Confessions of a One-Track Mind

To prove that my subconscious is a slippery thing, this morning I awoke humming opera. My late brother was the opera buff in our family; what little I know about it was gained through osmosis. I don't dislike it (which is more than most people will say), but I'm not passionate about it, either.

Last night, I dreamed about opera. I was in a place where it snowed, and there was an opera that the town performed every year over the course of four days, one act each day (Yes, I know, most plays/operas are three acts, not four.). They performed the usual nightly show of all four acts at the opera house, but there were public performances in the "act-a-day" format. One of the scenes involved a man driving a horse-drawn sleigh, and a wealthy man had donated $3000 for the priviledge of being in the sleigh with the driver, because he wanted to show off for his young daughters. I saw him as he/they went past, and I was impressed, because he was doing all kinds of acrobatic tricks.

The character in the opera whom they were singing about was Siglinde, and I can "hear" the chorus and the trumpet fanfare that went with it. Not all the words, alas, but it was "Siglinde, Siglinde!" and a six-note refrain.

I also know, although this wasn't part of the dream, that this is part of the opera that Sirocco Malfoy is famous for. One of these days, I really do need to conclude the Neville/Draco story arc, and oh, btw, read book 7....

Finally, after a little less than two weeks of deprivation, my connection is back on. I called the cable company from B's this afternoon (after a really scrumptious dinner---coming on the heels of last night's very good dinner, I'm a happy camper) and they pinged my box and apparently THAT was what it needed after they CLAIM they sent a tech out twice yesterday.

So---all the news that's fit to print: ( which you are of course under no obligation to wade through, as I'm making up for one week and five days of repression )

All righty! Having gotten all that unburdened, I think I'll go post something. I was trying for crack, but it actually makes sense. How do I DO that?!

Got the first refund from my FSA in today's mail...I have more paperwork to fax in--two of which I excavated while picking up. (Go, me!) Receipts for 'scrips' I got when I had that chest thing and a tooth extracted...totaling close to $60, so it's *not* a minor matter. That plus the remainder of what I paid for my glasses...I may not get *all* of it back untaxed, but I'll get most of it!

This evening, though I'm drooping a bit (I slept badly last night--really didn't want it to be Monday!), I challenged myself to fill one of the big trash bags in my living room: in 15 minutes or less. The scary thing is, I *did*. Some of it was prebagged--little grocery baggies--a full trash basket--or easy stuff like 2-liter bottles, out-of-date coupons and sales fliers heaped on the chair by the front door. (For the future, I'm putting a bag in one of the big blue bins and stashing it right by the door so all the doomed mail can go there.)

I discovered an ironic phenomenon while cleaning; in both the office and my room, I kept coming across empty trash bags that I'd taken in there, set down and forgotten. Not just one or two--try about ten of them between both rooms. I've stashed them in a grocery bag and I'm using them first. I'll have a real sense of accomplishment once I've worked my way through those.

Oh, and I finally got my hair done--and it inspired me to create a cousin for Draco Malfoy: an opera singer named Sirocco. (Let's just say I haven't been this blonde naturally since about 1977....)