I think it was Nicola who asked me for an update on my dessert-free year. I will happily oblige, but there is really nothing to report. I have made it three months now without dessert, which matches the longest I've gone before. No mess ups, no close calls, no insane withdrawal symptoms. I have moments of sadness when I see something I love, but that's it. 9 months to go! Go here if you don't know what I am talking about.

Tonight I decided to write about something that happened several months ago, but I never blogged about it. I want to get the memory down before it's gone.

Now everyone knows I am somewhat a fan of musicals. I love live musical theater, and I will always remember that my first show was The Phantom of the Opera in New York City with my dad when I was 15. I also love movie musicals, especially from the '40s and '50s, and I will always remember that the first one I ever saw was Singin' in the Rain on Turner Classic Movies (no clue how old I was).

On November 5, 2010, I had the good fortune of attending a special screening of Singin' in the Rain with my coworker Nancy at the Joslyn Art Museum here in Omaha. The highlight of the event was the presence of the film's female lead, Debbie Reynolds! She spoke before the film and signed autographs afterward. That movie was released in 1952; Reynolds was only 17 or 18 when she filmed it, and she is now in her late 70s. That woman is still going strong. She was so vibrant and energetic on stage before the film, and told us some really funny stories about filming the movie and other aspects of her career.

The experience of watching the movie was pretty wonderful as well. I am not the biggest fan of watching movies in movie theaters because I find the audience irritating and distracting. But every now and then you get the right movie with the right audience, and it comes a community experience. I was not just watching that movie next to a bunch of strangers, I was watching it with a group of people who love it as much as I do. We all laughed together as different scenes took on new meaning after Reynolds' accounts of what was happening off camera. It was wonderful.

Afterward, I waited in line for about an hour to see Ms. Reynolds and have her sign my DVD cover (Because of course I already owned it on DVD!). I felt a little guilty because by the time we got to her, she was obviously exhausted, but she signed my DVD and took a picture with us. I think I said thank you for coming or something like that. They are so desensitized to people gushing over them, and I did not want to be a gusher anyway.

It was such a wonderful experience, and one not likely to happen to me again. It is rather sad that all the stars I truly look up to and idolize are all either octogenarians or dead now. I was born at the wrong time.

It's a bit dark, but I've forgotten all my Photoshop skills, so dark it stays.