Whee, Take me Away

I have been literally assaulted by life lately. Busy with shows and other professional demands, odd allergic reactions, turning fifty, dealing with crazy people, and a run of bad luck with mechanical devices on which I depend on in my business. I'm on the thin edge of hysteria. yet I cling to sanity by a fingernail. Don't ask me how or why. I have no answer. Madness beckons with tantalizing seductiveness--just dive in, sweetie, and leave your cares behind--yet I maintain a clarity of thought in order to sweep away these petty annoyances as best I can.

One bright spot was the pilgrimage Son & I made to Cincinnati to witness firsthand the co-production of the Cincinnati Opera with the Metropolitan Opera (yes, THAT one) of Wagner's Die Meisersinger, a five-hour opera which is one of my favorites. Cincinnati is a four-hour drive from here, so our Hero's Quest involved eight hours round trip as well as the five hour operatic marathon. We arrived back at my home circa 3 AM. As it turned out, my son needed to be back home in Tennessee the next day, so I transported him there , crashed at his place, then came back to my hometown--12 more hours of driving.

So today I am wiped out. So is my computer. Apparently the motherboard is fried. I've had this happen two other times in my life so recognize the symptoms. I'm typing this from my laptop. Since I'm about three weks behind on my business, this is not a good thing. I recently updated my computer to Windows 7, so just now got all my programs reinstalled and where I liked them when this happened. You see, this is Life: something good happens, then something kicks you in the pants to remind you that you live in an awful world, so don't get your hopes up. However, I have about two hundred operas on DVD, and FUTURAMA is back in a renewed sixth season, so who cares if it's a crappy world?

Plus there's always my piano. I'm working on a new piece, called The Wild Horseman, by Schumann. My teacher assigned it to me after expressing satisfaction with my performance of Bach's Minuet in G. She also gave me advice on Pachelbel's Canon in D, the most sensible advice being it will take me some time to learn it. I also have a piece from Alfred's book to learn. So tomorrow, I'm spending at my piano, I don't care if a meteor cracks the earth in half.