i went to the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library a couple of days ago for the first time, and i liked it a lot. once you actually get into the buiding, it’s a lovely place. there’s very tight security there, though, so don’t think you can just waltz right in with your cup of coffe and your backpack.
i went with Mom, who had just bought a cup of coffee. No coffee in the building, said the security guard. Can i just set it here on your desk, then? asked Mom. No, he said. How about if i leave it outside the door? Nope, not a good idea. Oh dear. We had to put our purses, coats, and bags in a locker. I really need my afternoon caffeine, said Mom. Could i put the coffee in the locker? She smiled her sweetest smile and he said OK. It seemed that this was probably not strictly adhering to the obviously very very stringent no-coffee-in-the-building rules, and i hoped the nice security guard wouldn’t get fired for this laxness regarding Mom and her caffeine addiction.
We piled our stuff in the locker and looked around. right now they’re having a display of holiday quilts, which are pretty mand appropriately holiday-like. There’s an enormously tall xmas tree in the lobby, and i wondered how long it took them to put up all the lights. a very long time, is my guess. it was decorated with cabins made of popsicle sticks, and Mom observed that they were probably made by children. I hope so, i said, i can’t imagine that they bought them at a store, or that adults would do such shoddy work. I don’t mean they were bad or anything, but clearly they were the project of small children.
the library part of the library, filled with the various lincoln-type books, is a great, sunny room. i thought it would be a wonderful place to sit and write, but one problem would be that i couldn’t bring a beverage in with me, and the other problem is that i bet they don’t let you take a computer in, either. maybe i’ll just go there and hang out, meditate or something.
i’ve tried meditating before, but i’m generally too impatient to sit quietly, and it’s almost impossible to get my mind to stop whirring. on the other hand, if it were to stop whirring, that might be a sign of illness or trouble, so the whirring is OK by me. maybe i should try meditating early in the morning, when i’m not awake anyway. perhaps meditating while still lying in bed. but then maybe this would be called “sleeping.”
on other fronts, my xmas shopping is almost complete, and i’ve even made a dent in the wrapping. also, i just got cast in the play “you can’t take it with you” at the theatre centre, and i’m excited about it. i got the part i wanted; her name is essie, and she practices ballet all the time, although she’s horrible at it. it should be very fun, and luckily i am horrible at ballet, so it should be a snap.
i was in “a chorus line” many years ago at the theatre centre, and we had to do a ballet, and it was a fairly horrendous experience for me, personally. all the other women were at least familiar with ballet moves, and some of them were quite good. me, i could never get the hang of any of it, and i remember another cast member trying to get me to bend my back properly while i attempted some kind of…bend thing…and it involved her beating on my back and being quite unpleasant about it and i’ve tried to block the whole thing out of my mind, to no avail.
so i think it’s funny that i get to do ballet again, only this time it’s supposed to look bad, and people will appreciate the badness, instead of trying to get me to do it correctly.
it’s also funny that My Boyfriend was in the Nutcracker and actually knows real ballet steps. maybe he’ll show me some moves that i can slaughter.
ok ok ok,
grace