Berserk!

One of my favorite words in the English/American language has to be: berserk (which according to my Oxford Thesaurus means: wild, crazy, deranged). I became acquainted with berserk through The Producers, one of my favorite musicals (I have seen this masterpiece three times :D). Thank you Mel Brooks!!!

Anyway, I am going absolutely berserk right now!!

There are a couple of reasons for my current state of mind:

- My trip to Australia is only 2 months and 2 days away. (Sigh, this of course also means that my … birthday is approaching fast :(). I have to try and keep my eyes firmly set, not on my … birthday, but on my trip Down Under lol. My travel preparations should help me in realizing this goal :D!!

- I have found out, through an advertisement kindly send to me by my aunt Brigitte (many thanks!), that Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo is going to be in Sydney and Melbourne at the end of September/beginning of October!! He is currently booked for two concerts, one in Sydney (on September 30) and one in Melbourne (on October 3). Coincidentally, during those days, I am not that far away from either Sydney or Melbourne :D. If I decide to attend one of the concerts, I do have to adjust my travel schedule a bit. However, as long as a decent ticket is available (at a reasonable price), I am very willing to do so. I wouldn’t want to miss the chance to, finally, see the Spanish maestro Domingo live on stage. A nice plus is the involvement of a talented Welsh mezzo-soprano, named Katherine Jenkins, in the concert. The above, by itself, makes me want to jump up and down with joy. Especially if I succeed in getting a ticket of course :D.

- But there is more. The big news is that: MARY POPPINS WILL DEFINITELY BE RUNNING IN SYDNEY WHEN I AM THERE!!! The show just extended until October 9th :D :) :P :D :) :P. This means that I will get the chance to see MP at least once. And if the show extends for another week, I might even be able to see it twice. After all, after stop-overs in Melbourne (definitely) and Hobart (possibly), I am going to leave Australia from Sydney on October 17th. For the past year, I have become rather “attached” to this particular version of Mary Poppins. Judging from all the rave reviews, the entire cast is just practically perfect. But, when it comes to MP, I am particularly interested in Philip Quast (surprise surprise lol). After La Cage (twice) and 1000 Voices (once), I would absolutely love to see him on stage again :D :) :P :D :) :P.

So…this is how I get in a berserk state of mind :D. Yay!! Bedlam!!! Bedlam, meaning something like madness, is another word that I have borrowed from The Producers :).

Now, let’s try to get back to my normal (level-headed) self…..

Ok, I just turned “normal” again. I found out that I have massive leaks in my bathroom. Had several minor leaks before. But this is really bad. I put all of my buckets, bins, pans etc. in the bathroom to prevent it from flooding (going to the neighbors right now to see if they have any left-over buckets). So, right now I am probably not as happy (or berserk) as I was before.

I do want to share some more stuff with you (writing keeps my mind away from the leaks for a bit :)). As always, I have been quite active when it comes to sports. I recently played my first tennis tournament in years. Lost my first match, which I should have won. Very frustrating for me (I hate losing). I fortunately won my remaining matches (actually played four matches in three days). So the end result was sort of satisfactory. I might participate in a doubles tournament in August, but I will have to find a suitable partner for that. I am still running on a regular basis. I also try to go to the gym twice a week. Due to the holidays at the VU University, my regular gym is closed. I have to go to another gym, which is smaller and a little further away from work. Unfortunately, it is very humid (and a little dusty) at this gym. It makes it difficult for me to breath normally, especially when I am on the treadmill. The new strength exercises (for my upper body) are also a challenge. But I think that I will be able to manage. I also hope that I can, eventually, get used to the humidity in this gym.

It is a pity that I am missing the most interesting stages of the Tour de France. The mountain stages are mostly held during weekdays. And the flatter, less interesting, stages all seem to take place in the weekends :(. This means that I will have to settle for the Eurosport Live Tracker on internet, which I can check for stage updates. I can then watch the real footage later in the evening, either on the computer or in a sports program on television. This should be an interesting Tour. So far, Robert Gesink has been a disappointment. After today’s stage, he has ruined his chances of finishing high in the GC. I am actually hoping that the tough Australian Cadel Evans will win the Tour. But I would settle with either one of the Schleck brothers as well. Not a big fan of “El Pistolero” Alberto Contador.

Finally, a short passage about baseball. The MLB (Major League Baseball) season is halfway through. My favorite Boston Red Sox have fortunately rebounded from their abysmal start of the season. The Red Sox’ key players eventually started to deliver. The team started to win, often many games in a row. The Red Sox are now leading their division (they were dead last in the beginning). Importantly, they have also beat their arch-rival the New York Yankees on most occassions. Hopefully, it is on to the World Series for “my” team!

Well, I have now come to the end of this blog. Still have some cleaning to do. Also have to place the extra buckets, that my neighbor just brought me, in my bathroom. After that it is time for bed. An extra day at the office tomorrow. I have to say that I am getting more and more excited about my trip to Australia. The possibility of seeing Philip Quast on stage (again), as well as Plácido Domingo, certainly adds to the excitement :D. If it all works out, I might see both of them live in a time span of only a couple of days! Absolutely ridiculous lol!

PS. Junior Masterchef Australia is finally broadcasted on Dutch television. I can really recommend this program, on NET5 (weekdays) from 18.30 to 19.30!