LATE WINTER AUCTION

There is cold and then there is the deep-freeze that sets into an unheated metal building as February rolls around.  The auction fever is perhaps the only heat that can spark a body to stand for hours on end in such a place with no paycheque in sight.  I didn't end up buying anything but the assembled company left memories enough and the french fries were hot and crisp.

BUDGET LESSON

My Grandmother has been keeping a ledger of all her expenditures since she started to spend.   Dating from 1947, these books are both fascinating and beautiful artifacts; a history of her life as illustrated through the mundane (you'll notice she likes to splurge on candies, fresh fruits and other sweets).  She learned the habit from her father who saw her through both the great depression and Japanese internment camps during WWII, giving him reason to watch every penny. My Grandmother says that she doesn't know why she continues to make these documents and that perhaps her time could be spent better through other pursuits. However, a creature of habit, she likes to know where she spends her money and how much she spends.  The final photo in the following series is taken from her most recent ledger book.

Interestingly my father, since I can remember, has kept his own log marking down car millage and gas prices for each stop he's ever made at the pump and with every car he's owned.  This number recording gene somehow skipped my sister and I, but my husband has taken up the interest with our new car.  I now find myself jotting down the date, millage and price spent on gas when we stop to fill up.  A funny exercise, but perhaps if we all took a page out of my Grandmother's book we may be better poised to live comfortably, like her, well into retirement (she just celebrated her 92nd birthday).

 

 

BACKSTAGE AT WARNER BROS

Just before Christmas I joined Afie on a quick trip to LA for a taping of Conan and enjoyed a day witnessing television magic at Warner Bros. Studios.   I was fully prepared for a long boring day of waiting around in a dark dressing room for the purpose of our visit to be achieved.  Instead, I was completely entertained from the moment of arrival at 9am to our departure around 6pm. Spending time before the show was much more fun than the taping itself.  The taping was almost too entertaining.  The comedian and stage band intended to warm up the audience gave me the nervous sweats. I sat in fear of being called upon for audience participation and regretted asking for a seat when a jazz trumpet was blown in my face.

After soundcheck, and throughout the day, we could watch the rehearsals from various monitors around the studio. I enjoyed seeing the team of writers lined up on the guest couch (which was covered for protection until show time), with pads of paper and heads down rigorously preparing for that night's taping and for upcoming skits.  The rehearsals were more hilarious than the taped show, being looser and more relaxed.  We ate a geriatric turkey dinner and banana pudding in the cafeteria, served by a man in a tall paper hat.  The meal tasted better because it was purchased with food vouchers. Loved that cafeteria experience. We then spent the afternoon walking the grounds of various exterior sets, seeing New York in the California light.   Like most of my trips to America, novelty abounds and I certainly got my fill.