First day of classes, and already everything is verruckt...

I'm taking a heavy courseload this semester, and also am working four mornings a week. On the bright side I have Tuesday afternoons free after 3pm--which I will use for research/practice/writing time (altruistically). I guess the first day--when you find out about all the papers you have to write, and all the reading you have to do--is supposed to be very stressful, though! Things get easier. I look forward to the reading, actually. And I am taking some cool classes--History of Opera and a seminar called "Music and Dance" where we, besides academic stuff, learn (mostly Baroque) dances. Today we've already learned the minuet. My feet hurt! I guess the part I get anxious about is the paper-writing. It's been years since I've written a paper--and we all know what happened last time. Yeah, I had a huge panic attack and was willing to harm myself physically in order to get out of writing it. I never ever want to be in that place again. I know that things are different now--that I'm different now--but still I worry. I know that I can do this--I do want to be here, after all, and these classes interest me, but I still have that fear. Me, afraid of writing papers! And funny, I'm just realizing all this now. I guess this blog thing is paying off...

Speaking of the blog paying off--sometime in the middle of December I got an e-mail from that professor that reminds me of my father. He was apologizing for my having such a short time to sing during that last class meeting, and for my time also being cut short the first time I sang (remember, I cried the next time when we were finishing?), and offered to work with me privately on an aria sometime this semester. I was a little freaked at first--mostly worrying about how I would feel with just him as an audience (though my accompanist would be there, too)--so I didn't write him back, figuring I would wait until I got back to fill him in on details. Well, this morning I ran into him--I told him that I did get his e-mail, what I would sing, etc., and he said, "So do you forgive me?" The poor man had been waiting for me to answer his e-mail for a month, because he felt bad about (supposedly) putting me out! This all made me feel like a bit heartless--I mean, I know I had my reasons, but still. It was never my intent to do that...Anyway, that was interesting.

I have to get home, but two things:

1. Mark's and my anniversary was Saturday. We [ahem] slept in, I made pancakes, we relaxed, did some window-shopping, then we had a wonderful (and expensive) dinner. The swordfish was perfect, and the cheesecake was divine. I gave him a sweater, and he gave me a silver locket which I broke before I could get it out of the package! I felt bad because I broke it, and he felt bad for buying me a "shoddy" present. Never fear, he returned it and is purchasing something a bit more sturdy...

2. More Mark news: his brother's wife is pregnant! This is so exciting! She was actually a few weeks along when we were staying with them, but I guess they didn't know yet... With all the babies around, I hope it's not catching... ;-)