My favorite part of the weekend is Friday night.  On Friday night, the weekend is still anticipation, an untouched slate that I can sully as I please. Come Saturday morning, the weekend begins to take shape and errands fill in the hours, and appointments, shopping, games, and soon the unsullied 48 hours is scheduled and rigid. But on Friday night, even if I know what the weekend has in store, I am still thrilled at the release from the confines of the office, and content to shuffle through the take out fliers, indulge in some fatty food and contemplate a trip to Borders for a latte, or just stay in and watch What Not To Wear.

There, I've just let you all in on the complete torpidity of my lifestyle. Tonight I was invited to dinner with Faith and Dana and a well-known artist who has a great book on journaling. I was looking forward to it for a month. Then this stupid infection came on and has lingered for two weeks and I realized I'd never be up for the drive to Brooklyn in rush  hour, eating at a dinner party, and trying to be charming and witty while exhausted. So I did the unthinkable and canceled. I know Faith and Dana will understand and I hope another opportunity will present itself to meet their friend.

So Stan and I settled on take out Japanese - he's having sushi, I'm sticking with noodles, and Julia gets her usual steak teriyaki. A call to Mystery Man reveals that he has a life and is going out to dinner. And a call to The Princess reveals that she is in...Binghamton. Yes, she told us several days ago but she never called anyone to say goodbye. Enough said.

So tonight, at 6:00, while I wait for my noodles and Ben and Jerry, comfortable in sweats, watching Gilmore Girls, I am sure this weekend will be relaxing.  I have The Life Aquatic and the first year of Six Feet Under to watch. I am going to do an art project for someone, and I'm going to Borders at some point to get some novels for Italy. I have to find just the right books to bring with me. In the meanwhile, I will ignore the low grade nausea and chills and call the doctor in the morning.

And by the way, yesterday was definitely a watery green day. Everywhere I went was surrounded by trees, bushes, shrubs, and lawns deep into the green stuff.

Life is simple, and pleasurable, when you don't expect much.