The Beauty and the Mess

The sweltering continues. Thankfully, the power was restored to my apartment by Saturday night, so I was able to spend the night comfortably in my own bed. But today, the air conditioner to our department is broken. Not the whole office building. Just our department (and Helen's). We have fans going full blast. No one has come to fix it. I half expect to see a camel go by any second. I'm ready for winter.

Okay, so my weekend. Friday night was happily spent hanging out with my brother, Evan, and Chris. Oh, and watching the Dolphins win their pre-season game! :) Saturday was spent at my parents' to escape the heat. I worked on my band scrapbook for most of the day, until my back started hurting. My parents took me to the new branch of Wolf River Cafe for dinner, and we had some great catfish. On Sunday, I went to church as usual. It was great; my pastor has been doing a series on the necessity of suffering. After service I saw Addie and got to talk to her for a few minutes. Yay! I then spent the afternoon at home, very bored.

Later, longing for something to do, I did the New York City Ballet Workout that Em gave me for my birthday. To my surprise and joy, I could do most of it fairly well. :) I've always loved ballet. I started when I was three, and stopped after we moved here, when I was almost ten. Then I took it again in college, briefly, and went through a major Ballet Phase during which I wore leotards and overalls and my hair in a bun (Jeremy will remember this). I used to wonder if I could have been really good, had I stuck with it, but the truth is, I'm not built the right way. I just really enjoy dancing. I like the way I feel when I'm dancing regularly. I'd like to take a class again, but do they have any classes for non-professionals over 18? I'm, like, elderly in ballet terms.

( A survey and some football philosophy ) Hey, Danielle, did you know Memphis and Ole Miss are playing each other on your birthday? I realized this because it's also Kathy's birthday, and she's having to make her birthday plans around the game. :)

I had an eventful weekend. Highlights:
- Went to two performances of the Cordova Cadets' ENCORE show. ENCORE is a lot like BLAST, for those of you familiar with the wide world of marching. For the rest of you, it's sort of like a cross-breed of marching band and Stomp, on a stage. There are only a few high schools in the country who are doing it, and they're starting to get well-deserved publicity. The Cadets, my sister among them, :) are going on tour in May. If you have a chance to see the show, don't miss it. It's amazing.
- Went to Ballet Memphis' performance of The Little Mermaid, in which my college minister's wife, Robin, played the mermaid's sister. It was a beautiful ballet. However, many children in the audience were unpleasantly surprised, since the Andersen story is not the Disney story. ("Mommy, is that Ariel? Mommy, what is Ariel doing with that knife?") It's an incredibly sad story, but I think it may have helped me release some of my own feelings, in a positive way. :)
- Went to Cafe Expresso after the ballet and had hazelnut cake. I was still shaky from sugar overload the next morning, but it was worth it.
- Visited every swimsuit place between Bartlett and Hickory Hill. Found nothing, and was traumatized by a slightly pushy salesgirl at the Tan Line who wanted to judge for herself whether the bathingsuits looked good on me or not. I briefly considered fleeing, possibly without even changing back into my clothes. I did see one suit that looked okay, so I may go back for it if I don't find anything better. What are swimsuit designers thinking? I have plenty to say on this topic, but I don't think I should in a co-ed venue.
- At the Salvation Army store on Saturday, a nice-looking guy walked over to me and told me I was pretty. Since nothing like that had ever happened to me before, I was unable to do anything but blush and smile nervously. Then he just walked away. (Says my dad: "That's sort of the story of your life, though, isn't it?" Me: "Yeah, the last two years condensed to about five seconds.") I was unsettled for the rest of the day. Then, last night, MaryElaine's brother told me that I was very photogenic. I thought he was kidding, but she assured me he was not. I already knew that I am not an ugly girl. Now, I see that males do exist who share this opinion. This is comforting, but also frustrating; a hundred guys could tell me I'm pretty, but the one guy who matters will still never think so. He'll continue to think I am nice and smart and fun, but he'll never think I am pretty. Even if 9 out of 10 doctors agree.
I don't want to end on another pathetic note, so: Go eat your vegetables!