Holy cow. A whole week without updating, and for no other reason than I was tired, overworked, and developed a nasty cold on Friday. I don't think I unpacked anything. I rearranged things, though. There is now a clear passage through the kitchen, and we can actually cook, make coffee, toast things, etc. And laundry, I did a boatload of laundry. But that's all. Not much to show for an entire week.
I made up for it on Saturday. I started my day by locking myself out of the house. We hadn't been given an extra key when the locksmith changed our locks last weekend, and John was out of town. I stared befuddled at the locked door for several minutes, a sinking feeling in my stomach, and then took Dixie for a nice walk over to the locksmith's. She barked at his dog while I requested a spare key. Luckily, he remembered me and could find our key code. After I got home I promptly buried the spare key outside so I'd never get stuck again.
Then Denise dropped by, and we sat around chatting and drinking coffee, just the way neighbors ought to do. I was very happy about it. This is why I wanted to live near her instead of near where I work. Sadly, she confirmed my suspicion that all the nurseries we used to go to up here have been ploughed over and turned into condominiums, so there really is no decent source of plants nearby. I'm actually going to have to go to further afield if I want something more exciting than lobelia and pansies.
Around noon I sent her on her way and got ready to go into the city. I had tickets to A.C.T.'s Edward II, and I'd invited Jen to go with me. John was originally going to go with me, but he opted to go to Oceanside for a beach volleyball tournament instead. I meant to actually hang out with Jen a bit, but my cold was getting to be troublesome, and I wound up meeting her at the theater kind of late. Yow, traffic was bad on a Saturday going into the city. It took me half an hour longer than I expected. No wonder I don't usually drive in.
The play was a bit of a surprise. I'd originally tried to get tickets to a Tom Stoppard play about A.E. Housman, but it had been completely sold out so I picked another play almost at random. "Marlowe, that's Elizabethan, that'll be good," I thought distractedly. "I love costumes and plays about the English court. It'll be like Shakespeare In Love."
What was I thinking? Edward II is famous for being murdered with a red hot poker up his bum. The play is about the political crisis he created in the early 1300's by favoring a series of male companions, and his tragically weak rule which created bitter dissention among the barons, and not coincidentally allowed Robert Bruce to reconquer Scotland and set up Scottish independence. Everyone dies. It's a cheery little piece.
As we went into the theater I told Jen I'd heard there was male nudity in this staging. "They'd had better be good looking," I said stoutly. "If they're going to be nude onstage I expect seriously buff bodies, not Harvey Keitel." My wish was answered. We saw lots and lots of buff bodies. It was staged like a gay porn fantasy, in fact. Much leather, a few instances of simulated sex, and plenty of working out and shower scenes. The costumes were pretty neat, and I liked some of the acting, but I wasn't very impressed by the lead, Malcolm Gets, who played Edward II like some kind of sitcom buffoon. He may have done this on purpose; Edward is a flawed and careless leader, and I believed this man was incapable of being king in such a rough time. Overall, I enjoyed the play, but I was stupidly expecting something else. Maybe I ought to pay attention when picking the next cultural experience.
I dropped Jen off at her place, fitting in some quick diary gossip and a promise to take part in the Online Diary History Project, and zoomed home to walk my dog. I convinced Dixie to come inside long enough to take her medicine, then released her into the back yard. She acted as though she'd been confined all her life. It's really discouraging, I tell you.
Afterwards, I got in the car and sped down 280 to Palo Alto to have dinner with Michael. No time to rest, no time to nurse my cold, must socialize relentlessly, party party party! We had a good dinner at an Indian restaurant on Lytton, then scoured Kepler's for new books. I bought some science fiction and a new Farley collection. Michael got the latest from the Onion. We chatted about geeks, and geekspace, and Michael said I was a geek attractor although not a geek myself. This is really true. I'd like to think of myself as a geek, but I'm not. I'm just surrounded by them.
Back home again for a final walk with my recalcitrant dog, and then to a well-deserved rest disturbed only by the punk rock band practicing down the street, my cats fighting on top of the covers, and the neighbor's dog barking monotonously throughout the night. It's hard work having so much fun.
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