a few things that have been rattling around in my head

This is going to be very random, so consider yourselves forewarned.


Things That Bothered Me Today (and, more accurately, yesterday):
1. People who drench themselves in stinky perfume (I think this was "Angel" or the new Estee Lauder "Pleasures") and get on public transportation. I had to turn away so I could get a little fresh air without my nose starting to run and my eyes starting to itch. I think this chick next to me seriously bathed in it this morning. Gross.

2. People who can't walk in a straight line down the sidewalk. They're weaving back and forth like drunken sailors, making it impossible to move around them.

3. People (do we notice a trend here?) who protest really stupid shit, like the ones I saw outside Macy's yesterday, protesting the store. Now, really. I appreciate people's right to gather and redress their grievances as much as the next person. But come on. Protest the war, protest about global warming, protest the lack of attention the AIDs crisis in Africa, protest over whatever stance you may have about immigration in this country, protest for world peace, protest against world hunger... but protesting a store? Don't waste my time. If you don't want to shop there, then don't shop there. It's just a store. I have no special loyalties to Marshall Fields and I just don't really care that it's gone. I don't shop at Macy's. (But I didn't shop at Fields, either.) In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really seem that important of a cause to get out the picket signs over, does it?

4. Eating at buffet places. Went to Sweet Tomatoes with my mom last night. It's usually pretty good, but it was just plain mediocre last night. People get totally moronic in that place, wandering around without looking, letting their kids run amok and smack into people with hot soup, stuff like that. I don't usually mind eating at buffets, I know a few people who refuse to do it at all. But wait until next month to go to Sweet Tomatoes - their Mexican food theme really sucks. The soup was crappy (even the chicken noodle!) How do you screw up chicken noodle soup? and the choices limited. The baked potatoes were a little wooden. And their usually awesome chocolate chip cookies were hard as little rocks. Very disappointing.

Sorry about all the bitching. But it's been a LONG week. Thank god we have a long weekend and I can just lay around and hopefully get into a better mood...

the secret drawer of hidden delights

That sounds so much better than "junk drawer" doesn't it? I have this drawer in my desk here at work (because at home, practically all of my drawers are junk drawers...) that has, in the few brief months I've been here, gathered the most interesting assortment of stuff you can imagine.

Actually, you don't need to imagine, because I'm here today to take you on a virtual lunchtime tour of The Secret Drawer of Hidden Delights. The contents, at this very point in time, include:

-2 sample packets of Advil (they were giving them away on the street outside the train station! woohoo! free drugs!)
-a zip lock bag containing 4 mini powder sugar donuts
-a zip lock bag containing 1 pepridge farm Tahiti cookie
- a bag of Almond Munchies of the honey dipped variety
- a bag of trail mix (cranberries, nuts, chocolate chips)
-hair brush, eye drops, nasal sprays of many varieties, tooth brush, tooth paste, gum, hand sanitizer, Head On, ponytail holders
-two nutrigrain type bars (strawberry)
-many many many self stick stamps already stuck on pieces of paper (? maybe in the hopes that these are salvageable?)
-part of a chunky kit kat bar, and a mini reeses crispy crunchy bar (can you tell I have a sweet tooth and like to snack??)
-A&W Root Beer throat drops
-box of biz cards (mine)
-staple taker-outer
-eye glass cleaner and little towel
-kleenex
-blank cd
-get well cards
-tin box with assorted pens, magnets, pencils, ruler, computer screen cleaner brush, thumb tacks
-assorted biz cards (not mine)
-random promotional video
-envelope of random stuff from old employer that needed to live here for reasons now uncertain.
-glue stick
-sheet of tack strips to hold up those big post-it pads...
-old pair of reading glasses (totally not mine. some previous desk owner's legacy to me)
-shout wipes (in case I make a mess after all this snacking)
- assorted cold remedies

There you have it. It's quite the delightful hodge podge, isn't it?

starry-eyed and stormy...

Last night was a beautiful evening to be at Ravinia, blue cloudless skies, moderate temperatures... the only sign that gale force winds and torrential rains had ripped through the region just days before were the large areas of lawn space that were roped off, with warning signs "Extremely Wet Grounds - Sit Here and Get Your Ass Wet.' Parking fees were back to 10 bucks - did people complain or something? Did some of those parking lot volunteers put up the 20 dollar sign one night just for giggles and take the extra cash, or what?

But I digress. We had some (overpriced and yet not all that good) food for dinner, and wandered about the (wet) grounz - and who should we see? Mary Nell and Tim, enjoying a picnic. I also found an ex-colleague and his partner and stopped to chat with them right before going into the pavillion. Had the usual seating problems, as in, person with abnormally sized head sitting in front of me, and next to him, of course, his wife with large poofy style hairdo, who keeps moving around to try to see around the huge melon in front of her, etc.

And then, it was time for our Divas to take the stage. They opened with a duet called "Pack up your sins" which Audra (AKA Andrea McArdle)said was the first time she & Patti (LaBelle) had sung correctly and in public. Patti, literally, ran off the stage, causing Audra to cluck "She sings and runs away."

I would commence to regale you here with the full set list, but it wasn't published. Patti said something like "we only met on Friday the 13th and last night" to which Audra said "what?" Meaning - they had about 2 days to put the show together. So. No set list. Audra sang one from "The Apple Tree" and then one from the person who wrote "The Apple Tree" she sang lots of Sondheim "The Glamorous Life" -- uh --- one she dedicated to Barrack Obama from Anyone Can Whistle, "Not a Day Goes By" with... something else... She also sang "When Lola Sings"and something else. About happiness and joy. From a movie. Don't remember (sorry).

She started to sing "Can't Stop Talking" but then had to stop the orchestra. "Sorry," she said "I had to burp, and I thought better now than in the middle of the song." Which caused Patti, on her next sweep across the stage, to say she was going to burp the whole of the next song (and somehow, I believe she could have, if she put her mind to it). I remember her songs more distinctly - "Don't Rain on my Parade" "Peel Me a Grape" "Meadowlark" "So in Love" "Buenos Aires" "Ladies Who Lunch" "Losing My Mind" and "I Was Here" (might have forgotten some...) Together, they sang "Wrong Note Rag" and "Ohio" from Wonderful Town and oh, there was another one.... Patti threatened to do some kind of Evita duet, since Audra also played Evita in her hometown ("No," Audra insisted. "It's not gonna happen.")

They also sang the "Get Happy/Happy Days are Here Again" duet as an encore, which I just love. They came back and sang that one again (but standing on opposite sides of each other, since Audra said "We've never sung this and stood on this side of each other before" and Patti claimed "We're not crazy." (okay) They left after that, after giving us 2 of the same encore,which seemed peculiar at the time, but which we later learned was because Audra had to catch a flight back to LA to begin filming Private Practice, the Grey's Anatomy spinoff. Audra + Taye Diggs? Reason enough for me to watch at least the first new episode (I do not care at all about Kate Walsh, Amy Brenneman, or what's his face - Tim Daly).

It was a great concert and on stage, our Divas did not disappoint. But no intermission. Oye. Fortunately, everyone in my row was very well behaved and didn't get up to leave during any part of it. If I was not a fan of Audra's before (but I was!) I certainly am now. She is warm and bubbly, chatty and charming. What a great presence and a gorgeous voice. I saw her last year at Ravinia at the Martin, and I'd absolutely see her in another solo concert.

Patti was Patti in every possible sense.
(Beforehand, someone asked me how many times I'd seen her this year - I was kind of surprised that it's been like 7. 2 Mahagonnys, 3 Gypsys, 1 To Hell and Back, and that concert. I wish I could explain what it is about her, that would induce bi-coastal travel to watch her, but I can't. They were also surprised that I was a little bit scared of her, which is completely true. I can't summon any words except I think "hello" and "thank you" which you know are probably pretty safe.)

Yes, we went to the stage gate afterwards, but that is a story for another time, to be told face to face, possibly over some wine, foie gras and french fries (which means we'd also have to go to New York, or at least some restaurant around here that does not mind flouting the rules). Or, in the words of the OMC song (what happened to OMC, anyway??) "Wanna know the rest, hey? Buy the rights! How Bizarre..."

divine inspiration...

I was bored on the train home the other day, and suddenly Inspiration struck in the form of an idea for a Gypsy-themed explosion book. I started sketching one out (from about Union Station to Forest Glen) and voila! Made a quick excursion for supplies yesterday and did the book last night. It all went well except for a few minor snafus making the covers. And for some reason I thought getting an acryllic stamp set would make my life easier, but alas, this is not the case. I spent several hours stamping out little quotes to put inside the book and by the time I was done with it I never wanted to see it again.

But really, it's quite cute. I don't know what exactly I'm going to do with it, but when inspiration comes a knocking, you can't just slam the door in its face.

In other news, tonight is the night when the Divas will Descend Upon us. The storm clouds have parted in their honor. Can't wait. Will be some fun times.

More details and a full report later.

She was shopping, of course!

So get this. There was a tornado warning for downtown Chicago. To say that this is a rare occurance is an understatement - it happens as frequently as the Cubs have won the World Series. There was a reporter on news radio 78, not a block from our perch on the 13th floor, telling people to take cover. Scary shit.

And I would have been a lot more scared had I actually been in the office today.

I took today off, before things get too nuts. I got a massage, and then mom played hooky with me and we went shopping at Woodfield. Wheeeee. There we were, innocently shopping. I bought an absolutely gorgeous satin trench coat at Bebe (I saw it in a magazine and was instantly smitten. More on this later.)and a whole bag full of stuff at H&M (bless those crazy Swedes and their awesome discount clothing emporium!). The only sign that there was anything amiss was that the power in the store went out partially while I was at the cash register. No one seemed too concerned about it though, so we didn't think anything of it. Then we tried to leave.

We were headed towards Sears (where we'd parked). When we approached, we noticed someone standing guard at the store and turning people back into the mall. She said her manager told them there was some kind of weather thing and that they weren't letting people into the store any more until it was clear. Which was funny that they didn't think we actually wanted to do something crazy like shop in their store, they knew we just wanted to pass through. And use the bathroom. They were right, as it happened, but you'd think they would try to get people in. At least to buy some umbrellas and rain gear. Is this not America? Do we not have the right to go running straight into a raging thunderstorm if we so wish? Strangely enough, we so wished. We went back into the mall, went to another exit (AHA. Didn't think of that, Sears, didja?) and looked out at the rain coming down in sheets. We decided (foolishly?) to risk it. Out we ran, got to the car and turned on the radio just in time to hear the above mentioned tornado warning.

Sidebar: There was a lady standing outside sears who said "So, I'm like from California. What's a tornado warning?" And we were like, "You know Dorothy? And the thing that looks like a cyclone? You aren't in Kansas any more, lady!" actually we didn't. But to clairify, a Tornado Watch is just when conditions are ideal for a tornado to appear. A Tornado Warning is when one has actually been a sighting - hold onto your butts, grab the cats and take cover! The warning was expiring as we drove back. The journey home was slowed by downed branches and traffic lights that had no power. But the worst of it had passed.

Back home now, and I am pleased to report there was not a lot of damage in the MG where I live. There is a big tree in the yard next to us that is thankfully still upright. We heard that there were winds of 80 mph. Crazy.

I am easily amused....

I don't even know what this is a commercial for, but it makes me laugh. Especially the look on the guy's face at the end....

go here and check it out.

Add this to the list of things that make me giggle, along with the automatic soap dispensers at Ravinia (sad, I know, but I laugh every time I use one), and those little automatic change things, where your change comes rolling out... they have them at the supermarket, I think...

Looks like I'm in for a good time....

Today's Yahoo-scope says:

Quickie:
Your jovial nature is out in full force, and it will make you a few new friends.

Overview:
A good friend brings some news that you've been waiting for -- maybe without realizing it. Your good energy makes the day even more enjoyable, and your social circles are especially appealing.


I'm so glad someone appreciates my "jovial nature." Maybe these new friends are the ones who are conspiring?

the honor roll...

Keeping on our Back-to-School Nostalgia theme, here is a list of some memorable educators from my formative years (at Park View School in Morton Grove...)

Mrs. Miller - my kindergarten teacher. She is also my next door neighbor, so I learned from an early age not to believe all those stories about teachers living at school (I believe the story was that they lived in coffins in the basement, or something). Because I knew. They live in houses, just like you and me. A very important lesson.

Mr. (Richard) Johnson - sixth grade teacher. Sixth grade was a year frought with much drama and in-fighting and pre-teenaged angst. I am not sure what we learned at all, but I AM sure that we drove this man into early retirement. So for that, Mr. "Good-now-go-sit-down" Johnson, I immortalize you in the blogosphere.

Mr. East - taught shop class. Now think about that for a minute - shop for junior high students. What a good idea. Here, children, go play with power tools for 40 minutes. So safe. So useful. When have I had to use a jig-saw in my every day life? That would be NEVER. Also, we used to sit in class and count the number of times the man said "uh" because literally, it was every other word. Kids can be so cruel.

Mr. Paulos - junior high English teacher. Taught me the importance of proper grammar AND how to diagram a sentence. Tried to give me a reading assignment the year I was not actually in his class. Was known for falling asleep in class. Tried to get us to shut up on the bus on field trips by telling us to "listen for sirens." I am still trying to figure that one out. But after being a chaperone on a jr high field trip, I can understand why he would have wanted us to be quiet. Damn, those kids are LOUD.

Mrs. Clancy - music teacher. I had her for many years, as we had music class every day in most grade levels. Not a year went by that this woman did not threaten to retire. On a more serious note, she taught us about the composers, and started annual field trips to the CSO and Lyric, so she is probably partly responsible for my early classical music appreciation.

Miss Sfickas - gym teacher. My god, did this woman hate me. I'm not athletic, and naturally, all of her little pets were the jocks (or jockettes?). All of her favorites could pick whoever they wanted to be on their teams, including their friends, but when I was team captain (once) and I picked my friends, she pulled me aside and yelled at me. Scarred me for life. Really. That and those god awful yellow shirts we were forced to wear. YUCK.

Mr. Daiberl - my favorite teacher of all time. Made me, for a few brief moments between 1997 and 2001, want to become a teacher myself. I had him for History in 7th and 8th grade, and he made it actually interesting. All he did was lecture - he didn't show movies, we didn't do group work, but some how, he made it fun. We also played the News Game every week, which I totally always rocked, since I have a good memory for useless trivia and have, ever since I was a kid. I also student taught with him.

Mr. Cole - science teacher in Jr High. Also gets the distinction of making a subject actually fun. He was the classic Mad Scientist, but everybody loved him. I guess they shuffled things around and he was teaching english or something and all of us cried because he made so many kids like science. (Well, okay, we didn't actually cry. But we had many heated conversations about it. For like, whole seconds.) And (you'd better sit down for this one) I was on the Science Olympiad team in maybe 8th grade. We did horribly, but you know, whatever.

So there ya go. We'll talk about high school later. Surprisingly, the list there is much shorter. I had to actually think about it. Not as many colorful characters, that's for sure...

whatever happened to recess?

It's so weird for me to think that I am Done With School. Even these last few years, I've been in Grad School, so I could still tell people (if I so chose) "I'm a student." Now I can't. Because I'm not. I'm just me, a Working Stiff. One of the teeming masses.

One of the things I love about fall, aside from the boot-and-coat weather, is of course, the back-to-school shopping and the ritual of buying new stuff for school. For me growing up, it was a trapper keeper, shiny pencil case (one of those ones with the different compartments and the buttons - press one and the pencil sharpener comes out, press another one and a magnifying glass comes out, press another one, and the little tray with your number 2 pencils rockets into a vertical position, so you can better select which to use, I guess...), pens in a rainbow of colors (I took notes in different colors. Pink, green, turquoise, purple. Just to mix it up, not because it was a useful study tool, or anything. What else? New backpacks... Not like these kids today (Yikes. Did I just say that??) with their backpacks on wheels that they lug around like they're going on a flight, or something. I lugged around a heavy backpack on my back for 12 years of schooling, I think they can, too. All I got was a little mild scoliosis (kidding!) Honestly. It's not like they bring any books home, anyway...

Just a sidebar here - it's really funny to me sometimes how things have changed between when I was in school and now. When I was in elementary school, we had a 'playground' in a field. When we got older, there was one with just different sets of climbing apparatus (apparati?) - covered in lead paint, probably. Over concrete. No soft rubber stuff or little wood chips to cushion the fall. The park by my house had a massively tall slide you had to climb up, and also one of those merry-go-rounds that you rode round and round and round on until you gor whiplash. Yeah, those playgrounds had character. (Why do I feel like I am 90 years old all of a sudden?)

But back to the shopping list - notebooks, loose leaf paper, folders, graph paper and graphing calculators, protractors and compasses for math of course (never to be used again, relegated to collect dust in the junk drawer), gym clothes (in jr. high we had really really unattractive reversible yellow and blue shirts and little tiny shorts), and the Chandler's Assignment notebook. When I was student teaching, there was a big teacher meeting about letting the kids have palm pilots. And, oh, wait, the kids were in Junior High. Honestly? I don't even have a palm pilot. I still use the assignment notebook style appointment diary. What could 6th graders possibly need with a palm pilot?

Look out for more School Nostalgia. I need something to occupy my mind so I am not constantly obsessing with my next field trip coming up here.

Oh, My Stars

I don't know why, but I love checking my horoscope. I don't do it every day, but I have, in the past, checked the Chicago Tribune (they rank the day on a 1-10 scale, 10 obviously being the best and 1 being a 'don't bother getting out of bed today'. I've never seen anything less than a 4 though), the Sun Times and the one that pops up on Yahoo every day. I don't really hold any truck with it, but it's still fun to check....

Today's Stars, from Yahoo:
Sagittarius (the date is November 24, in case you're keeping score at home)
Quickie:
Socially, your life is about to get a lot busier! You are loved by all your friends.

Overview:
Your friends are conspiring to make your life even sweeter. Act like you don't know, and when things really take off, you can feign surprise and enjoy the ride. You're luckier than you realize!


Nice, huh? But who are these friends "conspiring to make my life even sweeter"? Most of my friends around here don't even call me any more. So now they're conspiring?

can't stop eating 'em

So I was at a meeting yesterday and talking with our consultant. We were the only 2 present and waiting for everyone else to appear. He starts chowing down on potato chips. He tells me they are his food weakness. Fair enough. I have a few of those myself chocolate anything, pineapple, cheese (but not all together, that's weird), so far be it for me to judge anybody's food fetishes.

THEN he tells me that he had a very large collection of - wait for it - potato chip bags. I'm hoping they were empty. Not only that, he SOLD his collection to the Potato Museum in New Mexico. I'm a little startled at this point, as I am trying to wrap my head around the fact that a. someone would go to the trouble of collecting potato chip bags and b. someone ELSE would actually pay money for them and c. that there is actually a potato museum that people pay money to visit and view potato paraphenalia. So all I say is "I didn't know there was... a potato musuem." He was apparently hoping the Smithsonian would buy his collection, but I guess they reached their quota of quirky (crappy?)contributions for the year. Their loss is the Potato Museum's gain.

Hmmm....

+ Update: So, let's be clear. I'd go to this for Patti alone. I don't dislike Mandy, but he's not why I'd buy the ticket. If The Diva appears in my vicinity, it is not within my power to not go and see her. That's just the way it is.

Additional dates, it says. Hmm. I am thinking Ravinia. I am sending psychic vibes out right now: "Raaaavinnnniiiiiaaaaaa!! Raaaavinnniiiiaaaa!" etc. Maybe it will work!

From playbill.com today:

LuPone and Patinkin to Reteam for California Audiences
By Andrew Gans
14 Aug 2007

Tony Award winners Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin, who co-starred in the original Broadway production of Evita, will again join forces in January 2008.
The duo will present An Evening with Patti LuPone & Mandy Patinkin at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, CA. Show times are Jan. 18 and 19 at 8 PM.
LuPone and Patinkin previously presented this concert in September 2002 at the Charles W. Eisemann Center in Richardson, TX. That evening featured duets from several musical theatre classics, including tunes from South Pacific, Carousel, Sunday in the Park with George, and, of course, Evita. The award winning actor-singers also performed individually.
A Tony Award winner for her work in Evita, Patti LuPone also earned an Olivier Award for her performances in the West End productions of Lés Misérables and The Cradle Will Rock. Her other theatrical credits include Sunset Boulevard, Anything Goes, Oliver!, Working, The Old Neighborhood, Master Class and Pal Joey. LuPone also headlined two solo Broadway concerts, Patti LuPone On Broadway and Matters of the Heart, and received glowing notices for her performance as Mrs. Lovett in the Lincoln Center concert version of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd and a Tony nomination for her performance in the recent revival of that Sondheim work. She was seen in the Kennedy Center's staging of Marc Blitzstein's Regina and recently joined Audra McDonald for Los Angeles Opera's production of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. LuPone was most recently on the New York stage in City Center's production of Gypsy.
Mandy Patinkin won a Tony Award for his role as Che in the Broadway mounting of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Evita. His theatrical work includes roles in The Wild Party, Sunday in the Park with George, The Secret Garden and The Knife. An Emmy Award winner for his work on "Chicago Hope," his other screen credits include "Criminal Minds," "Yentl," "Ragtime," "Dick Tracy," "Broken Glass," "Life with Mikey" and "The Princess Bride." Patinkin's latest solo recording, "Mandy Patinkin Sings Sondheim," is available on the Nonesuch label.

Additional tour dates of An Evening with Patti LuPone & Mandy Patinkin are expected.

is that gonna leave a mark?

So this morning, I was awakened at 3:00 to the sound of the cats fighting with each other (in my doorway, naturally). Finish hissed at Start so loudly and emphatically, she started coughing. A skunk outside my window apparently heard the clammor and decided to join forces with her sister-under-the-fur - and sprayed energetically. May I repeat: right under my window. The smell just permeated everything and made it impossible for me to get back to sleep.

I must have dozed off though, because I remember waking up again, just after 6 to the sound of rain. On the one hand was pleased because rain was washing away ferocious skunk pong. On the other hand, I'd planned to wear a dress today, but didn't want to do my marathon hike in a skirt in the rain. So I had to change my plan, grab a coat and an umbrella and catch the train in the rain. It stopped when I got here though, so it all worked out. I was only moderately soggy when I arrived in the office.

I did succeed in spilling a few globs of Starbucks raspberry peach yogurt parfait on my pants though, and it appears to have left a stain. Grrrrrrrrrr.

Can today just be over?

a little bit of everything...

The weekend went by too fast, but then they always do. What did I even do with myself?? Not a lot. Slept. Hid from the sticky heat. Was hit by the Thunderbolt of Inspiration and went to Archiver's ("The Photo Memory Store") - I decided to do something with the photos and assorted bits of ephemera collected from the New York trip (well, okay, I am putting it all in a little album. Nothing too fancy.) It's been a while since I've been crafty - since I'm not working there any more (thank GAWD) and I'm not constantly surrounded by that new cute paper or those adorable little embellishments. AND I've found other things to spend my money on (shoes. and tickets to see Patti). AND there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day anymore. I'm not one of those crazy scrapbookers - I don't have kids, and I don't sit around scrapping everyday things. Just trips and stuff like that. And the occasional super cool explosion book mini-album for the Divas (and about the divas, IE the gorgeous one I did for Sweeney Todd, that I had signed by the whole cast.). But like I said, it's been awhile since I've done any of it, so it was fun.

I also worked on my knitting - it's hard to think about blankets when it's 95 degrees and humid, but I'm determined to finish, so I got back to work on it.

Other than that, it was a quiet weekend. Had to go to the dentist for a cleaning. I've been going to the same dentist for many years and usually it's not so bad. I had a string of bad visits, where I was worked on by a Dental Nazi from Hell hygenist. She yelled at me, made me cry and made me bleed. Ouch. And honestly, I'm not that bad. I brush twice (sometimes thrice) a day and floss every day too. I actually visit every 6 months, which is more than I can say for some people. And still I get the lecture. Who needs that, lady? So I've requested not to have Beelzebubette (she claims her name is "Sandi" but who does she think she's kidding?) and my dental visits have been much happier.

Saturday there was a new hygienist named Patricia. She was nice, but a little flaky. My appointment was in the afternoon and she said she hoped she "wouldn't fall asleep." Uh, that makes two of us. Then later as she was polishing my teeth, the little do-hickey they use wasn't working right, and she said "Sometimes they're just shitty attachments, ya know?" Now, I'm not averse to a little swearing, you know, but I'm not sure that you should be swearing in front of your patients on the first meeting. Something tells me she's not going to be around there for long...

Placido Domingo at Ravinia

Placido Domingo. 1/3 of the Three Tenors (and one of the recognizeable ones, at that). I've never seen him live before, and almost didn't have the chance last night. By the time I decided to suck it up and try to purchase an $150 ticket to Ravinia's Gala Extravaganza, they were all sold out. Boo. But serves me right, I guess, for waiting too long. But then, as I said, an ex co-worker of mine called me up Saturday morning and told me to get out my party dress. I didn't need to be told twice, and spent the rest of the day frantically making preparations. Dress? Check. Shoes? Check. Manicure? Check. Hair? Was in serious need of professional assistance, even though I'm blessed with good color, I hadn't washed it in the morning, and it was hanging around like limp spaghetti. Cathy made me look totally gorgeous, bless her.

I brought my mom (because she threatened to disown me if I didn't take her to see Domingo... haha, only joking) to fetch the tickets. We were in for the whole ball of wax - cocktails before the concert, post-performance dinner, and the concert itself. Plus, we got free parking in the main lot.

I love the fact that we're about 15 minutes away from Ravinia. Once you cross the railroad tracks and go through the main gate, you're in a whole other world with its green lush sprawling lawn (covered, even last night, with picnickers in rain gear), food (pizza! dove bars! sno-cones! what more could you want??) drinks, ample restroom space, and automatic soap dispensers (I can't tell you why I love these so much, but they make me smile every time. Sad. Very sad. But true. It takes very little to amuse me.)

The concert started at 7:00 pm. We sat early and watched the parade of be-tuxedoed Beautiful People of the North Shore stream in to claim their seats. Our row was apparently the designated Row of Drama - right as the lights went down, 4 people came in to sit in the spots to my left - or tried to. It transpired that some people were sitting there by mistake, so we all had to get up a few more times to rearrange accordingly. One "gentleman" (I use the term loosely) wouldn't shut up during the performance and was on the receiving end of a few nasty looks and SHHHs! from me. There was no intermission and each and eachof those 4 people to my left got up, walked by me, and left at various times in the program, and came back again. And they didn't even say 'sorry' or 'excuse me' or bring me a sno-cone. I mean, really.

The program kicked off with Maestro James Conlon leading the CSO and the audience in a rousing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. The board chairman and some corporate sponsor came out and thanked everyone under the sun and their mothers for putting the gala evening together. They made tantalizing references to the star attraction, but yacked for like 20 more minutes before allowing the performance to begin.

Here's the program:

Overture to Oberon (Weber)
"O souverain" (Massenet - Le Cid - Domingo)
"The Jewel Song" (Gounod - Faust) * No, he hasn't started exploring new repertoire - Mr. Domingo shared the stage with soprano Ana Maria Martinez)
"Frederico's Lament" (Cilea - L'arlesiana - Domingo)
"Ebben? Ne andro lontana" (Catalani - La Wally - Martinez)
Sigfried's Spring Song (Wagner - Die Walkure - Domingo)
Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin (CSO)
"Gia nella notte densa" (Verdi - Otello - duet)
Prelude, Serenade, Intermezzo, Die Schneeman, Korngold (CSO)
"Amor vida de me vida" (Torroba - Maravilla - Domingo)
"El nino Judio" (Luna - De Espana Vengo - Martinez)
"En mi tierra" (Torroba - Luisa Fernanda - duet)
"Tonight" (Bernstein - West Side Story - duet)
"I Could Have Danced All Night" (My Fair Lady - Loewe - Martinez)
"No Puede Ser" (Sorozabal - La Tabernera del Puerto - Domingo)

Encores included
Grenada, O Mio Babbino Caro (the first phrase of which elicited a collective "Oooohhhh" of delight from the audience) another Spanish duet, and Lippenschweigen (or however you'd care to spell it).

Placido was greeted by rapturous applause (which he acknowledged with a dicatator-esque wave and semi-salute). Dressed all in black, he was regal, charismatic and in fine voice. As my mom said "He's still got it!" and indeed, he has. At over 60 years of age, the man can still work a crowd and hit those beautiful, soaring high notes. I wish we had seen more of him, and I wish he had sung some other operatic chestnuts. As I said, he shared the stage with Ms. Martinez - a young soprano with a pretty voice. She was fine, she sounded good and was wearing a gorgeous irridescent teal gown. She wasn't terribly exciting, but Placido was exciting and entertaining and charming enough for the both of them.

Dinner afterwards was in the Freehling Room with food served from Carlos' Restaurant. Our selections included a "roasted summer vegetable terrine" (with a 2006 Sauvignon Blanc), Chilean sea bass, and for dessert a symphony of mini tartlets (lemon, raspberry and chocolate cappuccino mousse) and champagne, of course. The perfect ending to another stellar evening at Ravinia.

in need of professional help...

My ticket fairy godmother has visited me in the night, hit me with her wand and is sending me to the ball... okay, the Ravinia Gala tonight, featuring Placido Domingo. I debated going all week, but by the time I decided to cough up the higher than normal pavilion seat price, the cheap(ish) ones were all sold out! And I didn't want to pay the higher than normal lawn ticket price, to sit there by myself and watch Himself on a large video screen (which they are using for the poor schlubs on the lawn for this concert). Good thing, too, because it's totally going to rain.

Enter a former colleague of mine who decided they don't want to go tonight (????) and is giving me tickets to everything - pavillion, dinner and cocktails. I've been beautifying all day in preparation.

More to come, but I am very very excited to see Placido. He's probably my favorite of the Three Tenors (even though Luciano Pavarotti is from my family's home citta of Modena, Italy). I don't know how many more chances there will be to see him live (and I passed up my chance to see him in the Ring Cycle at Lyric a few years back. Nobody could make me want to see Wagner. Nobody.)

Nothing to say...

Look at these cuties instead. I'll talk more when I can think of something to say....

Looking Ahead...

Here is what my 2007-2008 Entertainment Schedule is looking like at this current moment:

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Auditorium Theatre (now thru Sept) still need to buy tickets

Patti & Audra at Ravinia 8.26 (!!)

Passion at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre (10.2 through 11.11. I'm gonna get me some tickets to this even though I am a little doubtful about Ana Gasteyer. I missed her in Wicked, so someone needs to clue me in on her ability as a singer.)

La Boheme at Lyric Opera (10.1) My first chance to see Angela Gheorghiu (or however you spell it) - if she doesn't cancel, that is.

Giselle (running 10.17 thru 10.28) My first classical ballet experience (shhhhhh)

Caesar at Lyric (11.19) Ohhh, David Daniels.

Die Frau Ohne Schatten (11.26) I am celebrating the birthday of my TBV group by going to the opera and seeing - uh - well, it would be better if it was Renee, but it's Debbie Voigt, who was spectacular in Salome last season, so I am expecting good things.

The Nutcracker (12.12 thru 12.30) The ultimate Christmas in Chicago experience. I am looking forward to this, since I've wanted to go forever and now I can go whenever.I.want!

Doctor Atomic (12.17) at Lyric

La Traviata (1.14) at Lyric. Finally, Renee's back in Chicago! I just noticed single tickets are on sale, and subscribers can buy additional ones, so I am going go snap up a few extra performances of this one... Anybody wanna come??? Gotta get it in while she's here...

Falstaff (1.28) at Lyric. A few years ago, Bryn Terfel played the title role but I've heard he's retiring it for the time being. Too bad. While I was standing in the student rush line for Rent, I should have been checking out Bryn as Falstaff. But we live and learn. All the Lyric website had to say about this new Falstaff is that he's really tall (like 6'5") which is important, you know, but doesn't speak a whole lot to his singing.

Antony Tudor Centennial (2.20 thru 3.2) More ballet. For the past few months I've been calling him "Anthony" which shows you how much I know.

Barber of Seville (3.3) Three words: Juan Diego Florez. {swoon}

Eugene Onegin (3.24) at Lyric. Some of this season I feel is a giant Met re-tread - especially La Traviata, Barber and Onegin, all of which were at the Met last season. Most people saw a few of these on the tv or at the movies. So I'll see Onegin again. If I'd been in New York long enough to see it a second time with Renee as Tatiana, I would have, but otherwise once is usually enough for most of these. I do love Dmitri though, so at least there's that to look forward to...

American Moderns (5.14 thru 5.25) modern ballet.

So that's how it's shaping up. I'm hoping to get to NYC at some point (maybe for Otello at the Met? Maybe for La T? I'd also love to go and see Sunday in the Park with George...). I guess we'll see what happens...

Of course, our Broadway (in Chicago) prospects are pretty slim. We're getting Jersey Boys (a show I don't understand at all), Color Purple is closing early only to be replaced with... wait for it... POTO. We never get anything good....

Photos (finally!)

Finally have gotten my shit together to share some photos of my trip to NYC 2 weekends ago. The view from Cara's apartment on Wall St.(but watch out for those killer moths!)

Doesn't this look like a nice little place?

South Street Seaport. This was right near one of those Body World exhibits, y'know, where they have those preserved bodies on display? I didn't catch it when it was in Chicago at MSI, so I toyed briefly with the idea of visiting this one... But admission was like 30 bucks! Too rich for my blood, especially since I recently blew the wad on LuPone (but she's worth every cent!). So I said screw it and went for a lemon Italian ice and a manicure instead.

More from Downtown

I know y'all think that all I did when I was in NYC two weekends ago was eat, sleep and see Gypsy, but that's a lie! I also saw Grey Gardens, AND I ventured downtown to visit my former college roomie, Cara.

Does anybody know what this building is? I think it's on Water Street.

View from the South Street Seaport. I can't explain my fascination with bridges...

And of course....

Gypsy! To see some truly fabulous pictures from 2 weeks ago AND from closing night last night, go and visit Sarah B's Adventures, Litwit and Little Voice (go to the links on the side over there. You know where I mean. My link thing is giving me gyp again, and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. So you're gonna have to work for it. But believe me when I tell you that you just totally need to see this stuff. It's good.)

The Gypsy Cab. I wonder if it's weird for Patti to be around town and see part of her own face on cabs and stuff? I was also getting looks when I was wearing my t-shirt (yes, I know. Such a geek!). But I guess it would be kind of alarming to have Patti glaring at you all "whadddre YOU lookin' at"?? from a t-shirt, huh?

My hotel room. I stayed at the Park 79 on 79th and Columbus. It was cute, quiet, clean and I would definitely stay there again. Just take the stairs because the elevator is tiny and it's extremely slow.
I got into the spirit of the thing and bought some roses from a little store on Amsterdam Av. They really brightened up my little room, and allowed me to wander about singing "Everything's Coming Up Roses" to myself. I had to thieve some extra plastic cups from housekeeping to put them all in (very classy, no?) but I think they looked okay. They mainly lived on top of the AC unit, as you see here. But I also put a bunch by the bed (see above, with lovely strategic placement of comb, pen and flyer).

Also have a pic of me sitting in Patti's chair at our own little after party, but it's horrible, horrible (why do I always take such hideous pictures?) so you don't get to see it.

Fore!

Oye. I shoulda stayed in New York, I'm telling you. Yesterday, I'm in my car, driving along doing errands, minding my own business. I'm driving near a golf course, and all of a sudden, a golf ball comes flying out of nowhere and - I am sure you can guess - hits my car. Thunk. Thank god it didn't hit the windshield, but it did create a big old honking dent right in front. My dad suggested I go to the police station to file some kind of accident report - even if nothing happens, it will at least alert the golf course that there's a problem with their idiot golfers creating havoc on innocently driving people. So, okay, I head to MGPD, who promptly tell me that the side of the street in question is not in their jurisdiction. WHich is completely bizarre, but whatever. They send me to Glenview. The cops there tell me the same thing, and send me to the village of Golf. I go there and nobody is home (it's a really small place). So I called their non emergency number and they direct me to the forest preserve police and say they'll send somebody over.

Which would be fine, except I had volunteered to help out at Joffrey's Summer Intensive Showcase, and had to be downtown by 12 (our police station extravaganza happened at like 10:30. Finally we went to the actual !@#$*%& golf course and they couldn't tell us what to do either. I had to leave, and hauled it downtown. Had no sooner parked the car when the forest preserve guy called my cell and took my report on the phone.

Geez. So that was my Saturday. Last Saturday was much more fun....

How About a Poem?

My mom's spending her days working summer school and found this poem from "The Song Shoots Out of My Mouth" by Jaime Adoff.
It's called "Diva" and for some reason, mom thought I'd like it. Maybe it reminded her of somebody (actually, a few somebodies) that we know... It's arrayed on the page in a more interesting way than this, but you get the idea, I think....

Diva

She is the
undisputed Queen of everything. Her walk says it all.
She's earned every note, every ounce of gold, and platinum
albums sold.
So many number one songs, not enough fingers, toes, and thumbs
to count them all.
Her grace walks onstage before she does.
We wait, anticipate. Wonder from this side
what it would be like to be her. To be up there looking at us.
What does she think about?
The place goes dark. The storm before the calm.
Then without warning:
THE SONG
flows
out of her mouth.
Like a waterfall in slow motion.
A magic potion
poured slow and easy on the ears.
Then, just when you think it's safe to sit, the riffs come raining down.
On my head, no soul umbrella, instead I let the song soak, deep and long. Filling me
up with everything she has, everything she's lived, everything she is.
Her voice brings me close to tears.
I sing along and move, she is all about the groove.
I watch, as each note shakes hands with every fan.
Thanking
loving
kissing
hugging.
What's hers
is mine, is ours.
Her power
is
her voice
is
her soul
singing
to me
in this seat.

She is the
Diva.

indecision 2007

To go or not to go??? I know I've been racking up the cool points, but still....

photographic evidence...

Of Ms. Fleming and her plate... I can tell, you were having serious doubts about me with that story, weren't you? Oh no, I can hear you all saying, no more double tall lattes for HER.... But really, I don't think you can make this stuff up... She really is one in a million and she took this whole plate escapade with extraordinarily good grace. None of that, uh oh, here come those nutters again (at least, if she thinks that, she is VERY good at hiding it!)

What is a "Tony Blake Moment"?

So in my Gypsy post, I mentioned that it was a good thing they'd cleared Patti's plate and stuff or else we would have had a "Tony Blake Moment". I thought I'd clarify.

Several years ago, some of my British friends, and members of my Renee Fleming group (the Beautiful Voice, or TBV)were going to tour the Royal Opera House in London. The tour was closed and so they ended up going to the cafeteria for a sit down and a snack. They had a similar Close Encounter with Diva Kind. They became aware that Ms. Fleming was sitting in the cafeteria as well. She was as wonderful as ever, and went over to say hello to them, because she recognized them from seeing them before. After she left, my friends did as we did, and went to the table, sat in Renee's chair, etc. And Tony, well, he asked the server if he might have Renee's plate. The server said sure, but he'd get him a clean one. Tony said no and said he wanted that one, and they let him have it. So he took it home, you know and there you have it.

But stick with me, my story gets better. A year or so later, a number of us met up in New York to see Renee in La Traviata. My friend Jen and I thought it would be very very funny if we got a similar plate and had all of us sign it. She also sent it to Renee, told her the story, and asked if she would sign the plate, too. Imagine our delight when the plate was returned to Jen, with Renee's signature smack in the middle. We presented it to Tony who was, in his words "gobsmacked." We all then signed another plate which we gave to Renee.

To her immense credit, Renee was such a great sport about the whole thing. She seemed to understand that taking plates was not something any of us did on a regular basis.

That remains one of my favorite Renee stories. I wonder if she still has that plate??

by the way...

I did some other stuff this weekend aside from seeing Gypsy (but not much).
Friday, I headed downtown to do a little shopping at the South Street Seaport and see Cara. I was also really tempted to see the Body World exhibit they had at the Seaport, y'know, those bodies that they do some kind of weird procedure with and then pose them around? But it was SO expensive, and I skipped it. Had a manicure instead. Much less graphic and gross. I have some pictures from downtown, it was SUCH a beautiful day, but you will just have to use your imagination for now, till I can get them up here.

It was fun seeing Cara, my roommate in college for 4 years, now a high-powered attorney living on Wall Street. Seriously. Right on Wall Street. Anyway. We went for sushi near her place and spent the whole afternoon catching up. I went back to the hotel to change before I went back to City Center. Did the stage door afterwards and then went to a little place around the corner to have some food, as I'd only bolted a sandwich and some ring-dings at the hotel before the show. For some reason, I had a hard time getting a cab after that, so I walked to Columbus Circle to try and get one there. Was a little tempted by the Harry Potterpalooza that was going on, and it was almost midnight. I was very close to going to check out the festivities, but I was SO exhausted, I went to the hotel and went to sleep instead.

I DID get the book, the next morning in Lincoln Center. I finished it Sunday on the plane. And, can I just say: I was (SO) right about a certain plot development??? HAHAHA. JK Rowling, you are an evil genius (and since I totally called something, does that make ME an evil genius as well?? I think so!).

Okay, okay, moving on.....

New York, New York...

What can I say that has not already been said (with considerable flair and totally fabulous photos)here here and here ??

At first, it seemed as though the elements were conspiring against me: the night before I left for New York, we had crazy electrical storms, and storms on the east coast would almost certainly mean delays at LaGuardia. The morning newsman reassured me, though, that flights were taking off from O'Hare on time, so off I went. Takeoff was delayed about an hour, but we arrived only half an hour later than the original landing time (we apparently "made up time in the air" although I am not even going to pretend I know how we did that). On the ground, I found my bag (always pays to flirt with the curbside check in guy AND give him a good tip!) and took a gypsy cab to my hotel. Oh, wait, that sounds strange - what I mean to say is it was a perfectly legal yellow cab, but it had an ad for Gypsy with Patti glaring out over the traffic on top of it. That was the cab in the queue that showed up for me. I took that as a sign.

My excitement over that night's performance took over - I unpacked my stuff in my cute little hotel room, then had to bust outta there. I started walking, just to be out, just to do something with all the energy. I didn't really intend to do this, but I walked all the way to City Center (from 79th St and Columbus to 55th between 6th and 7th.

I stopped to pick up my ticket. I gave the box office person my card and id and I wish I could have seen my own face when they pushed the ticket over to me. I must have looked like I'd died and gone to heaven or something, because the box office person said how happy I looked to have it in my hot little hand. "Well," sez I, "I came from Chicago to see the show this week." The box office lady and her manager looked at me. Finally, she spoke in an astounded way. "You came from Chicago?? To see Patti LuPone?" Like she was completely unable to fathom that someone would do such a thing.

Uh, yeah. I surely did. Several times, in fact, the first of which was Thursday night. That was the best seat I'd bought, row CC, seat 113 (Sarah's lucky seat number!). Friday it was row A, all the way far right, Saturday it was D111 (behind an Ugly Betty cast member and her boyfriend with an abnormally large head that was a serious obstruction to my view of center stage. They would also cuddle from time to time and she'd put her head on his shoulder, etc, which also obstructed my view considerably.)

I could go on & on & on about what I thought about the performance, but I won't - all I can say is that I knew I was gonna love it, and of course, I did. I will also say what I wrote as a note to myself directly following the performance - if I was stuck on a desert island with only Patti singing Gypsy for company, and those chocolate tarts from Bombon Cafe, I'd....well, I'd be gigantic, but I'd be happy, happy, happy. Patti was tremendous, as I knew she would be - funny, fierce, flirty (and words that begin with other letters, too). I also loved Boyd Gaines as Herbie. I'd been disappointed with the one we'd had at Ravinia last year. Couldn't sing to save his life, bless him. Boyd, though, CAN sing. He was Bobby on the first recording of Company I'd ever heard (tying with Raul Esparza for the Favorite Bobby crown, I think) and I was so used to hearing his voice as Bobby, it took me a little while to realize Herbie was NOT going to suddenly bust out with "Dammit, Rose, IIIIII'mmmmm Reaaaaadyyyy! I'mmmm reeaaaadyy nowwww! Marry me a little..." etc.

Oh, but the best night by far was Saturday night. I think that was the strongest night of the 3 I saw, although they were all pretty amazing. That night, we had a little Ravinia Reunion - Kari, Sarah, Bob, Gator and myself were joined by Zsally. We waited by the stage door to be graced by the Divine Presence (and we did not wait in vain!) and headed off in the direction of a lovely little establishment where our Cruise Director (Sarah) had made a post-show reservation. I think we all would have been happy with the evening if it had closed like this - great show, a little wine, some french fries and conversation....

But we got a little added bonus for our evening. We were seated and pouring over the wine list and menus, trying to decide what to have. Bob suddenly nudged Kari and said something to her, then instructed Gator to turn around. I did too, 'cuz I'm nosy, and who had come sweeping in and was now sitting merely feet away from us?

Go on, guess. Although you probably don't need to. Yup, it was Patti. A certain giddiness descended on our table - and this was before any wine had been served, mind you. We played it cool (kind of) and I think we were (mostly) successful. There was a lot of loud laughter as we drank our wine and ate our foie gras and french fries. Bob bravely snapped a quick flash-less shot on his phone camera. And then, inspiration struck (actually, I think it was Kari) - and the two of them went off and had the waiter bring Patti a drink. See? Playing it cool, expressing our love & gratitude & then leaving the diva to her martini in peace. It doesn't get any better than that, I'm tellin' ya.

Ah, so anyway. She and her friends left before we did, allowing us to sit back there and talk about her (ha!). More wine was drunk, photos freely taken (including a few of us sitting in her chair... it's a good thing they'd cleared her plate and stuff, or else we may have had a Tony Blake moment...) . They closed the little room partition on us, so we were having our very own private party back there. It was fun times. Finally, we sloshed out and spent a little more time outside. Then we all piled into a taxi and split the fare uptown (I've always wanted to say "let's split a cab uptown" like they do on Seinfeld. Don't ask me why. Easily amused, I guess.)

More to come, and pictures, too!!

My bags are packed, I've got my act...

I'll be back Sunday night with a FULL report!

* I think I rather frightened the "men in my life" at lunch today, when it came up that I was going to be seeing Gypsy three nights in a row. It seems I have recaptured my title of "Office Fruitcake" - which is staggering, considering I've only been here since April. I was kind of hoping to hold off on reclaiming the crown for a while...

(did you really think I could resist?)

So, I COULD talk about the arctic, sub-zero conditions here on 13, that require me to bring two sweaters to work, despite it being in the 80s outside. Or, I could speculate about the "creative differences" that drove Mandy Patinkin to leave Criminal Minds. Or, oooh, I could tell you about my sudden, inexplicable desire to buy tickets to a certain Chicago Fire game in October (okay, not so inexplicable - of course I want to go when they are playing the LA Galaxy, so I can goggle at David Beckham). I could also talk about how much I want to be DONE with the !@#&$*% thesis already, or contemplate the deep and mystical question: Serverus Snape - Friend or Foe surrounding the release of the next Harry Potter book.

I could do any of those things, but I'm NOT GOING TO. HA. I'm going to put up another picture of Ms. Patti and tell you all once again how excited I am about Gypsy. Did you really think I would be able to shut up about it for any length of time?

Not. A. Chance.

wild about harry....

I will shut up about Gypsy for a while (you'll be hearing plenty about it after I actually see it, and you know mere words are not enough to even begin to describe my excitement....) and talk about Harry Potter instead. I saw Order of the Phoenix on Sunday morning (showing you what a complete and total heathen I am... no church for me on Sunday mornings...). The audience was full of kids, of course, so I was a little worried, but as soon as the film started rolling, there was not a peep out of anybody.

The film is a who's who of who is great in the world of British acting: Richard Griffiths, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman, Maggie Smith, Jason Isaacs, Michael Gambon, Robbie Coltrane, and Emma Thompson were all back as recurring characters, along with our teenage trio (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint). New to the cast, in another bout of truly inspired casting (Rickman as Snape is so perfect it gives me chills every time he opens his mouth, and Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart in an earlier film... Perfect, perfect, perfect) for this film are Imelda Staunton (so, so evil as Delores Umbridge) and Helena Bonham Carter as released Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange.

Let's see.... the books are so wonderful, and have the ability to draw the reader in so vividly, creating a mental picture of all these magical places, it is hard for me to imagine how the filmmakers even got started at bringing these to life. But they do a really good job. The castle and grounds are mostly how I would imagine them to be.

Of course, there just isn't room in a 2 hour movie to cover everything in the book, but the highlights are hit and hit pretty well. There were only a few things in the movie that were changed, and they didn't bother me (too much). As part of the series, I think it was very well done. Roger Ebert reviewed the film in the Sun Times and totally missed the point, I think. He hoped the other films would not be as dark (HAHAHA. Hello??) and wondered where the joy of Harry had gone. If you've been following along at all, the boy doesn't have a whole lot to be joyful about, Roge.... But anyway.

So. As part of the series, yes, 2 thumbs up. I don't know how the movie would stand by itself - if someone was coming new to the series I don't know if they'd quite get it, without seeing the other movies or at least reading the source material. It is very clearly a transitional movie, creating more questions than it answers. But it did its job well, and was a nice way to spend a Sunday morning.

I don't think I can express to you....

How excited I am about Gypsy next week (this is NOT just the caffeine talking, kids!)
Go here and look (just LOOK!) at the pics of the opening night party and curtain calls.

How will I contain myself??

Just 9 more days... and everything will be coming up roses...

this time for me!!

j*pointe

Really nifty blog action here that goes behind the scenes at Chicago's top ballet company!

arts&crafts

I wish I was as skilled at knitting as Emily, but I am telling you now, it will be a cold day in hell before I ever do anything as nifty as her new lace project. Honestly. I can't even purl yet.

This does not prevent me from having many different projects going, all in various stages of progress:

- the blanket: it's all knit stitch and it looks really cool actually, but there's something about sitting around in no air conditioning (long story, I won't bore you) in 90 degree heat with a whole bunch of wool on your lap). I am hoping to finish it soon though.

- the ribbon yarn scarf: since I started knitting, using the ribbon yarn was my goal, since I am in love with it. I have 3 varieties of ribbon yarn. One black and white, almost done. One rainbow, started, then forgot how to cast off and it totally fell apart. One pink, started, but I don't like how it looks, and am on the fence on what to do about it.

- other: I have a pink kind of raggedy looking yarn that I've been working on since February. It fell off the needles after I took it to NYC so I had to start again, and haven't finished....

Other than that, I haven't done any crafting at all. I've moved away from the scrapbooking - although I did make a really nifty mini album for a friend of mine for her birthday. It's probably because I've been out of here for so long. I'm not spending all my money on crap, I'm spending it on her instead. Oh, and shoes. That's more fun than scrap mania any day....

the reading list...

Two new great reads I finished recently:

The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People by Susan Orlean: a bunch of short profiles of interesting people - a female bullfighter in Spain, Silly Billy the Clown (and his clowning empire in NYC), Tonya Harding's fan club (this was right after the Nancy Kerrigan thing), a show dog (boxer), the 80s singer Tiffany, designer Bill Blass ... She makes all of their stories interesting. In one case, I wanted to know what else happened to these people, and was actually googling them to see what else I could find out.

As the Romans Do: An American Family's Italian Odyssey by Allan Epstein. I found this on my shelf when I was cleaning. I'd bought it but apparently never read it (sometimes it's just like Christmas in my room, I swear). It was written right before the Jubilee in 2000, which is when I was there. The author is American, but fell in love with Rome and moved his family there. He talks about Roman culture from an outsider's insider perspective (because he's in the community, but yet outside it, if that makes sense?) I loved Rome when I was there, it was our home base since that is where Loyola's beautiful campus is. I wish I had read this before I'd gone...

Of course, all other reading has been suspended currently as I have devoted all my free moments to re-reading all of the Harry Potter books so I am entirely prepared for the release of #7. I have one pre-ordered here, of course, but I will be in New York on the actual day, so I might just have to get a copy there.... who knows? It would be great (if heavy) plane reading.

I am at the end of book 5, (Order of the Phoenix). I am kind of putting off finishing it, because I know what happens (and I won't say, in case you haven't read it) and I somehow apparently think that if I don't read it, it won't happen. Hmmm. Major avoidance issues. All of the books after Goblet of Fire have made me cry (so maybe I don't want to be in public when I read book 7?)

Wheee! Wireless!

Yes, ladeez and jellyspoons, it's finally happened! I have wireless highspeed internet! I have now officially joined the 21st century. (About damn time, I hear you all saying. I know, I know).

But let me share a few things with you that I learned today:

1. Those "Geniuses" at the Apple store aren't really Geniuses (one of them gave me really bad advice today)
2. When in doubt, call Tech Support! That is what I had to do. And there was a lovely person on the other end of the phone, who I think was in Canada and she helped me through it all. Hooray!

Just Gimme the Degree, Already!

I visited my thesis advisor yesterday (walked about 10 blocks from here to school, to the post office, then back here... at least I am getting my exercise!) and good news, kids, I'm almost done with this thing!

He made notes on my draft which he said was "very good work" and "you should be very proud of this." Soooo, I have to make the suggested edits (which really are more stylistic than content. Stuff like how to use block quotes and elipses correctly. I admit, I am free and easy with my punctuation. I like using the elipsis and dashes in a way that is not prescribed in the Turabian guide.) Then, I have to send revised copy back to him and my committee members (if I can track them down, that is) have them give their comments, and then.... I schedule an oral presentation with them. Voila! Bob is my uncle. (Well, actually, Bob is not my uncle. I know only 2 people named Bob and neither of them are related to me. I have uncles by the name of Tony, Frank, Paul, Joe, Steve, Bill and Sam. But no Roberts or Bobs. But I digress.)

Personally I think that they should just give me the degree - I have, after all, passed the biggest test there is - getting a job in my chosen field - actually doing the arts management. That has to be a better display of my talents than writing a paper, don't you think?

Cat Photo!

This is my kitty boy, Start (his sister's name is Finish. Photo of her soon to come)

morton grove daze...

For as long as I can remember I've done the same thing on the 4th of July, with two exceptions (2000, when I was in Germany with Heidi and Cara and last year, when I was in NYC with Sarah): walked to the local parade (and sat in the same spot for, oh, I don't know, like 25 years?), had family bbq (sometimes also a friend's bbq) then carnival and fireworks in Harrer Park.

The collective experience is known in our little village as "Morton Grove Days" and is fairly popular around town. The carnival lasts for 4 or 5 days, and is set up in the American Legion parking lot. When I was growing up, it was the tilt-a-whirl, ferris wheel and other rides that had my attention. Now that I am grown up, I have started to think about the safety rides that get set up in a parking lot by a bunch of long haired scraggly "carnies" who take every chance they get to leer at you - thus the main attraction has become the Beer Garden (and I don't even drink beer).

The fireworks display is fun, but is definitely that of a small town - they shoot the things off one by one and have a really big finish, so that it goes something like this:

Poof.
Crowd: Ooooh
Poof.
Crowd: Ahhhh.
POP!
Crowd: EEK!
Poof!
Crowd: oooh
PoofSizzle!POP!POP!POP!Poof!
Crowd: Ahhh... (etc)

We used to drive to the park for the fireworks, and set up blankets and chairs in the back of the El Camino. Then they closed the parking lot so no one could park there (Morton Grove crowd control) and so we started walking instead.

I didn't go last night to see the fireworks - instead, I stayed at home, stretched out on the floor and watched the Macy's show from NYC, did all the ooohing and ahhing etc. It was almost like being there.

New York State of Mind

In 18 more days, I'll be going to New York to see her do this and I am very much looking forward to it.

Here's the plan:

July 19 Gypsy!
July 20 Gypsy (I KNOW. But I couldn't help myself!)
July 21 Possibly Grey Gardens
AND THEN Gypsy!
July 22 home
July 23 work
July 24 misery
July 25 DTs

Don't have anything else planned until August whenever - then will see Patti & Audra together at Ravinia. Then I will be in a severe state of continued diva withdrawal for a prolonged amount of time (unless you count Angela G in La Boheme at Lyric in October, and I really wasn't). Will see Renee in Traviata in Chicago in January, but other than that...

Did someone say 'Pizza Fest'?

Yes, that's right - I went to 2 street food festivals in one weekend. Although personally, I think calling this thing a 'Fest' was a big of an overstatement. It was a parking lot and half a closed off street in Lincoln Park (at Fullerton and Racine). I went with my friends, not because we had an overwhelming desire to eat a lot of pizza (in fact, one of my friends doesn't even LIKE pizza) but to see Will Hoge's band perform. I first saw Will a few years back when he opened for Edwin McCain (this is when I was still spendnig all my money on SRO shows at the House of Blues, etc) and again on The Rock Boat. He does rock music, mainly, and he endeared himself to me with his song "Hey Mr. President (Anyone But You)" released during the last election. (A catchy little ditty with the refrain of: "Anyone but you would be just fine, anyone but you can have this vote of mine... I don't believe what you say is true, so I'm gonna vote for anyone but you...").

I used to go to concerts all the time and see similar singer songwriters, but as Ive found other
people to spend all my money on, I haven't been to a rock show for a while.

You know how, a few posts ago when I said I wished I was the sort of person who listened to jazz, played Scrabble, read the Wall Street Journal, watched CNN, etc? It occurred to me that I am closer to the 'sitting-at-Ravinia-listening-to-jazz' person than I am the 'standing-in-front-of-the-speaker-at-a-street-festival-concert' person. Watching everyone sloshing beer all over the place, inhaling smoke fumes, standing around, as I say, in front of the speaker, just isn't my idea of a good time any more. (Oh, no. Surely the Wall Street Journal can't be far behind?)

It's too bad, too, because I LOVED listening to the band play. That and catching up with my friends was the best part of the evening (and watching Will walk off into the sunset with a gaggle of giggling groupies was also pretty entertaining. Ah, the rock 'n roll lifestyle)

And maybe it's because we went on the last day of the 'fest' and were near closing time, but the pizza pickings were also pretty slim. I counted only a few food booths (and for a city known for its pizza, to have 2 offerings at this so-called 'pizza fest'?? How pathetic is that??)I had a limp slice of pepperoni pizza and some fried macaroni and cheese (!!) We ended up going back to the burbs for a late dinner that did not involve pizza or fried food of any kind....

I think this also fills my street festival quota for a few years. If anybody needs me, I'll be at Ravinia...

Street Closures, Crowds & Lots of Food....

So, I decided since I am half a block's walk away from Boul Mich (GRR. I hate when people call it that. Forget I called it that, okay? Strike it from the record.)
Right, so I'm really close to Michigan Avenue, and thought it might be fun to check out the Taste of Chicago at lunch Friday afternoon, since we get out early in the summer. Honestly. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But the second I got there, I almost turned around and went to McDonald's. Because, here's the thing, I really really hate people. Like, a lot. I don't know where it came from, but just suddenly, I have a very low tolerance for people doing stupid things. And the Taste of Chicago is Ground Zero for crazy shit and crowds.

For those of you not familiar with the Taste, it's a big festival held in and around Grant Park (closing off all kinds of streets for about 2 weeks - thank GOD I am not driving to 13!) and many area restaurants set up booths and people come and stuff their faces with all kinds of great food. Also, the 4th of July fireworks (which we have on the 3rd - wacky Chicagoans!) happen down there, so it's loads of fun times. I used to go with my parents every year, and I just remember it being a fun summertime tradition. I didn't remember it being so crowded, or my being annoyed by people or anything, so I don't know if it got more crowded or if I just notice it more now.

At any rate, I didn't turn back and go to McDonald's, but I did stuff my face with an enormous amount of junk in a very short period of time. Here's the breakdown:

Arrival 1:30
Walk around. See nothing very exciting, other than a giant inflatable piece of cheese for kids to jump around on (part of a promotion for the movie Ratatoille - or however the hell you spell it). Obtain tickets.

Decide to just eat whatever looks good, so get a taste portion (half slice) of Eli's cheesecake topped with chocolate (mmmmm.)

Wander around. Lots of food - typical stuff: corn on the cob, pizza, hot dogs, ice creams, italian ices, etc. Lots of things on sticks - pickle on a stick, ice cream on a stick (seriously). Things like hot wings, turkey legs, turtle soup. Eventually, I got a piece of tilapia with a dill rum sauce. Also delish.

Walk some more. Dodge foolish people walking too slow, or stopping randomly in the middle of the already crowded street. I need more patience, I guess. Stopped at Connie's pizza for a taste portion of a meatball sandwich (2 meatballs - 3 tickets). I walk some more, and am just not in the mood for any of the stuff I see.

Move onto a side to avoid the crowd and come upon the Chicago Chocolate Factory. This is a no-brainer, I get some gigantic chocolate covered strawberries - real melty milk chocolate on top. Messy, but good. Have to go and wash my hands at a little portable sink outside the Oui Oui (ha!) porta potties.

Want a soda, but don't have enough tickets. Stop for more. Get a soda, but now have to use up the rest of the tickets. Stop at Tuscany for some fried ravioli. Walk. Eat. Drink Diet Pepsi. Have about 7 tickets left. Don't want to stay much longer, as have had enough - food, folks and fun. Wanted to get the Original Rainbow Cone (TM) but the !@#*$& thing was 8 tickets. Walk around some more, looking for some other food stuff to catch my eye. See it: real Italian gelato!!! And it used up all my tickets! So I got some, and headed off to Columbia. It was, oh about 2:15.

So yeah. Lots of food and walking. I have to work on Tuesday, and I am not looking forward to the fireworks crowd down there. I am not planning to hang around. I'll have a better spot watching them from home on tv. Our fireworks display in town is on the actual fourth.

by the way...

For any potential power couple type applicants, even though The Oracle of Starbucks (found at http://www.buttafly.com/starbucks/index.php - for some reason my linky thing isn't working right and I can't really be bothered to figure out why.)

Personality type: High Maintenance
You pride yourself on being assertive and direct; everyone else thinks you're bossy and arrogant. You're constantly running your mouth about topics that only you would find interesting. Your capacity for wasting other people's time is limitless. Your friends find you intolerable, that's why they're plotting to kill you. Also drinks: Water. Bottled, chilled, with four ice cubes, a twist of lemon, in a crystal glass. Can also be found at: Trendy martini bars

I swear, I've never been to a martini bar in my life.....

(thanks, by the way to litwit - just follow the link over there, okay? for pointing me in the direction of the great, caffeinated oracle...)

Right, okay....

Here I am - in the city. Anyone wanna be the other half of a 'power couple'??



'Power Couples' Meet in Cities, Study Finds
LiveScience Staff
LiveScience.com
More than half of all "power couples," in which both spouses are college graduates, live in large metropolitan areas. Researchers have long assumed the couples migrate to the cities.
Instead, single college graduates tend to move to cities, where they meet and marry.
That's the conclusion of a study released today by the Journal of Labor Economics.
In 1970, 39 percent of power couples lived in metropolitan areas with at least two million residents. By 1990 the figure grew to 50 percent.
“We find that power couples are not more likely to migrate to the largest metropolitan areas and are no less likely than other couples to migrate from such areas once they are there,” write the researchers.
The study, based on 4,800 families, was done by Janice Compton at the University of Manitoba and Robert A. Pollak of Washington University and National Bureau of Economic Research.
The researches also found that couples in which only the man has a college degree are far more likely to move to a metropolitan area than couples in which only the woman has a college degree.

Wheeee!

I had fully intended yesterday to be a lazy Sunday, doing nothing much in particular. A little blogging, reading, talking to the cats, etc. I thought it would be a good idea to go over to the Apple Store and talk to a genius about their products (I have been dithering over the decision to buy a new computer for several months now - I had pretty much decided it was going to be a Mac, but was not able to commit. There's gotta be a message there somewhere, I think... but I am not sure what it is...).

Well, I am sure you know where this is heading. I am very suggestable. The helpful Apple type person showed me the Mac Book and all its features and I decided to just go for it. I also got all sorts of other stuff - a student discount (woohoo! I am still technically a Columbia student. Have to finish that damn thesis...), a free printer AND a new iPod.... woohoo!

All I need now is my high speed. It's coming.....

Serenity Now!

Yoga in the middle of Times Square - gotta love it.
(from www.nytimes.com)

It's a good thing I'm not in East Hampton...

I'm wearing these today and you know they can get you for wearing red shoes on a Thursday... and all that sort of thing...

I don't know whether you know that. I mean, do you know that?

(I've been listening to Grey Gardens, can you tell?)

One more thing...

I got the cutest necklace at the art fair over the weekend. Go and check out the stuff at Pretty Theory

They had the cutest purses made from old books (it took us the longest time to realize that they were not just books sitting there!) and jewelry made from "vintage, retro and modern" materials (the piece i have is mainly metal, but I also really loved a necklace that had old buttons on it).

Anyway, the girls there were SO nice and didn't mind the dither twins trying on their stuff and basically being indecisive. (Indecisive? Moi?)

Metablogification

That is: Blogging about Blogging.
It is the one year Blogiversary for Life on 13 nee The World Inside My Head.

You are all free to have a cold one on me!

Ahhh, the weekend!

Pretty much the perfect weekend (except for the heat and humidity... 90 degrees in the shade. Chicago in the summertime. Oye).

Saturday:
Breakfast at Dixie Kitchen (eggs, bacon, cheesy grits AND the best beignets on earth)
A train ride to Custer's Last Stand (a street fair in Evanston that happens to be on Custer Street - not some weirdo re-enactment of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.) I went a little nutso with the buying - jewelry of course. Some really pretty pieces that I am so very happy with.

Lunch in the air conditioning and long talks with a good friend. Back home for a few hours. BBQ dinner and then dragged mom to the CSO for Verdi's Requiem. (more on this later).

Sunday:
Sleep in!
Washed the car for Dad for Father's Day (and washed mine too)
Did some shopping
Sat down for some crafting while watching Renee Fleming in Eugene Onegin (about time, channel 11!)
Dinner at home with the family.

This week is going to be a busy one - so if you don't hear from me for a while, send a posse to see if I've made it through, ok?

i love my iPod

Really, it's my best friend as a commuter. Sometimes, when I don't feel like making any decisions, I let the iPod choose the music that I listen to on my train ride.

This is what it chose for me on my ride home this afternoon:

Kids (Kylie Minogue/Robbie Williams)
The Sweetest Thing (U2)
An Innocent Man (Billy Joel)
Clocks (Coldplay)
I Will (The Beatles)
Rhythm of Life (Edwin McCain)
A Man and A Woman (U2)
Dreamers (Sister Hazel)
Somewhere (Renee Fleming)
Just a Girl (No Doubt)

It seems like it was on a rock n' roll kick this afternoon, maybe knowing I was feeling happy, relaxed and groovy on my early release Friday! It seemed to be having a thing for U2, since it kicked out 2 selections from my U2 catalogue today. The other day, it really wanted me to listen to "South Side" (Moby and Gwen Stefani). It shuffled that into the playlist twice!

Anybody going to this?

and does anybody want to take me?? I can't afford tickets to this extravaganza starring the Tony-award winning (and New Trier HS Alumna) Christine Ebersole

I Wanna Move to New York!!

What a panel of hotness. Drool.....

Drama Desk Honors Cerveris, Esparza, Lennix and Schreiber at June 15 Luncheon
By Andrew Gans
15 Jun 2007


Men for all Seasons — The Art of Acting in a Show is the title of the Drama Desk's June 15 Special Summer Luncheon Panel, which pays tribute to the leading men of the New York stage.

The event, which begins at 11:45 AM and ends at 2:30 PM, is being held at Sardi's and includes the participation of panel members Michael Cerveris, Raul Esparza, Harry Lennix and Liev Schreiber. USA Today theatre critic Elysa Gardner moderates.

Michael Cerveris is currently on Broadway in Love/Musik; Raul Esparza can be seen in the revival of Company; Harry Lennix heads the cast of the final August Wilson play, Radio Golf; and Liev Schreiber stars in the Broadway bow of Talk Radio.

Reservations for Drama Desk members are $35; a limited number of reservations, priced at $45, are available for non-members. For reservations call (212) 787-7020 or e-mail wolf@wolfentertainmentguide.com (specify preference for salmon, chicken or pasta).

Sardi's is located in Manhattan at 234 West 44th Street

Mmm, bacon

I would not have thought it was possible to combine chocolate and bacon, but those crazy kids at Vosges found a way!



Honestly? It's not too bad. Kind of... crunchy. You can hardly even taste the bacon.

i'm alive!

My former boss used to leave me messages when he was traveling "Just wanted to call and let you know I'm alive!" which always amused me no end. Fiscal year ends on June 30, and we've been hectic up here trying to tie up loose ends and having a number of year end meetings. Really really close together. And I have coordinated, prepared materials, attended and taken notes at almost all of them. But I'm here. I'm alive and blogging.

Have a SUPER early meeting tomorrow (for which I will have to take the 6:14 train. 6:14!) and then have to figure out how to make it thru the rest of the day without falling asleep. I have my first trip to Ravinia for the season to look forward to tomorrow (yay!) which marks the start of "Pattipalooza 2007" I am not going out there tonight because it was too complicated to figure out how to get there and back from here, no one else wanted to go with me, and I have that !@#$&%* early meeting tomorrow. So, anyway.

Not much more to say than that, so I will share my current reading list. I have a nice loooong train ride twice a day and have been doing more reading.

Here's what I've read lately:
1. Knitting Under the Influence (Claire LaZebnik). Fiction. Was one of those annoying books where the plot was so obvious and not terribly well-written, and yet I couldn't put it down.

2. Rococo (Adriana Trigiani) I have a thing for books with unusual names. Past ones I've picked up just because I like the title have included: Rock 'n Roll Babes from Outer Space, Voodoo River, Watermelon, and (my favorite) The Unexpected Salami. Anyway. I picked this one up because I 'Rococo' is one of my favorite art terms (along with chiaroscuro) and I also like the author's name. This one is a great read - about an Italian-American family in Jersey. I don't think you need to be an Italian American to read it, but it helps.... I didn't want the book to end, I just wanted to know everything about these characters. If it was a movie, I know a great, talented Italian-American actress who can play the main character's sister (it's so perfect, it's spooky).

3. Anybody Out There? (Marian Keyes) I.Love.Marian.Keyes. This is one of her best ones ever.

4. Johnny and the Bomb (Terry Pratchett) I love Terry too. He can be enjoyed on many levels. This one is not a Discworld book, but part of the Johnny Maxwell trilogy. I've only just started this one.

5. If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things (Jon McGregor). Just started this one, too. Am fascinated by the style.

6. The Watchman (Robert Crais). I am in love with Joe Pike. Too bad he is a fictional character.
I've been telling my mom for years how great Robert Crais is, and she hasn't believed me. She picked this one up and is convinced. Ha!