I'm a little jealous of Heather and her coastal jaunt.

As for me, I stitched together an almost absurdly busy weekend: four events, including two on Saturday. Here's my rundown:

• Friday night: As part of my occasional series for the Beehive titled "A Play is Born," I went to the first public reading of Chuck Erven's "The Ballad of Chet (On the Eve of His Bliss)" at Fresno City College. I'll be writing my next entry in the series and posting new photos this week.
• Saturday afternoon: I caught a matinee performance of "Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)" at the Broken Leg Stage. I'll be posting a review later today.
• Saturday evening: Trashique at the Fresno Art Museum was a blast. I'll be posting some thoughts on the show -- and hopefully some photos taken by museum staff -- in the next couple of days.
• Sunday afternoon: 16-year-old wunderkind violinist Chad Hoopes wowed the Fresno Philharmonic audience with a performance of Tchaikovsky's violin concerto so impressive that the crowd broke with tradition and gave him a standing ovation after the first movement. Watching Hoopes -- particularly in the parts of the piece in which he was quiet while the orchestra played -- was like observing a sleek young thoroughbred snorting in anticipation. He shifted from one foot to the other, swinging his head gently in time to the music, nearly quaking with infectious enthusiasm. And his tone and technique was impressive: a swooping, from-the-gut sound ranging from exquisite highs to sturdy lows. For a review of the performance, check out George Warren's thoughts at MusicCriticFresno.com.

What did you do this weekend?