A classic Friday night out

[pegkerr]

I was thinking, after my post about my weird inner dissatisfaction, that part of my problem was that I haven't been able to follow my treasured Friday night out custom for awhile. I used to spend Friday night out doing whatever I wanted to do, and over the last six months, this has become very difficult because 1) suddenly there were three Friday night karate classes in a row and 2) no money because of the layoff. However, last night, Rob had the day off and so could drive the girls to their classes, and I decided to skip my own karate class in the interests of mental health (sorry, pazlazuli) and have one of my classic Friday nights out. The money hasn't quite been flowing in yet, but I know it's coming, and I have money left over from the bonus from work. And I have some gift cards from Christmas.

First, I went to a bookstore and bought some books using gifts cards so I'd have something to read while I ate and while waiting for a movie. I picked up Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle, which I've been wanting to try for a long time, and a book on making decadent coffee drinks.

Then, I went to try a restaurant I haven't tried before that sounded interesting, Namaste Cafe and ordered whatever I wanted without worrying about price or calories. And so I did, and it was absolutely wonderful. Namaste Cafe, at about 25th and Hennepin, is a charming little place painted in warm saffron colors. I got the Ginger Cardamon Chai (delicious), the Katmandu Curry with lamb, Aloo Paratha bread on the side, and I finished up with Sikarni, which is whole milk yogurt drained to a custard-like consistency, mixed with sugar, cashews, raisins, cinnamon and cardamon. I just about moaned aloud when I took my first bite; it was so delicious.

I had hoped to squeeze in a stop at a bead store, maybe Bobby Bead, which was just a few blocks up on Hennepin. I was thinking in terms of what Julie Cameron in The Artist's Way called a weekly artist date--spend time doing something that pleases your inner artist, as a way to get your creativity going. I've been meaning to get the supplies to make a red bead necklace--I have lots of blue and purple necklaces, but nothing that's red, and I wear a lot of red. But I didn't have time if I wanted to catch the movie I had in mind. I drove over to the Riverview Theater and watched "Into the Wild." The Riverview is so cheap ($3 a ticket) that it assuaged any guilty pangs I might have had about spending more than usual on dinner. I was tremendously impressed with the movie (I plan to make a separate entry on it, considered in conjunction with The Glass Castle.

Anyway, the evening was such a success, gave me such pleasure, that I realized, with some surprise, how much I've been missing this. I haven't been doing enough just to recharge and reenergize myself by doing all the things I love most to do. I'll need to find more ways to do so in the months ahead.

Comments

[glinda-w.livejournal.com]

Anyway, the evening was such a success, gave me such pleasure, that I realized, with some surprise, how much I've been missing this. I haven't been doing enough just to recharge and reenergize myself by doing all the things I love most to do.

Thank you for this. Even living alone, it's so easy to get caught up in the survival stuff and not actually plan for recharging.