Packing up

I’m spending this last day in Santa Fe wrapping up some applications, getting packed, and clearing various viruses off of my computer. Grrr…

So, until I have the time and compunction to sit and write in more detail about the end of the summer, here’s another tidbits entry.

• There was a great “thought for the day” at vilaine fille yesterday. I count myself among the lucky few.

• Another thought, imbedded in an article about Santa Fe Opera in The Villager this week: “The summer season is the time when young singers gain experience while experienced singers stretch.” I think I’m somewhere in the middle, gaining experience and stretching. A good place to be.

• A high school classmate of mine, Dorian Missick, is going to be a featured actor on a new series on ABC, Six Degrees. He played my father in our production of Tartuffe, way back in 1994. Go watch it, and keep Dorian in a job!!

• One of the applications I’m working on is for health insurance through the Freelancers’ Union. As far as I know, this is a NYC-only organization, but if you’re a freelancer or contract worker in the city, it’s a great place to get insurance. Very affordable, and they seem to have good coverage and good doctors.

(Finding insurance... One of the many hurdles I will face in the coming months in New York. I’ve been trying to figure out how to write about this aspect of my life, the hurdles old and new, because I think my experiences could be insightful. There are hurdles, believe me!! Just because I don’t write about them doesn’t mean they haven’t been around until now. But with a change in my living situation, maybe I can also change what I write about. Don’t worry, I’m not going to turn this blog into a “Debbie Downer” brain-drain page! Maybe just a slight shift in coverage. Stay tuned.)

• A good friend and trusted colleague had this to say upon hearing me sing this summer: “I can hear the growth from last year, but it’s interesting: you’re not a coloratura, but you’re not a soubrette, and you’re not really a lyric, either.” Hearing that from him was almost the last little bit of validation that I needed, or non-validation, maybe, to embrace my Fach-less-ness. I’ll sing what I sing best, regardless of the descriptives usually attached to the role.

I think that’s all for now. I can no longer avoid putting my clothes in a suitcase. But, as always, it’s easier to pack up when leaving than when going: no major decisions to make, ‘cuz everything has to go!!

More from Boulder in a few days.