Lock In.

It all started when I got up this morning, VERY begrudgingly, since I slept a total of two winks last night. I don't know what it is lately--I guess I have a lot on my mind--but it's just hard to sleep throughout the night. I feel like an infant, but with bills. Ha.

So anyhoo, I'm late for poetry circle and on my way out of the door when I realize..I can't open it. Yep, the door is locked and JAMMED no matter which way i turn the knob or the lock. I try over and over to let myself out of the house, but I feel like I'm just going end up breaking the door knob. Ugh. To make matters worse, the cat is staring at me, wondering what the hell my deal is.

I start to get frantic. The back door of our house leads to a balcony, which I certainly would NOT be jumping off of. Neither of my roommates were home. I was helpless. So I whipped out my phone and called my two poetesses.

"You won't believe this," I moaned. "But I'm stuck INSIDE my house. The lock is jammed or something. Help me!! It's too embarrassing to call the fire department!!"

They said they'd come right over. We had decided that if I could at least open the window, they could help me get the screens off and I could crawl through. But as luck would have it, before they even arrived I managed to get the door open. (Good thing I didn't call the fire department, right?)

"Gosh," said Bridget later as we munched our breakfasts. "I was disappointed that you were able to open the door yourself. I wanted us to rescue you!"

I was touched. I sat there, enjoying the homemade bread Bridget made and the delicious eggs that Ali scrambled, thinking how lucky I am to have friends like them--ready to come to my rescue, no matter how absurd the request.

There are worse ways to start a day.

Cake & Champagne.

My birthday was yesterday, but the past several days have been chock-full of celebrations. It all started last Thursday when my friend Emily came into town for a visit, followed closely by my other best gals, Alice and Mandie, on Friday afternoon. Mandie had rented a house out on Folly Beach, and we girls spent most of the weekend drinking cocktails lazily in the sunshine and enjoying the rare occasion of togetherness.

Next, I had a proper birthday party on Saturday night in downtown Charleston, and my friend Aaron sprang for a few bottles of nice champagne. I felt incredibly fortunate to have so many friends raise their glasses to my life. 

And that wasn't all! Last night for my "real" birthday, we had a lovely meal at a new restaurant on James Island. And tonight, my good friend Katrina made me dinner and a fabulous birthday cake, complete with homemade raspberry icing. It was absolutely delectable. 

So yeah, I guess I'm a tad spoiled. 

Sitting Room.

I've always adored sitting rooms without televisions in them. Let the book case be the focal point, I say. (I mean I guess I'm biased, being a writer and a book-lover, but so what?) Or let the people be the focal point. Anything but an ugly television spouting stupid commercials and crappy sitcoms. Over the years I've seen dozens of gorgeous sitting rooms with huge book cases, cozy fireplaces, and perfect ambiance thanks to the lack of tv.

This is not to say that I haven't liked a few tv shows over the years. I love Mad Men, for example. But a tv show could never take the place of my love for books, or my love for people. I just don't get the way television fanatics can get absorbed into the screen, mindlessly zoning out in front of it for hours. Ugh.

Today the cable man visited our house and hooked up our cable, which we hadn't been using because we thought there was something wrong with the line. There wasn't--it just needed hooking up. Now, my two roommates are totally catering to the television and its newly-discovered life force. They rearranged the furniture so that the "comfy chair" is near the tv. I came home from yoga tonight to a completely different living room--one smothered by a talking box.

I've decided I'm striking back by making a reading corner of my own, in my bedroom. Luckily my bedroom is the biggest in the house so there's room for me to put the other chair in it. I know that sometimes I'll feel like reading and writing--NOT listening to the tv--so having my own little cozy corner might be beneficial. At least until i have my own house with someone who appreciates the finer things in life, like a sitting room without a television.

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