~Sunday~ I slept until almost noon. Go me.
I found three, count ’em three, PostSecret postcards compelling out of this week’s collection, all for very different reasons:
All in a 30-Word Postcard
Articulating Here, so I’m Just Capturing It for Posterity
Just How Selfish Human Beings Can Be
With that said about that last one, rest assured that I totally respect the person for realizing that about herself and not having a child to potentially be the inevitable victim of said fear.
I arrived at the gym at 6:00, did 300 ab crunches, followed by 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical machine, and finishing ten minutes before closing time at 7:00.
Standing in the checkout line at K-mart, where I was purchasing wax paper, bar soap, and dish washing detergent, I answered my phone, which was indicating Sarah Egan Warren was on the line.
“Hello, Sarah. I’m using my inside voice. I’m in the checkout line at K-mart. What’s up?”
“Uh, we’re at Salon and you’re 4 minutes late, so we’re calling you.”
I was totally caught off guard by this, as Salon was on my calendar for tomorrow night, erroneously evidently. I rushed home, calling Joe on the way to tell him I wouldn’t be meeting him at Flex at 9:00 for scareyoke as we’d planned, jumped in the shower, grabbed a bag of Twizzlers (now, the official candy of Salon, even though Sarah doesn’t care for it), and rushed off to Anna’s.
Everyone was very gracious about my lateness, and it spawned an interesting discussions about being late and being right.
Tonight’s Salon XX agenda was as follows, several items for which I wasn’t prepared, since they involved “homework” and I thought I had another night to do them. I’ve inserted some comments throughout.
- Another old photo showcase: If you went to a “Mom Prom,” which dress would you wear? Boys, you can answer this with photos from your high school formals, whether you’d wear a dress or not.
This was a fun item, and everyone had pictures of themselves from various formal events in their lives. I didn’t have mine with me.
- My 675 project surprise when reviewing.
I didn’t have my laptop with me, so we moved this item to next month’s agenda.
- Let’s take a few minutes during this meeting to re-assess everyone’s schedules for future meetings.
We scheduled Salon XXI for May 1, 2011 and Salon XXII for June 19, 2011.
- ***Homework Alert*** Bring an 8.5 x 11 size sheet of paper with drawings on it that represent the pivotal points of your life, and then share the backstory of each to the group.
I didn’t have this done, and Kim started, but then stopped, but Brad, Anna, and Sarah shared theirs—all interpreting the instructions in different ways, which I loved. Brad used a broad brush to share a signifant artifact from each decade of his life (his 20s, his 30’s, and so on), Anna shared three very small drawings with very big meanings, and Sarah used a wave and tide metaphorical drawing that incorporated a sentence that someone said to her at critical moments in her life. I have to say that this was my favorite item of the evening, as it gave me quite an intimate glimpse into these extraordinary people whom I’m lucky enough to call friends.
- Ideal vacation destination.
Mine included any place vacation for which someone else makes up the itinerary, and all I have to do is write a check—metaphorically speaking of course, because I actually put it on my charge card to get frequent flyer points. A vacation that is “all-inclusive” is very attractive to me, too.
- Who would you do? List of 10 famous/historical people you’d do—or would have done at the time.
George Clooney, Alec Baldwin (in his earlier years) and Jude Law (in The Talented Mr. Ripley era) came to mind.
- What’s the closest to experiencing a “cult” that you’ve ever come to? I shared my very, very, very ambivalent experience (to this day, even though it’s been close to 20 years since I went) of having attended The Landmark Forum. I just refreshed my memory of the forum’s intent and its course syllabus, and even more very interesting thoughts/memories were triggered. Still ambivalent.
- What was it about the complaining from Sarah and Anna that made John remove his question about things you don’t like about yourself?
It seemed like a burden on folks; we already had enough agenda items that involved “homework.”
I met Joe at Flex at about 11:30, and we left there at about 11:50 to check out the midnight drag show at Legends. There, we met this guy who had “Barcelona” across his shirt, but spoke with a New England accent. He seemed like one of those very high-energy people that would would be, and is, fun for about 15 minutes, but then would wear you out.
I wasn’t at all into the show, as it started off with the emcee (who I didn’t take to anyway) calling up audience members to play a game that involved food, with one of the volunteers running up there being—surprise, surprise—that Barcelona guy.
They do games like that on and off at Trailer Park Prize Night, and I just don’t like watching them for several reasons: 1) The games are usually very, very juvenile, 2) People cram in, and spit out, food for various reasons, and 3) I hate, hate, hate “contests” whose winners are decided by audience applause.
So, for all those reasons, I excused myself from “The Spotlight Theater,” and after buying Joe one more drink, I said my goodnight to him. After all, I had to work the next day, and he was off. But I’m not bitter.