I'm makin copies....

So, hear I am at the most wonderful library in the world (also known as The Performing Arts Library), standing up at a shared computer and writing a few updates as a break from copying songs! I love this place. So, so fun to sift through every score imaginable but also exhausting. I am toast. I have a very exciting and fun project planned for the summer (it's also a surprise so I can't give details) and I've been copying my brains out with gleeful anticipation. This morning I shook my bones at Nia class and had the chance to tell Serena how much I enjoy her teaching. All the Nia teachers are sooooooooooo nice and encouraging and always say, "great dancing!" when really, we're awkwardly shaking our bones. I've been doing some home research on Peter Pan and J.M. Barrie...a great excuse to watch "Finding Neverland" again. For lunch, I celebrated with a dear friend from Rice days, Christine Hauptly, who is in town with her recently-affianced Matt. They met in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra where she plays violin and he plays the horn. We ate at Sarabeths on the East Side and I walked with them to the Met before heading across the park to the library. Tonight Adrienne and I are going to see "Coram Boy" a play on Broadway. Since signing up for the TDF discounts I've been thrilled to get some amazing deals to see all these shows! I'm feeling especially show-hungry because I'm worried some of them will close by the time I get back from Millbrook in July.

Yesterday (Thursday) was an internet-free day. Apparently God is sending me a message that I spend too much time on-line? but he punished most of the rest of the cable-inclined NYC as well. Collectively, we missed Season Finale Thursday!!!! WHAT??!!!??? What a great opportunity to go to ballet class and be verbally abused by the teacher. Seriously this class is called "Ballet Basics" for absolute beginners and yet she expects a lot and gets very frustrated with some of our (ahem, ahem) lack of natural talent. She even yelled at a girl who was readjusting her hair saying, "You should do that before class!! You shouldn't come to class unprepared!" Yikes. I am glad that she has a hard time remembering my name because poor new girl Claire was getting an earful. And still, I enjoyed the class. I think she's a great teacher and I feel like even after 2 classes, I'm improving. Luckily, Kat was there to share some raised eyebrow disbelief. Earlier in the afternoon I had a Laura B. session and worked on the Ricky Ian Gordon songs that I LOVE. Laura said that when I get them fully-prepared we'll book an hour with her friend and Broadway superstar Judy Blazer, who is a good friend and muse of Ricky Ian Gordon. Won't that be fun???? In the morning I had a brief and somewhat silly rehearsal for Millbrook's Royalty Dinner that I'm participating in. I get to sing "Little Fat Girls" from Black Patent Leather Shoes. Cute song but I wish I could change the words to "Big Tall Girls" because the guy I'm singing with is about a foot shorter than me. Oh well. I guess that's why I got cast as a nun in that show and not a kid!

Wednesday I went to a special NIA masterclass with a Nia-master from Sweden. She was awesome and about 6'5". I guess she was an olympic medalist in swimming at some point. Sometimes I think about getting certified in Nia and teaching as a survival job. Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm....
Karim gave me his superstar guest spot at his opera's dress rehearsal. He's doing "Castor et Pollux" by Rameau with Opera Francais de New York. I so enjoyed seeing him onstage again...his character is the whimsical Mercure. Unfortunately he didn't get to sing all that much but he definitely lit the stage whenever he was on it! The singing was mostly great and I especially enjoyed the sopranos and the baritone. On my way out of the theatre a torrential rain storm hit and I realized that my outfit choice of white skirt and flip-flops was a bad one. I still made it to Union Square and grabbed a quite bite to eat at Whole Foods before sloshing over to class. I will really miss the Gym these next few months. John was hard on us this last class and tears were flowing. I'm thankful to have so many notes and so many new ways of looking at communicating my songs. Hooray. Tom, the guy who looks like Matt Damon and sings like an angel, was back in class, so that was delightful. :) We also had a visitor, a guy named Aaron, who is clearly a character actor and sang a rousing "I want to be a Rockette." So fun.

Okay, well, I have just a few minutes before the library closes. Love to you all!!! By the way, it's 53 degrees for a high today!!! Can't wait to get home to sunny (please!) CA!