Today was my last day of work for the Criscuoli family.
We spent the afternoon at the sprinkler park and my tan approached levels i've never known possible for a pasty little dutch girl. I am so pleased!
Goodbye was awkward and hurried, but oh well. I've never been good at that.
So this weekend is my "fresh start" weekend.
When I got home I got to work cleaning.
I took out all the trash and sorted out all the recyclables, leaving them in the hallway for Dan to take down (which he did, and then mopped the hallway and made it sparkle- thanks hunbun!)
I swept and mopped the floors and bleached and scrubbed the hell out of them until they sparkled white (or ivory, because it's ivory tile). Hopefully no more animals will feel the desire to do what comes natch'erly on my clean floors, or they'll find themselves being shipped to the glue factory.
I scrubbed down the stove and the window sills and even the walls.
I cleaned out the fridge and organized all of our cabinets.
...and then I went grocery shopping and bought enough food to stock the entire kitchen. I LOVE coming home frm grocery shopping and unpacking them all into their proper places, and then standing back at how full and organized everything looks. We havent had the money to go full-on grocery shopping in a couple months, just enough to fill in the holes. But I got paid today and Dan gets paid tomorrow and I am starting a new job with a gigantic pay increase- so I went nuts and bought everything I thought we could possibly need.
Our good friends Kate and Joe moved in downstairs yesterday (Brackney and Scott, in case you know them, Quillen). I am so. excited. to. have. them. here.
Kate came grocery shopping with me, and she's downstairs making stuffed shells and garlic bread for all of us for dinner tonight because I cut her hair earlier.
Dan and Joe are at Home Depot, buyin' stuff and bein' dudely.
Kate and Joe even have 2 dogs that are Steve's new best friends.
We are couple-friends made in heaven. It's incredible.
Last night we sat on the roof and talked until midnight (wayyyy past my bedtime) whi,e watching the skyline and filling each other in on our lives and the move and city life.
This is really so terrific, and much needed for Dan and myself. I'm so happy.
Tomorrow is new hair day (YES, TOTALLY FUN), and we have a dresser getting delivered so we can finally organize the bedroom. When I get home I'm going to do that straightaway, and then work on cleaning the other rooms as thoroughly as I did the kitchen. We have a couple that Dan knows staying with us next week, and I want to demonstrate my amazing wifeliness.
Plus I dont want to have to clean again for a long time, as I'll be working my tail off with my new job.
Also, with Kate and Joe moving in, their place is all clean and organized, and I have home-envy. Dan and I will be shopping for plenty of organizational-type things this weekend so the place doesnt look quite so...overstuffed. I think cluttered homes are cozy, but I'm more one for organized chaos.
I'm really excited about this weekend.
Everyone come visit soon. I'm so damn proud of this home.
So we decided to avoid the heat by bailing on Rogue Wave, who was opening for DCFC last night at McCarren Park Pool.
We waited until around 7 to leave the apartment.
I wore my favorite skirt- it's a wrap-around patchwork india silk number that I know Alisha would borrow in a heartbeat- and a teal beater-style tank top, with my trusty comfiest flip flops. I didnt care about looking cool, I cared about staying cool. In a 100 degree+ heat wave, less is less, and that is more.
We met up with our pal and a girl he had met at a bar the night before. She was very sweet, but very...young seeming. It was a little weird, but thankfully we only had to socialize for a few minutes before Death Cab showed up on stage.
For those of who who haven't been to McCarren, it's a pretty great venue. It used to be a huge community pool like back in the 70's and it's about the size of a football field. Now it's empty, and a few nights a week they fill it with people for these awesome summer concerts. Last year, Dan and I saw the Beastie Boys play for their first ever Brooklyn show. It was so sweet.
Anyway, I was geared up for something huge: my first Death Cab experience. I was expecting to be physically and emotionally...transformed, I guess.
So they started, and the sound was all off. It all felt like we were wearing earplugs. The bass was way up and the treble was way down, and you couldnt hear any of Gibbard's guitar. His voice was tinny and weak. This makes it tricky to get into the groove. After a song or two (lots of new stuff, which I'm not totally entranced by), they started getting the sound levels right, but something was still missing.
Gibbard sounded really weak, still, and he kept coughing. He wasn't hoarse at all, there was just no power behind his voice. He was making a valiant effort to keep his enrgy level up, but I was still waiting to be grabbed. Also, his guitars were all out of tune and the sound would come in and out. SKFHAD;SGH;D
Finally, about 45 minutes into the set and after 3 or 4 guitar exchanges, he screamed "FUUUUUUCKKKKKKKKKK" (not into the mic) and pitched his guitar to the sound guy backstage, then grabbed his mic from the stand. He went apeshit. He jumped into the crowd, he danced around, he totally let loose. That's when my heart soared out of my ribcage and went to rest at his feet. He was amazing. He was on, he was alive, he was beautiful.
And then his mic went out.
While waiting for the sound guys to fix THAT, he bounced around and greeted fans and danced on stage with Chris Walla.
Also, the bass player (name?) was amazing to watch. Dan mentioned that he used to hide in the back and just do the bass groove thing, but he was SO INTO IT. He was my fave to watch. I could feel every bass line in my fingertips. I loved it.
So the mic turned back on, and the night progressed ever upward.
I was lost, I was in love.
I kept thinking, this is my life.
This is my husband.
These are my friends.
This is my city.
This is it, this is it.
The little tendrils of hair that escape my pony tail and usually rest on my neck were lifted in the wind and tickling my face. The air was moving in such a way that I felt weightless, that if I moved just so I might be swept up in it and float around as if in a dream ...my skirt was swirling around my knees, I could feel the night air on my eyelids and my scalp and between my fingers. It was fluid. I can't even explain it. The purple sky, the brillant flashes of lightning miles behind us, the music, the heartbeats...
It was magical.
We were electric.
And then the wind changed, and brought with it stinging dirt and leaves and twigs. Suddenly the gusts were cold as ice, and traveling with all the speed and strength of a barreling semi truck. The lights above the band were swaying precariously, violently. The banner at the back of the stage billowed out like a sail and looked as though they might tear at any moment.
They wrapped up "Sound of Settling", thanked us, and ran.
The park directors asked us urgently to get home as soon as possible.
The sky was no longer a brilliant violet fading into a soft lavender- it was the angry purple and gray of a painful bruise. The wind was swirling and stinging, the trees were bent low to the ground.
We left as quickly as possible, but not before a beer tent released itself from its holds and nearly came hurtling through the air at us. I felt Dan throw himself over me, and force me into crouching position with him arching protectively above me. People screamed and shouted and raced to the exit.
We figured we had time to get to the train before the rain came.
Wrong. And the rain, like the wind, was merciless. It came in fat, stinging drops that felt like exploding water balloons on our bare skin. Slowly and painfully at first, then faster, and sideways. We watched it move in circles and waves on the cross streets. People clustered on stoops and under awnings- but some of us pushed through. Wet is wet, so we kept walking. My drenched silk skirt was flapping in the wind and whipping my legs, my tank was plastered to my stomach and ice cold. Water fell in rivulets down my face and in my eyes. I tucked my glasses into my bra for lack of pockets, and we ran.
About 5 blocks later, I no longer felt my glasses.
I yelled for Dan, and we turned back. Nearly blind and with raindrops careening into my eyes, I walked slowly back up the sidewalks, scanning the ground for a darkish blur or a shining reflection...nothing.
I'm crying, but the tears get lost among the raindrops.
I can't see. I can't see a thing.
Dan catches up with me, and he stops and swipes his foot through every ocean-sized puddle in every gutter. I stoop to peek at every glittering surface. Dan keeps telling me "It's just broken glass, honey." But I'm blind and crying and I can't tell the difference between a beer bottle and my glasses.
The rain slows, and we're just left with chilly night air and water dripping from every surface. I watch water run in rivers towards sewers, feeling my spirits get pulled in with all the debrit.
I walk ahead to ask people if they've passed any glasses on the sidewalk, and I hear Dan yell my name from a block behind me.
I can only make out his silhouette. He looks like a soldier coming back from the war.
He's holding my glasses in the air, and his shoes in his hand. They had been in a gutter, in a puddle of gray water.
I hug him so tight and kiss his wet beard and tell him he's my hero.
And we walk home barefoot and wet in Brooklyn, holding hands.
I posted pictures of phase one of going blonde on my myspace:
www.myspace.com/shallwedanse
saturday is phase 2- i have an appointment with Antonia at Arrojo Studio (should sound familiar to those What Not To Wear fans!). I'll post more pictures afterwards!
also, you can see how gigantic my puppy has gotten in the last 5 months. It's unbelievable.
tonight is my first ever death cab concert.
its going to be 106 degrees out.
and i don't mind a bit. i will enjoy it with all of my body, including my....
(i miss my spring arbor pals. sigh.)
last night it was so hot in our bedroom that dan and i slept in our skivvs with our heads at the foot of the bed to be closer to the fan.
i use the term "slept" loosely- it was more of a light doze, drifting in and out of heat-induced nightmares.
dan awoke me mid-doze and asked me to switch spots with him, because every time he closed his eyes he pictured a man in a mask hiding in our office (on his side of the bed) and he couldn't fall asleep because he was scared- errr, uneasy, we'll say.
so he threw me to the wolves and made me sleep on the dangerous side. thanks, honey. i always said i wanted to die first, but i didn't mean at 23. sheesh.
just kidding, it was all very precious and i wasn't scared a bit. though i did get up and make sure the door to the hallway was locked, haha.
kate brackney and jow from CANADA move into the apartment below us today.
this is going to be so great.
also, our kitty cat might be preggers, as dan mentioned in his post.
which means: FREE KITTENS TO ANYONE INTERESTED!
i'll keep you posted.
So my wife is super hot.
Also, this is the kind of thing that happens every day at work:
And my puppy is pretty great looking and getting better behaved by the day, my lesbian cat is finally calming down (and may be pregnant, IRONY), my apartment is awesome and two beautiful and friendly friends from Michigan are moving in downstairs, the Wings got the cup, Obama got the nomination, I'm thinking about applying at med school, our reception is in a few weeks, we're going on a cruise, my friends are all talented and happy as well.
EVERYTHING IS COMING UP BEARS.
-DvE
1. I'm dying my hair.
.....blonde.
.....very very blonde.
I'm trying to safely go from very very very dark red (almost black) with fire engine red streaks to icy platinum blonde, like this:
I bought a product called One n' Only Colorfix, and used it to remove as much of the permanent haircolor as possible.
I'm currently at a pretty hilarious shade of strawberry blonde, but it is unbelievable light, considering I haven't even touched it with bleach yet.
I'm letting it rest tonight, and then attempting bleaching #1 tomorrow. It may take two tries, but my hair has always taken to lighteners really well. Dan even promised to help me apply it. What a fab husband.
I'll post pictures when I'm done!
2. I start my new job in a week and a half. So I got some new shoes, because I'l be walking alllllll over the city! We're going to take long walks with the stroller, lay on the playgrounds, go to central park and the zoo and all sorts of fun places- and my chucks are about to die so I needed somthing a little more functional.
I got these:
and these:
3. Dan may be going to med school. This is kind of huge and amazing. He's in th process of gathering info from a few different schools, mostly in Chicago and in West Virginia. We're really excited about this idea. We'll keep you posted!
4. There are more updates but I'm tired so I'll fill you in tomorrow.
Three high school seniors have been barred from Bloomington Kennedy High School's graduation ceremony tonight at Target Center because of a prank involving Confederate flags.
Rick Kaufman, a spokesman for the Bloomington School District, said three male students brought the flags onto school property Tuesday morning. He said they were "carrying and waving" the flags in the parking lot as parents dropped students off for class.
Principal Ron Simmons spoke with the boys shortly after the incident and suspended them for three days. Superintendent Les Fujitake affirmed Simmons' decision Tuesday evening despite objections from the boys' parents and other students. School officials declined to release the students' names, citing student privacy policies.
"The Confederate flag is an issue we take seriously regardless of their intent," Kaufman said.
Today, between 25 and 30 Kennedy students staged a protest near the school. Kaufman said several students wore white T-shirts with the three students' names and chanted "let them walk."
Kennedy seniors were on campus this morning for a graduation ceremony rehearsal. School officials asked the protesters to remove the T-shirts before they entered the rehearsal. Kaufman said students complied with the request.
"This doesn't mean they [the three males] won't get their diploma. They've earned that. But graduation is a privilege, not a right," he said.
Bloomington's conduct policies ban students from any school-sponsored activities including graduation during a suspension. Kennedy's student body is made up of more than 40 percent minority students, according to the state Department of Education.
Kaufman said it's unfortunate that the boys' decision resulted in their exclusion from the graduation ceremony, but the ban isn't new.
"We believe and have communicated with students that the Confederate flag represents hatred, bigotry, intolerance, slavery, civil rights issues and discrimination," he said. Kennedy students know they're not allowed to have a Confederate flag on school property because it may violate the district's anti-discrimination rules, he said.
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And don't pull the "Free Speech" card on this situation, like so many inbred and (hatefully) ignorant people are attempting to do. In our society, there is no plausibility to saying you are ignorant of the resounding symbolism of the Confederate flag. It stands for hatred, bigotry, intolerance and racism. Which, consequentially, ARE long-standing traditions in the South.
Touting confederate flag, a burning cross, a Nazi armband, a noose, or a white hood are all synonymous in the US. It doesn't matter if you're young or old, from the South or North, or actually harbor any malicious intent. Factor in the reality that 40% of the student body are minorities, and the Seniors were waving the flag with intent and purpose, and you get a deserved sentence.
A Senior with a Confederate flag sticker on the back of their car may just be an ignorant or covertly racist moron. To bring it to school and wave it around, shortly before graduation, is a level of stupidity on par with believing in those ideals or thinking the flag itself stands for anything to be proud of.
