Wednesday BARB UP May 17, 2017

And now it’s time for another edition of a Day In the Life.

I watch the sun rise, yet again. A migraine attack the night before had me falling asleep earlier than I am accustomed to, so I woke up after four hours of sleep, at 2 am. Insomnia renders me impotent, frustrated. I lay in bed, reading Lizzy Goodman’s Meet Me In The Bathroom (my interview with Lizzy is imminent). Rocky gets an early walk, I make The Teenager’s lunch and place it in her backpack before she wakes up, and I am ready to start my day. But. I have a home appointment at 10am. So I go to Equinox, do a round on the elliptical, watch another episode of “I Love Dick.” Back at my apartment for the 10am. This lasts for an hour and a half. I need to sort out health insurance for my family. I head down to the Department of Labor on Varick. The person I need to speak to is out to lunch. No one knows when he will be back. I’d wait, but I need to be in midtown for a 3pm. Trying to nail down this person is a maze, that leads to a lot of dead ends. I leave him a voicemail message. Time to get old school with trying to get my health insurance. It is a gorgeous spring day. I like a wingbat, am wearing a puffy jacket. I’m too warm. I loop my jacket through the handle of my computer bag. Now I look like a tourist. I’m answering emails—a project I’m working on, The Teenager things, like that—and walking. Headphones on, listening to a podcast. Yes, I’m that idiot. I head to midtown to my 3pm. Her home, a temporary solution, is in a hotel. I check in, and one of the hotel employees escorts me to the room where I will be interviewing Cindy Gallop. He’s delightful, and enamored with Cindy. Oh, you’re going to love this interview, Cindy Gallop is an inspiring force. We are done by 4. I suddenly have free time before my hot chocolate date with Marci in two hours downtown. I text Matt, who lives near where I need to be. He is with his Mom at Westville East. I meet them at 4:30. Me, Matt’s Mom, and Matt head to his favorite donut shop on St. Marks. Matt’s Mom takes a shot of us jumping. Matt’s Mom and I discuss parenting while Matt flirts with the cashier inside. All three of us head to Tompkins Square Park. Sit on a bench. Watch a woman lift her french bulldog to sip water from a fountain. We kibbitz. Before I know it, it’s 5:45 and I have to say goodbye to my squad. I get to the Cocoa Bar on Clinton right on time. Marci has a bag of cosmetic goodies for me! I love my friends. I’m on this quest for hot chocolate that is rich and not too sweet, a delicate balance. I order a dark hot chocolate that arrives with a marshmallow floating on top. The proprietor toasts it, right in front of me. I’m in heaven. I haven’t seen Marci since the Women’s March, we did it together. We stay in touch of course via all the new fangled ways but being face to face is so much better than texting. This hour flies by quickly too. I head to St. Marks to pick up Gov Ball tickets for The Teenager. I bump into this guy, Marcellus, who I’ve known since the 90s. We call each other Marce because hello, we have basically the same name. And then, my night begins at Cafe Mogador.

Gloria Steinem: “Everyone here is an expert in your own experience. Don’t wait to be told what to do. Follow your own instinct and your own knowledge.”