so far, so-so

Spring break sprung for me at 3:30 on Friday when I finally left my classroom. Despite my bragging about hightailing out at 2:01, I found a dozen things that needed to be done (including unplugging my contraband coffeemaker & changing all the calendars [5] to April).

Friday night I finally did what I've been threatening to attempt for a few years now but usually either grow weary with planning or chicken out - going dancing. There are a few places in downtown Portland that have seemed worthy but upon investigation I find they're either all ages (NO) or geared toward a particular sexual persuasion, which is not a bad thing but I do feel like an intruder unless accompanied by someone of that persuasion, like I need an escort or diplomat to validate my visit. For Stu's birthday I vowed to take him out; we used to go most weekends in college, staying until we collapsed from heatstroke. So I found Lola's which not only offered a 21+ dance floor but also - wait for it - 80's Video Night!

We went to the pub downstairs from Lola's for dinner & drinks first - our stunning & bold waitress Jessa made the evening, warning us away from certain menu items and crafting us fantastic secret-recipe cocktails. Upstairs we got a table at the edge of the dance floor which turned out to be a good news/bad news scenario. Good news because we were in the action at any given moment and had a place to set our drinks; bad news because it was wobbly and soon became mistaken for a community cistern. I thoroughly, geekishly loved the music & videos (though Rick Springfield was flagrantly missing; will send a complaint note this week) and did dance my fool heart out, but I couldn't help being hypercritical about noticing all of the under-30s pretending to know the songs. Or worse - pretending to dance like we true 80s kids did. Please. But really, my only serious issue is that I forgot my camera.

Yesterday I awoke with grand intentions to check out some garage sales then embark on a massive organization & cleaning spree. Unfortunately, rain - the kind they created the word "torrential" for - fell, poured, showered and otherwise destroyed every ambition in my bones. I managed to find a couple of things at Goodwill, sort & organize recipes, watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, update Facebook a few hundred times, sleep from 5:30 - 8:30 pm, and watch the last two episodes from Season 2 of Six Feet Under. I also ate a couple of things and yelled at my unsuspecting 10-year old (a misplaced diatribe that included me shouting "I AM NOT AN ASSHOLE" at one point; don't ask but rest assured I've made amends). Oh and I comforted my daughter after we discovered her very rigor mortised hamster. [For those wondering why I didn't write a piece about Sniffers like I did with Mason's Mario, it is because Paige and her pet had a somewhat more volatile relationship; essentially, she tried to keep him alive without getting bitten]

Today I was up early, started some laundry, sort of cleaned the kitchen, enjoyed church, secured a babysitter for tonight, efficiently got in & out of the mall without a headache, notably have not yelled at my children, and am about to do a cursory tidying before going on a sure-to-be-sassy double date with Favorite Bartender and his wife.

Packing camera right now and smiling about no school tomorrow.