Stacy Horn

My choir is having an all-day retreat today to work intensely on the pieces we’re going to perform this season. I’m a little nervous because I’ve asked our director to let everyone know I’m writing a book about the choir and that I want to talk to anyone who wants to talk to me about singing.

I don’t know why I’m nervous. It’s not like they’re going to stone me. I think I’m scared because there’s a nine year old kid inside of me who is afraid someone is going to say, “Oh yeah? What makes you think you’re the best person to write this book??”

This guy was across the street when I was at the bank yesterday.

Glasses Update: When I brought back my new progressives to have them adjusted, I also brought along a music score to illustrate the problem, and an old pair of frames in case I decided to go with old-fashioned bifocals. The result?

$235 for new glasses with progressive frames.
$80 to have FT-35 lenses put in my old frames.
$?? when I decide to replace the progressive lenses with regular distance lenses.
———
$315 +

Bottom line: I could have spent only $80. But I love the new frames, and I absolutely adore the people who work at Optical 88, 116 Mott Street. They didn’t try to talk me into anything, by the way. I wanted those new frames, and it was all my friends told me to try the progressives. This place was a steal, and the people were wonderful.

This is walking down Broadway, always a mixed-bag for me. I love how over the top it is and I enjoy looking around, but I’m a terror on the sidewalk.

People simply will not progress down the sidewalk the way I would like to them to.

A line. I just remembered I wanted to a series of photographs of people on lines. This was a really incredible one. Long and un-moving.

There was another photo shoot on my block yesterday. (The model is the one on the right.) They should have gone one more block west. One block east is the Sex and the City block, which is gorgeous, but one block west has some interesting details. It has an almost gothic/Edward Gorey feel in spots and nature has gone a little wild over there.

I picked up my progressive lenses yesterday and I have to take them back to fix something. AND, in addition, I think I need to get a pair of the old fashioned bifocals where you can see the line. I bought these specifically for choir, and the area for reading in these is too small—I have to read a lot of music quickly during rehearsals and performances. The old fashioned bifocals have a larger reading area.

Sigh. I think I’m going to start having a regular feature called: You Can’t Win.

Having forced me to move my laptop off the desk and onto my lap, and to put my coffee way off the left, making it difficult to reach but safe from being knocked over, Finney can rest and clean himself, the sunlight spot now safely secured. A most evil job well done.

I had my first appointment with the NYU College of Dentistry, where I’m getting all my dental work done. I got there at 5, I left at around 7:45. They forewarn you that it’s going to take a lot of time. While treating you they are also training young dentists. When I asked the dentist doing my intake where she was from she said, “I am from a country called India,” like India might be a country I’d never heard of? I didn’t get any actual work done. It was all xrays and lots of questions and waiting. I go back Thursday to learn my “treatment plan.”

It was exhausting. The whole process also made me feel bad. I’m not sure why. I’m getting good care for affordable prices, I should feel great about it. But the process was demoralizing.

I walked around Gramercy Park on my way over, at least. That area is one small pocket of heaven. Every building surrounding the park is more beautiful than the next. I think I had a Gramercy Park ghost story in my book Unbelievable. I did! Here is is:

A 1942 piece titled Haunted New York told the story of a young family who had moved into a Gramercy Park apartment, not knowing that a girl had thrown herself from the window of what was now their 2-year-old son’s bedroom. One night the child woke up screaming. When they ran into the room he was pointing to the window crying, “The lady jumped out.”