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April 23rd, 2006

09:31 am - Check out my choir's on-line fundraising auction through eBay! Rumbo a México! This coming July 2006, choristers of Vancouver’s Christ Church Cathedral Choir are heading off on a ten-day tour to central Mexico, where we will perform both concerts and services in the historic colonial Mexican centres of San Miguel de Allende, Querétero and Guanajuato, with all proceeds going towards the local communities. Central Mexico is an area that rarely receives English-speaking choral groups, so this is a wonderful opportunity for the choir to share our music and language and “Go to the World” (to quote a favourite hymn). Click on this link to go to our auction page through the charitable pages of eBay. The auction runs from April 23 to April 29 and has 50 unique items ranging from concert tickets to chocolate, original artwork (paintings and textiles) to stays at a B&B or the Hotel Vancouver Fairmont! The choir is a finalist in this year’s CBC Choral Competition! Current Mood: chipper Current Music: Listening to the semifinalists of the CBC Choral Competition

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October 7th, 2005

04:31 pm - Vancouver Choirs Unite For Katrina Fundraiser VANCOUVER CHOIRS UNITE FOR KATRINA FUNDRAISER (Vancouver, BC)  On Tuesday, October 18, 2005, 8:00 PM at Christ Church Cathedral, seven of Vancouver’s premiere choirs join forces in a special fundraising effort benefiting New Orleans choirs affected by Hurricane Katrina. More than any other musical form, choral music speaks to the collective soul of a community.  Whether through spirituals or sacred songs, national anthems or campfire songs, singing connects us to each other, to our pasts and to our future.  When members of Sing Seven and the Christ Church Cathedral Choir perform inspiring music in one of Vancouver’s best settings for choral concerts, it is sure to be an unforgettable – and moving – evening. All the choirs, their members and their directors are donating their performances, and proceeds will assist choirs in New Orleans to re-build their organizations after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Tickets are just $20 at the door, and tax receipts can be issued for all donations over $50. Who: Members of Sing Seven (Chor Leoni, Elektra Women’s Choir, Phoenix Chamber Choir, Vancouver Bach Choir, Vancouver Cantata Singers and Vancouver Chamber Choir) and the Christ Church Cathedral Choir What: Choral Fundraiser in response to Hurricane Katrina When: Tuesday, October 18, 2005  8:00 PM Where: Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver (at corner of Burrard Street & Georgia Street) Tickets: $20 at the door, with proceeds to benefit choirs in New Orleans (Tax receipts can be issued for donations of $50 and over.) Free Parking: Download a complimentary parking pass at www.cathedral.vancouver.bc.ca and park for free during the concert.  Pass valid at the Park Place Parkade, enter off Hornby Street. Parking passes can also be picked up in person at the Christ Church Cathedral office (690 Burrard Street) weekdays between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM and at worship services. Sing Seven is a coalition of Vancouver’s premiere choirs whose members collectively produce more than 50 concerts each season.  The October 18, 2005 benefit includes performances by six of the Sing Seven members (Chor Leoni, Elektra Women’s Choir, Phoenix Chamber Choir, Vancouver Bach Choir, Vancouver Cantata Singers and Vancouver Chamber Choir) and The Cathedral Choir of the benefit’s host venue, Christ Church Cathedral. Current Mood: energetic Current Music: Track 01-Underworld-Greg - Electronica 1

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October 2nd, 2005

12:16 pm - C-C- C- Cohabitation! I haven’t written for quite a while, partly because my connection with D was consuming my thoughts. He got back to Vancouver Sept 23 and it’s been a whirlwind of snuggles, great sex, laughter, serious talks - in short, I’m incredibly happy. A major factor in this happiness is that we are living together! Here, in this 500 sq ft bachelor apartment. We’ve talked about rearranging things a bit, putting some of my stuff away and bringing some of his stuff here. Staying here for awhile then perhaps down the road moving into a new place together. I love having him here. I love going to sleep and knowing he’ll be here when I wake up. Yup - I’m in love. *gulp* You know - at age 47 here, I never thought this would happen. Or that I’d so quickly unattach to an apartment I’ve dearly loved for the past 15 years. It’s seen a major chunk of my life’s history - but in the end, it’s just an apartment. If we end up moving then fine. My requirements would be hardwood floors, South or West facing, with a decent sized balcony so the garden could move happily, a cat-friendly landlord, and a west end location. If there was a dishwasher then I’d be delirious! Obviously it would be a bigger space - a one bedroom at least, preferably a one bedroom/den set up so that our computers could occupy one space. I made breakfast this morning since I don’t have to sing till this afternoon. Current Mood: artistic Current Music: Spem in Alium-CCC - study disc sep05

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August 29th, 2005

05:11 pm - Garden tattoo update I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve written anything. Could be because I’ve been having a torrid love affair since I met Dean in December :-) I finally had another session with Mikel, my tattoo artist down at Sacred Heart on Davie St, on August 10. It was a 2 hour session and we completed the colouring of the right “wing” of the Art Nouveau stained glass garden piece. After living for so long with only the outline it was a total rush to finally see this next step! I’m glad I waited so long, if only because I’ve learned something VERY important about the whole healing process. A heavily inked friend of mine recommended 3M Transparent bandages. They breathe, they act as a 2nd skin, and you can leave them on for up to a week. Best of all, you can shower, as long as you don’t spend hours in the water! I tried them for the first time, using the 4”x4.5” size, overlapping 2 of them to get the new work covered. They worked amazingly well. There was NO scabbing at all and the colours are incredibly vibrant. It made the whole healing process WAY too easy! I went back to Mikel on Aug 18 to have the left “wing” done. I’ve never had a tattoo session go so easily. It was another 2 hour session. I was so relaxed that I almost fell asleep. It was very cool. I repeated the 3M bandage treatment and it worked just as well. Consider me a complete convert. On Sept 1 I’m scheduled for the final 2.5 hour session, to do the passion flower central portion. I can’t wait! Current Mood: happy Current Music: Mary-Scissor Sisters-Scissor Sisters

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January 27th, 2005

06:36 pm - my kingdom for a Utilikilt! OK - having to wear clothes when one is healing a tat that is bisected by one’s waistline is, in a word, PAINFUL! I love the placement of the design - about 1/3 of it will be visible above my jeans if I’ve my shirt off. A lot more will be visible if I’m in a bathing suit. That said, I wish it was sarong weather! It’s not so bad today, but yesterday was really tough. Today I managed to find my oldest loosest pair of underwear (I had others but tossed them awhile ago) and that helps, somewhat. I am finding that I am spending a lot of time in my Joe Boxer pajama bottoms :) (and I miss doing the ‘wild thing’ with a certain East Ender . . . .) *sigh* Cathedral choir rehearsal tonight - gotta go. Current Mood: grumpy Current Music: Queremos Paz-Gotan Project-La Revancha Del Tango

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January 26th, 2005

09:10 am - Garden tattoo After a fairly uncomfortable night I was able to remove the bandage this morning and see the outline of my new tattoo! It is FABULOUS. It features blooms from my garden: passion flower, day lilies, jasmine, and crocosmia. These are set in an art nouveau/stained glass like frame. The piece starts at the base of my tailbone and fans out across the top of my buttocks. At its tallest point it is probably 5 inches high, right in the centre along my spine (ouch), with the passion flower being the central flower. Mikel did an amazing design based on the pictures of the blooms I had brought in. I managed to sit for 3 hours, but by the end of it I was really starting to freak out. It seems there’s a lot of nerves in that area! lol We managed to get the first outline done and most of the calligraphy aspects completed. Mikel uses the term ‘calligraphy’ to indicate the thickening of various lines. I’d really hoped I could manage to hang on so that we could complete the calligraphy portion, which would leave only the colouring, but had to stop with 20 - 30 minutes of that kind of work still incomplete. When the body has had enough my nerves start misfiring from over-stimulation. In my case it started to feel like I was being tickled! I didn’t last much longer after the tickling sensations began. It is is going to be so beautiful once it’s coloured in - but that won’t be done for awhile. The current outline has to heal completely, so possibly another session in 3 weeks. Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: Oh Lonesome You-The O'Kanes-The O'Kanes

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January 22nd, 2005

01:58 pm - Rainy thoughts on Renee, two days after First of all, let me start by saying the evening was a LOT of fun. The pre-concert dinner was wonderful - it’s so great to spend social time with guys that I mainly know through Chor Leoni. That said, I have decided that having a pre-dinner glass of wine, followed by a prix fix meal with wine pairings, may not be the best way to prepare to listen to a recital! Renee’s first set was all Handel. This is understandable only because she’s flogging her latest “all Handel” CD, which I will not be buying. She opened with Oh Had I Jubal’s Lyre - a piece that I know very well since I used to open my own recitals with it. The woman can sing coloratura (thankfully), but the problems become apparent when she hits a longer note such as a half note. The voice switches from ‘controlled small laser Baroque sound’ to ‘opera diva sound’ which made the listening experience quite schizophrenic. Her slow choices in the first set were beautiful, but the schizo quality of her rapid singing was very disconcerting to say the least. I wasn’t impressed. The second set was Berg. Her German was not flawless. While I understand the vagaries of live performance, someone at her level should not be mispronouncing words! So . . .the first half really left me cold. That perception was totally erased by the second half. Here we had America’s Reigning Diva singing 3 extended and very difficult operatic arias by 3 American composers. She aced every one of them. While all 3 were stunning, the show stopper was Ain’t it a pretty night! from Susannah by Carlisle Floyd. My next favourite was A Letter from Sullivan Ballou by John Kander (a name I didn’t recognize). This selection called for a lot of parlando speech-like singing, incredible diction, and beautiful delivery. Renee was flawless. She ended the program with a set of Schumann lieder. I was prepared to be under-whelmed, remembering her Berg from the first half. But this was a different story. Beautiful diction and language, and stunningly sung. Her Mondnacht was enchanting. That ended the program. But did it? She proceeded to sing 5 encores: Il Mio Babino Caro, Caecalie by Strauss, Song to the Moon from Rousalka by Dvorak, one that I can’t remember, and finally, Strauss’ Morgen. I loved them - but really . . . if you’re going to do 5 encores, why not put the 2 arias into the printed program and only sing 3? Isn’t it best to leave your public hoarse from shouting for more and retire from the stage in triumph? It’s a minor quibble. I pretty much loved it ~ though I didn’t like the feeling that the real performer didn’t arrive till after intermission. Current Mood: artistic Current Music: Illegal-Cantare Vulgare

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January 20th, 2005

04:49 pm - Renee Fleming with the boys I’m excited! Tonight a group of buddies from Chor Leoni are heading to dinner and then to the Orpheum theatre to hear Renee Fleming in recital. It should be a truly wonderful evening. No doubt I will be floating on my walk home, buoyed by memories of superb singing from what is arguably America’s Greatest Soprano. (or - I could be truly pissed if she sounds like crap. Those tickets were not cheap!) Anyway - got my haircut, did a light gym workout - I'm feeling great! Current Mood: artistic Current Music: Minuit-Khaled-Barcelona Raval Sessions

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January 18th, 2005

04:39 pm - Birthday Dinner for Dean OK - haven’t written for awhile. Lots has happened. Best news is that my buddy is back (happy dance!) and has been since the turn of the year. I have no idea where this is going, but I know what it is not: a traditional ‘boyfriend/partner/you’re everything to me’ kind of arrangement. What I do know is that it is: joyful, engaging, intensely sexual, intelligent, sensual, erudite, fun . . . well, I could go on, but you get the idea. The coolest thing is that we talk about all sorts of things. So today is his birthday and I’m making him dinner: Of course, I concentrated on desert first, and settled on an old recipe I hadn’t made for years. A blueberry sour cream torte, which I put together yesterday. It looks and smells divine. Tonight’s menu: appetizers: olives, humus, eggplant dip (yeah yeah, I’m serving eggplant . .. . But this is good!) and fresh pita bread Braised lamb shanks with apricots & dates basmatti rice salad aforementioned torte I haven’t decided on the wine yet, but am leaning towards the Poplar Grove merlot (yummmmmmy!) Gotta scoot - got things to do! (looks like there's a Naked Heaven dance this Sunday night. Yay!) Current Mood: happy Current Music: Chanson perpétuelle Op. 37-Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano -A Portrait of Frederica von Stad

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January 1st, 2005

04:44 am - happy 2005 Some wise words from the past: “I salute you and there is nothing I can give which you have not, but there is much while I cannot give it, you may take it. No heaven can come to us unless we find it in our hearts today. So take heaven. No joy can come to us, unless it comes to us in this present moment. Take joy. No peace can come to us, unless we find it right now. Take peace.” - 1513 Christmas card Fra Giovanni Giocondo Current Mood: refreshed Current Music: Happy New Year-ABBA-Super Trouper

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December 24th, 2004

04:44 am - good grief AAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!!!! I seem to have this penchant for receiving bad news on the boyfriend/fuckbud/whatever level around holidays. Brad dumped me on New Year’s Eve 2000, saying he didn’t want a boyfriend going into the new millennium, only to find his next fuckbud Jan 1 at the Polar Bear swim. I’d successfully avoided any real entanglements since then (except for a brief fall for S last year) - had really kind of figured that I was past the point in my life where that kind of thing might happen. How quickly life can take your life and screw it around. D attended the Chor Leoni Yuletide Fires concert Dec 20. It was wonderful to have him there - I was thrilled that someone was interested enough to go out of his way to attend. We went for drinks afterwards then spent the night together. Coffee at Melriches in the morning. I knew his driving job was due to start that night and that he was scheduled all through the holidays, so was resigned to not seeing him over Christmas or New Years. I wasn’t too thrilled - I like this man. He’s bright, sexy, sensual, intelligent . . . I miss him. So today I’m baking the cheesecake for tomorrow’s Christmas dinner at Megan’s. Got it into the oven and called his voice mail to wish him a Merry Christmas. He called back a bit later to thank me then preceded to tell me he couldn’t see me for awhile. I’m glad to say that I didn’t totally lose it, but I was close. I kept flashing back to that infamous New Year’s Eve call and thinking “I’ve got to start avoiding men around the holidays.” With 3 exhausting masses to get through (2 tonight), then another Christmas morning) there’s no way I can fall apart. I’m sad, but I do know I need to think about how I’ll respond. I said I wouldn’t call - that doesn’t mean I won’t write. Current Mood: sad Current Music: Yuletide Fires-Chor Leoni-Yuletide Fires

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December 10th, 2004

10:55 am - connection Mid-December and like clock-work, I get a bout of bronchitis right at the busiest time of the season. I missed singing last Sunday’s service, didn’t sing Wed’s Chor Leoni rehearsal, but last night I could sing OK so was able to take in the Cathedral Choir rehearsal. We have a pending Festival of Lessons & Carols this Saturday night. The biaxin that I’m taking for the bronchitis has really kicked in - I only cough when I have to take a quick deep breath - which sounds fine until you realize that that is ALL you get to take during most singing! We had a terrific rehearsal. The event on Saturday night is a production of the Vancouver Children’s Choir, with the senior Cathedral Choir as their guests. We get to sing a couple of numbers on our own and I have to say they are sounding fabulous. What’s more amazing is that we are singing under the direction (on Sat night) of Kim, one of our soprano soloists, and she’s an incredible conductor. Just prior to leaving the apartment to head to rehearsal I got an instant message to meet some friends for a drink afterwards. I headed to the Pumpjack, grabbed a beer and a bowl of peanuts and settled in to wait. I was sitting towards the back, up on a counter - and there at the other end stood a very intriguing man. 6’1” (ish) 200 lbs, broad shoulders, cropped hair, handsome . . . . I realized with a start that this was the same man I’d been making goo goo eyes at a few weeks prior when I was with Chor Leoni guys after rehearsal. So back to last night: When I realized who it was I sort of got embarrassed, then thought ‘What the hell.’ I smiled at him and invited him over to share my bowl of peanuts - all done with a wink and nod of the head. His name is Dean. He has a smile that makes me melt - and the most resonant speaking voice I’ve ever heard. In fact one of the first things I asked was ‘Do you sing?” Apparently I’m not the first to ask this question of him. He doesn’t - alas. But he does a lot of other things extremely well. *happy dance* We talked for an hour till Angelo walked by and said “there you are, we’re all at the front wondering where you are” - so, verrrrrrrrry reluctantly I said how much I’d enjoyed meeting Dean etc. and that I really needed to go see my friends. I got up to leave, took a step away, turned back and pulled him into a hug. Is there anything more exciting than that first hug, when you realize that under the shirt is a back that goes for days and is muscled in all the right places? I went and kibbitzed with Rick and the crew, said good-bye to our friend Thomas who goes home to Holland today, had a drink - and kept checking Dean’s location. He was still there, and every time I looked I got a goofy grin on my face. Rick looked at me and said, “you did exchange numbers, right?” We hadn’t. I wrote mine out, went back, and slowly tucked it into his pocket while he smiled down at me (FUCK! those EYES!!!!!!!!) Rick and crew were headed to the OD (ick) - I said I’m saying here and Rick said “yes - you have some unfinished business.” Dean smiled when I showed up at his side again. We chatted, flirted, smiled. Last call. More flirting, smiling etc. Finally the lights are up and they’re stacking chairs, at which point he says we have to get out of here. All along throughout this delightful experience I’m thinking “I so want to kiss this man, strip him, and explore his stud body - but I can’t because of the last bit of bronchitis.” We’re out on Davie St and he asks “so now what?” I suggest another drink at Numbers (ACK!!!!!!!!!) I explained about the cough I had and that I’d much rather be doing something else but didn’t want our experience together to end. . . He said that if he had another drink it would be game over and he’d be all over me. I bought him a cider and more chat ensued as I stared into his eyes. He finally looked at me and said “You have no intention of going anywhere with me tonight, do you?” I replied with “You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now, and I’d go anywhere with you.” We kissed. Shortly thereafter we were back at my place. He was unconcerned about the end of my cough (thankfully dormant the entire night) AND my hiv status. What is it about big muscled 40-something men that they can turn me to mush with a look, smile, or touch? He’s very much a top (thank GOD!!!!!!) and we very much did that - but the night included the most amazing talk in between, sensuous massage, snuggling (to a point - the man is a personal blast furnace) - and eventually sleep. Showering together was an exercise in restraint - he had an appointment, I had a caroling gig - but it could have very easily turned into one of those “turn the phone off, order in” kind of days. I took him for breakfast at Joe’s where I pointed out that he had my number but I didn’t have his. On a scrap of paper he wrote: Call this number at your own risk! Having said that, lovely to meet you, and lets talk/see/coffee/fuck/yell etc. Dean followed by his number. The sight of two leather-jacketed men kissing as we made our good-byes out on Davie St seems to have surprised a group of passing teens, but what did I care? I was floating and still am :) Current Mood: ecstatic Current Music: Magnificat anima mea-Monteverdi Choir, EBS, Gardiner-Bach - Magnificat & "Jauchzet Gott in allen Lan

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November 4th, 2004

05:21 pm - Prayer Ribbons to the Sun So - on Tuesday I had my latest ink session with Mikel. He is so fine - we got the entire tattoo inked. Now starts the healing process and I’m already itchy. I have finally determined that the thing I hate the most about the healing process of a new tat is not being able to take long hot showers for that first week. Sponge baths get REALLY annoying after a couple of days - especially if you’re a clean freak like I am. I have my touch up session booked for November 16. Conceivably the whole thing could be finished and healed up by the end of November! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cathedral Choir tonight so gotta run. B Current Mood: busy Current Music: Balladen op. 10 nr. 1 - Andante - Allegro - Andante-Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli-Brahms: Balladen op. 10 - Schubert: Sonate D. 537

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October 22nd, 2004

05:33 pm - Here comes the Sun (tattoo!) OK - so Tuesday I finally went in and visited Mikel at Sacred Heart. We started working on this KILLER tat. It’s a HUGE Sun/Flower/Ribbony piece that centres on my right shoulder cap and radiates from there. It works in perfect harmony with the Earth that is the pearl of wisdom being chased by my dragon armband (right bicep). He’s using an amazing shading technique that I’ve never seen before - he says he’s always wanted to use it but has never had a project big enough (or a subject willing enough) to utilize it. It is cool. But it is EXTREMELY PAINFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ow ow ow OW!!!!!!! It entails a lot of black shading which in itself is no big deal, right? But then he goes OVER the black with colour! In some cases several times . . . . The design has 8 “rays” - we got the design and shading part done, plus 3 rays completely coloured in. By the end of the third ray I was in intense pain. We’d scheduled a session from noon to 4 pm. We used probably a good 3 1/4 hours of that time, but I was totally exhausted by the end of it. I came home and hit the bed and was out like a light. A call from T woke me up 2 hours later. We chatted a bit, then I slept a further 2 hours! Talk about an intense experience! I have another session scheduled for Nov 2 - noon to 3 pm. We’ll see how much he can get done. I really hope it will be all coloured in by then. Then 2 wks later I can do a final touch up session. I already really love the way the it is balancing the dragon on my left shoulder and it’s going to look amazing once it is completed! I’m very excited! Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: The Day Before You Came-ABBA-More Gold

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October 17th, 2004

01:25 am - quick quick slow slow . . . . Just headed to bed here after attending a community C&W dance tonight. What a blast! I’d forgotten how much I love 2-stepping. Actually, the forgetting is a protections mechanism - If I REALLY thought about how much I miss 2-stepping regularly (like every week) I’d be a very unhappy man. the community run events only happen a couple times a year. We had a great mix of men and women, about 100 total, out a the West End Community Centre. Several of my fave leads were there so I was kept busy dancing. I will be SO sore tomorrow! Wonders of wonders, I asked a man to dance. He recognized me from gaydar - one thing led to another and we ended up back at my place playing for an hour or so. Nice guy. Since tomorrow (Sunday) is both a/m/ service and Evensong I sent him home at 1 a.m., but I think we’ll meet up again. As I was checking my computer I noticed an e-mail from Glenn. He’s now in DAHRAN, Saudi Arabia!!!!!!!!!! He says it’s hot. . . . LOL. Had a really fun afternoon taking pics of A, my hot bodybuilder Argentinean friend. I took over 130 pics in 2 hours and was able to give him a cd this evening at the dance. Managed to get them edited while I was still “in the moment” - god he’s a hot fucker! We had a LOT of fun taking them ;) It’s almost 1:30 a.m. - I need sleep. B Current Mood: tired

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October 15th, 2004

09:46 am - Chor Leoni presents RENEWAL - the 12th Annual Remembrance Day performances Chor Leoni Men’s Choir Diane Loomer, C.M. Artistic Director Presents RENEWAL The 12th Annual Remembrance Day Performances Thursday, November 11th, 2004 ~ 1 pm West Vancouver United Church 2062 Esquimalt Ave, West Vancouver BC & Thursday, November 11th, 2004 ~ 8 pm Christ Church Cathedral 690 Burrard St, Vancouver BC General Admission Adults $22 / Students & Seniors $18 Veterans admitted FREE Ticketmaster 604.280.3311 www.ticketmaster.ca (service charges applicable) Join Chor Leoni and Artistic Director Diane Loomer as they honour Canada’s wartime past while looking forward to a future of peace. Featuring the world premieres of newly commissioned works by Larry Nickel and Bob Chilcott, as well as the premiere of a work by Stephen Chatman, Renewal brings a strong message as to the futility of war and a renewed purpose in peace. Always inspiring and challenging, Chor Leoni’s Remembrance Day concerts have become a Vancouver tradition – don’t miss it! Current Mood: productive Current Music: Blow Ye the Trumpet-Chori Leoni Men's Choir-Songs of War and Peace

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06:27 am - Another Insomniac Night! aaaaaarrrrgggghhhhh! I’m not sure why, but my sleep pattern seems to be really disrupted lately. I go to bed at a regular time and wake up almost like clockwork at 4 a.m. *sigh* It makes for a very long day, since I don’t get to bed till midnight or so. . . I saw the proposed artwork for the Sun tattoo that will go above my current right dragon/Earth/flame armband. Mikel at Sacred Heart on Davie St has come up with a very unique version of the sun. Knowing I love flowers, he’s combined both sun and floral elements into something that is very unique - I am quite intrigued! He’s centering it right on my shoulder cap, with rays/petals radiating out. This will be an intense tat experience since at least one large ray will wave across the top of my right shoulder blade to balance the spread wing of the big dragon on the left side. I remember that area being a particularly tender one as far as tats go! I’m scheduled to go in on Tuesday Oct 19 for a 4 hour session - he thinks it will only take 3 but wants the extra hour just in case. I’m excited! Today I have a workout with Ryan at noon, and will be running around distributing Vancouver Children’s Choir brochures. Actually I only have 3 stops: the Vancouver Public Library, who will take 21 bundles of 25 each and send out to each of their branches (GREAT deal! It’s free!), the Vancouver Arts Alliance office, and Perry the poster guy. Perry will take the biggest number (1000) and have his people spread them all over the city. . . . and I’ll have another box OUT of my tiny apartment! YAY! I’ve already sent out the PSA for Chor Leoni’s Renewal concert, upcoming Nov 11, and will be sending out the PSA for the Children’s Choir’s Imps & Demons concert (Oct 29) as well. Have to bake a pie today! I have a play date with my hot 26 year old buddy, Sean, tonight. He’s tall, sexy, sweet, hung, and a great kisser. It’s a repeat engagement and I am REALLY looking forward to it! B Current Mood: productive Current Music: Pensieri notturni di Filli-Julianne Baird-Handel - The Italian Years

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October 12th, 2004

07:06 am - More ink! Last week, before all the Thanksgiving hoopla, I stopped in at Sacred Heart on Davie and spoke to Mikel about expanding my recent armband to incorporate a big sun symbol in full colour. Since the two dancing Japanese dragons bracket the earth and it’s empowering flame, it makes sense that a giant sun should reside over the whole thing. I was wondering where it should go, but Mikel is adamant it needs to sit right on the ball of my shoulder cap - because, as he says, “you’ve got such a great muscle developing there!” Ok - so after I finished blushing, I started thinking and realized that if it is situated there it would be possible to extend a ray across the top of my right shoulder towards my neck. This will balance the spread wing of my first dragon which covers my left shoulder cap, upper arm, and pec. Its right wing stretches across the top of my shoulder almost to my neck as well. Once I figured this out it was ‘all systems go!’ I’m very excited. :) Current Mood: sleepy Current Music: Goldberg Variations BWV.988(Aria & 30 Variations)-Glenn Gould-J.S.Bach: The Goldberg Varitions

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October 9th, 2004

03:27 pm - Happy Thanksgiving Next to Christmas, Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday. I love the harvest, and I love churches decorated for the Thanksgiving service with the fruits of the field. This must have its roots in my childhood and the fact that our church had a lot of farmers. The display of harvest would cover the entire front of the church - of course, growing up in Kelowna (Canada’s fruit basket) meant there was a ton of fruits and vegetables on hand. I’m in the midst of making pies (awaiting the cooling of the pastry as I type!) for the Cathedral choir’s Thanksgiving collective dinner tomorrow evening. It will be a feast as usual, among friends and colleagues - the real reason to give thanks. Tonight I'm going to hear Annie Lennox and Sting perform. Can't wait! Then tomorrow is the big Thanksgiving service (with some great music), followed by the feast. Current Mood: happy Current Music: Concerto No.3 in F major, 'Autumn' RV 293, I-Nigel Kennedy, violin & director; English Chamber Orche

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August 11th, 2004

03:27 pm - Rest in Peace: Weasel Sept 88 - Aug 11/2004 Princess Sneaky Weasel (just ‘Weasel’ to her friends) went to the Elyssian Fields today, shortly after 4 pm. She was cradled in my arms as the needle went it, looking trustingly up at me with her emerald eyes. Within seconds she was gone. She had been diagnosed with a tumor that was impinging on her airway. The x-ray showed a 50% reduction in air passage and she was definitely suffering. Weasel had a good life, indeed a life destined for greatness. Glenn and I picked her out [actually she chose us by climbing up Glenn’s leg] from the cats and kittens at Aunty Meows’, a local cat rescue operation sometime in the Fall of 1989. She had been abandoned at the YVR airport. We put it down to an innate sense of good taste: she just wanted to get out of Richmond. In latter years she would tell all who would come under her spell that she was in fact the last surviving member of the Polish aristocracy who escaped before the pillaging Bolsheviks. All she could grab was her sable coat and her two large emeralds. Lacking opposable thumbs she popped the emeralds into her ears for the escape. They ended up lodged behind her eyes where they shone brightly. This, however, did nothing for her social status in the New World and she was forced to rely on the comforts of strangers - in this case Bruce and Glenn. She figured ending up in Vancouver’s West End was better than Richmond - but she still wasn’t getting the big feasts she believed her due. She would then inevitably ask the stranger for food. Over the past 16 years Weasel has seen many changes, though remarkably, only 3 apartments. All had gardens of varying complexity and she spent many happy hours lazing in the sun, sniffing the flowers, and snoozing. Though there was the incident with the goldfish in the water garden, it’s not really fit for a eulogy. She loved to play fetch with her foam golf balls, and move her catnip toys from perch to perch, chirping the whole way. I will miss her quiet charming presence, her constant companionship when watching TV, and her gentle comfort when I’ve been down. Max, her feline younger friend, is going to be very confused for the next little while. Bruce Current Mood: sad

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