Unfortunately, the co-op rejected our application because they wouldn't accept Kacey and Becker's three cats. So that put an abrupt end to all our hopes of an easy transition, and at this point, it looks very unlikely the move will happen for us. It's probably as sure a sign there is that this was not meant to be.
So, in other news, Katie M and I finished our Richard Linklater trilogy with Before Midnight last Wednesday. It was actually kind of difficult to watch because of all the fighting and antagonism between the previously in love main characters, Jesse and Celine. It's like watching two friends have a really bad fight and not able to do anything about it. I wonder if they will keep making these or if they are done.
On Thursday Piper took me to the Oscar-nominated animated short film showcase at the IFC Center - the first time I've been to this theater. We had dinner at Schnippers and she gave me a holiday present she's been trying to give me for a while - a poster of dozens of movie quotes, each with an accompanying infographic. It's so perfect for me - she knows me well! I wish I had an office to hang it in, but first I need to get it framed, then it will probably go up in my entry hall with my other movie paraphernalia.
On Friday, Katie B and I planned to meet up with Kacey and Becker to see the play “Bitten” that our friend Joan is directing. I was very happy to have Katie stay over on a night where we wouldn't have to get up early and rush out for work. There was also going to be a surprise birthday party for one of the actresses who went to Edinburgh with Kacey, so I thought it would be a lot of fun to be a part of that too.
Then, Friday morning Piper texted me and let me know she had free tickets to see The Book of Mormon, which I've been trying to win lottery tickets to for more than a year. She wanted to know if I could change my plans, and I was really torn, but I couldn't cancel on Katie so I regretfully declined. Then she texted back that there were, in fact, three tickets and Katie could go with us, so that changed the game. I let K&B know and we arranged to get dinner all together beforehand. We went to Obao, the fancy but reasonably priced Thai place on 9th Ave that Piper and I had gone to once and liked, and we sat in the upper floor where it was quiet and the ceiling sparkled with hundreds of spangles.
We left the restaurant and went to see our respective shows. BOM was good, but not as great as I imagined it would be. I compared it to how I felt about Kinky Boots. It was very irreverent, which I expected, but it also had some crude humor I didn't much like. Piper and Katie both seemed to enjoy it a little more than I did. We said goodbye to Piper at the subway and came back home, changed into pajamas and watched an episode of Elementary. I played for her Cara Dillon's version of the song, "Black Is The Colour" that Nina Simone is well-known for singing - I recently acquired her Town Hall concert on vinyl.
Today I went out to hear Lori's vocal recital. She was the last performer after an entire program of child performers on the piano, violin and voice. It was all rather amusing. It actually made me want to pick up the violin again. I came back to get my coat buttons repaired and do some grocery shopping.
I also stopped by the Book-Off store on 45th Street and made a couple of lucky finds - Nicky Holland's 1992 debut CD and the Verve reissue CD of 1952's Ella and Louis, the first album Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong did together. Both of these are hard to find and have been on my wish list for a while. Nicky Holland was a co-writer and collaborator with the 80's group Tears for Fears and co-wrote songs like "Advice for the Young at Heart" and "Badman's Song," which featured vocals by Oleta Adams. I also found Adams' CD, "Circle of One," which features my favorite rendition of the classic song, "Get Here." So I spent most of the evening listening to these wonderful recordings while doing a little extra work for a press release that is going out in the morning.
