At home. Vacation.:

When normal people take a vacation, they go as far away from home as they can go. For me, coming back home is what I've longed for.
It's been two weeks since I got back, and it's been so good.

Only yesterday the thought occurred to me, that I should probably start singing again, but after trying to warm up for about 10 minutes I gave up; I have been working for 4 months straight and frankly, I was just tired of it for the moment.

What's more like it, and what I have been doing since I returned, was: going to the beach with my hubby and best friends, having cocktails and a B.BQ by the poolside, Visiting the local amusement park and fair , going shopping, enjoying the sunshine in the park, watching a Shakespeare play outdoors at sunset, going to the movies (Die Hard 3 wasn't bad), cooking fantastic dinners and lounging on the sofa watching plenty of DVD's in our cool living room, splurging on a few good meals out, having friends over, meeting friends at the bowling alley (not my cupcake but hey, it's a nice change from the solitude and rain I've had so far as a summer). I am taking a vacation, and my voice is too.

Tomorrow will be when I restart my work engine. Gotta get into shape for my next gig, and I am actually feeling ready to sing again.

Trust fund

my friends.. on a positive note; We DO TRUST each other.
As I was waiting in line at the airports after customs, waiting to fish my 2 suitcases off the carousel, I realized that trust among humans still exists!
Here we are, the entire cargo of a Boeing 777, waiting in line to catch a (not so fresh) luggage out of a large and colorful collection, which is circling in front of us like little nigiri plates in an "All you can eat" Sushi bar .
And I am jet lagged and my thoughts wander: If , let's say, there was a conveyor belt in the middle of .. Times Square... would we just place our purse on there and wait to see if it ever comes back to us after one round?..
But here at the airport, (where we suspect the little old lady's shoe as a bomb delivery method), when it comes to our possessions, we still trust our fellow class mates! (And when I say "class" I also mean, that we count on the strange assumption that if they can pay their airfare, they would most likely not bother to risk it for my old concert gown and Mezzo anthology). Anyways.. Good to be back. :)

I got WHA?

On my last day of the show, I thought I got a bit of an itchy head.
I couldn't believe it when, at night, after the very last show , the grim reason was found: I think got head lice!
Dude! ! adults don't get lice!!... they get STD's, they get depression, they don't get LICE!! ... I mean, the last time I had lice on my head, was like in second grade! (I remember being fascinated with the little special comb, and with the whole idea of having tenants on the top of your head...)
But, man oh man, what a strange thing (How on EARTH did I get it? I mean.. I didn't roll in the hay, I didn't lock heads with a 4 year old, and I swear to God, I wash my hair and clean behind my ears every other day!).
So, here I am, waiting for my driver to pick me up to the airport, with a LICE SHAMPOO on, making a patriotic effort to get rid of these British freeloaders, complying with the American I.N.S request not to bring any foreign animals in.
See you back home , with a much clearer head. X

"How do careers just disappear?"

( Quoted from The New Forum for classical singers):
"Could be a touchy subject, but I can't stop thinking about it in light of Jerry Hadley.
How is it that someone can be at the top of the career ladder and then slide so quickly? I mean no disrespect to Mr. Hadley, but it seems clear his career had taken a real downturn, or at least downshift, and this is hardly the first example I can think of. I was thinking about....."..." or, or or.....can't we all just name dozens of people who at different stages of their careers just had momentum utterly dry up? Mrs. ___ was singing at all the major houses, with major artists and at a very high level of artistry. I saw her in concert with Pavarotti. What happened? Was it a choice to stop singing on the road so much? Was there a change in her voice that led to her being not the hot ticket? Same thing for Jerry Hadley--he won Emmy's, Grammy's, sang at all the big houses, had recordings, videos....how does that just disappear in a heartbeat? I can name several younger (now early 30's) singers who were the hot ticket 5 years ago and now I hear nothing of them...I don't know if they are singing poorly or if I just read the wrong magzines. _____ was working like a fiend just a few years ago. Now? What happened?
this disturbs me because it seems like we are all so disposable, so easily replaced. There is no real loyalty, no security. It scares me.Thoughts? Ocean Boy."

Jerry Hadley, has shot himself in the head. This made us all think a lot. How fickle and crazy our profession can be, how easy it is to lose what we have, and with it what we believe is our selves. How easily we are forgotten. replaced.
And , if we don't keep something *else* as our truth, how easy it is to just get a rifle.

Almost.

I started packing a week ago. well, a month ago. Meticulously I put all the stuff that I do not and probably will not use, folded, in nylon bags, in its covers; a purse, a vocal score, my 10 summer dresses I did not put on even once (as there was no summer over here). Make up, shoes. All carefully tucked away in my suitcases.
And, finally , we are arriving to those very last days of my show. I cleaned the apartment, I left nothing in the fridge, I will live on take out food and meals out , until I am back home, HOME home.
It is funny; My head is already somewhere else but I still remember how much I love it when I am in a middle of a run; I love being on stage. I love the excitement of the show. The day of. And for the next month, I will miss it , as much as I am, at the moment, missing what life while doing a run is NOT providing me with: My love, my routine, my true friends, my home.
It's either or , for the moment. But I am ready to switch.

Is there a doctor in the house

Are you going to laugh? Because, SOMEBODY up there must be... Yes, this Cosi run must be SO freaking amusing to SOMEONE;
This show around , somebody in the audience had a little heart attack (He's alive don't worry) right before the beginning of our second half.
First , there has been an announcement made, looking for a "doctor in the house", and after that (and they probably found someone), we were all waiting for the ambulance to arrive (from where? from where? we are surrounded by sheep!) and revive the poor gentleman in a better suited place than the balcony from which he has been intending to watch the secondo atto.
There we go. Better be done with this run as quickly and as smoothly as possible, and hope for no (more) dramas other than the ones Da Ponte wrote in. Please...

Lindt, 70%, babe!

There it is: It's good for you.
I am sticking to the 70% cocoa (1 inch x inch as my dessert), and I feel life's getting better.