Sniff sniff, cough

so, I'm still fighting this potential cold. I am proud thus far that I can still call it a potential cold, as I feel fine most of the time. It's progressed from a throat tickle to being a little stuffy. Only 1 symptom at a time is good. Nothing a good bit of listerine can't solve :)

I'm really happy that I still have the optimistic outlook on this semester...I know that it's bound to go crazy on me really soon, but at the moment, I feel I can face each week with a calm, anticipatory response. Just gotta wear some armor against tiredness on Mondays, and once they're done, the week is not a problem. Thursdays are all about the voice lesson, and the more I learn from Ms. Wise, the more I want to work. She amazes me, and I feel that she is completely dedicated to her students' success. I'm learning lots and lots of new things, singing in new ways, and though I had termed the new sound "scary!" and have said "it feels like I'm taking a risk", she even wrote that down in her weekly lesson journal, and told me the next week that we're aiming for that "scary" sound, and always tells me to take risks. The sound is just a whole lot more carried by the breath, and is clearer and more projected. :) I've also noticed that singing is just unbelievably hard work when you do it right. At least hard work on your abdominal area. It's almost like a "no pain, no gain" kind of idea, but it doesn't hurt, it just really really works your breath control. I LOVE IT! Woohoo! This past week Ms. Wise even told me that WW2 Europe was paying the same amount of food stamps to opera singers as hard laborers. Wierd, huh? No wonder I almost passed out during our choral recording after I gave blood! Haha, what a dork.

Today I plan to be really hermity...gotta kick this potential cold! I'm going to come home after class, take a nap on the sofa, and watch some tv, read a bit of Arrowsmith (I haven't started it yet, but I will soon! Thanks, George!) and make a good meatless (it's Lent! crazy.) dinner, and just relax. Yippee!

And to those of you who haven't dragged your behinds to the MAC yet, you really need to see Bolcom's "A View from the Bridge". I would rate it a B/B+, and Adonis loved it, he'd probably give it an A. Even if it's the first opera you're ever going to see, don't worry about waiting until Traviata comes around, go see View! :)