It must be Monday somewhere in the world

I think I'm approaching this blogging thing all wrong. I told you that I would post a blog every Monday and I think I've proven that I am incapable of doing that consistently. Therefore, I'm going to lower my standards a bit. From this point on I swear to post a blog every Monday unless I don't. Wow, a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I will still post weekly and I will shoot for Monday but it may just have to be Tuesday.

My darling wife is in the other room right now studying Lucia di Lammermoor and coughing up a lung. That's right, Brenda is sick. In spite of that, she has still been going to rehearsals and has actually learned the staging for most of the opera in just two days. It would be great if she could get healthy again at some point before Saturday since that is the day of the first performance. Please send some healing vibes her way.

You'll be happy to know that my allergies are under control for the most part now. The doctor gave me steroids (YAY!) which allow me to breathe almost normally. The one good thing about having allergies, though, is it means the weather is getting better. Frankfurt has been gorgeous lately. We've been getting out and taking advantage of the sunshine as much as possible. The nice weather should allow me to step up my running a bit which will, hopefully, help me drop some of this hibernating weight I picked up over the winter. Of course, my parents will be arriving in Frankfurt on Thursday which will probably cause me to put on even more winter weight in spite of the current season. It will be totally worth it, though. We can't wait to have them here.

Well, time to turn in. I've got to get my beauty sleep and Brenda has to get healthy again. I hope you have a great week and I'll talk to you next Monday(ish)!

a beer by any other name

Hey All! First things first, Brenda is back! She decided to return to Germany in spite of how much she loves New York. Of course, had the volcano in Iceland erupted a few days earlier and left her stranded in NYC, I doubt she would have complained too much. Luckily for me, though, she made it back home safe and sound and right on time. However, she did come back a little worse off than when I left her. She somehow picked up a cold in New York and when you add that to my allergy-induced wheezing and sniffling, we really make quite the snotty pair. Brenda has already been to the doctor, though, so she is on the road to recovery. My appointment is on Wednesday. I'm hoping for steroids.

The night before Brenda's return to Frankfurt, Florian invited me over for a movie and beer night. The movie: Ninja Assassins. The beer: Budweiser. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Was Ninja Assassins awesome?" Yeah, it kind of was but it was also one of the bloodiest movies I've ever seen. If you like ninjas AND blood, though, it is definitely the movie for you. You may also be thinking, "I thought you moved to Germany to drink good beer, Chad. I am ashamed of your beer choice!" Well, before you judge me too harshly, you have to know that this wasn't the Budweiser we have back in the US. This was a different beer brewed in the Czech Republic that happens to share the same name as our Budweiser back home. I would love to tell you more about it but Wikipedia does a much better job. What I will tell you, though, is that it tasted pretty good. As Florian would say, "Es geht runter und es bleibt unten" or "It goes down and it stays down."

Our friend Kris is in town at the moment. He came down from Amsterdam for an audition in Karlsruhe and we are very happy he decided to spend a few days with us. I totally blame him for this blog entry being a day late, though. It certainly couldn't be my tendency to procrastinate.

I think it's time for me to hit the hay. I will touch base with you all next Monday at which point Brenda will have started rehearsals for Lucia di Lammermoor. Until then, have a great week!

Laundry time

Hey all! I hope you had a great weekend. I am happy to report that my lovely wife will be returning to me in just a couple of days. Less than 36 hours actually. From what she's told me, it sounds like she's been having a great time in New York. She spent a few wonderful days with her parents, got lunch with my lovely aunt Ann, saw several friends and even found some time in there to have a few lessons and coachings. Now that I think about, she's having such a good time, I hope she's still planning on coming back to Frankfurt.

I have, of course, been suffering greatly since Brenda left me last Tuesday. In spite of that, however, I managed to have some fun visiting my friend Jeff over the weekend. Jeff lives in Hagen and works full-time with the opera theater there. I didn't really get to see much of Hagen this weekend, though, because Jeff was singing at a theater in Gelsenkirchen. I saw him perform in two very nice productions and also got to meet some of his friends and colleagues.

The town of Gelsenkirchen has a population of somewhere around 250,000 people. As I sat in their beautiful 1,000 seat theater, I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if every town in the US with 1/4 million people had an opera house. If that were the case, our blog might be called Chenda in America. I doubt that will happen anytime soon, though. Opera houses in Germany are funded in large part by the government. That is the only way they're able to stay afloat. Opera houses in America are privately funded and, therefore, there are a lot less of them.

The train ride up to Gelsenkirchen lasted 4 1/2 hours and was quite enjoyable. The German countryside is beautiful and I always like seeing Germany's various towns and castles. I look forward to exploring even more of Germany when my parents are here in a little over 2 weeks.

I'm back in Frankfurt now and it's time to face the music. Brenda is coming back early Wednesday morning and I haven't done one bit of cleaning. I had planned on doing a little every day but I, of course, didn't and so tomorrow is the day. I will try to take some interesting pictures in the coming week so I have something for you to look at on the blog next week. Until then, have a great week!

When Brenda's away...

Hey all! Well, I'm a bachelor again. At least for the week. Brenda left me all alone in Frankfurt (with all of these dangerous Frankfurtians, I might add) and went to New York City. Brenda has a great role (Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor) coming up in May and she is going to NYC to work with her teacher. Her parents decided it would be a great opportunity to see Brenda so they are with her in NY as well. While she's away, I'm going to go up to Hagen, Germany to visit my good college friend, Jeff. He's been down to Frankfurt twice since we moved here and it's about time I go up and visit him for a change.

My last performance of Parsifal was on Monday. I must say, I really enjoyed performing the role of the 3rd squire. I had some good singing to do and I got to be on stage with some great people. It was a wonderful experience.

Frankfurt is definitely in bloom and I didn't even have to look outside to find out. All I had to do was look at the mountain of kleenex surrounding the garbage can. That's right, pollen is in the air and my allergies are going crazy. Last year, things got so bad that I had to get an inhaler and some steroids to fight allergy induced asthma. I'm hoping that somehow my body has adapted to it's new country and will not react as strongly this year. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Well, that's about all I've got. I hope you all had a nice Easter. We celebrated the day by eating delicious Mexican food courtesy of the McCowns. Nothing says Easter like refried beans. Until next time, have a great week!