Better Living Through Literature
Words + Projects + Stuff I Like
1. This week has been brought to you by caffeine and sugar (and wine, if we’re being honest). Maybe next week I can eat some vegetables and go to yoga?
2. But this week did feature the yearly watching of my imaginary boyfriend Mikhail in the 1977 ABT Nutcracker. Just look at those leaps:
Twirl me into the weekend, Mischa.
Oh yeah, that’s my boyfriend and his open shirt in the Met’s production of Il Trovatore, which I am seeing tonight. My mom and I have always wanted to see one of the live Met broadcasts to movie theaters, but the live date of this ended up being Skyler’s birthday and we both decided we’d be too distracted checking for updates. Fortunately, the Met re-broadcasts them.
I haven’t spent time with Dmitri since I re-watched Eugene Onegin at the end of March (which is both a good and a bad thing to do if you’re railing against fate), so I am excited to go from really dramatic Russian drama to really melodic Italian drama. And for the chance to see more of him in his tunic.
I heard a James McMurtry song Sunday on KRCL that just hit me–I had known of his name before but hadn’t really heard any of his songs. It’s called “Hurricane Party” and the refrain is “There’s no one to talk to when the lines go down,” plus it talks about “one great love.” Thoughtful, lonely lyrics! Clever guitar! I was hooked. Have a listen:
Although I learned he plays a club in Austin most Wednesdays and I briefly planned an Imaginary Trip, complete with Imaginary Cute Outfits I’d Sew, I think he may a little too close to a hippy to be a true Imaginary Boyfriend. (A couple of years ago I took a vow: No more hippies, EVER.)* But he can be my Imaginary World-Weary-and-Older-Let’s-Have-Some-Bourbon-and-Compare-Scars Friend.
*The way he sings “The Lights of Cheyenne” kind of makes me want to recant that vow. But I hold firm! Because I value steady jobs and shampoo!