Swoon

I saw Usher last night. Sigh. Two hours of Usher indoors and 30 minutes of waiting in the cold and drizzle to behave like a groupie. Wish I'd had a real camera with me, but had to make do with a camera phone and being several feet away -- with the result that you can't really tell it's him. Still, it was... sigh...





I've seen Chicago on Broadway before, but he added a whole new dimension to this experience. I couldn't stop smiling. Especially when he threw his little Usher riffs into the songs or busted out an Usher move while dancing. Totally adorable. I thought he played the part quite well -- eventhough it was hard to forget it was Usher down there and not Billy Flynn. Still, that's really my fault, not his.

Catching up

I was told -- more than once -- in the last month or so that it seems like I've been in another world. The truth is, it feels like that to me, too. Without delving too much into detail, it's been a whirlwind couple months with a lot going on, not all of it good. So, yes, I think I did check out of this world and disappear into myself. That happens. So for those who thought I wasn't quite there, I wasn't. But I'm back.

Details I can share:
I was home for a blissful yet short visit.
I spent a couple days tanning here (it's an old picture; there should be pool chairs and the palm trees are bigger):



And I drove one of these:


Basically, it was a much needed hiatus from my world. I'm saner for it.

Irony

There are certain events in life that truly define 'irony.' This is one of them.

For someone who made a career out of chasing danger -- and often staring it in its (large toothy) mouth -- there's no word but ironic to describe Steve Irwin's premature death. I nearly fell off the treadmill when I tuned into CNN and saw the breaking news. The experts have been all over the news talking about how stingray attacks are rarely fatal. What were the chances? And at a time when he was working on a not-so-dangerous project. It's ironic and it's sad.

I always thought he was completely out of his mind, but I found his personality and his shows incredibly addictive. And I have a phobia of reptiles. So that's something. I guess, crazy or not, he did a fair amount to educate people about creatures nobody particularly cares for. And whatever anybody thought of him, 44 is too young...