Still Alive, Also Still Married (The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Lord Of The Rings Date)

The hubby and I are still alive. Also, still married.

We went to the symphony and saw Lord of The Rings. I did not bring my camera and was upset that nothing in my closet made me feel anything resembling happy-confident-time. So much so that I wore jeans.

Now, of course, my husband also wore jeans. The difference is it took me 2 more hours and a bedroom that ended up looking like our closet had vomited all over it before I resorted to the same choice.

I guess I can't actually say we saw LOTR. What we saw was the first two and a half hours.

Our awesome seats? Were positioned so that we had to sort of turtle our heads into our necks, crane backwards, and stare straight up if we wanted to watch the movie on the big screen.

The other option would have been to watch the orchestra and the 2 choirs, but since the stage at the symphony is above the level of the seating unless you're in the balcony, they were also way above our eye lines. As expected with my mood, this severely pissed me off. Who builds a high stage that towers above several hundred seats at the venue that belongs exclusively to the symphony orchestra? It was almost like the symphony was taunting me.

We did get to stare at the back calves of the conductor and the shoes of several people playing instruments in parts of the first row. So there's that. Score.

After the first, oh, 150 minutes, the first intermission was given. Granted, the first half of the first LOTR movie is movie-length. It did not help that the symphony needed excessive applause before starting. For the orchestra (yay!). Then, the conductor (woo-who!). Who grabs the first violinist and makes her stand and take a bow (double time clapping!). The choirs (*whistles*). The president of the symphony appears (more clapping!) and then speaks (should we do the wave after? Nah. More clapping is so much more refined). Who then does more re-introducing (at this point, I am golf clapping and very determined to keep looking ahead with my big mouth shut). It went on and on. I wasn't sure at any point if we were actually going to see any performances until the movie actually started.

The music was beautiful. The choirs were great.

Still, once the lights went up on that first intermission, I will not pretend that I was over the moon about it. Maybe I'm just not fancy anymore? I don't like refined events? Or do I just hate leaving the house now? I don't know.

What I do know? The husband had a headache, and after he told me that about 5 minutes into intermission, I immediately took to convincing him we should go. He had a headache. Very appropriate reason for us to leave early.

I was also throwing fist fulls of cupcake mints in my mouth trying not to comment on the overpowering smell of the people around us (perfume and body odor, not in that order). Not to mention trying not to comment on the stage being 2 feet higher than we were and the giant screen's placement just out of our comfort zone. I made it all the way to the car before I went off on the highlighted soloist-fancy-pants-soprano lady in the ballgown. Who was one of the few people I could actually see and the bulk of the playbill. I waited 2 and a half hours for her to stand and sing something. Since she received the longest and loudest ovation prior to the performance. For just arriving on stage. Did I mention, I could actually see her?

She sang about 2 lines in the first half of the show. 2 lines that were with the choirs, and that the choirs did just fine. At the same volume as her singing. There was no need for a soloist, since there didn't seem to be a solo part.

Maybe in the second half she gets to go all Whitney Houston, but I was totally fine not personally witnessing that.

We came home. Which is where we've been since, other than the hubby being at work. I went to the grocery once, too, I think. There's been spring cleaning, various home repairs, and a obsessive amount of time spent on creating the World's Most Awesome Care Package for a friend having surgery. Red Dead Redemption phase is over at home and a new video game for the husband has given me loads of time to read a stack of books and clean the flower beds.

Of course, in case you are wondering about the PS3 game, I would lovingly explain it as something something vault, something something radroaches, something something pew pew pew guns and something something apocalypse. Or something.

We haven't given up on dating. In fact, at my insistence (because I never learn?), I bought us tickets to a comedian we like that is coming in the fall. At the Fox Theater, which we enjoy as a venue and have been to many times. The tickets went on sale at 10 am Saturday. Which was helpful since I found out the comedian was coming to town, going to be at the Fox, and that we wanted to go around 9:55 am on that day. By 10:08, we had decent seats and confirmed tickets. I did not get crazy excited. Nice and calm sort of nodding occurred.

I didn't even start sing-songing the words "Hot Pockets" until just now, honestly.

*Takes five minutes to sing "Hot Pockets" in head over and over*

...

For now, we have eye appointments together next week. That's... Sort of... Date-y... Right?