Frida once said: ""I drank to drown my pain, but the damned pain learned how to swim, and now I am overwhelmed by this decent and good behavior." This summarizes how I feel about New Year in D.C. No matter how hard I try to conceal my melancholy this time of the year, it is right there, staring me in the eyes. New Year time is always sweet, magical, and sad - at least for those born far away. Last year, I had a New Year to remember - with my close friend Pavlina, her friend Mark from Germany, and Selmin from Detroit. We came together in my apartment, baked kumpir, a traditional Turkish dish which can be translated as stuffed potato ('stuffed' being the key word here: with olives, corn, diced sausage, butter, carrots, cheese, black pepper, salt, ketchup, shoe laces, pencils, car keys, buttons...haha just kidding, but seriously, a properly stuffed kumpir is three times its usual size, like a volcano about to erupt). Last New Year we made no plans other than being together and having fun.

This year, I have grandiouse plans. My friend Ilgin from New York is going to join us, and posibly another friend of Levent's. We will start celebrating by daytime, by watching the last play of 2005, which is also a meaningful summary of it: Commedy of Errors at the Shakespeare Theatre. After the theatre, we will join the sweet New Years Eve rush and enjoy New Year decorations in downtown DC. Is that all? No! This is just the beginning. At 9:30 pm, we will be in Old Europe. Ohom. This is a quaint restaurant a la old German style (all pun intended- this is Washington D.C.) with a very very intimidating German-sounding menu. The menu is more German than I could possibly bear, with entrees such as Kartoffelpuffer mit Apfelmus, Bauernfruhstuck Fur den kleinen Hunger! See here for yourself. (Could this be the revenge of Old Europe from complacent Washingtonians?)And then, we will be like those stuffed potatoes ourselves -only more German, unable to move, relaxed by the sound of the piano (which will probably play German music), ready for the countdown at 12. Then, we will go back to our place, and spend the first hours of 2006 by simply doing nothing, and getting to know each other - pretending we are complete strangers who just met, telling strange stories, and sharing memories of a distant past. And drink to the future. This, at least, is my plan.

P.S: Once, we celebrated New Year at a place called Passion Cafe, by the Bosphorus.

Happy New Year!

Habitually, I tend to reflect on shows after I see them. Yet, I will make an exception today and reflect on a show I have not yet seen, and will not see any time soon. The one show I was most eager to see is sold out for all performances before it is even on stage! The show in question is the famous musical Wicked, which will perform at the Kennedy Center starting on December 21. As I was typing these lines, just our of curiosity I searched Wicked on google, and I learned that 2 Wicked tickets were sold for $521 at e-Bay! How wicked, indeed.

A brief review of the musical describes it as "A bona-fide crowd pleaser!" and mentions how "decorated" the musical is in terms of awards: When it appeared on Broadway in 2003, Wicked worked its magic on critics and audiences alike, winning 15 major awards including a Grammy(r) and three Tony Awards(r). Featuring music and lyrics by Grammy(r) and Academy Award(r) winner Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin), Wicked is directed by Tony(r) winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out) and is "the most complete--and completely satisfying--new musical in a long time" (USA Today).

What is it about? Basically, it deconstructs the Wicked Witch of Oz.
"So much happened before Dorothy dropped in! Long before that girl from Kansas arrives in Munchkinland, two other girls meet in the Land of Oz. One--born with emerald green skin--is smart, fiery, and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious, and very popular. How these two unlikely friends end up as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch makes for the most spellbinding musical in years. "An irresistible extravaganza of music, magic, artistry, and enchantment" (The New York Observer), Wicked is the untold story of the witches of Oz"!

To compensate for this disappointment, I am planning to actively engage in other intellectual pursuits, starting possibly with the "Film Series: Cine Chileno -- Forty Years of Film from Chile" at the National Gallery of Art. The program features a lenghty series of movies. I will be able to see the two last movies in the events calendar:

The Sentimental Teaser (El Chacotero Sentimental)
The most successful domestic film in Chile's history was inspired by a well-liked Santiago talk-radio host known as "The Sentimental Teaser," famous for candid advice to callers on matters of love and sex.

Machuca
A metaphorical coming-of-age story set in the chaotic moments of the 1973 coup d'etat.

Washington DC is rich in cultural events. Other immediate alternatives include the Comedy of Erros at the Shakespeare Theatre; the Les Miserables Musical at the National Theatre; and Latin Jazz Night, featuring Afro Bop Alliance at the Kennedy Center Jazz Cafe. Well, maybe I should stop complaining and just go ahead and purchase to miserable tickets, i.e. two tickets for "Les Miserables" before they are sold out too!

Next, my New Year plans.