Shakespeare Abridged

A friend invited me to go to a matinee play at the Academy for Performing Arts yesterday. The poster touted the play would condense all of Shakespeare's 37 plays into 97 minutes. Wow, this aroused my interest immensely. I could read through two plays in that time frame, but all 37? Impossible!

It turned out to be a three men play that attempted to engage the audience into a roller coaster ride abridging and condensing the work by the Bard. It began with Romeo and Juliet, which was amongst the three plays the trio spent the most time on, about eight minutes each. The other two were Othello and Hamlet.

I laughed and coughed the most when they debated how and who should play Othello, since he's a Moor and supposed to be African. They are all whites. There were a few racial jokes, but they finally decided to rap the lines. It was hilarious.

The last play was Hamlet and the best part was Hamlet's "to be or not to be" soliloquy that one of the actors recited nonchalantly. It was the longest and most serious recital of the play but he added afterwards saying, "I didn't know what it meant either." This was wildly funny.

I was a little surprised there so many kids at the play, most likely because it's a matinee show. There were quite a few puns and terms I thought would escape them, but the kids understood and loved them. I guess it's the talent of the actors who managed to draw the audience in, even kids. I read that it's the longest running comedy in Britain. Hats off to the Reduced Shakespeare Company trio!!

p.s. Apologies to my friend, who had to endure my coughing in between the laughs.

Kate Spade Show

Invitation and paraphernalia

Our seats

Rows of tea for two

Programme and gift vouchers

Models' entrance

Kate Spade's first clothing collection

Strutting down the runway

Last month, I received an invitation to view the first clothing collection by Kate Spade New York. I had been a long time fan of their bag and especially shoe collection, the 3 inch heels were actually comfortable to walk in.

The fashion show was held at the Four Season's hotel. I called to RSVP and the lady told me to bring a friend along for the fun. We arrived on the dot and registered at the entrance of the ballroom. When we walked in, we were speechless. Rows and rows of teas were arranged along the catwalk.

We were led to our seats and a waiter appeared to ask us if we wanted tea or coffee. What we wanted was to click away with the camera and record this moment. It just felt so surreal, so SATC. We took turns taking pictures and after making a nuisance obstructing the waiters serving other ladies, we sat down.

We started to devour the 3 tier tea set. It was the usual fare, with finger sandwiches and savories, scones and cakes, but somehow they tasted extra special. I think it had to do with the atmosphere and the excitement.

Finally, the fashion show began and the first model was my all time favorite, Amanda Strang. She just looked so pretty and sweet and so Kate Spade. Polka dots were everywhere, which was just right with the caption,"Be chic, be pretty and have fun!!". The show lasted for about 15 minutes. I clapped so hard when all the models paraded down for the finale. It was just so pretty and so fun!!

I had my last sip of coffee and thought to myself what a wonderful day it was. I felt so happy. Afterwards, we went to the Kate Spade shop to look at the clothing. Well, there weren't many on display and we felt that we had an insider look and we both had a secret smile walking out of the store.

I'm loving it

I didn't have much of an appetite the past few days. This morning, my stomach was growling. It was a good sign because the coughing and wheezing were a lot less and I was hungry!! There was no way I was getting out in this weather though. Throwing out the garbage was enough to make me start wheezing.

I went to the kitchen and found the delivery menus and there was the 24 hour McDonald's delivery service. I placed my order and the operator was nice enough to tell me that if I order this plus that, my delivery would be free. The total had to be US$7 or above.

I ended up ordering two macaroni (one with egg, another with chicken), one hot cake, one large coffee and a cup of hot chocolate, all for $7. They became my breakfast, lunch and dinner. The best thing was the macaroni and soup came in separate containers. This way, I could just heat up the soup in the microwave and pour it onto the macaroni anytime and I would not have soggy macaroni!! Another plus, no dish washing. I'm lovin' it!!

photo http://americansfortruth.com/uploads/2008/03/mcdonalds-logo.JPG

Asthma

I haven't been so sick as I had been the last few days for a long time. It first started with a sore throat after lunch. I didn't pay much attention to it. Then, my friend insisted we walk in 33c instead of grabbing a cab to see something. Fine. When I got home, I was sweating profusely and started to get out of breath.

As the night wore on, the sore throat became a hacking cough and the wheezing came. Then I knew it was a full blown asthma attack. I have a handy inhaler with me all the time and usually several puffs would do the trick. Not this time though. I was coughing and hacking so much my chest and back were in pain because of the exertion to get the phlegm out.

Next day was the worst. I remember sitting in the bath tub, instead of standing, to take a shower. I couldn't sit nor stand straight because hunching my back was the best posture to not cough. After the half hearted attempt at showering, I had to sit in the tub and wait for the wheezing to ease off before I could climb out.

Sleeping was out of the question because lying down would bring a new bout of hacking and more wheezing. Even though it was a torture to cough like that, I managed to get almost all the phlegm out. Yesterday morning, the part time helper came and one look at me she said she'd clean my room first, so I could rest. I took my medicine while waiting and I fell into a coma and slept till 3pm.

I still have no clue what triggered this massive attack. There were suggestions of food allergy, air pollution and of course blame it on the cats theory. I am just happy the episode is over and from now on, I'll be extra careful with my known allergies.

photo
(http://dailygrommet.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/hot-tea.jpg)