NEWNEWNEW
MEMEME


On NYE I taught two classes (doing an abbreivated practice in between), drove to the 'burbs for an appointment and then made my way to Kohl's, a store I'd never visited. I'd forgotten about the suburbs; next door was a Target (where I also needed to return something) and across the street was Best Buy. Con$umer heaven. Or was it hell? But Kohl's. They had the best-fitting Levi's ever (one of my less pressing quests this year has been to find the perfect pair of jeans, which have been at Kohl's the whole time but were now a whopping 30% off. Kick *ass*). And apparently I'm still a size five, thanks to the Breakup Diet. But that may change after all the hoppin john (blackeyed peas and rice with cheddar cheese, scallions and tomatoes) that I consumed for good luck on NYE. And the coconut cashews a student gave me. And the rice pudding. The Swedes put a single almond in the pudding on NYE, and whoever gets that serving has their wish come true. Of course that person was me, since it was a solo NYE until 10:45, when I walked over to DDD, where the nephew's band was playing. It was filled with very sweet 20somethings, most of whom were smoking, and who actually would apologize when they bumped me.... I could have been their mother..... The band was in the middle of their set, showing off some new tunes and sounded fabulous (nephew plays bass. Very well). After a champaign toast and some chat the nephew wished me a safe walk home, and on the way many revelers invited me to join them (I was dressed very mod/Carnaby Street) but I declined, preferring to hang my smoky clothes on the line outside and read in bed about Holland's muslims and the assasination of the filmmaker Van Gogh. Next day I rode my bike to the Fancy Health Club to teach a Yoga Basics class, which pulled a collective face when I walked in three minutes late and told them we'd have to end at 11 and not at 11:15 due to a scheduling glitch. An hour later though they were all smiles after I thanked them for accomodating the next class. The magic of yoga. Then it was back home for a two-hour practice (my backbends have suffered greatly from skipping practice during the Two-Week Cold) and more hoppin john followed by a bath and a halfhearted stab at a rough draft of the Headache Book story. Then Jack picked me up for a movie, which was sold out (duh). So we checked out a bookstore -- the NYer cartoon book was a big draw -- and a used record store that boasted a lot of "New" bootleg "Import" CD's with crappily photocopied sleeves. Then a long walk in the rain before going to Martyr's where we met the Sunday night crew for Tributasaurus, which was covering the Who (each month they cover a different band; last time it was Paul McCartney and Wings and next up it's Earth, Wind and Fire... this show featured a spot-on Steve Frisbie on vocals much of the time). Turns out both Jack and I had seen the Who on their first farewell tour in the early 80's. Still it was fun, esp. playing the Tommy pinball machine in back -- despite very sluggish bumpers at the bottom -- and hearing the band open with an unexpected choice (Eminence Front). Between songs I recall discussions about the Civil War and various Communist dictators and the theories of a feminist former concubine, among other things. 'Twas a very nice start to the new year. Even though I did break my cordless headset phone and can't stop thinking about the toll from The Tsunami, which incidentally took place on a full moon. Last year's Awful Earthquake in Bam, Iraq, also took place on Dec. 26th. But they never talk about that, do they....