Sing... Sing a song... Sing out loud...

Sing out strong...

Ah... It was great to be back at Choir last night - first rehearsal of the season.  Lovely to see everyone, and registration went very smoothly.  We ran through five or six of the more familiar songs, and started working on a new medley for the Winter Concert.

I am always surprised by the magic that happens at choir.  There's something about the way the voices blend, the way the rich tones of close harmony create something greater than the sum of it's parts, which always takes me aback. I was reminded again how powerful teamwork and collaboration are, and that it can create something really special.  A metaphor for life, perhaps?

But, I'm getting too introspective for this early in the morning. Suffice to say rehearsal went very very well, and I'm very excited for the new season. We're going to have a few new opportunities to perform, as well as our usual concerts, and even a "field trip" to Stratford to see Jesus Christ Superstar!  That should be a lot of fun.  I gave the music for my solo to the accompanyist, Sapphire, and hopefully I'll be able to get her music recorded so that I can rehearse it on my own.

Lots of follow up work to do as well, including updating the Choir Members list, the repertoire list for this season, stamping, recording and filing the new music the Prez brought me, and correcting some email addresses. I'll do that tonight so that I can relax about it, and just practise the music for the rest of the week, while I look forward to next Monday's rehearsal.

A challenging, but rewarding, weekend

Did something I never thought I'd have to do this weekend, "help" someone detox.  I have a very dear friend, who for obvious reasons will remain anonymous, who's been taking Oxycontin for almost four years, buying from a dealer and wasting their brain cells and their money.

They've been ratcheting down their daily intake for a few months now, but it was time to go off it completely.  There was very little I could do, except be there for support.  Watching the sweats, the hot / cold flashes, the nausea, the joint pain, it was difficult, but I'm glad I was there to support my friend in this decison.  I think it's a very brave thing to do, unquestionably right, but very courageous and difficult nonetheless.  I'm convinced that if anyone knew the pain and effort required to detox from this drug, they'd never take it in the first place.

Every day, the symptoms became less and my friend's personality started to come to life again. They said the clarity they felt by the fourth day was astounding, although they still felt terrible.  My friend's going back to work today, and I truly hope they know how much I'll be thinking about them, sending good vibrations their way. This brave soul is one of my heroes, and I know they'll be able to win this fight!