weekend update

Today is Prickle-Prickle, day 69 in the season of Chaos, 3269.

I think I need a weekend to recover from my weekend. Sheesh.

Saturday we ran errands, which included going to The Apothecary. That place is just insane on Saturday afternoons, especially since they're only open until 2 pm. Once we managed to flee, we got lunch and headed up to White Marsh to go to Ikea. The plan, such as it was, was to run in, pick up two more of the dresser I have right now which is kind of worn out, and then head home to find something else to do with our evening. Good plan, in theory. It turns out they've changed the design of the dresser I have such that there are no handles on the drawers anymore, which bugs me. So after a total of about 2 and a half hours running around and scanning the self-serve shelves, I decided on another dresser I liked somewhat better and that was actually made out of real wood. Trundled back down to the self-serve area again and went to pick up that dresser only to find that they had three boxes, all of them marked (2 of 2). Despite the BIG HONKIN' RED STICKER that says "you need boxes 1 and 2 for this item", at least one person and maybe up to three of them picked up a single box. The customer service folks said "we're getting more in tomorrow", not that that did me any good since no way was I coming back the next day. Thwarted again, I stood in line for 20 minutes to buy the nightstand and a mirror and a stuffed kitty and then we fled. After all that, we decided to get food delivered and stay in to watch "Red Dwarf" and "Blow Dry". (What a great movie. Poly and queer friendly AND Alan Rickman, hard to get much better than that.)

Yesterday I went downtown to the Sackler Gallery to see the last day of the The Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola Bronzes from South India exhibition with curiousangel. I got to spend some time sitting out in the garden behind the castle enjoying the sunshine, and had a nice afternoon with curiousangel, who obtained enlightenment (on a spring). Apparently I just missed gsh there too, although I did run into his lovely wife. Unfortunately around 3 a killer headache kicked in, bad enough that I couldn't eat more than 5 or 6 bites of the faboo food I ordered at City Lights of China. I'd never in my life had a headache so bad it made me queasy before yesterday afternoon, it's a damn shame it had to happen in the middle of an otherwise nice afternoon. Luckily it cleared up just enough to let me drive home from the Metro station, but I did pretty much pass out on the sofa and sleep for a few hours after taking a boatload of painkillers.

Tonight, I clean the kitchen, finish assembling my nightstand, get postcards to elynne and rmjwell in the mail, and try to get to bed at a reasonable hour.

(no subject)

Neat stuff going on at the Freer and the Sackler Gallery.

3/23 - Kimono Fashion Show (anotheranon, interested?)

Twenty-five professional kimono dressing artists (kitsuke) from Tokyo display the array of kimono patterns worn in Japan today and demonstrate the traditional wedding kimono. After the performance, one-of-a-kind silk kimonos are available for sale, and Paul MacLardy and Cheryl Imperatore, authors of Kimono Vanishing Tradition, sign books and answer questions.

3/29 - Anime Marathon (11:00 pm - 7:00 pm)

4/8 - The Floating World Revealed: Ukiyo-e Paintings and Prints

Ann Yonemura, senior associate curator of Japanese art, discusses the Freer Gallery exhibition of Japanese art inspired by theater districts and pleasure quarters of the Edo period (1615-1868), which celebrates the era's glamorous courtesans and kabuki actors.

5/2 - The Storydancer: Zuleikha in Concert

This innovative Santa Fe-based performer interweaves Eastern and Western storytelling and dance to create an original rhythmic language that embodies an expressive form of spontaneity through movement.

5/3 (11:45 am)- Prachi Dalal: Kathak Dance

This visiting artist from Bombay performs and dicusses the north Indian classical dance style kathak, a blend of Hindu and Islamic styles that combines narrative and abstract movement, telling stories through musical lyrics and movement.

5/3 (2 pm) - Cambodian Classics Ensemble

The Cambodian Classics Ensemble performs stories from the Khmer court repertoire, demonstrating how stories are told through lyrics, gestures, and music.

5/30 - Krishna Mohan Batt, sitar; Anindo Chatterjee, tabla

Acclaimed sitarist Krishna Mohan Batt performs "lost" Rajasthani ragas and north Indian classical ragas.