...while I recover from the massive migraine that made a nest in my head today. It's now 2:30 p.m. and finally it's lifting. Had a lovely birthday, I'll update this later, but here's a photo of me and Willow at my little pot luck dinner. I'm wearing my new hat, a gift from Michael, which apparently looks rather good. Wide-brimmed hats, huh? How 19th century...
Here are the other pics, if you want to see, on Flickr (if you're on FB they're also on there).
[Edited to add:]
For starters, I did not get to yoga today, or the farmer's market, or the beach. I wasn't going to be able to do all three, maybe two out of three, but I was floored by a lovely migraine. As migraines go, it was not the most acute I've had (I only threw up once!), but it had teeth. And it hung on. From 6 this morning. So two thirds of my Sunday were spent in or on my bed, in the dark, trying to sleep and being kept awake by one or other of the cats who were purring loudly to help.
Anyway, yesterday was my birthday, as pretty much everyone knows. I started off by going to yoga, of course. Then in the afternoon I went with the usual suspects to see UP at the El Capitan in 3-D. Fabulous movie, by the way. I think it might snag a best movie nomination from the Academy this year, and I don't just mean best animation.
Part of the reason we go to the El Capitan is that they usually have a fun pre-show, usually populated by various and sundry Disney characters. In my experience, the pre-shows have always been a lot of fun, especially if you're a Disney fan. But this time, I'm sorry to say, the show was horrifying. Don't get me wrong, the performers were great, and they really put their hearts into it. But the concept was just an acid trip, and I've never even taken acid. Something about summer and being cheerful, and then a couple of songs you recognized like the Harry Belafonte song they used in Beetlejuice. There were some Disney characters, Donald and Mickey and a couple more, but they mostly bounced around in the background. We clapped and cheered because, frankly, we felt bad for those performers. I mean, can you imagine? Some of them probably went to Julliard, and here they were. Better than the unemployment line, granted, but WTF? It seemed like Disney hired an outside entertainment contractor and didn't check before approving the show.
After the movie (again, awesome movie, highly recommend it even if you're not into animation), we trooped back to my place for a little pot luck dinner. The rules were no gluten, no pork, and vegan was a preference. We got a bunch of vegan stuff, so for once Dee didn't just eat the food that she brought. Gluten and pork were banned because of my and Willow's allergies. Kristen is a picky eater, too, but as far as I know she's not allergic to stuff. But I think she got something to eat.
There were more people here than I've ever had, except one time I had a homework party during the Introduction Leaders Program, and it got unexpectedly mobbed. But that was years ago. Anyway, my little place was kinda cramped, but the conversation flowed despite the occasional nerd moment, like when Michael said "Like the first line of Anna Karenina says..." Bless his heart.
We had a minor cat incident. Missy, old lady that she is, didn't leave when she started getting stressed by the people and the noise and when Willow was petting her she hissed and scratched. Note to self, make sure cats are securely plopped on bed before the guests arrive.
Today I finally got out of bed once the migraine subsided, and went to see Transformers in the theater with Ivy and Frederick. I don't think the plot is its biggest problem, I think the dialogue is trite, the music is overblown, and there were so many shots-in-the-round that a couple of times I got dizzy and felt a little nauseated. But it's still good fun. I think my favorite moments are the shot of John Turturro's butt in a jock strap, which then goes around to the front -- by far the most random shot in the movie; and at the end, there's a shot with one of the transformers standing by the Sphinx, and there's a bird fluttering on the Sphinx's nose that looks suspiciously like a duck. I'm telling you, ducks are awesome.
And that's it. Tomorrow I once again make the attempt to suck it up and do my jury duty duty. I keep promising I'm just going to do it, and hopefully not end up on a jury, but then I can't stand it and I postpone it. It's not that I don't want to be on a jury, it's just that then I have to make up all those hours, and I'm still trying to make up the hours from my March vacation, for heaven's sake.
