yes, so this weekend was all about the no-cost activity. Friday night was the play to which I won tickets, a play with a pre-reception featuring free hors d'oeuvres. I went with the roommate, who chose to wear one of the most indecently revealing shirts I've seen on her ever. so revealing, in fact that I blurted out, "did you try that on before you bought it?!?" I guess the best way to explain it would be tits-a-poppin'. word.

frankly, this all would've been fine except that when a young woman is wearing tits-a-poppin' clothes, it tends to attract the sort of man who, not long after we'd sat down to free hors d'oeuvres, asked if he could join us at the table. of course one can't say no in this sort of instance without incurring complete social scorn, so we said it would be fine. uncomfortable silence ensued until he introduced himself and then when we did so in turn, he asked April if she was born in the month of her namesake. she said no, November was her birth month, and then the guy started talking about her astrological sign, which was so stereotypical I had to cover my stifled laugh with a napkin. the conversation just got worse after that. for example, we learned the guy had 4 long island iced teas (alone) before coming to the theater since he was a "long island iced tea kinda guy." after we told him brief synopses of our nannying experience (he'd asked how we met), he told us about the elderly man he plays pool with and explained how it wasn't too different from nannying. and then, after a particularly long silence, the guy announced, "my grandmother collects buttons." (pause pause pause) "she has one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt." (pause pause pause) "and Woodrow Wilson and Truman and they have their pictures on them." all we could respond with were neutral, bewildered "oh"s. it was actually kind of depressing, seeing this man in his late 20s or early 30s (hard to say) who was completely bereft of basic, non-creepy social skills and who was trying to seduce his female table companions with tales of button-collecting grandmas, his elderly pool buddy, and his affinity for girly drinks.

when it was time for the play to start he asked if he could "tag along," since it was open seating. as we walked towards the theater, I hissed into April's ear, "NOT IT! NOT IT! you're sitting next to him because I am NOT! you just had to wear that shirt, didn't you? you know this is all your fault, right?" it's because I'm a good friend. fortunately, April found it all hilarious. when we got close to the theater I announced loudly that I had to go to the bathroom and then fairly ran into the woman's room to groan loudly and pace. fortunately when I came out, the guy had proceeded to the theater without us and we were able to nab a seat alone. I just couldn't handle handing this guy any more rejection than we'd already dealt out.

on Saturday no-cost involved my not leaving the house all day. I did shower, but I did not set foot outside my door. Jim came over to watch Saturday Night Live in the evening and, bless him, came with a large tankard of red wine. and that was the highlight of Saturday. oh wait, I also made some really good stir-fried bok choy with chili-garlic sauce. mmmm, that was another highlight. I wish I could eat that every day.

Sunday I decided I was going to visit the Art Institute (again, no-cost) in hopes of finding a research topic. I wandered around the Alder architecture exhibition for a while and then progressed to the early 20th century painting section, where I devined a good subject and excited myself so much that I felt the urge to run out and get every book possible that would be in any way relevant. to calm myself down, I headed to the decorative arts area and then wound up my visit looking at Venetian silks and velvets. a good two-and-a-half hours of no-cost viewing and thinking was had. it was really nice.

I talked to my parents for a bit this weekend and my dad informed me that he'd found a good fare to Chicago for next weekend (wisdom teeth weekend), so he and my youngest sister are going to come to town now too. I'm happy because 1) I'll get to see them and 2) I was really worried my mom was going to be utterly bored after a while. now she'll have some playmates for when I'm all drugged up, puffy, and useless. of course, as he was telling me he was coming I started thinking about the IV thing and started to get really panicky, but then went back to my previous technique of denial. the panic has come back a few more times since then (at lunch today, for example), but then I just push it out and it's like nothing's going to happen only 10 DAYS FROM NOW.

I am a big baby. a big, panicky baby. who hates needles.

in Grammy news, I was dismayed to see Elvis waltzing down the red carpet with a young blonde thing on his arm. it's MEEEEE you desire, silly man! meeeee!!! also, the Grammys again well represented the laming-down of American music, specifically by rewarding John Mayer. I think everyone who knows better will agree with me when I say: John Mayer--what the fuck?

I'll cut off my unsolicited commentary there. no one likes a harpy.