Day 70: The charm of the Thirsty Ear

This is the day when the idea of putting on a play with friends this summer became real, rather than just (very) wishful thinking!  After going back and forth with S. (who will act as director), it finally came to light that everything seemed a go with running the play in Georgetown, MA, where the Georgetown Theater Workshop S. has long been affiliated with is located, rather than somewhere in Cambridge. Pros: real lights and sets and things; cons: no AC, 45 min away; guess which won out?  As we had no prospects in Cambridge, it was quite easy to decide that Georgetown was a winner and that we had better act fast (groaning here; this one's for Ed) if this were to happen.  And after I finally got my hands on a copy of the script (Rumors, by Neil Simon) and read it through -- I was sold.

After work I planned to head to the Thirsty Ear to read through the script quietly.  [Aside: I tend to give the Thirsty more of a bad rap than I should, as it's a perfectly lovely venue to gather and has great beers.  This is pretty much only because my affinity lies with the only other MIT on-campus pub.  I like the more ruffian-looking crew gathered at the much more charming Muddy Charles, which has the additional perks of being both located in beautiful Morss hall on the Charles River and also the primary drinking site of the illustrious Straw Dogs.] However, the whole reason for choosing the Thirsty for this quiet evening was that a friend of mine was working tonight at the door.  It being much more fun to sit with him than on my own, and him being much more obliging than most, I was given the pleasure of reading the play in its entirety aloud to him at the door.  Our conclusion was that Neil Simon is a farcical genius and that this play must absolutely happen.

Day 43: Beautiful Waltham.

Second trip to Waltham this month -- and I'd never been before. When I drove with E. to pick up his parents for Mother's day a few weekends ago, I found the place to be very charming. They live quite near the main drag, and there was the "Watch City" (as it's called) Festival going on, with historical re-enactors abounding.

Today's trip was much less scenic, mostly due to the dreary difficulty of driving in the Cambridge rain.  It took L. and I nearly an hour to get there.  Our aim was simple: attend a Mary Kay party. Whatever that meant. A friend from choir recently began dating a girl who does Mary Kay professionally, full-time. I was very curious and told her I'd love to attend a party sometime.  I was thinking low-key, have a beer, watch some people play with makeup, easy.  I was not aware that it would entail a 2-hr commute and three hours of being told how to properly put on exfoliant and the like.  Nonetheless, L. and I agreed that it was pretty informative... and we allowed ourselves to agree to call a toll-free number to give some feedback on a promotion they are doing.

Well. After, we were feeling (or at least I was) the need for a relaxing beer, which was found at Ashdown (one of the campus pubs at MIT).  Then, we joined one of my roommates at Cantab for bluegrass night -- a very low-key way to end a somewhat high-stress evening.