Church of the Week

On my way out of New York City about a week and a half ago, I snapped this picture out the window of the moving bus I was on. It's the latest Harlem church picture, but I do plan to take more when I get back to the city. And I mean to blog more! I thought this week in NC would be replete with leisure time for blogging and sun-bathing and grand crochet projects, but who am I kidding? I've got a wedding to plan, a man to spend time with, and (while my parents were out of town) dogs and chickens and cats to take care of. But it has been the best week! I don't want to go back to New York--in fact, there have been moments when I've forgotten about the city altogether while I've been down here--but I do have to go there to pack and move, tie up all my loose ends. I'll be there one more month, give or take a few days, and then I'll be back in the South, where my new life will begin. I wonder if I should keep the name of my blog, or change it? Or start a new blog? Hmmm... we'll see.

My Family

One of the most interesting things about coming home and staying with my family is just observing what each person here is busy doing. I get a slice of life that I miss out on when I'm away in New York or living somewhere else. Last night when I came home from C's house (where we were doing a 2-person crossword puzzle--how cute are we?), my big brother was in the garage making DJ speakers from scratch. This morning my other brother was all excited to tell me about the book he is writing, about Bigfoot. Apparently it's going to be the definitive volume. And then I got to have the experience of helping my little sister bleach the roots of her hair. What else she is up to, I have no idea, but she keeps posting cryptic and angst-filled little paragraphs on facebook that make me wonder. Sigh... I can remember how difficult it was to be a young girl, and I wish I could just pick my sister up out of it and set her down somewhere safe, with a clear and inspiring view of her potential life ahead.

Meanwhile, my other sister had her baby yesterday, so I have a new nephew named Kyle Ashton!

Spring Emerging

The chickens, dogs, birds, cats, and hermit crabs are all fed and put to bed, and the plants are watered, the dishes done, and my sweetheart has bid me goodnight and gone home, and I've got a moment to blog. But wait! My sister needs me to brush bleach on her roots... okay, I'm coming!

Later... I'm back. She's been begging me for days to help do her hair. Finally I had a spare moment. But no spare moments to blog! I'm sort of taking care of the homestead while my parents are in Idaho, where my other sister is having a baby. But not just that. I'm also here to see my fiance, plan my wedding, and enjoy some free time. Mostly I've just been walking around in a lovesick daze, too blissed out to notice anything around me. Well, no, that's not quite true. I've been noticing the budding and blossoming trees, the electric yellow of the forsythias, the North Carolina farmland turning from red clay mud to lush green grass and clover. Spreading a blanket under the tree in the yard here at home, I spent a few leisurely hours contemplating the moss, the musical sound of tree frogs, and bees emerging from winter hives.

C and I spent Saturday doing some spring cleaning at his house, with a nice long break to nap in the garden amidst pansies and narcissus, the March sun strong and full of promise. I'm not exactly looking forward to summertime in the South, but spring time is sure nice. The breezes are redolent of flowering plum and pear trees, and you never know from one moment to the next if you'll need a sweater or shorts, mud boots or sandals. C showed me some trails today in the woods where he used to go running a lot. There we saw a stream where there used to be a mill, and the beautiful sandy and rocky banks were edged with soft green grasses, latent vines, and trees on the verge of bursting into leaf. The forests here are still ash-gray and silent, but little by little there are tiny white flowers popping up and almost undetectable leaf buds, insects emerging from their mysterious places, and birds singing the anthem of spring all around. I know it happens every year, but the miraculousness of spring never fails to amaze me.

We also spotted a coyote loping along an old railroad track in the woods today! That is definitely not something I'd see in Harlem, although some of the characters in my neighborhood can seem pretty similar. Anyway, it's nice to be back amongst nature, and here on the "farm" surrounded by the Carolina countryside in all her delicate springtime lace and finery, with family around and a good man at my side, it seems as if there is no better place in all the world to be.

North and South

Phew! That's me, breathing a sigh of relief to be home in North Carolina again, finally done (for the most part) with my job in New York, and able to rest, relax, and begin wedding plans. After a week of rain in the city and the longest last week of work ever, I was so looking forward to flying South, and putting winter behind me.

My last day of work was on Tuesday, and afterwards I celebrated by making a huge pot of clam chowder and inviting a few friends over to share it. Then, Wednesday saw me up and packing, heading to the bus stop early, making a beeline for the airport. It was a beautiful sunny morning in New York, so different from last Saturday when an "unnamed hurricane" swept through and made a mess of the entire city and its neighbors. After such a weekend, this Wednesday morning March sunshine felt strange and hot and Harlem lay exposed before the onslaught of Spring. I know when I go back to the city, there will be daffodils in all the parks, ice cream trucks on the corners, and people out sitting on stoops again.

Meanwhile, I spent today laying in a backyard sunbeam having my sister throw flowers at me. "These little blue flowers would make such pretty confetti at your wedding! You just need to hire some cheap laborers to pick tons of them for you." Earlier we went to David's Bridal to try on dresses. It was pretty disappointing, because they literally have nothing with sleeves. Nothing! The saleslady showed me some hideous little boleros that can be worn over the shoulders, or you can pay extra to have little slips of beaded nothing sewed over the shoulders, but everything is so ugly. I did find one dress that was pretty and looked good on me, but it was backless! Sigh... I guess my next step is LDSbrides.com or someplace like that, but... for some reason I feel like I'm running my fingernails down a chalkboard when I look at those sorts of websites. So I'm hoping to find something vintage, something unique and different, something modest but gorgeous, something me.

Anyway, I'll definitely keep you updated!

Traveler's Rest

I haven't quite reached the "rest" part of my life's "travels" but this is a cute name for a church, and I can see my rest in sight. A combination of daylight savings "spring forward" time change and the dark rainy morning caused me to sleep in an extra hour this morning and wake up without enough time to get to my church on time, so I went with my roommates to their ward instead. Compared to my large bustling noisy family ward, theirs was tiny, quiet, and very focused. The spiritual messages, talks, and lessons were all uplifting, and I felt my spirit renewed and refreshed--just like at an oasis, for a weary traveler.

Catching Up

Yay! The week is over, and that means I only have two more days left of work, four days until I get to go home to North Carolina, about 50 days until I move back there, and roughly 100 days until I get married, give or take a week (no! the date has still not been set, so stop asking me!) There has been so much to do that I have neglected to blog about it all, so here are the highlights:

First the bad news. The dress I was in love with has left me for another. I guess it was reserved for another buyer on etsy, and I didn't realize it, so interrupted the arrangement when I purchased it. So my money was refunded and now I'm back to square one, plan B, or the drawing board--whatever metaphor works the best. I'm sure I'll find something... and it is fun to shop, that's for sure! But I hope I find something wonderful and perfect. E has been helping me out by sending links to dresses she's finding on e-bay and there are some amazing ones there. However, I don't think I will pick this one:

Celebrity sighting of the week is Rudy Giuliani, who seems to be following me. First I saw him last month in Palm Beach, and this week he was walking past the store where I work, when he stopped to look at a watch in the window. He then decided to come in and my coworker showed the watch and chatted with him for a moment before Giuliani rushed back out the door, only to then be accosted by tourists wanting to take pictures of him with their cell phones.

My replacement at work was finally hired! H seems a lot like me when I first started out, except she doesn't know a single thing, so I'm a little bit worried about her, but she didn't give up after the first day, or even the second, so that's one good sign. She asks good questions, and seems pretty cheerful, so I just hope she's not beaten down by the daily onslaught of craziness that I faced each day at that job.

I went out to Johnny Utah's on Wednesday night with some girls from work who wanted to give me a little bachelorette night of sorts. Johnny Utah's is such a popular place, I was expecting it to be lame, but it was actually really fun. Aside from Megan spilling her margarita into my shoe, I enjoyed hanging out with the downstairs girls. They even convinced me to go for a ride on the mechanical bull, which was pretty fun. And since I was the only one who rode it sober, I did an excellent job not falling off.

On Thursday night I went to a bridal shower for a girl in my ward who is getting married today, actually. The shower was held at this apartment on the 18th floor of a building (in Harlem) with huge windows overlooking Central Park North, so the view of the city skyline was amazing. The other perks of that night were getting to hold someone's newborn sleeping baby while sitting right next to the bride as she opened all her presents, and eating soul food (the greatest talent of the Harlem First Ward Relief Society) for dinner after a long day at work.

Today when I went to the Harlem Knitting Circle, I wasn't expecting to find myself writing a letter to Oprah Winfrey, but that's what I did. The lady in charge of the group is having some financial problems, and is also trying to become foster parent to a child who needs a stable home, and is at her wits end, so she is having everyone she knows write to Oprah for help. I don't know if she's even got a chance, but you never know. And I find it so interesting how Oprah has become to so many women an intercessory figure, with the power to reach down from Olympus, as it were, and bestow beneficence. (Oprah, if you do feel like helping us Harlem girls out, I've got a few ideas myself!)

Hmmm, what else happened this week? There must have been more, but it's all in the past now.

Two-fer

Here's a two-fer. (If that's even a word!) Two churches right next to each other, to make up for some Sundays that I've neglected to post a picture of a Harlem church. Both of these look fairly new compared to so many of the churches I see around here. Spanish is the dominant language in this neighborhood, so it's no wonder that the church on the right has its sign in Spanish. Anyway, it's a gorgeous sunny Sunday today in Harlem, and I'm taking full advantage. So let me get back to my nap in a sunbeam...

Dresses

Even though I already found a dress that I think is going to be just perfect for my wedding (if only it would hurry up and come in the mail!), I figure this is the only time I'm going to be a bride, so I might as well take full advantage of the situation and go to the Bridal Boutique at Macy's and try on big puffy fluffy dresses. I arrived without an appointment (which shows how much I know about this whole wedding-planning thing) with my two roommates in tow and spent about an hour looking at the dresses, trying to find one that wasn't strapless, but secretly loving several of the strapless ones anyway, just because they are all sooooo pretty and feminine.

Finally, one of the sales ladies was free to help me try dresses on. Sylvia was a hoot. Clucking over me like a grandmother hen, she whisked me into a beautiful cream colored wedding gown with a beaded bodice, empire waist, and a long flowing chiffon skirt. It was so pretty! Then she stuck a veil on my head and I strolled out into the viewing area. There my roommates were in chairs while I got to stand up on a little stage surrounded by mirrors and act like a Barbie doll. I posed and smiled, and felt radiant. Even though I knew it wasn't the dress I was going to get married in, it was just so much fun to be dressed in such a gorgeous creation. However, the second dress I tried on was even more beautiful than the first. (It is pictured above.) Having just one shoulder to the dress really framed and accentuated my other shoulder, and let me just be honest--I have nice shoulders. While I'm normally not a fan of the ruched waistline, this particular dress looked really good. Then, Sylvia stuck a veil on my head, and I felt like Grace Kelly. I have been trying to think of what kind of veil I want, and now that I've seen a few veils up close, I really feel like I could make one for myself easily. Thirdly, Sylvia helped me try on a white white gown. The first two had been cream colored, and she wanted to see how I would look in stark white. I looked good! I told her I'm a winter. Nobody uses that color chart anymore, but she knew exactly what I meant, and she said that while I could wear either cream or white and look great, I might as well wear bright white because it is more dramatic and I can carry it off. She was very complimentary, and funny. "What a fun job," I said, "to help brides choose their dresses!" She said she loves it, and not only that, she writes historical romance novels, so it gives her inspiration. As I stood up on the bridal dais, twirling and swishing my voluminous skirts of tulle and chiffon, Jessica surreptitiously took photos of me with her i-phone (cameras not allowed!). Sylvia told me (in the nicest manner) that I'd better hurry and decide on a dress because if I'm going to get married in June, there isn't much time! I told her I just needed to talk to my mom, but I would get back to her soon.

It was just a white lie--I didn't want to say that I was just playing, that I couldn't wear a strapless or one-shouldered dress, and that I have already found the most beautiful vintage dress that will be more practical and more perfect than any of those princess gowns I tried on. I just wish it would hurry up and come in the mail! I found my ideal dress on etsy, and it is truly vintage, from the 1950s. I love it because it is old, it is one-of-a-kind, and because it is simple and practical. Made of linen, it will be perfect for a summer wedding, and it's not so formal that I could never wear it again to another event. Plus, it is about one quarter the price of the most inexpensive dress at the Macy's Bridal Boutique. I just hope it looks good on me! Nevertheless, it was so much fun to try on big puffy wedding dresses and, with visions of storybook weddings dancing through my head, my next stop was Kate's Paperie to look at wedding invitations!

Work

Wow! Sorry to be so absent from the blogging world this week. To be honest, I'm just focusing all my attention on finishing my job and moving on with my life. Work has become so difficult, almost unbearable, as the staff has dwindled from 22 people when I first started 2 years ago down to 15 now. That may not seem like a lot, but the positions that have been eliminated or come open have almost all been absorbed by me! So, basically, I'm doing the jobs of five people. And, this week two people are out--one on vacation and one with a health problem. Add to that the task of finding and interviewing candidates for my replacement. There are literally not enough hours in the day for me to accomplish all the things my bosses expect me to do, which is very hard for me, because I have a very strong sense of responsibility towards whatever job I am in. While I realize I can only do so much, I want to do everything and get it all done quickly and well. And, I want things to be organized, clear, and all the loose ends tied up for the next person who comes along. The only way I get through is to remind myself that in eight days I'll be ALL DONE! Well, maybe not all done. My boss has asked if I'd be willing to come back for "special events." That means next month for 5 days, working an off-site show. Of course I said yes, because I'm too responsible! And because I will need money. After all, I've got a wedding to put on. But then, how can I plan a wedding if I'm always working? It's a Catch-22 situation. I demand justice! I'll tell you what justice is. Justice is a knee in the gut from the floor on the chin at night sneaky with a knife brought up down on the magazine of a battleship sandbagged underhanded in the dark without a word of warning.* Sigh...

*Joseph Heller, Catch-22, chapter 8

Into the Deep

Finally I am actually resuming my Harlem Church series here on my blog! I'll have to walk the length and breadth of Harlem before I leave New York and take a picture of every single church that I haven't captured yet, so that I can continue to post them when I move back to North Carolina. Or maybe I will start posting Southern churches. There are so many there, too! Meanwhile, I'm glad I was able to get a picture of Grace United church in the winter, when the tree right in front of it was bare, because otherwise it would have been impossible to see anything. I'm so curious about the message on the sign--the name of the sermon? I wonder if it was about Jonah and the whale.

I've Lost It

Everyone says I'm walking around with my head in the clouds, without a care in the world. It's true that the three days of non-stop snow hasn't even registered with me. I'm seeing sunshine and rainbows in my mind. So yesterday, when my boss' wife ran over to my desk and demanded to know: "Will you definitely be here tomorrow no matter what?" I just smiled and said "yah." I've been operating on an amazing combination of sleep deprivation, euphoria, and Diet Coke, which seems to be working just fine. Except for yesterday morning when, early in the workday, Dali pointed out that I'd worn a pair of torn stockings to work. I bent to take a look, and bumped my head very hard on the side of the huge refrigerator-sized safe. That required a sit-down, a few Excedrins, and a few hours before I felt right again. But it probably kind of woke me up.

Maybe the daze I'm in has caused my recent spate of forgetfulness and propensity to lose things. On Wednesday I was convinced that I'd lost my watch for good. My darling little gold watch that I put on every morning wasn't on the bedside table where I always put it. I searched around my room to no avail, and since I had jury duty that morning, I spent the entire time mourning the loss of my watch, which I finally convinced myself had somehow fallen off my wrist onto the street, where I'd rushed unconsciously away, listening only to the sound of my i-pod earphones. However, that night when I went home I decided to search one more place, and found the watch in the pocket of the jeans I'd worn Tuesday night. A relief! But strange to have no memory of ever taking the watch off and putting it there.

Last night Peter called and demanded to see the hardware. He didn't want to borrow the drill, he wanted to see my ring! So I went over to his house, where I found my roommates congregated (skipping Institute class) watching the Olympics. After an hour or so of watching, I decided I needed to go get my computer so I could get a few things done, so I went back out into the blustery snow-filled night, only to discover when I got to my door that my apartment keys were no longer on my keychain! I couldn't believe it, and searched my pockets to no avail. Finally I just went back to Peter's house and borrowed my roommate's keys. But on my way back home again, even though I was sure that some miscreant had found my keys, entered the building and tried every door until they found mine and then stole all of my belongings, I decided to look very carefully on the ground. And, as luck would have it, amidst the horizontally blowing wind that was piling the fist-sized snowflakes into huge drifts, I looked down and noticed the tiniest glint of metal from under a patch of snow, and it was my keys! Thanking the storm, because on any other night the keys would have been ultra-visible and a temptation to any passerby, I scooped them up and felt the wave of relief wash over me.

The thing is, I'm not a forgetful person, and I rarely lose things (E will say except for metro cards!) but the past few days seem to prove otherwise. Hopefully its not a trend that will last. Then again, if it means coming down from this wonderful high that I'm on from being in love and engaged to be married, then forget about it--I'll just have to accept the fact that I'm going to lose things on a daily basis from now on. I have never felt like this before.

Of Course, The Cookies!

My new favorite pastime is shocking people by telling them that I'm engaged. It's fun to see people's reactions, because nobody saw it coming! On Tuesday, my Israeli watch dealer/cookie supplier brought me a little bag of my favorite shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate from Sant Ambroeus, and when I told him my news, and flashed my diamond ring at him, he was quite surprised too. But after congratulating me, he said that he's not really surprised, "It was the cookies that did it," he said. According to him, the cookies he's brought me every week have kept me so happy, relaxed, contented, and therefore more charming. "The cookies made you beautiful, so no wonder you found a husband!" If not this guy, he said, another would have snapped me up soon enough. And just then another watch dealer--a creepy strange one--walked in and said, "Yeah, I had my eye on you, but now I'm too late!" I laughed at them both, smiling inwardly at the thought of cookies leading to love. And I have my own theories as to what brought my man and I together, but I sure have appreciated my weekly gift of cookies, and I will miss them when I'm gone. I wonder if Sant Ambroeus ships?

The Big Reveal

I know there are probably a few people who read this blog and are totally confused about the news in my last post, because me suddenly getting engaged seemed to come right out of the blue. Well, the whole thing has happened rather quickly, and the reason why I haven't shared much information is because it has been both a very extremely personal and a very spiritual experience.

The part I can tell you is that I'm definitely in love! I'm engaged to a man I've known for many years, whose character I've seen in many different situations, and know to be of sterling quality. He's a man I've always been drawn to mentally and intellectually, and who has been a friend, confidante, and anchor to me the whole time I have known him. But I didn't know I was going to fall in love with him or marry him!

It all happened when I went home for the holidays. I went to say hello to him, like I always did when I was in town, but something different happened that day. It was as if my eyes were opened and I suddenly knew that he was the man I was going to marry. Something prompted me to share that feeling with him, and while I wondered if perhaps I had lost my mind, I felt so right and so calm and peaceful the entire time, somehow, miraculously, knowing that we were meant to be together. I can't even explain it! I'm learning that God has a plan for us, and is guiding us, and if we just listen and follow His promptings, our lives will be blessed, we will receive answers to prayers, and discover that the most wonderful things are possible.

During the past few months we stayed in constant communication, sorting out our feelings, quickly falling deeply in love, until the moment came that he asked me to please marry him, and make our dreams come true. How could I refuse? In the short span of this new year, my heart has opened up to him and blossomed with love. There were so many times I wanted to write about it here, but it has been so special, so sweet and wonderful, that I can't even find the words to use. But I'm sure if you read between the lines, you probably knew something was up. And now it's official! I am engaged to be married, to the best man I've ever met, who absolutely adores me, and who I love in return.

So, after a whirlwind weekend of flying to North Carolina and getting engaged, and finally announcing it to friends and family, I'm back in the city for a little while longer, to finish my job here and tie up the loose ends of my city life. Then, home awaits me down South, with a fresh start, a wonderful new beginning. Don't worry--I'll keep blogging. I'll try not to gush, but it will be hard!

Going to the Chapel

Rats! I'm in North Carolina for the weekend and didn't bring my laptop, so I don't have any Harlem church pictures to post today, even though I promised! Oh well. However, yesterday as I was driving around I found a random steeple on a trailer. Also, I got engaged this weekend, does that count? Yup. I'm gettin' hitched! It's a long story...

Electricity

Apparently, I've got the electric feel. (Shock me like an electric eel! Oh great, now I have that song in my head.) As I walked out the door this morning to run some errands (yes, I was skipping work), I slipped my i-pod into my pocket, and put the earphones in. Then I wrapped my scarf around my neck, and immediately the static electricity zipped along the wires and right into my ears. Then I was really awake. Walking down the street, my ears got a few more little jolts, and then as I acclimated to the dry cold winter air and street, the electricity seemed to die down. A girl I know once told me that whenever her hair gets all staticky, it invariably snows a few days later. I'm hoping that New York City has had its allotment of snow for the year. Today was sunny and clear and lovely, and most of the snow is finally melting away. I don't mind the big piles of it, keeping the city cool on ice, but my heart is beginning to yearn for spring.

There is another electricity running through me. Jolts and bolts of excitement, anticipation, happiness, love. In fact, although I am no physicist, I have been doing some studies of electromagnetics. Basically, by running electric current through a wire, a magnetic field is created. And, metaphorically, I am noticing that the electricity caused by two people in love causes another sort of magnetic effect. The electromagnetic field can be used to create energy, like light, and the same is true with the two electrically magnetically affected hearts. Happy belated Valentine's Day, everyone.

Home Again, Home Again!

Wow. I just realized I haven't written on my blog since last weekend! I completely forgot to post a church pic on Sunday. Well, I could post one now, but it would be kind of random... so I'll wait till next Sunday.

Palm Beach was intense. I'm so glad to be back home, nestled in my own little room, in the great New York City. Strange how accustomed I have grown to this city that never sleeps. In Palm Beach I kept wishing for a Duane Reade corner drugstore so that I could run out and get a Diet Coke or a chapstick or whatever I needed, whenever I needed it. But no, I couldn't even find a store that sold Coke products within walking distance of my hotel! Finally, three days into my trip, I found a Coca Cola machine in an alley behind a movie theater, but Pepsi had some sort of strange monopoly in that town.

The other thing I couldn't believe about Palm Beach was the plastic surgery. It was out of control! Probably three out of four women I saw had had some kind of work done. And the others, more often than not, were wearing the most ridiculous jewelry and clothes. I just don't understand how those people can look in the mirror and think they look normal.

My workdays were intense there--I had to be at the show from 10 a.m. to 7:30 every day, and we'd get so busy that there would never be time for lunch. I think I only had lunch one day out of the five days I was working at the show. But somehow I was blessed with reserves of energy, because by the end of most days I wouldn't even feel very hungry or tired. Still, I would always try and beg off having dinner with my bosses, so I could go off and have some free time, and I'd go swimming in the hotel pool or soak in the hot tub. I ordered room service for the first time in my life, and found it to be a delightful experience.

What else can I say about Palm Beach? I never saw the sunlight, except for about an hour each morning before I arrived at the show. Sometimes I'd go for a morning run, and get a smoothie for breakfast on the way back. I enjoyed seeing the greenery, the white marsh birds everywhere, and the cutesy stucco buildings. I watched the third largest implosion to ever take place, when they imploded an old condo on Flagler Avenue to make room for a new development. That was pretty awesome.

There were crickets chirping in the bushes at night and even mosquitoes flying around!

It was a long, interesting, stressful, busy, tiring, but entertaining trip. I'm so extremely glad it is behind me! Compared to Palm Beach, this city is cold and gray and edged with piles of dirty snow and ice, but I love it.

Life in West Palm Beach

West Palm Beach is full of strange looking people! I have only been here for two days and already I have seen enough plastic surgery to make me never want to see another botoxed lip, chin lift, or... anything else. Other than that, it seems like a very nice place. I woke up and went for a swim in the hotel pool, which was so pleasant and invigorating. The West Palm Beachers think this is terribly cold weather, but to me it is downright balmy. This morning the wind was tossing the palm trees all around and blowing the cushions off the pool chairs, and I was the only one brave enough to dip my toes in the water, but the pool was heated, and once I got in and started swimming around, it was wonderful.

But soon it was time to head to work. The show was so busy today! I almost didn't get a chance to eat breakfast before going to the convention center, but I'm sure glad I did, because from eleven to seven I didn't get a bite of food, or a moment to even sit down. But that's a good thing! We were so busy! Hopefully the whole show will go this way. Three more days to go... Also, I saw Rudy Giuliani walking the show, looking at antiques. I don't recognize a lot of celebrities, but he is very distinctive looking, despite his casual attire and lack of entourage.

As soon as we were done for the day, my bosses and I headed over to the Valentine's Day Eve party being held by some friends and clients. Their swanky West Palm Beach penthouse condominium was decked out! In fact, as soon as we exited the elevator, a trail of rose petals and red curtains led the way to the party, which was soon in full swing. My dinner was a delicious mixture of shrimp and chicken on skewers, vegetables with hummus dip, sushi, crabcakes, mini spanakopita, and so many other amazing appetizers. A few wineglasses of diet coke later, I was quite recovered from my long busy day, and meeting some very interesting people. In fact, I still can't really believe it. So a few days ago, one of the party hosts told me that the Twilight actor Taylor Lautner was going to be at his party helping serve food as a joke. But I'm starting to think the joke was on me! At the party tonight there was definitely a young guy who looked a LOT like Lautner, and he was helping out the caterers, but dressed in a tux. I went up to my host and asked him if he was serious--was that really Lautner? Yes, he swore up and down, but he was also a little tipsy... and when he introduced me to the Twilight star/Twilight lookalike, the kid said "Hi, my name is Nick." But, according to my host, that was the name they agreed he'd go by during the party so as not to attract too much attention. It was a crowd of older people, no Twilight fans among them, but, according to my host, Taylor was an old friend and owed him a favor. He didn't seem to be lying, but I'm a bad judge, especially when I've only known this guy for a few days. So... maybe I will never know if it was really Taylor Lautner or just a lookalike who served me crabcakes.

Meanwhile, at the party I also met the up and coming author of a book about what kind of women divorced and widowed men are really looking for, the guy who told Tropicana not to change the look of their packaging, an old man actor whose name I forget but who was just in a big movie, and his girlfriend "Googy" (a very scary plastic surgery collection!), and many more very unusual characters. What a day, and what a night. I'm ready for some sleep before doing it all again tomorrow.