Return of Ten on Tuesday

Not making any friends here
I made potato salad tonight. Not merely potato salad though ... no indeed. I made "patatas alioli," or my version of the garlic potato salad served at my favorite tapas place here in town. I have nothing to fear from any local vampires tonight. It will likely come out my pores tomorrow, but it was worth it.

Pride and stuff
This weekend, I'll be road-trippin' to Champaign to see my fake stepbrother Ryan be commissioned into the U.S. Marine Corps. I'm a little uneasy about this. I'm at once proud and thrilled and scared and excited ... it's a bit much. I couldn't love him more if he were my flesh and blood brother; yes, the Rice family has brought me more than my share of men who inspire that emotion. Yet another aspect of the good fortune brought to me when I chose to finish college at EIU.

Speaking of which ...
I'm driving down on Sunday and spending the night in Charleston with my photography prof and his wife, who is a music prof at EIU. I haven't walked around campus in years. I hope it recognizes me. I'm excited to see the new Doudna Fine Arts Center ... it was designed by one of my favorite architects, Antoine Predock. Look him up; be amazed. Anyhoo, Sunday looks like it's gonna be a pretty artistic sorta day, and then Monday I'll get up early, eat bacon, and head up to Champaign. Friends, family, celebration. Plus, I get to hold Izzy again. Neat!

I've got rhythm
But not everyone does. Seriously. Last night at the gym, my least favorite instructor subbed for my favorite instructor. It was like having a blind teacher for driver's ed. Kill me now. The woman can't keep a beat, much less keep a class motivated. I wanted to eat my own hand. I toughed it out, because I'm a nice person and I didn't want to just walk out ... but I didn't like it.

With each day, there's fresh hope
It sounds trite, but it's true. Every day is a new opportunity to make something better than the day before. I need to remember that. I'm not writing it out of some crazy self-righteousness; no, I write it because I forget, all too often. Each day, ladies and gentlemen, is another chance to make choices that are authentic to who you are. Each moment, in fact ... we can pick any moment - how 'bout now? - to be more than we were a moment ago.

I've been writing bad poetry
Now, I don't know how to describe good poetry. I know it when I read it. It's the stuff that resonates in me, that strikes a chord or otherwise changes me. But I've been challenging myself to try and write it, because when I was in college I had a professor who said anyone could be a writer if they had no limit to their words. Tell a story with a poem, he'd say, or better yet, a haiku. So I've been trying. I'm not a rhymey girl, so it's very free-form and flowy, and mostly very personal ... but it's mine and I'm writing it, so I love it for what it is.

I always liked Matthew the best
I have a history of involvement with the musical "Godspell." If you don't know it, just picture a 1960s love-fest version of the Gospel According to Matthew. I was lucky enough to be in a production of the show back in (seriously, I am aging myself here) 1989, and we took our show on the road a few years later, performing in countless churches and halls. It was an incredibly meaningful experience, and one that springs to mind all the time. Then, a few years ago, I came out of retirement to do the show once again, making different memories with a different cast. So it should come as no surprise that every year at this time, when the lilies of the valley are blooming and their fragrance tickles my nose, that I play this line over and over in my head: "Consider the lilies of the field. They don't work. They don't spin. Yet I tell you - Solomon in all his splendor was not attired like one of these." So don't miss it. Stick your face in a lilac bush. Bend your fanny over and smell your garden. Put your face to the sun and be grateful winter is over - even if your winter never gets colder than 40 degrees overnight in Tucson.

Look, I made a princess!
I took my 14-year-old niece shopping on Saturday for her very first dress for her very first dance. It is an aunt's privilege and responsibility to share this rite of passage with her baby girls. It was such a treat for me to spend the day with amazing young lady, who is truly going to be a sight to behold in her sparkly plum number. (Note to Kelly: she needs black sandals and black strapless bra. I have spoken. And I want to see pictures!)

Creepy
About four months ago, I called my landlord to tell him my medicine cabinet wasn't anchored to the wall. Weeks past, and nothing. I honestly forgot about it. Until I came home last night to see all the stuff that was formerly in my medicine cabinet all over my bathroom, and sawdust and stuff all over my everything. It's a little creepy to me that my landlord and at least one other dude (my landlord is a power tool; he doesn't use them) were hanging out in my bathroom without my knowledge. Had I known, I would've ... well, I would've at least put away some of the more private items that live in my medicine cabinet. Just ... creepy.

Before you know it
Soon, it will be summer. I have a list of stuff I want to see, do, eat, experience and enjoy. I have limited funds - no travel for me this year - but let's face it. Sweet corn is cheap. Fireworks are free. Bodies of water just hang out, waiting for me. So if you want to road trip to the shores of Lake Michigan, relax on a lounge chair at Amber's pool or the gym, grill something tasty, go to the drive-in, find Shakespeare in the park, ride a Ferris wheel, take a walk in the forest preserve or just sit in the grass and eat egg and cheese sandwiches and drink coffee, I'm game. Come along with me for summer, people. It'll be fun, guaranteed.