I donated blood this morning. No, actually, I donated platelets; they gave me back whatever it was that they didn’t want. I even did a triple this morning, since apparently I am just chock full of so many extra platlets I won’t miss three times as many as they might normally take. I did this first thing this morning, which meant I had to get up an extra hour earlier than I normally do, in order to get to the book center by 7 am for my appointment. In retrospect maybe I should have thought more carefully about that scheduling, since tonight was our dress rehearsal and I did not actually get home until after 11pm, but I figure it’s better to get this kind of thing over with as soon as possible in the day. Also, I always use platelet donations as an excuse to have a donut (since they give them away for free there) and donuts are far better as morning food than as food for any other time during the day.

After the blood donation, during which I read most of Stephen King’s Lisey’s Story (which was a bit disappointing since it seems to be merely a rehash of several of his other books, most notably Rose Madder, instead of a unique plot) it was off to work, where I discovered that the huge gift basket from the rental agency that owns the building our office is in had arrived. So all throughout the day we rummaged through the basket, pulling out all the goodies. It’s the kind of basket that could feed a small family for several days, assuming that the family was willing to exist only on cookies, candy, and a selection of deliciously flavored hot chocolate mix.

I did not go home after work. I did not want to have to deal with traffic coming back to Sacramento, so instead, I had a small dinner by myself at a nearby restaurant, thus giving myself enough time to finish the rather uninspiring and predictable book I started this morning, and then camped out at a nearby Borders to sip hot chai and accept samples of gingerbread latte, and work in a few rows of knitting on my sister’s lace shawl.

Rehearsal went well, all things considered. It is frustrating sometimes to realize that I have worked so hard on one song, only to start losing my place on another song I thought I already had nailed. There are a few places in a few pieces that are weak, overally, for the group, but we went through every single song, and except for a rather last minute decision to switch from the German translation to the (much easier to pronounce because we are all beyond exhausted) English translation in one song, it went smoothly. I’d have gotten home earlier, but the last song was where several of us kind of fell apart, so we sat around the piano and went over the messiest parts over and over again until they clicked.

I have a million things to do tomorrow, before I have to be back at the church for a last run-through before our concert, which is probably for the best, because if I am busy, I will not have time to be nervous about what is coming.The director has told us that not only will a reviewer from The Sacramento Bee be there, the composer of one of the most challenging pieces will also be attending. Plus it appears that for this concert we have already sold more tickets than the group’s ever brought in before, and that does not even begin to address the number of people we know will be buying the tickets at the door.

Tis the season for Holidailies