Othello, Wongs, Space Men, and Heels.

I had never seen or read Shakespeare's Othello, but I have never been more moved by a work of literature. Friday night, Theresa invited Bennett, BR, and I to see Shakespeare Theater's run of Othello featuring Avery Brooks. Theresa's mom is on the faculty there and reserved stand-by seats for us. Although we didn't get to sit together all four of us had the best seats in the house!

After the play got out, we wandered around Chinatown looking for a place to eat. We finally settled on The Big Wong. Walking past the tanks of dead and slightly-living fish may have deterred the faint at heart, but no, we were determined to eat in this subterranean Chinese restaurant. The typical American-Chinese fare was chock-full of MSG goodness, but we were hungry, and it hit the spot.

Saturday, after an unsuccessful run to the Halloween shop at Party City, Carl and I grabbed lunch at HaveaBite in downtown Fairfax. He had never been there before (it's less than half-a-mile from his house, go figure). Afterwards I stopped by Aaron's house and we went to Guitar Center to browse. We made our usual Metallica metal-head jokes before heading in, and I almost died in the middle of the store when, after being there two seconds we hear a salesman with a ponytail say to a couple of guys (also with ponytails, one with baby-stroller) that a certain pedal would give them a good Metallica sound. Oh, the tried-to-contain-it-but-failed laughter!

Aaron tried out a Vox amp with a flying-V that I picked out. It was hard to hear over all the pre-teen and teenage boys rocking out on out-of-tune guitars, but the Vox had a good sound. I picked out a nice light-blue Fender that I want. It will go nicely with the baby-Vox I saw.

When we got home we changed and went to the George Mason field house to use the gym. I used the elliptical for an entire workout and I didn't give up. Yay! Afterwards we watched The Day the Earth Stood Still, one of my favorite films, and the new SNL.

Tuesday I'm going to the 17th Street High Heel Race. It should be tons of fun.

From The Washington Post:

Traditionally held on the Tuesday before Halloween, this annual neighborhood event features elaborately costumed drag queens racing down 17th Street (from Q to Church streets) and attracts a large crowd eager to cheer them on.
The race begins at 9, but the real fun takes place before the main event, as the contestants parade up and down the race course showing off their outfits.
To get a street-side seat at an on-course cafe like JR's or the Fox & Hounds, stake out your spot by 6. (There's plenty of space along the sidewalk, though crowds often block the view.) The informal block party continues long after the last Mary Jane (size 13 EE) crosses the finish line.