pseydtonne | Unexpected, wonderful weekend

This is the first time I've sat down at a computer since leaving work on Friday. I got a call on my cel around 2 o'clock Friday afternoon. It was Noah, a good friend from college. He and his wife Dina (another good friend) were already in town from Pittsburgh and wondered if I could swing by the restaurant near their hotel for a late lunch.

I couldn't do lunch, so I did the next best thing and offered to get them from their hotel when I got out of work to bring them to

metahacker's place. My office is about five minutes from their hotel so this would be easy.

We wound up hanging out all evening as well as all of Saturday. I even gave Dina a ride to Brookline to visit some relatives. She was in shock that a liquor store could be open on Sunday (and relieved -- she told me it's a Ukrainian tradition to bring booze and cake to family upon a short-notice visit).

Also to visit was Jason, another revered friend from college now living in Atlanta. It lifted me up to hang out with all of these people again. I also met a couple new people and saw our friend Larsh's house in Somerville. Yes, a single-family house in the middle of Somerville.

Even

fennel showed up to Larsh's. It was odd to bring these worlds of people together in one room for cake and BBQ. It was also a lot of fun.

My only embarrassment was that I had larangytis. I should've spent the weekend in silence, as I sounded like Macy Gray on Friday. I need my voice to be normal for my job. I can't relax it during the work day or I go broke. Strangely, I had a really good sales day on Friday even with the three-note range and the four-packs-a-day gravel. By the end of Saturday, I'd talked another blue streak and sounded slightly better but had worn away at the gains from the previous night's sleep.

Today, I was able to shut up a lot more. It's obviously difficult for me not to talk. I dropped off Dina, then saw Coffee and Cigarettes with my munkee and

michigansundog. There is one piece in the middle about one British actor living in Los Angeles who sits for tea with another British actor of whom the former is a fan. It's good and I refuse to give it away. Enjoy the flick.

I sound a lot more recovered now. I can do a breathy, crappy version of my regular voice. Whenever I get a bad enough cold, my voice drops nearly and octave. I can't do the low voice as well when I'm not sick and vice versa. Of course I prefer the range of my normal voice, even though it is more sing-songy and not as sexy. I suspect another generous night of sleep and it'll sound a lot more like my normal voice.

I miss being able to sing the most. I sing to myself a lot. When I try even a simple line, I get a lot of hiss and a crackle. Gah.

My only other concern from the weekend was the increased paranoia about the White House. I prefer to think the galvanization of Americans against obvious tyranny will simply prevail this time. Then again, I could sell myself into either direction. It's more that I prefer being optimistic because it's less painful.

Thank you, everyone!

-maybe a lozenge? Dante