Well, dear readers, there are days and there are days and yesterday was a DAY and then some. However, for a plethora of reasons, what could have been a really stressful day turned out to be a rather nice day – busy, but nice. In a spot of good timing, I got up three minutes before both CDs and Cason Murphy arrived. We immediately began packing up the CDs, which went more quickly than usual thanks to everything being prepped within an inch of its life. We got all the singles and multiples done, and then moved directly on to the bigger packages. Happily, we only had to put postage on two boxes. We were to the post office by ten after ten, which was amazing. Unfortunately, the post office was a disaster. I dropped Cason off so he could get in line with the two packages we had to let them do, while I went and dumped all the other packages on the loading dock. That took about ten minutes, and when I joined Cason he was still about ten people away from getting to the window. We finally got up to the window around ten-thirty. So many people on line are not only not prepared, they are actively stupid, and just don’t understand how much grief their stupidity causes postal workers AND the people on line. We got one of the good workers, and he got everything into the computer and we were out of there by ten-fifty and back home in time for Cason to leave at eleven. I then took the big online dealer packages over to the UPS Store and got those on their way. I then came home, shaved and showered, and then answered a few e-mails and then the new helper arrived. The new helper is the daughter of two of my favorite booksellers, Patti and Craig Graham aka Vagabond Books. I’ve known them since the 1970s. I haven’t seen Katie, the daughter, since she was fourteen. She’s now a completely adorable twenty-four-year-old. I showed her how the Kritzerland addressing and shipping works and she picked it up so fast I was astonished. Then Joanna Erdos arrived and we all toddled off to Costco, where we immediately ran into my cousin Alan! Go know. We bought a lot of food platters – pinwheels, sandwiches, veggie platters, and cookie platters, waters and soft drinks, then we got utensils, plates, and cups and lucked into a short checkout line. It cost LACCTAA about $300 but I felt it was worth it for the goodwill it provides. We then came back to my house so Joanna could take some of the stuff in her car. Katie came with me and then we all met at LACC and set up for the partay, which was supposed to begin at five-thirty but didn’t start until six. It was mostly current students and faculty, but unlike last year, this year we actually had about five alums show up, so that was nice. Katie is just one of those people who’s a natural problem-solver – she just knew the answer or figured out the answer to every question I had. I’m going to use her services a lot, I think.
The party was fun, the kids devoured almost all the food (only a handful of pinwheels were left), and then Katie and I packed up the leftover utensils, plates, and napkins, which I’ll now use for my Christmas Eve Do. We came back to the house, she helped me carry stuff in, and then she was on her way and since I hadn’t had a bite to eat all day, I toddled off to the Studio Café, where I had a full order of my beloved wings (drumettes) and a BMO scramble (bacon, mushrooms, and onions). It was a little too much food but that didn’t stop me from eating all of it. I figured after all the lugging I’d done, I deserved every bite. I came home and had a Cherry Ripe – I’d received a big ol’ box of them I’d ordered from Australia and they arrived yesterday. I do love my Cherry Ripes, especially when they’re frozen.
After that, I just sat at the computer like so much fish and answered e-mails and relaxed, and listened to a few CDs. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because there are days and there are days and today will merely be a day rather than a DAY.
Today, I must have a brief telephonic call in the morning hours, and then I have a noon lunch meeting at Musso and Frank – I haven’t decided whether I’ll have the combo Louis or the cracked crab. The latter is very calorie and diet friendly, so it may be that. I’ll also try to do a two-mile jog at ten. The rest of the day will be errands and whatnot, writing the blurbs for our two new releases announcing next week, and getting the audio clips and all of it to our web designer.
Tomorrow I have some errands and whatnot, and then a dinner to attend. The weekend will be fairly light and I hope it stays that way. Next week, I’m seeing my daughter (either Sunday or Monday), am having a visit with our very own Juliana A. Hansen, who’s in town, and announcing our two new releases. And, of course, getting ready for the annual (I think we’re going on twenty years this year) BK Christmas Eve Do.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, try to jog, have a telephonic conversation, lunch at Musso and Frank, do errands and whatnot, write blurbs, and then relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s time for our ten best of the year lists. Today we begin with – 10 Best Theatergoing Experiences of the Year. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst we remember that there are days and there are days and today will be a day rather than a DAY.