what i did on my day(s) off
i took thursday and friday off - had a ticket to the theatre thursday night, and when i was working out what time i had to leave work to get there, it occurred to me that a) i had said i was going to be taking some time off this summer; b) the Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit is at the natural history museum in balboa park (where the theatre is) and 3) i really wanted to see that exhibit. and then, once i decided to take thursday off, it seemed silly to come in friday - so there you are.
my ticket to Dead Sea Scrolls was for 11 am, which i figured gave me enough time to sleep in a bit, and still get there in good time, which it did. there was quite a line, since everyone had to go through security; then once inside, there was a _really_ long line to get into the exhibit. so even though i got there just after 10:30, it was none too soon.
since this was in the natural history museum, they had a lot of natural-history and museum-y stuff in conjunction with the show - some beautiful photos comparing the geology, flora and fauna of san diego county and israel (both mediterranean climates), and a lot of stuff on qumran, the discovery of the scrolls, and how they were preserved and studied. the scrolls themselves were, in a way, rather less interesting - i don't know how much of that was due to the fact that i was there about an hour and a half before i got to them, and there was a huge mob of people - and how much to the fact that, really, there's not that much to see about them. it is quite remarkable that they still exist, and that people have been able to learn as much as they have from them (some of the pieces on exhibit were just little scraps) - and to actually see them, and the beautiful tiny writing on them, is interesting - but of course, i don't know hebrew, let alone aramaic and greek, so it's kind of just marks on a bit of leather...anticlimatic, i guess. there was also a display of other bibles, including some that are still made by hand by scribes in ethiopia, and some pages from the st. john's bible, a modern illuminated bible (scheduled for completion next year) - so it does give one considerable food for thought as to the impact these little scraps of parchment, and the people who preserved the words on them, have had on the world.
did a little cruising around the museum afterwards, but by then it was 2pm and i was pretty starved, so i went out and got some lunch, then went up to the mingei (folk art) museum. that had a large, and indeed overwhelming, exhibit of jewelry from around the world - lots and lots of silver, with assorted beads and what have you. i found it a bit much to take in, and i'm afraid not really well labeled, and not really identified as to purpose or meaning. much of it was from cultures where the jewelry would have been worn for specific occasions, or specific reasons, but there was no information giving about that. so while (for example) i found the huge silver horns worn in south-east asian women's headdresses quite impressive, i have no idea why said women burdened themselves with such a weight of silver. anyway - there was also a show of work from a woman, now 100 years old, who has been designing pottery for much of that time - that has given me some inspiration to go make some of my own. as did an exhibit of work a woman i know had at the japanese friendship garden (which i also saw). that took me till about 5, and by then my feet were killing me, so i bought myself dinner at the prado - accompanied by two pisco sours, just because they were so tasty. had mussels in a really excellent broth, and because of the sours, i decided to skip dessert. still had some time before i had to be at the theatre, so i listened to part of a dixieland jazz concert at the organ pavillion and knitted a bit on my shawl (which i had brought with me for just such an occasion). the play was noel coward's "hayfever" - quite funny, but pretty much just fluff. i had brought along a p.g. wodehouse book, for reading during meals and the like - it went along with the mood quite nicely, but by the second intermission, i found myself confusing which characters were in the play and which in the book.
friday i treated myself to a massage, and then went to see the Bodies exhibit - which has taken up residence in what was the robinson-may store at utc mall. it actually went well with the massage - my masseuse did some guided thought stuff, directing me to think about the various parts of my body (bones, muscles, nerves, etc.), and thank them for the work they do for me. the bodies exhibit gives you the image and scientific detail of what all that stuff is, and what it does. it was slightly disconcerting - seeing eyes and eyebrows on a man without skin will give you a bit of a pause. but very matter-of-fact, and quite interesting, i thought.
finally tried the saigon noodle place for lunch, and decided i will have to start making excuses to grab food there, and then spent some time shopping (well, i _was_ at the mall). i was looking (so i told myself) for some sort of storage container for organizing my yarn and supplies - ended up with a pair of shorts, three tops, and assorted kitchen goodies (like a cherry-pitter, which would have been useful _last_ week - but now i'm ready for next year, she tells herself). since it was friday night, and the traffic is invariably horrific, i left about 4, came home and grilled a chicken breast - which is also a pleasant way to spend some time.
my ticket to Dead Sea Scrolls was for 11 am, which i figured gave me enough time to sleep in a bit, and still get there in good time, which it did. there was quite a line, since everyone had to go through security; then once inside, there was a _really_ long line to get into the exhibit. so even though i got there just after 10:30, it was none too soon.
since this was in the natural history museum, they had a lot of natural-history and museum-y stuff in conjunction with the show - some beautiful photos comparing the geology, flora and fauna of san diego county and israel (both mediterranean climates), and a lot of stuff on qumran, the discovery of the scrolls, and how they were preserved and studied. the scrolls themselves were, in a way, rather less interesting - i don't know how much of that was due to the fact that i was there about an hour and a half before i got to them, and there was a huge mob of people - and how much to the fact that, really, there's not that much to see about them. it is quite remarkable that they still exist, and that people have been able to learn as much as they have from them (some of the pieces on exhibit were just little scraps) - and to actually see them, and the beautiful tiny writing on them, is interesting - but of course, i don't know hebrew, let alone aramaic and greek, so it's kind of just marks on a bit of leather...anticlimatic, i guess. there was also a display of other bibles, including some that are still made by hand by scribes in ethiopia, and some pages from the st. john's bible, a modern illuminated bible (scheduled for completion next year) - so it does give one considerable food for thought as to the impact these little scraps of parchment, and the people who preserved the words on them, have had on the world.
did a little cruising around the museum afterwards, but by then it was 2pm and i was pretty starved, so i went out and got some lunch, then went up to the mingei (folk art) museum. that had a large, and indeed overwhelming, exhibit of jewelry from around the world - lots and lots of silver, with assorted beads and what have you. i found it a bit much to take in, and i'm afraid not really well labeled, and not really identified as to purpose or meaning. much of it was from cultures where the jewelry would have been worn for specific occasions, or specific reasons, but there was no information giving about that. so while (for example) i found the huge silver horns worn in south-east asian women's headdresses quite impressive, i have no idea why said women burdened themselves with such a weight of silver. anyway - there was also a show of work from a woman, now 100 years old, who has been designing pottery for much of that time - that has given me some inspiration to go make some of my own. as did an exhibit of work a woman i know had at the japanese friendship garden (which i also saw). that took me till about 5, and by then my feet were killing me, so i bought myself dinner at the prado - accompanied by two pisco sours, just because they were so tasty. had mussels in a really excellent broth, and because of the sours, i decided to skip dessert. still had some time before i had to be at the theatre, so i listened to part of a dixieland jazz concert at the organ pavillion and knitted a bit on my shawl (which i had brought with me for just such an occasion). the play was noel coward's "hayfever" - quite funny, but pretty much just fluff. i had brought along a p.g. wodehouse book, for reading during meals and the like - it went along with the mood quite nicely, but by the second intermission, i found myself confusing which characters were in the play and which in the book.
friday i treated myself to a massage, and then went to see the Bodies exhibit - which has taken up residence in what was the robinson-may store at utc mall. it actually went well with the massage - my masseuse did some guided thought stuff, directing me to think about the various parts of my body (bones, muscles, nerves, etc.), and thank them for the work they do for me. the bodies exhibit gives you the image and scientific detail of what all that stuff is, and what it does. it was slightly disconcerting - seeing eyes and eyebrows on a man without skin will give you a bit of a pause. but very matter-of-fact, and quite interesting, i thought.
finally tried the saigon noodle place for lunch, and decided i will have to start making excuses to grab food there, and then spent some time shopping (well, i _was_ at the mall). i was looking (so i told myself) for some sort of storage container for organizing my yarn and supplies - ended up with a pair of shorts, three tops, and assorted kitchen goodies (like a cherry-pitter, which would have been useful _last_ week - but now i'm ready for next year, she tells herself). since it was friday night, and the traffic is invariably horrific, i left about 4, came home and grilled a chicken breast - which is also a pleasant way to spend some time.