BEST BALLET EVER!

Well, actually it wasn't. I mean, it was, like all Nutcracker performances, quite enjoyable. The dancing probably wasn't the best dancing we've ever seen, and the music for sure wasn't because the Washington Ballet lost a 'significant grant' and for the first time used recorded music instead of the live orchestra (gasp!) Also, approximately eleventy billion* people were late arriving to the show, and thus disrupted the beginning of a couple dances in the first scene, entering more like a herd of elephants than a slightly embarrassed group of human beings.

It was the best, though, because it was THE CHEAPEST! Pannie got two comp tickets through work. See, when you work in the arts you know others who work in the arts and have connections to such venues as the Kennedy Center and Warner Theater, if you ask, they give you free stuff. FREE! BALLET TICKETS! IN THE ORCHESTRA SECTION! (Which, obviously wasn't technically orchestra because there wasn't one. But we were on the floor, and since we started sitting in, literally, the back row of the balcony in 2001, this was pretty cool) And it was the best because I hadn't seen Pannie in awhile, thus killing two birds with one stone: Reunion and Nutcracker watching

Since the tickets were free we decided we could have a decent dinner beforehand but the dinner Gods were against us. Restaurants were either booked solid (at 5 PM!) or didn't open till 5:30. As the show started at 7 and we still had to get tickets at will-call we decided not to risk it. So we had the cheapest dinner ever consumed before the ballet: Potbelly sandwiches. I didn't even get a milkshake because it was so cold out, but it was good to be back at an old hangout. And what a deal: We spent less than $25 and got a darn tasty dinner and a lovely cultural event.

Granted, I suppose you could also argue it's my most expensive ballet ever since I flew in from Orlando, but the airfare was surprisingly reasonable, so who cares. It was also the longest flight back EVER, but this is a happy post so I'll talk about that another time.

But anyway, aside from the glorious Friday evening we shared, Pannie and I had much roommate bonding while driving, eating lunch at Cheesecake Factory, shopping in Friendship Heights, watching Invictus (two thumbs up) and spending the entire rainy Sunday indoors reading books, drinking tea, eating takeout (but not at the pizza place next door because they close at 5. Who does that?! How much business do they lose during football season?) and watching.... White Christmas! The highlight of the evening was obviously Pannie's "Blue Skies" dance.

And now I am back doing laundry so I can pack again and we can go to Ohio next week. I'll be back soon to regale you with tales of the Longest DC--> Orlando flight EVER.

*TM Pannie