the monochromatic dinner party

An interesting meal last night. (I think I should use that subject line for a novel or something.) Very good food, very bad service, and funny stories. It's great fun to tell people gun stories and monkey stories and all sorts of bizarre things that only reinforce the stereotype that Texas is a really damn weird place. I had a lamb burger, which conjures up all kinds of horrific images I'm sure but it was awfully tasty.

It's bright and cool and clear, the perfect sort of day, and of course I don't have my camera or my headphones.

The bars here have ginger ale. I can drink Moscow Mules once again. We went to one bar, but it was crowded and odd, because of basketball. So we ended up at a nifty Irish pub, and I talked to the bartender about teaching in the Czech Republic and he fed me lots of ginger ale. I should mail him a postcard.

I do miss my bed though, and it's semi dark corner. I need to learn how to shrink my bed to pocket size and take it everywhere.

(no subject)

Yesterday. Indeed.

Ate lunch at Veselka, this nifty Ukrainian place with Megan and talked about professors. I spent a lot of time wandering yesterday, and bought myself a tiara just for the hell of it. I wore it to the theater last night, and when I saw Lindsey Duncan outside she exclaimed "How wonderful!"

Private Lives was everything I wanted. The sets were amazing, with this sense of perspective and space. Alan Rickman and Lindsey Duncan had such chemistry and the whole thing was charming in a maddening way. It opened up some interesting lines of thought, about love and being together.

I find live theater a bit intense sometimes. It feels so intimate to me, in this weird way. Because I know that it's what I do in my head and what I'm not going to ever start doing outside of it, because I am simply too shy.

The physical intensity of the acting last night startled me. Elyot fidgeted constantly, had these facial expressions and gestures and voices, and Amanda's tilt of her head... even better than the real thing.

The people around though.. ack. In our row, there was a group of those peculiar middle age women who wear strange clothes and talk about how Rickman is a Pisces, and his feet. (He is charmingly barefoot in one scene) The worst part came enwas flung around when Amand and Elyot were fighting madly. They provoked a greta many snarky comments.

Of course, we hung around the stage door afterwards, and my playbill is signed by Rickman and Duncan. He was slouching and tired, and really, I couldn't bring myself to say anything other than thank you.

Tea today, with scones and cream and an egg salad sandwich that I had a sudden unbearable craving to have. I like walking in this city, sitting and watching it move. Very strange, very loud, but pleasant.

A lot of thoughts kicking around in my head, and I think I might actually finish my story now. I'm avoiding thinking about the eight million things I have to do right away when I get back, because it's too terrifying.