Isn't it so pretty? I love it.

Yes. Yes it is. And me too. I don't care how painful ballet is, I always go back to it because it is just so incredibly pretty. And pink.

Of course, most of the ballets I've been to, I haven't been able to watch at all. Ah, the joys of playing in a pit orchestra.

Ooh, what did you play? Because I totally played the violin for nine years. No pits for me though, as I avoided them in HS, due to lack of interest in playing songs from "Lil Abner."

Yeah, you don't want to sit too close to the stage for the Nutcracker, though. The pretty goes away when you can see their tendons.

You know, despite my life long love of ballet, I've never actually been to a live show. But my eyes are poor enough that even if I was sitting in the front row, I'm not terribly likely to be able to see the details of their tendons. Noticing how shiny and sweaty they are, on the other hand, is very likely, and much more mood-killing for me, since I see scary skinny people every day in LA.

One day when I have both a car and fifty dollars or so, I am taking myself to the ballet. It's a date I've had with myself for a long time. There will also be dressing up involved, of course. I can't wait.

Double posting to say: OHMYGOD, Kat is not my friend anymore.

No pits for me though, as I avoided them in HS, due to lack of interest in playing songs from "Lil Abner."

Aw, I loved playing in the pit in high school. We never did Lil' Abner, though. (We did do Once Upon a Mattress one year, which was... dull, but the other ones I was in were Fiddler and Funny Thing Happens on the Way to the Forum, both of which were a lot of fun.)

And you should totally go to the ballet, dressed to the nines. It's a lot of fun. Just... a little bit of distance is good.

For those in the know, maybe they can answer a question re: Alias. Is it true that Michael Vartan asked to be let go from the show? And, are they going to write him out, then ?

SailAweigh, I've heard the opposite, but I'm very far from in the know. Also, if it happens, I won't watch at all anymore.

And if it's true, can I just say: SO STUPID TO DATE YOUR CO-WORKER.

Huh, the opposite. Okay, I should know better than to lurk in the crack-rumor corners of places so dark I don't even remember their names anymore. Shows you what effect spoilers can have on your intelligence. I'll just wait for Alias to start so I can watch teh pretty again.

I'm at the airport. I m glad I got here early, since my uitcase set off some alarm, and they spent about half an hour looking through and opening everything, even the unopened boxes of presents. Of course,, my flight is delayed, so it may not matter.

Sean, are you at my house?

Ooh, what did you play? Because I totally played the violin for nine years. No pits for me though, as I avoided them in HS, due to lack of interest in playing songs from "Lil Abner."

I play(ed) violin and viola. I played through college, so most of the pit work I did was during my undergrad at UConn. I played for a bunch of ballets and operas and saw none of them.

I actually never played in a normal musical pit, but I feel like that would have been fun!

For space geeks: [link]

European spaceflight controllers are now making their final communications with the Huygens probe, soon to be deployed on the last leg of its journey to Titan. Once it separates from the Cassini mother ship at 10:08 PM ET on Dec. 24, they will never be able to speak to it again. And even when (or if) they again hear its voice, it will only be an echo after it has already died.

Sean, are you at my house?

No, not yet. I was waiting for traffic to die down. Maybe a little after 8:00 or so, I plan on heading over there, and spending the night.