As for some minor events

This summer is requiring a lot of stamina. Not that the whole thing is some gruesome ordeal I'm forcing myself through (although there is a little truth in that), but more that there is an underlying inescapable routine to the whole thing. Even if I am doing enjoyable and relaxing activities, they are usually the same, over and over. Yoga's nice, reading's nice, eating on the porch is nice, work is....not nice. Either way, it can get a tad boring. I'm ready for the school year to start (but nervous for the camping trip and orientation).

This past weekend I actually broke routine (for once) and went to the Berkshires with my family to go to Tanglewood and see some theater. We went to Tanglewood Friday night - there was a solo male opera singer who I really enjoyed - and Saturday morning for the rehearsal (at which I munched on a cranberry scone and a skim cappuccino - ah, that was the life!).

The Portable Dorothy Parker (Penguin Classics)

That afternoon we went to Williamstown, ate at a delicious sushi restaurant (favorite: shrimp tempura) and saw A Month in the Country by Turgenev (read a piece on it here), which I really enjoyed. That and Chekhov's Three Sisters are the two Russian off-broadway shows I've seen, and I have to say, we're batting two for two right here. It didn't hurt that we had front row seats. I loved the minimalist stage design and staging in general. The translation was clear and moving - it was practically contemporary, although the costumes and society was clearly of Turgenev's time. So. Other than that. Either way, note to future self who lives in New York and has the opportunity to see a lot of theater: see more Russian plays. The next day we went to a small theater in Chester and saw a two-person contemporary play - meh. Moving on.

I've finally started reading my required summer reading - The Iliad. One book in, many more to go. Onward! This is (excluding The Odyssey which I "read" in ninth grade) my first time reading an ancient Greek epic. So far, I think I'm understanding everything. We'll see how my comprehension holds up in seminar (first impression anxiety, here I come). 

Ah, well. That's pretty much it. I'm at a local cafe now, dawdling on the internet. So it goes.

I remember nothing that happened worth relating this day. How many such days does mortal man pass!

—James Boswell, Journal, July 21, 1763