Around eleven or so last night was when I realized the Yankies had won the World Series. I was just about ready to fall asleep when car horns started to blare out all through Times Square. And it kept up for at least a couple of hours. So I spent a couple of hours more with Ronald Reagan last night than normal, tossing and turning while he went through his anus horiblis.

Thursday morning was definitely colder - "a bit parkey" as we say in Newcastle upon Tyne. And I felt wretchedly tired all day, with heavy eyes that were painful to keep open. My two days of energy had exhausted the reserves, apparently. And it was back to nerd heaven, with another long day of class. There's a certain type of techie who loves to hear the sound of his or her voice, and believes everyone else does too. I'd love to go into an psycho-social analysis of why, but it's too late. Besides, I don't want to sound like one of them :) But there are two of them in our class, and one of them is the teacher. Ooooh they were trying my last nerve today, yapping on about their likes and dislikes. "I'm funny like that - I like ketchup on regular fries but not on home-fries". Oh really? That's fascinating.

A long lunch break was a welcome respite and I picked up my usual chicken-caesar salad (I'm funny like that ... :), and escaped back to my hotel room.

The long afternoon plodded on. By five, I was only fit to crawl into bed and attempt to rest up for the evening's concert. But by the time I arrived at Carnegie Hall, I didn't feel much more rested. I hung about outside the entrance waiting for Mitch, and watching for famous faces. Only one I saw was, I think, Sir Richard Attenborough, but then I've made some disastrously bad false-recognitions in the past so I wouldn't swear to it.

When I'd seen the program for tonight's concert several days earlier, my heart had leaped! Pretty much my all-time favorite symphony was being performed tonight - a symphony which I've only had three chances to see performed in my life! I'm talking about Mahler's Third Symphony. I can't necessarily explain why this symphony has come to mean so much to me. I first fell in love with it when I was around twenty. I'd invite two of my friends who also loved classical music, Rob and Alex, over to my dorm room, we'd turn out the lights and ... (jeez, I was so innocent back then) spend two hours listening to it in the darkness, occasionally taking turns to "conduct".

It's an enormous piece of work - six movements, requiring an extra-large orchestra even by late romantic standards, as well as a soloist and two choirs! (This is why it's rarely performed). The first movement alone lasts as long as most other complete symphonies - half an hour. It was a privilege to be seeing it here tonight, at Carnegie Hall. Whether it was a privilege for Mitch, I don't know :) He seemed to like it. As for me, I was transported. The fifth movement is a short, merry song sung by an all-woman's choir, an all-boy's choir, and the soloist, and the contrast between the ethereal women's voices and the lusty, raw boy's voices brought tears to my eyes. And there's a final moment in the finale when I lose my breath - the orchestra builds up to a triumphant life-affirming crescendo before pausing with a breathless hush - there's a slow descent and then a final rise through to a majestic, slow drum-roll with the orchestra playing at full volume.

I don't know if the St Louis Symphony Orchestra deserved the standing ovation they received afterwards, but I'm a little blind when it comes to judging the performance of this one piece - I loved it. Outside, with Mitch, we ran into Randy and his boyfriend Jim who'd also been there. Or rather, they spotted me in the crowd. I guess it pays to be six-foot-five!

Standing ovation for Mahler's 3rd at Carnegie Hall

Afterwards, Mitch took me on a brief tour of some of his piano bar haunts in Hell's Kitchen, and I got a brief view into a world I didn't know of. We ended up having a drink at a non-piano bar called "Xth Ave Lounge", a nice enough place with cute bartenders.

Mitch - a man and his martini :)

With my eyes no doubt resembling those of a raccoon by now, I parted company with Mitch around eleven-twenty or so, and headed home via the ever busy Times Square.

Times Square Thursday night