Wake up! Wake up!

I could hear Jeffrey shouting. As I opened my eyes in a groggy haze, I could see Jeffrey frantically scampering around the hotel room. What time is it? 8:30 AM. “What time do we have to be on the bus?” I asked him.

“Eight-thirty” he replied.

8:30?!?! I jumped out of bed, threw my clothes into my suitcase and cleaned myself up like the Warner Brother’s Tasmanian devil. My head was still spinning from last night’s celebration. How ironic, I thought. On the first day of this trip, Jeffrey had awoken me so that I would not be late to the airport and at the close of the tour, he did it again. What a lifesaver.

When we were at the hotel lobby, we realized the bus had left. We took a taxi to the airport, and when we arrived at the airport, the chorus members were still in line to have their luggages checked-in. Thank goodness we did not miss our flight.

I had often asked the chorus members what were the highlights of the trip for them, but I had not really considered what were mine. In retrospect, here are twenty of mine, in no particular order....

• Getting to know German boy a little better.
• Relaxing at Theisen’s home with great food and drinks.
• Getting to know some of the women while on the women’s bus.
• Speaking Cantonese with Shawn H. Surreal!
• Getting to know Jeffrey for more than just a carpool friend.
• Daring to do the prank that backfired.
• Rafting down Snake River in Jackson, WY.
• Being silly with Gayle and Jeffrey.
• Watching JD climb into and out of the trunk of Tim’s rental car.
• Making an effort to speak with Carol on the bus ride from the rapids.
• Meeting the different locals.
• Laughing as Mitsy fixed the onboard television like Fonzie.
• Singing Where Have All The Flowers Gone in Mandarin in Salt Lake City.
• Witnessing a different, warmer side of David B.
• Performing at the various venues, especially at Libby Gardner Hall and Yellowstone Park.
• Dining with friends at the Market Street Grill restaurant.
• Chilling in the hotel room with friends.
• Trying on the head-measuring contraption at the cowboy hat store.
• Karaoke-ing with the SWC and SMC in Billings’ The Loft.
• Singing Not In Our Town in Billings.

I am a little sad that the tour is over. I am a little sad that I don’t get to see my friends everyday in the lobby. I can’t wait for the season to start again. I can’t wait to get back to rehearsals. I just can’t wait.

One of those rare days where we could actually sleep in, so I took advantage of it. Called Gayle and together with my roommate, we went out for lunch. We went to the nearby Mo’s Neighborhood Grill. If only they knew what Mo was a slang for. I ordered chicken pot pie, but it turned out to be nasty tasting. It tasted like bad frozen, processed pie with mushy ingredients. I had to order a burger instead, but the waitress was kind enough not to charge me for the burger.

Gayle was quite a character. I first met her when Jeffrey and I were on the women’s bus. She was honest, happy and hilarious. While we had lunch, we shared stories about ourselves. After lunch, she wanted to get some Starbucks memorabilia so we went to Gateway shopping area but she was not able to find anything she wanted. Since she had not been to the Mormon Temple, we went there as well.

Our performance was at University of Utah’s Libby Gardner Hall. The hall is gorgeous. To the back of the stage was a second level, with three rows of seats. And the backdrop is that of a pipe organ, much like Seattle’s Benaroya Hall. Dennis had the men sit behind the women’s chorus during the first act, and did the same for the women for the second act. While the women were doing their microphone check during technical rehearsal, David B dared me to sing my solo in Chinese. I was a little nervous and was not sure if that was such a good idea. But I thought it would bring a smile to Dennis’ face should I do it. It would be a fun break from the arduous rehearsal. Then again, it would be unprofessional.

When it was time for me to do my microphone check, I was not sure if I should take on David’s dare. Prank or professionalism? Smiles or Seriousness? When Evan played the piano intro to my solo, I decided to do it. My heart raced as I sang Where Have All The Flowers Gone in Mandarin. I could hear the chorus members laughing behind me. I could see some confused looks in the scattered members in the seats in front of me. I didn’t dare turn back to look. Was Dennis furious? All I could hear was laughter behind me, while Dennis hushed the chorus. I thought Dennis didn’t even notice the foreign language, and I could see him listening intently at the corners of my eyes. He kept shushing the chorus members as he closed his eyes to listen. He must be listening for the quality, and completely oblivious to the joke. And after my portion was over, I finally dared look at him. I hope he was not pissed at me. He then turned to me and told me to “sing it in the mother tongue or whatever language that was.” Was he kidding me? Was he punishing me for the joke? He was serious. Prank backfired!

I turned around to David and mouthed “I’m going to kill you for this” just as I heard Rhonda jokingly said “I can’t understand the words.” I was horrified. What had I done? What was I going to do? I had never practiced the song in Mandarin before. Besides, the words that I sang in Mandarin were completely fabricated. Although the words were a translation of the original, I was not a lyricist. What if there were audiences who understand Mandarin and realized my translation was pitiful? What was I to do then? I guess I still could chicken out when time came for me to sing my solo that night.

When I returned back to my hotel room, I frantically went online to search to see if this song existed in Chinese. I found out that there was a Chinese song that bears the same title, but when I heard the version, it sounded different, and the lyrics ware different. Reading the different lyrics, I managed to extrapolate the essential words and meanings for the translation so that it would not sound awkward. I could still chicken out and sing it in English.

Sitting behind the SWC during their performance was a treat. It was a new experience. Not only was I able to see Dennis conduct without fretting to sing, I was able to see Rhonda skillfully direct the women’s chorus. Rhonda was definitely a gifted conductor and I could tell she really enjoyed the songs she conducted.

I noticed that ELB sang the trio part where Mark E was supposed to sing. Where was Mark? I later found out that Mark had food poisoning and was in the hotel room. Didn’t I see Mark at the next door restaurant the night before? I hoped I didn’t order what he had, as I feared that coupled with my newfound anxiety, I would vomit all over the stage.

When it came time for me to do my solo, I was extremely anxious. Oh no, I spotted an Asian in the audience! I can still back out of singing in Mandarin. My mouth was dry and I kept swallowing my own saliva. Oh what the hell, let’s do it! Naked audience, naked audience, naked audience! I sang the first two phrases in Mandarin and switched back to English for the latter two as planned. When it was over, I was relieved. Was the audience confused? Was the Asian guy snickering at my Mandarin? After Peace Medley was over, Dennis had forgotten to motion me to bow. He must have forgotten about me. No matter, I had to rush off the stage to change into my Does Your Mother Know costume anyway.

After the show, we were at the lobby bidding our farewells and thanking the audience for coming. I was surprised at how many people recognized me (despite the fact that I was not in my tuxedo but in my DYMK costume) and complemented me on my solo in Mandarin. Wow, and they were not confusing me for Theo. Progress! J The Asian guy in the audience (Ben) came up to me and thanked me profusely for singing it in Mandarin. He said it was a treat to hear something in his native tongue. Together with his friend Alan, he said that the translation was accurate. What a relief!

What left an impression on me was when a chorus member came up to me to congratulate me on a solo well done, particularly for singing it in Mandarin. He felt that it gave the song a new dimension – a global quality. And that it sent tears to his eyes. While it was a prank that backfired, I have to credit Dennis for having the vision to actually foresee this and to include it in the show. I am glad I decided not to back out of singing it in Mandarin. I am glad I touched a chorus member. I am glad I was able to make a difference.

Today was the 8-hour drive back to Salt Lake City. Everyone is geared up; I bought water and snacks at the nearby Walmart the afternoon before, as did everybody else on the bus. The arduous journey began at 10 AM. Different activities were accomplished by different riders -- read newspapers, read books, watched DVDs on laptops, slept, chit-chatted, played cribbage, and got to know one another. German boy balanced himself like a Cirque du Soleil act between two seats and slept. The advantages of youth.

David B was the life of the bus once again; making witty quips and one-liners until we got to West Yellowstone, a town where we had our first rest stop. It was amazing how many bear-related items they had in this town. There was an IMAX movie theater showing a movie about bears. There was a shop that had “Bear Spray” stenciled onto its window. There was even a shop that sold bear-related souvenirs such as toilet paper holders that had the text “Bear Bottoms Welcome Here.” If they only knew the innuendo.

In getting to know chorus members a little more, I found out that Shawn H was a Mormon, and his great, great, great, great, great grandfather had accidentally shot Brigham Young’s horse thinking that it was a deer. Coincidentally, Brigham Young was Sid’s great, great, great, great, great grandfather. David B joked that because of the mistake, Shawn’s family is forever indebted to Brigham Young to carry their equipment in their trek to Utah. And as such, Shawn should be carrying Sid’s luggage on this trip.

We stopped at Idaho Falls for lunch. This town had an amazing waterfall in the middle of town, albeit man-made. The women’s bus arrived into town about half an hour after we did. Jeffrey wanted to switch to the women’s bus instead, but since we were not sure if there were any seats available and we had our luggage on the men’s bus, we decided against it.

That was a mistake.

When we got back on the bus, there was an awful stench that filled the entire bus. I could not bear the smell so I took out my cologne and sprayed some on myself. It was as if I had maced the members on the bus, the riders hollered and shouted. How on earth can they stand the odour on the bus? The aroma apparently came from the broken bus toilet. It was awful. Every time anyone needed to use the facilities and opened the door, an explosion of funky odour wharfed the entire bus, from the back all the way to the front. When someone did so, David B would spray the back of the bus with his air freshener. He used up almost his entire bottle. It was so bad that towards the end of the trip, we had barred people from using the onboard toilet.

One astonishing fact I found while getting to know chorus members was that Shawn H did his missionary work in Hong Kong, and that he spoke Cantonese. He spoke comprehensibly and we had short conversations in Cantonese. Speaking to him in the dialect was surreal and a major delight.

We arrived into Salt Lake City around 7 PM. Rad, Kevin, Theo, Matthew, Jeffrey, JD, David B, Chris M and I decided to have dinner at Market Street Grill. The choice of destination was largely due to the fact that they sponsored the food at last week’s SLCMC reception. We walked into the restaurant and realized we went to the wrong restaurant. It turned out we had gone into the Market Street Grill Oyster Bar. Because it was a bar, it required a $5 membership. The actual restaurant was adjacent to the bar and we needed to go through the next set of doors. As we left, we saw Mark E and John G dining at the Oyster Bar.

We were seated in a private room and our waiter, Nick, had the most piercing eyes. We were trying to figure out if he was gay – about half of us guessed that he was. Or was that wishful thinking? We asked him questions like where would he recommend us to go out on the town, hoping that the destinations would give us a clue to his sexuality. No luck. Of course, David was bold as usual and offered the information that we were gay. As if we needed to announce our sexuality with David around. J

The night rolled on and we discovered that he was straight. Sorry David. He was really cool about it and was completely joking and playing along with us. His girlfriend actually worked in the same restaurant and we asked her to pop by when she was available. When Rachel came by, we joked with her about Nick. She bantered and patronized with us. For some reason, she thought that straight men should not use the word “product” when referring to hair care products. Straight people can be so strange at times. Nick also sent in a gay waiter to tell us where to “party” and also sent in the manager so that Theo can tell him why we ate there. The food at this restaurant was magnificent. However, the price tag on the meal was quite exorbitant. Good food, good wine, good company and good entertainment. It was well worth it.

After dinner, we all adjourned to Jeffrey’s and my hotel room. There, German boy starting giving David a foot massage. Next thing we knew, we were all giving each other foot massages. JD and David provided the beverages, and by the middle of the night, there were a total of 11 people in our room. David’s aunt “Nina” joined us for a bit. She was a lovely lady and was full of energy and laughter. I could definitely see the family resemblance. After she left, some of us stayed on a little longer, and we started talking about things in general. The philosophical debate of race and genetics ensued. It was really refreshing to see the side of David that was not “on.” David may be loud and intimidating at times, but he is a total sweetheart deep inside. We shared secrets and had what felt like a slumber party. Before long, they all went back to their rooms. In hind sight, I was really exhausted. But while I was up, the day flew by quickly without me even feeling the least bit tired. Another great day had come and gone.

Today is the day where the men and women separate to different cities. The men go to Bozeman while the women venture to Helena. I find it ironic that we are both in the same state of Montana and yet in different cities, much like how we were at the same bar last night yet at different corners of the room. I am just happy that I had a chance to be on the women’s bus and gotten to know some of them.

In the mission of getting to know other chorus members, my roommate and I decided to take the second men’s bus. Yes, the bus where David B is in. David is, undeniably, the funniest man that I know. David is also a sweetheart. The 2-hour bus ride brought us to Bozeman downtown where we ate at the Bozeman Bistro – a slightly pricier restaurant. Quite a number of us ate at the restaurant. After lunch, a sundae with a candle was brought to Michael J. It was his birthday, and everyone sang Happy Birthday. Towards the end of the song, the chorus members exploded into a harmonious chord. The locals were pleasantly surprised. What a great promo moment for our performance tonight!

We performed at Montana State University’s Recital Hall. The turnout was not too bad, albeit that the theater is small. There was no microphone setup in the theater but the acoustics of the space was sufficient. The only problem was that the stage was extremely warm. CSP performed 3 consecutive numbers in the first act, and the men stood while they sang their songs. I had never noticed that standing and doing nothing is just as tiring as a hard day’s work. I hope we will never need to stand for three songs consecutively again. It was excruciating.

The much anticipated moment of this day has arrived – going to Michael Theisen’s home. His home has been featured in publications and was rumoured to be beautiful. Let me set the record straight, the rumours were true. The split-level mansion is well-crafted and tastefully decorated. Theisen has three flag poles in the front of his house and he had raised a flag from each the States we were at. What a thoughtful man. When you walk into the house, you see a back-lit glass waterfall display that has inscriptions of words about the Rivers of Babylon. Throughout the house, there were inscriptions of quotes in the tiles, and the walls. Theisen and his partner Ron were extremely generous to open their home to us, and for providing a high quality spread of food and a free-flowing fountain of beverages. I felt loved. 

But the evening is not without its shares of mishaps. Theisen's home is in the country side and our bus had to go past his home for a few miles before we could make a turn back to properly enter the mansion’s driveway. As we approached the mansion, we found the other bus tilting over a ditch, looking like it was going to topple over any time soon. It turned out that the bus driver attempted to turn into Theisen’s driveway instead of the suggested route to turn the bus around. Unfortunately, as he made the big turn, the bus went into a slope and sunk into the muddy field. The river Jordan is muddy, muddy and cold. It got stuck in the ditch. We had to hire a huge tow truck to get it out.

Also, as our bus pulled into the driveway, I saw a chorus member walk towards the bus alone. Next thing I heard was “Someone fell. Someone fell.” I turned and looked and saw the same chorus member on the ground, trying to get up, but to no avail. Once our bus stopped, everyone went into Theisen's house. Like a salmon swimming upstream, I saw Rad go against the influx of chorus members to Hathaway’s rescue. Together with another chorus member, Rad brought him into the house and seated him. It turned out that he had an asthmatic attack. Rad also fetched him a glass of water. Not only does Rad have a big hoo-hoo, he also has a big heart. What a great guy Rad is. I’ve found a new idol in the chorus.

One moment of conviction now, one voice, quiet and clear. One act of compassion, it all begins here.

The men had sung Not In Our Town more times than we cared to remember, but tonight, it was different -- more significant, more poignant. This powerful song is about the unity of a town to fight against hate crimes and the KKK. The town the song refers to is Billings.

Roaming the streets of Billings is different though. Perhaps it was my paranoia, but the town looked conservative, and the air seems to be filled with the stench of right-wing Republicans. The downtown seemed desolate and vacant. It definitely has the feel of a small town. There was really nothing much we could do on our free day in Billings without a car. So Jeffrey and I went to the Yellowstone Art Museum to look at some local artists’ work.

We were recommended to eat at The Puck’s Irish Pub, a place “where the locals eat.” We both ordered their famous pork chop sandwich – deep-fried battered pork loin on a bun. We both agreed that the meal was not all that is hyped up to be. You know the food is not that great when we both think that the bottle of honey mustard dressing was the best tasting item we had for lunch.

We went to a cowboy hat store called The H Bar. Mike, the store owner, told us he had only been opened for 2 weeks. Mike was really nice and showed us this head-shape measuring contraption that was made in the 1840’s. He put the device on our heads. As he did so, the metal spokes moved and the needles at the top of the apparatus are pulled apart. A piece of paper was placed at the top flap of the hat-looking machine, and when closed, the shapes of our heads were imprinted on the paper by the needles. Mike restores and custom-makes cowboy hats. He has beaver-haired hats as well as palm straw ones. If you are ever in Billings, and need a hat, you should check out this store. At least have your head measured.

The performance at Alberta Bair Performance Hall started promptly at 7:30. Dennis cued the basses to start just as Paul addressed the audience with the words “Sorida Darida.” Dennis let the two sub-group members complete their addresses, and then restarted the song. After Sorida and Hope, the men retreated to the audience where they were treated to an exquisite performance of the women’s chorus. Earth woman (Nancy) was phenomenal in Natural Women. And Sally Goes Round The Roses was in top form.

The men got on stage and sang our country-western songs. And then, the moment we all were waiting for – Not In Our Town. It almost felt like this was the reason for the tour. As we sang, I tried hard to fight back the tears. When it came to “Have you seen the papers, did you hear the news. What kind of people are we? We thought we knew” I could not hold back any further. I could hear my fellow singers sniffle all around, and I could see the audience moved to tears as well. This was what our director does best -- move people with music and song.

Theo is one soloist that is hard to follow. Unfortunately, mine follows immediately after his. I was nervous because occasionally during my practice, I had inadvertently switched one of the lyrics around and I was afraid I would make the same mistake on stage. Further, during tech rehearsal, I had accidentally sang “passing” with the colonial accent, and ELB had mouthed my mistake to me then. I had not realized how difficult it is to have a solo – all the worries, balancing the tone and volume with breathing, remembering the right lyrics, and being completely exposed. No more hiding behind other blended voices. I have a new found respect for soloists.

Luckily my solo went without a hitch, at least as far as I could tell. I sang “passing” the American way and I did not mix the lyrics up. Good day indeed.

The reception at the art gallery was nice. Food and wine was abundant and we really needed the drink after an emotional performance. After the reception, both the men and the women went to The Loft, where it was Karaoke Nite. As if one night of singing was not enough, we all sang more at the bar. Jeffrey gave a good performance of La Bamba, and when he was done singing, he said into the microphone “Finally, I got my solo!”

Maureen sang Patsy Cline’s Crazy, while I did a rendition of Cher’s Shoop Shoop Song. Before we know it, the night was over. This was the first time that a significant number of both the men and women actually went to the same bar; and actually had a great time. The odd thing is that the men were at one corner, while the women were in another. There were some strays that wander off the herd to the other, but generally it was still separated. I wonder why that is. Do the men not like the women and vice versa? I didn’t think so since I know we like and support each other immensely. Or is the myth about gays and lesbians being like water and oil true? I wish that we were better integrated as some of the women are really cool, and so are some of the men. I wonder if it is at all possible. One day, perhaps. One day.

Independence. Freedom. Patriotism. Another year for America to celebrate their liberty from the British. Another year for Americans to have an excuse to drink like a fish.

My roommate and I felt that this trip should be about getting to know people; and we had seen that the men and women had been really segregated -- very few interactions between the two groups. So Jeffrey and I decided to take the initiative to take the lesbian bus instead. Get to know some of the women in SWC.

We sat behind Maureen and Mitsy, and in front of Val and Kris. Gayle was in the seats next to us. They were really sweet people. One thing we noticed is that the women’s bus is a little chattier than one of the two men’s bus; of course, the one I was at did not have David B. J We stopped at a view point, and took a group picture with the Teton Mountain as the backdrop. Then Dennis started singing Sound of Music and the whole group joined in. Ahh.. I felt like I was in the Von Trapp family; the only difference is that in this story, Captain Von Trapp and Maria had been popping out babies like a pot of corn kernel over the hot stove.

Back on the women’s bus, the women started singing… and singing… and singing. The singing was only paused momentarily by Jim’s commentary of the flat land; or by Jim’s famous short stories which tangents to other short stories. (For those who do not know, Jim and Marcia are two elderly couple that won the bid to travel with the choruses on this tour at the annual Flying House Production’s auction held in April 2006).  Where was I? Ah yes, the singing. It went on, and on, and on. Mitsy and Gayle were making jokes, saying that it was too bad that Mitsy didn’t have her gun with her, or else she could have put us out of our misery. Or that Gayle would wail in a soprano high at the end of each song, or making flatulent noises in between verses. The women’s bus was a riot.

We stopped at the Ole Faithful at Yellowstone Park. Ole Faithful is a geyser that used to spew hot spring water dependably every 37 minutes; hence the name. But after a major earthquake of 1991, the clockwork of Ole Faithful was thrown. It now explodes every hour (give or take 10 to 15 minutes). The part where the geyser is at is actually in the cauldron of a dormant volcano. So technically, we were inside a volcano.

Perhaps it was the hype. Perhaps it was the anticipation. But when Ole Faithful blew, it was not as exciting as I had thought. Not to mention that stench of sulphur in the park. After a minute or two of the ejaculation of sulphur-laiden hot spring water, we ventured into the lodge where we sang for the tourists that came to the park. The women sang their velvety Bittersweet Tango, while the men sang Bury Me Out. Of course we ended with This Land. So now, SMC and SWC had sung in Yellowstone Park. How cool is that?

During one segment of the ride, Art, the women's bus driver announced over the sound system that he would be showing a video of the great fire in the region. He also mentioned that during the break, he tried to fix a broken television but to no avail. When he played the video, it turned out that the broken television set was right in front of me, right under Mitsy's nose. The women behind coaxed Mitsy to fix it. Like Fonzie from The Happy Days, Mitsy slapped the television set and boom, the picture came on. We all cheered. Never send a man to do a lesbian's work!

It seemed like it was a long ride, but we finally arrived into Billings, Montana around 7 PM and we had about 45 minutes before the bus leaves for Laurel for the fireworks display. After many meals of fast food and quick bites of greasy food, Rad, Kevin, Theo, Matt, Jeffrey and myself decided we want to forego the fireworks and have a leisurely dinner instead. We dined at The Rex and we had steak.

We found out the only gay club in the village – The Loft – was usually closed on this holiday. But when they found out that we were in town, they decided to keep it open for us. Since they were so generous, we decided to give them our patronage. While we were there, the local dykes asked us where our women were. We told them that they would be arriving later after the fireworks. Unfortunately, by the time the club closes, only 3 of the women showed up.

At the bar, we met some locals -- Olen, Chase, Sean, Shane, Alison, John, and Laura. German boy thought John was cute, and to his surprise, John actually lives in Seattle. He was only visiting his family in Billings. We tried promoting our next-day performance; but none of them would commit to coming to the show. What a waste of our breath. Shane’s friends were trying to set me up with him, but I was too shy to comply. What a chicken I am. Oh well, life goes on, I suppose. Besides, Dennis had jokingly warned us before that if we were to sing the next day, we should not drink, smoke or have sex the night before. One out of two ain’t bad.

Jeffrey and I were glad that we left the chlorine-smelling hell hole of the Holiday Inn in Pocatello.  The chartered bus brought us to Jackson by noon. Jackson is definitely a tourist town -- Disney-esque log cabin-like buildings housing shopping chains like Gap, Banana Republic, etc..  Jackson is popular with skiers and snow boarders. Jackson is also famous for white water rafting in the summer.

After a quick lunch at Smith’s, a groceries store, we went to Mad River rafting company where Tim, Conrado, Michael (German boy), JD, Jeffrey and I signed up for river rafting on Snake River.

When we were divided into groups for the raft, we were lucky to be together. We were, however, joined by two other members, Carol and Jason. Carol is in her late forties, and was traveling alone. Jason is a good-looking 21-year-old Korean-American graduate who was split from his friends to join our boat.

The ride down Snake River was fun. As we snaked down the river and peddled at our guide’s instructions, we experienced the beautiful landscape of Wyoming. We even saw the Snake River monster – a narrow formation of rocks that sticks out of the water like the back of a sea monster. With the water rushing by and us floating down the river, it looked like the monster was swimming upstream. It was partially cloudy most of the way, punctuated with sun breaks. Towards the end, it started to rain. Scattered drops of hard hitting rain at first, but as we docked, started to rain heavily. As we walked up the ramp to our bus, I felt sharp pains on my head and neck. I hear people yelping nearby as well. I looked at the floor and saw white pellets bouncing off the ground. Hail! We started to run up the seemingly never-ending trail to our bus. The hail turned back to rain within minutes.

On the bus ride back to the river rafting company where Tim parked his rental car, I noticed that Carol was sitting by herself staring out of the window. I remember how lonely I felt when I traveled to Paris alone, so I decided to sit next to Carol to have a chat with her. We started with some small talk, but later Carol told me that she was from Philadelphia and has been coming to Jackson a few times already. Apparently, she was in Wyoming because of a man – a cowboy. She had met this guy a few seasons back and had been considering moving to Jackson. However, this guy had not returned her call since she had arrived into Jackson. How do you to tell a stranger that perhaps the man is not interested, and to consider moving on with her life? I didn’t have the heart to tell her. She also told me that there was one season where he told her that he was dating someone else and did not want to continue the relationship. I could sense that she was still hoping that he would change his mind. I felt sorry for her, and I secretly wish that she would come to realization of the situation. 

At the rafting company parking lot, Tim offered to give the 6 of us a ride back to the hotel. However, his rental was too small to fix all 6. Even with three riders in the backseat, it was really uncomfortable. So JD offered to ride in the trunk. It was the funniest thing to see JD trying to squeeze into the trunk. As we ride back, we kept shouting into the back to make sure that JD was still alive. What a trooper!

The six chorus members that went on the rafting trip decided to have a leisurely dinner since we came back to the hotel after 7 and had missed the CSP and Sensible Shoes concert. Together with David H, we dined at Sweetwater Restaurant, a 10-minute walk from our hotel, Snow King Resort. Jackson, being a resort town, had expensive restaurants, and Sweetwater was no exception.  I decided to have something different, something local, so I ordered the elk. When I took a bite of it, I was surprised at how tough it was. I was then told that elk is gamey and since it has less fat, it would seem to taste like it was tougher. I let everyone taste the elk meat and they all agreed that my entrée was the best on the table that evening. The dinner took a long time to complete. We took about 2 hours to complete our meal. In fact, the restaurant had a sign that said “If you’re in a hurry this is not the place to eat.”

And for once on our trip, we decided to turn in early after the exhausting day on the river.

Went to First Baptist church in the morning. It is a little strange to be in a non-Mormon temple in Salt Lake City, not to mention being in a church. Since I had my first solo that morning, I was nervous as hell. We sang Not in Our Town, and Peace Medley. After the service, people were kind and complemented my virgin solo performance. I thought how interesting to have a sacrificial virgin in a church.

During the performance, I noticed a woman dressed in red with jet-black hair wearing sun-glasses in the pews on the second floor. There was no one on the second floor except her. My mind wandered… Is she the devil watching us in a church? The devil wears Gucci? The image of her still makes me wonder why she was up there all by herself. Why was she wearing shades indoors?

The 3-hour bus ride to Pocatello passed by quickly with watching a movie on my new laptop. Once we arrived into Pocatello, we went straight to the Idaho State University auditorium. The auditorium is amazing! The acoustic is adjustable by moving the walls of the auditorium. We ooh-ed and ahh-ed as the walls moved. As we listened to SWC perform, I was surprised how crisp and clear the sound is  without any use of microphones.

We were given only an hour and a half to check into our hotel, have a quick bite to eat and change, before we were hauled back to the auditorium for our first full-fledged concert.

I was told that Charlie’s bar was responsible for promoting the show locally. Either Pocatello is a really small town or Charlie’s bar did not do a good job in promoting the show. About 400 of the 1500 seats were filled. The auditorium looked sparse. SWC performed the first half of the show. Our director, Dennis, was smart and had the men go out to the audience after our first combined song, Sorida. We filled up another 80 seats which and cheered the women on. Looking at the audience, I would not say they are regular theater goers and they are probably there to support “Charlie’s Angels” – a local drag queen group. SWC was fantastic as usual.

During intermission, I met Jeffery’s parents. They are a nice couple, and what touched me was their love and devotion to their son. How many parents do you know that have been to almost all of their sons’ concerts, not to mention driving many miles to show their love and support?

SMC got onto the stage with their cowboy hats, as SWC cheered on this time. However, before we performed our first song, music blasted over the speakers. It was a Dolly Parton song and the drag queens came on stage. It was rather difficult to watch as two overly large drag queens with bad make-up lip-sync to Dolly’s song as 3 other shorter drag queens accompany them in the song. I was convinced that one of the shorter girls is actually a woman, but I was not motivated enough to find out. To be honest, it was really awkward to have drag queens perform bad lip syncs together with a world-class chorus.

After the concert, we were hoisted to Charlie’s bar where they had prepared some snacks for us, and as we entered the bar, the owner handed us one free drink coupon each. While the concert attendance was dismal, I thought that the owners of Charlie’s bar were very generous when it comes to providing for us.

I had never been so wanted at a bar in my life. I was butt pinched a couple of times, checked-out and flirted with. Who knew I could get an ego boost in a small town like Pocatello? J Ahh… it was also at Charlie’s bar that Jeffrey and I met Josh, a really cute local 30-year old man. We both flirted with him, or whatever we considered those drunken babbling to be. I remember us jokingly persuading him to move to Seattle. Since the bus left at 2 hours ago, Josh was kind enough to drive us back to the hotel. We both gave him a peck goodnight. This was a good night.

I was awoken by a phone call in the morning. What time is it? 4:30 AM?!? My heart raced. It was Jeffrey S. It was half an hour past when I was supposed to get up. I panicked. He will come pick me up in half an hour.

Luckily I had packed the night before. I am embarking on a 10-day tour with SMC to the Rocky Mountains – namely the states of Montana, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. I have to be at the airport by 5:15.

We got our seats at the counter, and pleaded to have our seats together, but the agent was not responsive. He said we had already been assigned seats. However, when we boarded the plane, we decided to sit together, offering the better window seat to the person whom we are currently occupying the middle seat of. Luckily for us, the person was gracious. Unfortunately for us, the person on the aisle seat had bad breath. Even I, two seats away, could smell it. Whenever he tried to speak with us, Jeffrey would lean next to me to gulp a breath of fresh air.

The dry heat of the desert was unbearable. Even when the sun has set, the pavement still radiated heat. Downtown Salt Lake City was sparsely populated. We figured it was either because it was the weekend, or that everyone was indoors avoiding the heat. Michael (German Boy), Jeffrey and I walked to Gateway, an outdoor mall, to get some items we had neglected to pack. The walk was excruciating in the heat. We dove into shadows of lamps and trees every chance we got.

The Mormon temple was the same as I had remembered it to be.  However, the tabernacle was closed and boarded off for reconstruction. The temple grounds were littered with pockets of Mormon missionaries, “welcoming” guests as they arrive; accosting them with questions about God as the tourists fall prey to their masked friendly nature.

I noticed that the architecture in Salt Lake City is post-modernist. The buildings are blocky and concrete.  There are very little windows, perhaps to prevent outsiders from seeing what the Mormons really do indoors – drink coffee.

In the evening, SLC Men’s Chorus threw us a reception. Cheese and hors d’oeuvre were served, compliments of Market Street Grill. Later in the evening, they jokingly announced that we had to sing for our food. We performed Harriet Tubman and This Land is Your Land from our repertoire. The Seattle Women’s Chorus sang a couple of songs form their repertoire. SLC Men’s Chorus, being the host, sang about 5 songs, including Imagine, and Sisters. I’ll be honest; the SLCMC was not really at professional level yet. Their cut offs were sloppy, their entrances were all over the place, and the members did not give the director any attention at all, which might account for their less-than-perfect performance. On the plus side, they are full of energy and very animated to watch.

After the reception, we were ushered to Trapp Door, a local dance club. Utah has strange state law. Since Mormons are not allowed to drink, they do not allow bars. However, private establishments are allowed to serve alcohol. So if a tourist wants to visit a “bar” in Utah, $5 can get them a temporary 2-week membership. Luckily for us, the establishment had given our choruses a special discount -- free membership! I feel like some touring celebrity.

It was Latino night at the Trapp Door, much to Jeffrey’s delight. Since I had to sing a solo the next morning, I refrained form drinking. Jeffrey, on the other hand, drank like a fish being re-immersed into water. By the end of the night, we took a taxi back to the hotel with David B, who was livid with the directory service which did not connect him directly to a local taxi company, but that is a story in itself completely.