Sharpie markers, mania, success

I'm not sure which way the cause and effect relationship runs, but I know that the more organized I am, the happier I am. Or the happier I am, the more organized I am?

Either way, I am beginning to be pleased with the idea of the new school year. I can tell because I am building a command center. The Rachel Command Center is an ever-evolving organizational system mostly involving Sharpie markers and inappropriate enthusiasm--I plaster my walls with pieces of paper in cheerfully color-coded profusion, each one purporting to organize some aspect of my life. Hearts, smiley-faces, and exclamation points are all integral elements of the Rachel Command Center.

So far I have a shopping list (urgent, because I live in Boston and I don't own an umbrella), a knitting plan (complete with due dates and sub-lists for specific projects), and the Rachel Opera Edification Project!

A scene from this year's Met production of Peter Grimes, my current Favorite Opera Ever.

I have decided that, since I love opera more than almost anything else in the world and quite whole-heartedly believe that it is the greatest of all human artistic endeavors, I should make a concerted effort at familiarizing myself with the greatest operas throughout history. (This feels like a particularly immediate concern because I only have access to Harvard's libraries for another year--alas!)

My list is pretty fantastic. It covers nearly four centuries of opera history, from Monteverdi's L'Orfeo in 1607 to Birtwistle's Mask of Orpheus in 1986. (Isn't that great?) I alternate between older and newer works, because I figure that I'm going to get bored with classic opera, and contemporary opera is presumably going to be a little challenging (I've got operas by Alban Berg and Gyorgy Ligeti on the list ♥ ). No composer gets more than one opera on the list, even Mozart, Wagner, or Puccini. No operas I already know are on the list, and Benjamin Britten is barred from the list completely because I love him with such insane passion right now that I know I'd listen to nothing but Britten if I had my druthers. Did you know that "druthers" is a contraction of "would rathers"? Fantastic!

I am so, so, so excited about this. It's high time I took my musical education in my own hands; I should have done this years ago. Also, Nancy, you should quake in your (ostrich-skin) boots. This, in addition to my newly acquired speakers, heralds the beginning of the year of obscenely loud opera in our room. All the time. ♥