Hiver est arrivee

Well kids, it's winter. I've officially broken out the winter coat (not the giant sub-zero temperatures winter coat, which will hopefully not make an appearance until late December/early January), and I'm seriously considering breaking out the hat and gloves. These days, I don't have to walk as much, since I drive to work, so I'm thinking that the bone chilling Chicago temps might not affect me as much as in years past. I remember in great detail the winter during which I was temping at the AMA and living in Evanston, which required a transfer from the red line to the purple line, often times necessitating a fifteen to twenty minute wait on the platform for the blessed purple express. One day, while shivering in my pea coat, I started to cry because I was so cold. I took matters in to my own hands, went out the next day and purchased the largest puffy down coat anyone has ever seen. I love it, ridiculous as it is. It needs its own chair at dinner.


Last November.

In audition news, Florida Grand on Monday was...fine. The room was pretty dead, which is always discouraging, as you push harder and harder to hear that familiar ring of your voice that is lost on carpeting and draperies. But I learned an important lesson, and that is: no matter how I feel on a given audition day, I have to go in there and sing and perform without that judgemental voice in the back of my head going "that high C sucked" or "that run went flat". When I sang for Natchez, I was totally on and just PERFORMING, not thinking about how my voice was sounding to the auditors. When I left the room after that audition my heart was pumping and my adrendaline was flowing. I need to recreate that feeling for my next audition, and now I know this. But, Florida wasn't a total bust, and they asked for Deh vieni for the second aria, which I sing very well. So, I pack up and move on to the next audition, Central City in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying some down time before the craziness of the holidays begins. This week is pretty quiet here at chez Nick et Emily. Nick is working long hours, I'm doing lots of teaching (and driving -- good heavens, I am in my car a lot) and we're both usually exhausted and in bed by 11:00 pm. Good times. Friday we've been invited to Allison and Ryan's (you'll remember them from the wedding photo in an earlier post) new home in Aurora for a little get together. I told Nick last night, I am a Chicago suburb whore. On a weekly basis, I am in no less than four to six 'burbs -- Palatine, Plainfield, Evanston, Winnetka, Wilmette...I need a car service. If I were rich, the first thing I'd do would be to hire a car service to take me around to all these places. With a driver named Rolph. A girl can dream.