The Cult of Lincoln

Wednesday:

Poor Pascy! My partner in character creation, Chris, came in to work sick and miserable. He left for an hour to visit the doctor, then returned long enough to get his affairs in order before leaving again for good. Now, this is certainly not cause to be happy, because it sucks when friends are feeling so wretched, but his absence left me in charge of the character department. And upon his departures and his return, I sent out dramatically-phrased emails, keeping my coworkers informed as to which one of us was the point-person for the moment. I tossed around phrases like "pretendership" and "reign of terror" and "deposed," painting myself as the new power-mad dictator of Character-Land. They got a lot of laughs!
Lunch (and dinner, because woo leftovers) was Mambo Italiano, which makes some of my favourite sandwiches in Manhattan. Half of one of their sandwiches is more than enough to stuff me! The Celliebelly was happy this day.
I'm always pleased with myself when I travel to some place off my beaten path. Wednesday night, I made it to Randall's Island, part of the makeshift archipelago of smaller islands that surround Manhattan. Yay independence!
Thanks to Joe Gonzales' bounteous generosity and awesome connections, Craig and I saw Cirque du Soleil's Kooza! I'd seen three Cirque shows prior to tonight, but they never get any less astounding.
The second act featured two contortionists, who performed an exquisitely beautiful, impossibly bizarre mirror-dance. I was so enraptured by their feats I forgot to clap at times, and when I did remember to clap, I forgot to stop. I'm shocked I remembered to breathe. For the duration of their act, there was nothing in my world but those two performers and that little stage. Extraordinary.

In another act, the Wheel of Death, I found myself gasping out loud at the slightest wobble, the merest hint that a performer might take a tumble. I didn't care who heard me.

They also had a pickpocket (did I invent the term "purse-charmer"? I swear I've heard it before), who divested a man of his wallet, iPod, cell phone, eyeglasses (in his jacket pocket at the time), and even his necktie without detection. It was particularly entertaining in the wake of reading The Lies of Locke Lamora, as it lent credibility to the idea that one can truly attain such skill in the "art" of pickpocketing.

Another noteworthy act was the juggler, whose act was so smooth it seemed to be effortless. Watching the balls and rings and pins float up and down, I was put in the mind of an elaborate mobile, something beautiful and kinetic and in no danger of being disrupted or tumbling to earth. He pulled off extraordinarily complex maneuvers flawlessly.

And then there were the acrobats... wow.

I'm definitely going to have to convince my friends and coworkers to check it out! Thanks so much, Joe, for making this possible. I would have missed it otherwise.

Thursday:

Before work, I met the top contender for my new roommate! She's so cute, and I think we would get along wonderfully. There's one other place she's considering, though, so fingers are crossed! I should find out how she decides later tonight or tomorrow morning.
I got to model a hilarious man-child Cupid for a spot. I love making crazy, fun characters!
APPLE PIE ICE CREAM. Ben & Jerry's had "Appley Ever After" for a period of three months or so back when I was at Penn, and I fell head over heels in love with it. But then they took it off the menu, claiming it was seasonal. Every time I went there subsequently, I asked if it was going to return. I found out two years later it had been "retired."

But tonight, my boss took everyone to see "Drag Me to Hell," and I joined them, thinking it was going to be funny, like Evil Dead. But there wasn't nearly enough cheesiness or humor to mitigate the "horror movie" aspect, which isn't how I prefer to spend my time. I left after 30 minutes. To soothe my soul, I stopped at the Cold Stone next door, and my eyes popped out of their sockets when I saw "Apple Pie a la Cold Stone" on the menu. God, it's BETTER than I remember "Appley Ever After" being! French Vanilla ice cream with cinnamon, graham cracker pie crust, apple pie filling, and caramel! This is the perfect ice cream. I'm so glad I've cultivated a rigid restraint when it comes to dessert, because otherwise I'd be doomed.
The employees at Cold Stone were having a spirited discussion about which was better, Buffy or True Blood. They delighted in learning I was a fan of both, and the leader of the pro-Buffy contingent gave me a free waffle cone when I told them Buffy was my favourite.
And the best part about Cold Stone: the portions are so ginormous you have to share it! I felt stuffed to the gills after barely devouring a third of their smallest size, so I stuck the rest in the freezer for my roommate and her boyfriend. They loved it!