Point of no return

One of the most frightening aspects of visiting America was the almost rampant ultra-conservatism that seems to be the norm in central Illinois. My brother-in-law cannot talk about Hillary Clinton without using the word "socialist". A good friend from my childhood, when confronted with the "inconvenient truth" of peak oil and the concept that one day there will be no more oil to use, simply retorted "well, at least now people will revisit the positives of using coal." At some point or another I wanted to run agog like the screaming banshee on those Hallmark cards away, away from America back to where liberalism is not a bad word. I count myself lucky not just that I am surrounded by people of somewhat like mind, but that I live in a basic utopia, where there is no such thing as poverty such as it is on the American scale, where there is health insurance for all, and where I feel safe because the crime rates are low (and there are virtually no hand guns.) It is funny how so many of the big issues in America revolve around poverty, a subject that the typical American does not believe exists in his land, but I shall not digress, not this time.

Made pumpkin soup for dinner and Chris brought home a loaf of still-warm pumpkin-seed bread from the bakery. A very nice meal. Yum.

Today is that day that will live into infamy, as, after all of the hemming, hawing and general whining about the impending auditions and start of my, hopefully, career, I sent out letters requesting dates to sing for agents. I am cautiously confident about what is going to happen in this next phase of my life. Keep your fingers crossed.

Chris, at one time rather sure about the prospect of a certain job in Berlin, is almost certain now that they have chosen someone else. The move to Berlin is contingent upon him having a job there before we pack up and go, as both of us being unemployed simultaneously and moving such a great distance to the "big, bad city" is not a prospect either of us relish. This works out for the best, though, as, although I do not enjoy running into the occasional questioning faces of people from the theatre on the streets of my little town, Pforzheim is home, and feels stable, a thing that I am sure will greatly help as the auditions begin. I need a strong home foundation to start this craziness, so I hope that it will work out for the best. A potential wrench in the works is that our landlord may not allow us to rescind our request to quit the lease. That would certainly be difficult—to find a new place, organize and move over 400 miles in just 6 weeks. Ok, maybe it doesn't sound so scary by American standards, but just the moving van will cost 1000€. Enough said.

Anyway, I just wanted to say hi and pass on that my search for a career as a Heldentenor has officially begun. Wish me luck.