Early morning, before dawn. A late winter snowstorm is swirling outside. Apparently a thin band, perhaps only twenty miles wide, is dropping about four inches of powder on the area. About eight additional ten inches are expected later. The snow is pure and white. Snowflakes that, by the time they reach the top of the house, are on side of the yard, can easily be blow back and forth across the yard a few times before they hit the ground. Walking through this type of storm is concurrently exhausting and exhilarating. Maybe Shadow and I will go out later.
Yesterday was an interesting day. For some reason I could not sleep Thursday night, not exactly sure why, so I only managed three or four hours of sleep before heading to work without playing basketball beforehand. No sleep plus no basketball is a dangerous equation. I was on edge and paranoid through most of the morning. We had an SOE meeting, no big deal, I had heard most of what was on the agenda before. Anyway, I’m trying to pull back and not get involved in too much of the bullshit, so except for a discussion on test results, I stayed out of the way. I tried to pass the baton over to some others on update issues, too. You can’t win, I guess. The landscape is changing. I’ll survive. See, my paranoia is emerging right now. Mary and I cut out at lunch, ate at Beans and Barley (passable burrito) and caught “Volver” at 1PM. Penelope Cruz. Whoa. She was fantastic, and she’s one of those women who seems to be getting more beautiful as she gets older. Why on earth did she date Tom Cruise? I can’t quite get past that. Anyway, I enjoyed the film quite a bit. I like the Oriental Theater. The lobby has that art hipster feel combined with a “we could close at any minute vibe. I’m reminded of the beautiful, run down movie palaces of my youth. The Patio, The Pickwick, the Des Plaines, The Portage…I remember you all.
After leaving the theater, about 3PM, I considered driving home but T was at a friend’s for a sleepover, S had a friend over, and Maura didn’t seem to mind my staying out later, so I cut over to MAM to catch the Bacon show. I thought, well, I’m already almost to the Museum, and I’d be putting off the show forever, might as well check it out. Although the exhibit was pretty small, smaller than usual, I thought, the work was brilliant. Bacon’s work is hard to explain. In some rare instances his work can rather, I don’t know, collegiate is the word that comes to mind, but the great majority of the time he’s dark and brilliant. He’s not very subtle, I guess, but his sincerity and craftsmanship, and the power of his message, are piercing. Punk rock! Although I’m trying to not spend much money I bought the exhibition catalog and a book of interviews with the author. I don’t buy huge and expensive art books very much but these seemed essential, like my Robert Franks and Odilion Redon (who reminded me of Bacon) catalogs.
I felt, I don’t know, sticky by the time I arrived home. I wanted to take a bath but M was mad, I think, that I wanted to ditch her as soon as I walked in the door, so I hung out instead. I read the NY Times and Wall Street Journal (regular Friday purchases) while S watched Cyberchase. N was so tired he went upstairs and fell asleep on his own. S said he missed T, off at the sleepover, so he and I read through the Atlas in his room, talking about countries in Europe, mostly, before falling asleep. I kept on pushing his over while he slept…he never stops moving. Still, I slept pretty well, I guess. Uneasy dreams, but I can’t remember much other than M was involved. I meditated this morning after I woke. More later.