Observations at a Car Wash
Today was a semi-productive day. I taught 2 lessons and then on the way home, I put gas in the car and redeemed my free car wash. (Okay. It was more like a $250 car wash, since I got it when I picked up the car from service yesterday, but it makes me feel better to think of it as free.) And at the car wash, I was amused I guess by the signage I saw. Crudely made declarations of religion. Not really the placards you'd imagine you'd see at the car wash. I had to take pictures of them.

Confess Christ before man. He also I will confess to my father who is in heaven. Mat - 10:32

Judge not. That you be not judged. With what judgement you judge

you will be judged. Mat - 7:2

Jesus is the only way to heaven.

And just for randomness, this one was amongst the "paid ads" the signs you're forced to read as you crawl along the car wash line:

The Classical Station of the NY Times

I love WQXR. I love how classy they are. I love the little review snippets. And I love how their marketing people assume that their main demographic is wealthy people. Apparently because I listen to the classical station, it's assumed that I can afford a Lexxus/BMW/Mercedes, can travel internationally and would only have Bose audio equipment. I'm amused by that. And I love how their djs make little quips. Jeff Spurgeon was talking about Gershwin and how sad it was that he passed away really at the height of his creativity. And then he says "Well, I've certainly put a damper on that perky little piece." He cracks me up sometimes. I do miss Lloyd Moss though. He had this wonderfully soothing voice. He was the perfect drive-home dj. He'd make little informational comments on the pieces and inject his banter with things like "Now, doesn't that make this afternoon a little better?" I could feel the day's woes slip away listening to him.

Liberry
So I was having an off day yesterday. Bummed about not getting the car in the shop, just running around all crazy-like. And then after work, I decided to go to the library to get some books and movies for my automobile-imposed exile tomorrow. And as soon as I stepped into the library, this calm settled over me. It's as if I entered a little haven amongst the chaos in my life. I guess I've always liked libraries. I like how organized they are, how clean and neat they are. And how they're sort of predictible. They're always there, ready for you, available. If I need some time to just decompress, I go to the magazine section and settle into one of those vinyl chairs and read "Gourmet" for a while, or whatever magazine catches my eye. When I was little, Mom would take us practically daily to the library. We always joined the 'summer reading club'; entered all their contests, building haunted houses, making dioramas; gathered our treasures to display in the library's showcases; took workshops in the community room and read the "Librifax" religiously to find out what was going on. And as soon as I moved, I searched out our library. I originally thought it was this modern, fancy thing, but discovered we were in the district the next town over. So I dejectedly went to the older library, but found I love those more. All the new ones have such odd categorizations for the books. I like the upstairs/downstairs separation. I like the vinyl chairs. I like the pea-green carpets. I like how I feel safe at the library. How there's all these books and cds and movies I've never seen just waiting for me.

Chaos
Car still isn't quite fixed. We replaced the battery. We replaced the starter. And it was working beautifully until last night. So Dad thinks it might be the ignition switch. And I'd be handling all of this much better if I didn't have to bring it to the dealership. I hate that. I hate having to go there. I always feel like I'm a new fresh faced starlet on the corner of Hollywood and Vine and all these wolves are leering at me. It's like I have sucker on my forehead and on Hank's windshield. I mean, aren't cars just supposed to work?

Good Taste
I discovered Jason Robert Brown's (writer of Last 5 Years) list of cds to go purchase on Amazon. And it's the coolest thing - I now have to get some of them because they sound interesting, and not only that, but we share a similarity in cds! I must have incredibly good taste!

Jamie is Over and Jamie is Done
I seriously, seriously, seriously could play "The Last 5 Years" forever. I mean, it's just so......exquisite. I mean, it's got this amazing story, which on the surface doesn't seem so amazing, I mean, it's just a boy-meets-girl, etc. story. But it's all in the way it's told, through the songs and the language. Plus, the songs are just so brilliantly written. You've got a latin-flavored song, the show opens with this sad, Baroque inspired piece, there's some country twang in there, it's just so incredible. And plus, everyone just loves to play it so when we finally get all the bits and pieces together, it just cooks.

I still get butterflies in my stomach when I hear that opening piano part. And I feel it all through me. I get angry with Cathy when her tone changes in "See, I'm Smiling" and feel so pained when Jamie's agonizing over what's going on in "Nobody Needs to Know." It's one of those shows that just goes right through me. The only other shows that come close to that are "Ragtime" and "West Side Story."

If you want to come see this brilliant, inspiring, amazing show, visit the theatre website for more info.

Red Meat, White Wine, Blue Movie
Last night we had fun doing our taxes, having a nice dinner and just hanging out with friends. Steak is just too tasty. I think my renewed taste for it comes from the fact that after my first chemo treatment, I was finally able to eat and the first thing we had was an early bird prime rib dinner at the steakhouse down the road from the oncologist's office. So steak is something of a comfort food for me, since it was the first real meal I was able to actually enjoy after being sick for so long.

And as entertainment we watched the beginning of Pirates. Last time Diane and I were in Blockbuster looking for a movie, we saw this soft porn looking version of Pirates of the Caribbean. Little did we know this was actually a reduction of an award-winning porn! So we were quite curious as to how they'd cut it down to be suitable for renting from Blockbuster. Too funny.

With dinner we had the above white wine. I'm so not a wine person, but this was delicious. Two large glasses later...Diane and I were having a grand ole time. We beat the guys at Trivial Pursuit and pigged out on oatmeal chip cookies. Not a bad time was had by all.

Curiously enough though, I discovered this morning that wine gives me a worse hangover than Jack Daniel's. Whodathunkit?

Just Call Me Misha Manhattan**
Went to a "lap dancing" class at the gym. What fun. Everyone was just having fun and not taking themselves too seriously. Of course I haven't used my new skills yet, but it's good to know I have them just in case I ever need them.

**Stripper name taken from my first pet's name and my first street name.

As Far Back as I Can Remember
I Always Wanted To Be a Gangster
I had the craziest time just now. It was incredibly reminiscent of that scene in Goodfellas where Henry's trying to prepare drugs for smuggling, make a huge Italian dinner and run family errands. It's probably my favorite scene in the movie and it's just so tangible because we all feel like that at some time.

But there I was, running from picking out wine for tonight's dinner, to grabbing a wad of cash to pay for an auto part so I can get my car later after having had an eyebrow wax. (What a difference groomed brows makes. I can never get over that.)Crazy.

It's interesting though. I realized I can really handle myself in almost any environment. I feel just as comfortable at Lincoln Center as I do at an auto parts store. Now, of course I'd rather be at Lincoln Center, but I can do both. And that's empowering in a way.

On another note, I have recently fallen in love with a new hair product. It's cheap, easy and gives good curl. L'Oreal markets this stuff for texturizing shorter hair, but it works wonders on curls and my fellow naturallycurly.com girls agree. I've got good clumping and smooth, shiny curls. I can't believe it. And it's under $5 and I can buy it in the drugstore. Too good to be true almost.

Ode to a #2
I have recovered my love for number 2 pencils. I used to never use them, (save for marking music) just pens, even when doing crossword puzzles. But for some reason I started doing my sketches for involved queries and exports it makes sense since I'm constantly writing and re-writing. And I like it. I like how pencils write so smoothly. So I've been using them more and more. And hence why the little photoshop hommage to my number 2 pencil.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat, Ahhhh.....

This morning started out a little...bumpy. Car wouldn't start again. I guess Hank just doesn't care for below-freezing temperatures. So, in trying to re-adjust my morning, I took Tommy's car and was on my merry way. Just about made it to the gym, where I had to snag a less-than-optimal spot, but I was there. And then the gym manager went on a rampage, about purses and coats being on the floor, a fire hazard, blahdy-blah-blah. So she just glowered at me the whole time. The class was good though - not boring, a good instructor who toes the line of being supportive and perky but not annoying. So I left the class and ran some errands while I had vehicular movement.

First to CVS where I stocked up on sale stuff. Toothbrushes, body wash, stockings. But they didn't have my Suave Aloe Vera Gel. I can't find that stuff anywhere. So then off to Ulta to stock up on my holy grail of conditioners, Back to Basics Pommegranate Peach Conditioner. I love it. And a whole liter of the glorious stuff for ten bucks. Also picked up some gifts for Annie and some Oil of Olay face cleanser that I had run out of.

Then home again, home again to see if the car would start. And it did. So then off again, off again to Jiffy Lube to get the oil changed and see if I need antifreeze. But alas. So hopefully, the addition of new and more oil will make Hank happier. Then, finally, finally home.

So I decided to scrub the tub and acquire some order in my life. Then a nice, long, hot shower. Used some delicious Booth's Walnut Scrub which has a fine balance between exfoliating and scrubbing with a fine aroma of choclate and nuts. Then milk and honey body wash and before finishing, slathering a ton of Jessicurl's Weekly Deeping Treatment in my hair to soak in all day. Topped off with a dusting of Urban Decay's Sparkly Marshmallow Powder which I can then sniff all day on me. Wrapped up in spa clothes that are comfy yet I can be seen in public in should I need to dash out, I'm all set to just relax, read and drink coffee all day.