A few nights ago I had what I thought was a really bad case of indigestion and nausea. Zantac couldn’t touch it. It got worse. I tried to make myself vomit and couldn’t.

Eventually I realized that (a) indigestion shouldn’t feel like this and (b) I had eaten a fairly healthy dinner. A doctor’s visit and an ultrasound determined that it was a gall-bladder attack.

I spent six butt-numbing hours at the movies on Saturday, watching the Metropolitan Opera’s live broadcast of “Gotterdammerung.” Spectacle, pageantry, a buff and bitchin’ Siegfried who turned out to have a down-home Texas accent – it was a very successful day.

The only thing better than opera is frugal opera. In fact, the show didn’t cost me anything:

I’ve got a couple of books that will get you started – and I’m giving them away. That means two winners this week.

These two goals are the subjects of my recent work at MSN Money and Get Rich Slowly — and they complement each other.

Thanks to all who left comments here and on the Facebook page or e-mailed after my daughter lost her baby. Your expressions of sympathy and support were much appreciated during this sad time in our family’s life.

To get back on track, I decided I’d better keep my giveaway streak alive. Up this week is a copy of J.D. Roth’s “Your Money: The Missing Manual.”