Back in the shuffle

I have a great deal to do, but instead I'm typing things into my blog. I still haven't reported on my trip to Boston, which was last weekend. I had a fantastic time and it was good to be reminded of the close friends that I have in places other than Wisconsin. I also enjoyed talking with my friends about work. The last time we were all together we were all taking classes and complaining about homework and our professors. Now we complain about lack of or too much to do at work and our bosses. It's important to note that while in Boston I mentioned going on a cruise together and not one of my friends said, "No, that doesn't sound like a good idea at all." So, today I've begun looking at cruise prices for summer vacations. If you're reading this, that means three things: (1) You have access to a computer. (2) You're a friend of mine, who I'd enjoy spending a week with aboard a luxury oceanliner. (3) You're wasting time when you should be searching for cheap (yet glamourous) get-aways. Get crackin' and get googlin'.


Yesterday I went to see a play with a friend, Oscar, who I met through my quasi-Christian discussion group. He works as a director of the mentoring program at the YMCA, for which I am a mentor. I'm a little jealous of his job. Anyway, a friend of Oscar's is the director of a play, Mrs. Farnsworth, which is being performed in the South side of Milwaukee. The director likes to invite people to a free preview of the play, so that the actors can get a feel for what a paid performance should feel like. They get to work on their timing and their interaction with the audience. Yes, it was a blackbox theater, in which the audience is sometimes part of the story. Overall, I enjoyed the play. It wasn't moving and it's not going to change my life, but it was funny and it was smart. The characters were interesting and worked well together. But more importantly, I enjoyed the evening because I finally found the kooky performance community of Milwaukee (and now I'm on their mailing list). It was a breath of fresh air from the stuffier world of business.

(Let me just say I love my NPR station, WUWM. This week they keep playing Flaming Lips music. And I don't mean a song in a 30-minute series, but just clips of music as a segue. For example just now, they played a tune from the Yoshimi album between a story about the Supreme Court and one about credit cards and security. It's great.)

Tomorrow my discussion group is coming over to watch the movie Magnolia. I'm a little worried that they won't like the movie and we'll have nothing to discuss. In case this happens, my back-up plan involves a case of beer, a bottle of wine, and my friend, Jack. I've been cleaning my apartment tonight - actually I haven't - the bathroom still has my beard trimmings and my kitchen sink is filled with dirty dishes. You see, I've been busy. I just bought the West Wing Season 1 and I need to know what's going on in "our country." Pres. Bartlett needs me. Some other things that I've neglected today: studying, writing letters to Molly, Officer Sammis, Uncle Mike, Katie, calling Croom and my grandmother, who has been in the hospital for the past week. Yes, I'm a horrible grandson, but every time I remember Gramma, it's 11:30 pm and the one time I did call her during a decent hour, she didn't pick up the phone.

Ok, I need to stop posting now. I'm just making myself feel bad.

(WUWM is now playing Cake.)