The Holiday Sweater Spectacular and Pink Martini

Well, I ended 2008 with more singing and lots of snow. I was not too thrilled about the snow, and neither were all the other Portlanders. I guess it was nice to have a white Christmas, though. However, it did make it very difficult to show my parents around town when they came out to visit me.

But, before the big snow storm, I got to perform again with my choir, the Flash Choir, at the Holiday Sweater Spectacular in early December. This show was put on by the Portland Cello Project ( http://portlandcelloproject.com/ ), which is a beloved local ensemble that performs everything from well-known pop songs to original compositions. The show had several guest artists, my favorite of which was Mirah ( http://www.krecs.com/html/artists/artistbio.php?interest=25 ), and we acted as back-up singers for these performers.

We sang "Happy Christmas (War is Over)" by John and Yoko, "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly, and "Lost in the Stars" by Kurt Weill, amongst many others. The audience was buzzing, expresive, and supportive, and there was a real inclusive feeling with all the artists. It was a lot of fun.

Then, after the big snow storm and a wonderful visit with my parents (you can check out their blog about the trip at http://thisworldsmyhome.blogspot.com/ ), I went to a crazy holiday party hosted by the band Pink Martini ( http://www.pinkmartini.com/ ). One of the members has a loft in downtown Portland, and it's the band's headquarters as well as our weekly choir practice space. We were invited to the party to sing Christmas carols, and boy did we sing. We sereneded the crowd until our voices were hoarse.

A few minor clebrities meandered through the throng of revelers. I saw a finalist from the show Rock Star: Supernova ( http://www.cbs.com/primetime/rock_star2/ ), and Luis from Sesame Street ( http://www.sesamestreet.org/onair/cast/emilio_delgado ). It was difficult to take pictures because of all the people, but I managed to snap one with my phone camera. There was an open bar with top-shelf liquor, and waitresses moving through the crowd with trays of sliders and cup cakes. All of Portland's brightest and kookiest were there. It was a marvelous time.



Now I'm back to the daily grind as Guest Services Manager at the hotel, and enduring my first cold winter in several years. I'm enjoying snuggling with my cat, Kage, and surfing the web on my new laptop. I'm looking forward to the inauguration of our new president, and seeing what promise the year 2009 has to bring.