1. I love summer in St. Paul. I went for a run along the Mississippi River today at 7 am. The morning sun shone on the city to my right and the fast-moving waters to my left. People -- specifically, Minneapolitans -- continue to mock me for moving to St. Paul, but between the farmer's market, the music festivals, the parks, the century-old buildings, the two gay bars in stumbling distance from my loft, and the ample free street parking after 4:30 pm, I'm not sure I get their point.
2. I do not feel Schadenfreude over the demise of Theatre de la Jeune Lune. Friends seem to expect some sense of glee from me because they know my experience working there was far from pleasant. But there was something about their productions, even the clunkers, that always blew me away. (Okay, except maybe Honeymoon China -- that one stunk up the place.) Their production of Cyrano way back when was as lyrical and beautiful a production as I had ever seen; Children of Paradise was an unforgettable event. The first production on tap when I started working there was The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which I must have seen four or five times. The image of Sarah Agnew's Esmeralda hanging from the rafters was haunting; seeing her in shows now at the Guthrie and the Jungle, I still have this weird sensation of, "Oh my God, I'm so glad she's alive." As a theater person, whose preferred art form is ephemeral, I live for those moments, those images, those sensations that stick with you, that somehow magically replay in your memory, that summon up a visceral response despite the time that has elapsed since you encountered them. Jeune Lune provided many of those for me.
3. Angus is almost 13. He's blind as a bat: my loft is pocked with noseprints where he has bumped into the walls. Although he has recovered some hearing since last summer, he's functionally deaf -- you call out to him and he registers the sound, but has no idea where it came from, so he runs fulls speed into a cabinet. I keep thinking I should get him a helmet. Yet he's a happy dog. One of my favorite things in the world is driving in to work with him in the back of my Saturn Vue, and seeing his smiling face in the rear view mirror.
4. The Red Wing Convention is just weeks away. I have made a mental list of items I am hoping will magically be there at bargain prices. These include (but are not limited to):
- A dusk blue Town & Country soup tureen with lid
- An Engobe line figural piece, preferably the muse with lyre
- A Belle Kogan muse vase in ming green (hmm, am I saying I need a muse?)
- A Smart Set cruet set with wire holder
5. I've been dating Paul for more than 5 months. I would say more, but I don't want to jinx anything.
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