I voted today - the last day of early voting. I got to use the new e-slate which was pretty cool. The election officials rushed me past the demo, so I was a little nervous that I would do something wrong. I forgot how incredibly smart I am and how some things electronic just come to me intuitively. So with the help of the League of Women Voters' Voter's Guide and the Austin Chronicle Endorsements, I voted mostly Democrat with a couple of Greens (for color) and even one Republican (whose only opponent was a Libertarian....the Libertarians scare me).
Of course, I voted for Tony Sanchez for governor since he has the best chance of unseating Rich Perry...this was definitely a "lesser of two evils" vote for me. Both campaigns have been laughably irrelevant. In any event, I'm not sure how Tony Sanchez got my email address, but I've been getting campaign emails from him for the past couple of months. The one I got today included a plea to "copy, paste, and forward" to "five or more" friends and relatives...I should have gone Green! Though it's awefully tempting to forward it to my ultra-conservative Uncle John (evil grin)...
I got back from NYC last night at 11pm. Meredith and company did a fantastic job of staging their very first Tex in the City caberet. All the singers had knock-your-socks-off voices, the theatre was nicely intimate, the staging was engaging, and a good time was had by all. Their musicians were great, but could have used a drummer...especially for the Rock'n'Roll songs...though it's completely understandable why they didn't have one (space and budget contraints). The cast did a decent job of filling that void with hand-held percussion instruments when appropriate. From listening to the producer's post mortum and my own experience with the show, a bigger contrast could have been drawn between the country and rock songs especially since it seemed like a number of the rock songs were ballads...again, a drummer would have helped distinguish the two genres. It's a distinction that's actually fairly hard to make (in my humble opinion) unless you go to the extremes of each. Thinking about it today, I would say that rock'n'roll has its roots in country music and there are so many cross-over hits these days, the line between the two isn't exactly static.
I like the idea of comparing musical genres in a caberet. I think it's an angle that TITC should continue to persue. I can envision a Music Timeline show (bluegrass to country to rock to rap/metal/alternative) or a show that highlights the different cultural influences on music (latin, afro-pop, european techno) which could end with the same song being sung over and over but arranged based on the different rhythms...you know, kinda like John Aiali sometimes plays the same song over and over but each time is arranged a little differently and sung by a different artist...
I got to sit with Jonathan last night. He's getting to be quite the conversationalist. Last night, while he was eating his dinner, we had the following conversation:
Jon: Do you know what I did to Mummy?
Me: No. What?
Jon: I talked back.
Me: (gasp)
Jon: It was naughty.
Me: Were there consequences?
Jon: Yes, there were consequences...
Aside: It's fun getting him to say big words.
Jon: I had to sit in my room
I've been craving kielbasa on the grill for weeks now. Last week, we couldn't grill out because the grill was really dirty. Over the weekend, Stepan took advantage of my absence to clean the grill and replace parts that were rusting away. We now have a like-new grill that we've yet to use! We were going to grill the sausage on Tuesday, but I got home 5 hours later than planned from NYC. Wednesday night, I sat with Jonathan while Elizabeth and Dale had dinner together. I was really hoping that tonight was going to be the night...sadly earlier this afternoon I realized that Stepan was going to a bread making demonstration and wouldn't be home until after 9pm. I called him nearly in tears I was so disappointed! ... heavy sigh ...
Last Friday, I took my very first rowing lesson at Town Lake. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time and have actually been talking about doing for the past several months...and I have co-workers that will back me up on that! I also managed to talk Meredith O into doing the lessons with me - maybe one day we can compete together.
The lesson was lots of fun. We spent about 40 minutes going over terminology, safety procedures, and practicing on the dock trainers. Towards the end of the lesson we actually got to take a boat out for about 20 minutes. It was incredibly peaceful. I love the sound of the boat and oars pushing through the water. Even though I've been on Town Lake in a canoe, it still looked different from a scull...I'm not sure if that's due to my position in the boat, the solitude (it is a one-person boat), or the early morning hour. Our next lesson is Tuesday at 6:30am...we're hoping to get on the water while the mist is still rising from it.
I sure like the fact that my birthday is so close to my Dad's. In years past, despite the race to be the first to call, I have waited to call Dad until around 11:55pm so I could wish him HB, we could chat a bit, then he could wish me HB. Not sure I'll do that this year - my bedtime seems to be getting earlier and earlier as I age...and Diana would probably prefer that I call at a more reasonable hour...especially on a work night and especially considering that Dad is sometimes at work at that time. In any event,
Happy Birthday, Dad. For a man pushing 40, you don't look a day over 25...I wouldn't be surprised if the next time we go out together, I'm mistaken for the parent instead of vice versa!....Diana, would you please make sure he see that? Thanks!
It's only 8:30 in the morning and so far it's been a great birthday. Meredith called a little after 11pm (after midnight, her time)...apparently, I age faster on the East coast than I do here in Texas. My alarm went off super early this morning - we had to "mollify" the house - I, of course, hit the snooze button. Stepan actually rolled out of bed though. I was sleepily suspicious since he never gets up before I do. He returned within 10 minutes bearing presents and cake and, appropriately enough, wearing his birthday suit ;-) Yummy! After doing the absolute minimum to get ready for Molly Maid, I went to workout in Pease Park where I walked a mile and ran 2 miles. Birthday exercise feels better than exercise on any other given day.
For nearly a year, I've been reading Sugar by Holly Patterson in NYC. Turns out, her birthday was yesterday...how's that for a happy coincidence?
I just had a wonderful birthday lunch picnic with Elizabeth and Jonathan on the front porch of my office. They brought me birthday balloons and a surprise mini-cake though it wasn't a BIG surprise because Jonathan kept asking for a cupcake while we were eating lunch. It's a wonderful day weather-wise, and I'm glad I got to spend some of it outside. I've also had birthday calls from Mom, Kathy H., and John Shaw. And, best of all, Stepan sent me a gorgeous bouquet of sunflowers....Fun, Food, and Flowers - it's what every birthday should be about!
At least I hope they don't since I've had 3 desserts today! Stepan and I just returned from dinner at Reed's Jazz & Supper Club (as recommended by Elizabeth). We first went to the lounge downstairs for cocktails and an appetizer. The Marc Devine Trio was playing so we also go to dance an nice foxtrot before going upstairs for dinner. I had a beefsteak tomato salad and Stepan had the Reed's salad - both were very good. Then we split a filet mignon and a plate of cheddar mashers. The meal was superb...and that's despite the fact that we passed on the waiter's recommendation of adding the $60 lobster tail to our meal for a nice "surf & turf" dinner. We finished the meal with a devine chocolate volcano and coffee (mine w/Bailey's). I'm really too stuffed to do much else today....it's been a very satisfying birthday :-)
My favorite Austin artist, Guy Forsyth, honored me with a free birthday concert at Waterloo Records today....though the official press release called it a "CD Release Party", I think we all know that my birthday was his main motivation...I bought two copies of the latest acoustic CD called Voices Inside (one is for Mom) and the latest Asylum Street Spankers CD. The show was short (maybe 40 minutes), but very good. It was just him, his guitarist, and a female singer/guitarist doing awesome harmonies. Most of the songs were from the new CD, but they also did Mona (which appears on Steak and is a name I would consider for my first girl child) and an, as yet, urecorded spiritural about a journey home that I hope is available soon. So, anyway,
Thanks, Guy, for being part of my fabulous birthday day!
One last thing - I must mention with appreciation the remaining birthday calls I got today. Shannan Shaw left a nice message on the answering machine (she and John also sent me a very nice bday card)...I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing people sing Happy Birthday to me (I've heard it at least 5 times today :-). Dad called several times and finally got ahold of me while we were at dinner. And I had a lot of fun talking with Meredith...we actually talked several times because we kept getting calls on call waiting. I also got a birthday e-card from Diana (the wicked stepmom) and a great henna tattoo set from the Churchetts..I hope I remembered everybody - many apologies if I've left you out...just remember that it's late right now and I've had more than usual to drink....It's been a very good day!
Stepan and I probably won't wait too long before we start having babies. Despite that, I really should wait until I'm actually pregnant before I start "eating for two"....I'm so full right now I just want to curl up on my sofa and take a nap. We just got back for my WHM-sponsored birthday lunch at Katz's Deli. I'm not sure why we've never gone there for a birthday lunch before. The food is great and the desserts (which is way more important) are fabulous.
I've recently read that 87% of young, adult Americans cannot find Iraq on a map. That's a significant number of potential war heros who have no idea where they'll be going when they are sent to fight Sadam. What's even more astonishing is that 11% of those same young, adult Americans cannot find the USA...so 11 out of 100 soldiers won't be able to find their way back home when the fighting is done. Luckily, the CIA has on-line geography quizzes anybody can take to broaden their understanding of our place in the world. There are other cool, interactive geography quizzes....I made a 142 on the USA quiz (I missed Iowa completely and had to 2nd guess some of the northeastern states). I wonder how I would do in some of the other regions....
Stepan and I....well, mostly Stepan....built a shed this weekend...well, most of a shed. Last Christmas, Stepan got a pnuematic tool set and air compressor from my family. Dad brought it down to us sometime in January then went with us to Home Depot to purchase a shed for it and our lawn tools. Stepan and I did some preliminary work on actually assembling the shed last spring sometime, but for one reason or another (let's blame it on the wedding), we never got around to actually putting it up. The forces of the universe finally conspired to give us a free weekend and we were able to assemble the floor frame on Saturday and get the walls and roof up on Sunday. Next weekend (a 4-day weekend), we'll put on the doors and finish fastening the walls to the floor frame. Once it's all complete, we'll go back to Home Depot and get me a big, red, tool box....color me content...this happy homemaker stuff is fun!
Dad and Diana made it into town last night. For the first time ever, Dad didn't bring kolaches from West, but they did bring four pies (lemon meranque, apple, pecan, pumpkin) for TG dessert. The turkey is in the oven, the dressing is ready for baking, and my table is soooo beautiful with my new wedding china.