honoumiko

I had an AMAZING lesson today.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SHL363WZ excerpt.

He's asking me to look up the careers of Anna Moffo, Ileana Cortrubas, Teresa Stratas, and... Mirella Freni.

Because he thinks I may be headed in that sort of ballpark as far as my voice goes.


...FRENI.


asldfkjasldkfjskladfh I IDOLIZE HER.


...Stratas sang Despina, as did I.

She also did a film version of Salome. lulz.

Film version doesn't count though... so unless I ever land a film version of it, forget that, it's practically Wagnerian.

Hee. Looks like I'm gonna have a voice heavy enough to not just play skanky soubrettes (though they are fun) but not quite heavy enough to play the totally batshit roles. XD

WE'RE ENGAAAAAAAAAAAGED


edit: this got me salmoned:

HighLevelCoho (11:13:35 PM): Don't be so deucedly condescending!

most memorable salmon ever

I GOT THREE CALLBACKS


BAROQUE OPERA... DESPINA AND ADELE.

WHAT.



FUCK I HAVE NO TIME TO LEARN THIS MUSIC

8D

David is living with me. Finally. We made our 5 and a half year mark on Thursday, if you count from when I asked him to the prom. Which we do. Even though we weren't official until Tim asked us if we were, three months later, and then we awkwardly discussed it and decided we should be, god we were so awkward lol. did I say were?

At least until the end of October... hopefully he will have found a new job by then, and HOPEFULLY it will be one that he can stay living here. So far it's been wonderful even though it's been less than a week, but it's a real relief to finally be living together. It also helps that we have two rooms, so we have our space if we need it.

In other news, I need to get my ass in gear for the school year. They're doing Cosi Fan Tutte this year, and I want to be Despina SOOOO BAAAD. The girl is nuts. She's great.

I'm singing "In uomini" and "Mein Herr Marquis," the latter in English because they're doing Fledermaus in English. I doubt I have a shot at Adele; my high chops are OKAY but I'm sure others are better. I'm hoping I can laugh hard enough in it, though, so that they can see how ZANY I can be for Despina. 8D

I wonder how much of a shot I'll have for Despina. a) I finished my undergrad there. b) I'm also a new student, technically, since it's a new program. c) I'm also a master's student. ....I don't know what all of this will boil down to, when it comes to picking and choosing based on seniority.

In OTHER other news, Hildegard Behrens died!??? The hell.

Just saw it on operasingers, confirmed on wiki. Also, why does wiki have a separate category for cardiovascular disease-related deaths in Japan?

must resist Kira joke

...must resist Kira/Wagner joke

Hokay, off to fill in the English words to Mein Herr Marquis since I only have the German version.

I successfully lost the five pounds I wanted to lose before Otakon!!! YESSS. On a 5'0" person, this shows.

Weighed myself this morning - technically four pounds I guess, but this was after I ate a pretty frickin' huge and delicious bagel (GO TO GOLDBERG'S ON REISTERSTOWN ROAD OMG DELICIOUS, THANK YOU AARON FOR RECOMMENDING THEM AGES AGO, THANK GOD THAT IT STUCK OUT IN MY MIND). Five more pounds to go, and I'll look like I did back when I was at Plymouth. Never gonna get back to high school weight, and that is fine with me; it'd be too much of a goal, probably unhealthy, and I think that I am more of a woman now and less of a gawky teenager. XD

Stood in line for an hour and a half last night to get the badge.
IT'S AN OURAN BADGE, BITCHES. I AM SO HAPPY THEY HAD SOMETHING I LIKED ON THE BADGES THIS YEAR. Not that Kimba isn't a classic, but I haven't seen it...

So, drinking my water, letting that bagel digest a bit... need total fuel for this weekend!

I AM SO EXCITED. Wish me luck trying to get Kikuko Inoue's autograph... (wish I could have found my old Tenchi Forever VHS, she was Haruna and it would have been nice to have her sign something from my very first anime obsession... but I'll go with Chobits, she was Hibiya-san in that).

...AND WISH ME LUCK IN THE AMV CONTEST!! :D


OK GOTTA GO SHOWER AND GET MY MISA-MISA WIG AND MAKEUP ON. BUT THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, CHANGING AT THE CON, OPTING TO NOT WALK AROUND THE STREETS OF BALTIMORE DRESSED AS EP 13 MISA LOLOL


BAI

I had a dream last night. I was reunited with a bunch of my old friends from high school. They all looked the way they did then, not the way they do now. Oddly enough it was all at Otakon (which made sense for one of them, since she came down to visit last year and go to Otakon with me, but she wasn't the first one I saw, which is odd). A few faculty members too.

Also I dreamed that David cheated on me and I wagged my finger at him angrily all like "DON'T. CHEAT." I then became bitter and flirted with everyone, and at some point, I ended up in a bizarre mosh-pit-like crowd where everyone was sleeping or something, and I was trying to work my way through and find someone to cuddle with... and somehow at the same time it was a facebook quiz, and the result was that I was to cuddle with a pillow. And I was like "GOOD I NEED PERSONAL SPACE WHEN I SLEEP ANYWAY."

This is just LOADED with Freudian goodies, isn't it?? Don't want to think about it, though I think the mosh pit thing was a result of me watching a video of a rave party on youtube.

Oh, and Kaoru Hitachiin was hitting on me. Totally. Not a cosplayer, the actual character.

Also, new icon. XD



why can't I have a dream about a character that I actually fangirl over

icon fucking relevant.



(Dorotea, you are a genius for thinking of that book. Thank you.)

This actually happened. The damn thing got in my room, and all I heard was gross wings flapping, like, the kind you KNOW is some huge creepy bug. And I'm like "oh, well shit." THEN I FELT SOMETHING LAND ON MY LEG. I half-shrieked and flailed because it startled the hell out of me. At that point, I still didn't see what the hell was buzzing around.

Then I see this dumb little baby wasp kind of rolling around on the floor, apparently not able to fly very high. And I'm like "OH FUCK YOU, YOU HAVE A STINGER. DIE, YOU FUCK." So I'm looking around for something to smack it with, and I'm like "no, I don't want to get Opera News all gross with bug juice."

And then it hit me.

THE DEATH NOTE. (Ian got me one for my birthday; I used it as my Music History II notebook... figure, everyone's already dead, so taking notes for that class won't risk anything cosmic happening and freaking me out).

Anyway, so. THE DEATH NOTE. How FUCKING EPIC would that be, right??

Of course, now I can't find the damn wasp, and I'm standing here, with my shirt but no pants because it's too hot in the room, waiting for this wasp to show up again, startling me with its annoying-as-hell FLFLFLFLFLLFLFPPP gross wing noises.

And lo... it did.

And lo... I SMACKED THE SHIT OUT OF THE DAMN THING REPEATEDLY, CURSING AT IT AND LAUGHING MANIACALLY. WITH MY DEATH NOTE. " *excited gasp* HAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, YESSSS." Something like that.

It wasn't even faked; hell, why would I risk freaking my roommate out over this? I do NOT KNOW where that truly visceral, evil, sadistic laugh came from, except that a) I was so proud of myself for having killed a bug with a stinger, as I am usually one to freak out and leave the room and get someone else to kill it... and b) I KILLED USING THE DEATH NOTE. THIS IS POSSIBLY ONE OF THE MOST EPIC THINGS I HAVE EVER DONE.

I will not lie; it felt GOOD. That sick laugh came from the pit of my stomach; brief as it was, it was raw, unabashed, and ecstatic.

Which bothers me a bit. But you know something, I think I learned something through all this. I think this shows true human nature. As humans, we have an instinct to kill. And since most of us no longer hunt as early humans always needed to, we are deprived of that. Provided that most of us are also good-natured citizens like myself who would never DREAM of killing another human being... I think there is a bit of catharsis to be enjoyed through the conquest of something as small as a wasp. Something that could have stung me and been really, really fucking annoying. And I think, deep down, I understand our dear Light Yagami just a little bit more after tonight.

That or I'm a freak who just thought it was hilarious to actually kill something with a Death Note, merchandise though it may be.


Probably the latter.

To part, some words from my mother after I told her I killed a bug using the Death Note:

But I'm excited.

And my nails are drying. (I rarely paint my nails. I'm THAT excited.)

And poor David is being smart and actually SLEEPING (adorably, at that... something about being snuggled in my girly purple bedsheets and looking like a contented cat, I dunno). We have to be up in less than three hours. O_o

I am so excited for San Francisco it's not even funny. I've never gone away for spring break (not counting family trips back in middle school; that was "April Vacation" not spring break).

Anyone been there?? Any good recommendations? I suppose now is a bit too late to ask, but I may find myself at a computer somewhere at some point checking out suggestions. I was there when I was 14 but that's different than being there now. We have plans, but suggestions are always welcome. Note: I hate tourist traps, for the most part. Gonna go see the sea lions but other than that...

Also, any good suggestions for a nice, smooooth bottle of red wine that I can pick up locally (BECAUSE I'M NOT 14 ANYMORE AND I CAN ACTUALLY ENJOY THE WINE IN CALIFORNIA THIS TIME)? I'm a huuuuuge fan of Pinot Noir; I am pretty sure it's my favorite. I don't really like sweet wines all that much (I looove sweet cocktails but not sweet wines, though I do enjoy port but that's a bit of a different animal)... so anything not too dry, but DEFINITELY full-bodied. Something nice to share while relaxing in our room.

I'm feeling horribly romantic right now. :) (Icon relevant.)

Events in the elevator:

There are three people with me. One is blind. He is waiting for the ninth floor.

One gets off at the fifth floor. Says nothing.

I'm on the eighth floor, so I'm next. As I leave, I say to the two people who were with me, "have a good one." And I'm on my way out so I can only half-hear what is said afterwards, and it didn't process until later, so I didn't get to defend myself.

Old lady goes "She's lying. This is the eighth floor." Blind man presumably nods, or something. Old lady says "How can you tell if they're lying?" Blind man says, "The beeps," referring to the little chirping noises an elevator makes as it passes floors.

WELL DUH, LADY. And WTF is your problem. And I'm pretty sure I remember you, too. Over a year ago my mom and I were walking in the parking garage, and you, YOU came zooming out of NOWHERE and almost hit my mom AND THEN PROCEEDED TO BLAME IT ON HER FOR WALKING TOO CLOSE TO THE ROAD. EVEN THOUGH THAT'S THE ONLY PLACE TO WALK.

Seriously, lady.