Artist's Date: Annie

Well, first of all, I need to get out more. I probably had a way better time than circumstances even warranted, due to real world deprivation, but that's not important now.

First of all, my session with Amelia at the Apple Store was [insert superlative here in a bigger font than is available. Add three -- no five -- exclamation points. Thanks. You didn't quite capture it, but nice try.] I had the BEST time. Amelia, my guide, knows all about the Mac and she told me the greatest stuff. And I remembered that I had questions which I'd forgotten. She answered them all. I walked out in love with Apple, in love with my Mac, in love with technology. Kind of in love with Steve Jobs. Or maybe just with his brain. And his money....

THEN I went to Starbucks. As many of you know, my opinion is that the only way Collinwood falls short of Shaker Heights is the lack of a Starbucks. (That sharp, piercing sound you just heard was the mayor of Shaker Heights just screaming and screaming. Hah.) And there I was IN one. Having a Venti Non-Fat Latte and listening to people place their orders in a foreign language that ends in phrases like "no whip." I believe -- and I bet others have also suggested -- that "Venti, Venti, Venti" translates to "I came, I saw, I got so caffeinated I can't stop shopping."

SO THEN I went to Crate and Barrel. In my ecstatic state of mind and caffeination, that's the equivalent, of drinking a fifth of Jack Daniels Black Label and driving onto the off-ramp of 271. Or singing Karaoke. I was lucky I didn't wake up behind a dumpster with a new couch and ten sets of dishes. As it was, I bought some bowls and staggered out.

Anyway, it was a great date. It had everything. Ideas. Sights. Smells. Caffeine. I may have exaggerated slightly but, truly, it refreshed my self in the way a vacation can. New stuff. A change of pace. A change of venue. And a sense of quest. "What will I find that will change me? What might awaken that was asleep?"

And look: If you went on your date and were bored, nervous and unhappy, and came home sad, don't feel it wasn't good or real. That's a creative experience, too, and I promise to have at least one of those before we're done.

Hey! This here is the launch point of Week 2. We made it this far. Read Chapter Two this evening. During the football. That's the best time.

Have fun!