Yesterday

I took the day off. Given that I wrote for eight hours after teaching and attending Ashley's fabulous MIAP thesis presentation on Friday, I thought I deserved it. I had already made plans in advance and wanted to make the best of this day, and I think I did. It was also a little warmer outside so it felt less like winter and more like a very early, slightly chilly, spring day.

I got up relatively early at 9.30 am, which took some discipline as I was writing until 1.30 am, and went to pilates and then Zumba (as usual). Then after going home and showering, my friend Ben came over for lunch. After walking 20+ blocks to Tacqueria Nixtamal, a place where they grind their own corn for their tamales, tacos and chips, and eating very well for $10 each, we walked off some of our lunch, came home, watched a couple of prize episodes of South Park and then headed back to Manhattan for more deliciousness in the shape of Doughnut Plant doughnuts (Vanilla bean for me, Pistachio for Ben). We then walked a few yards to the garden of a restaurant where we met Angela Landsbury and Robert Osborne. My friend Ashley had won a twitter competition to attend the meet and greet organized by TCM as part of their Road to Hollywood presentations of classic (and not so classic) movies introduced by one of their stars and Robert Osborne. So had our friends Brittan and Taso, who kindly added Ben and I as plus ones.

We then headed to the screening of The Manchurian Candidate at the SVA theater. Angela Lansbury was so lovely and easy to talk to--I was lucky enough to speak to her for about 10 minutes or longer about England, movies and her family (her lineage is illustrious--her grandfather was Labour Party leader George Lansbury, a major advocate of social justice). What a lovely, elegant, kind woman she is--still beautiful and trim at 85. She's also Oliver Postgate's cousin which makes me marvel at the talent, grace and accomplishments of that clan.

After a vegetarian burrito at Chipotle (memories of Cindy), I came home, watched The Ricky Gervais Show and fell asleep--tired and yet reinvigorated at the same time. Evan returned safely from Florida and all was well.