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."