Seventh

Had an e-mail from my mother this morning, in reaction to an e-mail that she had just received from the leader of the operatour group.

The Mariinsky Theatre's Ring Cycle production which we saw in Baden-Baden two years ago, will be performed at the Met in July of 2007. Do we want to see it again?

A week in Manhattan, with the Ring? Oh, well, I'm not sure, let me think about that for a moment: YES!!!!!!!

I had mailed Sass about the possibility of me buying her a beer in Toronto in September, she expressed wonder that some people know what they'll be doing eight months in advance. I know what I hope to be doing (God willing) eighteen months in advance. Being an opera fan requires taking the long view: we must decide now, and make a downpayment next month.

A little nudge for any east coast-ish North Americans who might be curious: the Mariinsky Ring really is superb.

In other news I was standing in the kitchen just now, preparing a little tray of supplies for my midmorning break. A cup of coffee (still black) and a glass of water were on the tray, I opened the refrigerator and took out the milk - and watched myself pour milk into the glass of water, thinking as I did so "Something's not quite right here..."

In other other news the sky is already brighter, the days already longer than at Christmas. I noted with surprise yesterday evening, on the train home from a meeting, that the sky was not yet black at 5:45pm. Spring is not far away.