Lunch Hour

I love it when my husband meets me for lunch on a work day.

Today, after meeting me at my office, Jon and I fueled up the car and drove over to the mall. Why? Because my favorite savings site, wantnot.net, informed me to find the nearest Ben & Jerry's today! Our free ice cream** was delicious (and calorie-free in my mind, since we didn't pay for it).

Our next stop was the large Arcadia County Park down the street from my office. I actually saw a child there for the first time today... Usually the park hosts an assortment of wanderers, cell phone talkers, homeless gatherings, nap-takers, and the occasional lunch couples (i.e. Jon and me). While the child held no interest for us other than the note of his presence, a new duo made an appearance. A woman stood alone by one of the cement picnic tables bellowing bursts of staccato notes. A long distance away from her, we passed a man staring at the street while holding his ear.
"Oh, we've got some odd ones today," I noted.
The woman proceeded to sing more fully (apparently having finished her "warm up") in loud operatic noises. The man continued to stare at the street.

Jon and I continued with our lunch hour, eating and then playing a few rounds of the card game Speed (I won - times three!). As we rose to leave, we noticed the man walking towards the woman and making silent head nods and gestures. He was a vocal coach!

Ah, the park made a little more "sense" again...


**(For those of you who missed the free cone day at Ben & Jerry's, I apologize for not letting you know sooner! I informed my co-workers, though, so it's not like I was totally selfish with my ice cream knowledge...)

Street Music

Jon sent me this article about an extraordinary “street performer” recently playing for rush hour foot traffic in Washington, D.C. To the misfortune of those who failed to pause and recognize his brilliant playing, they will now only get to see him back in the concert halls for a $100 ticket (at least). They walked right by Joshua Bell**.


Here is an excerpt from the article that particularly moved me:

There was no ethnic or demographic pattern to distinguish the people who stayed to watch Bell, or the ones who gave money, from that vast majority who hurried on past, unheeding. Whites, blacks and Asians, young and old, men and women, were represented in all three groups. But the behavior of one demographic remained absolutely consistent. Every single time a child walked past, he or she tried to stop and watch. And every single time, a parent scooted the kid away.

You should definitely check out the videos within the article as well!

**In the mid-nineties, when my cousin Sarah and I were pre-teens, we had a crush on Joshua Bell after seeing his picture in the program for OK Mozart. I remember being irritated that my parents actually saw him perform that year in Bartlesville, but didn’t take me!

Dress Code

So, at my workplace the Administrative Team has this dress code: “Business casual” throughout the week, then “casual” on Fridays. Well, in the Arcadia office, I’m the only admin. person here to display this… So I look decent everyday, then on Friday I wear jeans – but I’m the only one who does. It ends up looking like I just dress frumpier on Fridays! Hence, I told my husband that I am dubbing them “Frumpy Fridays.” :)

(Jon then ever-so-sarcastically told me that he’ll now comment on my outfits “oh… that one really belongs on Frumpy Friday”. Isn’t he sweet? Ha ha)

Chocolate and Gambling

Last night I attended a work event in Long Beach - dinner and casino night. Not only did they have a chocolate fountain (which, anyone who attended our wedding knows I love), but I also won $80 cash for having the second highest number of poker chips at the end of the night!

I got all of them playing Texas Hold'em. I was tempted at one point to go to the Craps table, since people kept cheering there, but that was right before I won a huge pot! (And I don't know how to play Craps anyway - ha.)

'Yay' for work parties! :)

Hikin' with my Hubby

Jon and I recently had a beautiful California weekend when we could get a bit of fresh air. So we hiked to Switzer Falls! Here are some pics we took along the way...

Spring Break Visitors

I miss having school vacation times.

Two weeks ago, Jon had no classes because it was his Spring Break. Fortunately, his mom and brother came to entertain him while I continued working… I was able to take off on Friday, though, so we all had plenty of time to hang out!

We ate very heartily while they were here, but we burned it off on our long hiking at Griffith Park and romping around the seaside and art galleries in Laguna Beach. (See all those pictures here.) We also spent time in Old Town Pasadena, at our apartment playing Outburst and with the PhotoBooth program (see those goofy pics here), and even ended up perusing Trader Joe’s and Ikea twice in a few days!

As we started back in our “normal” routine this last Monday, Jon – though back in classes – felt bored without planned outings, meals, and company. Perhaps he should be pursuing a career in the cruise industry instead...? :)