I picked up a free ticket to hear Tom Stoppard speak later this month, because I'm an American Conservatory Theatre subscriber and they were offering free tickets to hear him. Stoppard is one of my favorite playwrights, although most people probably know him for his work on the movie Shakespeare in Love.

I also purchased a ticket for Turandot for a Sunday matinee. I really wanted to see this opera, but I was hesitant because I've had so many expenses lately. But the SF Chron gave it a good review, so I decided to buy a very cheap ticket. It's not the cheapest ticket you can buy, but it's the cheapest ticket I've ever bought for an opera performance. I usually like to spend a little more for a ticket, but every dollar seems to matter to me lately. Oh well. At least I'm going.

I ended up going to Opera in the Park, after telling friends I couldn't go. I had cleared my weekend, thinking my writing group would have an emergency, but by Friday nothing was happening. The picnic was cursed from the get go anyway. A friend who susually attend the picnic is in Spain for a month, and I'm on this new eating plan. My weight loss has been easy so far, and I'm committed to keeping the momentum of it going. Drinking mimosas and eating tasty picnic food all day loing is not my idea of fun right now. I know, I need to have my head examined for that thought, but Opera in the Park happens every year. I want this diet to be the last diet I'm ever on. I want my weight issue handled and handled for good. Not that there's probably ever going to be a time in my life where I can eat like a pig for days on end, but at least I won't have to worry about losing this much weight ever again.

After church I walked to the park from my apartment, and sat on a hill next to the tennis courts. The sound from that location was great, and I didn't even need to go to the actual meadow where I would have to deal with people with picnics on blankets. Other people had the same idea, because there were quite a few people on the hill. I watched people playing tennis on the courts, and a group of guys player roller hockey. I think I need to write a scene for a movie, short story or novel, where the characters are playing tennis to live opera music. The scene looked so surreal to me. I sat on my towel, read "A Room with a View", lay down at one point, all in the glorious sunshine of a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Golden Gate park.

I was hoping that they would sing something from Turandot, and they sang my favorite song from that opera "Nessun Dorma", and hearing that song definitely made my day.