Nothing to Lose 2007

Yes, I know, I have been a very bad blogger. My life has been a whirlwind lately, and although I'm constantly thinking about blogging, somehow it just hasn't gotten done. So I apologize. BUT this post is going to be chock full of excitement and pictures! So get ready...

I returned yesterday from a whirlwind forty-eight hour trip to New York City to audition for the Natchez Opera Festival. The major bonus of this trip was getting to spend quality time with two of my best friends, whom I have seen approximately once a year since they both moved to the Big Apple. Robert lives in Astoria (sort of, see his blog for a full update on his living situation), and Andrea lives in Brooklyn. I flew in Sunday after church and arrived in Astoria around 6:00 pm, where I found Robert and Amanda (my other good friend from DePauw and Robert's roommate), putting all of their belongings into plastic bags in preparation for their second bed bug extermination. Again, check out Robert's blog if you want the full story. Andrea came to meet us, and we all went to dinner at a delicious little Italian place in Astoria called Napoli. Wine and delicious pasta was had by all, and I laughed harder than I've laughed in a long, long time. My friends are funny like that. After dinner it was off to Andrea's apartment in Brooklyn to spend the night and rest up for the audish. Her apartment is tres adorable, as is her boyfriend Cory (like me, she's also living in sin). So Monday morning came, and I was feeling in good voice. I dressed and readied for the audition, then headed out to meet Robert in Manhattan. Robert, as you may or may not know, is also a classical singer, and is going full throttle this audition season as well. He's aptly named it "Nothing to Lose Audition Season 2007", and I've happily taken up his motto as my own. Robert was also auditioning for the Natchez Festival, albeit a couple of hours earlier than me, so we met up in Manhattan and had some lunch together near Lincoln Center. Afterward, we hoofed it to the audition site...I can only describe this place as pure mayhem. Two opera companies and one musical theater company were auditioning on the same day on one tiny floor of a building in New York City: one narrow hallway packed wall to wall with agitated opera singers and musical theater actors preparing to audition. It was more than I could handle for more than twenty minutes, so after Robert sang, I headed around the corner to have a tea and chill out until my audish. I listened to my new pump up song a few times, reapplied makeup, and headed back with confidence to sing the hell out of Norina's aria. And it worked! They asked for a second aria, even though the monitor said they would only hear one, and got up to shake my hand when I was done! The two auditors seemed really excited about my audition, and I felt very good vibes from them, so no matter the outcome, I feel like I sang my very, very best. I floated out of the building on a total audition high, met up with Robert, and downed a couple of margaritas at a Mexican restaurant in the East Village. Then we headed to Brooklyn to hang at Andrea's apartment, have some more drinkies, and go to dinner at a hip Thai place in her 'hood. It was a wonderful evening spent with my best buds and their significant others (the only thing missing was MY significant other, but sadly he had to work so couldn't come with). I was reminded of how terrific and funny and intelligent and ambitious my friends are, and how much I miss having them in my daily life. But I count myself lucky that I get to visit them in one of the greatest cities on earth (and that the entire thing was a tax write-off!). Here's a shot of me and Robert pre-audition:



The trip home was a bit difficult, due to my having major motion sickness, which may or may not be related to the amount of drinks I consumed on Monday night. I didn't feel hungover at all when I woke up, but fifteen minutes into the plane ride a wave of major nausea hit me and didn't stop until we were on the ground in Chicago. Unfortunately, it didn't end there, since Nick was at work and couldn't pick me up from the airport, so I had to haul my sick self onto the orange line. I made it as far as Roosevelt and hailed a cab to Nick's office, where I laid down in the back and sipped Sprite until I felt better. Thank goodness I did, because I then had to take the Metra to Palatine to teach eight lessons. But I survived, slept for ten hours, and woke up a new woman today. Which is a good thing, because I've got much work to do to continue on the road of "Nothing to Lose Audition Season 2007".

And, backtracking a bit to two weekends ago, Allison and Ryan's wedding. It was a gorgeous weekend, full of good friends, good times, plenty o'booze, dancing, and fun. I'm having trouble uploading photos right now, so here's one to tide you over until I can post some more. The happy couple looking oh so happy in the back of the booze trolley (I think I was the only one who called it that, mostly because I packed several mini bottles of wine in my purse for the ride).



Laters!