Journey to the Center

Actually, the title of the opera was in Italian, but it was based in California during the gold rush. Does it really matter? I don’t think so, this was my least favorite of the productions. It was slow, silly and pointless. Casting a large unsexy man as the woman a saintly figure falls for enough to descend into a world where she has to free him from a righteous hanging with a gun is just silly.

Maybe I’m spoiled, but the music didn’t move me. I kept waiting to feel something - anything. But instead I was bored. The third act picked it up a bit and I nearly jumped out of my skin when they shot the blanks. In fact the music almost made me believe that they were running off happily into the west.

Almost, but not quite.

The opera left me flat and unsatisfied. For all that they house claims they’re on par with New York, I wish they’d pick better material. I’m waiting for the Ring…

I hate that phrase. It doesn’t mean anything at all since it’s been so overused. But the management book that uses the phrase doesn’t really mean that. Or at least this management book, Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box, didn’t mean it that way. This was more a take on what motivates people and how to get them to be more selfless in their approach to work.

The basic premise: treat your coworkers as human beings. Yes, this seems obvious. But it’s also a guide for how to catch yourself when you’re not treating others like they’re human. The guide was the most valuable part of the book.

I’m making my husband read this one. It’s got all of the things I love about management books - an ovbious concept and it’s not just applicable to managers.