Personal

I am taking a personal day today.

I haven't been by myself for more than an hour in weeks.

I am using today to do things like pick up the mystery package that's been sitting at the post office for weeks, to clean and do laundry and put things on my Ipod, to download some Brit Pop, to perhaps make copies of the CD's I've been promising people for over a month, to attend and photograph a rally in Union Square at 3 pm.

I don't know how much of this will happen, but I don't care, because I am in my pajamas listening to classical music while staring at my still-unfinished 401k paperwork that is so getting dealt with today!

When I called my boss to inform him that I'd be taking a personal day, it was hard for me not to explain what I was doing.

The point of a personal day is that its personal. It's ironic that I usually keep to myself at work and don't let anyone know me. But the second I am taking a personal day, I feel the need to explain that last week was very stressful with D's being sick and that I've so many visitors and that I am on the verge of a meltdown and that because I have very little work to do today, it makes sense for me to rejuvenate.

But I just said "N, it's Leah, I am taking a personal day" and then quickly hung up before I told my boss my life story.

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Last night a bunch of us went to a place called Cafe Vivaldi, which is coincidentally around the corner from D's apartment and is my new favorite place on the planet.

It's a restaurant/bar with a fireplace and Yamaha grand piano and someone playing classical music while you drink cosmopolitans or beers. A friend of Bench Buddy's roommate was playing and he was fantastic. He played Chopin and Beethoven and Debussy. He said "I heard you are quite the little pianist" and I said "Well, I am the little pianist, but that's about it." He said I could play there whenever I wanted, and that if I wanted to play in between his sets on Sunday I could. Not that I am going to, but how lovely of him to offer. I think I need to become friends with him.

I think this will be the place I go when I need to unwind, or to be introspective, or to meet people, or to get drunk while listening to classical music, which I think is a lovely prospect.

My only complaint is that my "friends" were being loud. I realize it is a bar so people should talk, but I wanted to hear everything. There was debate about whether you clap between movements when you're at a bar and not at the symphony. Sometimes I found myself playing air piano. Sometimes I found myself actually being happy.

Sigh. Classical music and personal days. Life feels good today.