Oh my friends, what a crazy morning I've had!
6:12am: I looked at the clock. My alarm was set for 6:21am so it was nice not to hear the alarm. I took a shower, chose my clothes, had a bowl of cereal, watched the NBC local show, did my daily NY Times puzzles (completely bombed on today's Connections, I didn't even get one set correct). Throughout I had this feeling that I REALLY didn't want to go to work. It was cold and rainy, I'd had quite a busy week in the office, I just wanted to stay home. But my interior monologue kicked in: "Come on, honey, put on your big girl panties and that cute outfit you chose for today, get on the train go to work. Plus your boss is out of the office today, what's the big deal."
7:17am: I left the apartment and went to the subway station.
7:25am: my train pulled in and thankfully I got a seat.
7:30am: I saw an email from Tiffany Security on my phone, I didn't pay attention to it. I assumed it was about changing my password or similar.
7:34am: I got a WhatsApp message from my coworker Lilly, messaging everyone on the team - - "Did everyone see the email about the chemical reaction in the basement at 200? Don't go to the office!" I read the email from Tiffany Security and sure enough, there was some kind of chemical situation in our basement, the FDNY was onsite, the building was shut down "until further notice." Sounds ominous, right? I got off the train at 175th St and waited for the train going the other direction.
7:37am: I sent a message to my boss while I was waiting for the train. "Good morning. I was on my way to work and saw the message that 200 Fifth is shut down. I don't have my laptop so if it's OK with you I'll take the day off. I honestly don't know how I'd be able to do anything without my laptop. Let me know what you think."
7:39am: she wrote back - - "OK, no worries."
7:40am: I got on the A train going uptown. It's amazing how there's almost no one on train going uptown that time of the day!
7:48am: I got back to my apartment. My interior monologue: "I so didn't want to go to work today - - is this a prayer answered...? OK I am NOT going to spend the day catching up on Jeopardy and watching The Love Boat. I'm going to finish folding my laundry, I'm going to vacuum, I'm going to reshelve my books. First off I'm going to change into my black lounge pants and a sweatshirt, and then put on some music that will motivate me. That song by Canadian songstress Anne Murray that I rediscovered this weekend. And I will not sit down and have a cup of coffee until I've done at least an hour of work. Wow this is going to be such a great day."
7:50am: a text from my boss - - "The building is open now so if you want to go in you can."
This was a devil on one shoulder, angel on the other situation. The devil was saying, "She's giving you the option to stay home! STAY HOME." The angel was saying, "This is maybe a test from her. Plus not only are you still wearing your shoes, you're still wearing your COAT."
7:52am: I texted my boss - - "Ha! Getting back on the train."
8:47am: I was at my desk, getting started.
__________________
My brother Howard and I had a long talk the previous weekend. One of the topics of conversation was Canadian songstress Joni Mitchell and how in her prime she had such an unusual, wide-ranging voice it's odd to think of anyone else singing those songs. I told him about a Joni Mitchell tribute concert that was on TV back in the late 90s. They had k. d. lang (another Canadian songstress!) singing "Help Me." She introduced herself in a segment filmed apart from the live concert. You know how they do that. She said they asked her to do that song because she's the only person who had the voice to be able to get through it.
I got off the phone with Howard and needed to wash the dishes. I wanted some music to liven that up so I did a search for "Help Me" on my iTunes. It seemed too easy to listen to it in the context of the album it came from, the great Court and Spark, so I looked at where else that song showed up in my catalog. It was included in a Billboard compilation of songs from 1974. The song AFTER it was "You Won't See Me" by Anne Murray. GREAT song, with more of a rock vibe than we hear from Miss Murray.
I was wrong about the 90s - - that Joni Mitchell tribute concert was in 2000. Oh my Lord, k. d. lang is so freaking amazing. I love how the audience claps in the middle, appreciating her long held note on "Didn't it feel good?" That happens at 2:20. Priceless.
I see that Susan Sarandon introduces her so maybe I'm wrong about lang introducing herself and explaining about how they chose her to do that song. As my best friend Karen once said about me, "Your memory is impressive, but it isn't always...accurate."
And here's that cute outfit I have on, a dark green sweater and beige plaid pants, both from our friends at Banana Republic. A bathroom mirror selfie.
Comments