* A blissful sleep-in; then finished current book of frivolous reading
* 11:00 a.m. Mass at the Maronite Catholic cathedral downtown St. Louis
* Walked around historic Central West End; bought three used paperbacks from Left Bank Books
* Late lunch with friend at Leadership Center
* Schlepped back to central St. Louis with friend to meet another friend at highly-touted discount shoe store. I was the only person who wasn't really shopping for shoes. I was the only person who bought any (on clearance, mind you)
* Matinee showing of Troy starring Brad Pitt. (Mini-review: spectacular scenery, great costumes, a cast full of beautiful people. Editing was underutilized. Director paid too much attention to war scenes and not enough to making sure he got good performances from his actors. 2 stars.)
* We went to Harrah's Casino to greet mutual friend who was working for the first time as a blackjack dealer. Dinner first at pretty good Italian restaurant. We found out that we needed to sign up for some kind of pass to get into the gambling section, and by the time that got taken care of, friend's shift had ended and she had disappeared.
* We wandered around casino to see what it's all about. All that was missing to make me look like a complete clueless tourist was a camera hanging around my neck. We decided to try a slot machine to see what it was like. I invested $1, won $5, and decided to cash out my winnings while I was ahead.
* We left at the same time a Wayne Newton concert on the grounds was letting out. I had to fight concert traffic to get out of the casino and come home.
I need a rest from all the activity. Maybe a nice quiet day at work...
