My musical thoughts in words.

Sometimes, I think in music. I don't mean to say that I have songs stuck in my head, although I hardly live a moment of my life when a song is not running through my head, but that sometimes my thoughts are literally music. They are not words or associations of the senses - neither smells, nor pictures. Sometimes they're just music. It's not rare that I sit down to blog and wish that I could compose the melody of my thoughts for you. It's quite impossible.

This week was filled with adventure. After the sisters left on Monday, I had a day of preparation before my friend Melanie came to stay with me. She had an audition in the city for Cincinnati Conservatory, so she stayed with me, and we had quite the eventful week. On Wednesday, we saw Madama Butterfly at the Met. It was incredible. I can't begin to explain how extraordinary the production was. The sets, the costumes, the staging, the voices - oh the voices! - were beautiful. Thursday night, Lauren and I took Melanie to S'mac. If the name doesn't say it all, S'mac is a mac and cheese place on 12th between 2nd and 1st. They also have gluten free and vegan mac and cheese! Needless to say, it was great. Then we went to Momofuku milk bar. Then Melanie and I headed uptown and I showed her Times Square and did some shopping.

The rest of the weekend was a blur. We had Indian food and gelato on Friday night, and I had rehearsal all day Saturday. After rehearsal, I met Melanie and Betty back home. We had initially planned to go to the Prince Street Cafe in Soho. But once we stepped out the door, we had no desire to face the wind. So we went to the Corner Shop Cafe on the corner of Bleecker and Broadway. The Corner Shop Cafe has amazing brunch, and even better dessert. Betty had their gorgonzola walnut ravioli (which is to die for), and Melanie ordered their Rigatoni Napolitano. I got a roasted root vegetable salad with balsamic vinaigrette, and all of us split a side of asparagus and their truffle mac 'n cheese. For dessert, we split their apple bourbon crisp and their creme brulee. It was the best creme brulee I've ever tasted. I'm a firm believer that in the right company, a delightful meal can be an extraordinary thing. During one of those meals, your conversation is beyond social chatter. It's often meaningful and usually revelatory. Saturday night we shared one of those meals. We left full and happy - giddy, almost. My head was full of music. My thoughts were music of a sort. They were impossible to articulate, but they were beautiful, creating their own melodies and intriguing counterpoints that seemed to have no beginning or end.

As I type, Melanie is en route back to Idaho Falls, and I'm trying to catch up on my unfinished homework. Although, I suppose that blogging isn't accomplishing one bit of my homework. I'm blogging with the intention of later finishing my homework.

I once had someone tell me that placing a comma wherever you desire a pause in your sentence was perfectly logical. Being the grammar square that I was at the time, I was fast to disagree. Commas, like all punctuation marks, had a specific role to play in the English language, bound to a set of specific rules that governed them. However, the more I write, the more I find his logic to be sensible. Sometimes I incorporate his new comma rule into my writing. I've become comma-happy. So happy, that sometimes I create comma splices without truly realizing that they're splices, because I place them where a pause would naturally occur in my sentence. I speak this as a disclaimer. If you notice an excess of commas in my writing, it's most likely due to the way I'm thinking I want my sentence to sound. Normally, I try to be as grammatically aware as possible. (Mainly because I find grammar fun, but also because I hold the high opinion that it makes you more credible as a writer.) Think of this as a commapology. (Curtis Reynolds).

To a wonderful week!

Singing my own song,

♥ Em

England countdown: 12 days!