What a day!

Saturday was really busy. It was also really good. I was double-booked, and I thought I was avoiding becoming triple-booked, and then I just went for it. There were quiet moments and loud moments and I want to share them.

My first event was a family history fair at the church. When I was first asked to be on the committee, I wasn't sure why. Then I was asked to work out the flow of getting people where they needed to be. I have never specifically been in charge of something like that, but I'm not opposed to trying new things and I am pretty competent.

There were some classes that people could drop in on, but the main attraction was one on one slots with family history consultants, to help people get started or get past where they had stopped. That's what I was trying to keep organized.

Things did not go according to plan, exactly. They still worked out. There was a time period right at the start that was a little frantic, but we did get everyone matched up, and people had good experiences. That was the main thing, really. I know that people got helped, and that was a good experience for them, and the consultants found it rewarding, so it was good for them. People left happy and more confident. Some brief chaos didn't interfere with that.

I was at the church from 9:30 AM to 2 PM, and all of my morning prior to leaving was getting ready for that. (I'd written the Saturday blog post the night before.) I could have been perfectly happy to crash at home for the rest of the day, but I had another event.

My friend Mel was holding a karaoke fundraiser for the American Heart Association in honor of her mother. None of those nouns are things I turn down. It started at 5, and that meant leaving home around 3:30 to get there. But wait, there's more.

One thing I had turned town - and this is where we go from double to triple booked - was the Sing Along showing of Grease that night. My sisters and I have been looking at a Sing Along Sound of Music, but I think the Grease songs are a lot more fun. Still, it was already such a busy day.

Nonetheless, while I was briefly at home a friend, Jessica,  who was going to Grease messaged me and said she had a ticket I could use. She was asking me because she knew I would love it. I was not sure when karaoke was ending. Without committing, I did a quick Tri-met check and discovered that the Mission theater is really pretty accessible from the Alibi Lounge (just one transfer).

I made it to karaoke, and it's important to remember that starting at 5 does not necessarily mean everyone is there at 5. There was a good turnout, but not many singers yet. This meant I sang early, and was quickly able to sing "Basket Case", which I have been wanting to do a while.

I could have sang more, but I tried to space it out to one an hour. I am not a great singer. I try to make up for that with total commitment, but there are people who actually sing well. So I sang "Basket Case" around 5, "Dancing With Myself" around 6, and then "Dance, Dance" around 7. The first two of those were songs I had been wanting to do for a while. I sort of wished that I'd had my studded wrist band when I started "Dancing", but I just gave it a good sneer and went for it.

I had not specifically intended to do "Dance, Dance", but I thought I could pull it off, and I appreciate it more after singing it. You know from listening that it's like reading the journal of a smart but so emo kid, yes, (Hi, Pete!), but you feel it so much more when you're performing it.

To make it to Grease, I was going to have to leave around 7:40. I thought I was done after "Dance, Dance", but more people I like kept showing up. There was visiting, and a request for a duet. A duet has also been one of my goals, so right around 7:30 Becky and I sang "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", and that was a lot of fun.

I said my goodbyes and headed out. I did have a short wait at the Rose Quarter Transit Center, and there was a guy there sitting on an instrument case. Based on the size and the lack of a bell, I couldn't figure out what type of instrument and I really wanted to know. I asked. (Turntables.) Anyway, we started talking and another guy joined in, and they kept it up on the bus. I think they might collaborate on something. I'll review him in my blog eventually. It would have been really easy not to talk to him, especially because the first time I asked, he didn't hear the question. I'm glad I kept with it.

The crush of people at the theater was amazing. Many people had already gotten in, but there was a long line still getting in, a long line for the snack bar, and you needed to have your ticket already because it was sold out.

I say "long lines" not to complain, but to impress upon you that this was a lot of people - some in costume - and they were into it. It took a while to get started as they were getting everyone in, but there was so much enthusiasm, before and after. I had thought there would be words on the screen, which was not the case, and I thought I would need them. I knew more words than I thought, but there were so many people who knew every word and line. This was their night.

With my karaoke duet goal, I had often thought that "You're the One That I Want" could work well. Well, it wasn't my duet but I have sung it now, and on the same day as my first duet. Those were fun to sing.

I had noticed a girl in a wheelchair in the theater, and we had greeted each other, but I hadn't thought much about it. As my group was leaving, we passed her at the top of the ramp, with her friend trying to hold it steady. The ramp did not seem particularly steady on its own, and it was a little steep. 

I did not realize all of that right away, but Jessica caught on immediately, and helped steady the ramp, and then with the four of us plus the friend, keeping the ramp firm and keeping her from accelerating down and launching off the ramp was easy.

They were heading in the same direction as us for part of the way, and she was saying how not long ago she would have enjoyed the shaky ramp, but she has gotten more cautious as she gets older, and is looking forward to being 30 when there won't be any drama.

No, I did not choose to disillusion her that night. Instead I said that if you do it right, it keeps getting better. I am pretty happy at 44 and I am going to be amazing at 60.

This is true. It's not that there weren't frustrations on my way here, or that there won't be more on my way to 60, but what an amazing day, and it was all built up of people connecting, and coming together. It comes out of saying "yes" when "no" is easier. It comes because there are amazing people all over. There were people who thought of me, and people who were looking at for others and trying to make the world a better place. There were people having fun. Saturday was a day when I did pretty well at staying open to that.

Yes I got home late, and woke up tired and dehydrated, but it's allergy season. That was probably going to happen anyway.