Dinner with Sigrid

Go out to dinner with Sigrid, new husband (name of Ben) and Dave. Topic of conversation at dinner is Ben, who caught an Amoeba in India. Sigrid relates symptoms in extreme scatological detail and evident glee (Sigrid studies parasites and can't help but think that she feels proud that Ben got an Amoeba of his own). Am ashamed to say that join in vomit and bowel conversation, recalling all instances of stomach trouble. Sigrid does the same. (food poisioning caused by Starbucks chicken sandwich, the time Sigrid and I at ages of four and six had projectile vomiting after eating at one-time favorite Fish restaurant, the bad time with the deviled eggs at Grandmother's, the Norwalk virus outbreak at graduate school orientation(mine), and so on.) Enjoy conversation very much. Ben alarmingly thin and eating sparingly (unsurprisingly). Even in candlelight looks Green. Sigrid, on the otherhand, looking very robust, eating half of Ben's onion soup. Dave solicitoius toward Ben, and seems unamused by stomach trouble talk Somehow, Ben is revived (perhaps after self-medicating with two large Martinis) and we End up at Karaoke. Karaoke establishment the kind where one brings one's own beer. Feel shy about own singing voice so concentrate on songs that are more chants than arias. Dave feels no such compulsion but perhaps should. Has charmingly croaky voice but attempts to sing very hard songs like I Will Always Love You and Wicked Game. Sigrid, as always, a bad influence and stay out too late and drink far too much. Feel extremely low this morning. Sigrid gets up at 5 a.m., grinds coffee and stomps around apartment in Busy way, slamming doors on way up and down to do laundry. When ask he why she has to be so loud so early in the morning, Says she has Jet Lag, in perplexed and slightly hurt tone.