6.16.2005
do not be alarmed
"Do not be alarmed." Words you do not want to be hearing from the head flight attendant on an approach to Heathrow Airport. Nothing major, of course, but when we're all looking at the flight maps in front of us and in addition to all of the other information, American Airlines is also showing us the terminal map for London Gatwick Airport, we start to panic. Still, when we hear over the PA the words "Ladies and gentlemen, do not be alarmed", the first thing that comes to mind is not "yes, we're landiing at Heathrow" but "we didn't need that extra engine on the wing anyway."
I had been having trouble in Boston with my allergies, but New England and New Jersey allergens affect me by causing my sinuses to explode. Headaches when the sinuses expand upward into the cranial cavity, toothaches when they expand downward into the roots of my teeth. In Oxford, it's not my sinuses, it's my eyes, my nose, and the back of my throat, which has become raw and painful. I think I'm exacerbating the situation with too much singing. On Tuesday evening, after evensong, Magdala had a 2 hour rehearsal for our tour to Genoa. It was painful. I also sang yesterday at Queen's, which was much better, but I still come back to my dorm gasping for air and feeling painfully dry in the back of my throat. A bit worrisome, I think.
My friend Marisa is here from Princeton - she's doing summer research on her dissertation (music department) in Oxford. We're spending some time catching up with each other, which is loads of fun. And yesterday, she got the opportunity to sing at Queen's with me when one of our soprani fell ill. Our old conductor and friend from Princeton, Lee, is going to get a kick out of seeing the photo of the two of us in cassocks and surplices. Speaking of photos, this weekend I think I'm going to try to put up photos of Mike & Doreen's wedding, as well as the photos from the RL graduation. Plus anything else that I haven't put up yet, like photos from Queen's Choir's trip to Salisbury.
Dinner tonight shall be a pork fricasee in a three mustard and thyme sauce. I don't really know how many mustards fit into a sauce - I mean, it's pretty much all mustard. Where does one draw the line? Four mustards? Ten? After about 15, aren't we just dealing in minutia? Mustard A uses 10% vinegar. Mustard B uses 15%, and Mustard C uses 20%. Isn't blending them all together just going to give us three times the Mustard B? Maybe I'm missing something. Actually, I'm pretty sure I am.
Anyway, I'm off to dinner now, which will also include "braised rice." I've heard of steaming rice, and frying rice, and also boiling it. I have no idea how one braises rice. Whatever.
I had been having trouble in Boston with my allergies, but New England and New Jersey allergens affect me by causing my sinuses to explode. Headaches when the sinuses expand upward into the cranial cavity, toothaches when they expand downward into the roots of my teeth. In Oxford, it's not my sinuses, it's my eyes, my nose, and the back of my throat, which has become raw and painful. I think I'm exacerbating the situation with too much singing. On Tuesday evening, after evensong, Magdala had a 2 hour rehearsal for our tour to Genoa. It was painful. I also sang yesterday at Queen's, which was much better, but I still come back to my dorm gasping for air and feeling painfully dry in the back of my throat. A bit worrisome, I think.
My friend Marisa is here from Princeton - she's doing summer research on her dissertation (music department) in Oxford. We're spending some time catching up with each other, which is loads of fun. And yesterday, she got the opportunity to sing at Queen's with me when one of our soprani fell ill. Our old conductor and friend from Princeton, Lee, is going to get a kick out of seeing the photo of the two of us in cassocks and surplices. Speaking of photos, this weekend I think I'm going to try to put up photos of Mike & Doreen's wedding, as well as the photos from the RL graduation. Plus anything else that I haven't put up yet, like photos from Queen's Choir's trip to Salisbury.
Dinner tonight shall be a pork fricasee in a three mustard and thyme sauce. I don't really know how many mustards fit into a sauce - I mean, it's pretty much all mustard. Where does one draw the line? Four mustards? Ten? After about 15, aren't we just dealing in minutia? Mustard A uses 10% vinegar. Mustard B uses 15%, and Mustard C uses 20%. Isn't blending them all together just going to give us three times the Mustard B? Maybe I'm missing something. Actually, I'm pretty sure I am.
Anyway, I'm off to dinner now, which will also include "braised rice." I've heard of steaming rice, and frying rice, and also boiling it. I have no idea how one braises rice. Whatever.
