Deep Vertigo

Since we've gone a bit without any major theatre reports on this site, and since this post ain't gonna really be about theatre either, I may as well open with an appropriate obscure showtune quote:

There'll be ups and there'll be downs
There'll be smiles and there'll be frowns
There'll be hopes and there'll be doubts, ins and outs
But whatever the fates decide
Take it in your stride

(Irving Berlin, cut from Annie Get Your Gun).

Truer words were rarely spoken. Usually, this kind of quote refers to life in general, but I guess I needed a "life in microcosm" kind of day yesterday, with ups and downs galore. With apologies to the Animaniacs:

Good Idea: getting all your collected loose change over to the nearest Coinstar to convert to "real" money and make out a check to charity.
Bad Idea: Shlepping $100 worth of change in a backpack to and from work, because the nearest Coinstar center isn't open when you pass it by in the morning, so you lug half a ton of coins around for half the day.
Unexpected Positive Consequence: workout does wonders for the posture

Good Idea: Getting the new Fables trade collection, and enjoying Bill Willingham's superb writing.
Bad Idea: Finishing the whole darn thing on the train and bus, so that now I gotta wait another seven months before continuing with the storyline.

Good Idea: Finishing up a 24-hour reaction that you spent five hours the night before setting up, carefully extracting your product, and setting it up to dry.
Bad Idea: Dropping the flask containing said product on the lab floor, thereby setting back thesis research a good week.
Unexpected Positive Consequence: Good incentive to go out and get a drink (not that I really need the incentive, but hey...)

Good Idea: Joining The Lovely Wife(tm) to meet up with internet blogging legend (hey, four JIB awards gotta count for something, no?)David of Treppenwitz, and picking his brain about life, Aliyah, and the cosmos
Bad Idea: Yammering at David incessantly for several hours, thereby giving the impression that we're a couple of complete whackjobs... yes, yes, I know that we are a couple of complete whackjobs; however, we usually like to at least present a facade of normalcy on the first meeting.
Unexpected Positive Consequence: David, brain obviously fried from the combination of jet lag, our nattering, greasy pizza, and a Cold One, unwittingly blurted out an invitation for us to drop in when we finally make it to the Holy Land. Mrs. Treppenwitz: Please don't abuse your husband too badly for allowing the riff-raff into your lovely home... he wasn't in his right mind.