Sunday, December 15, 2002

the much needed refreshment break from eXtreme dog walking

Chalow comments on some graffiti

"Celebrity, even the modest sort that comes to writers, is an unhlepful exercise in self-consciousness."

John Updike, On Being a Self Forever

It is not enough to be h

I am eager for another good dog walk, but the effects of a late night and too much wine are pretty obvious. I get up and ready and eventually the team is off to an area you might call 'French Place' or 'Cherrywood.' It's east of IH35 and mostly north of Manor for the locals. It's a good walking area, really, with nice long streets that are relatively unbusy this Sunday morning and that aren't punctuated by too many busy intersections. When nature and coffee call, we notice the Sacred Cup and it has it all: cheap tacos, good coffee, amusing and clean restroom and an outside patio that is dog friendly. After the break we do some more walking. It is a good walk and we have found things to be amused about in the yard art, house paint and amusing car departments.

Home again, I consider having a workout in addition to the walk. I never get around to it, though. FFP wants to go to Central Market and get some groceries. I want to see if BookStop has the book I was reading (and left at PAC). So we go off to that center. I find the book and sit reading it while FFP shops for groceries. He comes back with turkey sausage, liver, orange juice, fruit and sweet potatoes. It is good to pick up the characters in the book although I find it disconcerting that this edition has a different cover. We go home and I do some projects. I hook up the new camera to the Macintosh and transfer my test pictures to a ZIP disk. The time goes somewhere and it's time to go to three (3), count them, three parties.

Party number one is a 'musicale.' We contribute two bottles of good red and a bottle of champagne. A lot of people have brought food. I have a little food, a little fuzzy water and a little of one of the reds. I talk to people I haven't seen in a while. We listen to singing and do some singing along. Then we take off for the next party.

The next one is in a downtown condo. It turns out it's a birthday party, something FFP neglected to tell me. We didn't bring a present. Not that I would know what to give this person anyway. Let's just say I think she has everything and if there is something she doesn't have, I'll bet I couldn't find or afford it. Still, maybe I should have gotten her a present. We enjoy the good food and good music at this one. Everybody who is anybody is there. I wonder why we were invited.

But we have another party! So we finally leave this one and head to a place a few blocks from our own house. I see a few familiar faces (from the last party!) and then another set of lesser lights (nice people who don't get invited to the other type of party...people, um, like us really). I see some people I haven't seen in a while and it's fun. People start leaving because tomorrow is a workday. Not for me! Ha, ha. But we leave and I go to bed pretty happily. I'm a recluse...parties are hard.

JUST TYPING
One party,
Two party,
Three.
I've been offered lots of food and drink.
But kept my head.
I don't feel festive after all that.