Wednesday Evening

A few random thoughts as I enjoy my day off:

1). "Seinfeld" was a really funny show. Other shows have tried to imitate the "show about nothing" formula but none have succeeded in the quirky, offbeat way that "Seinfeld" did. Cosmo Kramer is so funny because he's like someone we've all known. He's the quintessential New Yorker: no discernible income, unconventional social skills, friends in the oddest places..."Seinfeld" taught me the joys of coffee shop dwelling, that shrinkage happens, to always remember where I parked when buying an air conditioner, to just leave the marble rye where it is, to always splurge on the expensive invitations, that smoking is bad for your skin, postmen are not to be trusted, that sex makes men stupid and women smart, to know the soup you want before getting to the counter, that Dolores rhymes with . . . well . . . and that I, too, can be Master of My Domain. I miss it.

2). I do this weird thing when I'm speaking with people from other countries. I adopt their accent. It's not intentional, though I'm sure they sometimes think I'm making fun of them. It has nothing to with that though, I just have impressionable aural faculties. I was the only English speaker in a hair salon today and I slowly found myself answering questions in a Cuban accent as the afternoon wore on. The last question I answered was given a look from the stylist that equalled linguistic disdain. I wish I knew how to curb my vocal impressions, but it's a natural occurence in my brain. I remember, after visiting my friend in Denmark for three days over Easter one year, I was on the train back to Hamburg and struck up a conversation with an American couple sitting in the plush, red seats across from mine. At one point during the afternoon of rail riding, the woman asked me, "where in Denmark are you from?" I told her I was from Chicago and she responded by telling me that she just assumed I was from Denmark since I sounded like everyone she'd met while in the country. Apparently I'd stolen my friend's accent as well.

3). Speaking of hair salons, I got my hair cut today. It was a completely spontaneous act; I walked past a salon in Miami Springs on my way back from mailing my taxes. With the thought of finally getting a refund after several years of paying through the nose, I walked into the jingly door and asked if there was an available appointment. No one there spoke enough English to do anything but dump me physically in a shampooing chair and take the holder out of my ponytail. I got about four inches cut off and my hair styled in a little wave. I'm slowly but surely getting rid of the "Love and Murder" blond. The experience was a little surreal however. I am so used to crazy chatter in hair salons, but everything going on in this place was in Spanish and I could only pull out a word here and there. I heard "tambien," and "dios," and "quatro" and "yo quiero," but none of those words make up a complete sentence. Whenever I'm in a situation where I'm the only one who doesn't speak the language, I always get this paranoia that everyone is talking about me.

4). Soft serve ice cream cones always remind me of being eight years old. I love being handed the cones and putting my mouth down around the top of the ice cream to get that initial brain freeze. There's a part of me, whenever I have one in my hand, who wants to let it drip down over my hand and get all over my shirt. McDonalds cones are the greatest too. I love chewing around the cone all the way to the bottom where the inside is structured like a 3-d tic-tac toe. At that point I put the whole thing in my mouth and bite down, letting the melted vanilla ice cream slide cold down my throat. I don't eat these things enough - must remember that soft serve puts me in a good mood.

5). My cat has started to sleep in the shower for hours on end. I have nothing to say about that other than he constantly makes me amazed at his neuroses, and I miss him being out here with me.

Tomorrow is back to work, but right now it's just nice to think about mundane things. Sometimes it's hard to realize how normal I can actually be.