The Opera

Last week, a dream came true. I won a free ticket for The Barber of Seville on Twitter from the Minnesota Opera.

I went to the show this afternoon, and it was fantastic. I had a seat on the main floor, 10 rows back, to the left of the stage. I felt they were really good seats, not the best, but really good. I could see all the facial expressions and all the action.

Everything was amazing, and I'm still sort of reeling. The Barber of Seville is probably the most famous opera of all times. Looney Toons used it, as have other cartoons, sitcoms and commercials. The Overture is known to most of us, as are other parts like, "Figaro, figaro, figaro!" The voices were all beautiful, as were the sets and costumes. The production was funny and contemporary. And the acting was spot on. It was excellent.

My only disappointment was that I couldn't take advantage of their outstanding offer of half price season tickets for next year. I really wanted to do it, but I just don't have the money right now, but I will be attending again. It was wonderful.

So, that marks off "Attend the Opera" on my list and one of my live musical performances.

Updates and Such

Not a lot going on in the last two weeks in terms of the 101 goals. I did volunteer a bit last weekend and I restarted my 4 books a month for 6 months goal. I finished The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper. It was outstanding.

Here's some more updates on select goals:
Attend 3 dance performances: I'm hoping to attend my first this Saturday. Anyone want to join me at the Southern Theater?
Attend the Opera: I won a ticket to the Minnesota Opera's The Barber of Seville. I'm super excited.
Attend 20 live music performances: We are going to see Mates of State this weekend, one of my favorite bands.
Watch 50 Documentaries: I wonder if 50 is enough? I love documentaries so much I have a hard time NOT watching them.
Finish Fireplace and Get/build bookshelves for every book: my dad came out last week and did some measurements for both of these. We are getting closer.
Organize desk at work: DONE! I had to move cubicles, so I was able to clean up my desk.
Donate 100 hours of my time: I've got a bunch of volunteer activities lined up for the next month.
Find 20 new letterboxes: I hope to go letterboxing this weekend.
Visit 20 new State Parks: I think I'm heading to Wild River State Park this weekend for a nice hike with Jeff. It will also increase my mileage for my 1000 mile goal.

So, yeah, I'm working on things. And I still need to come up with a final goal...