I phone my dad, ask him how he's coping. Yesterday was hard, he says. I was watching the inauguration and I knew that she would have enjoyed it so much; she was so happy when he got elected. This time last month she had less than 2 days to live.

Walking to work yesterday I realize that it has been almost a month since I smoked my last cigarette and this time I've barely missed them at all. Too busy, and too much singing. I get weekly emails from Quitnowandwin.com and I read them and think oh yeah, I used to be a smoker. It seems so long ago, and so stupid.

The last few days were like one of those suspense radio serials from the '40s: Will our heroine get over her cold and recover her voice in time for opening night? It was a close thing, but thanks to massive doses of Esberitox, lemon-and-honey and Benzocaine-infused lozenges, I had a voice (of sorts) for my opening. And it was much better last night, when J came to watch, and hopefully it will be even better tonight. And in another 8 days, this show will be nothing but a memory, which is incredible to me after all these months of work.

I have received news of an offer of work so incredible, I can hardly believe it might actually happen, although it sounds like it's in the bag. Suffice it to say, I may be spending half the summer on the coast of the Aegean Sea, in a party town in Western Turkey. More details on that soon...