Weekend

Much ado about nothing this weekend. I tried a new exercise DVD after work on Friday - Jillian Michaels beats you up and you pay for it or something like that. It was easy and hard at the same time, if you get my meaning, and I think I'll invest the ten bucks. Then I watched Cowboys and Aliens while eating buttered toast and tea for dinner. The movie wasn't as bad as I'd been led to believe, though unexpectedly dour; Harrison Ford doing his best grumpy Clint Eastwood imitation. I kept expecting him to rasp at the aliens, "Get off my lawn!"  Also, literally dark; unless they were in the blazing desert sunshine, they were creeping around in caverns and ruined shacks and I couldn't see anyone's faces clearly. If you take a drink every time Ford adjusts his hat, you may enjoy it more.

Saturday I had lunch with MFD at Blind Faith and talked about weighty things. We recently lost a friend: unexpectedly, unknowingly and at a very happy time of her life. MFD was very close to her and distressed on many levels by her death. Our conversation was about our desire to tie up our life neatly at the end, to make sure everyone knew that needed to know. An organized person, she is making a list. Our increased connectivity doesn't seem to help. Someone could just go dark on Twitter or Facebook, and you wouldn't know what had become of them. Or worse, they could linger on Facebook, with their friends wondering sadly what to do about their spectral presence.

We felt better for seeing each other, and made a life-affirming visit to Thee Fish Bowl across the street. The place is chock full of cheerful anima; the warmth, the people, the dignified tortoise roaming the place, the black cat bumping your hand to be petted, the lovely rabbit sitting peacefully in a corner. It's a tiny, cozy space, and MFD got a scratching post and a dose of joy as well. I was too distracted to take actual pictures, but the tortoise sort of looked like this:

I eventually wandered home and took a nap - completely missing all the doings at the library on Saturday, which I regret. Then I sat down with a Kage Baker novel that I haven't read (she's left us too) and that was my day. A good day.

Sunday I got a start on my taxes. Last year I owed $$$, so I bumped up the amount taken out for 2011. This is the first year in 20 that I haven't had a mortgage, though. On the other hand, I get to claim The Boy this year. All I'm hoping for is to break even, really. Wish me luck!

P.S. I watched most of the game, but skipped the half-time show to work out. I caught Madge on Youtube later, and admired her enthusiasm, but not so much the actual show. It looked like a high school dance team with a REALLY big budget. Points for bringing along MIA, though.