I know. I blogged like 20 times on Friday and haven't since. Well, I was away all weekend. And work has been busy. Mostly because I'm leaving for 5 whole workdays to head out to Oregon to see the folks, as well as multiple other relatives. Yep, another Russell Family Reunion. I haven't been to one since 1996. Should be interesting. I'm really pumped for the plane ride. I love flying. It rocks. I love just being in an airport. The whole experience. And I really like flying by myself. Hey, Krishni got picked up on a plane. It could happen to me.
Okay. Three hours left of work. I have to read an article and do a lit review in that time. Then, tonight I have to pack. And set up the VCR. Fun fun.
Current song in my head:
"Dig In" by Lenny Kravitz
I've been checking the box scores of Orioles games, mostly to see how my boyfriend Brian Roberts has been doing. And I hadn't seen his name for weeks and weeks, which was upsetting. Then, last night I was flipping around, and I heard a mention of him. Unfortunately, I missed the rest of the story. Then I found in the paper this morning that he was bumped down to their AAA team in Rochester. Bastards! However, there was an injury, and he got called back to the majors for the O's upcoming road trip. And a good thing, too, because if he hadn't been called back up, I was going to have to go up to Camden Yards and kick somebody's ass.
Current song in my head:
"Money Money Money" by ABBA
I had one of those odd moments yesterday afternoon. I was getting into my car after work, and I was tired and was just like, Thank God it’s time to go home. Then it hit me, as it does on occasion: I’m in the Real World. I have a full-time, permanent job. I work in an office every day. And I’ve been doing it for almost 2 years! I had similar moments throughout college, particularly while walking across campus, or just after a really good discussion in class: Hey, I would think. I’m in college. And it rocks! Life after college isn’t bad. It’s just strange to think that that’s where I am in life. I imagine this’ll continue throughout life (Wow, I’m married! And I’ve been married for years! Weird!).
Current song in my head:
“The Long and Winding Road” by the Beatles (And speaking of the Beatles, I’m seeing Paul again, on October 10! Yay!!!)
I saw Passion last night at the Kennedy Center. Fantastic production. It was more moving than I expected it to be. I already knew the story, and I already knew the music, but still, at the end... The show is about a soldier, Giorgio, who is having an affair with a married woman, Clara. He gets transferred to a remote outpost, where there's an ugly, sick woman, Fosca, who falls completely and desperately in love with him. And the show explores the nature of love--what kind of love is it that a person would die for another? What does it mean when a person refuses to sacrifice for the other? Anyway, I've been wandering around since with the line "Your love will live in me" in my head. The end of the show is just that line, repeated over and over...
Anyway, so now I'm debating getting a season ticket. It's for five shows, four of which I really would like to see, one of which I wouldn't mind seeing again. I could get tickets for a flat price now, and one that isn't too horrible. I'd probably be going on a weeknight or a Saturday matinee (cheapest prices). Of course, getting a season ticket would make it strange for the shows that friends want to go to (does that oblige them to go to the same performance as me; we wouldn't be able to sit together). Plus, it is an expense. But then, I just got a bonus at work that would cover the season ticket completely. And a bonus is something you should probably do something fun with. It's a treat. Plus, I'm the only one in my department to have gotten one. In any case, I need to decide this soon. Your thoughts on this are appreciated.
Going to things like that alone don't bother me. I do miss being able to the discuss the shows in depth, but it's also nice to be on my own for a while. I always enjoy that.
Current song in my head:
"Finale" from Passion
Last night was very, very pleasant. I spent time in the library. I watched a little television. Ate a good dinner. Had a lengthy, amusing conversation with Steve. Read quietly for a while. Did the dishes. Read some more. Went to bed. Very, very pleasant.
And I hear it's only supposed to be in the lower 80's later in the week! Woo!
Current song in my head:
"How You Remind Me" by Nickelback
Boyfriends I forgot (apologies to them, and thanks to Carrie):
Jon Stewart My left-handed comedian news anchor boyfriend
Brian Roberts My Oriole boyfriend
Jerry Hairston My backup Oriole boyfriend
A bit late, but here’s last week’s Friday Five.
1. Where were you born? White Plains, NY (my family was living in Mahopac at the time)
2. If you still live there, where would you rather move to? If you don't live there, do you want to move back? Why or why not? I don’t think I’d mind moving back. I can’t really judge, as we moved away when I was less than a year old. Who knows; if I want to work on publishing books that interest me, I might very well move back to that general area.
3. Where in the world do you feel the safest? In bed. I love my bed.
4. Do you feel you are well-traveled? Yes. I mean, there are still places I’d like to see, but I know that I’ve been to a lot of places that a lot of other people haven’t been, both in and out of the United States.
5. Where is the most interesting place you've been? That’s a tough one. I mean, “interesting” is a vague word. Great Falls, Montana, was pretty interesting. I mean, the population is something like 70,000, and there’s nothing around it for miles, but everyone is shoved into these tiny little lots for their houses. We had more acreage in Connecticut. And the attitude of a lot of people there...there's a lot of mistrust of people who aren't from Montana. It made quite an interesting experience, moving there in high school. I mean, it sucked, but in retrospect, was quite an enlightening experience.
My boyfriends:
Michael Ball My first boyfriend
Nicholas Brendan My silly boy next door boyfriend
Dean Collinson My English theatre 1950’s James Dean-esque boyfriend
Anderson Cooper My snarky news anchor/reality television host boyfriend
Russell Crowe My bad boy (but fond of cows!) boyfriend
Colin Farrell My Irish boyfriend
Sean Patrick Flannery My adorable Young Indy boyfriend
Timothy Goebel My shared (with Carrie) ice skating Quad King boyfriend
Ioan Gruffudd My darling Welsh boyfriend
Mark McGrath My pseudo-badass rock ‘n’ roll boyfriend
Bode Miller My downhill skiing boyfriend
Michael Vartan My leather-jacket-wearing, spy-masquerading-as-English-teacher boyfriend
Todd Zimmerman My leather-pants-wearing ice skating boyfriend
If I forgot any, let me know. And I'm apparently in need of a Scottish boyfriend. Applications are welcome.
Current song in my head:
"I've Seen Better Days"
Stupid double posting. I hit "Edit," not "Post another copy of this" Argh.
I was chatting with Steve shortly before lunch and he listed Chipotle as one of his options. Mmm, I thought. My lunch doesn't sound that good. I decided to go to Chipotle for lunch. I mentioned that I was going to Leslie, who then asked whether I was eating there or bringing it back. So I asked if she wanted to come along. She was hungry, so we left around 12:15, a good 45 minutes before I usually go to lunch. We walk to Chipotle and see that the line is out the door. We decided to head to California Tortilla, which is a bit farther away. It was also pretty crowded, but the line was shorter. Good (very filling) food, and we were done with a good 15 minutes to make it back to the office. Then we notice that there's a sign--free ice cream from 1-3 at the nearby Ben & Jerry's. Woo! And yep...it's just 1 as we leave the restaurant. So we head over, and discover that the ice cream cones (yep, full cones, not just those wussy little baby scoops!) are being paid for by Ira Shapiro, another Democrat who wants to oust Connie Morella from Congress. I had also seen him on the side of Rockville Pike, campaigning. So free ice cream! And a nice walk. It was a good lunch, overall. Too bad I'm stuck at work again. Oh well.
Current song in my head:
"S.O.S." by ABBA
This morning I was setting up the VCR to tape some shows while I'm in Ohio, and then I started flipping around channels. And on VH1 was a Weezer video. Much like their "Buddy Holly" video was set in Happy Days, this video was set in The Muppet Show. It was awesome! All the Muppets were there! And the lead singer looked really happy. I would be too, surrounded by Muppets. Good times.
Current song in my head:
"Love is an Innocent Journey" by Sonichrome
In The Washington Post Magazine on Sundays, there’s always some sort of historic picture, and this week it was of Lincoln meeting up with McClellan. Then there was a picture of Lincoln giving his inaugural address in a book I’m reading. And I realized that actual pictures of Lincoln weird me out. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because he’s very much this mythic figure and I’m just used to seeing portraits of him. I think it would weird me out if there were pictures of Jefferson and Washington and Adams, too. But if the technology was around for there to be pictures of the Founding Fathers, then there would be way more pictures of Lincoln, and it probably wouldn’t weird me out as much. I’m starting to think it’s a good thing I’m back at work so I have other things to think about.
Actually, it is a good thing I’m back at work. I enjoy long weekends, don’t get me wrong. But long weekends where I don’t do much…by the end, I almost miss work. Almost being the key word. If someone was like, “Hey, you can take the next week off,” I’d be happy. It’s just that by the end of the weekend, I’m kind of happy to get back to work. I think part of it might be because I miss the routine. Get up at a certain time, do things in a certain order. If I’m visiting somewhere or doing something with my time off, the lack of routine doesn’t bother me. I don’t think I’m explaining this right. Oh well.
I’ll end with this pearl of wisdom from my horoscope for today: Respect reality, but don’t get overwhelmed by it.
Current song in my head:
“Hanging by a Moment” by Lifehouse
A while back, my computer at home refused to open up Solitaire. It mysteriously morphed into the Calculator function. I don’t know how or why this happened, but it was pretty upsetting. The problem is the fact that my computer at work has Solitaire. That game is so addictive. It’s evil.
Anyway, good weekend. Free baseball game, free baseball cap to go with the game. Good times. On Saturday I saw an excellent production of Company, though it was preceded by a very embarrassing fall down the aisle, leading to my ankle getting twisted. I’m still limping. But the show was excellent! And Sunday I got to hang out with Krishni a bit.
I’m considering going down to the Kennedy Center one night and catching at least one of the next set of Sondheim. I want to see Passion. My plan is to try for the student rates, and go on a weeknight. If it works for Passion, I might try one of the other shows (Merrily We Roll Along and A Little Night Music).
Current song in my head:
“Putting It Together” from some Sondheim show