Last night was the AGO potluck. Eileen didn’t go even though spouses were invited. The evening was pleasant and people seemed to be having a good time.

I come away from these kinds of social events vibrating with snippets of conversation and impressions.

These continue to rattle uncomfortably in my brain. I often rehearse conversations I participated in and wince at my own inanity and possible insensitivity.

I file all this under the fact that I am painfully aware of misimpressions I can give people and also that I probably am more “intro” than “extro” vert.

These painful recollections make it difficult for me to relax and rest.

This is all exacerbated by my lingering burnout.

I tell Eileen that I am basically happy. But that little annoying things become amplified by my burnout.

Then I tend to fixate on them. But there’s nothing in my life that I would necessarily want to change. I just need a vacation.

One of those moments that kept echoing in my head was a discussion with a member of my choir who is also a member of the AGO. In the course of discussing an anthem I had to cancel, the chorister said that he noticed that I never complain about the challenges of working with the ever changing numbers in the choir.

I guess he doesn’t read my blog, eh?

1. Really Good Books, Part I – NYTimes.com

I love articles that recommend reading. I have read a few of these but I always appreciate being exposed to how other readers are looking at their own preferences.

2. I, Too, Will Stand Up for Tiananmen – NYTimes.com

What interested me most about this article is the way collective memory of an event alters so quickly.

3. An Appeal to Europe, From Ukraine’s Ambassador – NYTimes.com

Hey. The ambassador from Ukraine wrote a thoughtful interesting letter to the NYT. Cool.