When I was young (as if I am old), I would come to San Francisco from time to time. For my 16 birthday, I came to San Francisco with my mother and sister, and we shopped for my Jr. Prom dress. Upon driving back into the city, we drove up Van Ness Ave. and past the San Francisco Opera. It must of been their Gala, as the red carpet was rolled out and limos were parked outside. As we drove past the front of the Opera House, I vividly remember seeing a woman standing at the top of the steps; brown hair swept up in a twist, her back exposed, and the train of her crimson dress covered the steps beneath her.

I was enthralled. For a 16 year old girl, that spent her days listening to TOOL, to find the Opera desirable was an accomplishment. If my mother would have known what was going through my head at that moment, she probably would have stop right there, bought me a ticket, and made every attempt to save me from my poor music taste.

Anyways...we drove past the building, my head turning to see as much as possible, and although I only got a glimpse of the interior through the window of my mother's mini van, I thought to myself, "Someday, I will go there."

Well 10 years later, I'm going. Tonight, in fact. It's no Gala, and there won't be a red carpet, but I will finally see the inside, here the music, and be able to say at 16 I knew what I was talking about.

Enough said. I've got to go get dressed.