Last night was week 3 of the finalists. ACK!! I missed the first 4 performers: Jessica, Nadia, Bo, and Anwar, so I'm afraid I can't really stand behind my prediction of who will get eliminated tonight. But I did see the other 6 performers last night, and using those performances along with what I've seen so far, my prediction is that Anthony Federov will be eliminated.
At this point, I think all 10 of the performers have good - better than average - voices. I think Anthony will get eliminated because his performances the last few weeks have just been good, and not exceptional. Most of the other performers have had at least one performance where the audience, the judges, or I said "Wow!", but not Anthony. I think he has a wonderful tone to his voice, but his body language and stage presence seem less comfortable than the others.
The person with the least pleasing voice tone (to me) is Nicco Smith. Personally I would vote him off tonight, but I don't think the audience will because he has terrific stage presence. He moves around and works the audience, which in this case appears to be worth more than a pretty voice.
Of the 6 performances I saw last night, the most disappointing to me was Scott Saval. He usually does a really good job, but last night he seemed almost tentative during his song. It was a challenging piece to sing, as it had many large jumps from chest voice to falsetto and back, and I don't think it was a good choice for him. But I think it was a single non-Wow performance, whereas Anthony has had several non-Wow performances.
I'm sticking with my original prediction that Jessica, Carrie, and Nadia will be in the top 3 (weeks from now), and that tonight we will say "Buh-bye" to Anthony.
Later that night...
Okay, so I was totally wrong about who got eliminated. Anthony was not even in the bottom 3 tonight. Unfortunately, we had to say "Buh-bye" to Jessica, whom I think is a very good singer. I can't believe America voted her out, and left Nicco, Anthony, and Anwar in there. Oh well, so much for good taste.
On a totally different subject, the folks interested in buying our little place at the beach called tonight. We settled on an offer, and plan to complete the transaction this weekend, god-willing. Hopefully the property manager will be available on Saturday for an inspection and to do the necessary approval on the buyers. Hopefully it will all work out and we can finally be done with it. We have 'moved on' from that place, both physically and emotionally, so it will be good to pass it on to someone else.
The weather today was beautiful! Finally the sun showed itself and it was 68 degrees. I can not even begin to tell you how SICK I am of rain, drizzle and overcast skies. As you might have expected, I celebrated today's beauty by putting the top down on my car at lunch time, and driving home from work with it down, too. Pure enjoyment... Unfortunately, the forecast for Thurs, Fri, and Sat is cloudy skies and scattered showers. God, I can't wait for Spring to come.
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Winding Up The Week
I forgot to mention that last weekend was our 'entertaining at home' weekend... Our friends Robert & Liz came over Saturday night. Joe made homemade pizzas! But Robert & Liz got stuck in a terrible traffic jam and arrived an hour late. Unfortunately the pizzas weren't as good because they were baked, then came up to room temperature while we waited for Robert & Liz to arrive, then got warmed up again. But we had a great time visiting with them. We ate in the kitchen.
On Sunday our friends Ron & James came over. We had pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, peas, corn casserole, and biscuits. Unknown to us, pork tenderloin is one of their favorite meals, so it was a big hit. James brought a delicious apple pie, which we had a la mode. We ate in the kitchen and had a wonderful time catching up with these friends we don't see as often as we'd like. We also talked about plans for a trip to the shore with them and our friends Mike & Clark in late April or early May. (We've done this before and have always had a blast.)
My American Idol prediction was correct, and with hesitation we said "Buh-bye" to Mikalah. (Am I the only one who thinks she looks like Fran Drescher from 'The Nanny'?) I'm looking forward to this week's competition. I think all of the remaining singers are good, so it is going to be more difficult to predict each week's parting contestant.
We went to the shore this weekend. My company gave me (Good) Friday off, and Joe had some comp time, so we left at 11:30 Friday morning. After a late lunch at our favorite lunch spot Cafe Sole, we went to the grocery store and the video store, then headed back to the house.
We put up curtains in two of the bedrooms, Joe took a nap while I watched a little TV, and then we decided to drive down to Ocean City to have dinner at 'The Wharf', an all-you-can-eat buffet. The food is pretty good and the price is pretty reasonable. The place is decorated with all kinds of nautical stuff, from compasses to fishing nets, to oars, to barometers, to laterns - you name it. It's kind of kitchy, which of course appeals to us. Then we headed back to the house and watched one of our movies "The Motorcycle Diaries". Two pals from Argentina set off on a 5,000 mile tour of their continent on an old motorcycle. Rather than just being a scenic trip, it becomes a life-altering experience for both of them. I thought it was pretty good. Joe loved it. I thought it was too long. It seemed like it could have ended a few times. But perhaps I felt that way because the movie is in Spanish and we had to read the English subtitles.
Saturday we had an appointment to show the Li'l Retro Getaway (trailer) so I experimented with a product called Liqui-Sew to hem the curtains we needed to hang again after washing. It worked like a charm and before you knew it, we were over at the LRG, curtains hung, just waiting for the potential buyer to arrive. The sun had finally come out (even if only for half an hour) and it almost felt balmy, so we sat on the deck until they arrived. They loved the retro feel of the place, and one of them is a teacher who has lots of time off in the summer, so it seemed like a good fit. Tonight they called and said they are interested in buying, and will call us tomorrow to make an offer!
After showing the LRG we made a stop at a store where we picked up some inexpensive fabric and some beading. Revved up by my Liqui-Sew experience earlier in the day, I decided to make a pair of curtains. I couldn't believe how fast and easy it was! In the time it took for Joe to have a nap, I measured, cut, and Liqui-Sewed a pair of curtains AND began attaching the beading onto an old lamp shade. I put up the new curtains and a pair of store bought panels, for a total of 4 pairs of curtains in the house and 1 pair at the trailer. Mission: Accomplished!
After dinner at home we watched another movie "Connie & Carla", written by and starring Nia Vardalos from 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'. This was really cute! It's about these 2 girls who do a cabaret-style show in an airport lounge who accidentally witness a murder. In order to not be caught by the murderer, they decided to leave town and go somewhere unexpected... somewhere there is no cabaret-style shows where the killer would find them... like LA. They pretend to be drag queens at a West Hollywood bar and eventually talk the owner into making it a dinner theatre where they perform regularly. There were some really funny moments, and a LOT of Broadway musical renditions. Then we watched "Boat Trip" starring Cuba Gooding Jr. I had never even HEARD of this movie before, but Joe said he'd seen a trailer for it. It turned out to be cute too, but a bit sillier than "Connie & Carla". Cuba Gooding Jr and his buddy get 'accidentally' booked on a gay cruise instead of a straight singles cruise. You can imagine the characters they encounter and the antics that ensue.
This morning we had breakfast, cleaned up the house, and headed back home. We both showered and shaved, and got ready for Easter with the family. Joe's brother Louis and his wife Karen host Easter at their house every year. (Joe & I have Thanksgiving, and his sister Mary has Christmas.) We had a delicious honey baked ham, potato salad, macaroni salad, beans, sweet potato shuffle, green bean casserole, rolls, and deviled eggs. And candy. What would Easter be without candy? We all had a ball. It was really fun to have the family together, catch up on the kids' activities, and enjoy the afternoon.
So ends my week.
On Sunday our friends Ron & James came over. We had pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, peas, corn casserole, and biscuits. Unknown to us, pork tenderloin is one of their favorite meals, so it was a big hit. James brought a delicious apple pie, which we had a la mode. We ate in the kitchen and had a wonderful time catching up with these friends we don't see as often as we'd like. We also talked about plans for a trip to the shore with them and our friends Mike & Clark in late April or early May. (We've done this before and have always had a blast.)
My American Idol prediction was correct, and with hesitation we said "Buh-bye" to Mikalah. (Am I the only one who thinks she looks like Fran Drescher from 'The Nanny'?) I'm looking forward to this week's competition. I think all of the remaining singers are good, so it is going to be more difficult to predict each week's parting contestant.
We went to the shore this weekend. My company gave me (Good) Friday off, and Joe had some comp time, so we left at 11:30 Friday morning. After a late lunch at our favorite lunch spot Cafe Sole, we went to the grocery store and the video store, then headed back to the house.
We put up curtains in two of the bedrooms, Joe took a nap while I watched a little TV, and then we decided to drive down to Ocean City to have dinner at 'The Wharf', an all-you-can-eat buffet. The food is pretty good and the price is pretty reasonable. The place is decorated with all kinds of nautical stuff, from compasses to fishing nets, to oars, to barometers, to laterns - you name it. It's kind of kitchy, which of course appeals to us. Then we headed back to the house and watched one of our movies "The Motorcycle Diaries". Two pals from Argentina set off on a 5,000 mile tour of their continent on an old motorcycle. Rather than just being a scenic trip, it becomes a life-altering experience for both of them. I thought it was pretty good. Joe loved it. I thought it was too long. It seemed like it could have ended a few times. But perhaps I felt that way because the movie is in Spanish and we had to read the English subtitles.
Saturday we had an appointment to show the Li'l Retro Getaway (trailer) so I experimented with a product called Liqui-Sew to hem the curtains we needed to hang again after washing. It worked like a charm and before you knew it, we were over at the LRG, curtains hung, just waiting for the potential buyer to arrive. The sun had finally come out (even if only for half an hour) and it almost felt balmy, so we sat on the deck until they arrived. They loved the retro feel of the place, and one of them is a teacher who has lots of time off in the summer, so it seemed like a good fit. Tonight they called and said they are interested in buying, and will call us tomorrow to make an offer!
After showing the LRG we made a stop at a store where we picked up some inexpensive fabric and some beading. Revved up by my Liqui-Sew experience earlier in the day, I decided to make a pair of curtains. I couldn't believe how fast and easy it was! In the time it took for Joe to have a nap, I measured, cut, and Liqui-Sewed a pair of curtains AND began attaching the beading onto an old lamp shade. I put up the new curtains and a pair of store bought panels, for a total of 4 pairs of curtains in the house and 1 pair at the trailer. Mission: Accomplished!
After dinner at home we watched another movie "Connie & Carla", written by and starring Nia Vardalos from 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'. This was really cute! It's about these 2 girls who do a cabaret-style show in an airport lounge who accidentally witness a murder. In order to not be caught by the murderer, they decided to leave town and go somewhere unexpected... somewhere there is no cabaret-style shows where the killer would find them... like LA. They pretend to be drag queens at a West Hollywood bar and eventually talk the owner into making it a dinner theatre where they perform regularly. There were some really funny moments, and a LOT of Broadway musical renditions. Then we watched "Boat Trip" starring Cuba Gooding Jr. I had never even HEARD of this movie before, but Joe said he'd seen a trailer for it. It turned out to be cute too, but a bit sillier than "Connie & Carla". Cuba Gooding Jr and his buddy get 'accidentally' booked on a gay cruise instead of a straight singles cruise. You can imagine the characters they encounter and the antics that ensue.
This morning we had breakfast, cleaned up the house, and headed back home. We both showered and shaved, and got ready for Easter with the family. Joe's brother Louis and his wife Karen host Easter at their house every year. (Joe & I have Thanksgiving, and his sister Mary has Christmas.) We had a delicious honey baked ham, potato salad, macaroni salad, beans, sweet potato shuffle, green bean casserole, rolls, and deviled eggs. And candy. What would Easter be without candy? We all had a ball. It was really fun to have the family together, catch up on the kids' activities, and enjoy the afternoon.
So ends my week.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Saying "Buh-bye" (American Idol, part II)
Tonight was the 2nd of the top 12 finalists' eliminations.
Last week I agreed with the judges that all of the performances were lacking. It was like someone forgot to tell them 'we're in the finals now - you've got to step it up'. Even strong performers like Carrie Underwood were lack-luster. Last Tuesday I correctly identified Lindsay as the weakest singer and the one to whom we'd have to say "Buh-bye". On Wednesday I was right.
After watching tonight's performances I thought that all of the singers really injected themselves with steroids. Every performance was outstanding tonight, with the exception of Nadia. I thought this was her worst performance, although she is a great singer.
Ever since the first time I heard Mikalah sing I thought 'her voice and diction remind me of Taylor Dane'. 'Maybe she'd do better if she sang a Taylor Dane song'. Low and behold, tonight she sang "Love Will Lead You Back" by Taylor Dane! But as much as I like Mikalah, who looks like Fran Drescher (The Nanny) and sounds like Taylor Dane, I believe that she is now the weakest singer and I predict that tomorrow night it will be Mikalah who we'll have to say "Buh-bye" to. Tomorrow night we'll see if I am correct again.
Although it is only the 2nd of 12 finalist performances, I am predicting that the last 3 left in the competition will be Carrie, Nadia, and Jessica. My gut tells me Carrie may win.
Last week I agreed with the judges that all of the performances were lacking. It was like someone forgot to tell them 'we're in the finals now - you've got to step it up'. Even strong performers like Carrie Underwood were lack-luster. Last Tuesday I correctly identified Lindsay as the weakest singer and the one to whom we'd have to say "Buh-bye". On Wednesday I was right.
After watching tonight's performances I thought that all of the singers really injected themselves with steroids. Every performance was outstanding tonight, with the exception of Nadia. I thought this was her worst performance, although she is a great singer.
Ever since the first time I heard Mikalah sing I thought 'her voice and diction remind me of Taylor Dane'. 'Maybe she'd do better if she sang a Taylor Dane song'. Low and behold, tonight she sang "Love Will Lead You Back" by Taylor Dane! But as much as I like Mikalah, who looks like Fran Drescher (The Nanny) and sounds like Taylor Dane, I believe that she is now the weakest singer and I predict that tomorrow night it will be Mikalah who we'll have to say "Buh-bye" to. Tomorrow night we'll see if I am correct again.
Although it is only the 2nd of 12 finalist performances, I am predicting that the last 3 left in the competition will be Carrie, Nadia, and Jessica. My gut tells me Carrie may win.
Monday, March 21, 2005
American Idol
Okay, I admit it - I am addicted to American Idol. But, at least it makes sense for me to be addicted to this show. After all, I am a singer. And I was a 'Dominant'. (Kerry is smiling at that.)
When I was in high school I started singing in the Concert Choir. It seemed I had some talent, and when I'd go for All-County, Regional, Honors, and All-State choir auditions, I always made it. In fact, in my senior year I tied the record at All-State choir auditions by getting a score of 299 points out of a possible 300. But that's not what made me a 'Dominant'...
'The Dominants' was an award-winning vocal jazz/show choir from my high school. From the first time I heard them (as a freshmen) I knew I would one day be a member of this prestigious singing group. The name 'Dominants' is a play on words, referring to the 5th of a chord, or the dominant of the chord, as well as performers who dominate at competitions. And yes, there were competitions...
I will never forget in my junior year 'The Dominants' were enrolled for some vocal jazz and show choir workshops followed by a competition in Jersey City, NJ. We were a little scared that schools from New York would be there, as we imagined 'Fame' choirs putting us to shame. The workshops were from like 10 am to 4 pm, and the competitions were from 6-8 pm. Unfortunately for us, our County school bus broke down on the way, which delayed our arrival by several hours. We got to the auditorium just as the workshops were ending. Fortunately we arrived in time to have a quick dinner, change into our costumes and compete.
All of the high school groups were competing in either the vocal jazz OR the show choir divisions, except for 'The Dominants'. We had two different performances and were enrolled in both divisions. As we watched the groups who performed before us, we got more and more excited because we knew our songs were better and that we were simply more talented. But the proof was in the pudding... err, the performances.
First was the show choir division, which involves more choreography and less complicated vocal arrangements. We were like group 5 out of 10, I think. Then came the vocal jazz division, which involves very little choreography, but complicated tight harmonies. You can't fake a vocal jazz performance. We drew the coveted position of performing last. Remember, we were the only group to compete in both divisions, using 2 different sets of songs.
After a brief intermission for the judges' votes to be tallied, they reassembled everyone for the results.
"The trophy for best choreography goes to... The Dominants" followed by thunderous applause. "The trophy for best vocal solo goes to... The Dominants." More thunderous applause and whistles. "The trophy for best costume goes to... The Dominants." The audience was going crazy - even our competitors were happy for us. On and on, The Dominants won all of the trophies except for one: best instrumental solo. As I recall, one group had a fabulous trumpet solo that got duly recognized.
Then came the finale. "Best overall performance in the show choir division... The Dominants." We were all on our feet, screaming, jumping up and down and hugging each other. Then came the last one. "Best overall performance in the vocal jazz division... The Dominants!" We were all hysterical by that point. We were in such an excited frenzy you'd have thought we'd each won a hundred billion dollars. What a night! I'll never forget that as long as I live.
Then there was the vocal jazz competition where the volunteer student from the audio/visual club was practicing for the Emmies. Each time a group was named as a winner, he'd play a snippet of one of their songs as the choir director went up to the stage to accept the trophy. When we won first place there and our song was playing, I swear I felt like I was on an TV awards show! The entire 24-member choir charged up on stage to be photographed with our choir director and that big-ass trophy.
If I wasn't 41 years old now, I'd have auditioned for American Idol when they came to DC. But although I look younger than 41, I honestly don't think I could pass for 28, the cut-off age for American Idol. So instead, I will look at the photos taken with my fellow Dominants and I'll remember when...
When I was in high school I started singing in the Concert Choir. It seemed I had some talent, and when I'd go for All-County, Regional, Honors, and All-State choir auditions, I always made it. In fact, in my senior year I tied the record at All-State choir auditions by getting a score of 299 points out of a possible 300. But that's not what made me a 'Dominant'...
'The Dominants' was an award-winning vocal jazz/show choir from my high school. From the first time I heard them (as a freshmen) I knew I would one day be a member of this prestigious singing group. The name 'Dominants' is a play on words, referring to the 5th of a chord, or the dominant of the chord, as well as performers who dominate at competitions. And yes, there were competitions...
I will never forget in my junior year 'The Dominants' were enrolled for some vocal jazz and show choir workshops followed by a competition in Jersey City, NJ. We were a little scared that schools from New York would be there, as we imagined 'Fame' choirs putting us to shame. The workshops were from like 10 am to 4 pm, and the competitions were from 6-8 pm. Unfortunately for us, our County school bus broke down on the way, which delayed our arrival by several hours. We got to the auditorium just as the workshops were ending. Fortunately we arrived in time to have a quick dinner, change into our costumes and compete.
All of the high school groups were competing in either the vocal jazz OR the show choir divisions, except for 'The Dominants'. We had two different performances and were enrolled in both divisions. As we watched the groups who performed before us, we got more and more excited because we knew our songs were better and that we were simply more talented. But the proof was in the pudding... err, the performances.
First was the show choir division, which involves more choreography and less complicated vocal arrangements. We were like group 5 out of 10, I think. Then came the vocal jazz division, which involves very little choreography, but complicated tight harmonies. You can't fake a vocal jazz performance. We drew the coveted position of performing last. Remember, we were the only group to compete in both divisions, using 2 different sets of songs.
After a brief intermission for the judges' votes to be tallied, they reassembled everyone for the results.
"The trophy for best choreography goes to... The Dominants" followed by thunderous applause. "The trophy for best vocal solo goes to... The Dominants." More thunderous applause and whistles. "The trophy for best costume goes to... The Dominants." The audience was going crazy - even our competitors were happy for us. On and on, The Dominants won all of the trophies except for one: best instrumental solo. As I recall, one group had a fabulous trumpet solo that got duly recognized.
Then came the finale. "Best overall performance in the show choir division... The Dominants." We were all on our feet, screaming, jumping up and down and hugging each other. Then came the last one. "Best overall performance in the vocal jazz division... The Dominants!" We were all hysterical by that point. We were in such an excited frenzy you'd have thought we'd each won a hundred billion dollars. What a night! I'll never forget that as long as I live.
Then there was the vocal jazz competition where the volunteer student from the audio/visual club was practicing for the Emmies. Each time a group was named as a winner, he'd play a snippet of one of their songs as the choir director went up to the stage to accept the trophy. When we won first place there and our song was playing, I swear I felt like I was on an TV awards show! The entire 24-member choir charged up on stage to be photographed with our choir director and that big-ass trophy.
If I wasn't 41 years old now, I'd have auditioned for American Idol when they came to DC. But although I look younger than 41, I honestly don't think I could pass for 28, the cut-off age for American Idol. So instead, I will look at the photos taken with my fellow Dominants and I'll remember when...
Monday, March 14, 2005
Surprise - an Artist is born!
We didn't have specific plans for this past weekend. We were supposed to go to the shore with our friends Justine and Liz. But the weather forecast was for rain Friday night (when we'd be driving up there) and rain and/or snow on Saturday. Justine and Liz would have to leave Sunday morning to keep an afternoon appointment, so it seemed like the weather just wouldn't be conducive to taking a walk on the beach and shopping at the tax-free outlets. So we mutually decided to postpone the trip.
Friday night it did not rain, and Saturday it was bright and sunny. Joe and I had breakfast at McDonald's (I know, shame on us) and then ran a few errands. When we returned shortly before noon, there was a message from Justine and Liz, so we called them back and decided to meet for a late lunch.
On the way to lunch we stopped at an estate sale. I bought a pink ceramic ashtray from the '50s for 50 cents. Then we went to my favorite Thai restaurant for lunch. We hadn't been there in so long because the last few times we tried to have dinner there, the wait was too long. A late lunch was the perfect answer! The food was amazing, as usual, and we had a great visit with Justine and Liz.
Then I decided to become an artist. I bought 3 18x24 canvases from a craft store for $4.99 each and then got out some wall paint left-over from when I'd painted some of the rooms in the house. I came up with a simple, geometric design and began applying the paint with foam brushes. In about 20 minutes I had 3 fabulous canvases. An Artist was born! I took them to my office and hung them in a straight line. They looked great!
My art must have inspired Joe's creative juices to begin flowing because as I was putting away my supplies he reminded me that it really wouldn't take that much to get our downstairs 'Retro Lounge' looking good. The basement of our house has a large L-shaped family room, with a stone corner fireplace and nice large windows. We have a large sectional sofa from the '50s that is orange with gold threads woven in it, a smaller sectional sofa from the '60s that is tan, and two upholstered chairs, one turquoise and one purple. There are a number of original '50s and '60s accessories, ranging from pink and turquoise ceramic ashtrays to fabulous lamps with fiberglass shades. A friend once said that being in that room is like taking a step backwards in time. However, we don't use the room very often because the asbestos tile floor is not so attractive and the room has a 'cold' feeling.
So Saturday night we decided to buy a new TV for the room and to look for a new rug. Actually, we had been discussing buying a new TV for that room for several months, but had not decided when to do it. We'd been shopping around but on Saturday night we decided to bring one home. A 32 inch flat screen. Man, was it heavy! We also found a large rug we thought would work, but needed to measure the room first. After heaving that huge TV into the house, we measured the room and decided to go back the next day for the rug.
But first we needed to move all the furniture to one side and vacuum and mop the floor. We decided that would have to wait til the next day.
Our friends Michael and Jamie had invited us to join them for brunch at Bob & Edith's diner, in the event that we did not go to the shore. So Sunday morning we met them at 10:30 for pancakes, eggs and sausage or scrapple. We enjoyed hearing about their recent moving in together as well as their search for an affordable condo/townhouse/house to buy. They're great guys.
After brunch, we decided to look for some fabric with which we could make curtains for the large windows and to section off the L-part of the room. After careful measurements, we calculated we would need 24 yards of fabric. I thought to myself "this is going to cost a fortune" but I didn't say it outloud, so as not to burst Joe's bubble. He was quite gung-ho on the curtain wall to divide the L-space. To my amazement, we found some retro-looking rayon with all the colors in our room... priced at $4.50 per yard... sitting in the 50% off area. It seemed too good to be true, so when the sales girl was unrolling the fabric to measure it I said outloud "it will be totalling amazing if there's 24 yards of fabric there". There wasn't, but there was 23 3/4 yards so we bought it. Just over $50. and we had enough to make a gathered wall of curtains for the 12 foot wide opening and 4 curtains for the windows.
Next we went back to get the rug. "This is all working out so well" I said to Joe. "That black and tan rug will look perfect, will fit the space, and is so reasonably priced". I'd spoken too soon. When we saw the rug again in the light of day we realized it wasn't black, it was midnight blue. But, the size and price were great so we decided we could live with the midnight blue.
So, we rolled out the rug across half the room, moved all the furniture onto the rug, rolled it out the rest of the way, and began returning the furniture to its original location. Then came the chore of hoisting that beast of a TV onto the stand. Yikes - we almost dropped it twice! Then the room came together quickly. We vacuumed and arranged all the accessories and it looked great. We saved the curtain-making for another day.
Kerry, Hugh, and George came over at 5:30 to view my art and the updates to the Retro Lounge before we headed over to CiCi's Pizza and Pasta buffet. We enjoyed a lot of pizza and a lot of laughs.
Friday night it did not rain, and Saturday it was bright and sunny. Joe and I had breakfast at McDonald's (I know, shame on us) and then ran a few errands. When we returned shortly before noon, there was a message from Justine and Liz, so we called them back and decided to meet for a late lunch.
On the way to lunch we stopped at an estate sale. I bought a pink ceramic ashtray from the '50s for 50 cents. Then we went to my favorite Thai restaurant for lunch. We hadn't been there in so long because the last few times we tried to have dinner there, the wait was too long. A late lunch was the perfect answer! The food was amazing, as usual, and we had a great visit with Justine and Liz.
Then I decided to become an artist. I bought 3 18x24 canvases from a craft store for $4.99 each and then got out some wall paint left-over from when I'd painted some of the rooms in the house. I came up with a simple, geometric design and began applying the paint with foam brushes. In about 20 minutes I had 3 fabulous canvases. An Artist was born! I took them to my office and hung them in a straight line. They looked great!
My art must have inspired Joe's creative juices to begin flowing because as I was putting away my supplies he reminded me that it really wouldn't take that much to get our downstairs 'Retro Lounge' looking good. The basement of our house has a large L-shaped family room, with a stone corner fireplace and nice large windows. We have a large sectional sofa from the '50s that is orange with gold threads woven in it, a smaller sectional sofa from the '60s that is tan, and two upholstered chairs, one turquoise and one purple. There are a number of original '50s and '60s accessories, ranging from pink and turquoise ceramic ashtrays to fabulous lamps with fiberglass shades. A friend once said that being in that room is like taking a step backwards in time. However, we don't use the room very often because the asbestos tile floor is not so attractive and the room has a 'cold' feeling.
So Saturday night we decided to buy a new TV for the room and to look for a new rug. Actually, we had been discussing buying a new TV for that room for several months, but had not decided when to do it. We'd been shopping around but on Saturday night we decided to bring one home. A 32 inch flat screen. Man, was it heavy! We also found a large rug we thought would work, but needed to measure the room first. After heaving that huge TV into the house, we measured the room and decided to go back the next day for the rug.
But first we needed to move all the furniture to one side and vacuum and mop the floor. We decided that would have to wait til the next day.
Our friends Michael and Jamie had invited us to join them for brunch at Bob & Edith's diner, in the event that we did not go to the shore. So Sunday morning we met them at 10:30 for pancakes, eggs and sausage or scrapple. We enjoyed hearing about their recent moving in together as well as their search for an affordable condo/townhouse/house to buy. They're great guys.
After brunch, we decided to look for some fabric with which we could make curtains for the large windows and to section off the L-part of the room. After careful measurements, we calculated we would need 24 yards of fabric. I thought to myself "this is going to cost a fortune" but I didn't say it outloud, so as not to burst Joe's bubble. He was quite gung-ho on the curtain wall to divide the L-space. To my amazement, we found some retro-looking rayon with all the colors in our room... priced at $4.50 per yard... sitting in the 50% off area. It seemed too good to be true, so when the sales girl was unrolling the fabric to measure it I said outloud "it will be totalling amazing if there's 24 yards of fabric there". There wasn't, but there was 23 3/4 yards so we bought it. Just over $50. and we had enough to make a gathered wall of curtains for the 12 foot wide opening and 4 curtains for the windows.
Next we went back to get the rug. "This is all working out so well" I said to Joe. "That black and tan rug will look perfect, will fit the space, and is so reasonably priced". I'd spoken too soon. When we saw the rug again in the light of day we realized it wasn't black, it was midnight blue. But, the size and price were great so we decided we could live with the midnight blue.
So, we rolled out the rug across half the room, moved all the furniture onto the rug, rolled it out the rest of the way, and began returning the furniture to its original location. Then came the chore of hoisting that beast of a TV onto the stand. Yikes - we almost dropped it twice! Then the room came together quickly. We vacuumed and arranged all the accessories and it looked great. We saved the curtain-making for another day.
Kerry, Hugh, and George came over at 5:30 to view my art and the updates to the Retro Lounge before we headed over to CiCi's Pizza and Pasta buffet. We enjoyed a lot of pizza and a lot of laughs.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
My life as Carrie Bradshaw, Part II
Okay, so we get an email last week from our friends Roger & Bugsy, inviting us and our mutual friends Mike & Clark to dinner tonight. Rog reminds us that it's "Dine Out for Life", a fundraising opportunity where participating DC area restaurants donate a percentage of their proceeds from the night to Food & Friends, a DC area AIDS organization. Food & Friends delivers 3 meals a day to homebound people with AIDS. I used to be a kitchen volunteer there a few years ago. So, as if we needed an incentive to go out to dinner with friends, of course we said yes.
Then yesterday I get this idea: Let's have a "Sex and the City" boy's night out! You know how the "Sex and the City" girls get all dolled up, meet at some restaurant and have cocktails and dinner. Miranda wears that smoky eyeshadow that she only wears for such evenings, Samantha wears those 6-inch long dangly chandelier earrings, Charlotte wears a sleek strapless number (she always does), and Carrie will have to buy a new pair of $400. shoes. You get the picture...
To their credit, they all four agreed it might be fun, so it was settled. However, Rog & Bugsy said that although they'd heard of "Sex and the City", they'd never actually seen the show. My heart began to sink. I know Mike & Clark had seen the show, but they are usually not the dress up type. In all reality, I just felt like we should do something different, and not go out to dinner wearing the same old clothes I'd worn to work that day.
I'm pretty lucky: I can wear whatever I want to work. Most of the time it's jeans and a pullover. In the summer it's shorts and t-shirt. Since I never see clients face-to-face and I work in a small office, I dress in what is the most comfortable so I can be the most productive. At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I just didn't want the six of us to meet for dinner looking like I look everyday at work. I wanted the glamour, the sparkle, the feeling of being a "Sex and the City" girl. Yes, this night had to be different. I had to be different.
So, being the eternal optimist, I took and deep breathe and wrote back to the boys to lay down the fashion rules of the evening: no jeans, no sneakers, a solid sweater was okay, but a shirt had to have at least two colors. Now, you might be surprised at my need to review the fashion rules with 4 gay men. But, contrary to the stereotype, not all gay men are good at floral arranging, hair styling, home decorating, and fashion. Now you know. But after a little initial jeering, they all agreed to the terms. And I knew exactly what I'd wear.
I'd wear the ensemble I had put together for Joe's company Christmas party. Although I didn't know anyone when I arrived with him, I knew practically everyone by the time I left. They were all compelled to talk to me about my 'loud' shirt. My outfit was a big hit!
So as I began to dress this evening, I started feeling excited. I started with a pair of black gabardine slacks by Liz Claibourne that I'd found for a mere $39.95. Next came the infamous shirt: a very large paisley print in pink, grey, and black on a white background. Although I got it for only $19.95, it looks WAY more 'designer' and expensive. To tone down that outrageous shirt I slipped on a black leather sport jacket. Now, this is NOT a jacket you'd wear outdoors for warmth. Au contraire, this jacket is cut like a sport jacket you'd wear with dress slacks and a dress shirt - only its made of smooth black leather. Hot!!! I got it just before our trip to Las Vegas in Dec '03. And the finishing touch was a pair of black, square-toed leather shoes I snagged for only $29.95. You must admit that men's leather shoes for under $30. is unheard of! Unlike the real Carrie Bradshaw, I am the quintessential bargain hunter.
Joe looked very sharp in a pair of black slacks, shiny black leather shoes, and a smart-looking blue, black and grey stripe shirt. It looked especially good on him with his black hair. With our ensembles complete, we left to meet the boys. I dropped Joe off in front of the restaurant, since the garage was full and there was no street parking, which made us late. He joined the boys and I finally found a place to park.
Our table had a curved banquet and 4 chairs, and although I'd have pushed others aside to sit in the banquet, I didn't need to. The only empty place when I got to the table was one in the banquet. As we sipped our Cosmopolitans, I leaned back and tossed my arm up onto the back of the banquet, exposing more of my 'loud' shirt, and enjoying brief but fleeting glimpses of "Sex and the City"-ness.
Roger & Bugsy made concerted attempts to dress appropriately. I especially enjoyed Roger's bright multi-color stripe shirt and sunflower tie. Mike & Clark broke the rules, but I tried to hide my disappointment. Clark had on a dark grey crew neck and khaki pants, and Mike had on a hunter green cotton button-up and khaki pants. Can you say "Casual Friday"??? Mike joked by saying that he didn't own any fun or funky clothes. "Everything in my closet is solid or beige." I'm afraid my gasp may have been audible, but I hid it by pretending to cough.
Then our dinners arrived and we enjoyed the delicious and spicy Indian specialties of the Aroma restaurant. We talked and laughed and caught up on each other's lives. We really had a good time, and were too full for desert. I couldn't believe how quickly the time passed, and it was soon time to go home. After all, it is a school night.
Then yesterday I get this idea: Let's have a "Sex and the City" boy's night out! You know how the "Sex and the City" girls get all dolled up, meet at some restaurant and have cocktails and dinner. Miranda wears that smoky eyeshadow that she only wears for such evenings, Samantha wears those 6-inch long dangly chandelier earrings, Charlotte wears a sleek strapless number (she always does), and Carrie will have to buy a new pair of $400. shoes. You get the picture...
To their credit, they all four agreed it might be fun, so it was settled. However, Rog & Bugsy said that although they'd heard of "Sex and the City", they'd never actually seen the show. My heart began to sink. I know Mike & Clark had seen the show, but they are usually not the dress up type. In all reality, I just felt like we should do something different, and not go out to dinner wearing the same old clothes I'd worn to work that day.
I'm pretty lucky: I can wear whatever I want to work. Most of the time it's jeans and a pullover. In the summer it's shorts and t-shirt. Since I never see clients face-to-face and I work in a small office, I dress in what is the most comfortable so I can be the most productive. At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I just didn't want the six of us to meet for dinner looking like I look everyday at work. I wanted the glamour, the sparkle, the feeling of being a "Sex and the City" girl. Yes, this night had to be different. I had to be different.
So, being the eternal optimist, I took and deep breathe and wrote back to the boys to lay down the fashion rules of the evening: no jeans, no sneakers, a solid sweater was okay, but a shirt had to have at least two colors. Now, you might be surprised at my need to review the fashion rules with 4 gay men. But, contrary to the stereotype, not all gay men are good at floral arranging, hair styling, home decorating, and fashion. Now you know. But after a little initial jeering, they all agreed to the terms. And I knew exactly what I'd wear.
I'd wear the ensemble I had put together for Joe's company Christmas party. Although I didn't know anyone when I arrived with him, I knew practically everyone by the time I left. They were all compelled to talk to me about my 'loud' shirt. My outfit was a big hit!
So as I began to dress this evening, I started feeling excited. I started with a pair of black gabardine slacks by Liz Claibourne that I'd found for a mere $39.95. Next came the infamous shirt: a very large paisley print in pink, grey, and black on a white background. Although I got it for only $19.95, it looks WAY more 'designer' and expensive. To tone down that outrageous shirt I slipped on a black leather sport jacket. Now, this is NOT a jacket you'd wear outdoors for warmth. Au contraire, this jacket is cut like a sport jacket you'd wear with dress slacks and a dress shirt - only its made of smooth black leather. Hot!!! I got it just before our trip to Las Vegas in Dec '03. And the finishing touch was a pair of black, square-toed leather shoes I snagged for only $29.95. You must admit that men's leather shoes for under $30. is unheard of! Unlike the real Carrie Bradshaw, I am the quintessential bargain hunter.
Joe looked very sharp in a pair of black slacks, shiny black leather shoes, and a smart-looking blue, black and grey stripe shirt. It looked especially good on him with his black hair. With our ensembles complete, we left to meet the boys. I dropped Joe off in front of the restaurant, since the garage was full and there was no street parking, which made us late. He joined the boys and I finally found a place to park.
Our table had a curved banquet and 4 chairs, and although I'd have pushed others aside to sit in the banquet, I didn't need to. The only empty place when I got to the table was one in the banquet. As we sipped our Cosmopolitans, I leaned back and tossed my arm up onto the back of the banquet, exposing more of my 'loud' shirt, and enjoying brief but fleeting glimpses of "Sex and the City"-ness.
Roger & Bugsy made concerted attempts to dress appropriately. I especially enjoyed Roger's bright multi-color stripe shirt and sunflower tie. Mike & Clark broke the rules, but I tried to hide my disappointment. Clark had on a dark grey crew neck and khaki pants, and Mike had on a hunter green cotton button-up and khaki pants. Can you say "Casual Friday"??? Mike joked by saying that he didn't own any fun or funky clothes. "Everything in my closet is solid or beige." I'm afraid my gasp may have been audible, but I hid it by pretending to cough.
Then our dinners arrived and we enjoyed the delicious and spicy Indian specialties of the Aroma restaurant. We talked and laughed and caught up on each other's lives. We really had a good time, and were too full for desert. I couldn't believe how quickly the time passed, and it was soon time to go home. After all, it is a school night.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
What a different a day makes!
Please note the date: Tuesday, March 8, 2005.
It is snowing. The streets, sidewalks, and cars are covered in a blanket of white.
What a difference a day makes.
It is snowing. The streets, sidewalks, and cars are covered in a blanket of white.
What a difference a day makes.
Monday, March 07, 2005
A Beautiful Day
Last Monday and Tuesday we had snow. The next few days afterwards it was only in the 30s and 40s. Yesterday was pretty; it was clear and sunny, and in the 50s. But today... today was beautiful!
Please note today's date: Monday, March 7, 2005.
At lunch time I forced myself to put my hectic work life on hold and leave the office. When I came outside it was so warm I took off my jacket. Excitedly I got in the car, hit the bottom to lower all the windows, and then I opened the latch that secures the convertible top and pressed the button that in 14 seconds lifts the roof and my spirits. I absolutely love driving with the top down, and beautiful days like this make the experience even more enjoyable. It can change my mood from 'over-worked and under-paid' to 'who cares about work, I'm livin' life'. (See my 2/7 post entitled 'Convertible'.)
I pushed the 'Temp' button on my dash and the display read 69 degrees.
Since I had no cash my first stop was the ATM. (Please note I did not say 'ATM machine' which is redundant.) After snagging some cheese I headed to Taco Bell for even more cheese - a chicken and cheese quesadilla to be exact. Once finished and still with plenty of time left in my lunch hour, I decided to take the long way back to the office. I cruised along with my sunglasses on, the radio turned up to a decent decibel, sipping my 1/4 Wild Cherry Pepsi 3/4 Diet Pepsi combination. It was grand!
Eventually I had to go back into the office, but I left the top down as an incentive for Old Man Winter to stay away. Sure enough, it was still beautiful when I came out of the office again at 5:45. So I drove home with the wind in my hair and a song in my heart.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
My life as Carrie Bradshaw
Last night as I was watching a re-run of Sex and the City, I was envious about how Carrie Bradshaw always has so much free time on her hands. She's always shopping, meeting a friend for lunch, meeting the girls for cocktails, or something else that I never have time to do.
'Doesn't she ever work?' I thought to myself, immediately followed by 'Duh - of course she works; she's a writer'. Every episode shows her tapping away on her laptop, seemingly transcribing her random thoughts about life, men, sex, relationships, and Minolo Blonic shoes. These random thoughts somehow get messaged into a weekly column in a New York newspaper. She makes a living from this, and can afford $400. a pair Minolo Blonic shoes. Lots of 'em.
Then I started to think 'I've got random thoughts about life, men, sex, and relationships. Why can't I get paid for writing a once-a-week column so that I too can have loads of free time on my hands? No sooner had I completed that thought, that I answered my own question: because I write a blog for free.
I jokingly mentioned this conundrum to a friend in an IM today at work, and he told me that some people get paid for blogging. Although the idea wasn't totally surprising to me, it did make me wonder if any blogs get that much visibility that advertisers would actually pay people to write blogs and mention their products in them. He told me about one blog that regularly gets like 400,000 hits a day! That reminded me that a friend/colleague at work who knew of my blog had clipped an article from the newspaper entitled "How to make money from your blog".
So, I scrounged around in the desk drawer I thought I may have tossed the clipping into, and sure enough I found the article. But I didn't have time to read it. Because unlike Carrie Bradshaw, I have a full-time, 5-days a week kind of job and do not have loads of free time to be shopping, meeting friends for lunch, meeting the girls for cocktails, or reading newspaper articles. I only have time to write in my blog... for free.
'Doesn't she ever work?' I thought to myself, immediately followed by 'Duh - of course she works; she's a writer'. Every episode shows her tapping away on her laptop, seemingly transcribing her random thoughts about life, men, sex, relationships, and Minolo Blonic shoes. These random thoughts somehow get messaged into a weekly column in a New York newspaper. She makes a living from this, and can afford $400. a pair Minolo Blonic shoes. Lots of 'em.
Then I started to think 'I've got random thoughts about life, men, sex, and relationships. Why can't I get paid for writing a once-a-week column so that I too can have loads of free time on my hands? No sooner had I completed that thought, that I answered my own question: because I write a blog for free.
I jokingly mentioned this conundrum to a friend in an IM today at work, and he told me that some people get paid for blogging. Although the idea wasn't totally surprising to me, it did make me wonder if any blogs get that much visibility that advertisers would actually pay people to write blogs and mention their products in them. He told me about one blog that regularly gets like 400,000 hits a day! That reminded me that a friend/colleague at work who knew of my blog had clipped an article from the newspaper entitled "How to make money from your blog".
So, I scrounged around in the desk drawer I thought I may have tossed the clipping into, and sure enough I found the article. But I didn't have time to read it. Because unlike Carrie Bradshaw, I have a full-time, 5-days a week kind of job and do not have loads of free time to be shopping, meeting friends for lunch, meeting the girls for cocktails, or reading newspaper articles. I only have time to write in my blog... for free.
Mis-used words and nonsense phrases
Have you ever noticed often people mis-use words and use nonsense phrases? Lately I have been paying more attention than usual to this, and I was surprised at how often this occurs. And its not just because I hang around with illiterate people. I've heard radio DJs and people on TV do this, too. Here are some of the most common ones:
Actually (mis-used word)
Use of the word actually indicates that something is so, despite how surprising or incredulous it sounds. "I actually saw him bite off his finger" would be the correct usage of the word. However, I was watching a show on HGTV called Semi-Homemade where the host, Sandra Lee, was demonstrating how to make something and said "Okay. Now, you're actually going to add the flour to the mixture in your bowl." Now what is so surprising or incredulous about adding flour to a mixture in a bowl while cooking? In fact, that was exactly what I anticipated she was going to do with that flour.
"To tell you the truth..." (nonsense phrase)
How many times have you heard someone you know - not a stranger - begin a sentence with "To tell you the truth..."? So what does that mean? All the other times they've been talking to you they were telling lies, but this time is different? Hmm...
Literally (mis-used word)
This one can be really funny! Some people use the word literally when they mean figuratively. "I literally kicked their butts during today's game!" Is that so? Wouldn't there be a penalty for doing that? What they really meant was that they figuratively kicked their butts. However, this mis-use bothers me less than most since it often creates comical mental images.
"Quite frankly..." (nonsense phrase)
This is truly a nonsense phrase, as it adds no value at all and is redundant. "Quite frankly, I hate her." I don't know about you but I would never confuse the statement 'I hate her' as anything other than frank. It certainly isn't subtle. Mostly, its redundant.
Irregardless (mis-used non-word)
This is probably my favorite. Irregardless is not a word. Regardless is a word. "Irregardless of how much money he makes..." almost sounds like its correct, but it isn't. The prefix 'ir' means without. (Irrelevant means without relevance.) The word regardless means without regard. So, if irregardless were a word, it would mean without without regard. If something is without without regard, then it has regard. But we use the word regarding to mean something with regard.
"I could care less" (nonsense phrase)
Here's another one that means the opposite of how people use it. "I could case less about her new car." If one could care less, that means that they do care to some degree. Yet, when people say "I could care less" they really mean that they could NOT care less, or they have no degree of care at all. So, "I could care less about her new car" really means 'I am mindful that she has a new car and I think about it".
Now don't get me wrong; I'm not suggesting that everyone stop mis-using words and prefacing sentences with nonsense phrases. Sometimes they can be quite funny. And to tell you the truth, I could care less if literally everyone actually used them in every sentence, quite frankly, irregardless of whether they made sense. :-)
Actually (mis-used word)
Use of the word actually indicates that something is so, despite how surprising or incredulous it sounds. "I actually saw him bite off his finger" would be the correct usage of the word. However, I was watching a show on HGTV called Semi-Homemade where the host, Sandra Lee, was demonstrating how to make something and said "Okay. Now, you're actually going to add the flour to the mixture in your bowl." Now what is so surprising or incredulous about adding flour to a mixture in a bowl while cooking? In fact, that was exactly what I anticipated she was going to do with that flour.
"To tell you the truth..." (nonsense phrase)
How many times have you heard someone you know - not a stranger - begin a sentence with "To tell you the truth..."? So what does that mean? All the other times they've been talking to you they were telling lies, but this time is different? Hmm...
Literally (mis-used word)
This one can be really funny! Some people use the word literally when they mean figuratively. "I literally kicked their butts during today's game!" Is that so? Wouldn't there be a penalty for doing that? What they really meant was that they figuratively kicked their butts. However, this mis-use bothers me less than most since it often creates comical mental images.
"Quite frankly..." (nonsense phrase)
This is truly a nonsense phrase, as it adds no value at all and is redundant. "Quite frankly, I hate her." I don't know about you but I would never confuse the statement 'I hate her' as anything other than frank. It certainly isn't subtle. Mostly, its redundant.
Irregardless (mis-used non-word)
This is probably my favorite. Irregardless is not a word. Regardless is a word. "Irregardless of how much money he makes..." almost sounds like its correct, but it isn't. The prefix 'ir' means without. (Irrelevant means without relevance.) The word regardless means without regard. So, if irregardless were a word, it would mean without without regard. If something is without without regard, then it has regard. But we use the word regarding to mean something with regard.
"I could care less" (nonsense phrase)
Here's another one that means the opposite of how people use it. "I could case less about her new car." If one could care less, that means that they do care to some degree. Yet, when people say "I could care less" they really mean that they could NOT care less, or they have no degree of care at all. So, "I could care less about her new car" really means 'I am mindful that she has a new car and I think about it".
Now don't get me wrong; I'm not suggesting that everyone stop mis-using words and prefacing sentences with nonsense phrases. Sometimes they can be quite funny. And to tell you the truth, I could care less if literally everyone actually used them in every sentence, quite frankly, irregardless of whether they made sense. :-)
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Napoleon Dynamite
This passed weekend Joe & I were joined at the beach by our friends Robert & Liz. Robert was one of my roommates. We lived together in 1987. Robert took the room that had been vacated by my previous roommate Randy. Randy had moved out because he got married to Liz. Fast-forward to 2003, Randy & Liz are getting divorced, Robert is already divorced, and Robert & Liz get together and are married in 2004. Small world, huh?
Although Joe & I had already seen Napoleon Dynamite (see my post of Jan 24), Robert & Liz had not, and I knew it would be a movie they would get a kick out of, so we rented it and watched it at the beach. It was WAY more funny than I had remembered the first time, and as I expected, Robert & Liz loved it.
For the rest of the weekend, we would repeat many of Napoleon's lines from the movie, complete with our best imitation of his peculiar voice inflections.
Napoleon: "Pedro, that's a killer bike."
Pedro: "Thanks."
Napoleon: "Have you taken it off any sweet jumps?"
Grandma: "Napoleon, how was your first day at school?"
Napoleon: "It was the worst day of my entire life; what do you think???"
When feeding the pet Llama, Napoleon: "Come here Tina. Eat some ham!"
Napoleon says to Pedro and Deb at the dance: "So, are you guys having a killer time?"
Then, on the DVD's alternate ending, is the wedding of Napoleon's brother Kip to LaFawnduh where Kip sings: "I love technology.... but not as much as you... but I still love technology... always and forever..."
It was a fun weekend. The Appletinis may have contributed a little too.
Although Joe & I had already seen Napoleon Dynamite (see my post of Jan 24), Robert & Liz had not, and I knew it would be a movie they would get a kick out of, so we rented it and watched it at the beach. It was WAY more funny than I had remembered the first time, and as I expected, Robert & Liz loved it.
For the rest of the weekend, we would repeat many of Napoleon's lines from the movie, complete with our best imitation of his peculiar voice inflections.
Napoleon: "Pedro, that's a killer bike."
Pedro: "Thanks."
Napoleon: "Have you taken it off any sweet jumps?"
Grandma: "Napoleon, how was your first day at school?"
Napoleon: "It was the worst day of my entire life; what do you think???"
When feeding the pet Llama, Napoleon: "Come here Tina. Eat some ham!"
Napoleon says to Pedro and Deb at the dance: "So, are you guys having a killer time?"
Then, on the DVD's alternate ending, is the wedding of Napoleon's brother Kip to LaFawnduh where Kip sings: "I love technology.... but not as much as you... but I still love technology... always and forever..."
It was a fun weekend. The Appletinis may have contributed a little too.
Valentine's Day gets a bad rap
Okay, I realize Valentine's day was over a week ago. I've been busy. But I have to comment about some of the negative and untrue things I've heard and read recently about Valentine's day.
"Valentine's day is just another way for card stores, florists, and candy companies to make money." Really? So, nobody's sending birthday cards anymore? Nobody's getting flowers for their anniversary anymore? Nobody in the hospital is getting a box of chocolates anymore? I think not, my green-with-envy friend. And even if it WERE true - is it so bad that we take one day out of the year to celebrate romantic love and allow Hallmark, the florists, and Godiva to make a buck? Not in my opinion.
"Valentine's day is just another way couples make single people feel badly about themselves." Oh really? If someone feels like that, then it's no wonder they're single and no wonder they feel badly about themselves. Get a grip! Just because you are single does not mean that couples want you to feel badly about yourself. If you are single, Valentine's day is simply not for you! It's for couples. Just like Hanukkah is for Jewish people. It is not just another way Jewish people make Christians feel badly about themselves. Just like mother's day is for mothers. It is not just another way mothers make childless women feel badly about themselves. You know I could continue... If you are single, just go about your business on Valentine's day and leave the couples alone.
Yes, I believe Valentine's day has gotten a bad rap, and unduly so. For those who aren't bitter, Valentine's day is a time for reminding your special loved one how much he or she means to you. And Valentine's day doesn't have to be inaugurated with a card, flowers, or chocolates, although those are the most common icons of the holiday. It can also be simply tucking a note that reads "I love you" into the pocket of the pants he'll be wearing that day, or attaching it to her car keys. A foot massage. A back rub. A knowing smile. Really, Valentine's day is only limited by one's imagination. (But it should NEVER include microwave TV dinners. That may take a long time to forgive.)
"Valentine's day is just another way for card stores, florists, and candy companies to make money." Really? So, nobody's sending birthday cards anymore? Nobody's getting flowers for their anniversary anymore? Nobody in the hospital is getting a box of chocolates anymore? I think not, my green-with-envy friend. And even if it WERE true - is it so bad that we take one day out of the year to celebrate romantic love and allow Hallmark, the florists, and Godiva to make a buck? Not in my opinion.
"Valentine's day is just another way couples make single people feel badly about themselves." Oh really? If someone feels like that, then it's no wonder they're single and no wonder they feel badly about themselves. Get a grip! Just because you are single does not mean that couples want you to feel badly about yourself. If you are single, Valentine's day is simply not for you! It's for couples. Just like Hanukkah is for Jewish people. It is not just another way Jewish people make Christians feel badly about themselves. Just like mother's day is for mothers. It is not just another way mothers make childless women feel badly about themselves. You know I could continue... If you are single, just go about your business on Valentine's day and leave the couples alone.
Yes, I believe Valentine's day has gotten a bad rap, and unduly so. For those who aren't bitter, Valentine's day is a time for reminding your special loved one how much he or she means to you. And Valentine's day doesn't have to be inaugurated with a card, flowers, or chocolates, although those are the most common icons of the holiday. It can also be simply tucking a note that reads "I love you" into the pocket of the pants he'll be wearing that day, or attaching it to her car keys. A foot massage. A back rub. A knowing smile. Really, Valentine's day is only limited by one's imagination. (But it should NEVER include microwave TV dinners. That may take a long time to forgive.)
Sunday, February 13, 2005
A Busy Week
Wow, it has been a really busy week.
Things at work have really picked up. Not that I wasn't busy enough before things picked up. But this passed week has been unusual. Of course there's all the regular stuff for which I am responsible, but then there were some very UNusual things too. One of my clients scheduled a series of 10 webcasts with me about a month ago, but I found out that their office was being closed and that everyone except for one manager had been "released" (read: laid off) on Tuesday. In the 2 1/2 years I've been working here, I think this is the first time a client was laid off DURING a project.
Outside of work, things have been busy too. On Tuesday I had to make an unplanned trip to the shore, related to our old place that's for sale. I decided not to wait until after work, since it would be a 5 hour round trip at a minimum, getting me home very late at night. So, I left the office at 2:30, drove up there, took care of my business, had a bite to eat, and drove back home. Joe would have gone with me, but he had a board meeting to attend that night.
I've also been coordinating some maintenance and repairs for the old place at the beach, so that has captured my time and thoughts more than usual. Plus, I needed to find a new florist to deliver Joe's Valentines flowers on Monday. I used to use a wonderful florist in the town where he worked. The flowers were always nice and fresh, and the arrangements were always stunning. I'd ask them to create something "different", and would often request certain flowers or certain colors. I don't care for multi-color floral arrangements because they remind me of funerals. So often I'd tell them I wanted an 'unusual-looking arrangement just in shades of purple, lavender, lilac, and white", or something like that. But since Joe changed jobs a few months ago and doesn't work in that town, I needed to find a new florist.
Joe loves flowers, and I love to send them to him at his office. So I send him flowers on Valentines Day (Feb), our anniversary (May), his birthday (July), and then on some random 'surprise' date in the fall. It seems unfair to get flowers in winter, spring, and summer, leaving fall out completely. So I pick a random date in fall to surprise him.
Then Thursday night was our regular dinner with Evelyn. Friday night my aunt Mary took Joe & me out for my belated birthday dinner.
It has become a tradition with my aunt Mary for us to take her out for a nice (fancy) dinner on her birthday, and she does the same for us. Since my birthday is in December and we were so busy in December, we didn't get a chance to have our dinner until just this past week. It's always fun, so it is definitely not to be missed. I try to pick new or different places for my birthday, but Joe always picks the same place for his birthday: McCormick & Schmick's. They have very good food and service, but at a price. This time I decided I wanted to go to an Italian restaurant called Esposito's. I knew it wasn't all that fancy, but good Italian food can be so enjoyable that it was worth the try. My aunt, however, who had been there before, thought the food was good but that it wasn't fancy enough to 'qualify' for my birthday dinner, so we decided on another restaurant none of us had tried before. Being a Friday night, I suggested we try to make a reservation, or put our name on the call ahead list. (So many places it seems are getting away from reservations, but will put you on a call ahead list. Isn't that basically the same thing?)
The girl who answered the phone told my aunt they usually had a "wait list", but since it was 5:00 and no one was waiting to be seated, there was no "wait list". My aunt was unsuccessful in explaining that we were going to be arriving at 7:30 when there would definitely be a wait. The girl suggested she call back later when people were waiting. I'm sure my aunt was rolling her eyes and shaking her head in disbelief, but she did as the girl suggested. At 6:30 she called back to put our name on the "wait list" and was informed the wait would be "120 minutes". This baffles me. Why would you put your name on a "wait list" if the wait would be the same amount of time as if you just showed up?
So, we decided to go to my original restaurant choice, Esp0sito's. When we arrived at 7:30 there was no wait, and the food and desserts were fabulous. It was a good birthday dinner!
Saturday we prepared to have guests for dinner. (See my previous post entitled "Keeping my New Year's Resolution".) When we returned from the grocery store, we stuck with our strengths: I cleaned the house and set the table and Joe cooked. He made a pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas, biscuits, and corn casserole. Our friends Doug and Jim were to bring dessert when they arrived at 7. The dinner (in the kitchen) was delicious and we had a wonderful time visiting with our friends. They are very sweet guys, and are also dog lovers, so they didn't seem to mind our over-affectionate beagle, Jordan.
Sunday morning we met Kerry, Hugh, and George for brunch at the Capitol City Brewing Company. In the summer we meet there and eat outside because they have large patio. But since it is February we ate indoors. It was fun to see them and to check up on George's post-surgery progress. George had knee surgery a little over a week ago and is doing great. It really helped his mobility. After brunch the three of them headed down the street to the theatre to see "Sideways". We would have liked to have joined them, but the movie would have ended a bit too late for us, as we needed to make another trip to the grocery store (forgot to get dog food) before getting ready for our Sunday dinner guests.
Clark and Mike arrived promptly at 5, bearing the gift of purple tulips. I love tulips! We had a cocktail and talked a bit while 'The Ethel Merman Disco album' played in the background. Yes, its true, Ethel Merman made a disco album. Joe and Mike are fans of The Merm, but I am not. However, this CD does have its entertainment value. Then we had a traditional Italian family Sunday dinner: rigatoni with meatballs and sausage, garlic bread, and salad. It's one of Joe's specialties that Mike & Clark have had before but crave from time to time. We ate in the kitchen and had a great time visiting with them, although we talked a lot about the sad state of politics and how gay people are being "used" by Republicans. They are great friends.
I've had more thoughts this week to share, but haven't had the time to sit down and properly organize my thoughts this week. Hopefully this coming week will be a little less hectic, at least away from work.
Things at work have really picked up. Not that I wasn't busy enough before things picked up. But this passed week has been unusual. Of course there's all the regular stuff for which I am responsible, but then there were some very UNusual things too. One of my clients scheduled a series of 10 webcasts with me about a month ago, but I found out that their office was being closed and that everyone except for one manager had been "released" (read: laid off) on Tuesday. In the 2 1/2 years I've been working here, I think this is the first time a client was laid off DURING a project.
Outside of work, things have been busy too. On Tuesday I had to make an unplanned trip to the shore, related to our old place that's for sale. I decided not to wait until after work, since it would be a 5 hour round trip at a minimum, getting me home very late at night. So, I left the office at 2:30, drove up there, took care of my business, had a bite to eat, and drove back home. Joe would have gone with me, but he had a board meeting to attend that night.
I've also been coordinating some maintenance and repairs for the old place at the beach, so that has captured my time and thoughts more than usual. Plus, I needed to find a new florist to deliver Joe's Valentines flowers on Monday. I used to use a wonderful florist in the town where he worked. The flowers were always nice and fresh, and the arrangements were always stunning. I'd ask them to create something "different", and would often request certain flowers or certain colors. I don't care for multi-color floral arrangements because they remind me of funerals. So often I'd tell them I wanted an 'unusual-looking arrangement just in shades of purple, lavender, lilac, and white", or something like that. But since Joe changed jobs a few months ago and doesn't work in that town, I needed to find a new florist.
Joe loves flowers, and I love to send them to him at his office. So I send him flowers on Valentines Day (Feb), our anniversary (May), his birthday (July), and then on some random 'surprise' date in the fall. It seems unfair to get flowers in winter, spring, and summer, leaving fall out completely. So I pick a random date in fall to surprise him.
Then Thursday night was our regular dinner with Evelyn. Friday night my aunt Mary took Joe & me out for my belated birthday dinner.
It has become a tradition with my aunt Mary for us to take her out for a nice (fancy) dinner on her birthday, and she does the same for us. Since my birthday is in December and we were so busy in December, we didn't get a chance to have our dinner until just this past week. It's always fun, so it is definitely not to be missed. I try to pick new or different places for my birthday, but Joe always picks the same place for his birthday: McCormick & Schmick's. They have very good food and service, but at a price. This time I decided I wanted to go to an Italian restaurant called Esposito's. I knew it wasn't all that fancy, but good Italian food can be so enjoyable that it was worth the try. My aunt, however, who had been there before, thought the food was good but that it wasn't fancy enough to 'qualify' for my birthday dinner, so we decided on another restaurant none of us had tried before. Being a Friday night, I suggested we try to make a reservation, or put our name on the call ahead list. (So many places it seems are getting away from reservations, but will put you on a call ahead list. Isn't that basically the same thing?)
The girl who answered the phone told my aunt they usually had a "wait list", but since it was 5:00 and no one was waiting to be seated, there was no "wait list". My aunt was unsuccessful in explaining that we were going to be arriving at 7:30 when there would definitely be a wait. The girl suggested she call back later when people were waiting. I'm sure my aunt was rolling her eyes and shaking her head in disbelief, but she did as the girl suggested. At 6:30 she called back to put our name on the "wait list" and was informed the wait would be "120 minutes". This baffles me. Why would you put your name on a "wait list" if the wait would be the same amount of time as if you just showed up?
So, we decided to go to my original restaurant choice, Esp0sito's. When we arrived at 7:30 there was no wait, and the food and desserts were fabulous. It was a good birthday dinner!
Saturday we prepared to have guests for dinner. (See my previous post entitled "Keeping my New Year's Resolution".) When we returned from the grocery store, we stuck with our strengths: I cleaned the house and set the table and Joe cooked. He made a pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas, biscuits, and corn casserole. Our friends Doug and Jim were to bring dessert when they arrived at 7. The dinner (in the kitchen) was delicious and we had a wonderful time visiting with our friends. They are very sweet guys, and are also dog lovers, so they didn't seem to mind our over-affectionate beagle, Jordan.
Sunday morning we met Kerry, Hugh, and George for brunch at the Capitol City Brewing Company. In the summer we meet there and eat outside because they have large patio. But since it is February we ate indoors. It was fun to see them and to check up on George's post-surgery progress. George had knee surgery a little over a week ago and is doing great. It really helped his mobility. After brunch the three of them headed down the street to the theatre to see "Sideways". We would have liked to have joined them, but the movie would have ended a bit too late for us, as we needed to make another trip to the grocery store (forgot to get dog food) before getting ready for our Sunday dinner guests.
Clark and Mike arrived promptly at 5, bearing the gift of purple tulips. I love tulips! We had a cocktail and talked a bit while 'The Ethel Merman Disco album' played in the background. Yes, its true, Ethel Merman made a disco album. Joe and Mike are fans of The Merm, but I am not. However, this CD does have its entertainment value. Then we had a traditional Italian family Sunday dinner: rigatoni with meatballs and sausage, garlic bread, and salad. It's one of Joe's specialties that Mike & Clark have had before but crave from time to time. We ate in the kitchen and had a great time visiting with them, although we talked a lot about the sad state of politics and how gay people are being "used" by Republicans. They are great friends.
I've had more thoughts this week to share, but haven't had the time to sit down and properly organize my thoughts this week. Hopefully this coming week will be a little less hectic, at least away from work.
Monday, February 07, 2005
Convertible
The weather forecast for today, Feb 7, was for temperatures in the mid 50s. Being the convertible enthusiast that I am, I decided it was going to be a convertible day.
I have always loved convertibles, as far back as I can remember. My earliest memory having a convertible was a Matchbox convertible that was my favorite. It was blue initially, but after months and months, I used my sisters' fingernail polish to make it hot pink! My earliest memory of riding in a convertible was when I was probably about 10 years old. My uncle John had an early 70s Plymouth Road Runner convertible; metallic dark green with white seats and a white top. The exhaust growled from a ridiculously large and powerful engine, not uncommon in cars from the 70s, before the energy crisis. What a thrill!
Fast-forward about 10 years. After having my license for a few years and driving around in a Chevrolet Chevette, I longed for a cool convertible whenever I saw one on the road. I used to say "I should be driving that." I even got my friends in on the game, and if they saw a convertible before I did, they would say "You should be driving that."
Fast-forward about to 1990 when I finally got a convertible: a reconditioned 1978 Volkswagen Super Beetle; Signal Red with white seats and a white top. Man, was that car a head-turner! I couldn't go anywhere without people stopping me and asking about the car. Unfortunately I only had it for 3 months. I was hit by a pick-up truck whose driver had run a red light, and my beautiful convertible was totaled. I woke up in the ambulance. "Where am I?" I asked. "You've been in a car accident" the paramedic told me. "How's my car?" I then asked. "We'll talk about that later," I was told. Apparently they were more concerned by the large, bleeding gash in my head than my convertible. A few days later I almost got sick when I saw my car. The passenger side where the impact occurred was smashed so far in that the passenger seat had been ripped from the floor. One could now sit in the driver's seat and put one's arm out the driver's window and passenger window at the same time.
Fast-forward to 1993 and I discover the redesigned BMW 325i convertible, and it was love at first sight. This car was completely out of my price range, but I was in love with it. I got one of those 3-part centerfold brochures from a BMW dealer and had it tacked up on my cubicle wall at work. For years I pined for that car, but it would continue to be out of my budget for years to come.
Fast-forward to 2001. I have changed jobs and been promoted a few times. Things are going much better for me financially, and I decide its time. I scour the local used car dealerships, but never find quite the right car. Too expensive, too many miles, too many funny sounds, too much wear and tear. Finally my online search turns up what looks like the right match. The right price, the right mileage, the right condition, even my first choice in color. And, the owner lived only a mile and a half away. It was meant to be! So that is how I came to acquire my 1994 BMW 325i convertible; Boston Green with tan interior and black top. My dream car!
Fast-forward to 2005, today. I excitedly walked out of my office for lunch in anticipation of my 1st top-down ride of the year. It truly was a gorgeous day: bright, sunny, and warm. I pushed the button that simultaneously lowers all the windows, then turned the handle that unlocks the roof. Then I pushed the button that folds the roof back and stores it neatly under the hard roof cover, and in flooded the sunshine. "YES! This is what its all about" I thought to myself as I smiled.
I enjoyed a short ride to pick up a sandwich and then headed back to the office. Optimistic that the evening commute home would be as warm as the lunchtime ride, I left the top down when I went back into the office.
The sun was going down when I came out of the office at 5:30 and I could immediately tell that it was NOT as warm as it had been a few hours ago. But being the convertible enthusiast that I am, I decided to 'go for it' anyway. I put the windows up and turned the heater on, and turned on the seat warmer too. As I entered the highway and picked up speed I thought to myself 'Its brisk, but tolerable'. Though a bit chilly, I was in heaven.
I have always loved convertibles, as far back as I can remember. My earliest memory having a convertible was a Matchbox convertible that was my favorite. It was blue initially, but after months and months, I used my sisters' fingernail polish to make it hot pink! My earliest memory of riding in a convertible was when I was probably about 10 years old. My uncle John had an early 70s Plymouth Road Runner convertible; metallic dark green with white seats and a white top. The exhaust growled from a ridiculously large and powerful engine, not uncommon in cars from the 70s, before the energy crisis. What a thrill!
Fast-forward about 10 years. After having my license for a few years and driving around in a Chevrolet Chevette, I longed for a cool convertible whenever I saw one on the road. I used to say "I should be driving that." I even got my friends in on the game, and if they saw a convertible before I did, they would say "You should be driving that."
Fast-forward about to 1990 when I finally got a convertible: a reconditioned 1978 Volkswagen Super Beetle; Signal Red with white seats and a white top. Man, was that car a head-turner! I couldn't go anywhere without people stopping me and asking about the car. Unfortunately I only had it for 3 months. I was hit by a pick-up truck whose driver had run a red light, and my beautiful convertible was totaled. I woke up in the ambulance. "Where am I?" I asked. "You've been in a car accident" the paramedic told me. "How's my car?" I then asked. "We'll talk about that later," I was told. Apparently they were more concerned by the large, bleeding gash in my head than my convertible. A few days later I almost got sick when I saw my car. The passenger side where the impact occurred was smashed so far in that the passenger seat had been ripped from the floor. One could now sit in the driver's seat and put one's arm out the driver's window and passenger window at the same time.
Fast-forward to 1993 and I discover the redesigned BMW 325i convertible, and it was love at first sight. This car was completely out of my price range, but I was in love with it. I got one of those 3-part centerfold brochures from a BMW dealer and had it tacked up on my cubicle wall at work. For years I pined for that car, but it would continue to be out of my budget for years to come.
Fast-forward to 2001. I have changed jobs and been promoted a few times. Things are going much better for me financially, and I decide its time. I scour the local used car dealerships, but never find quite the right car. Too expensive, too many miles, too many funny sounds, too much wear and tear. Finally my online search turns up what looks like the right match. The right price, the right mileage, the right condition, even my first choice in color. And, the owner lived only a mile and a half away. It was meant to be! So that is how I came to acquire my 1994 BMW 325i convertible; Boston Green with tan interior and black top. My dream car!
Fast-forward to 2005, today. I excitedly walked out of my office for lunch in anticipation of my 1st top-down ride of the year. It truly was a gorgeous day: bright, sunny, and warm. I pushed the button that simultaneously lowers all the windows, then turned the handle that unlocks the roof. Then I pushed the button that folds the roof back and stores it neatly under the hard roof cover, and in flooded the sunshine. "YES! This is what its all about" I thought to myself as I smiled.
I enjoyed a short ride to pick up a sandwich and then headed back to the office. Optimistic that the evening commute home would be as warm as the lunchtime ride, I left the top down when I went back into the office.
The sun was going down when I came out of the office at 5:30 and I could immediately tell that it was NOT as warm as it had been a few hours ago. But being the convertible enthusiast that I am, I decided to 'go for it' anyway. I put the windows up and turned the heater on, and turned on the seat warmer too. As I entered the highway and picked up speed I thought to myself 'Its brisk, but tolerable'. Though a bit chilly, I was in heaven.
Productive, Relaxing, and Fun!
...that's how I'll describe this passed weekend.
Friday night we headed up to the shore. Saturday morning we went over to the old place to remove the last few items and do our final cleaning. We got the ol' place looking pretty good, and then the perspective buyer arrived. She was very nice, and we got along very well right away. In addition to looking at and talking about the LRG, we talked about families, jobs, politics - you name it! We were there with her for 2 hours. She's quite interested and said that if she didn't call us within 2 days with a definite answer, we were to call her. Then she gave us both hugs before she left. So, we're hoping she calls us today or tomorrow. She really seems like the right kind of person to appreciate the unique charm of the LRG. That was the productive part.
Kerry & Hugh met us and we went for a late lunch, then headed back to the new place the four of us own together. This was their first time seeing the place since Joe & I moved all our stuff over from the LRG. After the 'tour', we just hung out for a while, talking and laughing. Then we watched a DVD Kerry had brought called "Clerks". It was pretty good. Then we decided to skip dinner (due to the late lunch) and have dessert at a fancy/trendy New York bistro-ish restaurant nearby. Kerry & Joe had molten chocolate parfaits and Hugh & I had warm bread pudding with caramel sauce. All four of us had coffee. Then, back to the house to watch a little TV, talk, and laugh some more. That was the relaxing part.
Sunday morning Hugh made breakfast: omelets, bacon and sausage, and blueberry muffins. YUM! After lingering over a couple cups of coffee, we got ourselves together. Kerry & Hugh met up with Hugh's cousin for a quick errand, and Joe & I ran a few errands of our own. Then we met up with each other for the Polar Bear Plunge at the beach!
Kerry & Hugh made a $50. donation each to the Polar Bear Plunge, which benefits the Special Olympics. Polar Bears must wear nothing but a bathing suit and run into the ocean, get wet up to the neck, and run back out! Mind you, it was Feb 6, and it was unusually balmy at 48 degrees. The water was only 36 degrees. We'd gotten snow only 3 days prior.
Joe was in charge of their clothes/bags/etc, and I was in charge of the DVD camera. When the announcer said "GO!" I was filming the shrieks and screams as everyone tossed aside their thick terry robes and flip flops and charged into the water. Then came the mad dash back to the implements of warmth. Kerry & Hugh said it was really exciting and fun, so that was the fun part.
After a shower and clean clothes, we had a late lunch of cream of crab soup, crab stuffed cod, crab imperial melts, and fried oysters, and then prepared to head home. Since the Super Bowl was in progress by that time, there was very little traffic on the roads and we made it home without in record time.
It was a great weekend!
Friday night we headed up to the shore. Saturday morning we went over to the old place to remove the last few items and do our final cleaning. We got the ol' place looking pretty good, and then the perspective buyer arrived. She was very nice, and we got along very well right away. In addition to looking at and talking about the LRG, we talked about families, jobs, politics - you name it! We were there with her for 2 hours. She's quite interested and said that if she didn't call us within 2 days with a definite answer, we were to call her. Then she gave us both hugs before she left. So, we're hoping she calls us today or tomorrow. She really seems like the right kind of person to appreciate the unique charm of the LRG. That was the productive part.
Kerry & Hugh met us and we went for a late lunch, then headed back to the new place the four of us own together. This was their first time seeing the place since Joe & I moved all our stuff over from the LRG. After the 'tour', we just hung out for a while, talking and laughing. Then we watched a DVD Kerry had brought called "Clerks". It was pretty good. Then we decided to skip dinner (due to the late lunch) and have dessert at a fancy/trendy New York bistro-ish restaurant nearby. Kerry & Joe had molten chocolate parfaits and Hugh & I had warm bread pudding with caramel sauce. All four of us had coffee. Then, back to the house to watch a little TV, talk, and laugh some more. That was the relaxing part.
Sunday morning Hugh made breakfast: omelets, bacon and sausage, and blueberry muffins. YUM! After lingering over a couple cups of coffee, we got ourselves together. Kerry & Hugh met up with Hugh's cousin for a quick errand, and Joe & I ran a few errands of our own. Then we met up with each other for the Polar Bear Plunge at the beach!
Kerry & Hugh made a $50. donation each to the Polar Bear Plunge, which benefits the Special Olympics. Polar Bears must wear nothing but a bathing suit and run into the ocean, get wet up to the neck, and run back out! Mind you, it was Feb 6, and it was unusually balmy at 48 degrees. The water was only 36 degrees. We'd gotten snow only 3 days prior.
Joe was in charge of their clothes/bags/etc, and I was in charge of the DVD camera. When the announcer said "GO!" I was filming the shrieks and screams as everyone tossed aside their thick terry robes and flip flops and charged into the water. Then came the mad dash back to the implements of warmth. Kerry & Hugh said it was really exciting and fun, so that was the fun part.
After a shower and clean clothes, we had a late lunch of cream of crab soup, crab stuffed cod, crab imperial melts, and fried oysters, and then prepared to head home. Since the Super Bowl was in progress by that time, there was very little traffic on the roads and we made it home without in record time.
It was a great weekend!
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
More Movies?
Okay, I am sure I have surpassed a personal record. As you know from my previous posts, we rented 7 movies a week and a half ago and watched them all in 2 days. Then on Monday of this week, Kerry & Hugh invited us to the Cinema & Draft House. It is an old theatre, probably built in the 40s or 50s that shows movies and has waitresses who will bring you food and drinks. It's a fun concept, but they allow smoking, so you come out of the place smelling like an ashtray.
Joe had an appointment, but I decided to meet Kerry & Hugh at the Cinema & Draft House because I wanted to see 'Ray'. You can imagine my delight upon finding out that Mondays are $1.00 night!! That's right - I only paid $1.00 to see 'Ray'. It was great. Jamie Foxx did an amazing job portraying Ray Charles. The music was great and the story was compelling. I had no idea Ray Charles was a bad heroine addict for several years. I would definitely recommend it. (The movie, that is... not heroine.)
Then Tuesday night we realized we hadn't seen the movie we had rented over the weekend, and since it was due back on Wednesday, we watched it on Tuesday night. 'Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle'. It was much better and funnier than I had expected. I remember the trailer looked interesting but I thought it was going to be just marginally entertaining. But it was much more than marginally entertaining. In fact, I'd recommend it.
So, within a 2 week span, I have seen 9 movies - definitely a record for me.
We'd talked about joining Netflix, that service where you will be mailed 3 movies at a time, you watch them, return them in postage-paid envelopes, and they send you 3 more movies. You can keep doing this as many times as you want, for $17.95 per month. But then we figured we'd better not jump the gun... after all, this '9 movies in 2 weeks' thing was definitely a fluke. On average, we probably only rent 1 or 2 movies a month, so $17.95 a month would be way more than we'd pay at the video store. Plus, there are some months (especially in the summer) where we don't rent any movies at all.
I must say, now that I've viewed all of these movies, I am anxious to go to a party so I can talk with others who have seen them. So often when I'm at a party and people talk about current movies I have little idea what they're talking about because I'm lucky if I've seen the trailer on TV, much less seen the actual movie. Maybe I'll host a party so I can talk with people about the movies I've seen. :-)
Last November I went to the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival and saw several movies in a short period of time. I saw 4 films one day and 3 the next. I loved it. I really enjoy indy films and look forward to this film festival every year. (I'm not able to go every year, but I still look forward to it.) Joe is not as big a movie fan as me so he didn't go to the film festival. He did join me at the beach that Friday night after work though, and we spent the rest of the weekend there. We love being near the beach.
Joe had an appointment, but I decided to meet Kerry & Hugh at the Cinema & Draft House because I wanted to see 'Ray'. You can imagine my delight upon finding out that Mondays are $1.00 night!! That's right - I only paid $1.00 to see 'Ray'. It was great. Jamie Foxx did an amazing job portraying Ray Charles. The music was great and the story was compelling. I had no idea Ray Charles was a bad heroine addict for several years. I would definitely recommend it. (The movie, that is... not heroine.)
Then Tuesday night we realized we hadn't seen the movie we had rented over the weekend, and since it was due back on Wednesday, we watched it on Tuesday night. 'Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle'. It was much better and funnier than I had expected. I remember the trailer looked interesting but I thought it was going to be just marginally entertaining. But it was much more than marginally entertaining. In fact, I'd recommend it.
So, within a 2 week span, I have seen 9 movies - definitely a record for me.
We'd talked about joining Netflix, that service where you will be mailed 3 movies at a time, you watch them, return them in postage-paid envelopes, and they send you 3 more movies. You can keep doing this as many times as you want, for $17.95 per month. But then we figured we'd better not jump the gun... after all, this '9 movies in 2 weeks' thing was definitely a fluke. On average, we probably only rent 1 or 2 movies a month, so $17.95 a month would be way more than we'd pay at the video store. Plus, there are some months (especially in the summer) where we don't rent any movies at all.
I must say, now that I've viewed all of these movies, I am anxious to go to a party so I can talk with others who have seen them. So often when I'm at a party and people talk about current movies I have little idea what they're talking about because I'm lucky if I've seen the trailer on TV, much less seen the actual movie. Maybe I'll host a party so I can talk with people about the movies I've seen. :-)
Last November I went to the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival and saw several movies in a short period of time. I saw 4 films one day and 3 the next. I loved it. I really enjoy indy films and look forward to this film festival every year. (I'm not able to go every year, but I still look forward to it.) Joe is not as big a movie fan as me so he didn't go to the film festival. He did join me at the beach that Friday night after work though, and we spent the rest of the weekend there. We love being near the beach.
Monday, January 31, 2005
Keeping my New Year's Resolution
This passed New Year's Eve I resolved to do more entertaining at home.
We used to entertain at home a lot. We've done it enough times that we've got it pretty much down to a science. We know our strengths: Joe cooks and I clean, before and after. It works for us. I guess we just got a little lazy and stopped making plans to have friends over. So on New Year's Eve I resolved to have friends over for dinner at least once every month.
On Saturday our friends Michael and Jamie came over. They are both very sweet, fun young guys. I say 'young' because they are both 26. Normally I would imagine we wouldn't have much in common with guys 15 years younger than us, but we do. They are not 'typical' 26 year olds. We share a lot of common interests. They like flea markets and yard sales like us. They like finding 'cheap neighborhood eats' like us. They like to travel like us. They're a lot of fun and we like them a lot.
We made chili in the crockpot way in advance, so the main course was already done. To go along with it, Joe made corn casserole. It's a recipe he got from Paula Dean, that southern belle who owns the restaurant 'Lady and Sons' in Savannah, and who has a cooking show on the Food Network. She's never worried about calories or fat. Every recipe starts with at least one stick of butter. Joe has made this corn casserole at least 4 times in the last 3 months, and it has been a big hit with everyone who's tried it. Michael and Jamie brought desert. We had a lovely time.
We ate in the kitchen. To me, that is a compliment to our friends to have them over and eat in the kitchen. Forgoing the formality of the dining room, the special plates and flatware, and all the fancy serving pieces tells our friends 'we feel close enough to you to have you eat in the kitchen'. That is, as long as we're only talking about 2 guests. Our kitchen table comfortably seats 4, so if we're having more than 2 guests, we'll eat in the dining room.
Earlier in the week Joe was emailing our friend Justine and invited her and her partner Liz to dinner on Sunday. Then it came to me: What a brilliant idea! Clean the house once on Saturday, and have company Saturday night and Sunday too. Two dinners for the (housecleaning) price of one! Justine and Liz were available, so they came over on Sunday. We ate in the kitchen with them, too.
Joe decided to make a turkey breast, homemade dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, biscuits, gravy, and peas. A virtual 'Thanksgiving in January'. Everything was delicious and we had a great time. For desert we had a chocolate cream pie, purchased from the grocery store. That was okay; I've certainly had better. But we lingered for a few hours over coffee with cinnamon in it, and discussed everything from the Bush administration, to vacation plans, to investment opportunities, to funny clients Joe & Justine had worked with years ago in a group home for people with chronic mental illness. We had a great time.
Then I started thinking about some of my other New Year's resolutions, like dieting, exercising, getting my home office organized, and wondered why they couldn't be as easy and fun as entertaining once (or twice) a month???
We used to entertain at home a lot. We've done it enough times that we've got it pretty much down to a science. We know our strengths: Joe cooks and I clean, before and after. It works for us. I guess we just got a little lazy and stopped making plans to have friends over. So on New Year's Eve I resolved to have friends over for dinner at least once every month.
On Saturday our friends Michael and Jamie came over. They are both very sweet, fun young guys. I say 'young' because they are both 26. Normally I would imagine we wouldn't have much in common with guys 15 years younger than us, but we do. They are not 'typical' 26 year olds. We share a lot of common interests. They like flea markets and yard sales like us. They like finding 'cheap neighborhood eats' like us. They like to travel like us. They're a lot of fun and we like them a lot.
We made chili in the crockpot way in advance, so the main course was already done. To go along with it, Joe made corn casserole. It's a recipe he got from Paula Dean, that southern belle who owns the restaurant 'Lady and Sons' in Savannah, and who has a cooking show on the Food Network. She's never worried about calories or fat. Every recipe starts with at least one stick of butter. Joe has made this corn casserole at least 4 times in the last 3 months, and it has been a big hit with everyone who's tried it. Michael and Jamie brought desert. We had a lovely time.
We ate in the kitchen. To me, that is a compliment to our friends to have them over and eat in the kitchen. Forgoing the formality of the dining room, the special plates and flatware, and all the fancy serving pieces tells our friends 'we feel close enough to you to have you eat in the kitchen'. That is, as long as we're only talking about 2 guests. Our kitchen table comfortably seats 4, so if we're having more than 2 guests, we'll eat in the dining room.
Earlier in the week Joe was emailing our friend Justine and invited her and her partner Liz to dinner on Sunday. Then it came to me: What a brilliant idea! Clean the house once on Saturday, and have company Saturday night and Sunday too. Two dinners for the (housecleaning) price of one! Justine and Liz were available, so they came over on Sunday. We ate in the kitchen with them, too.
Joe decided to make a turkey breast, homemade dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, biscuits, gravy, and peas. A virtual 'Thanksgiving in January'. Everything was delicious and we had a great time. For desert we had a chocolate cream pie, purchased from the grocery store. That was okay; I've certainly had better. But we lingered for a few hours over coffee with cinnamon in it, and discussed everything from the Bush administration, to vacation plans, to investment opportunities, to funny clients Joe & Justine had worked with years ago in a group home for people with chronic mental illness. We had a great time.
Then I started thinking about some of my other New Year's resolutions, like dieting, exercising, getting my home office organized, and wondered why they couldn't be as easy and fun as entertaining once (or twice) a month???
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Hair Salon
I was rather shocked when I walked into my husband-and-wife owned and operated hair salon this evening. It smelled of incense. There was classical music playing. My girl, Ximena (pronounced Him-ee-nah) wasn't there. Something was very "off".
She's always there on Wednesdays. Her days off are Tuesday and Thursday, and they always have been. I've always been able to come in without an appointment any day of the week or weekend except Tuesday and Thursday and get my hair cut or highlights done by Ximena. But rather than seeing her and the usual faces of Mr and Mrs Aponte, the owners, there were 3 Vietnamese folks just waiting for a customer to sit in their hydraulic chairs.
At first I thought the Apontes had hired some new stylists. After all, the shelves of neatly arranged hair care products were in the same place, the 1960s-looking vending machine was in the same place, and all the furniture and hairstyle posters on the walls (from 1994) were the same. But as "Danny" (not his real name, I'm sure) began cutting my hair I noticed this enormous, beautiful bamboo plant on the reception desk and I began to fear the worst.
"Danny" said that he had just taken over the lease on the shop. Mr Aponte had turned 65 and decided not to renew the lease. Instead he apparently sold his business to "Danny" and he and Mrs Aponte had gone back to Puerto Rico for an extended vacation. They will come back and sell their house and move to Puerto Rico. "Danny" signed a new lease.
I began to wonder if any of the stylists who worked for the Apontes were still around so I waited for the right time to ask. No, Ximena had quit, Mario Aponte (the son of the former owners) had quit, and the older Japanese lady Shumiko wanted to stay on but couldn't because she did color treatments, or something, and they couldn't do colors now, or something. "Danny's" English was broken to the point that I probably only understood about half of what he said.
He went on to tell me that upon coming to America he had worked in one barbershop for 3 years, but had to move on when the owner retired. He was at his next position for 11 years, until that owner died, or moved, or something. He's been in this country for 14 years and this is only the 3rd place he's worked. When he came over from Vietnam it was his "dream" to one day have his own shop. "My dream has finally come true" he told me. And for a second or two I was genuinely happy for him. But my thoughts turned quickly back to myself and my need to find another salon now where I could have a regular hairdresser every time, without an appointment, who gave a decent haircut, could do highlights the way I like them, and didn't charge an arm and a leg.
You see, I don't like the way my hair looks when they put that cap on my head and pull the hair threw and highlight it. It's painful that way, too. Since my hair is so short to begin with, they wind up cutting off all of the highlights immediately after putting them in! Plus, the cap method gives me 'spotty' highlights. I had trained Ximena to use a comb and a paint brush to do my highlights. With the paint brush you transfer the color from the bowl to the comb, then you lightly comb the color threw the hair. Since there's no cap in your way, the color goes down closer to the roots so they don't cut off all the highlights right away. I think I invented that technique myself. For me, it's the only way.
"Danny" chatted on for awhile, asking me all kinds of questions in an attempt to keep my business. "Are you married?" "How are your parents doing?" "How was the traffic tonight?" "It was warm enough to melt the snow today, huh?" I hope I gave the right canned answers, as I really wasn't paying sufficient attention to be sure. Instead I was trying to figure out where I was going to get my highlights done before my next social outing.
As we were wrapping up, "Danny" gave me the pitch: "I'm sure you have friends. I'd appreciate it if you'd tell them about my new business here. I'm planning on a promotion soon, maybe next week. You'll be able to drop your business card in a box and once a month I'll pull one out and that person will get a free haircut..." all in his broken English. At least that's what I think he said. I shook my head and said "Oh, that sounds like a good idea", all the while knowing I wouldn't be back because they don't do color treatments. And I need my highlights.
The lose of my convenient, dependable, and affordable hair salon brought back the memory of another tragic lose: that of the lose of my favorite family-owned Mexican restaurant, The Taco House, that went out of business last April. I returned to my car with a lighter head, but a heavier heart.
She's always there on Wednesdays. Her days off are Tuesday and Thursday, and they always have been. I've always been able to come in without an appointment any day of the week or weekend except Tuesday and Thursday and get my hair cut or highlights done by Ximena. But rather than seeing her and the usual faces of Mr and Mrs Aponte, the owners, there were 3 Vietnamese folks just waiting for a customer to sit in their hydraulic chairs.
At first I thought the Apontes had hired some new stylists. After all, the shelves of neatly arranged hair care products were in the same place, the 1960s-looking vending machine was in the same place, and all the furniture and hairstyle posters on the walls (from 1994) were the same. But as "Danny" (not his real name, I'm sure) began cutting my hair I noticed this enormous, beautiful bamboo plant on the reception desk and I began to fear the worst.
"Danny" said that he had just taken over the lease on the shop. Mr Aponte had turned 65 and decided not to renew the lease. Instead he apparently sold his business to "Danny" and he and Mrs Aponte had gone back to Puerto Rico for an extended vacation. They will come back and sell their house and move to Puerto Rico. "Danny" signed a new lease.
I began to wonder if any of the stylists who worked for the Apontes were still around so I waited for the right time to ask. No, Ximena had quit, Mario Aponte (the son of the former owners) had quit, and the older Japanese lady Shumiko wanted to stay on but couldn't because she did color treatments, or something, and they couldn't do colors now, or something. "Danny's" English was broken to the point that I probably only understood about half of what he said.
He went on to tell me that upon coming to America he had worked in one barbershop for 3 years, but had to move on when the owner retired. He was at his next position for 11 years, until that owner died, or moved, or something. He's been in this country for 14 years and this is only the 3rd place he's worked. When he came over from Vietnam it was his "dream" to one day have his own shop. "My dream has finally come true" he told me. And for a second or two I was genuinely happy for him. But my thoughts turned quickly back to myself and my need to find another salon now where I could have a regular hairdresser every time, without an appointment, who gave a decent haircut, could do highlights the way I like them, and didn't charge an arm and a leg.
You see, I don't like the way my hair looks when they put that cap on my head and pull the hair threw and highlight it. It's painful that way, too. Since my hair is so short to begin with, they wind up cutting off all of the highlights immediately after putting them in! Plus, the cap method gives me 'spotty' highlights. I had trained Ximena to use a comb and a paint brush to do my highlights. With the paint brush you transfer the color from the bowl to the comb, then you lightly comb the color threw the hair. Since there's no cap in your way, the color goes down closer to the roots so they don't cut off all the highlights right away. I think I invented that technique myself. For me, it's the only way.
"Danny" chatted on for awhile, asking me all kinds of questions in an attempt to keep my business. "Are you married?" "How are your parents doing?" "How was the traffic tonight?" "It was warm enough to melt the snow today, huh?" I hope I gave the right canned answers, as I really wasn't paying sufficient attention to be sure. Instead I was trying to figure out where I was going to get my highlights done before my next social outing.
As we were wrapping up, "Danny" gave me the pitch: "I'm sure you have friends. I'd appreciate it if you'd tell them about my new business here. I'm planning on a promotion soon, maybe next week. You'll be able to drop your business card in a box and once a month I'll pull one out and that person will get a free haircut..." all in his broken English. At least that's what I think he said. I shook my head and said "Oh, that sounds like a good idea", all the while knowing I wouldn't be back because they don't do color treatments. And I need my highlights.
The lose of my convenient, dependable, and affordable hair salon brought back the memory of another tragic lose: that of the lose of my favorite family-owned Mexican restaurant, The Taco House, that went out of business last April. I returned to my car with a lighter head, but a heavier heart.
Melting
Yesterday the temperature reached the low 40s and today it reached the low 50s. Needless to say, much of the 5-6 inches of snow we got on Saturday is melting... fast! We probably only need about 1 more day of temps like this to melt all of it, but that's not going to happen. According to the forecast I heard on my way home from work tonight, it is only going to reach 26-28 degrees tomorrow and Friday. So that means that all the snow that's been melting yesterday and today will freeze tonight and we'll have slippery streets the next few days. Ah, Washington weather...
Monday, January 24, 2005
Movies
On Friday Joe & I decided to have a nice relaxing weekend and watch a bunch of movies. We've never really done that before, and the idea of it was intriguing. It was cold and snowy outside, but we'd be warm and cozy in our house, wearing our sweatpants and flannel pajama pants, watching movies. How decadent - I could hardly wait!
I had a list of 5 movies I wanted to rent. I knew that my local video store carried them because I'd looked them up on their website. However, I was prepared to be disappointed, since the entire DC area was hunkering down for a major snow storm. (See my previous post entitled "Snow".) To my surprise, I found 4 out of the 5 still had copies available to rent!
Of course, it could be because we are some of the few people left who still rent VHS movies. (Easy now, I heard that gasp...) We do own a DVD player, and we actually watched a few DVDs, but that was before the cable company made us get a cable box and before we switched out our TV. Ever since those two things we've not been able to get the DVD to work. I'm certain its just hooked up incorrectly, but we are both 'techno-challenged' so we'll need to depend on the kindness of our 'techno-enabled' friends to troubleshoot our spider's web of cords and cables.
Practically giddy from finding 4 out of my 5 choices, we decided to 'go for broke' and just keep picking up movies that interested us. For the first time ever, we rented 7 movies in a single visit to the video store. Here's a little synopsis of the movies, along with my personal thumbs up or thumbs down:
1. Touch of Pink - A delightful indy film about a gay Indian man and his struggles with family and coming out. Thank goodness he gets regular advice from his life-long imaginary friend Carey Grant!! I saw this film last Nov at the Rehoboth Beach Independant Film Festival and liked it so much I rented it so Joe & I could watch it together. Definite thumbs up.
2. Troy - This is the L - O - N - G story of the Greeks and the Trojans, including the kidnapping of Helen (of Troy) and the tricky Trojan horse. Brad Pitt plays Achilles unconvincingly, which is not a surprise, since Brad Pitt plays every role unconvincingly. Orlando Bloom does a good job as Hector, the Prince of Troy, and he's a real hottie. There are lots of men in short skirts, so if you're a leg man, you'll like it, but I really can't recommend this film since it is nearly 2 1/2 hours long. Normally I say 'the longer the better' (wink) but not this time.
3. Garden State - This is the story of a late-20s guy who returns to his hometown in NJ for his mother's funeral. He hasn't been back in 10 years. The story is almost interesting, but we found ourselves wanting more to happen. Unfortunately the movie ends just as it appears its about to get good. I really wouldn't feel right about recommeding this one either.
4. The Village - This is about a group of people who have chosen to live a simple life in an isolated area surrounded by a forest haunted by fearsome animals. They never enter the forest and the animals never enter their clearing. Only, life isn't quite as simple as it looks. This was a thriller that did not contain a lot of blood and gore, so I liked it. They gave me "thrill" without the "kill". Thumbs up.
5. Taking Lives - Angolina Jolie plays an FBI agent called in to investigate a suspected serial killer. After seemingly solving the case, she determines the real killer is still on the loose. Once again, a good thriller that doesn't have a lot of blood and gore. Thumbs up.
6. Napolean Dynamite - Okay, you have to be in the right (silly) mood to enjoy this film. Napolean Dynamite is a geeky, unpopular high school boy who lives with his 32 year old unemployed brother and Grandmother in Idaho, and are frequently visited by a hispanic man named Uncle Rico. There really isn't a lot of plot to this movie, but you basically go through a few days in Napolean's life and there are several things that will crack you up... if you're in the right mood. Thumbs up on this one... if you're in the right mood.
7. Open Water - This is based on a true story about a man and a woman accidentally left behind in the ocean by their scuba group. I didn't watch this film, but Joe did. I could tell from the preview I'd seen that this movie would just make me feel nervous the entire time. Who needs that when you're having a relaxing film festival at home in your pajamas?
During a break between films I decided to make home made chocolate chip pecan cookies. It is truly amazing how delicious flour, butter, sugar, chocolate and nuts can be! Since our next door neighbor boy kindly shoveled our sidewalks (we didn't ask him to) and his mother had fed our cat, Pouncer while we were in VT, we decided to share the cookies with them. That was the only time we left the house the entire weekend; to walk next door and give them the cookies.
I had a list of 5 movies I wanted to rent. I knew that my local video store carried them because I'd looked them up on their website. However, I was prepared to be disappointed, since the entire DC area was hunkering down for a major snow storm. (See my previous post entitled "Snow".) To my surprise, I found 4 out of the 5 still had copies available to rent!
Of course, it could be because we are some of the few people left who still rent VHS movies. (Easy now, I heard that gasp...) We do own a DVD player, and we actually watched a few DVDs, but that was before the cable company made us get a cable box and before we switched out our TV. Ever since those two things we've not been able to get the DVD to work. I'm certain its just hooked up incorrectly, but we are both 'techno-challenged' so we'll need to depend on the kindness of our 'techno-enabled' friends to troubleshoot our spider's web of cords and cables.
Practically giddy from finding 4 out of my 5 choices, we decided to 'go for broke' and just keep picking up movies that interested us. For the first time ever, we rented 7 movies in a single visit to the video store. Here's a little synopsis of the movies, along with my personal thumbs up or thumbs down:
1. Touch of Pink - A delightful indy film about a gay Indian man and his struggles with family and coming out. Thank goodness he gets regular advice from his life-long imaginary friend Carey Grant!! I saw this film last Nov at the Rehoboth Beach Independant Film Festival and liked it so much I rented it so Joe & I could watch it together. Definite thumbs up.
2. Troy - This is the L - O - N - G story of the Greeks and the Trojans, including the kidnapping of Helen (of Troy) and the tricky Trojan horse. Brad Pitt plays Achilles unconvincingly, which is not a surprise, since Brad Pitt plays every role unconvincingly. Orlando Bloom does a good job as Hector, the Prince of Troy, and he's a real hottie. There are lots of men in short skirts, so if you're a leg man, you'll like it, but I really can't recommend this film since it is nearly 2 1/2 hours long. Normally I say 'the longer the better' (wink) but not this time.
3. Garden State - This is the story of a late-20s guy who returns to his hometown in NJ for his mother's funeral. He hasn't been back in 10 years. The story is almost interesting, but we found ourselves wanting more to happen. Unfortunately the movie ends just as it appears its about to get good. I really wouldn't feel right about recommeding this one either.
4. The Village - This is about a group of people who have chosen to live a simple life in an isolated area surrounded by a forest haunted by fearsome animals. They never enter the forest and the animals never enter their clearing. Only, life isn't quite as simple as it looks. This was a thriller that did not contain a lot of blood and gore, so I liked it. They gave me "thrill" without the "kill". Thumbs up.
5. Taking Lives - Angolina Jolie plays an FBI agent called in to investigate a suspected serial killer. After seemingly solving the case, she determines the real killer is still on the loose. Once again, a good thriller that doesn't have a lot of blood and gore. Thumbs up.
6. Napolean Dynamite - Okay, you have to be in the right (silly) mood to enjoy this film. Napolean Dynamite is a geeky, unpopular high school boy who lives with his 32 year old unemployed brother and Grandmother in Idaho, and are frequently visited by a hispanic man named Uncle Rico. There really isn't a lot of plot to this movie, but you basically go through a few days in Napolean's life and there are several things that will crack you up... if you're in the right mood. Thumbs up on this one... if you're in the right mood.
7. Open Water - This is based on a true story about a man and a woman accidentally left behind in the ocean by their scuba group. I didn't watch this film, but Joe did. I could tell from the preview I'd seen that this movie would just make me feel nervous the entire time. Who needs that when you're having a relaxing film festival at home in your pajamas?
During a break between films I decided to make home made chocolate chip pecan cookies. It is truly amazing how delicious flour, butter, sugar, chocolate and nuts can be! Since our next door neighbor boy kindly shoveled our sidewalks (we didn't ask him to) and his mother had fed our cat, Pouncer while we were in VT, we decided to share the cookies with them. That was the only time we left the house the entire weekend; to walk next door and give them the cookies.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)