The Little Drummer Boy started drumming at 9:05am. Then, I realized my alarm clock was wrong and it was really 8:05am. That little bastard! Sorry to use such harsh language, but I was still sleeping and his mother obviously didn’t remember it was daylight savings time, or she just didn’t care. I was hoping he’d stop after 5 minutes, like he usually does, but – no – today he decided to “play” for 20 minutes, so I was good and awake by the time he finished.
I decided to call Eric and see how his day was going. We spoke for a long time and had a really great talk. He’s supposed to go back to work tomorrow, which makes both of us very happy. He’s also getting settled in the apartment, although he doesn’t like it there. I guess it will just have to do until either he comes back here, or I go back there to live and we find a better place. It’s just temporary!
I got up and out pretty quickly, because I needed to do laundry and go food shopping. I put two loads in and walked over with my cart to KEIL’S. By the way, I heard a customer jokingly call one of the check-out girls “Mrs. Keil” the other day and he prounounced it “Keel.” She didn’t correct him, so either it IS Keel’s, or she was just being polite. I wanted to ask, but then I said, “Who really cares?” I decided I don’t.
Anyway, after food shopping I put the clothes in the dryer and cleaned the apartment. I cleaned Conrad’s cage, and vacuumed the entire apartment. He’s always a little freaked out after I clean his cage and with Eric not here to hold him while I do it, he usually flies around and gets exhausted. I always worry that he’ll end up behind the fridge or something, but so far, so good.
After the laundry was done I decided to lie down for an hour before heading out again to meet Melissa at the movie theatre. I was really looking forward to seeing THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES. The book was SO wonderful and I had a feeling, with the excellent cast, it would be just as great.
I stopped at PEET’S COFFEE AND TEA, because it was in the shopping center (and Starbucks wasn’t). I got what they call a Freddos, which is their version of a frappucino. I got a decaf mocha. It was okay, but I still like Starbucks better. I do have to admit the place was PACKED with customers, so they’re definitely competition for Starbucks. I don’t know if they have them in NY, but I’ve seen them all over SD.
Melissa and I were supposed to go out to dinner afterwards, but she told me she had Chinese food last night and she was sick all night and most of the day. She almost cancelled, but she really wanted to get out of the house and she was excited to see the movie, too. It had been raining during the morning and early afternoon – at least San Diego’s version of raining, which means it was a very heavy mist that caused the ground to get wet and that’s about it. By 3:00pm the sun came out and it was a gorgeous afternoon/early evening.
When we first sat down, Melissa asked me about Eric and I told her pretty much the whole story, until the previews started. I knew most of the girls in the department know that Eric is in NY, but most of them don't know much more than that. I appreciated that she asked, and showed an interest, and she was very compassionate and understanding.
The movie was so sweet and beautiful and I cried my eyes out. I forgot to warn Melissa that I’m a HUGE crybaby and I knew I would cry during this movie, because I knew it was a very sad story. I wasn’t wrong. I was comforted by the fact that I heard other people sniffling (or schnuckling, as Audrey would say), and crying. I went through about 4 tissues.
Everyone in the cast was excellent – Datoka Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, and Sophie Okonedo, with whom I was not familiar. They could all be nominated for Oscars, as far as I’m concerned, but Dakota was amazing.
When I first read that she was going to be playing the part of Lily, I was a little disappointed, because Lily is coming of age and I thought of Dakota as being too juvenile. Well, I was wrong. She is growing up and did such a fantastic job. There is so much emotion in her eyes, she can fill volumes with one look. I was so impressed with how she brought Lily to life.
The story takes place in 1964 and of course I thoroughly enjoyed all the vintage cars, clothing (the dresses and costume jewelry were fabulous), and the furniture and accessories. There was hammered aluminum and great 50s glassware – some of which I had in my shop. It was beautifully done.
Since we didn’t go out to eat afterwards, I came back to the apartment and made some salmon and a salad – for tonight and lunch tomorrow. I just put the salmon on top of the salad. It’s delish! For dessert I had low-calorie Yoplait raspberry yogurt mixed with fresh raspberries. Yummy!
I watched EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION. It was about a family in Geneva, NY that has a boxing club for at-risk kids. It was very inspirational. Not only did they build them an unbelievable house, but they also built them a huge boxing club with every accessory you can imagine.
Next, I watched DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES. That show is crazy, but definitely holds my interest. There’s a lot going on this season, and the jump to five years in the future is sometimes frustrating, because you don’t know what went on the last five years, but they’re slowly but surely filling us in.
This was a pretty great weekend. I sold two of my craft pieces on Friday night, finished another piece on Saturday (and got a massage) and saw a great movie today. Now, I’m ready for another great week in HR!