momma mia

greetings from vegas. for the first time in three years, i did the right thing and didn't go out the first night. it took a bit of restraint, but i was happier for it this morning. i still had what amounted to a 22 hour day, getting up at 5:00am eastern time to head to dulles airport and going to bed at 2:30am body time (11:30pm vegas time).

tonight i hit the ABBA tribute show 'momma mia.' i call it a tribute show because the plot is pretty thin, and it's mostly a device for building a broadway show around ABBA's greatest hits. that being said, i loved it. of course, i love musicals in general. they have so many great hits with great melodies, and the show concluded with a three song curtain call with the cast playing some favorites just for the hell of it, with waterloo being the grand finale.

enjoyed the show with the swedish chef, my # 1 oracle at work. he and i have had a long-running conversation that at its heart is about what psychologically and emotionally drives very competitive people. a lot of topics get pulled into the mix, including childhood influences, past relationships, mentors and heroes, and sports. the chef and i come from similar backgrounds in terms of school and work experience and it has made for some really nice introspection. this has included him sharing a series of letters that he originally wrote to his family (and has now shared with a handful of others). i'm reading letter 31 (out of 50). he really should consider binding and publishing them at some point. i'd like to pursue something similar, but am not quite ready yet.

more vegas to blog about this week, including this costume party on thursday. my friends are at the foundation room, but i'm tuckered out.