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Entry the Two Hundred and Ninety Sixth02 May 2001 Outta town Could someone please tell me why cold medications to help you breathe need to be based on stimulants? (said the man who's up at 4:30 a.m. writing this) That's a rhetorical question, I understand why they're stimulant based, but it's still annoying when you want to sleep a tad more than you have. I'm headed out of town later this afternoon, down to my parents' home to take an all-day ethics course that's required by the state bar to which I belong. I'm looking forward to the mini-vacation after the course on Thursday. Should be nice to see the 'rents and spend some time out of town. I rarely take vacation time, so a long weekend will be a pleasant treat. Gotten all my immediate projects done for work so they'll not be saying nasty things about my lineage while I'm gone. ;-) At least they won't be saying it because I didn't meet my deadlines. Enjoyed chatting with Chay online last night. I look forward to meeting this man in person. I also spoke with Doug both online and on the phone. I'm going to miss him this weekend. :-( That's the one big problem with heading home for the weekend - no Doug time. :-/ We speak daily and usually email several times a day, so is always tough when one of us goes out of town. Thankfully I do have internet access while at home, so I can still email and chat. Can't update this journal, but I can update my LiveJournal while home - that's all web based, so it's easy to post from wherever. So if you've got to have your daily dose of Moose, head over to LiveJournal. If it's up and running and not experiencing database problems (*grin*), I'll be posting some there. ArchivesNo Gym, No Run |
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Entry the Two Hundred and Ninety Seventh06 May 2001 Queer Thoughts/Home 01/5/2 2:04 p.m. Good thing I like to get to the station early. While my memory said "2:45" in actuality the train leaves at 2:25. Slight difference, but I'd really rather not miss the train, ya know? Tired today from the weird cold-medicined sleep last night. The station is extremely loud, which isn't helped by the Ben & Jerry's folks screaming about their free ice cream. I miss the silence of my room at home. The train should be quieter, and I can always haul out the earphones if not. The train travel crowd seems a tad older and less formal than the folks on the plane. You do get your business travelers all suited up, but the rest are comfortably casual. ... 01/5/2 2:58 p.m. The train is quieter, but by no means silent. It's bumpier than I remember, too, which makes the already awkward palm graffiti writing that much more difficult. Imprecision of language is so annoying. "All doors will not open" is not the same as "Not all doors will open" nor is it the same as "No doors will open." The modifiers ("not" and "all") need to be more carefully used in order to express the conductor's meaning. I realize most English speakers will comprehend the intent of the conductor when he announces the first of the three phrases, but the second is what he is trying to convey. ... I can't tell if it's overly warm in here or if I'm running a fever. Blech. The AC isn't terribly strong so who knows. We're stopped at the moment because of some braking incident further down the track. (3:37 p.m.) Where are all the hot men that are supposed to be prowling the train in search of sex? ;-) Are we saying all those porn stories off the net weren't true? *wide eyed look* LOL!! Okay, so I'm bored. Whatever. ... 01/5/2 5:20 p.m. The delay was about an hour or so. The more I read the arguments for and against gay marriage the more I come to the conclusion that our inclusion in the institution as it currently exists would be a mistake. It would certainly be poisonous to an ideal of queer life because of the institution's enforcement of an ethic of shame ("Forty years old and not married yet? Why, there must be something wrong with him/her."). More importantly to me, the more I read the more I want to be involved in the debate over where we queers are going. And I want to sharpen my own skills at debate, criticism and writing. Ideally I would love to study rhetoric. I have ever been fascinated with the way in which people form arguments and work to persuade others. To study and work those things would be, I imagine, a wonderful thing. Long-term goal, perhaps. In the meantime I want to make mine a voice in support of a queer view of the world. ... 01/5/2 6:28 p.m. It is remarkable to me that I seem safe enough that older women feel comfortable singling me out of the passengers to sit beside. I suppose it shouldn't be, I mean I very much look the part of the young gentleman I aspire to be. But I can't wonder at the reaction of these women if they were to discover the young man making occasional banal small talk with them has a piece of metal in his dick. How much would it screw with their world view to know that this very clean-cut man absolutely loves to run his tongue around another man's asshole? Things to ponder. 01/5/6 8:38 a.m. Headed home again. The concept of "home" has been a difficult one with which to grapple in my adult life. Where do I consider home to be? By what criteria is this to be judged? Is it where I grew up? Where I currently live? Where I went to school? Where I long to be? Where is it? For now I think it's Washington. I have tried to get to know this city, learning the neighborhoods and vibrancy of this place. In this I have the intersection of where I am and where I long to be. It doesn't have the best weather (honestly, either the constant temps of, say, San Francisco or San Diego, or something much warmer like Taiwan would be more to my tastes). It isn't a perfect place to live (constantly being the scapegoat of Congress), but it's where I belong at the moment. Where my parents live, on the other hand, while it is where I grew up, is not home. It's their home, to be sure, but I have nothing invested in the place past the fact that my parents live there. Were I never to return to Tidewater it would be no big loss to me. Taiwan is a home of sorts for me as well. I finalized a lot of the internal process of coming out while there, and honestly loved the place, pollution, fucked up politics and all. Were I offered a job there I would be hard pressed to turn it down. For that matter the camp where I lived in '91 in Maine is a home, too. I could never go back there again, it's changed too much, but I have incredible memories of the place. It was, I think, the first place I felt like I belonged outside of my parents' house. So I suppose DC is home for now (despite my repeated references here and elsewhere to Tidewater as "home"). It doesn't mean I'd never live elsewhere, but it's the right place for me at the moment. ... Home again, home again (7:35 p.m.). Doug picked me up, we had a nice lunch, then back here to nap and then make some dinner. He's got my cold (lucky man), so we're equally snotty today. ;-) Though I seem to be further along and hopefully almost out of the woods. So I'll straighten stuff up tonight, unpack things, and get ready for another day at the office tomorrow. Whee. :-) ArchivesNo Gym, No Run |
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Entry the Two Hundred and Ninety Eighth07 May 2001 Aggravated/Banner Ever have one of those days at work when it just seemed like you spent the whole day trying to anticipate from what direction the blows were going to rain down on you next? That was today. Of late I cannot seem to do anything right at work, no matter how I try. And I have to say it's more than a tad disheartening to realize that you're quickly on your way to becoming, in your own mind, a "problem employee." I'm unmotivated, I'm not up to the work (it seems), and I don't want to be there. At all. Of course, if they'd give me legal/policy stuff like I was hired to do instead of this bullshit accounting work they keep sticking me with, perhaps I'd not screw so much of it up. "Damn it, Jim, I'm a lawyer, not a number cruncher!" But whatever. So the Parachute book is out once more, and I'm bugging people about informational interviews. I want out of here in the worse way, but I've got to get off my ass and do it already. Whining alone will not get me out, as I well know. In better news, I got up and got on the exercise bike for 30 minutes (didn't go to the gym as I had massive amounts of dry cleaning to pick up this morning and they're not open yet when I go to the gym). Bit by bit. Also managed not to stuff myself silly, which is a big plus. Eating at my parents' house was not exactly healthy city, so it's time to turn back into the food fascist I know I'm capable of being. I'll get back down, really I will. ... Oh, and before I forget, massive hugs go out to Chay for my new banner. :-) He's such a sweetheart, I look forward to an eventual visit from him. So here's the banner: Archives30 Min on the Recumbent Bike |
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Entry the Two Hundred and Ninety Ninth07 May 2001 When Work Sucks 01/5/8 8:24 a.m. I've had days when I would get up and not want to go to work, but never a situation where I actually dreaded doing so. As in stomach gets all nervous, slight sweat, etc. That's me this morning. How the hell did it get to this point? I used to like this job. It was interesting, I was exploring an area of law that few knew in depth. I felt like I was doing something. So what changed? Gradually my office asked me to do more numbers work and less law work. Not because they were unhappy with the quality of my legal work but because of staffing vacancies and more immediate numbers needs. Which was fine except now I find that these tasks, for which I have been minimally trained, have taken over my job. Add to that a change in office leadership and suddenly you have me, adrift in an office where I do not belong. Which sucks gorilla butt because, as I said, I used to enjoy being in my office. So I'm on my way to work, trying to quiet the butterflies in my stomach, and determined to find some way out of this office and into something better. The last bits of this head cold aren't helping any either. Geez I hate writing whiny entries. It's my discomfort talking, which is of course part of my life so it's necessary to reflect on it, but I don't have to like it. They serve only to remind me of my imperfections and flaws, something few people are entirely comfortable facing. Insert stupid assertion that I should join a monastery here. ... 01/5/8 5:25 p.m. Today didn't end up being too bad at work, but still feeling lost there. Anyway, I have to get myself home, get packed and get out to Doug's place for the evening. Hopefully he's feeling better, though I'm not counting on it. ;-) He took today off from work, so maybe he got enough rest to finally get rid of the the head cold from heck. Archives30 Min on the Recumbent Bike |
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Entry the Three Hundredth11 May 2001 Relaxed I wrote this earlier, but it's still timely... 01/5/10 8:13 a.m. I wish I could stick the memory of how I feel this morning more firmly in my brain. Perhaps then I could more easily motivate myself to take care of my body. After about a week of being more mindful of my caloric intake and my activity levels I'm feeling better than I have in a while. As I mentioned this morning in my LiveJournal I am always amazed at how much better I feel when I get regular exercise. I deal with stress better, I sleep better, my mood is generally better, I'm more able to motivate myself. Life just seems so much better in this state. Don't know if it's endorphins or what, but why in heaven's name do I ever allow myself to stop exercising, even temporarily? My weight is getting back down to where it should be as well, which is additional cause for celebration. The scale is reflecting the efforts I'm making and for that I am much relieved. The excess I managed to pile on last summer during bar prep, and the bit from early winter when I gave up caffeine, and the bit from this spring's ankle injury all seem to be getting gone finally. Thank heavens. Speaking of caffeine, that's another possible culprit in the better mood. I had been sneaking the occasional decaf at work in the morning, fooling myself into thinking they wouldn't affect me. Mistake! So I've been off the stuff entirely for a week now (once again) and I think it's helping. I see the podiatrist next week to have him look at the ankle. Hopefully at that point I'll be cleared for running again. I'll keep my fingers crossed. In the meanwhile I'm considering getting a bicycle. ... And now back to today. Happy hour on Thursday was fun, and I made sure to limit my alcohol intake this time. No headache the next day, no sick feeling in the stomach. Did have the post-drinking craving for fatty, greasy foods, but hey. ;-) Also didn't take anyone home, either. I guess I was still feeling gun-shy at that point, given my recent celibacy. I've since broken that trend (with the primary boyfriend, of course), but I hadn't yet at that point. It felt strange to be there and be flirting, but not be ready to take anyone home. I think I could do it now, but I couldn't that night. Met Doug after work yesterday at Barnes and Noble downtown. Picked up a book on going vegan (for once I found a title that wasn't reactionary and alarmist in its tone - "Becoming Vegan" by Davis and Melina, ISBN 1-57067-103-6), had some Italian Soda (Watermelon!), and then off to a light dinner up in Adams Morgan. There's this great little restaurant, Pasta Inn, that Lawrence had introduced me to. I've been back a couple of times, and each time the owners remember me, they give great service, the food has been really good, but they're never crowded. I suspect they're too far down Columbia Road from 18th St. to get a lot of walk-by traffic, but anyway. Means I get a lot of attention when I'm there. ;-) A most pleasant evening. It's nice to see milestones like the three hundredth entry coinciding with a calm moment in my life. They seem to be so few and far between these days that they're a welcome breath of fresh air. ArchivesNo Run, No Gym |
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Entry the Three Hundred and First13 May 2001 I Ran The day started out so dull... but in the end I ran. I know I've not gotten clearance from my podiatrist, and I've walked now for two weeks with no pain. It doesn't hurt to stretch the ankle any more. It doesn't hurt to walk at my normal fast pace. I've not felt pain at all. So I ran. And it was wonderful. It was not, of course, one of my better runs. It's been three months since I ran, after all! But I made it out to the Zoo entrance and back, about 1/2 an hour at a semi-slow pace. Wore the heart rate monitor (and it got annoyingly high at the end), so I was pacing myself pretty good for my ability level at this point. Nice sunny late day, good breeze, not too hot. Most delightful day to go running, despite feeling like I looked like a cow trying to run (and before anyone fusses at me, yes, I know I'm still thin. but that doesn't mean I don't feel fat at times). ;-) So I got off my tukas and ran again. Thank heavens I can once more. I'll have to watch it tomorrow and see if I get any pain from this, but if not then I'm moving back to a normal running schedule once more. I've needed this for too long not to do it. ArchivesRan 30 min in RCP |
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Entry the Three Hundred and Second15 May 2001 Back to Normal? Just back from another run this morning. Skipped it yesterday, did some light weights at home instead. I want back to a normal running schedule, which hopefully will mean TuThSaSu running. My ankle still feels fine (my thighs are another matter - it has been three months since I ran, after all!). Taking it easy, doing shorter runs, building back into it. But heavens it feels good. Back to normal on the sex front, too. Woo-hoo! *grin* Had a play date with a new playmate last night. We'll call him JJ, and gosh was that fun. :-) I had been somewhat gun-shy last week about getting back to a semi-normal sex life, so last night was a needed boost to ye olde ego. Was good to see someone else reacting well to this body, and was such fun to explore his reactions to my ministrations. Once again, it's good to be back to normal. :-) Get to see Doug this evening after work, gonna make some tofu curry, relax, and likely attack the poor man once we get settled. ;-) Running does that to me - all that blood flowing once again gets me more than a tad randy. I've already warned him of this, so it's not like it'll be a surprise when I pounce. And now time to hop off and shower, grab breakfast and then off to work! ArchivesRan 33 min in RCP |
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Entry the Three Hundred and Third16 May 2001 Lost I just got in this evening, it's not quite eight o'clock. Left work and went to get my now every three week haircut at Subairi's. Wandered out of there and over to Connecticut Ave, shopped at Melody, shopped at Lambda Rising, shopped at the Leather Rack, shopped at the international book store. Then I just wandered my way home, wending through Adams Morgan and Mount Pleasant. And I felt lost the entire way. It's not that I didn't know where I was - I know these neighborhoods well after three years in the District. But I couldn't shake the feeling of being lost. Don't know precisely what it was that set this off. Yes, I'm still debating fields of law (and even if I want to "practice" in the traditional sense). I'm starting to finally get a good rapport with the semi-big boss (just in time for her to get replaced by the permanent new semi-big boss on Monday of next week). Doug and I are doing well, as are Lawrence and I. I've set plans to go meet Chay in person at the end of the month. Things are coasting along just fine. So why this feeling, then? I wish I could pin it down to something, but I can't. I'm not used to this emotion, either. I'm usually pretty damned sure of who I am and what I'm doing. Perhaps it was the conversation Doug and I had last night. We discussed future plans and what I'd truly love to be doing in my life (teaching). I just don't know what I'd have to do at this point to make that happen. I'd love to study rhetoric and linguistics; I'm fascinated by how people form arguments and how they attempt to persuade others to their point of view - it fits with the close reading type of analysis I did in my Master of Arts and in the Juris Doctorate. So perhaps this is the cause of this mood. I just find myself at a point in my life where there is no set plan. I did well when there were external forces shaping general directions (graduate from high school, go to undergrad, then on to grad school, then into the work force...), but now it's all up in the air and I don't know where to go or what to do. I'm just lost. ArchivesGym this morning |
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Entry the Three Hundred and Fourth17 May 2001 Wheels Just in from the bike shop. I bought myself a Bianchi Lynx from City Bikes here in Adams Morgan. As soon as I figure out how to do Java pop-ups I'll put the pic on here, but that's a task for another evening. I hadn't realized quite how out of shape I'd feel riding home, though. ;-) These three months off have really knocked me back, aerobically. Oh well! But I'm all psyched, I have wheels now. Woo-hoo! It will be nice to be a tad more mobile than I am now, as far as distance on my own. And perhaps even bike to work. It's only four miles, after all. I'm so, so psyched at this. I feel like a kid at Christmas with a new toy (and a moderately expensive toy at that). Ran into someone while coming into the building from the store who was most impressed with the bike, too. That just made me feel all the better. And, even better, I came in under the ceiling I established for myself, so I got a rack for the back and a bike bag, too (the ceiling was for the bike, a lock and a helmet). So I'm all accessorized, too. LOL! And the helmet matches the bag - blue helmet, blue and gold bag (gold to match the cycling rain coat I already own). Of course, none of those colors match the bike, but hey. ;-) So I have wheels. Too cool. ArchivesBiked home from the store |
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Entry the Three Hundred and Fifth19 May 2001 Ankle/Party/Vegan Ran this morning and now the ankle is sore again. Grrrrr. This is annoying as all hell. But hey, I got out and got exercise. *sigh* Party at NRJTM's new condo this evening. I've been acting like a selfish little shit for most of the day, so hopefully I'll snap out of it before I get there. Canceled on Doug when he had asked me to go wander around his (hopefully) new neighborhood looking for apartments. He's down in Southwest DC, Waterfront area, looking at places. It will be a tad more convenient to get down there to him - straight shot down the green line on Metro, or a cheap cab ride, so I'd selfishly like to have him there, but I just couldn't muster the mood to go wandering. The more I read in this Becoming Vegan, the better I feel about trying to move more in that direction, diet-wise. The book does a good job of covering the dietary needs, possible deficiencies, and things to watch out for. It's all very matter of fact, no inflammatory rhetoric, just the facts, ma'am, as it were. I'm trying to stay away from the meat, but it's difficult when I eat out for lunch every day. Will have to get more creative, I suppose. Anyway, time to get outta here and hop out to Doug's and then to the party. :-) ArchivesRan 33 min in RCP |
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Entry the Three Hundred and Sixth20 May 2001 Of Bikes and Toys Okay, so I'm a gadget geek. So, as I planned for when I bought my Protrainer XT Polar Heart Rate Monitor, I ordered the bike speed sensor to go with it. So I'm obsessive. *grin* After the party last night (from where there was NO hangover, thankyouverymuch), Doug and I watched a movie ("Cradle Will Rock" - excellent flick), slept half way through it, finished it this morning. He made me breakfast (tofu scramble - yummy!), and we did some shopping (I needed laundry detergent desperately for tomorrow night's orgy of laundry). Headed home and set about relaxing. Hopped online, and promptly set up a trick mid-afternoon. He said he'd be over in 15. Well, I waited an hour, no go, so I said fuck it and went on a bike ride. LOL! I had been delaying going biking 'cause it was raining, and I didn't want my first experience with day time, weekend traffic in Rock Creek Park to be in the rain. I have rain gear, courtesy RE at Xmas (thank you!!!). I used it running, but it's actually a cycling jacket, so I could wear that, but I was being a traffic wuss. This was to be my first ride after all. The ride went well. I went out for 42 minutes (about 19 minutes down to the P Street entrance to the parkway). There are some light hills (though of course they don't FEEL moderate at my ability level *grin*) on the way, so it's not all flat, boring riding. I am glad I got the mountain bike, though, considering the trail is NOT smooth. It dripped some off and on, but that's what the visor on the front of the helmet is for, no? All in all a good first ride. Dinner with Lawrence, whereupon I picked his brain on riding info. He's been doing this for a bit longer than I, so is a good source of info. :-) He mentioned I'd likely want the bike goodies eventually for the heart rate monitor, and was suitably impressed when I said I'd planned for that and had a receiver that would work with said speed sensor. And, of course, now I've purchased the silly thing online (it was only $32!), so will have it by week's end. Cooley. But he also recommended all sorts of things that will become necessary (padded gloves, bike shorts, water bottles, etc.). This is going to be an expensive hobby, I can tell, but after the pain with my ankle, I need to do something for exercise in the meantime, and this is it. And a nice alternative it is, too. ArchivesRode for 42 min in RCP |
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Entry the Three Hundred and Seventh21 May 2001 Commuting 01/5/22 7:37 a.m. Gosh, haven't written with the Palm in forever. Headed down to see my podiatrist about the ever-wonderful ankle. I'm going to have to continue to take it easy on running and get into the habit of taking the bike out in the morning instead. I'm hoping to explore the trails down to work soon and start commuting in that way a couple of days a week. Better for me, certainly. Lawrence suggested I head down Rock Creek Park, cut over via the National Mall and then up to my building. It would mean a longer commute, but a more scenic and likely safer route. The other choice is to ride down 16th or 14th Streets and cut through traffic. I think I'd prefer the park and the monuments. :-) ... 01/5/22 5:38 p.m. Too much to do, too little time in which to do it. Got handed a last minute assignment today that consumed 99% of my day. Woo-hoo! At least I was busy. ;-) Still managed to sneak in a few emails, though. Plans for the evening include dinner at Doug's and, well, not much else at this point. :-) So home I speed on the bus, then out to the suburbs. I am looking forward to this summer when he'll be living but a short ride down the Green Line from me. Oh, and the doctor said I sounded like I was doing fine, to continue to take it easy, ride the bike and no follow up needed unless I felt I wasn't making any progress. Cool. Now if it were only 100%, but in the meantime I'll cross-train and work on developing the bike skills. ArchivesNo Bike, No Run, No Gym |
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Entry the Three Hundred and Eighth24 May 2001 Television/Dancing 01/5/24 8:25 a.m. Made the mistake of watching television last night. For whatever perverse reason I wanted to watch the series finale for Voyager. Aside from disappointment at a rather anticlimactic ending to a show which I had rather enjoyed at one time, I was just appalled at the commercials. Every few minutes these blaring, brightly colored, over-stimulating things would blast onto the screen, selling everything from cars to television itself. The volume and intensity were astounding. And even more astounding was the thought that these things actually influence people's buying habits! Are they such sheep, blindly following where the herd dogs on Madison Avenue lead them? I guess so or there wouldn't be so many commercials out there, nor would advertising be so lucrative. I suppose one learns to tune the things out, much as web surfers have learned to ignore banner ads. But not having those tune-out skills I was at a loss as to how to process them. My television set is old, there's no remote for it, so it's not like I could mute them, much as I wanted to. I found myself wandering out of the living room until the volume went back down, unable to handle the jingles, yet unwilling to stand there beside the volume control until the show returned. *shudder* I cannot separate myself from this culture, yet I do not belong within it. ... 01/5/24 5:39 p.m. Headed home for a bike ride. Didn't get any other exercise today so a good post-work, pre-happy hour ride will do me good. Did manage not to stuff myself silly today, thank heavens. The calorie orgy the past two days was getting to be a tad much. Watching this woman play musical chairs on the bus. So far she's switched seats three times. How odd. For some reason I spent much of the day alternating between feeling really randy and wanting a nap. Don't know if it's the weather (fabulous!) or what, but it was an odd sensation. ... Well, did the bike ride, then a shower and food, then off to Happy Hour. Was better to get there later - I didn't end up drinking as much, and more folks were there at that hour. After much flirting, groping, etc., I ended up going to Badlands and dancing. And I have to say, I needed that! To go out, to dance, to get looks, to give looks. It felt so damned good to get out and dance again - I realized after I headed over there that I'd not been dancing since before I screwed up my ankle. So getting out felt just plain wonderful. I had not realized how much I missed that. Didn't necessarily miss the alcohol (*grin*), but I did miss the activity. The very sexual energy, the movement, knowing I can get out and do that with the boys, including the buffed party boys and the little college kids, and be accepted. ArchivesRode 40 Min in RCP, Danced |
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Entry the Three Hundred and Ninth28 May 2001 Fixed? Sorry for the lack of update, it's been a very long weekend. Suffice to say I have, thus far:
Very, very busy weekend, totally not doing what I thought I'd be doing (which wasn't planning, but didn't including building a new computer). The new computer kicks ass, now that it works. AMD Athlon processor, 900 MHz, 256 M of RAM, 64M of video RAM. Sweet. It flies. Especially compared to my old 200 MHz, 64M Ram computer. ;-) Most of the stuff is reinstalled, including the crucial stuff (like the web editing software!). I still have to see if I can pull data off the old hard disk that is dying/died (pray for me!). I just want my Quicken files and resumes and the like. :-( Anyway, no more of this time, it's time to get some sleep!!! ArchivesWalked in Arlington |
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Entry the Three Hundred and Tenth29 May 2001 Theater Premiere Because I have spent the past three days working on fixing the computer (as I wrote yesterday, Lawrence (Boyfriend # 2, or BF#2 for short) has been kind enough to write a guest entry about my Washington theater premier. I do hope you enjoy it. :-) [A special guest entry by Lawrence.] While Mr. Moose is busy configuring his new computer, I'm going to take advantage of my standing as BF#2 to offer his faithful readers a complete, firsthand account of his stunning and well-received performance Sunday night in "As You Like It" at the Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill. What's that? You didn't know he was an actor? To tell you the truth, I didn't either. I mean, we've been to lots of plays together, but he's kept quiet about his hankering for the other side of the footlights. No one was more surprised than I when he spoke his first line last night. Except perhaps him. What happened was this: Innocently enough, we showed up with our two tickets for the play, the last of the season at the Folger. If you haven't been there, the Folger is a fine scholarly library just down the block from the Supreme Court. It has a handsome Deco building and a collection of Shakespeare works to rival any -- the subterranean vaults hold quartos and folios and other rarities too numerous to describe. There's also a small Elizabethan-style theater that is home to several inventive shows each year "Hamlet," which began the current season, had four people in the title role, and three of them were women). Anyhow, we took our seats -- third row, aisle, very nice -- and "As You Like It" got off to a good start. Rosalind fell in love with Orlando (who was quite fetching, especially with his shirt off) and the stage was converted to the Forest of Arden in what I have to say was the most inventive and successful work of set design I've seen all year. Characters came and went entertainingly -- and quite cleverly, considering that there were only eight actors to play 19 parts (at one point Old Adam was played, successfully, by a puppet). This being a Shakespeare comedy, some cross-dressing was called for, and some more was added because -- well, because why not? Plot lines wove themselves effortlessly into a complex and delightful fabric promising happiness for four giddy couples. And therein lay the problem. In Act V, when the couples are to find said happiness before the Duke and Jacques, there just weren't enough warm bodies up on the stage. After a hurried conference, two actors ran down into the audience and grabbed additional players -- one was Mr. Moose, who had the aisle seat, and the other was a 14-year-old from the front row, all knees and wrists and grin. The actress playing Phebe whispered to Mr. Moose and handed him his line in a small portfolio, and the play sprang merrily forward. At the appointed moment, Mr. Moose delivered his line boldly, and for his trouble was kissed, rapturously and at some length, by Phebe. For the balance of the scene he smiled adoringly at his new beloved, as his part required, and he was warmly applauded when the scene ended and he was allowed to return to his seat. Afterward, rewarding himself with Key Lime pie at Kramerbooks, Mr. Moose claimed to be worried that he might not have projected sufficiently (he did), but allowed as how the actress playing Phebe had praised his diction. Frankly, he seemed quite pleased with himself, as well he should have been. I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if someday he gave up lawyering and turned to acting instead. Shakespeare would be so proud. ArchivesNo Run, No Ride, No Gym |
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Entry the Three Hundred and Eleventh30 May 2001 Off to San Francisco 01/5/29 7:19 p.m. Hopefully by the time I need to post this I'll have been able to bring down & install the proper software to sync with the Palm. I tried to slave in the old drive this evening and while the BIOS recognized it, Winders 98 did not. So without Winders' help it didn't seem I could get to it. I simply want a few files off the disk and then to send it off for the warranty work. It is, thankfully, still under warranty, so... Continue to keep your fingers crossed. I went ahead and picked up my copy of What Color is Your Parachute? this morning and finished it. I think I'm finally prepared to run through the exercises and get down to business. It sometimes takes a bit to get me over the inertia that seems to so love to take hold of my life, you see. While on occasion I revel in change, I also yearn for stability. One of those little quirks, I suppose. ... I feel like the world's biggest klutz right now - my right middle finger and my left thumb are all bandaged thanks to the computer installation. I managed to give myself several nice scrapes but those two were the worst. It's not as bad as walking with the ankle brace, but I still feel clumsy as all hell. ... Hello, my name is Moose and I'm a cashew addict. I can't stop eating the things! Thankfully the tin I have at home is now kaput, but damn! The things are addicting, I'm telling you! I have other nuts in the house, sunflower seeds and peanuts, but none seem to have the allure of the cashew. Gotta love random thought entries. ;-) ... Other than the all-consuming computer and finishing Parachute there's not much going on. Well, there is the upcoming visit to San Francisco, this time as a proper tourist. ... At home now... Well, obviously I got the syncing software working, sort of. I can get stuff to the hard disk, but I didn't bring down the Yahoo software. Whee. Downloads seem to take so damned long now, probably because there are so many to make. My old hard disk gave me two false glimmers of hope this evening, seemingly just on the cusp of behaving when it konked out again. Damn it all. I will get those files back, even if it means having the guys at work break the thing open and pull it out that way. I'll deal with it when I get back at this point. Not going to futz with it any more tonight - not worth the aggravation. So anyway, I will be out of town until late, late Monday night. Will not be updating here, but I will be keeping my Livejournal up if possible. Since Chay has the software it shouldn't be a problem. ;-) So, until then gentle readers. ArchivesRan 30 min in Arlington |
