E-mail sent to co-workers via blackberry at 8:05 a.m. today:
Ruth out today I am not feeling well and am staying home today. I might come in if I feel better later.
Ruth Ruth Meberg Stine
E-mailed to co-workers from office manager at my 401 N Michigan office 9:29 a.m. today: FW: Concert today Good Morning All,
The office of the building at 401 just notified me that all the activity on the plaza this morning is leading up to a noon concert being given outside by Better Than Ezra. You may want to schedule your lunch accordingly.
For more information you can check out http://www.gardensofthemagnificentmile.com/index.php/concert-series/ . Thanks! Sarah
Played on my bathroom cd player at 11:01 a.m. today: Ruth's copy of Better Than Ezra's 1993 release, Deluxe. Does she still know all the words to the songs? Uhhhh...yeah. Yes. Definitely.
Well, I am officially responsible. I have received my first job offer from a higher ed organization in Chicago. Which is great! Which means...wait. You want me to start when? You don't know? and I don't really know either? Okay. Well, I'll celebrate when we figure that out. It's hard to settle my mind when I don't have all the information, or can't provide all the information.
So anyway. I am entering a different world, much like Whitney Gilbert, Dwayne Wayne, Kimberly Reese, and in the first season, Denise Huxtable and Maggie Lauten, the young and excitable thespian played by Marisa Tomei.
GOD I LOVE THIS SHOW. Not only is it all set in the 90s, there is always a critical message in almost every episode. AIDS? Homelessness? Tributes to Gladys Knight? Racism in South Africa? Covered. In fact, when Whitley and Dwayne finally tied the not and went on their honeymoon to LA, guess what happened? The LA riots. That's right. They don't miss any opportunities. I have honestly teared up more than ten times watching this show.
Lately I have magically been catching episodes that I have never seen before. How is this possible after watching two shows a day for the last two years? I don't know either. And I'm really falling in love with Winifred "Freddie" Brooks, the political hippie with a poetic vocabulary. In the last two episdoes, Freddie had two killer one-liners:
"Hi Colonel! I'm the world!" - while painted and poised on a pedastal as an impromtu performance piece in Whitley's art show, which inevitably lead to a lesson about censoring art.
"I got you something...careful. It's powerful." - handing Whitley a big crystal as a good luck gift for her new job in New York. Which she leaves after 'a summer' to come back to Dwayne so they can get engaged, and then Dwayne accidentally gives a giant engagement ring cause Ron picked up the wrong one at the jewlery store and then he has to ask for the ring back...and...and...oh...what a show! Man. I seriously love it.
So here's a little gem. You have to watch till the end! Will Whitley marry the future Senator (Byron)? Or does she still have feelings for Dwayne, the skinny Denise-admirer who got a perfect score on his math ACTs?
