Mixed grill
Of course, the problem with a catching-up-on-sleep weekend comes on Monday morning at, say 3:30, when your body pops awake and says, “That was really great. Whadaya wanna do now?”
Thinking back, my longest stint upright this weekend was about five hours Saturday night. Shower, meeting, dinner with the gang, reading, then back to bed. It was a glorious weekend. And I’m willing to pay the price.
This price is considerably easier than the one for last weekend. One must always have an external factor to blame these things on. From sushi, jasmine tea, after effects of a really nice time with Von, phase of the moon or whatever, I guess I would pick the tea, because then I could say I had myself a little Sunday Afternoon Tea Dance.
It was a move the furniture, crank the stereo, shirt and glasses off, hair flying, sweating even under the ceiling fan, full-blown Tea Dance. For at least 2½ hours.
I need a more restrained style, because come Monday morning, I could barely move. Neck, shoulders, arms, back, abs, and of course, thighs and calves all sang from the same What Did You Expect, Sitting On Your Lazy Ass For Weeks On End songbook.
Only large doses of multiple OTC pain relievers got me to and through work Monday night. Tuesday was a carbon-copy. By Wednesday, only my calves were in protest. They had calmed down by Thursday, except when it came to negotiating stairs.
You can imagine how this went over with the library staff.
“Dancing in your living room for 2½ hours?” (Leaving unsaid, “You’re pushing 50, you know.”) What were you thinking?”
“I’m hoping for more shapely gams in time for summer shorts weather.”
“Well, that’ll teach you.”
“Yeah… that I should do it more often to stay in shape!”
Of course, this weekend it was marathon sleeping rather than marathon dancing. Didn’t I write something last week about balance and lurching from one extreme to the other?
Veering off on the library meme, last week I decided against taking the Civil Service test for a position in the Retrieval Room at the Central Branch. It was almost twice the money, similar number of hours (but a different schedule), and with the prestige of working at Central, not to mention all the cute guys. There’s this one cute redhead with hair down to his waist…
My boss, reluctantly, made sure I knew about the openings and suggested that I take the exam. But in the end I decided that the things I like about my position, my schedule, my branch and stuff, outweighs the extra money, day position and the rest.
For the next three weeks, I am working two day shifts for a vacationing co-worker. I resisted the temptation (and greed) of taking all four of her shifts. I’m going for balance, remember? I didn’t take the Wednesday and Thursday shifts because those are my days off during the week and I want to keep them open for business stuff. And laundry.
Well, I am taking one Wednesday. Next week. It’s only because at noon on that day, conveniently at the end of a 9–noon shift, is a paid lunch with the Director. She brings lunch and we get paid if we want to join her. I’m not foolish enough to pass that sort of thing up. Plus I got the strong hint of being the only staff member to get personal copy of the invitation in their mailbox. Everyone else shared the one posted on the staff bulletin board.
I’m not sure if it was my boss or the Director who made sure I knew I was wanted there. In an entry that’s remained in draft status since December, I think I made quite an impression on the Director at the annual meeting and holiday luncheon.
After the Director’s morning address in the main reading room of the Rundel building, (which was best characterized as a happy-talk cheerleading session with really, really bad PowerPoint) we had a catered buffet lunch across the street in the Baush building.
When the Director came around to our table, I asked all the questions I’d hoped would have been answered in her address. They were tough questions too, yet she maintained composure and answered my questions as directly as I’d asked them, and as well as such an occasion would allow. Maybe I was a bit too direct, because my boss and two co-workers excused themselves from the table while I kept eating and grilling the Director. But what the hell? I just a freakin’ page. What did I have to lose?
Whether, “Bruce, this is something you’ll be interested in” or “Bruce, your attendance is requested”, I’ll be there.
My two client library projects grew to three last week when, after the monthly GAGV Technology Committee meeting was cancelled, I dropped in at the community center on Library Night.
It occurred to me that that it would be a really good way to squeeze a bit more revenue from the project and would bring the service closer to the community if folks could browse the catalog online. I was right on both counts, so there’s another project.
More pictures from Von.
This is the courtyard of my building. My apartment is on the second floor on the right, just past the gutter downspout. Between the wind having blown it over and the snow, it’s tough to see that there in fact a fountain there, but trust me, there is.
This building is right around the corner at Atlantic Ave and University Ave. It’s across from The Corner Store and from The Bachelor Forum, which passes for Rochester’s leather bar, and as you may recall, I used to say was just a short stagger away from home. Twenty-five years ago this building was really seedy and the only viable business in it was the sub shop where I bought my lunch when I worked for the railroad. Nowadays, Starry Nights Café, at the point, is my preferred location for client meetings during the day and live jazz at night. There’s also Edibles, a fashionable upscale restaurant, along with a gallery and a high-end antiques dealer.
Gimme head. Sorry, couldn’t resist. Village Gate Square takes it’s role seriously as the retail center of the Neigborhood of the Arts. The owners, who also own my building, commission works in all media for the mall. This sculpture of a head, sits in the courtyard outside California Rollin’.
You might expect a snowman in Rochester, but that would be too easy. This stoneman began guarding Village Gate last summer. He stands out front by Mykonos, the city’s premiere Greek restaurant.
March 2nd, 2005 at 6:42 pm EST
Tea-Dance, eh? sorry I missed the fun!
March 4th, 2005 at 10:21 pm EST
Sorry. It was entirely unplanned. After you left I was kinda grooving on our energy, you know? I was pacing around the apartment when a particular favorite came on. I parked myself in the desk chair, grabbed the remote, swiveled around to face the music and bumped it up a notch or two. I swear it was the jasmine tea—something I’ve never had before—because next thing I know, I’m half undressed, covered in sweat, the coffee table’s up on the couch, I have no idea where my glasses are, the music’s blasting and I’m rummaging through the CDs wondering, “How did I get here?”