An Affordable Indulgence

Warning: This blog will say a lot about a lot of things. It will ramble, and go off in wooded paths. It does not contain one thought, but many. And I’m not even sure which is the most important.

I have a cozy home. It has second-hand, mismatched furniture and lots of bad paintings on the walls. There are never fewer than four pairs of sandy flip flops lined up by the door. And there are books and magazines and seashells piled everywhere. It’s the perfect place to sit with a glass of wine under the yellow glow of an old, dusty lamp and say to your self “I’ll go to bed after one more chapter.”

But yesterday it turned on me, my home. The air conditioner broke – and the temperature in here reached 94 degrees. Before my very eyes I went from living in the lap of coziness to sweltering in a sweatbox slum.

But then the air guy came over and crawled up on the roof as I flip flopped, worried, on the sidewalk below. He replaced a very important thingamabob and in no time – ta da! – cool air again! Then the poor air conditioning guy had to sit through my entire happy dance repertoire before I would sign the little yellow paper and let him go home.

My house, however, was still hot and I was in the mood to celebrate so I went to my new favorite place when I want to pretend that everything is OK: The Palace Premier VIP at the Cinemark Palace 20 in Boca Raton.

It’s pricey. My ticket was $20. But you get a free tub on popcorn. Then, I like to buy a half bottle of wine (prices start at about $13). But they have sodas, and whatnot. You don’t have to be a big pimp like me and go right for the white zinfandel.

But oh, the lovliness of the whole experience.

There is plenty of room and the seats are very wide and plush and they recline. Sigh. And they give you a real glass to drink your wine out of – even if you buy the cheap stuff, like me. It’s also nice and cool in there.

It’s my new spot for when I feel like I need a vacation – except I can’t afford to take a vacation right now. It’s also still way cheaper than a massage and lasts twice as long. And, OK, I could definitely have a nice dinner for the price of a ticket and wine but – did I mention the free popcorn?

I know, I know, it’s an indulgence. I admit it. But it’s an affordable indulgence. It was the perfect way to wrap up a fairly imperfect day.

And while I was gone, my house cooled off. Yay!

Cheers,
Kelly