Tonight there's been an amazing thunderstorm, and I've been recalling past enjoyable storms. For a while there in Poughkeepsie we'd get one horrendous snowstorm each winter. It would leave us powerless for about 24 hours, and we'd have to sleep downstairs in front of the fireplace to keep warm. Other times when there was just a weather emergency, we would make a "Buffalo run" (named after the NY state city, not the animal) and drive on the icy roads to a place called Miss Saigon, the only restaurant in town that was open, because it was at someone's house. The roads would be desolate, and my dad, who was proficient in the art of driving on ice, would swerve us all over the road while we laughed to and from the spicy food excursion...

Just plain rainstorms are best during the early and late summer--during the day when it's warm and you've got plenty of time to dance outside, or at night, cuddling into bed near a large window, candles on, music in the background, and a great book. Ahh. Sounds like a good idea actually, it's my plan once I finish the blog.

I've really been trying to wean myself from the tv recently--not having tv at all in San Fran, I find myself disgusted at how easy it is to get caught up in it. I don't mind popping a movie in, but just regular tv is time consuming and mostly ridiculous. Not that I don't tend to watch it, but I'm trying to read before bed, write poetry, anything to calm myself and put a good end to the day. The soycandles I bought a few weeks ago have been helping set the mood, actually, and somehow keep me going with this plan.

So this week should go by quickly, provided that I'm able to stay relaxed about my callback Thursday. I've been working hard at the aria, and am meeting to coach it briefly tomorrow with the accompanist for the audition. I have been trying to keep my hopes down while still keeping my confidence up--a rather difficult thing to do! Though I don't really know the other singers called back for Rosina, I am sure that they are as up to the job as I am, and most likely more so, as I only feel half up to it most days. I wish I had a realistic picture as to where they are with the aria so I don't feel quite as intimidated or out of my league...and you know, I don't even know what my league is. I always feel so unaccompished, very much like that idea of a minnow in a large sea of vocalists...and I know that this might not be the case, but I'm carrying around that from my undergraduate days when I was living in one of the most professional places for opera in the world, and definitely wasn't even close to being anything of interest.

Sigh, I'm getting long winded. I'll leave you all with a wish for a romantic/relaxing/enjoyable storm. Plus there's a full moon out--you never know what nature has in store for our dreams tonight...