13 is my lucky number

Well people, it's the 13th, and I've somehow managed to blog every single day for a month. My 30 day commitment is up. But because of all your incredibly supportive comments about my blogging, I'm not going to give up entirely on frequent blogging even though I no longer have a self imposed requirement. Here's what. I'm going to commit to blogging at least every other day (more when I feel compelled) while I'm here in Portland. Then we'll see what happens after that. It's good for my creative juices to force myself to write even when I'm not feeling inspired. I came up with some subjects I wouldn't have normally discussed, and I liked the outcome. So no quitting just yet.

Let's talk about today now. First of all, I'm ridiculously proud of myself for accomplishing something that any six year old does with ease; riding a bike. As I mentioned in my post yesterday, Portland Opera generously provides its artists with a bike for the time that we're here, and Portland is a very friendly city to bicyclists. Now, I'm not exactly skilled at bike riding - or at any sporty endeavor if truth be told. But I want to prepare for my time in Berlin, where if you don't have a bike, you're just kind of a weirdo. So I walked the mile and a half to the bike shop and picked up my free bike, where I had to ask the guy really stupid questions like "why do you need to shift gears again?" But he kindly humored me, and luckily provided me with a helmet. He seemed a little concerned with my lack of skills, and said, "Now you be careful - I don't want to be responsible for ruining the opera!" to which I dryly replied, "Oh, don't worry! I have an understudy!"

But I managed to cycle all the way back to the hotel without incident. But you know what I discovered? Biking is difficult. Also; I'm out of shape. Also; I am not up to speed on any traffic laws. Also; now my legs are sore. And I only biked like 2 miles.

As for rehearsal today, we staged my aria, which was not terribly difficult. Chris (Mattaliano - director and GD of the company) had some new ideas for me which I enjoyed, and I, in typical Jenny fashion, suggested that I sing part of my aria lying on my stomach on a downward rake. And it's a part where I'm supposed to sing a high G and some very quick and light coloratura. This was absolutely not by any means a suggestion of the director. I totally and completely brought this on myself. I don't know why I feel the need to torture myself on stage, but I do. Perhaps I should invest in a therapist.

But I rode a bike! Yay me!!