Bridal Show

We went to the Patriot Center today for the Bridal Showcase. Several other women had dragged their fiances, too, so I didn’t feel too badly about bringing Andrew along.

We picked up brochures from several hotels reasonably close to the Arlington Planetarium, though it’s difficult to find much that’s, say, walking distance. If we don’t get a list from Devri soon, we’ll start doing site visits at a couple of these places. One is a Holiday Inn in Ballston and another is a hotel (can’t remember without my notes which one) near Tyson’s Corner. Both have some good-looking all-inclusive wedding reception packages including an open bar (which we don’t really want), champagne toast, seated or buffet dinner, coat room, a bridal suite, and discounts on rooms for out-of-town guests. The one at Tyson’s is actually very close to our budgeted amount, though with gratuity and taxes, we may have to do some scrimping.

We also talked with a baker who is just getting into wedding cakes. Her goal is to work with brides on a budget. I liked that….I *am* a bride on a budget. I was also impressed that when I told her my theme, she seemed to get excited and started spewing ideas for how to incorporate stars and moons in the cake.

There were loads of photographers there, too, though most were way out of our price range. We did find a few, though, that were more reasonable, and we will definitely be contacting several of them.

The show, though, has gotten me worried about all the planning that is involved. We are at t minus 8 months, and we don’t even have a reception site locked in. Usually that is taken care of at the one year mark. And several of the photographers were already booked up for the Saturdays in September, and some in October. We need to get on the ball!

Paycheck

3.5/5 stars

While I was hoping for a good sci-fi flick when I went to see this movie, I certainly wasn’t expecting much. I’m not usually a big Ben Affleck fan, nor do I particularly like Uma Thurman much. (One might ask, then, why I went to see Paycheck in the first place.)

If I ignored the science in the movie (which I usually have to do, even though it’s really hard), it was actually a good thriller. Neither Ben nor Uma annoyed me as they usually do, which might be due to John Woo’s direction, or maybe I’m softening up. This was a fun Saturday afternoon flick.

Lesson 01/21/04 — Cancelled

I cancelled my lesson tonight because I just wasn’t feeling well. I hate being a girl sometimes.

Baskets

I bought some baskets at World Market today to organize my office, but Artemis thinks that they will be a good way for her to get herself organized…

Stomp!

I dragged Andrew to Stomp today. I’ve wanted to see them for years, but was too poor the other times they came through town. When I heard the radio ads last November, I called and got us tickets. Good tickets — we were in row C, which was actually the fifth row, though after the show I was glad we weren’t any closer.

The show was very high energy with rhythms created by various and sundry objects — matchboxes, cardboard tubes, lighters, trash cans, trash can lids. They even threw in kitchen sinks. With water.

Einstein’s Dreams

by Alan Lightman

I picked this book up partly because I’m familiar with Lightman’s textbook writing, and was curious to see how he would do with a novel. Einstein’s Dreams is a series of short dreams that Lightman imagines Einstein may have had while developing his special theory of relativity. These dreams explore the different aspects of space and time that Einstein’s theory imply. In one, time is felt by all people at all times to pass in the same way — it this world, there is no “time flies when you’re having fun.” In another dream, the difference in time experienced by people living in a valley versus those living on a mountaintop is noticeable. Most people try to live in the mountains, and come down only when pressed by business.

At first I was jarred by each dream, wondering what exactly was going on. But after reading a few, I started to see the different concepts of relativity that Lightman was exploring in each dream. I wonder, however, if this novel would be completely lost on someone without at least a passing knowledge of relativity.

The Last Samurai

4/5 stars

I went into this film not expecting much more than another Tom Cruise vehicle. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised. Cruise is a true American hero recruited to help train the Japanese forces to combat the Samurai. He is captured during the first battle between the ill-prepared Japanese army and the Samurai, and is forced to live among them until the winter snows pass.

This one definitely needs to be seen on a large screen.

Lesson 01/14/04

Fred was still getting over whatever illness he had last week, so we didn’t play any of my duets.

Instead, I mentioned that I’d been having some trouble playing with the 2 1/2 reed this week. I put it on Monday and played fine for about 5 minutes, and then I couldn’t get anything out of the horn except air or a magnificent squeak. Tuesday I was able to play with 2 1/2 reed for about 20 minutes before the same thing happened. Fred’s not sure what’s going on, but I may just need to work more with the 2 1/2 — using my jaw to add more pressure. Plus, it’s not unusual for a player to have two strengths of reed that they play.

I had put my 2 1/2 reed on, optimistically, and played a few things with it tonight. The sound is pretty good, when I can get it out. And, of course, I didn’t have any of the problems I’d had with the reed at home. I’m going to continue working on three of the duets I’ve been practicing. I’m also going to continue working with A-major, trying to play a few pieces to better ingrain the scale in my head and fingers. Right now I still find it hard to play, especially fitting in G# — the side key is a bit awkward to get to in a hurry. Fred pointed out that I can just keep that key down for any of the lower notes (F, E, D), so as long as I know a G# is coming up, I can get the side key down anytime before hand. I’ll work on that with the pieces I’m playing. Eventually, I trust, G# will become second nature….I hope.

The Mystery of the 99 Steps (Nancy Drew Mystery #43)

by Carolyn Keene

I haven’t read a Nancy Drew novel since I was a little girl. The only book I remember was the one Mom had on her bookshelf, The Hidden Staircase, though I no longer remember the story. When I saw this at a local library book sale, I couldn’t resist.

Nancy is asked by her friend, Mrs. Blair, asks Nancy to help her understand a dream she’s been having about her childhood and a staircase with 99 steps. Mrs. Blair grew up in France, and since Nancy’s father is in Paris on a case of his own, Nancy and her friends, George and Bess, join him for their own French adventure.

It was a fun read. I enjoyed the mystery, and solved it about the same time as Nancy did. Keene has an easy style and keeps just enough of the mystery up her sleeve to keep me interested. I’ll certainly be reading more — maybe I can find that copy of The Hidden Staircase at Mom’s house on my next visit.

Slave Girls

by Wensley Clarkson

Between this book and Witch Hunt (a book I’ve been reading since October, but still haven’t finished), I’m beginning to think that I should give up on true crime as a genre unless someone specifically recommends it.

Clarkson reports 20 cases of women and girls who are forced into slavery. Their stories range from girls sold to slavers by their parents who are then sold to “husbands” or brothels to women who believed they were making their way to a better life only to find that their passports have been confiscated by their new masters who then force them to work to pay off their debt. Perhaps the most disturbing story, though, was of a woman whose husband sold her to his friend. This friend had been finding it difficult to find a prostitute to service him, because of his well-known sadistic tendencies. After “buying” his friend’s wife, he could demand that she come over any time he wanted, and would beat her senseless. The wife eventually killed her husband, and was acquitted of the murder when prosecutors heard her tale.

While the stories were compelling, if frightening, the writing itself sucked. Clarkson needs to learn the old writer’s adage of show, don’t tell. I don’t need to hear him call a man evil and perverted a sentence after I’ve been told the man wants a 12-year-old bride to use any way he pleases. I get the point. He needs a better editor.