I am becoming increasingly eager to relocate. Everything screams, "Make a change!" An application I sent for an audition a few weeks ago was lost in the mail (and I had a very good shot at the part I wanted); other than railing against the stupid government (and getting annoyed at myself for not dropping the damn application off while I was in town), it made me once again apply "things happen for a reason" and say, well, maybe we won't be living around here when that show opens... And an outreach production I was ready to start rehearsing next week (for the same part in the same opera! too big a coincidence) has been postponed, so I really have nothing holding me here. All we need is for Mark to find a job in DC, and we are outty. We've already done research on renting a house in areas we might want to live, and it actually can be done fairly economically. (By Washington standards. If we wanted to spend $4500 a month on rent, we'd have our pick of places. Seriously.) I love my little boo, but he--like a lot of people--is resistant to change. I can be, too, at times, but when I've decided I want something I just do what it takes to make it happen. (Years ago Mark's sister told me that sometimes he needed to be nagged. So true!)

I've also done a little research on opera companies and coaches. As I may have mentioned previously, the Wagner Society there can provide scholarships for things like lessons, language classes and trips to Germany. I'm not sure if I'm ready to introduce myself to that group yet (I would like to sing for somebody with bona fide "Wagner ears" first before I potentially make a fool of myself), but it's definitely time for me to be heard by more people. This state has a scene, surely, but it's a pretty small state. I count seven professional opera companies in the state, and I've sung for representatives of all but two, I think (one by choice). There are roughly a DOZEN companies in the DC area alone. And there are lots more coaches, and let's not forget the all-important proximity to Manhattan--still a trek but not nearly the eleven-hour ordeal I'm used to now. So yeah, I'm raring to go.

On a lighter note, here's what you all are getting for Christmas: