A Musician in Paris

"The 'Liebestod' from TRISTAN has been said to represent in music "a musical orgasm".
Yes, you know where the violins keep soaring higher and higher till you think you can't stand it another instant, but they keep right on until...oh!
It really gets me."
-Nial Kent,
"The Divided Path"

Gloria F W Cohen & Joe Fingerett invited Alan and I to a Getty Museum concert in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 13, 2009. The concert was "Les Paladins" that included notable musicians from France and elsewhere: Jean-Philippe Rameau, Jean-Baptiste Lully, François Couperin, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Marin Marais, Jean-Marie Leclair, Jérôme Correas, Jean-François Lombard, Françoise Duffaud, Anaïs Flores and Nicolas Crnjanski.

It was Jean-Francois Lombard that amazed me with his opera singing talent. His voice was so electrifying to hear. I found it so soothing to the mind. I was so amazed that I did an I-PHONE/FaceBook search and 'surprisingly' found him. I could not be sure that it was the same Jean-Francois, of course. What did I have to lose to send him a note?

I wrote:
"I just saw you perform at The Getty here in LA. Simply fantastic. I visit NY often & hope to be in Paris part of next year. Please keep me informed of your performances & latest happenings.
Your new friend & fan.
Michael J Armijo"

Fast-forward to October 3, 2009:
PHOTO: Jean-Francois Lombard

Jean-Francois wrote:
"Hi Mickael.
Sorry for my late answer, but I've got a lot of work after L.A. and especially, I'd lost my facebook password! Thank you so much for you message; it was a great moment for me and my colleagues to play in this fabulous museum. It's always a real pleasure to go to USA, because everything is very professional and the public is fantastic. I think we'll go back in America in 2011, but I don't know whether we'll come to L.A. Tell me if you come to Paris: if I'm not somewhere else, we'll be able to meet each other.
Kind regards,
Jean-François"

And so, I hope to hear him perform again one day. And perhaps 'meet up' at some Cafe in Paris. We shall see.

Twenty-five years ago today:

October 16, 1984
Tuesday

Last night I made reservations with AIR CALIFORNIA for a departure from Oakland Airport on November 1, 1984 to Los Angeles. I shall return on November 4, 1984 for a four-day weekend escape. I want to go to Los Angeles to see that shop “His …Favorite Toys” or named something like that near Rodeo Drive. I will also probably see Jim Koran when I visit. The trip will be worth it (I think). And if it is sunny I may lay out by the beach.

Paloma returned my call from last night and we “flirted with one another”.
PHOTO: Flirting

Today was a full day of training on ‘Change Orders’ at the office. I am supposedly almost fully trained as an Account Executive in the Sales Development Center.

After work I used public transportation home. BART was havoc. I had to squeeze my way through to get on to the train.

Helen Wong was at my pad when I arrived.
“Suzy called,” Helen announced as she was wiping the kitchen counter.
“Oh okay, I’ll call her.”
“Hi Sue, I got the message that you’d called.”
“Yeah, I thought we could go out for Chinese Food.”
“Oh, that sounds great. I’ll have to take a rain check though because I feel kind of bloated for some reason. It must have been lunch today.”

I went bike riding a little bit later amidst the drizzle of rain. It was rather refreshing.

When I returned to my place Helen said, “Karyn called.”
“Oh okay, I’ll call her.”
“Hi Karyn, I got the message that you’d called.”
“Yeah, I left the office at three today for the dentist. I wanted to tell you what happened.”
“Go…tell me!”
“Well, Patty Reid backed me in a corner in the bathroom today. She asked me 'what was wrong'. So I reminded her about her aggressive behavior last Friday night.”
Patty claimed not to remember acting aggressively. When Karyn pointed out the kiss we shared Patty acted nonchalant and puzzled about it—as if it had never happened. It really wasn’t a kiss though. It was more like a bit on my lip! I guess Karyn just wanted to share the confrontational scoop.

I ate dinner (salad and nachos) with Helen as we watched a syndicated version of Wheel of Fortune. I went upstairs to shower and got comfortable. And now, I am half watching a movie on Channel 2 called “The Glitter Palace”, starring Chad Everett. I always thought he was handsome. The storyline is about a woman in jail who just happens to be a lesbian. She is accused of murder. “The Glitter Palace” is a place where ‘gay people’ go. It’s kind of interesting.
PHOTO: Chad Everett
I keep thinking of my three major bills (MasterCard $4,500; Visa $2,300; Bank of America $3,500) that bring my total to approximately $10,300. It’s funny to think that I have begun a separate Savings Plan through Patelco Credit Union. I will deny knowledge of that Savings Plan for a long time to come.

Helen is upstairs now doing ‘God knows what’. I’m glad she didn’t bother me while I was upstairs, so I won’t impose on her privacy.

I’m going to lie on the sofa and try watching ‘The Glitter Palace’ flick.

My left buttock hurts. It feels sore from some exercise I must have done. It was most likely the bike ride to Lake Chabot last Sunday.