a weekend away

Hey All! Happy (belated) Halloween to one and all. I didn't do much celebrating unless you consider the two Halloween dish towels I have in the kitchen celebrating. I guess I did celebrate the holiday in one other way; Brenda and I continued our tradition of watching a "scary" movie. Over the weekend we watched "Ghostbusters." Terrifying, right? We needed to watch something less scary this year. Last year we watched a real horror movie and I'm still having nightmares.

Brenda and I were able to continue our Halloween tradition this year because I flew to Germany for the weekend. I flew out of Iowa on Thursday afternoon, arrived in Frankfurt on Friday morning, flew out of Frankfurt Sunday morning, and arrived in Iowa on Sunday afternoon. It was a whirlwind trip but well worth it. Brenda was absolutely fantastic as Violetta in La Traviata. She made the role look easy which is really impressive considering how difficult it is. The audience clearly agreed with my opinion of Brenda's performance since she received thunderous applause. I'm so glad I was able to see one of her first performances of this role.

Brenda and I pausing to take a picture on Saturday as we walked around Frankfurt.

A picture of me in Brenda's dressing room

while she was in another room getting her make-up done.

It was great to get a break from law school, but now that I'm back in Iowa City I have to focus on our looming exams once more. Oddly, the closer we get to the end of the semester, the less stressed I become. I've realized that all I can do is prepare to the best of my ability and hope that's enough to get good grades. Most of my fellow students seem to be taking a different approach - they are panicking. And possibly for good reasons. One of our professors has been telling horror stories about people fainting during exams or getting nosebleeds. But, you know, no pressure.

Brenda opens another opera tomorrow night. It is a revival from last year called the Tales of Hoffman. It looks like I'll get to see her sing in that opera again since I'll be heading back to Frankfurt during Thanksgiving week. It'll be nice to have a whole week in Frankfurt as opposed to just a weekend.

I should probably call it a night. I hope you're all having a great week and I'll talk to you next Tuesday!