Blogfree Days

Have not been in the mood to write. So, here is a bunch of shit that has happened in the past week or so...not that anyone gives two shits.

The other half and I went to Ft. Lauderdale two weekends ago. We went solely to see Pavoratti perform. Is that the correct spelling? Ahh, who the hell cares. It was a great performance, and something that I will remember. He's a living legend for goodness sake, and this is his last performance in the US. He appeared only in LA, Tulsa (or Oklahoma City, I don't recall which) and Ft. Lauderdale. 3 US dates, and that was it. After our show, he headed off to Australia. He is quite a presence to behold. I thought he was very cute in a teddy bear sort of way. After each piece, he would raise his arms and give a generous thank you, all the while, a grin from ear to ear. I am not an opera fanatic and know very little about it, but he still managed to amaze me. The orchestra and guest soprano were equally superior. I wrote a partial entry on the way home from Lauderdale, but it was boring, so I am inputting info now. I was going to title the weekend's excursions "A Weekend Getaway and the Last Straw". Why? Well, every moment I am in a movie theatre, auditorium, stadium, whatever, it becomes more and more clear that people have no respect for anyone or anything. While the concert was going on, people behind us talked, sang along (even when Pavoratti did not ask us too), and munched loudly on nacho chips. It was quite a sight to behold, those woman dressed up in their evening gowns, and snacking on nachos, as Pavoratti sang his heart out. Losers, all of you! The last straw line comes in, cuz I honestly don't know how much more of this kind of behavior I can tolerate. Any public showing, of any type of entertainment, has become an extreme sore spot for me. I simply cannot do it. I even asked the usher during intermission if he could tell the "gentleman" to not talk. He said he could not do that. He was still trying to explain to me why, as I left to go back to me seat. I don't want excuses. I want action. Then again, how is this talking guy or this usher to know that we flew all the way from the Windy City to hear Pavoratti, and not the talking man? I guess that could happen. We ended up moving to the front row (on the side) for the second half of the performance. So, the talking guy was drowned out. I was actually able to enjoy it, and not have that constant "noise" behind me to the left.

Lauderdale was great. We took a water taxi all around, did some shopping, went to a museum, and then retired to our hotel ( a little intimate place, only 23 rooms, no children, and highly recognized as an elite getaway; The Pillars) for an hour long deep tissue massage, a fun dip in the pool (no one else was out) and then hurried our lost asses to the show, 30 miles away. Our massage was to start @ 5:30, and the show to begin @ 8pm. The massage ended @ 7:06, and we still had to shower, and find our way to the Office Depot Center. It seemed to me that the massage was wasted, cuz immediately following, our bodies were tensed and in traffic in a strange place. Wasted, I tell you. We made it to the show on time, and afterward, took a detour to go the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. It is a Seminole Indian Casino, and the nicest one I have ever seen. Elegant, huge w/ many different restaurants, and fun. We did not stay long, as I was already wasted with exhaustion. But worth the detour. We found our way around w/ a GPS phone system, mounted in our rental car. When we understood it, it was a treat, and quite helpful.

We returned home on Sunday, flying Delta. Let's just say we will never do that again, and the airport security line in Lauderdale was ridiculous. You would think that after this many years of aviation and airports and security screenings, that things would be a little more concise and clear, and fast. Nope. Say no to Delta. We were then delayed in Atlanta cuz of bad weather in Chicago. It almost appeared that we would be staying the night there, but finally, we got in the air and came home.

More updates later, I better get back to work, being that we are so busy, and I enjoy it so much.