I Hit 65...Can I Retire Now?

Wait...wrong kind of 65. Not 65 years but 65 pounds. That's how much I have lost on Weight Watchers. Oh my, you should have heard the clapping and cheering that erupted in the room when my award was announced. I was unable to do much more than sit there with a big shit-eating grin on my face. Then I got a little gold "5" star to put in my logbook. (We get gold stars for each 5-pound increment. It's totally elementary school!) Then I said a few words about how I stay motivated after being on the program for so long.

Not an hour later I was at the School of Music auditioning for a part in an upcoming production of Don Giovanni (Mozart). I sang "Batti, batti, o bel Masetto" which is an aria from that opera. My voice is a little out of shape these days as I am not taking lessons and practicing, but it's hard to undo four and a half years of training. My voice knows what it's supposed to do, and I pulled it off well enough to be offered a part in the chorus on the spot. Hallelujah! Finally, I get to actually sing in an opera! I was in Michigan Opera Theater's production of La Boheme some years ago as a supernumerary (nonspeaking onstage role) and that was a fantastic experience, but I yearned to be on stage and singing. I will finally get that chance!

For those of you who don't know, my other passion in life is singing. Yes, I have something else that's near and dear to my heart besides running. I am a professionally-trained classical singer and the great dream of my life is not to qualify for Boston (though that would be nice), it is to be an opera singer. I would like to have a career as a professional singer more than anything else. At my age, however, I realize that my window of opportunity is probably closed, and I won't ever have an international career. I can, however, indulge my love of singing on a smaller scale in things such as Arbor Opera Theater's production of Don Giovanni and the occasional impromptu living room concert.

In other news, this morning was an absolutely perfect morning for my five-mile run. It couldn't have been any better. Ambient temperature was about 58 degrees, no breeze, sun just starting to gild the tops of the trees along the cemetery driveway as I passed by. I took it easy and did the 5.25 miles at about a 9:25/mile pace.