hair

I am glad I have it, but I do not like dealing with it.

It's expensive and time consuming.

Color every 4-5 weeks (when it should be 3).

Occasional highlights to make it more interesting.

Cuts every other month so it doesn't hang limply.

Products to make it shine and give it body.

And then there's the self-drying. That I hate.

I usually lose interest half way through and it shows.  

The left side of my head is easier for me to style than the right, so if I do a good job, it's only on half my head.  MY sister Valerie can't understand (nor can I, really) why I can't do a decent job blow drying my own hair.

I get a keratin treatment once a year, and love it.  But for the first four weeks or so, my hair is too flat.  And, my last one was in May, so my hair is becoming dryer, frizzier and less manageable.

Over Thanksgiving, Jean tells me about a new combination hair dryer and brush that she loves. It's called the Conair Pro Spin Air Rotating Styler.

http://www.amazon.com/Conair-Infiniti-Spin-Rotating-Styler/dp/B004INUWX0

I buy it.

It arrives a few days ago.  I always feel a little overwhelmed when I get a new product.  I don't like reading instructions and unpacking anything that is plastic-sealed.  I finally get around to it today.

I even watch a 3-minute youtube video.  

Okay, I'm ready. 

The results?  Amazing.  

In under 8 minutes, my wet hair is dry, styled and shiny. I am not sure if it would be great on short hair, but for longish hair, it's fantastic.

Okay.  Done.  No more product endorsements for awhile.  I'm beginning to sound like an infomercial.  

But I love this new thing, and on this rainy wet day, it's all I have to write about.  Unless you want to hear about my squirting laundry detergent into my toilet bowl thinking it was toilet bowl cleaner.

a travel mug (or holiday gift) recommendation

I spend a lot (perhaps too much) time in front of my computer with a cup of coffee.

My new coffee maker (the Bonavita 1800) is great.  Simple to use and makes great coffee.

I recently read about a stainless steel travel mug from a Japanese company called Zojirushi.   I do some online research and am impressed with the reviews.  Amazon users give it (the Zojirushi SM-SA48-NM Stainless Steel Mug, 16-Ounces) a rare 4.8 stars out of 5.  

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HYOGTU0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1#customerReviews

I buy it, even though I don't travel often, and sitting at my desk is not that long a trip from my kitchen.

It arrives today. And as proof of the company's heritage, all the instructions are in Japanese.  But at least there are diagrams, and figuring out how to use a travel mug is not all that complicated.

Here's what I love about it vs. my Nissan Thermos that I used to love.  It's more compact and has a convenient pouring spout. I've tried pouring from the Nissan on the Bolt bus and the results weren't good.

I make coffee this morning and pour it into my new thermos.  Seven hours later and the coffee is still steaming hot.

I know this doesn't make for the most exciting blog post, but when a a simple travel mug can make you happy, it's worth passing on.  Even if you don't travel.

invisible friends

My friend Q calls this morning.  I can tell immediately from her voice what she is going to ask.  

"Would you mind if I skipped theater today?"  We are seeing a matinee of Lost Lake at Manhattan Theater Club, where we've been members forever.  A week ago we were scheduled to see this play but didn't feel like going, so we rescheduled for today.  But it has finally stopped raining and it's a crisp, cold, sunny New York day.  The call doesn't surprise me.

I hardly ever see Q, though we speak daily.   She is one of my closest friends.  Today she says, "You know, it's amazing we are such good friends since we don't like to do the same things." She is right.

Q has an adorable dog named Scout, and she spends a lot of time with Scout in the Park.

She doesn't like movie theaters (even nice screening rooms) so she almost never comes with me to see a screening.  We are both cutting back on spending, so we don't go out for dinners anymore, too expensive.  And despite being one of the most well-informed people I know, she doesn't read fiction, so discussing and recommending books is something we don't do either.

But we still, always, have so much to talk about — from important news stories (the travesty of failing to get an indictment on the officer who killed Eric Garner), to frivolous ones (the man on Discovery who wasn't eaten by an anaconda).  We talk about petty annoyances and the many things that make New York City great (Q grew up here).  We often ask each other, "What would you do in this situation?"  Although I probably ask her that more than she asks me, and she always knows the players I'm referring to, even when they are nameless. We agree on most things, but not everything.  And I can always count on Q to give a truthful answer.  It's a wonderfully long, healthy, friendship (almost 20 years).  And we barely see each other, despite her living a crosstown bus away.

It's the same way with M.  I talk to her most days as well.  She lives in Boston and I live here.  But it's easy to forget the geography barrier . She is a constant in my life.  Our friendship dates back to 1981, when we first began work at Gillette, fresh out of business school.  I was even a bridesmaid in her wedding. She knows my family (as I do hers) and she knows me.  I trust her judgment and more than anyone I know (except maybe my son), she makes me laugh the hardest.

Jill (another 20 plus year friend, and one of my most favorite people) ends up coming with me to see Lost Lake (an engrossing and exceptionally acted two-person play).  She is not an invisible friend and she lives very far away...all the way in Dumbo!

shouldn't have gone

Get home last night after waiting in the cold rain for a cab.  I feel movie-ed out.  I email Jill suggesting we not see today's screening of The Gambler, knowing rain is again predicted.  Jill responds,  "Let's go; fun movie on a miserable day."  And so we do.

Apparently, the steady downpour that falls today does nothing to deter tourists and locals from swarming Times Square.  This is my least favorite part of the city on a good day; and today is not a good day. Everyone is walking around with oversized umbrellas, oblivious to those around them. It's amazing there aren't more eye injuries.

I hate umbrellas, and instead wear a long raincoat hooded up.  It's much easier to navigate the city this way. Plus, I don't have the added complication of figuring out where to put a wet umbrella when it's not in use.

Verdict?  Well, Jill was right about it being a miserable day. Other that that? The music was good. 

sharing space with a star

I get to the theater early, as Angelina Jolie is doing a Q&A after tonight's screening of Unbroken. I want to get a good seat in this 350-seat venue, so I arrive half an hour early.  Apparently not early enough.

I had hoped to sit in the first five rows.  Instead, I am in the second to the last row of the balcony. And, despite this being The Director's Guild Theater, the seats are barely raked and four big heads block my view.

Eric (W, not V) arrives a bit after me.  Unlike most BAFTA events, every seat is taken by 7:10; the movie starts at 7:30.

The girls in front of us have more audacity than I do.  I hear them say to the two guys in front of them, "Hey, would you mind scooting down in your seats so we can see better?"  They do.  I don't have the nerve to ask them to to the same.

But once the film starts, the screen feels bigger and the heads smaller.  It is an epic story told convincingly, though it's a hard film to enjoy.  And it's a long 137 minutes. It is a brutal tale of one man's extraordinary resilience in the face of unimaginable conditions.  Despite this being an emotional story, I feel none of it,  only the horror.  It is a movie to admire more than recommend.

After the movie ends, the producer, four actors, and Ms. Jolie take the stage.  I know it's them from the introductions, applause, and my poorly taken photos, not because I can really see them from my seat so far away.  

Anjelina Jolie and Jack O'Connell

Anjelina Jolie, Jack O'Connell, and Miyavi

Anjelina Jolie and Jack O'Connell

spending a lot with little to show

I resist Black Friday.

I don't click once on a single purchase over Cyber Monday.

I delete the exorbitant number of emails that arrive daily telling me of unbelievable-once-in-a-lifetime bargains.

And I even ignore the 70% discount on scarves and leather gloves shown on The Today Show.

But I do need to eat.  And I do need to clean.  And I do need vitamins.  So I go to Costco.

Costco in the city is probably more of an event than it is in the suburbs.  First, there's getting there. On a nice day I could walk, but today is miserable.  Cold and raining and the buses are all late.

The Costco in the city is near a Target, so I go there first. I buy some Mrs. Meyers dish soap, some make-up remover, and then I get lost in the hair dryer section. I end up (after checking reviews on Amazon) buying a Bed Head Curlipops.  I hope it lives up to its promise of tight curls on top, loose curls on bottom, frizz-free and shiny.

Next stop is Costco.  I pick up the usual paper towels and toilet paper. Some stuff for the holidays, in anticipation of having people over and Alexander being home: chips, Tates chocolate chip cookies, and Lindt Truffles.  I get some toothbrushes and toothpaste, and a few cleaning supplies. Then I pick up two bags of frozen berries in the hope of making delicious smoothies for me and Alexander.  Oh, and some tomato/vegetable soup.

I spend almost $300 (including $55 for renewal of my card, and the cost for a cab home).  I unpack everything and look in my refrigerator.  It is still empty, except for soup. I go to Agata to pick up something for dinner.

Hmmm.  Somehow this doesn't feel right.

a new boy friend

That's boy friend as two words, not one.

In early November I go to a screening of Whiplash.  Sitting next to me are four guys, obvious friends.  I am alone, and end up in conversation with one of them.

Two weeks later I'm at a screening for The Imitation Game.  In front of me is the guy I'd met at the Whiplash screening.  Robyn is with me, and she can engage anyone.  Before the movie starts, we know that Eric (yes, that's his name) has a girlfriend upstate, lives on the upper west side, grew up in Manhattan, and loves movies.  We exchange cards and I add him to my screening invite list.

Tonight I meet Eric to see a screening of A Most Violent Year.  We are the first ones there, and for twenty minutes or so we think we might be at a private screening for just the two of us.  That eventually changes, but only by a handful of people.

Eric is easy to talk to.  In the short time we have before the movie starts we exchange stories about ourselves.  His are interesting and surprising. Among other things, we discover that we both have lived in Boston.  We both have lived in Chicago, at exactly the same time.  His family spent summers on the Cape and he knows it well.  We are in related businesses (he owns a media and marketing company). And we have had unconventional relationships.

In college and after, many of my friends were males.  But this is no longer true.  While I am lucky to have many female friends, the other sex eludes me.  Having a male friend would be nice.  Perhaps I've just found one.