An unexpectedly pleasant weekend. Or, I should say, a weekend I predicted would be nice (given this temporary absence of work and grading) but which then exceeded my prediction.
A run-down:
Friday, went to the job session hosted by Dara and Peter. It was really helpful; I have never (I'm ashamed to admit) been to Career Services, had no idea that they'd start files for us, send our dossiers to interested prospective employers, and so forth. (How did I not know this? I wondered later. So many things I need to learn.) Have begun jotting notes for an updated CV. Late afternoon, went to the bead store and picked up beads/wire for new projects. Spring projects in the palette of coral and turquoise. Watched "Sweet Land" with Eric. Cooked dinner, and accidentally watched, with E., the entire season one of Twin Peaks.
(We had not intended to watch the whole season, but the episodes were all run together - there was no option offered, in the root menu, of watching individual episodes.)
Saturday, went to the farmers' market and bought a mint plant, which I promptly repotted. Went to the gym for a slow, minor workout. Took a short walk with E., during which we came upon a tag sale - one of the vintage stores on Market St. is closing, and was selling most stuff for $1! (Some clothing items were $3.) Eric got two ties, and I got a miniature, forest-green teapot - it holds just one cup - and a purse fashioned after a creel. In total, we spent $4. Ate lunch, cleaned up, went to the laundromat and now all of my clothes are clean. Went grocery shopping for the week, though I bought less than normal since I'll be leaving for Minnesota on Thursday. Cooked dinner with Eric (kielbasa, tater tots, baked beans = Midwestern deliciousness), watched a rerun of the Real World. Drank a cold beer and made a necklace of 6mm turquoise colored beads with chips of coral at 1" intervals.
And today, E. and I made eggs and toast for breakfast, sat for a long time on the couch in the sunlight, looking at all the new potted plants, and talking about weddings we'd been to. I was spaced out on allergy medicine and reluctant to go to the gym, but I went anyway and felt good afterward. Had lunch (a hot dog, half a grapefruit) went to lay out in the field near my house. Had intended to start reading Lunch Poems but instead fell asleep in the sun. Went home and showered, read, cooked dinner with E. Am now reading (about halfway through) The Year of Magical Thinking and it is heartbreaking: in its accuracy and repetition.
Oh. I also read, during the course of Saturday, Meghan Daum's My Misspent Youth, which I really enjoyed, but from which few phrases/descriptions struck me. It was funny, to be sure, and poignant (the last essay, especially) (aside: I hate the word poignant), but not nearly to the level of Didion's writing. The only reason I draw this comparison is because Dan Wakefield's blurb for Daum heralds her as "A Joan Didion for the new millennium..."
What a shame that this weekend is almost over! Even in the absence of formal time constraints, I managed to get a lot accomplished, and a good variety.
If you haven't already, call your mom!
4 comments:
We should talk about Twin Peaks. We just started watching season two with some of our friends.
Hot dog and a grapefruit? That sounds like a strange combination.
Yes! I love Twin Peaks! I saw all of season one/part of season two years ago, with Maggie Queeney. But I'd forgotten a lot of what happens...
I hadn't intended to eat the grapefruit, but I think it had fallen on the floor - it had a weird hole in the skin. So I thought, "Well, I'll eat it now instead of throwing it out."
the year of magical thinking = sadly lovely
twin peaks, watched the whole series a year or so ago, odd thing to do when living alone. sometimes i still feel someone is creeping over the bed posts.
Yes, I don't always like watching Twin Peaks at night, because it prevents me from falling quickly asleep.
Have you read anything else by Didion? Anything you would recommend?
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