embrace the momdom ii

My mom emailed me earlier this past week to see if I wanted to work on our bathroom Saturday (finish some grouting and maybe paint the walls). I replied that I just didn't have the energy this weekend (work is grinding me down something fierce lately), but I would gladly go out and do some fun stuff with her instead.

So yesterday we began our micro-adventure by having lunch at the VegiTerranean, the vegetarian restaurant in Akron owned by Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders. Readers, if you have the chance, go there! The food was excellent--I had the potato gnocci with Gardein chicken and broccoli in a light Rawmesan sauce that was much better than your typical alfredo sauce. My mom had the chili and a portabello sandwich, and enjoyed it very much too.

The only downer there was a table of eight older women, all wearing gaudy red hats. Yes, you've seen them at other restaurants too--they've followed me to at least three other establishments with their cackling and Oprah-fueled look-at-me sense of entitlement and arrogance. So you are over fifty, whoop-dee-fucking-doo: no one cares.

Next we went to the Akron Art Museum. Their new building is much larger than the old one, and its architecture is a work of modern art in itself. I appreciated the photography section there the most (big surprise) as well as the many Durer prints. There were a couple of incredible bric-a-brac collage sculptures by a local artist--I can't remember her name but will make sure to write it down upon my next visit (which will be free as I just became a supporting member of the museum, yay!).

In the gift shop I spotted a Holga camera. I had been reading a lot about these artsy toy cameras lately and was surprised to actually find a shop that carried them. After chatting a bit with the saleswoman about the Holga and its lo-fi charm, I decided to buy one. I hope to post some of my first efforts with the Holga in the next few weeks. In the meantime, check out other Holga photos here.

We ended our day at the main Akron Library, right across the street from the museum. This building is also relatively new, and I was blown away by their huge collection of popular and classical CDs. I need to get a library card there soon! The library has a little shop inside that sells old books for dirt-cheap prices. I picked up a travel guide on San Francisco for fifty cents, so as to be better prepared for my next business trip there in July.

All in all, yesterday was way more fun than painting the bathroom would have been. Thanks, Mom, for being an accomplice to my shirking of domestic responsibility.