Entries from February 1, 2007 - March 1, 2007
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Going to therapy is a good thing. Really. But the days with a visit tacked on to the end have this problem. Just after lunch my stomach begins to gurgle and I can feel my already tight shoulders becoming monuments. Whatever focus I started the day with washes away and clock-watching begins in earnest. It’s the whole not knowing where the conversation is going to go. There’s no discussion about homework. There’s no starting place beyond “What’s new?”
What am I supposed to say? “Since I talked to you two weeks ago? Squid’s come and gone, I acquired butt-rot at the movies and Bossman still breathes. So, nothing much.” It’s a silly litany glossing over the stuff I’m in the room trying to recognize.
There’s no order.
There’s nothing to prepare.
There’s no relief.
Except to go and get the ‘fun’ over with.
So I can spend the next two days recovering.
What am I supposed to say? “Since I talked to you two weeks ago? Squid’s come and gone, I acquired butt-rot at the movies and Bossman still breathes. So, nothing much.” It’s a silly litany glossing over the stuff I’m in the room trying to recognize.
There’s no order.
There’s nothing to prepare.
There’s no relief.
Except to go and get the ‘fun’ over with.
So I can spend the next two days recovering.
Answering the Professor's Questions
Yesterday, I received five questions from profgrrrrl. She offered her readers to interview them like she’s Katie Couric, though she’s not Katie Couric. It’s alot of fun. If you want to me to ask you five questions like Diane Sawyer[1], though I’m not Diane Sawyer, leave me a comment saying as much.
Let’s let the fun begin!
1. What do you like best about your job? That it pays the bills? No, really it’s that when I’m allowed to do my job and I find the groove there’s a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. I’ve framed something, I’ve checked something, we’ve sent plans out[2]. I love the sense that there’s product to show for my work.
2. What would your perfect day be like? Well, it would definitely be warm, sunny and bugless. I’d awake without the benefit of an alarm and enjoy a day of lazin’ around, talking and eating with my favorite friends outside[3], and be blessed with a peaceful evening alone to write and gather my thoughts.
3. Where would you most like to go on a vacation? New York City - It’s the one east coast city I’ve never been to see. There’s history, art, bridges, theatre and cool spaces to see. I’ve also got one last assignment hanging over my head from my analysis class to fulfill in my lifetime.
4. If you had to replace MPC, what would you get? That’s a tough question. Having just finished paying for her, I’ve tried to keep from looking at the new car models to avoid irrational purchasing choices. Having said that, I like the idea of sitting higher off the ground. I really love driving Mom’s Rav4 and the remodeled CRV looks way too much like the Toyota Carolla 4x4 Station Wagon that would have been mine[4] that I loved driving when I was home from college.
5. What part of your daily routine would be hardest to break? The daily dance I do with the snooze button. It’s become something of an embarrassing ritual fueled by my love of the job.
[1] Katie Couric is just too bloody chipper. Really.
[2] When the plans don’t represent something “thrown” together to make lines on a page.
[3] Lazin’ would include a sun-kissed afternoon nap of course.
[4] If Squid hadn’t totalled it while blowing his nose.
Let’s let the fun begin!
1. What do you like best about your job? That it pays the bills? No, really it’s that when I’m allowed to do my job and I find the groove there’s a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. I’ve framed something, I’ve checked something, we’ve sent plans out[2]. I love the sense that there’s product to show for my work.
2. What would your perfect day be like? Well, it would definitely be warm, sunny and bugless. I’d awake without the benefit of an alarm and enjoy a day of lazin’ around, talking and eating with my favorite friends outside[3], and be blessed with a peaceful evening alone to write and gather my thoughts.
3. Where would you most like to go on a vacation? New York City - It’s the one east coast city I’ve never been to see. There’s history, art, bridges, theatre and cool spaces to see. I’ve also got one last assignment hanging over my head from my analysis class to fulfill in my lifetime.
4. If you had to replace MPC, what would you get? That’s a tough question. Having just finished paying for her, I’ve tried to keep from looking at the new car models to avoid irrational purchasing choices. Having said that, I like the idea of sitting higher off the ground. I really love driving Mom’s Rav4 and the remodeled CRV looks way too much like the Toyota Carolla 4x4 Station Wagon that would have been mine[4] that I loved driving when I was home from college.
5. What part of your daily routine would be hardest to break? The daily dance I do with the snooze button. It’s become something of an embarrassing ritual fueled by my love of the job.
[1] Katie Couric is just too bloody chipper. Really.
[2] When the plans don’t represent something “thrown” together to make lines on a page.
[3] Lazin’ would include a sun-kissed afternoon nap of course.
[4] If Squid hadn’t totalled it while blowing his nose.
An Oscar Roundup
I did make it to the theatre to see all five of Oscar’s Best Picture Nominees on Saturday. The long day proved to be an interesting way to see all of these movies, with a spirit of camaraderie providing links in a room full of strangers. It’s important to remember when reading the reviews below that before Saturday I don’t think I’d ever seen either a Scorsese or an Eastwood movie.
The day began with Babel. I found this movie, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, to be overly disjointed. Parts of it were beautifully shot, but the threads between the stories being tenuous and one of the three stories being told out of sync with the others I never found myself sucked into the movie. I remained outside the experience. The lengths Iñárritu went to illustrate the movie’s reality added to the disconnect. With each scene of beating violence, killing chickens and deafening music I found myself pulling further away from film. I liked that the ends remained loose, and you never saw the young kids in one of the story lines after they were rescued. So, I guess I’m really of two minds here – parts of reality I don’t mind seeing, but others I’d rather not acknowledge.
Babel
Of the days five films, the success of The Queen leaned the most heavily on the actor’s ability to embody a role. Knowing that this account of the actions of Queen Elizabeth II in the week following Diana’s death is speculation, Helen Mirran’s hands drew me into this world and kept me believing the ‘truth’ of the story. The movie ended up being much funnier than many of us expected it to be. The humor found in the small “cold tea” moments amuses rather than overwhelms. As an introvert I appreciated the recognition of private emotions, and acknowledged it to be an acceptable form of mourning – if you’re not the Queen of England. This portrayal of the battle between public and private faces resonated even to my common level.
The Queen
The middle film of the day, brought what I came to identify as a live action cartoon – as odd as that sounds. Peppered with explosive moments of violence, The Departed crossed the undefined line from reality to cartoon. Aided by a spectacular caricature by Jack Nicholson, the tension I felt about the outcome of this story dissipated half an hour before the climax of the film. I do have to admit, however, to being the sole chuckler in the theatre when Oliver Queenan, as played by Martin Sheen, started talking about his son at Notre Dame. With the exception of Nicholson, the performances were quite good; and while, somewhere in the telling of the story Scorsese pushed too far and I didn’t care anymore I still enjoyed watching the movie.
The Departed
Because it was the fourth movie of the day my opinion of Letters from Iwo Jima may later prove to be overly tinged with apathy. This deliberately paced, blue-grey washed film never managed to make me care. While it’s reasonable to assume that I distanced myself from the characters because their known emanate death, I never saw a way into the experiences of these soldiers. The overriding melancholy just hurt. Visually, the movie stunned and managed to convey not only the island’s isolation within the vastness of the Pacific Ocean but the claustrophobic nature of the tunnels in the islands foundations.
Letters from Iwo Jima
Luckily, for my fried brain, I’d seen Little Miss Sunshine prior to Saturday’s viewing. It is a touching broken-family comedy. It is also much funnier when you watch it with other people. What I thoroughly enjoyed about this movie is that all of the relationships felt distinct. For instance, Paul Dano as Dwayne – the mostly non-talking sullen teenager – manages to let the audience know he barely tolerates his stepfather, reluctantly obeys his mother, protectively loves his sister and begrudgingly welcomes his uncle within the first couple of scenes. This movie feels real without crossing the boundaries violated by Babel and part of me respects that. The final dance number says something interesting about not only the objectifying of little girls, but also illustrates something about subversiveness that I still haven’t quite yet defined for myself.
Little Miss Sunshine
As for the Oscars, I’m not overly upset that The Departed won. None of these five movies screamed that they were the best so an acknowledgement of this Scorsese for this movie doesn’t’ seam unwarranted.
The day began with Babel. I found this movie, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, to be overly disjointed. Parts of it were beautifully shot, but the threads between the stories being tenuous and one of the three stories being told out of sync with the others I never found myself sucked into the movie. I remained outside the experience. The lengths Iñárritu went to illustrate the movie’s reality added to the disconnect. With each scene of beating violence, killing chickens and deafening music I found myself pulling further away from film. I liked that the ends remained loose, and you never saw the young kids in one of the story lines after they were rescued. So, I guess I’m really of two minds here – parts of reality I don’t mind seeing, but others I’d rather not acknowledge.Babel
- Matinee or Evening Movie: Matinee
- Add to Collection: No
- Grade: B-
Of the days five films, the success of The Queen leaned the most heavily on the actor’s ability to embody a role. Knowing that this account of the actions of Queen Elizabeth II in the week following Diana’s death is speculation, Helen Mirran’s hands drew me into this world and kept me believing the ‘truth’ of the story. The movie ended up being much funnier than many of us expected it to be. The humor found in the small “cold tea” moments amuses rather than overwhelms. As an introvert I appreciated the recognition of private emotions, and acknowledged it to be an acceptable form of mourning – if you’re not the Queen of England. This portrayal of the battle between public and private faces resonated even to my common level.The Queen
- Matinee or Evening Movie: Evening
- Add to Collection: Yes
- Grade: A-
The middle film of the day, brought what I came to identify as a live action cartoon – as odd as that sounds. Peppered with explosive moments of violence, The Departed crossed the undefined line from reality to cartoon. Aided by a spectacular caricature by Jack Nicholson, the tension I felt about the outcome of this story dissipated half an hour before the climax of the film. I do have to admit, however, to being the sole chuckler in the theatre when Oliver Queenan, as played by Martin Sheen, started talking about his son at Notre Dame. With the exception of Nicholson, the performances were quite good; and while, somewhere in the telling of the story Scorsese pushed too far and I didn’t care anymore I still enjoyed watching the movie.The Departed
- Matinee or Evening Movie: Matinee
- Add to Collection: No
- Grade: B+
Because it was the fourth movie of the day my opinion of Letters from Iwo Jima may later prove to be overly tinged with apathy. This deliberately paced, blue-grey washed film never managed to make me care. While it’s reasonable to assume that I distanced myself from the characters because their known emanate death, I never saw a way into the experiences of these soldiers. The overriding melancholy just hurt. Visually, the movie stunned and managed to convey not only the island’s isolation within the vastness of the Pacific Ocean but the claustrophobic nature of the tunnels in the islands foundations.Letters from Iwo Jima
- Matinee or Evening Movie: Matinee
- Add to Collection: No
- Grade: B
Luckily, for my fried brain, I’d seen Little Miss Sunshine prior to Saturday’s viewing. It is a touching broken-family comedy. It is also much funnier when you watch it with other people. What I thoroughly enjoyed about this movie is that all of the relationships felt distinct. For instance, Paul Dano as Dwayne – the mostly non-talking sullen teenager – manages to let the audience know he barely tolerates his stepfather, reluctantly obeys his mother, protectively loves his sister and begrudgingly welcomes his uncle within the first couple of scenes. This movie feels real without crossing the boundaries violated by Babel and part of me respects that. The final dance number says something interesting about not only the objectifying of little girls, but also illustrates something about subversiveness that I still haven’t quite yet defined for myself.Little Miss Sunshine
- Matinee or Evening Movie: Evening
- Add to Collection: Yes
- Grade: B+
As for the Oscars, I’m not overly upset that The Departed won. None of these five movies screamed that they were the best so an acknowledgement of this Scorsese for this movie doesn’t’ seam unwarranted.
Please Be Unbearable Honest
Do guys spend as much time checking women out as some people I know think they do?
I really need to know the answer to this question. For my own edification. Really.
OK, so I just want to know how clueless I am.
I really need to know the answer to this question. For my own edification. Really.
OK, so I just want to know how clueless I am.
Can the Dryer Do Me a Favor?
So, you know that if I could live in sleeping pants and grey t-shirts I would, right? This weeks member of the how annoying can we be club is none other than socks. I can’t wear shoes without them, I can’t wander around the house in socks, and I have major difficulties buying them small enough[1]. The whole feel of socks gathering around the arch of my foot makes me wiggy. The fact that they move makes me insecure of my footing.
I have decent looking feet, I should be able to show them off year ‘round. Too bad I like real seasons.
[1] Old Navy sells boys socks in the correct size, but they they only come in black, navy and tan. OK, so the black and tan socks are useful, but what in the flip do I need navy socks for? That’s Mom’s color.
I have decent looking feet, I should be able to show them off year ‘round. Too bad I like real seasons.
[1] Old Navy sells boys socks in the correct size, but they they only come in black, navy and tan. OK, so the black and tan socks are useful, but what in the flip do I need navy socks for? That’s Mom’s color.
In Memorium: Dennis Johnson
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
Sadly, one of the reasons why I love a well played game of basketball died yesterday. I can’t say enough about how much I loved watching Dennis Johnson and the rest of the boys play. I loved the inside-out-inside passing. I loved the general dignity of the team. I loved that they played as a team. Bill Simmons says it so much better over at ESPN.
DJ will be missed in my basketball heart.
It's Friday Morning and Nothing Much Has Changed
As my short work week comes to a close, I’ve realized nothing much has changed from last week. Don’t tell Bossman, but, I’m not really sure where to start my work. OK, so this morning I have to complete the site visit report I was supposed to write yesterday, but other than that I don’t have an idea about what really needs to be done next. People above me in the food chain keep complaining about how much work they have. Yesterday, that included a Masthead Architect. The only bad thing is that I fixed the stuff he called about yesterday afternoon, only to do the math more carefully as I left the building last night to realize that I might have screwed the fix up by a quarter of an inch. I’ll have to check the floor-to-floor dimensions when I get back to the office.
Speaking of the office, do I really have to go?
Speaking of the office, do I really have to go?
Hand Me a Practical
| What Your Hands Say About You |
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QOTD 055: Relational Duty
A sense of duty is useful in work, but offensive in personal relations. People wish to be liked, not be endured with patient resignation.
- Bertrand Russell
Skew This
A special thanks to Squid for modeling the hat for me.
Blue Sloth Assignment III: Things That Mystify Me
Jen Mathis
Alley Katt
Ziji Wangmo
Hooray For Saturday
Tiggermn
Groanin’ Jock
Blue Witch
Tim
ally bean
Rayne of Terror
BD
Dan
Mary
Tish
Phil
Tricia
MsShad
Inauspicious Timing
Squid’s coming into town today for a four day visit (weird ‘Spring Break’ timing) and the Great Ant Battle - you know the one I thought was over - resumes.
As I closed the bathroom door to shower today, there they crawled. The corner of the throne room occupied by twenty-four[1] of the little buggers.
I’ve cleaned.
I’ve vacuumed.
I’ve sprayed toxic stuff.
Take the hint you six legged menaces.
[1] No, I didn’t count them. I killed them.
As I closed the bathroom door to shower today, there they crawled. The corner of the throne room occupied by twenty-four[1] of the little buggers.
I’ve cleaned.
I’ve vacuumed.
I’ve sprayed toxic stuff.
Take the hint you six legged menaces.
Go OUTSIDE!!
[1] No, I didn’t count them. I killed them.
I'm Not a Film Geek, But...
I decided to take AMC up on their special showing of the Oscar(r) Best Picture Nominees next Saturday. It’s going to be a whole day of somewhat depressing films. I’m usually a movie watcher, and not a film watcher - but, some part of me decided to try this out at least once. So, Oscar Fest 2007, here I come.
Mental Headline Continuations
I’ll admit to being a headline skimmer. I only click through to read the stories a tiny fraction of the time. Often, when skirting the surface of the days events, my sarcastic bent takes stories in a much more cynical direction. Over the last couple of days, I’ve had way too much fun extending headlines, so I thought I’d include three of them below. (I’ve also included the links to the associated stories in case you care more than I.)
From Wednesdays Headlines
Guardian Unlimited: “US to welcome 7,000 Iraqis” … so we have that many more people to accuse of being terrorists the next time the government needs some scape goats.
Wired News: “Microsoft: ‘We Care” … enough for our bottom line.
From Friday Headlines
Chicago Tribune: “Mideast summit holds particular promise” … yeah, another chance for the states to look like oversized bullies in the school yard.
From Wednesdays Headlines
Guardian Unlimited: “US to welcome 7,000 Iraqis” … so we have that many more people to accuse of being terrorists the next time the government needs some scape goats.
Wired News: “Microsoft: ‘We Care” … enough for our bottom line.
From Friday Headlines
Chicago Tribune: “Mideast summit holds particular promise” … yeah, another chance for the states to look like oversized bullies in the school yard.
