Silently, it was the cat

longstrider and I had a Date last night, complete with dressing up, a fancy French restaurant and a night at the opera. All courtesy of his parents, who gave us a night out as a Christmas present. We saw HMS Pinafore. It was a wonderful show. I had been expecting your average Midwestern community performance, with a couple of minor Names imported to play the leads, with community members making up the rest of an indifferent cast. But instead, it was a British touring opera company, which was excellent. Several of the members had performed with D'oyly Carte, and a couple even acted in Topsy Turvy (not really surprising, given that all of the actors did their own singing in that movie, meaning they cast a lot of opera singers, and while the British acting community is small, I'm sure the opera community is infinitesimal).

Anyway, it was a great performance. I did find, however, that it's nearly impossible to watch a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta without having Anna Russell's monologue on how to write your own G and S operetta going through your head. Pinafore is particularly bad for that, since it matches her formula almost exactly. Since G and S is so light and fun, it doesn't really ruin it to have a parody of it running through your head, since nobody in their right mind takes G and S seriously anyway. I'm in a Gilbert and Sullivan mood now. I need to listen to some soundtracks or watch Kevin Kline's Pirates of Penzance or even watch Topsy Turvy. Preferably, all of the above. I'm not sure any of that is going to happen in the near future, since we're about to get on the road.

So we're heading towards parts eastward tomorrow. Er, later today. I've spent all evening frantically packing, finishing Ebay stuff and occasionally remembering to breathe. We head to Pennsylvania first, then New Jersey, take a quick trip up to visit my aunt and uncle in Connecticut and then head back home. I have mixed feelings about the idea of moving so far away from my parents, but I find the idea of living in Pennsylvania is oddly growing on me.

Our goal for tomorrow is to make it to the far side of Ohio. This is the longest trip we've taken with K, so I'm not sure how she's going to react to being cooped up in the car for so long. I bought her some new toys, so hopefully they will occupy her for a while. I should really head to bed - please send good interview vibes to longstrider and extensive napping vibes to K. I'm taking my laptop, so I may or may not be able to post from the road. If not, have a good week!