rue-madame's Diaryland Diary

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The lowdown on the down and out

I can�t believe I�ve neglected this thing for so long. I don�t really have an exciting excuse to offer, other than:

- I went to a free show to see Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham. They were pretty dull to watch. Don�t get me wrong: I love Luna. It�s just not the kind of music you should pay big money to actually see. The highlight was the New Wave-y opening band, Metric. They have officially usurped The 88 as my Favorite New LA Band of 2003.

- I splurged and ate at a restaurant with friends. This makes headline news around these parts, eventhough I realize that for most, dining in a restaurant = totally banal activity. We ate at the Zen Grill on 3rd and I stuffed myself rotten with pad thai, sizzling pan-fried tofu, spicy cucumber salad, calamari salad, indian grilled salmon, all washed down with cold sake.

- I took a yoga class yesterday afternoon with Harriet. It�s fun taking a class with a friend because when you spot eachother you can forgo the whole �getting to know you� chitchat and get down to business. She has the most beautiful spring forward of anyone I know. It is so graceful and controlled--she�s like a gazelle when she jumps from downward dog to standing forward bend. There�s a word in sanskrit �mudita� which means something like sympathetic joy or just being happy for others without a trace of envy. This is what I felt when I watched her out of the corner of my eye.

Today she sent me an email telling me I was a bad-ass yogi with a picture perfect downward dog. Aww, shucks.

- I had my final appointment with the researcher who heads the asthma drug study I�ve been participating in. I had to do some pulmonary function tests, donate two vials of blood and a little cup of pee. He gave me an EKG after I complained about the pain in my chest, and the printout said I was fine. I learned an interesting thing about my pulse, though: it�s low even for someone of my size. He attributed this to yoga which tripped me out.

Anyway, I got a call this morning from the researcher because some of my lab results were abnormal. I am going back to the doctor�s office on Friday to donate more blood to determine whether a) the lab fucked up and there�s nothing wrong with me, or b) the lab didn�t fuck up and I�ve got an alien growing in my body. And by alien, I don�t mean that I�m pregnant. Sheesh. I�m sort of glad to be going back to the doctor�s office because I wasn�t satisfied with my chest pain diagnosis and I�d like to ask the other physicians.

- Terence cooked the most delicious mahi-mahi. For Christmas, he was given a cast-iron grill pan and it has revolutionized his cooking. He has experimented with every variety of meat, fish and fowl, to extraordinary results. Sometimes he sears things then sticks the whole pan in the oven for �finishing� (very chef-ly;) sometimes he just grills all the way through. His new specialty is a roasted chicken breast coated in a rub consisting of lemon zest, fresh thyme, salt + pepper. I think that�s what we�re having for dinner.

- On the same cooking tip, I must now talk about Consorzio 10-Minute Marinades. They are fanfrickingtastic. If they sell them at your grocery store, go buy them. Right now. I have tried the California Teriyaki and Tropical Grill marinades, and they are so yummy, I can�t believe I didn�t make them from scratch. Seriously, they neither taste fake nor bottled in the slightest, and take it from me, they�re great just poured straight onto a pile of rice, or simply eaten with a spoon. Just make sure your neighbors can�t see you do this, because it is very embarassing.

- Finally, tonight we are resuming the 6 Feet Under marathon at Harriet�s. We are so far behind, we can�t possibly claim to be from our time. Or from Los Angeles, where people see everything before it even airs. And Sex and the City? Oh my god, the show is on its 6th and final season, and I�ve just finished watching season 4. Such a pop culture laggard.

And you all know, of course, that Terence and I only just recently saw The Matrix. The first one. For the first time. Ever. We were unimpressed. This stopped people dead in their tracks. But what made them recoil in horror was this comment of Terence�s: �It�s just Tron with better effects.�

6:41 p.m. - 2003-06-23

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