"One should either be a work of art or wear a work of art." -Oscar Wilde

I'm not sure if Oscar Wilde actually said that quote (the title of this post). I really could have made that up. It's a good one, though, and I'm pretty sure he legitimizes it, you know?
I had my first NYC, big girl opera audition on Monday. Flew up there for the weekend and had a pretty alright time. Saw some old friends, enjoyed some fall weather, went to MoMA and Central Park. I think my audition went pretty well. I learned an important lesson about packing one pair of shoes (because i'm too cheap to check my luggage)...make sure they aren't miserably uncomfortable. I felt like I was undergoing Japanese foot binding all weekend. Though, I have to admit, I looked awesome (aside from whatever excruciating expression was on my face. I can't account for all that.)

In lieu of studying, I read the new David Sedaris book. It's fantastic.






























One of my favorite fall songs:


And something pretty:

I saw these bubble-ists in Central Park. Magical.
















Also, I need the illusive galaxy dress:

It looks mostly like that, except it's a dress.
Everyone, please raise awareness for this cause...it's really important and it will change many lives. Well, really just mine, but I'll wear it a lot and people will be jealous, just inciting some change here and there.
Also, it will make people more aware of the universe and outer space...and how awesome I look in that dress.

The following was written about a month ago: {There is a tattoo on my foot and…I’m not entirely sure I’m ok with it. I’m not even marginally sure I’m ok with it. Immediately after getting it, I looked up laser tattoo removal in Baton Rouge with the thought, “I don’t care if it hurts. I don’t care if it feels like my whole damn foot is being burned off, I want this thing gone.”

What, you may wonder, could she have tattooed on her foot that is so offensive that she would want it erased so quickly? Tribal art? An ex’s name? A misspelled word? A butterfly?

It’s a bow. A little blue bow less than the size of a silver dollar on the inside of my foot just below my ankle bone…
And it has depressed me into sitting at home on the couch, drinking coffee and researching the cost of lasering this sucker off. The fact that I may have to wait a total of 4 weeks for it to heal prior to beginning its riddance makes me anxious and impatient and I have to ask myself, “What the hell were you thinking?”}

4 weeks later, I have to say, I’m liking the bow considerably more. And, while it doesn’t offer any profound statement about what I believe, it speaks volumes about who I really am. I’m impulsive and picky…and at the age of 25 am still learning how to say “No, this is MY life and MY body…so let’s do this MY way.”

In bocca al lupo...

Hey! So I'm back from Italy! Yeah...I know I should have posted on this ole blog while I was over there, but our wireless was shitty and I was too busy living to actually write about it.

Anyway, it was awesome. I worked a lot, learned a lot, made some mistakes...you know, my usual agenda. My costume was pretty fancy. The costumers who worked on the most recent Tosca production at the met designed it. It's ok if you're feeling a little jealous right now...completely natural response.





I'll post more later...

It's been a long time since my last post. That's because my life has become a giant shit show in preparation for this Italy experience. If I were doing anything short of fulfilling my life's dream over there, I'd have said F*%^ Italy weeks ago.

However. Today...the new Renee Fleming "tape dropped". Praise Him.
She's singing songs by Deathcab For Cutie, The Mars Volta, Band of Horses, Arcade Fire, Muse...and it really doesn't suck at all. Of course, she could record a cd of herself sneezing and I'd probably think it was high art because, you know, it's Renee Fleming.

I'm currently looking for an accompanist for my Arkansas fundraising recital...it's not going terribly well. Unfortunately.

Goddamnit, I'm stressed.



This is a picture of my niece, Molly, last year being cute with a kitty.



And this is me in Boston one day last year when singing wasn't the most anxiety-inducing activity in my life and I wasn't trying to raise $6,000 to make it happen.

I'll dress my family in corduroy and denim.

Tomorrow, when I'm hanging out with David Sedaris*, I really hope people aren't too jealous of me.

* operative name drop

Sometimes I think to myself, "I wish I had My Little Pony hair."
Lady Gaga is pretty lucky.

Don't waste your time or time will waste you...oh, whatever.

Assignments I DO like in grad school:
1) Song Lit presentations (especially featuring animated clip art)
2) learning in my 20th Century Music History class
3) singing

Assignments I DO NOT like doing in grad school:
1) anything for French Diction class...I have a minor in French. How is it possible for me to be so shitty in this class?
2) studying for my 20th Century Music History class
3) learning complicated and confusing Poulenc songs 36* hours before I perform them

Assignments for which I choose to procrastinate instead of doing:
1) All of the above

*So, let's make that 20 hours before.


This photo shoot (which later features Lady Gaga as the witch) must have been inspired by the Hansel and Gretel that the Met staged in 2007. It's probably my favorite opera production.



And this cat is obese.


And I sure do wish I owned this fancy dress. I think about it every single day...

lovely, dark, and deep

After about 3,007 edits, I've just finished my website. It was quite the undertaking...and I haven't even posted (or created, for that matter) any videos yet. I probably ought to get some of those soon since this is my "publicity"/ opera singer Nancy site to help me raise money for La Musica Lirica.

I have to thank my roommate, Lance, for helping me set it up. Also, for the new bath towels upon the unfortunate Easter-break forgotten laundry mildew situation.

BTW, I'm getting super pumped about being Flora. She's just so fancy...and a courtesan (wink, wink). I would like to think that she would be a highly illustrious and awesome at life courtesan. We'll see. Hopefully, she won't be a "Shit, I don't know my music" courtesan.

This Robert Frost poem is constantly running through my mind these days. I even typed it on an ipad at the Apple Store today:

Whose woods these are I think I know,
His house is in the village, though,
He will not see me stopping here
to watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
to stop without a farm house near.
(That's all I can ever remember until the last stanza...)

Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep
And I have promises to keep,

It felt so crystal in the air

Lately, I've been reminiscing about all of the awesome bands and performers I've seen this year. So far, these are my top picks (MGMT would have been in here, but they put out that new album and have been cut from the list).

Lykke Li- I saw her at All Points West in Jersey City last summer. Tim and I were like, "Who's this Mary Kate Olsen chick?"
Then we realized what was up. Stellar performance and some really worthwhile songs.



The xx- These kids are REAAL good. I started listening to them when NPR kept playing their tracks as interludes and transitions during news casts. I was looking at tour dates to find out if they were playing anywhere in the south. Um, they were playing at the Spanish Moon here in BR...tickets were $12. Amen. This is why it rocks to live in a college town sometimes.



Ghostland Observatory-If Michael Jackson, Geronimo, and Freddie Mercury had a baby, the lead singer of this band would be their love child.


I'm not going to bother to describe them. I'll just use this picture for explanation:
These people are warming up and stretching before the show began... I think the awesomeness of Ghostland Observatory has now been sufficiently explained.

Something pretty:

You're resting on your laurels and stepping on my toes...

After being out of town for a few days, it's REALLY hard to get back to real life.
I haven't made enough headway on my trip $ for Italy. I've fallen a little behind on school work, and I've been too hoarse from allergies to do any worth-while practicing.

I did get to sing with Adam Philly this weekend. It was Phantom of the Opera (possibly the most nauseating musical ever written), but I still had a good time laughing with him. I also got to hang out with some other old friends. I'll post some pictures of that soon.

The whole trip made me completely nostalgic. I ended up with the following (approximate) playlist on the long drive home:

Pink Moon- Nick Drake
Parenthesis- The Blow
Tuna In The Brine- Silverchair (flashback to 2006)
Title and Registration- Death Cab for Cutie
Tonight- Lykke Li
A long series of Passion Pit songs
23- Jimmy Eat World
Song to the Moon- (from Rusalka, sung by Renee Flemming)<- This is music's greatest masterpiece, by the way.

I'm back to my real life now. LOOP performance today and plenty of catching up to do.
Oh, yeah, and Happy 4-20!

Question. What kind of bear is best?

Michael Scott: Myth: Three Americans every year die from rabies. Fact: Four Americans every year die from rabies.

I wish I worked at Dunder Mifflin.

I've often seen a cat without a grin; but a grin without a cat...

Top 5 study time distractions:

5) tiredness
4) cereal
3) daydreaming
2) inner ear itch
1) internet

My friend, Kristi, works part-time at Disney World (part-time opera singer- she lives a pretty magical life). She bought me this Alice in Wonderland mug last week when she was there.
For those of you who don't know, this is the most practical gift I could ever be given since I eat and drink exclusively out of mugs.

I don't know where's I'm going, but I hope it's warm and there are lots of kittens.

It's Monday and spring break is over.
I'm actually really happy about this. I'm pretty sure spring break had begun to suck a little too much for my taste.
I did get to see a traveling production of Wicked yesterday in NOLA. The cast was REALLY good and I am so glad I was able to go.
I don't have very much to say on this Monday morning, but I felt the start of a new week warranted a post. Here are a some pics from the weekend:






French Quarter Festival...really good food and a 100% chance of sunburn.

And here's something pretty:

Reflections on a Spring Break

Ok, double catch-up time: two posts in one day (3 if you're lucky).

I'm on spring break this week. Well, guess what. It hasn't been much of a break.
I've driven all across Louisiana this week; BR to Monroe, Monroe to Shreveport, back to Monroe, back to BR...NOLA tomorrow. I got my headlight repaired in Start, LA (home to Tim McGraw and home-adjacent to ole Nancy Carey).
I've spent most of my time stressed over $ and sneezing. I also lost my voice entirely for approximately 24 hours. Fortunately, Helen's symptoms were identical, she called in sick to work, and we were able to provide some mutual long-distance moral support via gchat and text.
We really discussed the deepest of life's questions.For example:





I did take the last 2 hours to sit in the quiet of my house, blog, drink some good coffee, eat cereal, and pretend that spring break actually happened in my life.




I guess I'll stop now and get on with my day. Spring Break, you were beautiful while you lasted. I hope I can enjoy you next year.


















And here are the obligatory pictures of pretty things (spring allergy theme):


























































And this will make you feel high if you look at it too long:

So I haven't updated my blog often like I meant to. Obviously. I have some very high-level procrastination skills. I even put off recreational activities like blogging. That having been said, I'm going to give this another go. I know; high five.

My first post paid homage my favorite Sephora purchases. It's not really a habit of mine to devote so much energy to admiring beauty products...ok, that's a lie. But it was Christmas break after my first semester of grad school and I felt freakin entitled to be a little superficial.

At the very least, give me some credit for being articulate.

So I've been accepted to a study abroad/ opera festival in Novafeltria, Italy...and I cannot afford to go. SO, I'm working really hard to make it happen. I'm doing recitals and mail-outs, and begging.

It's wearing me out and it's distracting me a bit from my school work, but it's something i NEED in my life. So, I'm trying just as hard as I possibly can.

Now, I'll pay homage to my mad procrastination skills with some pretty pictures of clocks and watches. You know, pretty is always important!