Sunday, July 08, 2007

sunday Sunday SUNDAY!!!

Sorry, I felt the need to emulate a bad monster truck rally commercial.

OH MY GOOD HOLY LORD!!! I love this place! Even though it's gross and rainy and muggy, it's still beautiful! Everything is so green, and yet the people I spoke with today were complaining that things were yellowing because of the lack of recent rain. #1. Glad I could bring the rain with me; now if I could only get rid of it. #2. Yellowing? Things are all totally green with maybe a tinge of yellow at the edges. Whatever.

Everyone here seems to ride their bikes to get around. Yes, there are cars on the roads, but there are bikes everywhere. I may have to get mine primed for the journey. And needless to say, it would be beneficial for me to ride a bit more of the bike.

I mapquested the location and directions to St. Luke's before I left this morning. It said to allow 10 minutes; it was approximately 4 miles from my hotel. Since the serice started at 10am, I left the hotel at 9:25--just in case. I'm glad I did. I drove around for ~20 minutes on all sorts of one-way streets looking for a place to park. When I followed a sign for "walkway to parking lot" it took me to a private lot belonging to the hospital across the street. I finally gave up at 10:01 and parked in the circle drive right by the front door hoping it was legal parking. It was, but I was worried the behemoth I was driving was blocking too much space. Oh well, it worked out for the best.

Then I got out of the car. If this isn't a sign, I don't know what is. As I'm walking up to the door, I hear the organ and voices singing Austria: "Glorious things of Thee are spoken...." Yep, the tune of the Sewanee hymn. And it was glorious. The congregation was actually singing without the choir leading them--and not too shabbily either! I sat close to the door by the back behind a couple (who I found out during the passing of the peace was church shopping) who looked as lost as I was. It was a Rite II service, so I actually had to use the prayer book to get the words right. It was so Sewanee-like though. And the church is so pretty! And the chapel--yowza, is it ever gorgeous! It's all wooded inside with panels of Honduran mahagony! Hopefully I can post some pictures soon.

After church, I went to lunch with the music director, his wife, and a few choiristers. They took me to some place they frequent after choir. It was soooooooooooooooooo good!!! I had a pasta dish with sauted lobster and mushrooms in a fan-freaking-tastic marsala sauce. *to die for!!!* And considering it was lobster, it was el cheapo! Then the music man and his wife drove me around some of the local lighthouse parks including Buglight Park. What a name! It was beautiful even with the fog rolling in over the harbor. Yes, I took pictures of that, too.

After lunch (good lord, this is getting to be a long post--I'll abbreviate), I came back to the hotel and waited for the realtor. He came and got me about 3:45 and took me on an hour and a half tour of Portland, South Portland, and Cape Elizabeth. I hate to repeat myself, but everything is so beautiful. The realtor was really helpful, nice, and just all around swell. When he dropped me off a little after 5:15, I took it upon myself to go to the LL Bean store up in Freeport. It was such a quick trip. Everything is so close! And yes, H-Bomb, I got you a tee shirt. Then I just drove around until almost 8:30, all the while taking pictures until it got too dark. Then I picked up dinner and came back to the hotel.

Now I've got about 11 hours until I meet my first interview. Time to freak out and get nervous! Think happy thoughts people!!!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Super jealous that you are in Maine right now....hope the interview today goes swimmingly!!!

Anonymous said...

Loved reading your last three postings. Loved hearing the excitement in your voice when we talked yesterday. Hate that you may be leaving us (but totally understand why). Can't wait to hear about today.
LB