Ten things I love...a Broadway themed extravaganza. Let the mocking commence!

1.) Vintage Barbara Streisand

2.) Mandy Patinkin (His name is Inigo Montoya, you killed his father, prepare to die.)

3.) Les Miz

4.) Cherry Jones (you know who she is - you just don't know it)

5.) Into the Woods

6.) Sweeney Todd

7.) Jerry Orbach (Law and Order my ass)

8.) Funny Girl

9.) Jesus Christ Superstar

10.) Kevin Kline (Yeah - Kevin Kline. I'm not even going to humor you with a link here)

10.5) The first 5 minutes of 42nd Street

There's a bunch more, and I'm sure a few others that should be on this list - Urinetown? Avenue Q? Spring Awakening? And we won't even discuss my failure to see August: Osage County...

I am a bright and glorious ray of sunshine…

So – sorry to be all absent and non-posty. Big little meeting is all done with a minimum level of trauma and maximum level of exhaustion. Highlights included dinner at a barn and pumpkins full of candy as far as the eye could see. I believe the staff was in sugar coma for much of the meeting.

We’re taking bets on when I might get it together enough to haul my suitcase out of my trunk and up three flights of stairs. Anyone that had less than three days after the meeting has placed a losing bet. Sorry friends. Apparently I CAN go a week without wearing slacks to work.

I’m back now and certainly will have more deep thoughts to share, including the following.

Groundhog day:
Aka - Why life in the adult world sometimes requires a pile of blankets, a pint of ice cream, a bottle of wine, and a cat. Sadly – I still have no cat.

I am in the enviable position of knowing some amazing and spectacular people who I am blessed to call my friends. I was in the unenviable position last week of having to gently (hopefully) request that one of these remarkable souls give me some space so that I could recover from some, shall we say, distracting feelings of depth.

Apparently I was unclear on the “space” factor here, and in one of those rare moments that adulthood affords you to both feel terrible AND SIMULTANEOUSLY inflict pain on others, I had to have a second-go-round of this conversation. Details aside, my timing on the first version wasn’t great, simply because it had to happen, and my timing on part deux was horrid - cosmic events coinciding to actually act as a fulcrum for the leverage of crappiness. YAY! I think my soul may have died a little bit this month.

So – I’m sure this isn’t very interesting for you, but it brings me back to a business idea from my late 20s…consider it patented.

I am of the opinion that every city needs the following establishment for those of us folk who are basically flying solo through the universe. When there is nowhere to go for the comforts of home or when the comforts of home never quite existed in the first place.

It’s a hotel (of course) somewhere within driving distance and preferably both in the woods and on the water.

You call a number (this is only the actual action that must be taken on your part).

The hotel comes to pick you up in a nice sedan where you can sleep in the back, then they check you in and give you flannel pajamas, fuzzy slippers, a tooth brush, the whole nine yards. You hand them your calendar and they get you out of whatever it is you have somehow committed yourself to be doing. Do you need to pack anything? Nope! You just call and they come get you. When you get there, your room consists of a giant couch, a fluffy bed, a big tv, and is all sort of old and rumply with a whole bunch of blankets. From room service you can order crappy magazines, pets, bottles of whatever, pints of ice cream, yoga teachers, gallons of diet coke, music, playdough, books… you get the idea. Every day is mandatory nap time from 2:00pm-4:00pm. Dinner is served every night at 8:00pm at the big table, where no one is cranky with you for being not so talky. Then after three days, or when you are theoretically able to see the light at the end of your tunnel again, they drive you home.

And they have cleaned your apartment while you are gone.

And preferably done your laundry.

I think this establishment would be a great service to society, and should in fact be covered by health insurance.

If I figure out how to make it happen, you will be the first to know. In the meantime, I’ve got some laundry to do.

I suspect I will be wearing my suspenders of funny again in the near future, so just keep an eye on the space. I promise you, if nothing else, Joy for Monday…

Preemptive joy strike!

I'm heading to a meeting - won't be around over the weekend. SO - this is for you - joy in advance. Watch it now - or save it 'till next week. the call is yours.

Now - I have more lunch to order.

Be well. I'll be back soon...

CRAZY JOY!

Heppy forthcoming Monday. There is no video here - don't be afraid. Your computer still works.

Best Nobel prize shout-out ever...

If I were ever to win such a thing - I'd like something like this

And while I'm at it, I learned somethin new today:

Testosterone builds the length of the fourth (right) digit in the womb. The longer your ring finger (in relation to your pointing finger) the more you are likely to have mathematical, mechanical and/or musical skills.

Ah - the interwebs, What a gift they are. Thanks Al Gore!

Haiku Friday!

Dishes are quite done.

Joy for the doneness of dish!

Lobsters are funny.

Someday you'll find it.

The Rainbow Connection.

Rainbows are trite, though.

Gnomes do not exist.

This is a grave error.

Stupid God you fail.

Men. Great and evil.

Thee to a nunnery.

Safe, mais ennuyeux.

Bananas are gross.

gross gross gross gross gross gross gross.

gross gross gross gross gross.

All I want for Christmas...

New Feature! Problem of the week...

How are you? How's it going out there in the world? Everything treating you okay? North Carolina? Delaware? Chicago? England? I sure hope so - because if you are taking the time to read this little space, the least I can do is care a bit about how things are going on planet you...

Everything's treating me pretty much alright. Had a couple of ups and downs of late. The downs are piling up a tad bit, so rather than try to fix all of them at once - I'm going to selfishly use this venue to declare and attempt to solve my problem of the week...

This week it is (drumroll please) SMOKING!

Yes ladies and gentlemen - I have fallen off the three year old wagon. I actually slowly slid off of the wagon, holding onto it's rusty bumper with the index finger of my left hand, while putting my annual meeting up - and now I'm kind of fucked.

Yes - cumulative smoking makes me feel crappy, but the flip side is I really like to smoke.

I could, in fact write a little ditty about all of the joys that smoking brings me, I will instead say the following. I'm going out to see one of my favorite bands tonight, and when I wake up tomorrow - I'm going to not be smoking.

Siiiiiiigh.

Has to be done though - I will greive a little bit for the smoking I do. I will possibly be able to make the transition from non-smoking smoker - to actual non-smoker. shut up Boo.

So toss me a cigarette - I think there's one in my raincoat.

I'll see you kids tomorrow.

It's Monday eve - let there be JOY!

This is for you...I think it's delightful. Below - another version with Yo Yo Ma. Which is both fun to say AND type. How many things can you say that about?

Joy! Version 2

I got this off of the work camera today...

And no. I don't work at one of THOSE places. My office may be more interesting than I originally thought.

Who wants to start the day off right?

You need a kick in the ass? Feeling a little slow? Let's begin our day with this...shall we? I'm feelin some Beatles. Let's all have a great day!

And be careful out there :)

JOY! here's some joy already. Calm down.

I have not forgotten you. Better joy may follow later. enjoy.

Non Sequitur time! Ten random thoughts…

1.) If I were given the choice of being plucked to death by birds or being locked in a house with Bjork and Vincent D’Onofrio - I would honestly be torn about which was the most horrifying.

2.) When you are a woman in your early 30s and you tell people you don’t want children, they seem to think you are kidding. Or lying to yourself.

3.) I like black.

4.) And cupcakes.

5.) And fishnet stockings.

6.) I hope that when I am old, I have awesome flannel pajamas. And a porch for dancin’.

7.) I’m not entirely sure that ALL of the seven holy virtues are a good idea. Just generally speaking – I’m thinking at least one or two should come off of the list.

8.) If I was Dale Chihuly I would blow a set of glass eyes to match my various outfits.

9.) The genetic lottery can be a bitch some days.

10.) When adulthood is not awesome, it can be a real pain in the ass.

Holla for Monday! Let's bring on the joy...of hungarian sausages...

I bet you thought I forgot about you. I have close to three whole hours left in Monday - so I'm counting this joy as on time, but just under the wire. So cut me some slack will ya. Yeah -I know you had to spend all day at work joy-free. BUT now you've kind of got extra joy for Tuesday....

Sincerely,

Abe Froemann, the Sausage King of Chicago