The Land of Counterpane

The Land of Counterpane 

When I was sick and lay a-bed,
I had two pillows at my head,
And all my toys beside me lay,
To keep me happy all the day.

And sometimes for an hour or so
I watched my leaden soldiers go,
With different uniforms and drills,
 Among the bed-clothes, through the hills;

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets
All up and down among the sheets;
Or brought my trees and houses out,
And planted cities all about.

I was the giant great and still
That sits upon the pillow-hill,
And sees before him, dale and plain,
The pleasant land of counterpane.
-Robert Louis Stevenson

It was a great weekend, filled with friends, games, Broadway musicals, tangerine cake, and too many miles of pavement. In fact, it may have been too much fun. For roughly the last 24 hours, Andy has been relegated to the land of counterpane with a nasty stomach bug, while I serve as his questionably competent nursemaid, dispensing freely of Jell-O, Nalagenes full of water, and Robert Louis Stevenson quotes. (Is there anything more soothingly than Jell-O and Robert Louis Stevenson?) In the end, not really the start to the work week we'd imagined, but keep calm and carry on, eh?

 

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Me and the Winter Blahs

If I let winter get the better of me, by mid-January, I can be one big miserable mess. After a particularly weepy winter during my junior year of college, I knew I needed to pay a little closer attention to my mental health this time of year. While I hesitate to call this penchant for the winter gloomys full-blown seasonal affective disorder (I mean, what Minnesotan isn’t a little SAD?) I have enough self-awareness to realize that when the dark, cold winter days start to wear away at me, I need some diversions and distractions to help the season pass.

Some years, I find relief from the winter blahs in the Winter Olympics. Other years writing dates and work outside of the home have kept me from my winter wallowing. This winter? It’s salvation by Broadway Across America. Back in April when I bought season tickets with my friend Sarah to the 2012-13 Broadway on Tour season at the Orpheum in Minneapolis, the decision seemed a little impulsive and a bit fiscally frivolous. But even then, just as spring was about to burst into full bloom, I knew I was already fighting against this winter’s blahs.

Last weekend, Sarah and I went to the third performance of the season: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. (Soooo much better than Catch Me If You Can which we attended last month, but still not quite as good as the season opener: Beauty and the Beast.) I ended up spending an extra night in the Cities because I left on Thursday instead of Friday to avoid a nasty ice storm. It turned out to be the right decision because the roads were so bad that Andy ended up staying home from that Friday because he literally could not make it to work.

Here’s another winter blah beating tip: I lead a stress management seminar one time and I remember one of the tips was “improve your appearance.” After not cutting my hair in more than two years (go ahead, judge me), I hit up a salon in the Cities last weekend and got a good six inches hacked off. (Ahhh!) It’s amazing how something as simple as not having split ends can make you feel so much more together and on top of things.

Because our tickets were for the Saturday matinee, after the performance we battled a bitter north wind for a meal at The Melting Pot, the fondue restaurant on 9th Street. I’d never been before and we had a great time enjoying a four course meal of cheese, salad, meat, and dessert. That said, considering the price tag and the rather homogenous meal, I’d rather give my return business to some place with a little more personality. Or else, I’d probably just go back for appetizers or dessert. I don’t know about you, but I’m perfectly capable of cooking meat in a boiling pot of chicken broth (basically what the main entrée consists of) at home.

We’d planned to visit the ice castle down at the Mall of America after the meal, but embarrassing as it is to admit, these two native Minnesotans weren’t wearing enough clothes to make an hour or so of standing outdoors in temperatures in the mid-teens with a howling wind a great option. Last Saturday was the first “normal Minnesota January” day after a string of days with temps above freezing and I hadn’t left the house wearing the long underwear and down vests necessary for a pleasant visit to a structure constructed wholly of icicles. Maybe we’ll make it to the ice castle next month when I’m down to attend The Book of Mormon (eeeeee!).

What do you do to shake the winter blahs?
 

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The Book of Mormon and Floo Powder

Sometimes, I admit, I'm ready to throw my hands up in the air and give up on modern society.

I mean, the fact that the nation has spent a good portion of the last few weeks bickering over birth control? Unbelievable. What is this, the 1950s?

Speaking of the 1950s, remember how people used to think, come year 2000, we'd all be zooming around in our personal spaceships? Ah yes, yet another bitter disappointment in the modern world is that this has yet to come to fruition:

Honestly, I don't even want my own spaceship to buzz around in. I'd be happy as a clam if we could just figure out teleportation.

If possible, I'd like to avoid teleportation in the stereotypical Star Trek fashion. It kind of looks like I'd have to install something to make that work and there just isn't enough room in cabin for a teleportation device and all the camping gear. How about some floo powder, ala Harry Potter, I mean, we already have the wood stove and all already. . .

How perfect to just take a pinch of floo powder, throw it into the fire, clearly shout out the name of my destination and disappear up the chimney pipe like poof of smoke. Imagine the possibilities.

Why this sudden obsession with teleportation?  It's hardly the first time I've pondered how much simpler and more convenient life would be if I could get places in a heartbeat. Just dissolving that six hour journey to the Twin Cities would be a great start. Heck, getting rid of the hour long trip into town would be something too.

I've read enough fantasy novels to know something like floo powder isn't without its limitations. I promise I'll use my floo powder sparingly and practice due diligence. I know having the capability to go anywhere (at least anywhere with fireplace) doesn't mean that I get to do some globe trotting whenever I get the travel bug.

Of course, if used sparingly, I think a bit of floo powder is totally called for in certain circumstances, say, when you find out that The Book of Mormon isn't coming to Minneapolis until February 2013. (What is up with that Broadway in America?!)

Wait a whole long year to see The Book of Mormon? Ah, what I wouldn't do to be on Broadway tonight.

Where's the floo powder?

 

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Pounding Pavement Instead Defying Gravity

As soon as we learned the musical, Wicked was returning to Minneapolis for a three week run, my friend Sarah and I knew we were going. The last time Wicked was in town, we missed our chance to go and were instead forced to drive past the Orpheum at the end of work days with eyes that were, well, a bit green with jealousy. So back in May, when the tickets were just coming on sale this time around, I watched my email updates like a hawk and managed to nab front row tickets for this past Tuesday night’s performance.

Even in May, we knew the trip would be a push. To be honest, any sort of travel that doesn’t involve taking an extra day off of work always constitutes a push. But extra days off haven’t been the most feasible this year so on Monday after work, I set off on the 5 ½ hour drive to Sarah’s place, arriving around 11:30 pm. Yawn!

But the trip was well worth it. There was time to catch up with Sarah and get some well needed shopping in. And Wicked, forgive the pun, was wonderful! I’d seen the show a few years ago in London and loved it, but I admit I was a bit apprehensive since it was the touring show and frankly, the last few touring shows we’ve seen haven’t been great. But everything was phenomenal about this production: the costumes, the set, the singing, the acting. It was the kind of show you want to keep going and going.

Now I’m home. And tired. And a little underwhelmed.

A grand total of 11 hours on the road in less than 48 hours seems to have drawn out any sort of creative spark that might have been dwelling inside of me. There’s been a lovely lull in deadlines for the last week and a half and it’s been easy to dive into that lull, to look forward to evenings spent in front of the Netflix du jour instead of pounding away at my laptop. But with a few projects vying for my attention, it’s time to snap out of it. While my body calls for rest and rejuvenation, my life calls for a return to work. Heigh ho, heigh ho. Maybe I should try defying gravity while I’m at it . . . .

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From Sea to Shining Sea

We've been keeping ourselves busy. Yesterday we took the subway (metro? I'm not sure what they call it in these parts, especially for the bits of track that are above ground) all the way out to Coney Island in the south of Brooklyn where we ate hot dogs and went to the New York Aquarium (The Seattle Aquarium is better, with considerable less school children.) The trip to beach in Brooklyn made it official: I've been from sea to shining sea this month.

We came back into Manhattan to get Broadway tickets, then stopped by Grand Central Terminal and the lobby of the Chrysler building, then grabbed a bite to eat and squeezed in some souvenir shopping before the evening's show.  I've developed an unnatural affinity for Magnolia Bakery cupcakes and as such, am beginning to look like one. 

We saw In the Heights on Broadway -- it was fine, not my favorite musical. I found some knowledge of the Spanish language necessary to full appreciate it. Unfortunately, I opted to take French in high school and college. In hindsight, that really wasn't my best choice, especially since my handle of French is so poor, I can barely understand a word of the French dialogue that swirls around me whenever we're at the hostel. 

The hostel is fine. Now that all the Europeans stranded by the volcano have gotten to go home, we have a fresh influx of French to take their place.

Today is the Sex and the City tour, then the Met, Central Park, and maybe some shopping. I have a dinner date with a hometown friend tonight as well.

The weather has been gorgeous. I think we're all a little sunburnt. It's been a great adventure so far. I fear the travel bug may be biting me again, hard.

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