friday, Shabbat
February 20, 2013
Thursday was the most singing I’ve ever done in a single day. At 8AM I woke up as the singing was to begin at 8:45 for Valentines Day. I was scheduled from 8:45 to 4PM on Singing Valentines, whereby quartets comprised of PGC members would deliver Valentine’s Day messages in song, during class, to those whose loved one’s had donated a given sum to habitat for humanity. In four separate quartets, I raced from building to building, from class to class, singing my heart out for all “My Honey”ies, “My Valentine”s, “My Little Margie”s and to members of faculty, staff, and students. Highlights were as follows: singing at Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks and Aunty Anne’s Pretzel’s and PGC members receiving free food from them. Singing for the elderly head of the Chemistry Department (Madeline Joillet) and of course singing for “her majesty” Amy Gutmann, President of The University of Pennsylvania. Embarassingly enough, a quote of me calling her, “her majesty” even made the Daily Pennsylvanian. I can only hope she didn’t read it.
Following all the normal shifts, I was then on a shift for Phone Valentine’s for those to whom we were unable to deliver in person. These included two good friends back home. Phone shift went all the way till 5:30 a which point I raced home, changed, ate a little something and then headed off to full rehearsal at the Zellerbach Auditiorium.
Rehearsal again ran well past midnight, and left me more than half dead. I think I’m truly beginning to understand the meaning of incorporeal.
Friday I thankfully had no classes, but to make up for the lack of things for me to do, of course, I had another walkshift at 10AM. I managed to quickly run out of Penn Glee Club flyers and so, while waiting for my shift to end, I decided to help out the Pan Asian Dance Troupe in advertising their show, “Revenge”. There I met a sweet girl by the name of Donna, who was somewhat bemused with my marketing techniques.
The afternoon was spent grading homework for CIS121 that I had thus far neglected, and I only just managed in time for our staff meeting. After the staff meeting, I had only just enough time for Kabbalat Shabbat, before I was off to the theatre for our very first performance!
It was well received, much the same with the matinee performance. However, after the two, I was thoroughly exhausted!
In the afternoon, there was the Glee Club Graduate Club reception, where we sung a few songs from our standard repetoire, however, unfortunately I was fairly out of practice with a number of the pieces.
Our final performance Motzei Shabbat, was filled with members from the OCP (Orthodox Jewish Community at Penn) and I felt very well supported. A few tears came to my eyes as I was asked to speak along with the seniors, on what it felt like to be partaking in my final show.
Following the end of the show, we had ‘strike’, taking apart the set and emptying the theatre. This took us till around 1AM at which point the cast party began. Mark Glassman and Erik Nordgren, an old alum and our conductor respectively were both present and helped add to the environment. Mark’s ‘roast’ was particularly entertaining, and though I wasn’t savaged quite enough, it was still hugely enjoyable. Finally at around 3AM, hell week came to a close and my eyes were laid to rest.