Bits and Pieces ...

Perhaps because I watched the reboot of "Trading Places" last night, my dreams centered on home redesign. I had purchased a charming stone horse barn and had plans to transform the barn into a residence. At this point, my dream became more an episode of "Fixer Upper". The designer in my dream, my neighbor Steve (LOL!), worked with me to install lapboard, charming fixtures and decor ... Each stall was repurposed ... two for bedrooms, one for a sitting room and one as a bathroom. Our work was stellar and we won awards (as one does when you're in control of the dream's outcomes.) I was particularly enamored of our clever use of bamboo flooring. In my next dream, I plan to move in!

It took me awhile to see The Black Panther movie, but I now clearly see what all of the fuss was about! My friends Jason and I attended the film on Saturday at Southdale Mall. Not my usual cup of tea, this Marvel film was elevated by the especially high quality of the acting, the potent ideas, the amazing cinematography, hair, makeup and costume design. I could have visited this world for even longer! Glad I saw it!! I hadn't been to Southdale Mall in years. The AMC tickets for the matinee were $8.50 and it was assigned seating in reclining seats. When it finally makes it to the second-run theatre, I just may see "The Black Panther" again!

This morning, I met up with a friend for brunch at The Colossal Cafe. I had warned him there would be a wait when we were choosing a restaurant; not to inconvenience him, I arrived early to get us on the waiting list. It took 58 minutes to get seated. I've eaten there many times, the food is superb and for me, worth the wait.

Due to the wait, he was furious. "No restaurant's food is worth more than a 30 minute wait! His omlette looked delicious when it arrived. He said it was just okay. The server was attentive and the hostess apologized multiple times for the excessive wait. Yet, he remained surly to them. I don't like to wait either; but, I had forewarned him. I offered to leave if he wanted to go somewhere else. Is there anything else I could have done? How long would you wait for a seat in a busy restaurant with excellent food?

Because of yet another snowfall, I didn't attend my usual Sunday night two-stepping. I hate to miss; but, I hate driving in snow even more when it's close to rain and the temperatures are below freezing. Instead, I graded essays for a scholarship fund for LGBTQ students in the Houston Area. My friend Casey is a founding board member of an organization called "Out for Education". An essay describing the student's connection to the LGBT community, essentially a biography, is required as part of the application process. I finished scoring all 40 essays about 10:30pm. I really enjoyed reading them. The quality of the essays, the often poignant stories, were of a much higher quality than in past years. It's my third year to help out.