I can't believe I just spent $30 on things with which to contain and then wrap Christmas presents. Ridiculous.
I am also distressed because, despite our agreeing not to get one another Christmas presents, I bought D a shirt at Filene's Basement.
One of the reasons I made the decree to not buy gifts is because buying presents for D is a challege. He is very particular. He is very obsessive compulsive about anything he allows in his apartment, on his body, into his brain, etc. He wears only a certain brand of socks. Boxers must only have certain patterns. Nothing can go on his wall unless it is chosen by him and him only. He will not humor the gift giver. He will not accept the gift, or he will accept it and then sell it on EBay. D, despite being a minimalist, is also a consumer, and thus has millions of books and magazine subscriptions and CDs and basically already has everything he needs. And because he is a minimalist, he will only allow into his life what he needs.
Hence the stress of buying him a gift.
I bought him a couple silly things just so he would have presents to open on Christmas. Nothing major. Just a book of puzzles which he will have no good reason to refuse and a DVD that he will find funny and can then sell on EBay if he wants. He will get a kick out of it and I didn't spend much, so when he gets rid of it my feelings will not be hurt.
Why did I buy him a shirt tonight? I have no idea. I really shouldn't have. I did most of my shopping this year on the internet but left a few items to buy in the real world. As I was shopping tonight, I remembered how much I love to shop for gifts for people. I love it. It's so much fun to think of what will make other people happy!
Now. D is absurdly particular about what he wears. He will only spend a certain amount of money on a shirt and above that he will say "Ridiculous!" even though the prices are not ridiculous. The shirts have to be of a certain style and only certain patterns are acceptable. The neckline has to be just so and the length has to be long enough to tuck in but short enough to wear out.
I found the perfect shirt for him. I thought "D will go nuts over this!" It looks like all his other shirts, which is why he will love it. It is a D Shirt. End of story.
I was wrapping it just now and I thought "Wait a second..." and then it occurred to me that there is a very likely possibility that D already has this shirt. I just don't know. Did I think it was perfect for him because I've seen it on him before?
I am the worst girlfriend ever.
It's problematic because all of his shirts are similar. They all have wacky patterns that invovle blue and they are all button-down. I didn't dare buy him an argyle sweater that would have looked so cute on him.
Now I am all stressed out because how lame would it be for me to give him a shirt that he already has? And also, what are the odds?
I do know that D hasn't bought a new shirt (well, a new button-down) in the year that we've been dating, so odds are he doesn't have it. Then again, maybe Filene's Basement carries fashions from a year ago. Then again, this shirt is French Connection and is marked $78 so there is no way that he bought it for regular price. Is it possible The Basement would have the exact same shirts for a year?
I now have to find a way to sneak into his apartment and look in his closet to see if he has the shirt.
The good news is that he wears his clothes in a rotation, so he'll probably get through the entire rotation once before I give him the shirt on Christmas.
I think it would be better, though, for me to just look through his clothes and double check. Yeah. I am the worst girlfriend ever, but not really, because oftentimes he'll be like "I've never seen you wear that before!" and I'm like "Umm... I've worn this about 40 times in the last year."
Ugh. This is what I get for violating the No Presents Decree.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Arts and Crafts
Bench Buddy is doing arts and crafts at his bench. He is using paste and velcro. His boss is already away for the holidays. I am jealous.
More Movie Reviews
I went to see Syriana last night.
Despite its being a total guy movie (in this case, "guy movie" does not refer to an action movie with violence, explosives, strip bars, etc., but instead refers to a movie in which all of the zillion characters except one are men - vile, corrupt, self-absorbed, greedy, destructive men who are involved in all sorts of greedy intrigue), I think it was good.
It was challenging. I left the movie and immediately said "Wow, I feel dumb."
The movie was challenging because of the many characters, their relationships to one another, all morally ambiguous, the many settings, and the lack of a true protagonist. Everything was complicated, confusing, not what it seemed, etc.
I enjoyed it anyway, even though I literally had no idea what was going on most of the time.
D had saved a review from The New Yorker that read something like "This is the rare type of movie that assumes too much intelligence from its audience." It also used words like "confusing." I guess if The New Yorker was confused I shouldn't feel so bad.
And of course George Clooney is my hero.
***
After watching Syriana, I read for a bit and then watched Murderball which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was interesting and answered a lot of questions. I now feel very attached to the people in that movie.
***
Too many crazy men, though.
I need to watch, like, Beaches or Little Women or something.
Not really.
Such a double standard.
Is there a mainstream movie that people actually saw and respect that involves only women?
I am trying to think of some...
And I can't.
Hmph.
Despite its being a total guy movie (in this case, "guy movie" does not refer to an action movie with violence, explosives, strip bars, etc., but instead refers to a movie in which all of the zillion characters except one are men - vile, corrupt, self-absorbed, greedy, destructive men who are involved in all sorts of greedy intrigue), I think it was good.
It was challenging. I left the movie and immediately said "Wow, I feel dumb."
The movie was challenging because of the many characters, their relationships to one another, all morally ambiguous, the many settings, and the lack of a true protagonist. Everything was complicated, confusing, not what it seemed, etc.
I enjoyed it anyway, even though I literally had no idea what was going on most of the time.
D had saved a review from The New Yorker that read something like "This is the rare type of movie that assumes too much intelligence from its audience." It also used words like "confusing." I guess if The New Yorker was confused I shouldn't feel so bad.
And of course George Clooney is my hero.
***
After watching Syriana, I read for a bit and then watched Murderball which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was interesting and answered a lot of questions. I now feel very attached to the people in that movie.
***
Too many crazy men, though.
I need to watch, like, Beaches or Little Women or something.
Not really.
Such a double standard.
Is there a mainstream movie that people actually saw and respect that involves only women?
I am trying to think of some...
And I can't.
Hmph.
Strike
The MTA is not on strike today.
That's not entirely true - apparently the drivers of two private bus lines in Queens are on strike, with more strikes to come if the contract isn't deemed satisfactory by the union.
This is good news. I am glad, for the workers and for the commuters, that the strike didn't come to fruition.
This being said, a small part of me was secretly hoping that there would be a strike. Not because that would be the right solution to the problem, because the problem shouldn't even be there to begin with, but because it would have been interesting.
I could have had the "I was living in NYC for the 2005 MTA strike!" story.
In addition, this sort of chaos can often foster a weird sense of community. I must admit that I was slightly excited about feeling one with my fellow New Yorkers in our time of need and inability to get anywhere!
I was also looking forward to seeing people rollerskating to work on the ice, although that wouldn't have happened given that it's 50 degrees out right now.
I was looking forward to being stranded. I was looking forward to a quiet day at work. I was looking forward to the controversy.
I'm happy, though. The people who work for the MTA have very difficult, annoying jobs and deserve raises and deserve to see some of the surplus in their paychecks. This is good for the city as a whole, but not for me and my selfish agenda.
That's not entirely true - apparently the drivers of two private bus lines in Queens are on strike, with more strikes to come if the contract isn't deemed satisfactory by the union.
This is good news. I am glad, for the workers and for the commuters, that the strike didn't come to fruition.
This being said, a small part of me was secretly hoping that there would be a strike. Not because that would be the right solution to the problem, because the problem shouldn't even be there to begin with, but because it would have been interesting.
I could have had the "I was living in NYC for the 2005 MTA strike!" story.
In addition, this sort of chaos can often foster a weird sense of community. I must admit that I was slightly excited about feeling one with my fellow New Yorkers in our time of need and inability to get anywhere!
I was also looking forward to seeing people rollerskating to work on the ice, although that wouldn't have happened given that it's 50 degrees out right now.
I was looking forward to being stranded. I was looking forward to a quiet day at work. I was looking forward to the controversy.
I'm happy, though. The people who work for the MTA have very difficult, annoying jobs and deserve raises and deserve to see some of the surplus in their paychecks. This is good for the city as a whole, but not for me and my selfish agenda.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Random Thoughts About Seeing a Movie On Your Anniversary
1. Probably not the best idea.
2. Definitely not the best idea if the movie is 3 hours long and there are 20 minutes of previews in addition to an hour of waiting in line prior to its start thus preventing you from doing anything else that night.
3. Not terribly romantic. We should have seen “Pride and Prejudice.”
4. We’d said “But we’ll have plenty of time to talk and hang out before the movie and it will be like a date!” but we’d forgotten that given the chaos of opening night, one of us would have to stay behind and save seats while the other would have to wait in long lines for food. Between the waiting for food and the paranoid going to the bathroom before the 3.5 hour movie madness began, I think we spent about 10 minutes talking.
5. It’s not good when one of the people thought they saw “the best movie of all time” and the other thought it was ok but lied and said “It was SO AWESOME!” so as not to hurt the feelings of the really excited person. I know I am very critical so I may not be the most reliable source for a review, but I'm fairly certain it wasn't the best movie of all time. Although D said, cutely, "It was the best movie I've ever seen! But I guess I say that about every movie right after I've seen it..."
6. It’s also not good when you get back from the movie at 11:15 and one person asks you to upload photos you took for them of things they want to sell on EBay while that person brushes their teeth and then gets into bed and goes to sleep while you read “Bel Canto” until 1 am on your anniversary. Not that I can blame him. It was late and he didn't get much sleep the night before. I was tired too, but not so tired that I didn't want to smile and say "Wow! We made it one year and that makes me happy!" to him. Oh well.
So yes, I recommend “King Kong” but I do not recommend going to the movies on your anniversary if you would like your anniversary to be meaningful and involve anything sweet. I will say, however, that D surprised me by having purchased tickets to “Spamalot” for some time in January!!!! Woooo! I am very surprised by and happy about that! Yay!
So one year has passed, and probably the only anniversary I’ll ever celebrate has happened without event. Oh well. I’ll stop being a girl about it and get on with year 2.
Until tomorrow….
2. Definitely not the best idea if the movie is 3 hours long and there are 20 minutes of previews in addition to an hour of waiting in line prior to its start thus preventing you from doing anything else that night.
3. Not terribly romantic. We should have seen “Pride and Prejudice.”
4. We’d said “But we’ll have plenty of time to talk and hang out before the movie and it will be like a date!” but we’d forgotten that given the chaos of opening night, one of us would have to stay behind and save seats while the other would have to wait in long lines for food. Between the waiting for food and the paranoid going to the bathroom before the 3.5 hour movie madness began, I think we spent about 10 minutes talking.
5. It’s not good when one of the people thought they saw “the best movie of all time” and the other thought it was ok but lied and said “It was SO AWESOME!” so as not to hurt the feelings of the really excited person. I know I am very critical so I may not be the most reliable source for a review, but I'm fairly certain it wasn't the best movie of all time. Although D said, cutely, "It was the best movie I've ever seen! But I guess I say that about every movie right after I've seen it..."
6. It’s also not good when you get back from the movie at 11:15 and one person asks you to upload photos you took for them of things they want to sell on EBay while that person brushes their teeth and then gets into bed and goes to sleep while you read “Bel Canto” until 1 am on your anniversary. Not that I can blame him. It was late and he didn't get much sleep the night before. I was tired too, but not so tired that I didn't want to smile and say "Wow! We made it one year and that makes me happy!" to him. Oh well.
So yes, I recommend “King Kong” but I do not recommend going to the movies on your anniversary if you would like your anniversary to be meaningful and involve anything sweet. I will say, however, that D surprised me by having purchased tickets to “Spamalot” for some time in January!!!! Woooo! I am very surprised by and happy about that! Yay!
So one year has passed, and probably the only anniversary I’ll ever celebrate has happened without event. Oh well. I’ll stop being a girl about it and get on with year 2.
Until tomorrow….
Good Things About King Kong
1. Special effects – dear god. A-MAZ-ING. I think the best I’ve ever seen. I seriously though Naomi Watts was about to be eaten by a dinosaur.
2. Naomi Watts.
3. Act II – absurdly entertaining, frightening, edge-of-your-seat exciting. It’s the best adventure movie I’ve ever seen. I was seriously freaking out.
4. The love story – beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
5. Adrian Brody shirtless. On him I have such a crush.
6. Dinosaurs!!!! Dinosaur stampedes! Dinosaur fights! Dinosaur special effects! Awesome!
7. Old New York.
8. Did I mention Naomi Watts? She was extraordinary.
9. Act I was very endearing, quite funny, and adorable.
10. Epic, ambitious, and good flow.
2. Naomi Watts.
3. Act II – absurdly entertaining, frightening, edge-of-your-seat exciting. It’s the best adventure movie I’ve ever seen. I was seriously freaking out.
4. The love story – beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
5. Adrian Brody shirtless. On him I have such a crush.
6. Dinosaurs!!!! Dinosaur stampedes! Dinosaur fights! Dinosaur special effects! Awesome!
7. Old New York.
8. Did I mention Naomi Watts? She was extraordinary.
9. Act I was very endearing, quite funny, and adorable.
10. Epic, ambitious, and good flow.
Bad Things about King Kong (Note: MANY SPOILERS!)
1. The dialogue at times.
2. The complete and utter preposterousness of every single thing that happens in the movie. Seriously. Every single thing, from character interaction to animal behavior to decisions made to things that happened etc. I knew that it was going to take a lot of disbelief suspension to deal with an island inhabited by very big things, a woman falling in love with one of them, etc.
3. Many Many Preposterous Things about “King Kong:”
a. Jack Black, a movie producer, just happens to have a mysterious map to a mysterious island – it is not explained why or how he has it
b. The Jack Black character is a producer at all – no way. Nobody would have given him money to do anything
c. The Jack Black character, despite having his movie cancelled, manages to convince an entire crew as well as movie studio employees to go with him to a deserted island.
d. Naomi Watts consents to going away on a boat with him 5 minutes after meeting him.
e. Adrian Brody doesn’t run off that boat immediately.
f. Adrian Brody is CUT – there was no money around to be eating and also he was a nerdy playwright.
g. Despite the fact that they changed course to not go to the island, they end up there anyway at random! (D said this was because the island has some sort of magical pull, but that’s even more ridiculous!)
h. Despite the island’s being really small, none of the animals really avoid each other and know of each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
i. The island is small enough that within a few hours of landing Adrian Brody is able to find Naomi Watts.
j. Adrian Brody went after Naomi Watts at all.
k. Despite the fact that the boat almost sank and they had to empty all of the furniture etc. to get it to float, the crew is then able to sail a 30 foot gorilla to New York City.
l. Did I mention that it’s all too coincidental that the boat captain is a person who goes around collecting wild animals so happens to have a ton of chloroform aboard the ship to sedate a 30 foot gorilla?
m. Did I also mention that it’s absurd that the Captain, who was actually pretty awesome, consented to do anything for Jack Black at all? Why wouldn’t he just turn around immediately when he found out that Jack Black wanted to go to Skull Island?
n. The Captain and his crew are able to kill a zillion huge bugs in about five seconds and seriously, they all disappeared and there were a zillion of them.
o. Then there’s the whole “There’s a mysterious island where dinosaurs still exist and there are big huge versions of animals that exist in the discovered world, such as huge bats, crickets, and, well, gorillas.”
p. And then there’s the whole thing where the film crew gets to the island, immediately encounters human skeletons that have been impaled, torn limb from limb in some sort of sacrificial ritual, and they do not immediately turn around! They stay there! Nobody would just stay there! At the very least they would go back to the ship and discuss staying. They then see that there’s a weird aboriginal tribe there, and they don’t leave! Jack Black offers one of them a candy bar! Never never never would this happen!!!
q. There are so many more but I am just going to stop for now.
(Note: I realized going into this that it would be absurd. I knew the general premise. Giant gorilla on an island, girl falls in love with giant gorilla, giant gorilla somehow gets back to New York City and climbs Empire State Building and beats chest. I could have dealt with that. It was more the human behavior that annoyed me – like this would never happen because at so many points the story should have just ended.)
4. The movie seemed long to me. It really did. It felt like three hours. I think it was because it could have been three separate movies. Act I: Thestory of a sad girl and a sketchy movie producer whose paths cross in down-and-out New York City. The adventure begins! Act II: On the island our heroes encounter a bizarre land! Act III: After escaping the bizarre land, our heroes have to come to terms with things back in New York City. I really loved Act II. It was amazing. The movie is worth seeing just for this. I also liked Act I a lot, but it got a bit tedious at times. Act III did nothing for me.
5. There was a kid on the crew who was reading “Heart of Darkness.” Must you be this obvious? Was this perhaps in the original? I don’t know. I really need to see the one from the 30’s or whenever it was.
6. The tribe.
7. Many giant bugs, but that’s just personal. I thought I was going to have nightmares all night. As loyal readers know, my recurring nightmare that I’ve been having since age 6-ish is that dinosaurs are going to eat my family. I also have these dreams where I am convinced that there are giant spiders on my ceiling that are about to eat me, or that there are giant roaches in my bed, and I will be convinced I am awake. I think it’s a weird thing that happens as you’re about to fall asleep. I end up jumping out of bed and then run out of my room thinking that this is actually happening. Yeah. So I don’t do well with the bugs, but I guess I can’t hold this against the movie.
I wonder if people felt like this about the original. They were like “Huh, weird, a New Yorker falls in love with a giant gorilla from a mysterious island. But man does that giant claymation gorilla look awesome atop the Empire State Building!”
My overall opinion: it was good, entertaining, fun, impressive. Should you see it? Yes. Should you expect to be seeing the best movie you’ve ever seen? No.
2. The complete and utter preposterousness of every single thing that happens in the movie. Seriously. Every single thing, from character interaction to animal behavior to decisions made to things that happened etc. I knew that it was going to take a lot of disbelief suspension to deal with an island inhabited by very big things, a woman falling in love with one of them, etc.
3. Many Many Preposterous Things about “King Kong:”
a. Jack Black, a movie producer, just happens to have a mysterious map to a mysterious island – it is not explained why or how he has it
b. The Jack Black character is a producer at all – no way. Nobody would have given him money to do anything
c. The Jack Black character, despite having his movie cancelled, manages to convince an entire crew as well as movie studio employees to go with him to a deserted island.
d. Naomi Watts consents to going away on a boat with him 5 minutes after meeting him.
e. Adrian Brody doesn’t run off that boat immediately.
f. Adrian Brody is CUT – there was no money around to be eating and also he was a nerdy playwright.
g. Despite the fact that they changed course to not go to the island, they end up there anyway at random! (D said this was because the island has some sort of magical pull, but that’s even more ridiculous!)
h. Despite the island’s being really small, none of the animals really avoid each other and know of each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
i. The island is small enough that within a few hours of landing Adrian Brody is able to find Naomi Watts.
j. Adrian Brody went after Naomi Watts at all.
k. Despite the fact that the boat almost sank and they had to empty all of the furniture etc. to get it to float, the crew is then able to sail a 30 foot gorilla to New York City.
l. Did I mention that it’s all too coincidental that the boat captain is a person who goes around collecting wild animals so happens to have a ton of chloroform aboard the ship to sedate a 30 foot gorilla?
m. Did I also mention that it’s absurd that the Captain, who was actually pretty awesome, consented to do anything for Jack Black at all? Why wouldn’t he just turn around immediately when he found out that Jack Black wanted to go to Skull Island?
n. The Captain and his crew are able to kill a zillion huge bugs in about five seconds and seriously, they all disappeared and there were a zillion of them.
o. Then there’s the whole “There’s a mysterious island where dinosaurs still exist and there are big huge versions of animals that exist in the discovered world, such as huge bats, crickets, and, well, gorillas.”
p. And then there’s the whole thing where the film crew gets to the island, immediately encounters human skeletons that have been impaled, torn limb from limb in some sort of sacrificial ritual, and they do not immediately turn around! They stay there! Nobody would just stay there! At the very least they would go back to the ship and discuss staying. They then see that there’s a weird aboriginal tribe there, and they don’t leave! Jack Black offers one of them a candy bar! Never never never would this happen!!!
q. There are so many more but I am just going to stop for now.
(Note: I realized going into this that it would be absurd. I knew the general premise. Giant gorilla on an island, girl falls in love with giant gorilla, giant gorilla somehow gets back to New York City and climbs Empire State Building and beats chest. I could have dealt with that. It was more the human behavior that annoyed me – like this would never happen because at so many points the story should have just ended.)
4. The movie seemed long to me. It really did. It felt like three hours. I think it was because it could have been three separate movies. Act I: Thestory of a sad girl and a sketchy movie producer whose paths cross in down-and-out New York City. The adventure begins! Act II: On the island our heroes encounter a bizarre land! Act III: After escaping the bizarre land, our heroes have to come to terms with things back in New York City. I really loved Act II. It was amazing. The movie is worth seeing just for this. I also liked Act I a lot, but it got a bit tedious at times. Act III did nothing for me.
5. There was a kid on the crew who was reading “Heart of Darkness.” Must you be this obvious? Was this perhaps in the original? I don’t know. I really need to see the one from the 30’s or whenever it was.
6. The tribe.
7. Many giant bugs, but that’s just personal. I thought I was going to have nightmares all night. As loyal readers know, my recurring nightmare that I’ve been having since age 6-ish is that dinosaurs are going to eat my family. I also have these dreams where I am convinced that there are giant spiders on my ceiling that are about to eat me, or that there are giant roaches in my bed, and I will be convinced I am awake. I think it’s a weird thing that happens as you’re about to fall asleep. I end up jumping out of bed and then run out of my room thinking that this is actually happening. Yeah. So I don’t do well with the bugs, but I guess I can’t hold this against the movie.
I wonder if people felt like this about the original. They were like “Huh, weird, a New Yorker falls in love with a giant gorilla from a mysterious island. But man does that giant claymation gorilla look awesome atop the Empire State Building!”
My overall opinion: it was good, entertaining, fun, impressive. Should you see it? Yes. Should you expect to be seeing the best movie you’ve ever seen? No.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Thunder and Lightening
20 Things From My Few Days in Boston:
1. Beautiful sunset in CT = Only good thing in CT
2. Papa Gino’s
3. Untouched snow on The Parents’ lawn
4. “Miguel” looking at The Parents’ House while Mother, D, and I sat in the
kitchen trying not to listen to what he was saying about The Parents’ House
was awkwardly wonderful
5. Father lighting a fire in the fireplace was even more blissful given that he
keeps the heat in the house at approximately 62 degrees
6. Threat of snow for Friday gave me an ulcer as I found myself screaming “But
you have an SUV!!! You can drive through one inch of snow!!!”
7. Lunch with LBF and PE ruled except for the lack of risotto cakes on the menu
8. Snow accumulation on body while walking to the Central Square T stop,
carrying luggage with a pile of snow on it, dodging the lightening while
being battered by hurricane-force winds, was the worst storm experience I’ve
ever had and I actually cried
9. Seeing D shovel The Former Roommates’ driveway while wearing galoshes =
adorable
10. Burrito from Anna’s!
11. Christmas carols!!!! (someone walked from Arlington for 50 minutes on iced-
over sidewalks just to partake)
12. Good news – babies and visa’s! – and hugs from friends
13. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episodes On Demand at Sister’s apartment
14. Sinking into Sister’s new couch
15. Cheese fondue
16. Memory Lane
17. Sister’s Band = Rock Stars (damn are they good!)
18. Sister’s Boyfriend’s friends making out on couch next to D as D and I tried
to sleep on an air mattress at 5 in the morning… ewwww…. So glad to no
longer be 23 years old
19. Breakfast burrito
20. Exhaustion
1. Beautiful sunset in CT = Only good thing in CT
2. Papa Gino’s
3. Untouched snow on The Parents’ lawn
4. “Miguel” looking at The Parents’ House while Mother, D, and I sat in the
kitchen trying not to listen to what he was saying about The Parents’ House
was awkwardly wonderful
5. Father lighting a fire in the fireplace was even more blissful given that he
keeps the heat in the house at approximately 62 degrees
6. Threat of snow for Friday gave me an ulcer as I found myself screaming “But
you have an SUV!!! You can drive through one inch of snow!!!”
7. Lunch with LBF and PE ruled except for the lack of risotto cakes on the menu
8. Snow accumulation on body while walking to the Central Square T stop,
carrying luggage with a pile of snow on it, dodging the lightening while
being battered by hurricane-force winds, was the worst storm experience I’ve
ever had and I actually cried
9. Seeing D shovel The Former Roommates’ driveway while wearing galoshes =
adorable
10. Burrito from Anna’s!
11. Christmas carols!!!! (someone walked from Arlington for 50 minutes on iced-
over sidewalks just to partake)
12. Good news – babies and visa’s! – and hugs from friends
13. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episodes On Demand at Sister’s apartment
14. Sinking into Sister’s new couch
15. Cheese fondue
16. Memory Lane
17. Sister’s Band = Rock Stars (damn are they good!)
18. Sister’s Boyfriend’s friends making out on couch next to D as D and I tried
to sleep on an air mattress at 5 in the morning… ewwww…. So glad to no
longer be 23 years old
19. Breakfast burrito
20. Exhaustion
Dating
I went to dinner last night with three girls from my photography class.
As we were doing the “Get to Know You Outside of Class” thing, it emerged that one of the girls works in the computer department of a major pharmaceutical company, one girl is a mechanical engineer, and one girl is a realtor with a science background who is going back to school for Genetic Counseling. Weird.
Equally weird was the portion of the dinner, after much wine was consumed, during which we discussed boys. Turns out, bizarrely, that I was the only one at dinner who has a significant other!
What are the odds? I suppose it is not odd that ¾ of awesome women in NYC are single, considering how difficult it is to meet people here. It’s bizarre because I was the ¼ who has a boyfriend. I’m so used to being the only single one! I’ve spent so much of my life single or in relationships that allowed me to behave, for all intents and purposes, like a single person.
Weird.
I didn’t know how to handle it. I was actually jealous of their singleness for many reasons. I listed, without humoring anyone, the many virtues of being single in the city. There are so many. I said “You can do whatever you want! You can go wherever you want! You get to be selfish! You don’t have to consider anyone but yourself!”
Of course there are millions of awesome things about dating as well, but we didn’t talk about those.
I did, however, say stupid things like “It will happen for you. I have the worst dating history of anyone I know – I suck at it – I hate it – I loved being single – I never thought I’d meet someone who wasn’t a complete ass and without even trying I met someone who rocks.”
How did this happen?
I offered to set people up. I said “I know some boys, but please don’t think I am recommending that you date. Dating is the worst thing ever.”
Things have changed so much in the last year.
I think I might be a grown-up.
This is more than a year anniversary with a boy. This is a year anniversary of being a more functional human being, and for that I am proud of myself, and for that I will celebrate.
As we were doing the “Get to Know You Outside of Class” thing, it emerged that one of the girls works in the computer department of a major pharmaceutical company, one girl is a mechanical engineer, and one girl is a realtor with a science background who is going back to school for Genetic Counseling. Weird.
Equally weird was the portion of the dinner, after much wine was consumed, during which we discussed boys. Turns out, bizarrely, that I was the only one at dinner who has a significant other!
What are the odds? I suppose it is not odd that ¾ of awesome women in NYC are single, considering how difficult it is to meet people here. It’s bizarre because I was the ¼ who has a boyfriend. I’m so used to being the only single one! I’ve spent so much of my life single or in relationships that allowed me to behave, for all intents and purposes, like a single person.
Weird.
I didn’t know how to handle it. I was actually jealous of their singleness for many reasons. I listed, without humoring anyone, the many virtues of being single in the city. There are so many. I said “You can do whatever you want! You can go wherever you want! You get to be selfish! You don’t have to consider anyone but yourself!”
Of course there are millions of awesome things about dating as well, but we didn’t talk about those.
I did, however, say stupid things like “It will happen for you. I have the worst dating history of anyone I know – I suck at it – I hate it – I loved being single – I never thought I’d meet someone who wasn’t a complete ass and without even trying I met someone who rocks.”
How did this happen?
I offered to set people up. I said “I know some boys, but please don’t think I am recommending that you date. Dating is the worst thing ever.”
Things have changed so much in the last year.
I think I might be a grown-up.
This is more than a year anniversary with a boy. This is a year anniversary of being a more functional human being, and for that I am proud of myself, and for that I will celebrate.
Vegetables
I am a picky vegetarian.
At dinner last night, I ordered “Assorted vegetables sautéed in garlic and olive oil served with jasmine rice.”
Because I am a picky vegetarian, this sort of menu item worries me. I only like certain vegetables, so I’m generally paranoid when the vegetable content is vague. My worst nightmare is that the assorted vegetables will be tomatoes, cauliflower, eggplant, and mushrooms, which aren’t even vegetables. I hate mushrooms above all else, mainly because they strike me as being a bit meat-esque. I don’t even like to push them to the side because they leave mushroom residue over everything they touch. I hate them.
My fantasy assorted vegetables include asparagus, spinach, broccoli, yellow squash and zucchini.
You can imagine my elation when the assorted vegetables arrived and were asparagus, spinach, broccoli, yellow squash and zucchini. Also included were cauliflower (ewww), carrots (not my favorite) and string beans (acceptable).
I was psyched! I cleaned my plate.
At dinner last night, I ordered “Assorted vegetables sautéed in garlic and olive oil served with jasmine rice.”
Because I am a picky vegetarian, this sort of menu item worries me. I only like certain vegetables, so I’m generally paranoid when the vegetable content is vague. My worst nightmare is that the assorted vegetables will be tomatoes, cauliflower, eggplant, and mushrooms, which aren’t even vegetables. I hate mushrooms above all else, mainly because they strike me as being a bit meat-esque. I don’t even like to push them to the side because they leave mushroom residue over everything they touch. I hate them.
My fantasy assorted vegetables include asparagus, spinach, broccoli, yellow squash and zucchini.
You can imagine my elation when the assorted vegetables arrived and were asparagus, spinach, broccoli, yellow squash and zucchini. Also included were cauliflower (ewww), carrots (not my favorite) and string beans (acceptable).
I was psyched! I cleaned my plate.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
One Whole Year
My one year anniversary with D is tomorrow.
I am rewriting the entry from this afternoon because we have decided to see King Kong.
I agreed to this because D is ridiculously sweet (why is it that I sometimes forget?) and said "It's symbolic of our relationship because talking about movies is what brought us together in the first place."
"Yes!" I said. "We can commemorate dates Minus 1 and Minus 2 by going to the movies!"
"Yes, and really, what represents us as a couple more than watching movies?"
"True."
"We could do something romantic like go ice skating, but we don't ice skate."
"Again - true. I love this plan."
I just bought tickets for King Kong opening night and I must admit that I am very, very, very excited.
One whole year! I am so happy.
I am rewriting the entry from this afternoon because we have decided to see King Kong.
I agreed to this because D is ridiculously sweet (why is it that I sometimes forget?) and said "It's symbolic of our relationship because talking about movies is what brought us together in the first place."
"Yes!" I said. "We can commemorate dates Minus 1 and Minus 2 by going to the movies!"
"Yes, and really, what represents us as a couple more than watching movies?"
"True."
"We could do something romantic like go ice skating, but we don't ice skate."
"Again - true. I love this plan."
I just bought tickets for King Kong opening night and I must admit that I am very, very, very excited.
One whole year! I am so happy.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
On Hiatus
Hello Readers,
I am heading up to MA for the rest of the week and through the weekend to shop at outlets, see family, see friends, eat burritos, sing Christmas carols, see new houses, possibly bowl!, and hear Sister play some music. It is going to be awshummmm.
Until next week....
Sincerely,
Leah Lar
p.s. I got two great submissions for the Christmas Carol contest but did not receive them in enough time to work on them last weekend. Which means I will work on them next week and weekend. So if you have an idea, send it my way!
I am heading up to MA for the rest of the week and through the weekend to shop at outlets, see family, see friends, eat burritos, sing Christmas carols, see new houses, possibly bowl!, and hear Sister play some music. It is going to be awshummmm.
Until next week....
Sincerely,
Leah Lar
p.s. I got two great submissions for the Christmas Carol contest but did not receive them in enough time to work on them last weekend. Which means I will work on them next week and weekend. So if you have an idea, send it my way!
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Assumed Incompetence
I went for a physical a few weeks ago.
The doctor said "Why don't we do bloodwork? Just to make sure everything is ok, make sure you're not deficient in anything since you're a vegetarian."
Cool.
In New York, you do not have bloodwork at the place that is demanding the bloodwork. You have to go to a "collection facility," at your convenience, have them send it to a lab, and then have the lab send it to your doctor.
I procrastinated, of course, because, well, getting blood taken isn't pleasant and because getting to a place that will draw blood isn't convenient. Transit time to the closest facility is an hour, plus unpredictable amount of waiting, so it wasn't something I could do unless I had a big block of time during work or if I got up early enough before work.
In the meantime, I went to another doctor's appointment. Dr. #2 needed bloodwork but for something different entirely and therefore ordered a set of different tests.
Sweet! I was very satisfied that I'd procrastinated and promptly went to have blood drawn after the second appointment.
I knew it would be complicated. I knew that the people at the facility would be unable to comprehend that the results had to be sent to two different doctors.
The woman behind the desk said that it wouldn't be a problem and had me fill out the form. After filling out the form, I went back to the desk and said "Perhaps I should fill out two forms?"
"Oh, yes, good idea."
The forms were filled out, a ton of blood was taken, and over a week later I hadn't heard from either doctor.
I called Dr. #2 and they said "No, we've gotten nothing. We should have gotten it by now if you did this last Monday."
I called The Lab, and they said "Oh, we faxed it to Dr. #2 at this fax number."
The fax number, of course, was the fax number for Dr. #1.
"Oh, no, that's the wrong fax number. That's my primary care."
"Oh, well, we didn't have a fax number for Dr. #2 so we just sent it there."
Of course. Instead of calling me and asking me for the fax number, they faxed the results to an arbitrary doctor.
It then occurred to me that perhaps Dr. #1 didn't receive what she was supposed to receive, since she got the tests for Dr. #2.
I called Dr. #1's office and, of course, they'd received nothing.
Of course.
Because people are incompetent.
This is not complicated.
I went in, had blood taken, and the results of tests are supposed to be sent to doctors.
But neither doctor would have gotten anything had I not called.
I mention this because I knew it would happen this way.
And I hate that I knew, because it only reinforces my negativity about the world and people.
This being said, I had a very nice experience yesterday involving people.
I haven't eaten at one of my favorite lunch spots in quite some time because a scene played out there about a month ago and I was terribly distraught.
I was paranoid about going back. The embarrassment didn't go away. "They won't remember," he said. "I think they will," I said.
I finally went back yesterday, because, dammit, I wanted a sandwich!
I walked in, ordered my sandwich, and when I got to the cash register, The Manager said "Oh! I thought you were never coming back!"
I said "I was terribly embarrassed."
The Manager explained himself. I said "Look, I'm on your side. I've been on your side the whole time. I understand."
"Well, I'm glad you're back. Really. I'm happy you came back."
This reinforced/confirmed my paranoia, but my paranoia didn't matter because The Manager was nice to me.
I don't know what my point is.
I guess the moral of the story is that it is best to assume the worst, because you will then be prepared for incompetence and pleasantly surprised when things turn out nicely.
The doctor said "Why don't we do bloodwork? Just to make sure everything is ok, make sure you're not deficient in anything since you're a vegetarian."
Cool.
In New York, you do not have bloodwork at the place that is demanding the bloodwork. You have to go to a "collection facility," at your convenience, have them send it to a lab, and then have the lab send it to your doctor.
I procrastinated, of course, because, well, getting blood taken isn't pleasant and because getting to a place that will draw blood isn't convenient. Transit time to the closest facility is an hour, plus unpredictable amount of waiting, so it wasn't something I could do unless I had a big block of time during work or if I got up early enough before work.
In the meantime, I went to another doctor's appointment. Dr. #2 needed bloodwork but for something different entirely and therefore ordered a set of different tests.
Sweet! I was very satisfied that I'd procrastinated and promptly went to have blood drawn after the second appointment.
I knew it would be complicated. I knew that the people at the facility would be unable to comprehend that the results had to be sent to two different doctors.
The woman behind the desk said that it wouldn't be a problem and had me fill out the form. After filling out the form, I went back to the desk and said "Perhaps I should fill out two forms?"
"Oh, yes, good idea."
The forms were filled out, a ton of blood was taken, and over a week later I hadn't heard from either doctor.
I called Dr. #2 and they said "No, we've gotten nothing. We should have gotten it by now if you did this last Monday."
I called The Lab, and they said "Oh, we faxed it to Dr. #2 at this fax number."
The fax number, of course, was the fax number for Dr. #1.
"Oh, no, that's the wrong fax number. That's my primary care."
"Oh, well, we didn't have a fax number for Dr. #2 so we just sent it there."
Of course. Instead of calling me and asking me for the fax number, they faxed the results to an arbitrary doctor.
It then occurred to me that perhaps Dr. #1 didn't receive what she was supposed to receive, since she got the tests for Dr. #2.
I called Dr. #1's office and, of course, they'd received nothing.
Of course.
Because people are incompetent.
This is not complicated.
I went in, had blood taken, and the results of tests are supposed to be sent to doctors.
But neither doctor would have gotten anything had I not called.
I mention this because I knew it would happen this way.
And I hate that I knew, because it only reinforces my negativity about the world and people.
This being said, I had a very nice experience yesterday involving people.
I haven't eaten at one of my favorite lunch spots in quite some time because a scene played out there about a month ago and I was terribly distraught.
I was paranoid about going back. The embarrassment didn't go away. "They won't remember," he said. "I think they will," I said.
I finally went back yesterday, because, dammit, I wanted a sandwich!
I walked in, ordered my sandwich, and when I got to the cash register, The Manager said "Oh! I thought you were never coming back!"
I said "I was terribly embarrassed."
The Manager explained himself. I said "Look, I'm on your side. I've been on your side the whole time. I understand."
"Well, I'm glad you're back. Really. I'm happy you came back."
This reinforced/confirmed my paranoia, but my paranoia didn't matter because The Manager was nice to me.
I don't know what my point is.
I guess the moral of the story is that it is best to assume the worst, because you will then be prepared for incompetence and pleasantly surprised when things turn out nicely.
Candid Camera
The snow season has begun.
I awoke this morning, giddy, hoping to see the predicted 3 - 5 inches of snow draped over the city. There was, of course, nothing. It snowed a bit, but not enough to cause more than an inch accumulation on non-street surfaces.
I dined with my friend DC last night, a friend I haven't seen nor spoken with in three years. It always makes me happy when people find me. I'm the sort of person who, years later, will think "What ever happened to so-and-so?" I will then compose an awkward email, inquiring as to the status of their life, unsure of whether they want to hear from me, consistently fearful of being cyber-rejected.
"Remember me? I was the girl you dumped because I wanted something serious even though I didn't actually want something serious. How are you? Want to get a drink some time?"
DC had initiated an awkward email relationship. Things were eventually sorted out and we are now, apparently, friends again.
We had dinner at this cute Italian place in Union Square that gives you free bruschetta! We split a bottle of wine over some shocking news from DC, even though I'd capped my consumption at one glass given the flu I can't quite shake.
Seated behind us were a bunch of girlish girls. They were wearing patterned sweaters and weighing the pros and cons of stackable vs. floor washers and dryers based on towel-loading capacity. One girl exclaimed rather loudly "Look at the snow!"
The entire restaurant turned around in response. I looked out the window. I didn't see any snow.
"Sorry," I said. "I was just looking out the window to see the snow, since that girl just said something about snow."
"Yeah, I heard it," said DC.
"Huh."
A short time later, she said "It's really coming down now!" The other girls murmered in agreement.
I looked again, and still didn't see any snow.
"That girl seems really alarmed about the snow," I said.
About half an hour later she said "I'm sorry, guys, but its really getting bad out there. I better go. It's going to start accumulating soon!"
The other girls nodded in understanding, as the girl frantically gathered her belongings together and ran out.
I looked out the window again. Still no snow. "Dude, I don't know what that girl is talking about. I don't think its snowing."
"It's not," he said.
"Well, maybe because they're sitting at a different angle from the window..."
"It's not snowing."
"No, well, if I tilt my head this way... I think it is," I said, but no matter how you looked at it, it was not snowing enough to be frantic. "I think its doing the thing where its snowing sideways, and that's why we can't see it."
"Horizontal snow effect."
"Yeah, you know, like if we were out there we'd see it but we can't see it from here because against the buildings it camouflage and that, combined with the glare from the window makes it impossible to see. Right. No. It's not snowing."
"It's not snowing."
"Then what is her deal? Maybe we're on Candid Camera! It's some psychology experiment in group behavior and persuasion! They want to see if that girl will convince people that its snowing outside even though its not! It's one of those paranoia studies!"
"Uh huh."
"No, I think its snowing. Seriously. Like its just an angle that we can't see from here."
"It's not."
"When I talk to my parents (I had to call my parents post-dinner to coordinate a pick-up in MA tomorrow for my visit!) they are going to say 'Are you getting snow there?' and I will say 'Well, it depends who you ask.'"
"You will say 'Define snow.'"
"Heh. I think its snowing, though. They said it was going to snow."
"But its not."
When we exited the restaurant half an hour later, it was snowing. Minimally. A bit. Not even flurries. People just get nuts about snow.
The good news is that this sort of thing is good practice. A few years back I slipped on a patch of ice outside my apartment in Somerville, cartoon-slipping-on-a-banana-peel style, feet over head, landing on back, etc. I landed on my back, hit my face on the pavement, broke my glasses, and had a small cut on my face. I tried to get up, but because I was still on the patch of ice, I fell again, exactly the same way.
My body ached all week, and ruined me for the rest of time, as I am now convinced that I will meet my death while walking in the city during icy, snowy times.
This small snowfall allows me to identify potentially treacherous areas throughout the walking portion of my commute. Like last year, the walk from the subway to work is fine. Nothing sketchy.
Midtown, however, is another story. It is going to be a bad scene. I will have to be very alert and cautious when walking to and from my apartment.
Because I was being super aware this morning and staring at the ground, I averted stepping on a frozen mouse. Ewwww.... that has to be an omen for something.
The second snow, and not nearly as dramatic as promised. Oh well.
I awoke this morning, giddy, hoping to see the predicted 3 - 5 inches of snow draped over the city. There was, of course, nothing. It snowed a bit, but not enough to cause more than an inch accumulation on non-street surfaces.
I dined with my friend DC last night, a friend I haven't seen nor spoken with in three years. It always makes me happy when people find me. I'm the sort of person who, years later, will think "What ever happened to so-and-so?" I will then compose an awkward email, inquiring as to the status of their life, unsure of whether they want to hear from me, consistently fearful of being cyber-rejected.
"Remember me? I was the girl you dumped because I wanted something serious even though I didn't actually want something serious. How are you? Want to get a drink some time?"
DC had initiated an awkward email relationship. Things were eventually sorted out and we are now, apparently, friends again.
We had dinner at this cute Italian place in Union Square that gives you free bruschetta! We split a bottle of wine over some shocking news from DC, even though I'd capped my consumption at one glass given the flu I can't quite shake.
Seated behind us were a bunch of girlish girls. They were wearing patterned sweaters and weighing the pros and cons of stackable vs. floor washers and dryers based on towel-loading capacity. One girl exclaimed rather loudly "Look at the snow!"
The entire restaurant turned around in response. I looked out the window. I didn't see any snow.
"Sorry," I said. "I was just looking out the window to see the snow, since that girl just said something about snow."
"Yeah, I heard it," said DC.
"Huh."
A short time later, she said "It's really coming down now!" The other girls murmered in agreement.
I looked again, and still didn't see any snow.
"That girl seems really alarmed about the snow," I said.
About half an hour later she said "I'm sorry, guys, but its really getting bad out there. I better go. It's going to start accumulating soon!"
The other girls nodded in understanding, as the girl frantically gathered her belongings together and ran out.
I looked out the window again. Still no snow. "Dude, I don't know what that girl is talking about. I don't think its snowing."
"It's not," he said.
"Well, maybe because they're sitting at a different angle from the window..."
"It's not snowing."
"No, well, if I tilt my head this way... I think it is," I said, but no matter how you looked at it, it was not snowing enough to be frantic. "I think its doing the thing where its snowing sideways, and that's why we can't see it."
"Horizontal snow effect."
"Yeah, you know, like if we were out there we'd see it but we can't see it from here because against the buildings it camouflage and that, combined with the glare from the window makes it impossible to see. Right. No. It's not snowing."
"It's not snowing."
"Then what is her deal? Maybe we're on Candid Camera! It's some psychology experiment in group behavior and persuasion! They want to see if that girl will convince people that its snowing outside even though its not! It's one of those paranoia studies!"
"Uh huh."
"No, I think its snowing. Seriously. Like its just an angle that we can't see from here."
"It's not."
"When I talk to my parents (I had to call my parents post-dinner to coordinate a pick-up in MA tomorrow for my visit!) they are going to say 'Are you getting snow there?' and I will say 'Well, it depends who you ask.'"
"You will say 'Define snow.'"
"Heh. I think its snowing, though. They said it was going to snow."
"But its not."
When we exited the restaurant half an hour later, it was snowing. Minimally. A bit. Not even flurries. People just get nuts about snow.
The good news is that this sort of thing is good practice. A few years back I slipped on a patch of ice outside my apartment in Somerville, cartoon-slipping-on-a-banana-peel style, feet over head, landing on back, etc. I landed on my back, hit my face on the pavement, broke my glasses, and had a small cut on my face. I tried to get up, but because I was still on the patch of ice, I fell again, exactly the same way.
My body ached all week, and ruined me for the rest of time, as I am now convinced that I will meet my death while walking in the city during icy, snowy times.
This small snowfall allows me to identify potentially treacherous areas throughout the walking portion of my commute. Like last year, the walk from the subway to work is fine. Nothing sketchy.
Midtown, however, is another story. It is going to be a bad scene. I will have to be very alert and cautious when walking to and from my apartment.
Because I was being super aware this morning and staring at the ground, I averted stepping on a frozen mouse. Ewwww.... that has to be an omen for something.
The second snow, and not nearly as dramatic as promised. Oh well.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Sleep
I love sleep.
If I had my way, I'd sleep every day until noon.
Back in my youth, I would regularly sleep past noon on the weekends.
Adults would say "You're so lazy!"
They would also say "You're not going to be able to do that when you get older."
"No! I will always sleep late! No matter how much responsibility I have! I will produce and then raise children who also sleep late!"
"No, you won't physically be able to sleep late. It gets harder as you get older. You'll be up at 6am whether you like it or not."
"Whatever. That will never happen to me."
Hah.
These days I can, on occasion, sleep until 11 am.
But now, instead of wasting my weekends sleeping all day, I waste my weekends trying to sleep all day and being annoyed that I can't sleep.
This was of importance this weekend, as I am sick with a slight flu. The beginning of the flu was Thursday, so the crucial period coincided with the weekend. I thought "No problem! I will kick this flu's ass by sleeping all weekend!"
No such luck. Despite a late night at the company party on Friday (where, incidentally, there was no drama), I was up at 9:00 on Saturday morning. I got a coveted 8 hours on Saturday night, but it was frustrating since I went to bed at midnight and was then up at 8:00 on Sunday morning!
D said "But you got 8 hours!"
"No! The point of going to bed at midnight was to be able to get twelve hours."
I guess I'm getting old. I feared this. I wasn't entirely sure, but now that I have this crucial data point it's confirmed.
If I had my way, I'd sleep every day until noon.
Back in my youth, I would regularly sleep past noon on the weekends.
Adults would say "You're so lazy!"
They would also say "You're not going to be able to do that when you get older."
"No! I will always sleep late! No matter how much responsibility I have! I will produce and then raise children who also sleep late!"
"No, you won't physically be able to sleep late. It gets harder as you get older. You'll be up at 6am whether you like it or not."
"Whatever. That will never happen to me."
Hah.
These days I can, on occasion, sleep until 11 am.
But now, instead of wasting my weekends sleeping all day, I waste my weekends trying to sleep all day and being annoyed that I can't sleep.
This was of importance this weekend, as I am sick with a slight flu. The beginning of the flu was Thursday, so the crucial period coincided with the weekend. I thought "No problem! I will kick this flu's ass by sleeping all weekend!"
No such luck. Despite a late night at the company party on Friday (where, incidentally, there was no drama), I was up at 9:00 on Saturday morning. I got a coveted 8 hours on Saturday night, but it was frustrating since I went to bed at midnight and was then up at 8:00 on Sunday morning!
D said "But you got 8 hours!"
"No! The point of going to bed at midnight was to be able to get twelve hours."
I guess I'm getting old. I feared this. I wasn't entirely sure, but now that I have this crucial data point it's confirmed.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Netflix Sadness
D and I went through our NetFlix queue last night, and realized that most of our chosen movies are movies he wants to see or wants me to see.
There were a lot of "Well, I feel like I should see this, but do I really want to?" on my part.
We decided that the best thing to do would be to have two separate NetFlix accounts.
I don't know if I can afford NetFlix on my own.
I am sad, because I love NetFlix. I love them even more now that they have candy-cane patterned stickers and cute little snowflakes on the envelopes for the holidays. I love them for their fast turnover, their user-friendly website, their enabling me to see movies I'd never have otherwise seen.
I don't love, however, how they make me boring. D and I are both obsessive, list-making and list-checking-off-of personalities. NetFlix neutralizes us at times, and we have gone to far fewer movies now that NetFlix is in our lives.
I don't want to live like this. If I didn't have NetFlix, I'd probably rent a movie once a month. D is more of a compulsive renter, so this is more his thing. I'd rather read books and go to the movies and work on music.
I think I may downgrade to the 1 DVD-at-a-time membership, which is only $10 a month. If I watched one movie a week it would make it worth it, and I can definitely find time to watch one movie a week.
This will allow me to embark upon Project Watch Every Movie Musical Ever Made. I will only watch movies I really want to see instead of watching movies because they are there. I will be a new, productive person!
The only problem with this is that I will never see D.
But we'll figure it out.
Shared NetFlix account, precursor to domestic partnership, it's been real, but it's just not working out for me.
There were a lot of "Well, I feel like I should see this, but do I really want to?" on my part.
We decided that the best thing to do would be to have two separate NetFlix accounts.
I don't know if I can afford NetFlix on my own.
I am sad, because I love NetFlix. I love them even more now that they have candy-cane patterned stickers and cute little snowflakes on the envelopes for the holidays. I love them for their fast turnover, their user-friendly website, their enabling me to see movies I'd never have otherwise seen.
I don't love, however, how they make me boring. D and I are both obsessive, list-making and list-checking-off-of personalities. NetFlix neutralizes us at times, and we have gone to far fewer movies now that NetFlix is in our lives.
I don't want to live like this. If I didn't have NetFlix, I'd probably rent a movie once a month. D is more of a compulsive renter, so this is more his thing. I'd rather read books and go to the movies and work on music.
I think I may downgrade to the 1 DVD-at-a-time membership, which is only $10 a month. If I watched one movie a week it would make it worth it, and I can definitely find time to watch one movie a week.
This will allow me to embark upon Project Watch Every Movie Musical Ever Made. I will only watch movies I really want to see instead of watching movies because they are there. I will be a new, productive person!
The only problem with this is that I will never see D.
But we'll figure it out.
Shared NetFlix account, precursor to domestic partnership, it's been real, but it's just not working out for me.
Christmas Carol Contest
As per Nithya's suggestion, I am thinking about writing a Christmas carol!
I have an idea for lyrics, but here's a better idea: A My Mundane Life in Song Christmas Carol Contest!
You write the lyrics, I'll write the music and post it on the blog.
Here's the deal:
1. Write a Christmas Carol - no more than three verses. It can be of your own design, or it could be a parody, set to the tune of a pre-existing Christmas carol.
2. Post the lyrics on the blog by 3:00 this afternoon. Of, if you want it to be a surprise to the readers, you can email the me the lyrics.
3. I'll pick one and record it this weekend.
4. And if there are a bunch, I'll record a bunch.
Yeah!
I'm not going to get too excited because I doubt that any of you will have time to write a Christmas carol in the next few hours. If there are no entries, maybe we can have the contest again next week when there is more time. And if there are no entries then, then I will win and record my own song.
Awesome.
I have an idea for lyrics, but here's a better idea: A My Mundane Life in Song Christmas Carol Contest!
You write the lyrics, I'll write the music and post it on the blog.
Here's the deal:
1. Write a Christmas Carol - no more than three verses. It can be of your own design, or it could be a parody, set to the tune of a pre-existing Christmas carol.
2. Post the lyrics on the blog by 3:00 this afternoon. Of, if you want it to be a surprise to the readers, you can email the me the lyrics.
3. I'll pick one and record it this weekend.
4. And if there are a bunch, I'll record a bunch.
Yeah!
I'm not going to get too excited because I doubt that any of you will have time to write a Christmas carol in the next few hours. If there are no entries, maybe we can have the contest again next week when there is more time. And if there are no entries then, then I will win and record my own song.
Awesome.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
It Has Begun
I love Christmas carols.
I really do.
But listening to them non-stop? All day? For the next 24 days!??!?!
No.
I can't do it.
I do like, however, when random people walk by and start doing their renditions of Wham's Last Christmas.
I said "Hey! You know what we should do? For the purpose of morale? Have an interdepartmental Christmas Carol Challenge!!!"
I know, I know, not everyone celebrates Christmas. But everyone celebrates Wham, right?
We just listened to someone who sounds like Whitney Houston (I think it was Whitney Houston) doing Do You Hear What I Hear. There was a Bryan Adams Christmas carol today with the worst lyrics I've ever heard. I think Bing Crosby is singing right now.
Christmas carols have been all day.
Consequently there has been discussion of things like snow and and the Holiday Party (which is tomorrow!) and Christmas specials. Someone said "I think the Burl Ives snowman looks Asian."
I can't take another month of this.
I really do.
But listening to them non-stop? All day? For the next 24 days!??!?!
No.
I can't do it.
I do like, however, when random people walk by and start doing their renditions of Wham's Last Christmas.
I said "Hey! You know what we should do? For the purpose of morale? Have an interdepartmental Christmas Carol Challenge!!!"
I know, I know, not everyone celebrates Christmas. But everyone celebrates Wham, right?
We just listened to someone who sounds like Whitney Houston (I think it was Whitney Houston) doing Do You Hear What I Hear. There was a Bryan Adams Christmas carol today with the worst lyrics I've ever heard. I think Bing Crosby is singing right now.
Christmas carols have been all day.
Consequently there has been discussion of things like snow and and the Holiday Party (which is tomorrow!) and Christmas specials. Someone said "I think the Burl Ives snowman looks Asian."
I can't take another month of this.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
I Can't Believe I've Become That Girl
I had food poisoning last night which resulted in my not sleeping well which resulted in my having weird, distressing dreams when I actually did manage to get a few moments' sleep.
During one of these moments I had a dream that there was a large meeting at work, except that it was more like a high school assembly. Tons of people. Tons of chaos. Nobody paying attention. Etc.
The assembly was being given by B, an upperlevel type with whom I never interact. He's someone I know only because he is outspoken at meetings and seems very smart and therefore worthy of my neurons.
B said "D, it is time now!"
D resisted. He was sitting in the row in front of me. He was blushing and distressed and I could tell he didn't want to do whatever B had planned for him.
"Now. You have to."
The New Girl, who was seated next to D, turned around and put a hideous ring on one of my fingers. Hideous, I tell you. It was flat and square and big and had a bunch of flat, small diamonds in it. She said "I picked it out just for you."
"D is proposing to you!" B said, upon which all of my coworkers and people I knew from high school and college turned around and looked at me. They stared. They smiled. Everybody was thrilled, except for D.
He giggled uncomfortably, and tried to smile, but couldn't.
I started weeping uncontrollably. I was so upset. I was upset because he didn't just ask me. I was upset because he didn't pick out the ring. I was upset because the ring was horrific. I was upset because everyone was staring at me. I was upset because he was upset.
"Yes, yes, yes" I said anyway, as D tried to smile but couldn't.
It was awful.
I woke up and felt very unsettled. "D," I said, "I just had the most awful nightmare! I dreamt that B forced us to get engaged in front of the entire company and that The New Girl picked out this awful ring for me and it was just so very terrible!"
"Huh," he said, and I was upset because he said nothing.
Can I get a "Wierd!" or "Why would be dreaming about B?" or "It's not that terrible, is it?"
This all stemmed from my blushing at group meeting yesterday. Everyone turned around to look at me when The Big Boss commended something I'd done, which prompted my blushing. I hate being looked at, paid attention to, noticed at all. My blushing then prompted another upper level type to say, loudly, "LOOK AT YOU! YOU'RE BLUSHING! WHY ARE YOU BLUSHING?" which, of course, made me blush further.
Last night, I went to D's friend's show at the Pussy Cat Lounge, which is, yes, a strip club. They didn't play in the strip club. They played in the completely separate lounge above it. Prior to the show, we went out for dinner with D's friend's girlfriend T, who rules. She rules because she is smart, honest, and has no filter.
At one point she said "So, you guys have been together for a year? Why don't you live together? Start saving money? Living together is awesome! It really helps the relationship, changes the dynamic..."
Dead silence.
A-W-K-W-A-R-D.
"Oh! I think I left my umbrella at your house!" T declared. D ran back to get it, and T said "Did I say something I shouldn't have? Have you guys been talking about it?"
"No, not at all."
"Why not?"
"Because he's not sure."
"If he wants to live together? What - are you too neat or something?"
"No, he's the one who's too neat. No, that's not it. He's just not sure... well,
he's not sure about me."
"Well, that's ridiculous. You have to tell him he's sure. You have to make him
your bitch." How I adore T.
"That's not how I am," I said. "I want us to come to the same conclusions at the same time, and if he waits too long, I'd rather walk than force him into something he doesn't want."
We piled into a cab after D retrieved the umbrella, and T began saying things like "You know how I was talking about NY being a lone bone city? (because she'd been
talking about how men can't get dates in NYC earlier that night and how women, no matter how vile, can without fail) It's true. After men hit 31, they can't get a date. Women, they can get dates, no problem. Every woman is always thinking about at least 5 guys in her life she could sleep with. Not that she would sleep with these guys, but she could! I mean, once you hit 31, you're so set in your ways, no woman would put up with you! And then you'll want a relationship, and you'll be alone forever. And you'll be thinking about the ones who did put up with your shit. I mean, if you find someone, its just stupid to be worried."
She went on and on about how the first year of any relationship is the hardest and how its unrealistic to think that everything will be perfect. I laughed and laughed. D said nothing.
I hoped for some sort of follow-up from D. At the very least "T was nuts in the
cab" or "What was she talking about?" or even a little anger, like "What did you say
to her?"
Nothing.
Of course.
Hence the dream.
Another contributor - right before we went to bed, we were talking about D spending time with my parents next week. He will be in MA for job training and I am going to
meet him at my parents' house on Wednesday night. He said "Don't worry. If you
want to come on Thursday morning, I can totally hang with your parents."
"Oh, you don't have to. I don't mind coming."
"No, seriously, you don't have to. I have plenty of things I need to talk about with your parents."
!!!!
"Maybe now I can see those videos from when you were little, and see pictures of you from middle school! Mwa ha ha!!!!"
Sigh.
Hence the dream.
I can't believe I've become That Girl.
Until tomorrow...
During one of these moments I had a dream that there was a large meeting at work, except that it was more like a high school assembly. Tons of people. Tons of chaos. Nobody paying attention. Etc.
The assembly was being given by B, an upperlevel type with whom I never interact. He's someone I know only because he is outspoken at meetings and seems very smart and therefore worthy of my neurons.
B said "D, it is time now!"
D resisted. He was sitting in the row in front of me. He was blushing and distressed and I could tell he didn't want to do whatever B had planned for him.
"Now. You have to."
The New Girl, who was seated next to D, turned around and put a hideous ring on one of my fingers. Hideous, I tell you. It was flat and square and big and had a bunch of flat, small diamonds in it. She said "I picked it out just for you."
"D is proposing to you!" B said, upon which all of my coworkers and people I knew from high school and college turned around and looked at me. They stared. They smiled. Everybody was thrilled, except for D.
He giggled uncomfortably, and tried to smile, but couldn't.
I started weeping uncontrollably. I was so upset. I was upset because he didn't just ask me. I was upset because he didn't pick out the ring. I was upset because the ring was horrific. I was upset because everyone was staring at me. I was upset because he was upset.
"Yes, yes, yes" I said anyway, as D tried to smile but couldn't.
It was awful.
I woke up and felt very unsettled. "D," I said, "I just had the most awful nightmare! I dreamt that B forced us to get engaged in front of the entire company and that The New Girl picked out this awful ring for me and it was just so very terrible!"
"Huh," he said, and I was upset because he said nothing.
Can I get a "Wierd!" or "Why would be dreaming about B?" or "It's not that terrible, is it?"
This all stemmed from my blushing at group meeting yesterday. Everyone turned around to look at me when The Big Boss commended something I'd done, which prompted my blushing. I hate being looked at, paid attention to, noticed at all. My blushing then prompted another upper level type to say, loudly, "LOOK AT YOU! YOU'RE BLUSHING! WHY ARE YOU BLUSHING?" which, of course, made me blush further.
Last night, I went to D's friend's show at the Pussy Cat Lounge, which is, yes, a strip club. They didn't play in the strip club. They played in the completely separate lounge above it. Prior to the show, we went out for dinner with D's friend's girlfriend T, who rules. She rules because she is smart, honest, and has no filter.
At one point she said "So, you guys have been together for a year? Why don't you live together? Start saving money? Living together is awesome! It really helps the relationship, changes the dynamic..."
Dead silence.
A-W-K-W-A-R-D.
"Oh! I think I left my umbrella at your house!" T declared. D ran back to get it, and T said "Did I say something I shouldn't have? Have you guys been talking about it?"
"No, not at all."
"Why not?"
"Because he's not sure."
"If he wants to live together? What - are you too neat or something?"
"No, he's the one who's too neat. No, that's not it. He's just not sure... well,
he's not sure about me."
"Well, that's ridiculous. You have to tell him he's sure. You have to make him
your bitch." How I adore T.
"That's not how I am," I said. "I want us to come to the same conclusions at the same time, and if he waits too long, I'd rather walk than force him into something he doesn't want."
We piled into a cab after D retrieved the umbrella, and T began saying things like "You know how I was talking about NY being a lone bone city? (because she'd been
talking about how men can't get dates in NYC earlier that night and how women, no matter how vile, can without fail) It's true. After men hit 31, they can't get a date. Women, they can get dates, no problem. Every woman is always thinking about at least 5 guys in her life she could sleep with. Not that she would sleep with these guys, but she could! I mean, once you hit 31, you're so set in your ways, no woman would put up with you! And then you'll want a relationship, and you'll be alone forever. And you'll be thinking about the ones who did put up with your shit. I mean, if you find someone, its just stupid to be worried."
She went on and on about how the first year of any relationship is the hardest and how its unrealistic to think that everything will be perfect. I laughed and laughed. D said nothing.
I hoped for some sort of follow-up from D. At the very least "T was nuts in the
cab" or "What was she talking about?" or even a little anger, like "What did you say
to her?"
Nothing.
Of course.
Hence the dream.
Another contributor - right before we went to bed, we were talking about D spending time with my parents next week. He will be in MA for job training and I am going to
meet him at my parents' house on Wednesday night. He said "Don't worry. If you
want to come on Thursday morning, I can totally hang with your parents."
"Oh, you don't have to. I don't mind coming."
"No, seriously, you don't have to. I have plenty of things I need to talk about with your parents."
!!!!
"Maybe now I can see those videos from when you were little, and see pictures of you from middle school! Mwa ha ha!!!!"
Sigh.
Hence the dream.
I can't believe I've become That Girl.
Until tomorrow...
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