The dance is a poem of which each movement is a word. - Mata Hari

I decided last night at 11pm that I ought to look up tickets to the Nutcracker. And when I realized that it was only being performed 2 more nights, I did the only sensible thing and bought myself a seat for the next night. That ballet IS the holiday season for me. Both my sister and I have danced in it. I vividly remember Ballet Arizona’s version. When I went downtown tonight to see the ballet, it was raining yet I neglected to bring an umbrella. I was warmly dressed in skintight jeans and a tank top with a long-sleeved dress over that and my new party-dress coat but that did not protect my glasses or my mascara from the drops that found me as I waited in line. The woman behind me asked “May I share my umbrella with you?” I have always depended on the kindness of strangers. We chatted politely and she was seemingly overjoyed to learn I was a librarian. She reacted far too strongly to this; I haven’t the slightest idea why. But the inevitable “you don’t look like a librarian” followed her exclamation of delight. Which begs the question, what DO I look like? We continued our discussion – her name is Margaret, she was a gorgeous and young looking 45, her husband was parking the car, she had built up her own medical billing business from when she was 21. Then we reached the awning and I was swept away in the crowd. Thank you, Margaret, you were very kind.

The ballet was simultaneously nostalgic and unfamiliar. The music brought tears to my eyes but the choreography was not very good. Some of the dancers were absolutely spectacular though and I am quite glad I went. Upon returning home, I looked in the mirror and decided not to let my carefully made-up eyes go to waste so I took myself to dinner. I finished reading the new YA retelling of the Snow White and Rose Red story, Tender Morsels. Very well-written, I recommend it. My plan for tomorrow is to go ice-skating in the outdoor rink that is set-up downtown, though I may save that for after the holiday season.

The work week was busy. I managed to submit all of my programs through the end of February to all the available news sources and found, this evening, a print version of one of my blurbs. Hooray! Plus “Python Ron” came to the library and there is now a picture of me with a gigantic albino python draped around my neck and Ron’s. I really love snakes, the astonishing muscular sensations moving against one’s skin. I had dinner with 2 lovely friends on Friday night; we then wandered to the newsstand as librarians are wont to do, even when not working. Monday I spent all day in the kitchen with an increasingly close friend as we baked enough cookies to create wrapped gifts plates for everyone we knew. The whole house was warm and sugar-scented and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.

I wrote myself a personal ad for posting on Craigslist. I would like to date, though I am not ready to share myself overmuch. I adore making out though and wish I were doing so. I am enjoying having my own space and empty hours to fill as I choose but an occasional femme companion would be a pleasure. We’ll see if I am brave enough to post it.

Reading List for the Previous Week: My Sister, My Love (new Joyce Carol Oates and VERY disturbingly wonderful!), Something to Blog About (YA, trite), Summer at Tiffany, Apart (YA, strange and Canadian), Center of the Universe (very accurate YA though I would hesitate in recommending it to teens for fear of enraged puritanical parents), Truth Cookie (kids book, way too predictable), This Book Isn’t Fat, It’s Fabulous (fun), Lipshtick (for straight women, not my cup of cider), There’s a (slight) Chance I May Be Going to Hell (meh), What Was Lost (melancholy), and the aforementioned Tender Morsels.