My pal Suzie came to town two weeks ago. Had a wonderful time, especially doing something I hadn't done in years: ice skating! The National Gallery's Sculpture Garden
turns its fountain into a rink for part of the winter. We hit it on an especially good music day -- lots of fun jazz and peppy tunes, perfect for going around in circles and hoping like hell you don't land on your keister (happened only once!). Suzie was back near the rink the next day and said the music was bad. How bad? The best song she heard was "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from "The Lion King." *shudder*
Out of the way, lady! Suzie mocked me for my skating "jazz hands" -- kinda like the picture but not quite as high. But yeah, I pretty much skated like you'd walk on a balance beam: stiff legs, arms out, heart pounding. I was able to work up a little speed, but zero grace.
Not sure why, but this pic kind of amuses me. I'm pretty sure that's a look of panic on my face. And you can't tell, but that's Suzie zooming by me like Bonnie frickin' Blair.
Look how warm and sunny it was that day! We took off our coats! Much thanks to Doris, who took or provided pretty much all these pics and was of course great fun to hang with.
The title of this photograph: "Angie with a Zamboni and a coffee"
Yeah, I have no idea why I didn't put down my coffee first. But time was of the essence! Doris took several more shots, but none of the others quite had the right Angie-
Zamboni ratio.
Good times all around. I think the other highlight of Suzie's trip for me was taking in some classic Suzie-Angie entertainment. Listened to "The Greatest Phone Message of All Time" from my "
This American Life" CD -- if you haven't heard it, I'm telling you, it's among the most entertaining 20 minutes of radio you'll ever hear. HIGH-larious. And then tossed in a couple of my favorite episode of BBC's "
Coupling." Another huge recommendation -- I promise you won't ever think of the "Spider-Man" theme song the same way again.
Out of the way, lady! Suzie mocked me for my skating "jazz hands" -- kinda like the picture but not quite as high. But yeah, I pretty much skated like you'd walk on a balance beam: stiff legs, arms out, heart pounding. I was able to work up a little speed, but zero grace.
Not sure why, but this pic kind of amuses me. I'm pretty sure that's a look of panic on my face. And you can't tell, but that's Suzie zooming by me like Bonnie frickin' Blair.
Look how warm and sunny it was that day! We took off our coats! Much thanks to Doris, who took or provided pretty much all these pics and was of course great fun to hang with.
The title of this photograph: "Angie with a Zamboni and a coffee"