Kicking it old skool

Last night was a trip down memory lane, and it was excellent, but I woke up this morning feeling rather nostalgic and heavy of heart. It started with dinner with two of my friends from my first job in Boston at Gargoyles on the Square in Davis Square in Somerville. The ambience of this restaurant is really interesting. The bar area was packed, but the restaurant only had a third of the tables filled. And the decor and lighting almost makes you think that the dining experience is going to be rather snooty, but they were playing 1970s disco and Barry White over the sound system!

Once we got over the fact that the menu was a bit intimidating (sometimes less is more in terms of the description of meals, I have learned,) we had a delicious meal, full of flavors. I had the hoisin & honey glazed duck confit with sweet stickly rice, mango,cashews, young coconut milk. I can highly recommend that; I cleaned my plate. I kind of felt a little bit like a pig, actually, but I didn't have an appetizer, and I was on my second glass of prosecco by the time the food was served. So it was probably better that I cleaned my plate. I had really fallen out of touch with these friends, and it was only at the beginning of this year that we started hanging out again, so it was nice that we ended the year together as well.

After that, I headed over to the Kirkland Cafe. That was after calling PunkRockMom to say "I am lost in Somerville after dark again. Get me out of here!!" It turned out that I was lost in the exact same area that I was lost the LAST time I called PRM when I was lost in Somerville. I think that I am actually finally getting the lay of the land now because I realized that I was lost in the same place; it only took ten years.

ANYHOW, the point of going to the Kirkland was to see the reunited Allstonians play their first gig in ages. Back in the heyday of ska, when bands like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Big D and the Kids Table and Skavoovie and the Epitones were bringing the dancehall beat around the country, before bands like Reel Big Fish, No Doubt and Save Ferris began the trend of watering down the sound, these guys from Allston really did Boston proud. Last night, their set was fantastic, and it was cool to see some of the old school supporters there, many of whom I haven't seen in four or five years. When the Allstonians first started playing , there were only a couple of us on the dance floor. (JR and I were actually dancing in the bar area, which was verboten by the regulars at the Common Ground, back in the day.) But by the third song, there were people full out skanking on the floor in between the tables. It was old school, and it was fun. JR's boyfriend got called up to help D-Train sing "Allston Beat," and the encore was "Allston, Mass," an anthem for not only the neighborhood, but an anthem for our youth.

As it was getting pretty late and I had to work today, I headed out right after the encore, but not before remarking to keyboardist Nigel Knucklehead that I felt ten years younger. The music is so intimately connected to a particular period of my life, and it brought a whole slew of feelings of youth and hope and promise to the surface that I haven't felt in ages. I could have stayed up all night riding that high.

Seven Things

I haven't really posted a well-rounded entry in a little bit, so I am going to write a "Seven Things" catch-up post.

1. I really think that my employer should just send us home for the remainder of this week... and most of next week too. The phone doesn't ring. Nobody is stopping in. Nobody seems very interested in even following up on e-mail. I went to a vocal performance at lunchtime...and would really like to take a nap right about now. Co-Worker Nina is out today with a cough so the day seems like it is going by very slowly, despite the Christmas carols on iTunes.

2. I took a half day yesterday in order to start my Christmas shopping. Yes, START. What can I say? I am a procrastinator when it comes to Christmas. I love the music, I love the food, I love the television, but I cannot stand heading to the mall during the holiday season. Fortunately, I had a general idea of what I was going to buy my family... er, well, at least where I was going to buy their gifts anyhow. I ended up spending the night packaging up presents while making homemade chicken soup and doing two loads of laundry. It was a very productive day. Go me, go me!

2a. Rather than going back to the mall today, I have to T it up to Harvard Square to finish the rest of my shopping. I also want to try to get Christmas puddings at Cardullo's. I still don't have a real handle on the new system for buying fares for the T. It's like they want to be like a real city with a real transportation system, but somehow it still feels like a little kid running around in mom's high heels.

3. Having gotten lost not once, twice, but three times, I spent a fabulous evening at a holiday party at my friend MH's house in Hingham on Saturday night. I haven't been there since the beginning of the summer, shortly after she and her husband (CC) purchased it. It is GORGEOUS and looks like it should be featured in the West Elm catalog. It wasn't a very large party, but it was people from all different areas of the hosts' lives (MH and I are friends/roommates from college)... and yet, 10 out of the 12 of the guests there were from Connecticut...all over the state. It was SO random and so cool at the same time. I really like CC's friends and hope that I get another chance to hang out with them.

4. So I spent two nights last week (Tuesday and Saturday) out and about long past my bedtime. (MP: no follow-up from my Tuesday night companion, which is disappointing, but at least this is a consistant pattern of behavior. Michelle says either I am going to have to get some patience or let this one go. My response to both of those options is "no" so clearly I am going to be having some problems with this.) ;-)

To catch up on my lost sleep, I have been to bed before 10pm every night this week; I just can't keep my eyes open any later. My life without caffeine is sucking so bad, and my teeth STILL giving me problems. Except these particular hurty teeth are part of a whole new problem called: "I am so stressed out by Christmas that I am going to grind my teeth into a pulp while I sleep." I think that I am going to have to suck it up in the New Year and buy myself a nightguard. Otherwise, I might end up doing Polident commercials in my old age.

5. I now am the owner of not one, but TWO, Slinky Juniors: a purple one and an orange one. I think that I might have to race them down the stairs next week when no one is around... (see item 1) I should come up with some fun gifty things to bring in to work for people next week. I really do wish that I wasn't quite so far behind with things this year.

6. Is anyone else missing tv? Everything on lately is repeats. I watched "House" reruns last night, as there wasn't even a "Veronica Mars" rerun on. I like House... wellll, I like Hugh Laurie :-) but he is no Veronica. I was checking entertainment blogs earlier today and new shows aren't going to be on again until mid-January. Is this a new development? Are the networks ordering fewer episodes? Because I remember new episodes right up until Christmas and then a few reruns during the Christmas week and then back in to your regular scheduled programming in time for MLK weekend.

My personal favorite is when I catch myself watching films that I own on dvd on tv...with the commercials. I don't know why I can't be bothered to go put in the film and watch it without the commercials. Maybe I just like the option of being able to change the channel if I want to. I have some films that I really want to see coming from Netflix this week: Mrs. Palfrey at the Clairmont, Lady in the Water, Scoop; so that is something to look forward to for tonight.

7. Tomorrow night, I am going out with some old work friends for dinner at Redbones, where I have never been. Nothing like a little barbeque at Christmastime; makes me feel like I belong in the cast of Steel Magnolias. I have to stop reading the menu; it is making me horribly hungry. These Lean Cuisines are just not cutting it. I am totally having pulled pork... and hush puppies... and mac and cheese. Screw the diet. (Question: would it be horribly gauche to order a cocktail with one's barbeque or should one stick to Coronas?) Then I am meeting other friends to see a friend's band at the Kirkwood Cafe: The Allstonians, who are reunited with original lead singer King K. It is going to be a HOOT. Hopefully I won't end up feeling too old. ;-)

So that is the big picture of what has been going on with me. Holiday greetings and blessings to all of you.

Broadway Bound

This link to You Tube nearly had me fall out of my chair this morning. It is Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Segal from "How I Met Your Mother" singing from Les Miserables on the Megan Mullally show. It is priceless. Like MasterCard priceless. (I knew NPH was "Broadway", but the Segal guy is really good too.)

I have watched one episode of "How I Met Your Mother" in the past two years it has been on the air. I am going to start watching next week.

Trying to fight "The Man"

I have been suffering from acid issues all day today, but the good news is it isn't because I was drinking soda. YAY!! Back to the Diet Coke, which I initially thought was to blame! Stupid stress and raw onions in breakfast burritos. DOH! Who puts raw onions in breakfast burritos??

I have to warn you that I am having one of my "I hate people" days. I have been eating all day; I am going to explode. Francisco, who is the waiter working my event, just laughs at me. He also told me that I was so bored that I was being boring. Sad thing is, he is right. I think that he rocks, plus he has a very interesting story, having emigrated from Mexico to come here to study. In Mexico, he taught in university; here he is a waiter. Ahh, the American dream. (But he is practicing his English and that is important to him.)

My beloved student worker Protégé is going to come back to work for us in the spring semester. YAY!!! That is the best news of the week, even better than my Coke news.

I had nightmares all night that I was being pursued by a serial killer. I even woke up and fell back to sleep in the same dream. And I keep having dreams that I am friends with Amanda Palmer from the Dresden Dolls, but not last night. Serial killer.

That is my randomness, and this is just the first day my three day hell week!! I am hoping that Punk Rock Mom might join me for chamomile cocktails at Rendezvous after work on Friday, but as of right now, I just want to go to bed. But I might feel differently on Friday; it is so far away.

Steal food, spread disease, but save room for the pumpkin pie

There was a commercial for a program about the Mayflower on the History Channel with William Shatner thanking the Pilgrims for starting a land where there would be religious freedom (he's Jewish.)

And I felt the need to rant at the tv, "Why the hell are you thanking the Pilgrims? They came here so that they could repress everyone else!! They are STILL repressing us!!!! We have a scary Purtian work ethic, and New Englanders are MEAN. GAH!!!!!!!"

Then I had to change the channel because clearly I have issues. Thank goodness I was alone when this happened or someone might have started to worry about me.

Paved paradise, put up a parking lot

I was saddened to read on Boston.com today that my beloved Virgin Mega Recordstore at 360 Newbury Street is going to be replaced with a Best Buy.

I was under the impression that they were looking for something a little more upscale. Clearly, I was wrong. I am sure that the people who bought those million dollar condos upstairs are just thrilled. The not only have living right over the Mass Pike to deal with, but a mini mall downstairs.

I wonder if they are starting to rethink the fabulousness of living there; I sure would.

Bringing in the sunshine

I was feeling rather down yesterday after work. I had had a series of diappointments over the course of the day, some large scale, some not so large scale. So I headed off to Whole Foods to buy myself a little pick me up.

I ended up with some "emergency cheese" (which is exactly what it sounds like, cheese to eat during emotional emergencies) and some calla lillies and orchids which I arranged together in a vase when I got home.

Surprize Me

Lately, I have been rather down on the human race. It is kind of hard not to be what with the stories that have been in the media lately. But something has happened to reaffirm my faith in humanity. Yesterday would have been my brother's 30th birthday, and I think that all of us were pretty down in our own way. I went out after work and bought myself a present, which is kind of funny as during the first few years of his life I had "decided" that my brother didn't really appreciate presents that were given to him and I would take them for myself. Ah, to be the older sister.

Anyhow, my parents, in particular my father, were feeling particularly down, and they had decided that they were going to go out to the movies to see Man of the Year, in an attempt to lift their spirits. Before they could leave though, the doorbell rang. At the back door, with a rose for my mom, was one of my brother's friends from high school. He stayed for about an hour, updating my folks about the old high school gang and reminiscing about fun times he had had with my brother. He told them that there were a lot of times that he thought about my brother and "talked" out difficult decisions with him.

It was incredibly thoughtful and moved both of my parents greatly. It also really moved me. I used to wonder if this particular guy was going to self-destruct during high school and to hear about how kind he was to my parents yesterday just filled me with an incredible feeling of HOPE.

Man's inhumanity to man

Things going on in the world seem so dark these days. Between the school shootings, the perve incident with Congressman Foley (he is one NASTY piece of work,) the torture policy legislation being passed, and the fact that the price of gasoline has dropped $.70 over the past month (just in time for the mid-term elections...,) there is a large part of me that is simply horrified to be an American.

And I love being an American, despite all the evidence to the contrary. I love living in the City of Boston, home of the American Revolution. I love hot dogs and baseball, fireworks on the Fourth of July, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, apple pie and the Smithsonian Institute. I just don't particularly care for the way that America is running its business at the moment. Hopefully that will change significantly after the second Tuesday in November.

I spent last night at a Yom Kippur break fast with my friend JR and assorted other members of our urban family. And on the drive home, I gave some considerable thought as to how lucky I am to have such wonderful friends around me, who reaffirm my belief that there is good in the world, that there are people who have open minds, open hearts and open homes for each other.

My Angst has a Soundtrack

Co-Worker Nina and I are all alone in the office this afternoon. We have been passing the time by playing the world's saddest songs for each other.

The standing comment is: "This song makes me want to kill myself... I LOVE IT!"

So far, REM's "Everybody Hurts" is winning for most depressing song ever.

Back in session

Well, it looks like summer is really finally over. The students are back to school, and all the traffic is back to its pre-summer conditions, which makes for a little bit less than smooth sailing on the ride in to work. That just means that I will have to stop lollygagging in the morning, watching "Buffy" on FX while trying to wake up out of my sleep stupor.

August was pretty wonderful weather wise, sunny and cooler. Most importantly, it wasn't so overwhelmingly hot that I thought I was going to have to kill myself or that I was going to go broke trying to cool my apartment, which is how much of July was. Now that September is here, it really is on the cooler side. I just wish that the sun would come out. This can't still be residual Ernesto, can it?

I bought three pairs of shoes at DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse) over the weekend, which probably wasn't the most fiscally responsible move I have ever made. Two of the three pairs though are actually replacing pairs of shoes that have seen better days, and all three pairs are (event) work appropriate. I got a pair of simple Life Stride black loafers, a pair of cognac colored Nine West ankle boots and a pair of black Mudd Mary Janes with kitten heels that are SO cute. Of course, I still have the problem that I really don't have ANY weekend loaf around shoes other than boots and red pseudo bowling shoes that I got at Payless ages ago. But I have resisted all temptation to buy more Chuck Taylors, which do NOT fit into the plan of only buying shoes that match my new "adult" attitude, which I don't really have, but am still working on.

I liked all of today's 5 Things to be Happy About, so I thought that I would share:

the soft, cool feel of flour
bagpipe music
pens clicking open
a footbridge creaking
red wine's earthy aroma

What is the nature of your emergency?

For the second time in the past five days, I was awakened at 2am by craziness going on outside my building. The first was the spillover of a party next door on Friday night. I was annoyed, a lot, but it is to be expected with the students back in town, and the weather still being fairly warm. It is something that you try to learn to cope with when you live among students and your bedroom is on the second floor, street side of the building.

Last night was a bit different. I was awakened by the voice of a young woman sobbing, repeatedly yelling, "Why are you doing this?" to which a young man responded in an unpleasant voice, "Kelly, come over here." It made me really uncomfortable as I listened to it continue, so I called 9-11 to report the disturbance.

Apparently, the police did come out, but they couldn't find the couple. The dispatcher ended up calling me back about twenty minutes after my call to see if I could see them. I couldn't, but then again, I hadn't been able to see them through the trees earlier; I just heard them. Maybe that is why it freaked me out so much, these disembodied voices yelling at each other. Maybe I have watched one too many horror flicks.

It probably was a bit extreme to call the police, but if the girl had been in real trouble then I know that she would have appreciated it. On the other hand, if the couple was just being very drunk and disorderly, well, then they would learn a tough lesson about respecting one's neighbors. In the end, I said to the dispatcher that I hoped that they were okay, and I meant it.

Several years ago, there was a huge drunken fight in my building. No one called the police even though there were at least two other apartments occupied besides mine and the combatants, and one of the pugilists ended up being thrown through, first, a wooden door and then, a glass paned door. I always felt bad that I didn't get involved in preventing that, even though it wasn't "my responsibility." Other people were home, and they didn't get involved either. Our society is so individualized these days; people don't want to get involved in other people's drama. This I can understand, but how far do we let the drama go before we assume responsibility as a fellow member of the community?

I don't have any answers after last night. I am just left with lots of questions, going through an overtired mind.

Celebration Time, Come On

On July 13th, JR and I headed over to Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain to partake in the 8th Annual Lantern Festival.
The blurb from the website reads:

The Lantern Festival
Once a year, Forest Hills hosts the Lantern Festival, an extraordinary community event attended by 3,000 people in 2000. Inspired by Buddhist traditions, this non-denominational ceremony offers a magical way to remember family and friends. After enjoying a program of music and dance, people inscribe the paper shades of simple wooden lanterns with greetings. At dusk, we light the lanterns and watch them float across Lake Hibiscus, bearing their messages to the world of the spirits.

I love Forest Hills Cemetery. It is a gorgeous Victorian garden cemetery, and I love poking about in it... well, except for the one time I spent two unsuccessful hours searching for ee cummings grave; I still haven't found it. However, I had never been to an event there, and I was a little bit concerned about it. I didn't know if it was going to be a somber sort of thing, but it was quite the opposite. There was dancing, loud ceremonial drumming, bagpipes, people running around with kids and dogs and picnicing on the lawn with candles and wine. It really was both a celebration of life as well as a memorial for those who have passed away. It also inspired me to think again on my PhD which I will never get: in funerary customs and spirituality in Victorian England.

We are SO going again next year with a large group of people, but this year we really just scoped it out, getting a sense of things. Next year, I will even get a lantern. I was just glad that we had the foresight to bring bugspray, because once the sun went down, things got a little buggy. I also did a funny Buffy impersonation, but I was missing a "Mr. Pointy" stake. As we left the cemetery in the dark, I have to admit that I was kind of glad that vampires aren't really real.

I'm hung up... on Madonna

I personally think that it is impossible for an American girl of a certain age to not have been extremely influenced by Madonna growing up. She was everywhere, and there was nothing like her. I recall being driven out to the mall on several ocassions just so that I could increase my amount of those jelly rubber bracelets that she made so popular in the mid/late Eighties. There were bright summer days where we all sat inside watching MTV, hoping for another glance of the "Lucky Star" video. The music, the changing style, the revolving door of celebrity boyfriends, the yoga, the single mom-dom, Kabbalah - that's Madonna. Pushing the envelope of social convention and giving the finger to her critics - that's Madonna. She's a unique feminist, a pop-icon power house, and on Thursday night, I spent my evening in her world.

It was the first night of a three night engagement at the Boston Garden, and the place was packed and totally energized. There was just so much Madge love in that place. People were "dressed," and there were a lot of tee shirts from Madonna tours of the past. People were prepared to love this concert, and Madonna didn't disappoint. Neither did our tickets, which were on the floor in the back, making it possible to see the images on the screens all over the stage, as well as Mrs. Ritchie herself who came strutting out onto the catwalk in almost all of her numbers. (Thank God, I got my new glasses last week; I was able to see her FACE!!)

It was a complete spectacle, like a big-time Broadway show meets a Las Vegas magic act. With effects such as disco balls, kalescope Madonnas, equestrine dominatrix gear, a rhinestone-studded, black leather merry-go-round horse, giant crucifix, jungle gym athletics, dancers in bhurkas, roller skates, the show touched on Madonna's personal life (X-rays from her riding accident) to political problems in the USA (shots of political bad'duns, including Bush, Rice and Cheney along with Hussein, bin Laden and Co.) and global issues of concern (African AIDS orphans.) The senses were assalted with sounds and imagery, and the audience welcomed it, rising to their feet from the first number until the end two hours later. (My legs were SORE from wearing, and dancing, in fancy heels.)

Madonna looks amazing. She looks even more amazing considering that she is 47. By the time they got more than halfway through the show, I started to get thigh and arm envy, and then, I got really depressed. The depression passed when I contemplated that it probably has been 20 years since she ate pizza and drank a glass of wine.

The set list featured: Future Lovers // I Feel Love (Donna Summer cover) // Get Together // Like a Virgin // Jump // Live to Tell // Forbidden Love // Isaac // Sorry // Like It Or Not // Sorry // I Love New York // Ray of Light // Let It Will Be // Drowned World/Substitute for Love // Paradise [Not For Me] // (Disco Inferno) Music // Erotica // La Isla Bonita // Lucky Star // Hung Up

(The last I heard, there are still tickets for today's show.)

Workin' for the Weekend

On Friday night, I went to see The Devil Wears Prada. I really enjoyed it, but I left the theater feeling both fat and ugly which is NOT the kind of experience you want to have at the movies. The clothes and accessories, on the other hand, had me at "hello." OMG, how I needwant a Marc Jacobs tote.

This image about sums up my Saturday. SOB SOB ::pets the bump on Terry's head::


Sunday I took an hour and forty-five minute nap and then cleaned like a maniac. I had no idea my house was so untidy and dusty. It was so nice to wake up this morning and see how clean everything is now. It makes for a far less stressful Monday at work where this place is virtually empty.

Here is a link to the unaired pilot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer... before the role of Willow was recast by Alyson Hannigan. It would have been a whole different Buffy.

Here comes the rain again...again

The skies are about to open up on the city of Boston and the sky is crackling with thunder and lightning. Guess who didn't bring her umbrella to work today?? ::DOH:: This all comes from not believing the weather people on tv. And of course, I am wearing a white skirt. A white, dry clean only skirt.

Old Navy is selling some really cute tank tops this season. The great thing about these tanks is that they are LONG, for those of us who would prefer NOT to show off our navel or our bums. The ones that I really like are v-necked layering tanks and come in awesome colors. (I got Paradise Blue and Pink Cadillac.) I also really like the basic camis, which have some stretch to them and make them perfect for layering under a blouse for work. These tanks also are very reasonably priced. I got six tanks and ended up spending about $30 for them.

H2O

I made a resolution to start drinking 8 8oz glasses of water a day, which started yesterday. Unfortunately, the resolution started yesterday afternoon, and I spent a lot of time running back and forth from my desk to the ladies' room. Lesson learned, and now I am spreading out my water consumption over the course of the day. I am going to be thin and healthy, damn it. ::shakes fist at the sky::

I had to go to the UPS office this morning to pick up a package that they were holding for me. It took ages for them to find it, but when I was leaving, late for work, I got to see the fleet of brown UPS trucks leaving the parking lot, truck after truck in tandem, ready to deliver all sorts of goodies to people in the greater Boston area. I wonder what they got.

Summer of Doing Stuff, Part I

Last night featured the first event in what is hereforeward to be called "The Summer of Doing Stuff" (technical term.) The evening began with Scarlet, Moneypenny and I going out to Silvertone for the highly delicious (and caloric, but hey! it's summer!) macaroni and cheese (and a side of greens,) which Moneypenny and I washed down with Sidecars, while Scarlet partook of the Bud Light. Don't be fooled, true believers, this wasn't just a night of drunken debauchery; this was a night for culture, philosophy, art, relationships, sports, and how if Moneypenny ends up working at Starbucks that personal caffeine consumption would be at an all time high.

My favorite topic of the evening was the lengthy discussion of "Why Can't Women Break Up With Their Girl Friends If They Don't Get Along/Have Grown Apart/Have Gone Psycho???" I could probably write a blog entry on that subject alone, but instead I am going to leave that for my readers to comment on, if they so choose.

Now don't get me wrong, the night wasn't all quite so highbrow; after the third round was served, we delved into fandoms and Mary Sues, not to mention teh hawt-ness that is Varitek and teh awesome that is Big Papi. And Sark. And vampire novels. And "Supernatural", which I still don't watch, but as it has Jeffrey Dean Morgan aka "Denny ::sobsob::", I might have to sign on to that one.

Now Scarlet has started a bit of a summer reading recommendation challenge, despite the fact that I told her about the entire bookshelf of books that I still have to read and can't take on any new books. But then again, I can be up for this challenge as re-runs aren't my idea of summer fun.

And so:
Let's start a meme! What books/fanfic/comic do you recommend as must reads? Can be anything and for any reason...
1. The Griffin and Sabine trilogy and The Morning Star Trilogy by Nick Bantock. I simply love these books of existential correspondence between people who have never met, and yet, who are completely connected. It isn't just the story that is compelling; there is the tactile nature of the book - reading the actual letters and postcards. The illustrations are beautiful and multi-layered.

Holiday Weekend

I haven't posted much of late, mostly due to being too lazy and not having all that much to reflect on.

This weekend, however, I was utterly rejuvenated by my college core group of friends. "Raquel", "Molly" and I headed out to Nantucket on Saturday morning to meet up with "JLou" and "Suzer" and "Jo" to have a pre-10 year reunion (this coming Saturday,) "Suite 102" reunion. We reminisced about school, napped, watched cheesy Lifetime television movies about teenagers and sex and syphilis, tried to find a baby name for Raquel's unborn child (due in July,) Googled to find a father for Jo's baby (with her partner,) ate TONS of dip and crackers and Peanut Butter M&Ms, went to the beach, drove around town looking for boys designated by code names like "Levy" and "Blue Devil", talked about bad and good things going on with our lives, and basically laughed and laughed until I got the hiccups and started to cry from laughing so hard.

When I got back after the seven hour commute from the island, I discovered that my apartment was an oven, so I threw open all the windows and made some iced tea, the first of the season! Then I watched Stage Beauty, which I found surprisingly good... surprising because I have been disappointed by much of Claire Danes work post "My So-Called Life", but she was very good, and Billy Crudup, despite the whole break up with (goddess) Mary Louise Parker, was really outstanding! I had forgotten that I had done a whole research project my sophomore year of college about men as women on the stage in Elizabethan and Jacobean England (from a costuming perspective), and there was so much in the film that resonated with my (long-forgotten) research. The last 15 minutes of the film was really great - the rehearsal and ultimately the "truest" performance of Othello. I need to see some Shakespeare live; it has been too long.

After such a great time, I feel the absence of my friends, but I also have the reserves to attack this week and make it a great one. And anyhow, I will see most of them again on Saturday at the reunion!

Springtime, a ringy dingy ding time... birds sing...

I went outside for a walk up Massachusetts Avenue today to run something up to the hotel for a visitor, and I didn't want to come back to the office afterwards. The weather outside is sunny and mild and simply perfect. Everyone I talk to agrees that it is so nice to have spring in New England again, despite the doom and gloom of the Channel 5 news last night talking about brush fires and bugs. Brush fires and bugs are nothing in comparison to daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and robins building their nests. And I don't even LIKE birds.

I keep forgetting my coat places. I think that it is because when I go to the places it still is on the cooler side, but when it is time to leave, the day has really warmed up, and I just don't THINK "I had a coat when I came in because it was cool." Yesterday I had to drive all the way back to Concord from Cambridge because I realised that I had left my coat at our book club hostess' house. Thankfully, I remembered it before I got COMPLETELY home.

At book club yesterday, where we BARELY talked about the book, the subject of clothing sizes (including the clothing conspiracy that I mentioned in my previous post) and dieting and exercise was a hot topic for discussion. I really need to drink more water and start driving less and walking more. I have been so bad about going to the gym since my bad cold at the beginning of March, but I am going to go workout today after work. I had been going for exercise walks outside, but there is something about the pace on the treadmill or on the elliptical machine that can't be duplicated when you are walking outside. And I really need to back on the caffiene again, although I am NO WHERE NEARLY as bad as I was a couple of years ago. One large coffee and one 12 oz can of Diet Coke a day really isn't bad in comparison to the 3-4 liters that I was drinking per afternoon of the stuff. But I would like to be in better shape for my 10 year college reunion next month, so that when we climb all those stairs at the Cross, I won't have a heart attack or stroke. Not eating crap at meals and getting more sleep probably wouldn't hurt either.

I haven't really said all that much lately about things going on in the world or with the US government, mostly because I just find everything too absurd to try to make sense of it all. My standard MO is just to shake my head woefully. For I am indeed, full of "woe"; I am also full of "whoa."

Ramble on

I really like the new Dresden Dolls album. I have been listening to it a lot in the car on my early morning/late evening commutes to and from the office. I have been spending a lot of time at the office of late. The really sad thing I realized this morning: I had put on my name tag before I even left the house and I didn't bother taking it off during the time that I popped out of my event to run up to the office to answer e-mail and harass people about their details for their upcoming events. I am either getting really lazy or I am building up a tolerance to self-identification. Let's hope it is the former rather than the latter.

I thought that I had found a new place to live, but I don't think that it is going to work out (it's just too much money for a three flight walk-up,) which means I get to spend another Sunday going to open houses in Brookline... It is so horribly frustrating. I HATE spending my Sundays looking at crappy places and coming home utterly disappointed by aforementioned crap. I honestly wish that I could just pick my apartment up, like some benevolent giant, and move it to a nice quiet area within walking distance to Coolidge Corner. I don't think that is asking all that much, but apparently, it is. The good thing is, every day is a fresh start with promise in the house hunt. And I am not being sarcastic; every day something new comes on the market that outwardly meets my criteria. When I realized I couldn't buy the place that I really liked, I drank two Stella Artois, said to myself "fuck it" and got over it surprisingly easy, and that wasn't the beer talking. It makes a difference that I can take my time with this; the first time I bought, I was facing an expiring lease!!

The weather has been utterly springlike this past month, and it is absolutely wonderful.
Here are some other wonderful things:
* Peter Pan
* sharing silence with a kindred soul
* unabridged dictionaries
* a standing ovation
* tolerance

et in Arcadia ego

While I was walking from the parking lot at work to my office, I passed a large delivery truck with the company name "Christian Party Rentals" painted on the sides. Intrigued by this, I peeked into the open back to see what they could have been delivering, but sadly, the truck was empty. Christian Party Rentals: hmm. Do they rent Christian parties? Or do they rent tables and linens, etc. to people who are planning parties with a Christian theme? What happens if someone comes who is Jewish or Muslim? Does the stuff have to go back as it isn't a strictly Christian party? Or is it okay to have an eccumenical party? The mind boogles with these large existential issues before the first cup of Starbucks.

I am wearing my outfit that makes me feel like a combination of Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly: pink three quarter length sleeve boucle cardigan over a white shell, black swirly skirt with black heels. Wearing that with my sunglasses, my black boucle lady coat and carrying my pink Kate Spade purse when I was walking in made me feel like I belonged in Paris, in the 1950s. April in Paris, chestnuts in blossom... so tempting... and yet, not. Maybe if it were the 1950s.

Airport security: feel the irony

A shout out and props to whomever has to travel a lot, either for work or life because I think that the airports on the eastern coast of the United States of America are the most ridiculous, mismanaged thing on the planet. The local 7-11 is better run!

Spent yesterday being personally searched as I was chosen "at random by the airline" to be one of the potential terrorists attacking the airport. I noticed that none of the people chosen randomly by the airline to be my fellow potential terrorists were elderly people or traveling with young children, just a lot of single women traveling on their own. Hmmm, yes, I suppose that we single women traveling alone ARE a threat: we could get all crazy and premenstrual on the flight attendant. SNORT. I sure wouldn't have wanted to be the TSA man who got the personal treat of going through my carry-on bag; it was full of dirty laundry.

I flew into and out of Heathrow three years ago while there were tanks on the tarmac as a security precaution, and I was treated better, less incovenienced and felt safer than I do flying around the US now. First off, there is no standard code followed by all of the airports: case in point - some people make you take your shoes off, others don't (stupid shoe bomber, I would SO like to kick your ass.) Next, in my experience, the people who work security for TSA are NOT happy employees, and, therefore, they take it out on their customers, ie. the traveler. I am convinced that some of those people are on a major power trip. Also, why do two separate TSA inspectors have to look at your I.D.? Thank goodness they have stopped doing the triple check at the gate. I am convinced that one of these days I am going to lose my driver's license at an airport, and THEN where will I be? Lastly, if you are going to subject someone to "the Full Monty" as my inspector jokingly referred to it, don't keep them waiting in line for fifteen minutes before you "get to them." It doesn't make for a happy traveler.

I know that these new procedures are supposed to make things better and safer for travelers, but I really think that the Europeans, who have been more actively concerned with terrorism in their airports for longer than we have in the US, are a model at which we need to take a long and serious look.

New household addition

Yesterday, my new Kenmore dishwasher was installed. I have christened it "Supah Klean" to along along with its sister, Supah Kool (the refridgerator.) I was home for about three hours with the plumpers and then the electricians. Sometimes I think that I made the wrong career decision. Those plumbers sure make a lot of money, and everyone sits around waiting for them.

I ended up having to unscrew the bottom panel of the dishwasher and reposition the springs that hold the door because it wouldn't lay horizontal. Somewhere between the late arrival of the electricians and the electricans leaving the setting was changed because it didn't have that problem when the plumbers left, and I spent an hour alone with my new dishwasher with the fancy basket for the cutlery and the special holders for stemware. New appliance smell is a happy one.

Anyhow, I realised after having fixed the springs that one of the best things that ever happened to me was being taught how to use an electric screwdriver/drill. One was put in my hand my senior year of college when we were building sets for our production of My Fair Lady (I was Mrs. Pearce, the housekeeper,) and I haven't looked back since. It is good to have tools in one's home and to know how to use them. It makes you very independent. I really am the most handy kid in our family. Makes me wonder if in another life I would have done well as a mechanical engineer.

...NAHHHH

March (Hare) Madness

I have to love the people I work with, especially my coworker. She knows that I am not a big fan of my birthday (it's the nine year old in me that just refuses to grow up,) so instead of throwing me a birthday party at work tomorrow on my actual birthday, she and our friend AB arranged to have an "Un-birthday" party for me today that was actually an early Happy 80th birthday tea party for Queen Elizabeth II, complete with tea and biccies and photos of the Queen. I found out about this about a half an hour before the actual party, so I brought a photo of corgis with me. Instead of singing "Happy Birthday," we sang "God Save the Queen" and spoke in English accents for a half an hour.

So see everyone... it isn't just me... the craziness is ENCOURAGED!!! :-p

I ate WAY too many digestive biscuits... but they are so tasty... and people who had never had them before were surprised that they were so tasty. Hmmm, this Anglophilia might just be spreading... MWAHAHAHA!!

No more sick days!

I can actually breathe and talk again without coughing like a maniac. :-) And the doctor's office called, and I don't have pneumonia!!

There is nothing like being home sick for a week to put things into perspective.
1. Going to the doctor's is a good thing and should not be put off until you are convinced that you might actually have pneumonia.
2. There is nothing good on television during the day, even on the Encore channels. It is good to have a dvd collection stocked with one's favorite films that one has seen a million times so that it is okay if you fall asleep and miss part of the film.
3. Going stir crazy will eventually happen, regardless of how crummy you actually feel. It is good to have nice friends who come over with Starbucks and bagels and eggs when you have spent the whole week drinking tea and chicken broth.
4. The value of clean sheets, towels and pajamas should not be underestimated. It isn't like one would put one's head in the oven if one didn't have them, but they sure make you feel better when you do.

My birthday is in nineteen days and the emotional meltdown is beginning already

Stuck in a meeting in a freezing cold room, so what am I doing? Blogging. Oh well. To each his own.

Somewhere in the mail there is a copy of "The Student Prince," which I returned to Netflix last week, but it hasn't gotten there yet. It's been a week, so I filed a missing disc report. I was afraid to do that because I am terrified that Netflix is going to think that I stole the movie. Which I didn't. Cause it was terrible. (Really, even with St. Roop and Robson.) I would have waited another day before reporting it, but I want Curse of the Were-Rabbit to be sent to me before the weekend. I just hope it turns up eventually, because I mailed that dvd in good faith, and now I feel a little bit guilty about it, like I failed Netflix in someway, even though I know that those feelings are utterly unfounded and ridiculous, especially since I read that Netflix deliberately stalls the orders of people who rent a high volume of films per month. On average, I rent about 9-10 dvds depending on the month; they're counting on people to rent about 5. I guess that makes me a "high volume" person, and I throw off the curve.
ETA: "just" received e-mail that Netflix JUST received this movie...HIGHLY SUSPECT!!

My ten year college reunion is coming up in June, and a woman in my class (with whom I became really friendly our senior year) and I have been e-mailing back and forth a bit about our misgivings regarding attending the events. Reading her e-mails are hysterical: she basically has all of the same concerns that I have, with all of the same corollating subtext. We aren't married (subtext: UNLOVED AND UNWANTED), no kids (subtext: BARREN AND UNFULFILLED), both are involved in academic administration (subtext: MAKE LESS MONEY THAN ALL OF THOSE LAWYERS IN OUR CLASS), and both of us feel we could really do with loosing about 15 pounds (subtext: PROBABLY COULD BENEFIT FROM LYPOSUCTION AND A MAKEOVER AT GUCCI.) The whole thing would be really funny if it weren't happening to us. We are both strong, smart, creative women, and yet, here we are, reduced in our own eyes to these Bridget Jones-like individuals, only without the Silk Cuts, the pervy boss and the mothers with the pickled gherkins.

The one positive thing that we both have in common is that we love to travel, and I have been thinking that is the way that I am going to show up at this reunion with my head held high.
Hypothetical conversation with Smug Married Classmate #1:
"Oh, look at your little toddlers... how sweeet! ::gag:: Now dahling, let me tell you about how I jetted away to Europe for the weekend two weeks ago, sweetie dahling." (subtext: I AM STILL FREE AND YOU ARE OLD AND BORING!!)

I am probably giving this way too much thought and emotionally overacting. It will probably be fine, and everyone will be very nice. It's just that there are all of the expectations of milestones that I feel that I should have reached that I haven't. The only one I am really disappointing is myself; I think that is the part that hurts the most because I SHOULDN'T be disappointed in the first place! Overall, I am happy; shouldn't that be enough?

Food, folks and fun

I went to exercise at the gym at lunctime. In retrospect, that was a bad idea. I didn't eat before I went, and after a half hour on the treadmill, my blood sugar totally crashed. Now I have that yucky "I had a blood sugar episode" feeling. I haven't had one in such a long time that I had forgotten how awful they are. Note to self: next time you exercise at lunch, have a Powerbar first.

Sassy McSassypants is back at work after being out on maternity leave. Thank goodness. I missed her. She and I had a fun chat earlier today about a formal work event that we are attending next Friday night. Basically, it came down to the outfits we are going to wear, and more importantly, how we are going to fit into those outfits. I suggested starving myself entirely until then, but Sassy suggested bypassing that and just getting some good underwear. She is full of good ideas; I am so glad she is back.

Mother was right... DOH!

I don't know if you were like me at all, but I spent a good portion of my adolesence basically telling my mother that the grass was blue and the sky was green. Everything she said or suggested, I would go right out and do the opposite, especially if it was something that related to the improvement of my overall appearance.

So it is rather interesting that now a good number of those ideas and suggestions that my mother had for improving my personal appearance I have embraced and practice on a regular basis.
"Put on some lipstick; it will brighten your face." (I don't wear make-up.)
"Why don't you dress up your outfit by putting on a pin?" (Pins are old-fashioned and therefore stupid.)
"Your hair would look nice if you curled it." (GAHHHH!!! You're driving me crazy!)
Yes, all of these suggestions were met with great opposition.

And now, I get up early so that I can curl my hair before work, either with hot rollers or a curling iron. I have a huge selection of pins, and I usually wear one on my sweater or blazer or suit jacket and have one on each of my coats. And I am a makeup junkie, with lipsticks and glosses spilling out of my purses, my desk, the glove box in my car, even my gym bag.

Sometimes I really hate that Mom was right after all. But mostly, I am glad that I can show her.

Nature

After shovelling my car out of a snow drift this morning, I noticed that there were a series of tiny, tiny footprints running back and forth under my car. ARGH. Rats. I hate hate hate them.

I would NEVER end up being the heroine of an Indiana Jones film. I would totally leave Indy to his fate with the creepy crawlies and would go off and find the neariest cantina serving martinis.

I also hate insects. Co-worker Nina and I have been trying to kill the world's largest fly that decided to make an appearance the office today.

I will never be mistaken for a Friend o'Animals.

Nicholas Sparks = cheese+love

Last night, I watched the film A Walk to Remember. Now I really liked the film The Notebook, which was based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks, and I kind of figured, you like one, you like them all.

Right?

Holy moly. A Walk to Remember was sappy, sentimental and BETTER THAN CRACK! It was the best cheesiest goodness that I have sampled in a while. All it needed was a big blue box of Kraft. And a box of tissues.

I am so picking up one of his paperbacks when I go on vacation at the end of March.

Maxxed Out

It is pretty commonly held that I have a real problem with using "retail therapy" as a way to compensate for unhappiness in my life. When I first got out of college, I bought sheets. Lots and lots of sheets for my new full bed. Most of these sheets were by Laura Ashley and were bought at full price. (I haven't bought new sheets in years, because I have so many of them now.)

Then I moved on to pajamas: flannel pajamas, silky pajamas, striped pajamas that looked like something a Victorian military officer would wear. Victoria's Secret to Old Navy, you name it; I bought it. (I also can't tell you the last time I bought new pajamas.)

Now, I am fixated on accessories, in particular pocketbooks. I mean purses, handbags in fabric, leather, and nylon. Designer names induce lust, and I spend significant portions of the lunch hour surfing through Kate Spade's and Nordstrom's websites.

So imagine my delight last night at the Natick Mall when I discovered The Maxx, which is basically TJ Maxx for just accessories. It was an Arcadian paradise in the middle of the suburban sprawl. I was in a state of bliss. And I did buy a new purse, which I got for less than half of what the big stores would have asked for it. I saved so much money, I bought myself a wallet to match.

And they say that I don't understand economics.

Toasts to all

Happy birthday to both Virginia Woolf and Robert Burns!

Today is Burns Day in Scotland, celebrated by Scots all over the world. I love having additional holidays to celebrate; it breaks up the monotony of working. In its honor, I am having hot chocolate with TWO marshmallows.

The color of the sky as far as I can see is cold gray

The weather this past week has been a bizarre combination of the middle of winter and the end of spring. So much so that getting dressed in the appropriate clothes for leaving the house every day has become a crap shoot, and you just KNOW that an evil cold is lying in wait for the one day that I decide to leave the house without my trusty winter hat with the ear flaps. We had below freezing and gray, warm with heavy winds and teaming rain, warm and sunny, cold and sunny and now today: snowstorm.

I give up. I am just going to keep the layers coming and leave my gloves in my pocketbook. And pray for the groundhog not to see his shadow.

The Cinema

In one of my more packrat-esque behaviors, I will admit that save all of the movie stubs from every movie I go to. I started this back in the 1980s with Ghostbusters and have been saving ever since. The older tickets are in a cardboard box hidden in my desk while the newer tickets are in a small wooden bowl from Bhutan that rests on the mantle over my fireplace.

Every now and again, I like to go through the tickets and track my movie attendance for the past few months. I did this over this past weekend when it was just too cold to leave the house. Last year, I went to the movies 24 times and saw 21 movies (I saw Phantom of the Opera, Sin City and Pride and Prejudice twice.) Seven of the movies were seen in January 2005; two were seen between June and August.

This got me thinking about the experience of seeing movies in the theater and how it really has fallen off quite a bit. Not just overall box office attendance, but my personal feelings about seeing films on the big screen. I can't decide if I am enjoying the films less or the theater experience less, but I don't really feel drawn to see movies in the theater anymore, especially with Netflix sending me new dvds all of the time. And I am really glad that I didn't spend $10 to see some of the movies that I end up renting. I think that it is worth it to see movies like Harry Potter or Chronicles of Narnia on the big screen, but the films with more intimate stories that I end up preferring, those are just fine to see at home on the television at your own pace without the talking, the cell phones ringing or the kids kicking the back of the chair.

I still love movies, don't get me wrong, I think that I will always love movies, but I really am hoping that 2006 has more to offer than 2005 did. If for no other reason than I need to get out of the house more!

Back to reality

Last night, I watched a bit of the Golden Globes pre-show and then the actual awards, although I was feeling rather under the weather so I wasn't paying 100% attention. In fact, I purposefully tuned out Joan Rivers on the TV Guide channel who, when speaking with Emma Thompson and Colin Firth, introduced Firth as Thompson's husband Greg Wise, was corrected by ET, and then started to talk to Firth about Pride and Prejudice, the film, in which he didn't appear. I was horrified!!! My poor lovelies. Granted Firth has looked better (in DESPERATE need of a shave,) but Joan, I think that all of those facelifts have done something to your BRAIN. There were a lot of British people there, Joan; next time, you might want to take me along to write your notecards. URGH.

Oddly, this year, I am not as into these awards as I have been in the past; then again, I have no one film that I was backing wholeheartedly. I was so pleased that both Rachel Weisz and George Clooney won supporting actor awards. Not only were they both deserving, but way to make a subtle political statement, Hollywood Foreign Press!! I was rooting for both The Constant Gardener and Pride and Prejudice,and basically anything else by or with British people (Mrs. Hendersen, "Girl in the Cafe".) I was out Britished of course, by Gwyneth Paltrow, who is perhaps the one American on the planet who wants to be English more than I do. Yes, we know that it is "Antony" dear, but let's remember that old "Saturday Night Live" monologue: you can do the accent, but you are still a Yank.

The temperature dropped 50 degrees on Saturday night. It wasn't pleasant. It still isn't pleasant. At least it is sunny. But I am glad that I have lined gloves.

Fit and Fabulous

At work, they have restarted the "Get Fit" program that they had last winter/spring. I participated on a team with several of my colleagues here, and I did pretty well. I wasn't "awesome athletic girl" by any stretch of the imagination, but I did do my minimum three hours a week of exercise that I was committed to, even when I was on vacation.

It was this program that made me realize that exercise actually makes you feel good and isn't something to be avoided at all costs. Imagine this coming from the person who is loathe to get off the couch during Masterpiece Theater to retreive the boiling water to make a cup of tea. I have also learned that the cross ramp machine is a really great place to burn off the stress of the day.

In a very ironic sort of way, I have been made the new team captain. Which is sort of funny, me being the team motivator, when it is the team itself that motivates me...ie. I am motivated by the guilt I will feel for letting the team down by NOT completing my required exercise time. This is why I never used to be a joiner in the first place; curse other people who rely on my help! ;)

I spent 50 minutes on the elipitical machine yesterday, and I felt REALLY good and am suffering no after-effects today. I was inspired during my workout to compile a couple of cardio mixes to distribute to my team, so not only will they be motivated, but they will be bribed with good music to exercise. Oh, how I love the rewards system.

Happy Mondays

Over the weekend, I had a couple of firsts. I had my first gathering at my place in the new year. I thought it was going to be a party, but then I was afraid it was going to be a soiree, so I was rather glad to get a few last minute RSVPs and have it be a gathering. It also was the first soiree/party/gathering I have ever had where I didn't eat too much, drink too much or generally get overly uptight about how the party was going and were people having a good time. I just let it develop on its own, and it worked out very nicely. There is a large part of me that is very "Martha Stewart, overly-controlling, things must be beautiful and perfect or else" when it comes to planning parties at my home, and I don't know how or why it happened, but somehow that got totally supressed. I just was utterly impressed with myself. I even didn't get all that upset that our team was slaughtered in Trivial Pursuit; dare I say that I might just be growing up?

Unfortunately, I didn't make it to any open houses yesterday. It wasn't just me though; I still hadn't gotten the e-mail of places to go from my realtor when I checked my e-mail at 11.00 am. Anyhow, I feel that cancels out all blame, and we have a fresh start again this week.

Last night I caught Raising Helen on cable, and after watching it, I realized that I have entirely all of the wrong shoes for a young urban woman. I am no longer the gal who hangs out with mods and punks and skinheads (albeit not the rascist kind,) and therefore I no longer need to wear Doc Martens to excess. I need to get me some fun, sexy and yet not painful footwear. The movie for me was an ode to shoes, and I am ready to start writing my own. [Also, how does John Corbett manage to get sexier the older he gets? He was so hot on "Northern Exposure", but now he is just hot and funny and nice. (I will never understand how Carrie let him go on "Sex and the City".)]

Where is OSHA when you need them?

I can't stop thinking about those poor people in West Virginia who lost their family members to the coal mine explosion. You would think that in 2006 we wouldn't still be using coal for fuel or that human beings wouldn't still be doing the mining; it seems so 1880s to me. Heck, it's so 1980s as well.

I was especially saddened to hear this morning that false reports got to the family members that their were 12 survivors and 1 casualty, when it is the other way around, and that man still isn't conscious. Nothing like giving people false hope, giving them a miracle and then yanking it away. That was really irresponsible.

But what disturbs me most was reading this on Boston.com:

The administration has called for cuts to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the agency has shed about 120 coal-industry enforcement jobs since 2002, according to statistics compiled by Democratic congressional aides.

After President Bush took office in 2001, the administration pulled back a series of regulations proposed under President Clinton, including the requirement to upgrade miners' emergency respiratory devices and to add more mine rescue teams.

Three years ago, the White House wanted to increase the legal level of breathable dust that miners could be exposed to, but it backed away in the face of congressional opposition. And Democrats have criticized Bush administration officials for going after relatively small fines against offenders; of the 208 citations issued at Sago Mine, nearly half carried the minimum fine of $60, and none amounted to more than $900.

Something about this situation parallels itself for me with what happened after Hurricane Katrina with the levees, even though some of the details are different, of course. Poor people, place without a strong local economy or big business to back up the community, and the government doesn't make security and safety a priority, despite the health and safety risks to the people providing this service. I am not under the delusion that life is fair, but it would be nice if it could be a little less hazardous.