From the lovely Helen:

Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says.

"...provided the audience with an overview of the development of Brazilian music." From a report on the Tulane University Center for Latin American Studies' 1977-78 Festival of Latin American Music, in Current Musicology 27 (1979). I'm in the library. It's from the stacks.

Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?

Cubicle wall.

What is the last thing you watched on TV?

An episode of The Nanny which featured Jon Stewart as a hot ENT who Fran really hits it off with until she finds out they're cousins. It was a huge coincidence, because I had just been watching The Daily Show, with special guest Jerry Seinfeld. And I realized that I would like to link to the show. So I will.

With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?

Quiet talking, coughing, occasional beeps from the library scanner.

When did you last step outside?

Before I came in here. It's pretty nice out.

Before you came to this website, what did you look at?

My friend was Googling this particular opera summer program, but instead a German-language Matrix fansite came up. Funny...

What are you wearing?

Blue sweater with bell sleeves and asymmetrical cowl neck, black pants, black socks, Skechers.

Did you dream last night?

Yeah, but I don't remember what it was about...

When did you last laugh?

A few minutes ago, at that goofy Matrix site.

What is on the walls of the room you are in?

Clocks, fire alarms, abstract paintings by Miles Davis.

Seen anything weird lately?

That Matrix site was pretty weird. And I saw a guy talking to himself walking down the street before. Not very exciting.

What do you think of this quiz?

I'm glad it's not "What's your favorite food?", etc.

What is the last movie you saw?

Two minutes of one of the Harry Potter movies on HBO. The last thing I've seen all the way through was What a Girl Wants last week.

If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?

Does paying off my student loans count? :) Probably a house, or a laptop.

Tell me something about you that I don't know:

Yesterday morning I was rubbing my shoulder in the shower, and my hand slipped and I scratched myself really hard. There's a long mark, like I was attacked by a werewolf or had some kinky $ex or something...

If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?

I have to agree with Helen: make sure everyone has something to eat. Mark and I were talking about his undergrad communism class last night...

Do you like to dance?

Yes, but I'm not particularly talented.

George Bush:

Indictment. Him and the rest of them. And I hope they someday realize how much they've damaged our society, and repent for it.

Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?

Annabelle, I think.

Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?

Jonathan or Andrew.

Would you ever consider living abroad?

The more people I talk to, the more I understand that I'll probably have to move to Germany if I really want to have a big career. Granted, I don't know if I really want a big career, but whatever.

I'm just going through some crap right now. Somehow I've developed this horrible, self-defeating performance anxiety. Well, it's anxiety in general. And it's really affecting my singing as well as my health. My teacher is now convinced that it's a chemical imbalance, and I might just think so, too. How many chemically stable people had panic attacks as children? I had them all the time. Everyone had temper tantrums, but mine were always grand mal, happened relatively frequently and were usually accompanied by hyperventilating. I need fundamental changes in my life, and nothing I've tried to do alone or in therapy has ever helped. If I'm happy, it's because things are going well and I've momentarily forgotten about the next deadline or event or four-hour drive in the dark. Maybe Zoloft and BuSpar didn't work for me, but that doesn't mean something else won't. I hate the fact that I might need to rely on medicine, but it doesn't seem like anything else is working. The issue is that I don't have insurance right now--and if I can't afford to pay a doctor, I certainly can't afford individual insurance premiums that are over $100 and high copays. After consulting with my favorite singer forum, I bought some 5-HTP last night... I still want to e-mail the campus vocal health expert (I wanted to be scoped again anyway) to see if she has any ideas for things that won't affect my folds, but in the meantime it's worth a shot. Anyway, I'm sorry to bring everybody down, but what else do I have to talk about?

Oh, by the way, no precious--he says he's still getting the money together, which makes me worry that he's buying something "investment quality". Doesn't he know how bad I am with losing jewelry? But it'll only be a few weeks, in any case. He gave me a heart-shaped necklace with both our initials on it. Very high-school and very sweet. Just when I was feeling really OLD...