Thursday, June 30, 2011

Roger, my Roger

Ever since that gloriously sunny day ten years ago, I have been in love with the tennis of Roger Federer.  You might even say I love Roger Federer.  But I like to say I'm just on thisside of stalking, so we'll go with loving his tennis.  After he beat Pete Sampras (who I never loved for some reason), I thought he would take the tennis world by storm.  I remember being vaguely disappointed that it took him two more years to win at Wimbledon.

Take the tennis world by storm he did.  Being a Roger Federer fan during the Pax Federana (as dubbed by one of my favorite tennis bloggers) was a happy thing.  He would always win!  And he always won so beautifully!  I compared him to Baryshnikov--it was an effortlessly smooth game and oh so easy to be passionate about.  He seemed to float across the court and could hit any shot from anywhere.  Plus, that hair!!!  :)    He lost so infrequently that I just looked at a loss as an anomoly.  Oh, and I also instantly disliked whoever beat him.  Which accounts for my ongoing distaste for Nadal.  But Roger was also so elegant, so classy, that I felt vaguely small for disliking opponents he praised.  Didn't stop my dislike, though.

Ten years of love and beauty.  How quickly they fly by.  It's been a great run.  I still love watching the effortless beauty of Roger's game.  The French Open this year (until he lost in the final) was like old times.  Wimbledon this year was also lovely (until yesterday).  But the losses are coming so quickly now.  He hasn't given me a chance to get ready for this new phase of his career--the dangerous champion who is still a threat to win, but lots of things have to fall his way for it to happen.  I still try to do my part: I'm a big believer in jinxing and such, so there are lots of weird rituals (which are actually more like Nadal, but oh well), feeling like I'm helping in some way.  So dumb.  But I'll keep going as long as he does.  And I'm sure I'll still cry at the big losses (though I didn't cry yesterday, because I genuinely like the joie de vivre of Tsonga),  I feel certain Roger has at least one more Slam in him, maybe two or three, and I'll be there to revel in it.  I just need to figure out what I'm going to do once he figures out what he's going to do.  Maybe Dmitrov (who Tsonga also beat at Wimbledon this year.  Hmmmm, symmetry...) will fill the bill.  I just hope it doesn't take him forever to step up to the plate.  As for the semi-finalists this year, I'm rooting for Murray and Tsonga to make the final.  I'm trying to figure out which rituals I should adopt to help them along.  

Below, enjoy the only photos I've ever gotten of Roger, up close, practicing at the Open.  Here's hoping I have many more chances to get even better photos of a man I've borderline obsessed over for ten years.  Ten more years?  Too much to ask?




Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Mission Accomplished (almost)

So, I've made it through the exchange surgery.  I guess maybe I was expecting too much, but I'm a little disappointed in how the implants look and feel.  I know that it takes time for the implants to settle and drop, but still.  They don't look much different than the expanders.  They are softer to the touch, for the most part, but inside I still feel tight and swollen.  I'll be seeing Dr. Vera Wang next week, so I will have to talk to her about how I feel--is it that I'm expecting something else, or is it that they don't sit right?  Who knows...

The procedure went well, but recovery was again a little frightening.  With all the trouble I've had with anesthetic, I may opt out of having the nipple reconstruction.  I'm also supposed to talk with Dr Pay in Advance about having my ovaries removed at some point to eliminate all of my extra estrogen.  But I just don't think I can do another procedure that requires a general anesthetic.

I arrived at the medical center at 6am and was in surgery by 7:30.  The surgery went well, but I went into severe shakes when I was coming out of the anesthetic.  To calm the shakes, they gave me demerol.  The demerol made me nauseated, so they gave me compazine to control the nausea.  They told me that the compazine would make me sleepy and when I woke up, I would feel better.  Instead, the compazine made me jittery and anxious.  The anesthesiologist told me that was a rare side effect, but hello.  If there's a rare side effect, I'm going to find it. 

By around 1pm, I was going crazy, so I asked if I could sit up in a chair and get ready to go home.  But then a nurse got nervous about my heart issues.  I was again throwing PVCs and the heart monitor kept beeping--the student nurse kept coming over to me and reminding me to breathe deeply.  At one point, I thought I was going to hyperventilate.  It's a vicious circle, I guess.  But all of the doctors said that I was asymptomatic and not really having substantive heart problems.  I asked if I should see Dr They Didn't Operate On Your Legs, but no one said it was necessary.  I guess I just don't like anesthetic.  Or drugs in general.  I am a lightweight when it comes to medication.  I always have been.  Plus, seriously, how many times can someone be put under in a six-month period?  I wouldn't think it would be good for anyone, whether in good health or not. 

Clearly, I'm going to need to lose weight and figure out this vegan thing moving forward.  That seemed to lower my blood pressure before.  I just have to be more serious about it and not so lazy.  It gets easy to be lazy during recovery, then it gets harder and harder to be diligent when you're allowed to be.  Wah wah wah.  My mom says she's proud of me, especially for not complaining, but I feel like I complain in my mind all the time!  I know I'll never feel the same again, but that doesn't stop me from expecting some changes or some relief as the months go by.  Maybe once I get out of these surgical bras and wear something other than an extra-large button-up shirt, I'll feel more like me.  Some kind of positive would be most welcome at this point. 

Looking forward to some ballet this weekend.  That always lifts my spirits...

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Memories of Italy

I had the most amazing trip to Italy in 2007.  When I'm anxious, I like to recall the fantabulous ten days I spent there with friends.  I'll be offline for a bit, but thought I'd autopost some memories of our Italy trip.  I have more detailed trip reports in my other computer.  Maybe I'll post them at some point, with more photos, some day soon...enjoy!


OUR ITALIAN VACATION

# of steps taken:  168,543
# of steps, adjusted for stairs and hills:  2,598,398
# of days prosciutto was eaten:  9
# of pizzas eaten, per person:  5
# of new catchphrases:  oh, at least 5
# of post-tour references to our hot Vatican tour guide:  76
# of shopping trips for boots:  stopped counting at the conservative estimate of 175
# of unsuccessful attempts to call Tari’s mother:  6
# times walked through St. Peter’s Square:  7
# umbrellas Tari & Goody bought:  2 each
# trips to ATMS:  4
# map reader switches:  let’s say 20.  it was a lot.
# times checking weather.com in one 18-hour period:  10
# of Punchinello potty surprisings:  1
# of bottled waters taken from Sorrento B&B:  16
# of bottled waters Goody had to open for GNO and other various females:  25
# of handbags Jenny came home with:  2
# of working clothes dryers found:  0
# of times Tari’s socks were dried with blow dryer:  2
# of showers that were smaller than Jamie’s apt:  1
# of songs we sang repeatedly:  2
# of times Tari ate the special lemon dessert in Sorrento:  3 (missed the first day, darn it)
# times in our favorite limoncello store:  7
# of Spike Lee movies watched in Italian:  1
# of times Jenny’s bags were lost en route to destination:  2
Days the cameras died:  Jamie, day 1
                                    Goody, day 5
                                    Jenny, day 9
Transportation taken:    6 buses, 5 trains, 4 planes, 5 subways, 2 ferries, 2 funiculars, 2 taxis 

                                                                  
                                            
                           

Friday, June 17, 2011

ABT - Coppelia

Next ballet in my subscription was Coppelia, starring one of my faves, Xiomara Reyes, and a new guy, Ivan Vasiliev.  Ivan is with ABT since so many of the regular dancers seem to be injured.  I believe I read that he is specifically replacing Herman Cornejo.

Anyway, Coppelia is not one of my favorites--it's a cute story, but there's not really much dancing, just a lot of posing.  I love Xiomara, though, and really wanted to see her do something this season.  She did not disappoint--she was charming as Swanilda and this Ivan guy is pretty darned amazing.  I forgot that his character, Franz, doesn't do a lot of choreography in this piece.  He did a little partnering here and a nice split leap there in Acts 1 and 2.  Then, in Act 3, of course there's a wedding pas de deux and OH MY GOD.  He is all that and a bag of chips.  His elevation is remarkable--he seems to be floating an extra few seconds in the air.  Levitating, almost.  I truly have never seen someone airborne for so long.  People in the audience were gasping.  Partly, I think, because we had spent most of the evening waiting for some real dancing, but mainly because this guy was fantastic.  He also gave good curtain call.  :)

I'm looking forward to my last two ballets--Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty.  Both starring my crush David Hallberg.  Mmmmmm.  Can't wait.  
                                                     

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

ABT - The Bright Stream and other ramblings

I greatly enjoyed the new ballet at ABT, Ratmansky's The Bright Stream.  With music by Shoshtakovich, it was apparently done in the 30s and banned by Stalin.  This current version has been done by the Bolshoi and now by ABT.  Monday night, I saw the cast that originated the roles for ABT.

I am not really a huge fan of Paloma Herrera, who danced the lead role.  I don't enjoy how she breaks the line of her arms, and her hands are really sloppy sometimes.  She controlled them a lot better in this performance, though, and her feet were exquisite.  I don't think she really 'fills' the stage, though.  Not like some of the other principals.  But mainly she was relatively lovely.  Marcelo Gomes, as her flirtatious husband, was terrific.  Again, just virile and charming, with gorgeous extension.  Their final pas de deux was beautiful.  Gillian Murphy as the Ballerina was grand, and my current uber-fave danseur, David Hallberg, was a laugh riot as the Ballet Dancer.  The choreography was light and airy and a lot of fun.  There was a particular piece of choreography for the corps that I found gorgeous--two gents swinging a gal between them; it sounds like something you could've seen a zillion times before, but it was actually new to me.  And I really enjoyed it. 

The real fun of this ballet is in the second act, when there is role-playing and gender-bending.  Gillian Murphy danced as a man and David Hallberg danced as a woman.  May I just say that anytime he wants to do a Giselle AS Giselle, I would go.  His work en pointe was really amazing, and his partnering with Victor Barbee was so funny.  I can't really describe how laugh-out-loud funny it was to watch a pas de deux with the roles reversed.  It seemed like the entire audience was having a great time.  I hope they had this ballet to the repertory--I would definitely like to see it again.

Brief notes about various and sundry things:  I really enjoyed the Tony broadcast this year.  I laughed out loud with total glee when Neil Patrick Harris and Hugh Jackman did their host-off.  Neil Patrick Harris is just a grand host--so charming and smart and funny.  He can seemingly do anything.  The rap he did at the end was terrific!  Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote it and he too can seemingly do anything.  Oooo, let's start the campaign that next year, Lin comes on stage to rap with NPH.  That would be terrific. 

As for the recipients, congrats to all.  I did hope that Scottsboro Boys would pull out the Best Score, but oh well.  It seems to have a lot of upcoming productions, and hopefully they'll sell more CDs after America got a look at the snippet they presented on the Tony broadcast.  I was so pleased that John Benjamin Hickey was recognized for his terrifically moving performance in Normal Heart.  And God love Larry Kramer.  He looked so happy to be there and was very eloquent in his brief remarks.  Thumbs up on the whole show.  Now if only they could broadcast all the awards during the main three-hour tv event...

My recent trip to Fairfax was very successful.  All I'll mention is that I had an amazing meal at a restaurant called Villa Mozart.  I had the penne martelli, which was a penne pasta with lobster in a balsamic reduction.  Oh. My. God.  It was so delicious.  I was wary at first of the balsamic reduction, but it was perfect with the lobster.  It cut through the richness beautifully.  The only photo I got was of my dessert, a limoncello souffle.  It could've been a bit more lemon-y, but it was still quite tasty...

The service was very slow, but that seemed to be modus operandi for restaurant service in Fairfax.  It didn't seem leisurely, it seemed slow.  I wonder why.

My exchange surgery is next Monday--I'm ever so ready for it.  I'm so swollen and so uncomfortable.  I just pray that the new implants aren't as uncomfortable.  I'm guessing they couldn't be, but who knows?  We'll just have to see how it goes.  I'm happy to have a week off during the first week of Wimbledon--my mom and I will enjoy watching it live every morning.  I'm feeling a little Pollyanna-ish.  Let's play the Glad Game!  :)

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Review - iHo

I am taking a break to write a quick review of Tony Kushner’s new piece at the Public (presented in co-production with Signature Theatre), “The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guild to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures.”  Whew.  A mouthful.  As is the play.  J

First, thanks to my friend who gave me the ticket—I would surely have missed the play otherwise.  And I am very glad I saw it.  At three hours, forty minutes, there is a lot going on here.  As you all may remember, I like a lot going on.  Big messy plays that are smart and interesting are definitely my cup of tea.  However.  Here, I was never bored and found much of the dialogue and characterization to be very intellectually stimulating and real.  But I was never really engaged.  I found myself thinking outside the play—‘would a former longshoreman really use the word ‘assiduously’ in a conversation with his contractor son?’ , ‘does it make me a bad person that I have NO idea who these labor leaders are/were?’ and so on.  I was distracting myself instead of luxuriating in the piece, and I think part of the problem lies with Kushner.

There are subplots here that could be tightened—I never saw the hustler as anything but a device that is needed for the last scene (and the overly technical actor-y performance didn’t really help me), the ex-husband only seems to be needed for a fantastic second-act closing line (his other big revelation is nearly totally dismissed).

The acting was very good, but sometimes they were hamstrung by the writing.  It just seemed, in places, that characters were quoting Kushner instead of saying dialogue.  Does that even make sense?  K. Todd Freeman fell into this trap a lot.  I read one review that called him a ‘speechifying martyr.’  That describes him pretty well.   A lot of Kushner’s dialogue just didn’t fit into his mouth.  Michael Cristofer was wonderfully eloquent as the father who wants to bid his children goodbye, but perhaps he was a little too eloquent.  I generally enjoy Stephen Spinella, but I just don’t get where his character was coming from.  Stephen Pasquale was very good as the younger brother and has a terrific last scene, and Linda Emond is gorgeously understated, as always.

I guess part of the problem was I just didn’t connect to these people—this family is so super-smart, I wonder how they even live with themselves.  Since I have little to no knowledge of labor unions, or labor laws, or even more than a scant understanding of socialism or communism, lots of the ideas went completely over my head.  Not that that is necessarily a problem for me—after I saw “Copenhagen,” I went out and bought books to help illuminate the plot even more, because I found it so evocative.  I didn’t find anything evocative here.  I guess there were a lot of things I didn’t understand—why are these lesbians sleeping with men?  This house is worth $4 million?  Why is everyone so enamored of this hustler??  No clue.  Sometimes, it seemed as if Kushner is throwing a ton of ideas up against the wall to see if any of them stick.

Having said all that, I will repeat, I wasn’t bored and I enjoyed the humor and family dynamics.  There are scenes where everyone is talking and arguing at once and it is familiar and fun and genuine.  I guess I learned something, and because it’s Kushner, there is some gorgeously rapturous language that was well-worth hearing.  I don’t think this is a play I’ll need to see again, but I am glad I saw it once.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

ABT - Giselle plus some French Open thoughts

Ballet #3 on my ABT subscription this year was Giselle, one of my uber-favorites.  It's goopy and romantic and sad and I just love it.  I love all the choreography and the positions sustained by the gal playing Giselle.  I've seen it quite a few times, and I believe most of the time, I've seen Julie Kent dance Giselle.  I find Julie heartbreaking in the part and think her delicacy is so well suited to the role.  But this time I saw Diane Vishneva dance it.  I thought she was wonderful.  I especially loved her in the first act as the love-struck girl.  She had a buoyancy that seemed perfect to me.  And her mad scene was amazing.  I think it was even better than Julie's (Julie is generally my standard of excellence for a ballerina).  If I prefer Julie in the second act, I think it's because her physical persona is more ethereal, whereas Vishneva is more earthy.  Which is a valid interpretation, but my personal preference is ethereal.  But technically, Vishneva is gorgeous.  And her connection with her Albrecht, Marcelo Gomes, was palpable.  Gomes was spectacular as Albrecht.  Charming, virile, yum yummy--he has it all.  He definitely has 'lift' - I love a guy with such elevation.  He was very moving during the mad scene; it's always such a nice bonus to see good acting along with good dancing.  That doesn't always happen.  For example, the guy playing Hilarion, the rival for Giselle's affection, was Gennadi Saveliev.  His dancing was spectacular in the 'death by dancing' scene.  His acting/miming in the first scene was kind of a little bit terrible.

Oh, and another fantabulous aspect of Vishneva's performance?  Her curtain call.  It was truly worth the price of admission.  It, in fact, may be the best curtain call I've seen since Betty Buckley's in Sunset Boulevard.  Truly grand and crazy and out of proportion--LOVED IT!!  :)  

Next ballet, the new one, Bright Stream.  I've purposely avoided the reviews and preview articles so I can go in with no expectations.  I was looking at my tickets, though, and I notice I actually don't have any performances featuring Julie Kent, so I may see if I can get a balcony seat for Monday night's performance.  I have to see her at least once a season...

French Open thoughts--I have loved waking up every morning and watching live tennis.  Love love it.  I'll be sorry when the tournament is over.  I'm ever so happy that Schiavone made the finals again, though I admit I'm rooting for Li Na.  I will also admit to shedding a few tears when my darling Roger won against Djokovic.  I just hope he can resurrect a little more magic in the finals.  Please???

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Review - Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo

I've seen several plays of Rajiv Joseph's over the years.  I have liked his work in the past and I imagine I’m predisposed to enjoy it now.  But I have to say I thought his new play on Broadway was kind of amazing.

A Pulitzer finalist, Bengal Tiger arrives on Broadway basically because Robin Williams agreed to do it.  Well, if that’s what it took, thank you Robin Williams.  Because it seems to me such a gift that audiences can see a play that is reaching for and trying to say so much.  These kinds of plays are few and far between.  It’s so smart and so funny and so terrifying.  There are probably a few too many ideas here (war, greed, life, death, religion, the existence of God, to name just a few), but I was mainly captivated by each and every one.

Williams plays, yes, a tiger at the Baghdad Zoo.  He is funny and profane, and his monologues are fantastic.  Rajiv’s writing here is spectacular.  After the first scene, the tiger wanders around, with amazing philosophical musings.  He’s trying to figure out why he’s still there, and that if there’s an afterlife, does that mean there’s a God?  And if there’s a God, how can he let these atrocities happen?  Meaty stuff.  His musings reflect on the living characters in the play as well, especially the gardener turned translator, Musa, played by the incredible Arian Moayed.  Musa, when we first meet him, is a charming friendly face to the American soldiers, but as his journey continues, and he is beaten down by guilt and sadness, the horror of war is starkly presented in the deterioration of a man.

photo credit: Carol Rosegg
I could really talk forever about this play.  There is just so much to talk about!  I would love to see it again, and sit and talk all night about it.  The performances are all terrific.  Robin Williams gives a controlled, focused, yet ferociously funny performance as the tiger.  Plus, he melds into the ensemble beautifully.  And I think Arian Moayed is giving one of the best performances I’ve seen in awhile.  Though I’m rooting for the heartbreaking John Benjamin Hickey to win the Tony for Normal Heart, I would not be disappointed at all if Moayed walked away with it.  Brad Fleischer and Glenn Davis play American servicemen who are so flawed, you practically have to look away.  Their performances are spot on.  And speaking of looking away, the gent (Hrach Titizian) playing the ghost of a son of Saddam Hussein is just grotesque and funny and completely, vividly real.  Oh, and the set is incredible and I was very impressed with Moises Kaufman’s direction.  It can’t have been easy to direct a play like this, which is so imaginative and daring, but he did a wonderful job with it.

You’re probably exhausted, just from reading this e-mail and figure, why should I see this flawed, complicated play?  It’s summer!  What about Anything Goes?!?!  ;)  I’ll admit that towards the end of Bengal Tiger, my wind wandered a bit and I wondered where all this was going, and then, my breath stopped and I started to sob.  It all just suddenly added up to something sublimely beautiful.  I fully recognize that Rajiv is striving so high that he doesn’t completely succeed in what he’s trying to do, but all I know is I was totally transported and moved beyond words.  The gal next to me, however, was not.  She was intent on finishing the salad in a Tupperware container she brought with her.  And a guy behind me was snoring.  The house was probably three-quarters full—this play IS a tough sell.  An anti-war play that delves into the existential and demands as much of its audience as it does of itself will never be a huge crowd pleaser, but I do think most of the people that came and saw and listened are glad they did.  I so look forward to what Rajiv brings us next.