What's your favorite?

My favorite pair of undies, originally uploaded by allriledup.

So, I was doing laundry in my building this week and was tickled when I saw this sign. My favorite part is the little drawing. I'm not sure if I like my favorite pair of underwear to put up a lost and found sign. So friends, I have two questions for you:

1) What does your favorite pair of underwear look like, and
2) Would you put up a lost and found sign if you lost them?

I'll start. My favorite undies are blue and white striped boxers. Although I love them, I don't love them dearly enough to put up a sign, just blog about them. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

One down...

So, I'm officially done with my History of the Baroque Seminar. I blame my lack of blogging on it. So there. I can't even begin to tell you how relieved I am that it is over. This past quarter has been very intense and there were moments that I didn't think that I would make it through. I also came to terms with my amazing powers of procrastination and they are amazing (is there a 12-step group for procrastinators? PA?). Here is a short list of things that I did instead of working on my school projects:
1) Went to the gym (if you know me, you know that I was really trying to avoid writing)
2) Cleaned my house
3) Started blogging
4) Registered an internet domain (www.michaelpatrickreilly.com)
5) Fantasized about being admitted to a psychiatric ward (as an excuse to avoid finals)
6) Spent countless hours talking to my friends about my projects
7) Napped
8) Watched TV
9) Upgraded my computer's operating system
10) Read Rosie O'Donnell's book Celebrity Detox

I only have one more final left - it is for my Church and Service Music class at USC. I've learned a lot from both of my classes this quarter/semester. I've also learned that I'm ready to do and very ready to be done with classes. There IS a light at the end of the tunnel.

Grandpa's Cabbages

Grandpa's Cabbages, originally uploaded by allriledup.

You've heard of grandpa's grapes? Well, here are grandpa's cabbages.

They're all the rage in Carmel

They're all the rage in Carmel, originally uploaded by allriledup.

So...these dog stroller/cage things are apparently all the rage in Carmel and Monterey. I saw three of them in one morning and they ain't cheap (around $200). I don't get it.

Full Moon

full moon on 101, originally uploaded by allriledup.

Tonight's moon was amazing and I was having fun with my new camera on the way home.

The Color Purple

flowers at the barnyard, originally uploaded by allriledup.

I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.
- Alice Walker, The Color Purple (1982)

Thanksgiving in Monterey

Color, originally uploaded by allriledup.

I just wanted to share a photo from my Thanksgiving in Monterey. More to come soon. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

How are you doing?

I was at Cedars-Sinai yesterday for my weekly allergy shot and I overheard the following conversation going on in the elevator bank:

man: How are you doing?
woman: I have three sons.
man: I know, but how are you?
woman: I've got a financial planner, a television show director and....a history teacher.
man: Oh...what shows does he work on?
woman: He does reality tv.
man: What shows?
woman: America's Next Top Model.

I was disappointed when the door to the elevator closed - I wanted to hear more. I feel sad for the woman. It seems like her whole self-esteem and maybe even her social status is based upon the success of her children. Oh, the pressure the history teacher must feel at family gatherings! Couldn't he have been a lawyer or a Doctor or at least play a history teacher on tv?

Oh, Schütz!

I just finished my History of the Baroque class and I presented tonight on Heinrich Schütz's The Seven Last Words of Christ. The presentation went really well, but I need to stay focused and start working on my final paper. I think due to exhaustion, I find Schütz's name hysterical and feel like it could be used as an expletive (as in Schütz! not again or something). I can also imagine a sitcom titled "Oh, Schütz," in which the protagonist always finds himself in awkward situations and then someone exclaims, "Oh, Schütz!" In re-reading this post, it doesn't seem that funny and I realize that I need to get some serious rest.

I must say that I like this man Schütz. I think if we were contemporaries we would be friends. I also think that we must have had very similar parents (in a letter, he states, "Now, too, I did not lack for counsel and inducement from my parents and kinsfolk whose opinion, briefly, was that I should endeavor to use my qualities slight as they were, and seek advancement by other means, and treat music as a secondary matter). I wonder if there are any parents out there who actually want their children to pursue a career in the arts? I wonder how much any of us could achieve if we were given that support? I guess this is my deep moment for the day. I do have to say that Schütz is completely modest when he describes his abilities as slight. Listen to the Seven Last Words of Christ - it is a work of supreme beauty: full of drama, passion and joy. Listening to this work is a religious experience (please pardon the pun).

How Can I Keep From Singing?

I had a very nice weekend. I managed to have a lot of fun, all the while procrastinating my Baroque project. Now, it's literally the week end and I have a stack of treatises begging to be read. So, the weekend. I had a great time on Friday with Joe. It was just what the doctor ordered: an evening of good conversation and good food (greasy mexican + margaritas and milk for dessert). I bounced my crazy thoughts off of him and he helped put everything into perspective.

On Saturday, I had a voice lesson with Desiree. I oftentimes feel like we have these little "actor's studio" moments. She's been a great help this fall and I feel like I have had some revelations regarding my singing. One thing that has been confirmed is that I need to slow down a bit. My friend John jokes that I have lightning-quick thoughts (which I liken to a super power). (BTW, his super power is laser beam focus). The hardest thing for me to reconcile with my singing is the seeming contradiction that what sounds bad in my head sounds good to everyone on the outside. The design of the human ear is terrible for singing! After my lesson, I dashed off to the school library to pick up a book that came in from interlibrary loan - a book that I will be coming more intimate with as soon as I stop blogging.

After a multi-hour nap, I went to see "laser beam" John's choirs perform. They were really amazing and it was great to see John in action doing what he loves to do. He was in his element and he seemed so much freer than I've seen him during our summer conducting program. His groups sounded great and they made truly wonderful music.

At church today, we had a great turn out. I had 18 choir members show up which is almost an all time record since I've been there (last year's average was 11). They are sounding great and I think the work of the past year, as well as the techniques I've learned in the summer program, are paying off. They sang "We Shall Walk Through the Valley in Peace" and I was so happy with their vocal color, intonation and dynamics.

For the offertory, I sang a duet with José. He has such a lovely voice and it was great to sing with him. I love harmonizing with someone else - it is like a little dance. We sang "How Can I Keep from Singing?" - a favorite of mine. I'm in love with the early American folk tunes and the Sacred Harp songs. There is something so memorable to them, both the tunes and the lyrics. I keep hearing in my head the words, "No storm can shake my endless calm, while to that rock I'm clinging. Since Lord is love of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?" In light of the epiphanies of this weekend, I can't think of a better mantra.

TGIF

I'm glad that it's Friday and the weekend it here. This hasn't been a terrible week by any stretch of the imagination, but it has been a tough week. I've been very morose and pensive lately - not a terribly great combination for me. The littlest things will set off a series of tangential thoughts of my past. For example, I am always vexed by the question of "hometown." Mostly, because I don't have any feeling of hometown. Many people I know spent all of their childhood in one location and grew up with the same group of people. They have a place that they call "home."

I just don't have that experience. Growing up, my family moved frequently enough that I never really felt like I had roots. I guess in some respects I feel like I don't belong anywhere or to anyone - a thought which can be freeing and also incredibly scary. See how crazy my mind is: I go from a question regarding my hometown to a feeling of alone-ness. And it doesn't stop there. The next progression of thoughts takes me to my death and how long it would take someone to figure out that I had died. Crazy. So, welcome to a snapshot of my week. I'm glad it is Friday and I'm looking forward to hanging out with Joe tonight and having a Margarita (or two) at El Coyote.