I made it
I made it home from my adventures with W. They weren't so much adventures as.... distractions maybe? I'm not sure how to classify it.
I will say this - I had lunch in the hotel where W. was having his fundraiser hours before the big event. The lunch crowd was unusually thin and the tension was enormous. I wouldn't recommend it for digestion. My usually chatty bartender friend told me he'd been instructed by management not to talk to much and to keep any political opinions to himself.
I think the lesson I've learned from my misadventures with W. is that you should bring a sack lunch on the days when the President visits your neighborhood.
What I'm reading
I was nursing a sickly husband for much of the weekend - when we weren't having the tire fixed (the car is 2 weeks old and already had it's first flat tire - I realize I'm talking about the car like a baby). So I didn't get to finish up the book I've been reading and enjoying called
Death Rat. Mike Nelson, of
MST3K fame is the author and it's a very funny book skewering the weirdness of the current state of American fiction. Oh and mocks all things Minnesota the only way a native son could.
Labels: 2004
By: Alyssa | Monday, March 29, 2004 at Monday, March 29, 2004 | |
Bush is outside my office
He's here for a fundraiser - right across the street. It’s kind of anti-climactic. Streets have been closed off all day. Traffic re-routed. A zillion cops and other large armed men were out and about.
Right now, I’m trying to figure out how to get out of the building without being taken down by any one of the hundreds of members of the security force. I'm menacing with my grotty messenger bag full of dirty gym cloths.
It was scary enough trying to get a sandwich a few hours ago… now that the big guy is here, it should be much worse.
There was an
AP story that implied things were more interesting than they are. I’d say a few hundred people turned out on either side of the party lines. And aside from the people attending a fundraiser, not many people came out to catch a glimpse of the President.
In fact, I heard someone outside (a smoker, who worked in the building) say something along the lines of "You know, when the smoke break is over, most of these people are leaving." To which her colleague replied, "You know it wasn’t that long ago that two million people turned out to see the Patriots."
She’s totally right.
Now just a couple hundred people are chanting "No more Bush."
Labels: 2004
By: Alyssa | Thursday, March 25, 2004 at Thursday, March 25, 2004 | |
I am surrounded
I used to be a normal person…. Well, relatively normal until yesterday. Yesterday I broke. I’ve been working on a big project at work and was doing a lot of really detailed work in a database. It’s tedious work – no one would disagree with me, and it’s almost over. This is the last hurdle but there’s a lot to get through.
Simultaneous to this event, everyone in the office in my immediate vicinity is sick. Not like, I might sneeze once a day sick – like deep, gross, wet, coughing and sneezing and horking sick. It’s symphonic in proportion and scale – a chorus of sickly sounds. I think one of them has TB. Some are so sick they should be at home or perhaps a hospital. They are not. They are at work.
Usually I’m not bothered by this kind of thing. I don’t even hear it most of the time I just tune it out. But there’s so much of it - it’s crushing. I’m strongly considering buying a case of cough drops and leaving them for the office before running off to a germ decontamination facility.
I have become
Howard Hughes.
Labels: 2004
By: Alyssa | at Thursday, March 25, 2004 | |
Jon Stewart
Deeps had a birthday about a week ago and in an unusual move I opted to go for something "off-list." (I request a running list of stuff he has mentioned interest in....blah, blah) This year I got him tickets to see Jon Stewart and that's where we were last night.
It was a pretty great show. I haven't been to the Orpheum in like.... nearly a decade and all I could remember was that it was kind of a hole. I was
so glad to see they'd spruced the place up. Okay, it wasn't spruced up at all. It still smells like feet and cigarettes and looks like it could be condemned at any second.
But the show was really, really good. It was an interesting cross-section of America. I guess I was surprised at how very young members of the crowd were. I saw several mothers and fathers with their teen sons. I will confess, I did not see a lot of teenage girls but I did hear a few.
Stewart did a lot of observational humor, he opened with a couple of funny minutes about Boston - takeaway: Boston, you've got a drinking problem.
Then he moved right into some pretty heavy political humor: our president celebrates the start of wars, not the end. And then back the broader observational stuff: relationships, technology, pets.
I'd only heard maybe 3 recycled jokes in the 90+ minute set - it's pretty fresh material. And he was surprisingly physical which I didn't really expect. He's also good at working the mic - he talks somewhat quietly at various points in the show to draw the audience in.
So there you have it - Jon Stewart puts on a good show. Which really isn't a big surprise to anyone tuning into the Daily Show.
What I'm reading
The current issue of
The Economist magazine - hey I saw the list of what I had been reading and decided to broaden my horizons.
Labels: 2004
By: Alyssa | Sunday, March 21, 2004 at Sunday, March 21, 2004 | |
What I’m reading, or read....
I think my favorite part of anyone’s blog is the "What I’m reading" section. I’m a binge reader and am always on the lookout for something good to read. I haven’t gotten my act together to create a little "What I’m Reading" section (I do have the
book list from my friend Michael D) so this is my first attempt at doing it the lazy way (which is also known as my way).
I will admit that I haven't had a lot of satisfying reading experiences of late, and in general I've been reading some unusual stuff. Actually, I’ve just finished several books in the genre of "This is a really weird book".
Word Made Flesh– I will say, the opener is just…. Visceral. I read it thinking this guy desperately wants this book optioned for a film. The remainder of the book is interesting although not always well developed.
The Preacher – I’ve been reading books from the Preacher series off and on for the past year. I’m almost at the end of the last collection. I have to say – I like the art, the stories are somewhat satisfying, and the visual horror is pretty intense.
Confessing a Murder – I’m really patient with a book. If I don’t like it, I assume that I am the problem. But I abandoned this book about halfway through – I don’t think I’m the problem.
Naked Brunch – I like Sparkle. She’s got a great name and I like her Robin Hudson series (they’re very funny) but this book did exactly nothing for me.
Profoundly Disturbing: Shocking Movies that Changed History – I really enjoyed this book. Joe Bob Briggs essays were thoughtful, well reasoned educational and insightful. Who knew? I think my favorite essays were about "Shaft" and later about "Crash." It’s the kind of book that you read and wonder what films should be added to this list – and you understand how some of these movies change the way that we watch them.
Practical Demonkeeping – I like a good satire and this book fits the bill. It’s a quick read and pretty funny, although I thought that some of the romantic subplots were weak and distracting. On the strength of this book I bought another called
Bloodsucking Fiends which was not anywhere near as fun or funny and somewhat frustrating.
Me talk pretty one day– I went back to read this book again. I rarely re-read books, but this book was so satisfying that I couldn’t resist. Especially after reading several dogs in a row, I just wanted to have a pleasing experience as a reader. This is pleasing – it’s so pleasing that it’s almost like good food or wine or a great cup of coffee. And funny – plus, in his short story about his mother and his cat, I laughed and cried in the span of a page.
Labels: 2004
By: Alyssa | Friday, March 19, 2004 at Friday, March 19, 2004 | |
Slow day
No
snow day today. Looks like we only ended up getting a few inches. Thanks New England weather forecasters. Way to get my hopes up.
I hoped for a snow day today for one reason – I went to the personal trainer yesterday. I will admit it, I have a personal trainer. I’ve hired her like 4 times in about 9 months. I last hired her for what later became known at our house as the great
Columbus Day Massacre. She practically killed me. It hurt to laugh like 3 days later.
First, I should say she’s really nice and extraordinarily patient. She laughs at my jokes and is pretty encouraging despite my bad behavior throughout the hour we spend together (I complain almost non-stop and sometimes swear a little). I’d say she gives me the right mix of guff and encouragement as I attempt to “power through” some pretty sad exercises: sad because I suck so badly at them.
Yesterday we did an hour of strength training. This morning I feel like someone beat me. Tomorrow, it’ll be better...I guess. The gym is an okay place – I never thought I’d be a gym person. But it’s not too bad. I’m on a good trajectory for improved health and fitness. I mean, after I get through the next couple of days. I won’t be hauling into the gym this morning. I’m barely going to make it to work.
It hurts to type.
Labels: 2004
By: Alyssa | Wednesday, March 17, 2004 at Wednesday, March 17, 2004 | |
Spring in Boston
That means there’s a blizzard coming. Yep – it’ll be here in a few hours. I’ve heard that we’re in store for between 8-14 inches of snow. That’s good stuff.
Poor little, new car – I thought she would not be tainted by the horrors of snow until later in the year. Well, it’s probably good to get that over with now. There’s a chance I’ll have pictures – or I’ll just link to the pictures from the
previous blizzard.
Enough about snow
Spring also means other good stuff, not just blizzards – it means warm weather in California or film festivals in Austin. Deeps and I were strongly tempted into going to South by Southwest this year but bailed when we realized we’d have to buy a car. Next year, Austin we’ll be there.
There are a lot of great places to read coverage of SXSW but I like to read
Mr. Von D’s personal insights as well as
Omar’s take on the events of the day.
So now Austin for me this year – I’m now dreaming about New York. I’m hoping this time there isn’t
some disaster.
Labels: 2004
By: Alyssa | Tuesday, March 16, 2004 at Tuesday, March 16, 2004 | |
Shakiest Dealer in the West
We finally bought a car which was much less traumatic than either of us expected. There are lots of places to look online and at the end of the day you know that you probably know more about prices and financing and option than you ever hoped to know.
We planned on picking up the car after an alarm was installed. We made arrangements to meet the sales guy at the dealership around 6:30.
Deeps thought he was kind of a putz – he was like Barney Fife and that was his shtick. I didn’t really think much about it until we picked up the car.
First, the guy was about 30 minutes late in meeting us. He gave us some lame excuses and we moved on to sign the paperwork.
Deeps particularly enjoyed the signing process as he met the man with the world’s worst signature (it amounted to an X) and I watched in horror as the sales guy (Barney) wrestled with a large binder of paper. You know when you watch someone who is pretty graceless and you feel a little embarrassed for him? That’s what it was like. Except, he was most graceful when dealing with paper.
We finally made it outside to the car. It was really cold and we didn’t want to spend too much time outside because a) it was cold and b) the dude was late and we hadn’t eaten any dinner. First he shows us some basic stuff – then he pops the hatch to show us the trunk. We then watch him proceed to really fight and tangle with the complimentary cargo net for the next…. Maybe 5-8 minutes. I was sucking in so much air to not laugh I nearly fainted. Deeps just started muttering.
“I don’t know what’s happening,” Deeps muttered.
“Shh,” I replied trying very hard to not laugh. I wasn’t very successful. Then we get into the car. He shows us where the alarm light is and how the rear windshield wiper works. Then he clicks the windshield wiper and fluid.
He and Deeps are in the car, I’m outside the car standing next to Deeps where the door is open. Thanks to Barney’s maneuver – I get an eye full of windshield wiper fluid.
“Oh my gosh, did I get you,” he brays.
I pull out a tissue and furiously wipe my eye. “Uhm, yeah – I think I might be okay.”
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh…” he continues. This goes on for a few minutes until I finally wander away.
“I’ll meet you back at the house, Deeps,” I say as I run away from the dealership leaving my husband to find his way home.
Labels: 2004
By: Alyssa | Wednesday, March 10, 2004 at Wednesday, March 10, 2004 | |
The Great Skunk Caper
Our house was skunked again on Friday – this time the little critter was very close, too close. The house smelled terrible and I woke up around 5 AM choking. At first, I thought there might be a fire because I couldn’t breathe. After a few moments I realized what happened. I took action – what little that I could.
My husband slept through the whole event.
I flipped on fans and air purifiers – stuck with the reality that opening the doors and windows would (at least for the moment) only make things worse. Our stuff started to smell, we started to smell.
Friday was a cranky day. The apartment still smelled when we came back from work on Friday night and still had remnants of skunk smell on Saturday.
I wasn't sure what to do. So I did what I do in these cases, I hit my company's intranet. Thanks to my knowledgeable colleagues – I’ve learned a lot about skunks. Sure, I grew up in the country but we had dogs so that discouraged the skunks from spending much time around our house. This non-dog-owning world I live in is complete with an old cat and now…skunks.
There are apparently a lot of skunks in and around Boston. Lots and lots. Everyone has a story. I heard some really terrible ones – like the people who had their house invaded by skunks (they moved into the basement) and then the skunking commenced. Or the rabid skunk stories. Or the machete wielding skunk stories. There’s no good tale.
It’s
skunk mating season so they’re skunkier than usual. But there are things one can do to discourage them like leaving ammonia soaked cloths (one person’s home-grown remedy courtesy of their vet) around places they might like to hang out. Another suggested
coyote urine and even provided me with suggestions about where to procure it locally.
But mostly, I’m reminded that skunks are smelly little creatures and apparently you fight them off (best) with something from an equally
smelly (albeit larger) creature.
Labels: 2004, skunk
By: Alyssa | Sunday, March 07, 2004 at Sunday, March 07, 2004 | |
My kingdom for a nail
About a million years ago on a cool autumn night, my then boyfriend (now husband) and I wandered to our local video hut and rented a movie that I’d read about in some magazine…. The movie was a 4 and a half hour Danish horror film/mini-series called
The Kingdom.
I will confess this much – I was recently out of school and was living in a tiny apartment with said boyfriend (husband) and we were trying to watch the subtitled film on a 13 inch television screen across a small living room. I expect we were about 6 or maybe 7 feet away from the screen. It was really, really, really hard to read the subtitles on that tiny screen. After a few minutes we gave up watching the movie. Trying to squint and read or sit really close to the screen was hard for 10 minutes, let alone 4 hours. Plus, a Danish horror film? Really – what was I thinking? There was something about it the movie: the promise of something very interesting.
I was pretty much broke, but had recently been paid and decided to splurge. We hit Best Buy early in the day and I forked over $250 of my hard earned dollars to get a Phillips 25-inch television. Because 25 inches is the minimum viewing size needed to watch a foreign-language film with subtitles and not go blind or crazy or both.
The box was so huge we couldn’t fit it in the car. We had to dismantle the box and shove the television in the back. We lugged the thing a block from where we parked to our tiny apartment and hauled it up the 3 flights to our small walk-up. After assembling the required snacks and drinks and blankets, we settled in for the next 4 hours and watched the film. I was utterly engrossed. The movie box description was totally accurate – it was The X-files meets ER on acid. It was weird and funny and creepy and disturbing. I never thought I’d enjoy a 4 hour Danish horror film, but I really loved it.
So now, about a decade after the film’s release as a mini-series in Denmark it’s been reimagined for US audiences by Stephen King. I will first share that my interest in all things Stephen King ended when I was about 13 and I read
Carrie and then followed it up with some really crappy novels that weren’t Carrie. And frankly, Carrie was the last good King movie – except for
‘Salem’s Lot but I really dug David Soul.
I haven’t seen The Kingdom (America) but I’ve read a few reviews. They haven’t been kind. They point out that the show seems weird and unwieldy and blatantly steals from other American programs – that was half the fun of the Danish version. You could see which American television archetype was represented by which actor in the Danish version. You could visually ID which actor filled which role based on what you knew about American television.
Anyway – this is a very long-winded way of saying, maybe the American version of The Kingdom is not so great. I don’t know. But the Danish version is very interesting and I’d say it’s worth searching out if you find yourself huddled at home on rainy day and are willing to sit still for a little over 4 hours.
Labels: 2004
By: Alyssa | Wednesday, March 03, 2004 at Wednesday, March 03, 2004 | |
Suby the Subaru is close to being replaced. I’d say it’s happening in the next week or two. She’s been a good and faithful car for over a decade but now it’s time to send her down to Jersey where she’ll live out her final days with my in-laws. Now comes the more complicated time....negotiations.
Me: What’s up with the car?
Deeps: The Toyota dealership guy called.
Me: Did you call him back?
Deeps: No, I’m not sure what to tell him.
Me: Tell him we want to know if the car is available and if there’s any deals on financing.
Deeps: I know but I’m not sure about all the features.
Me: Do you just want me to call?
Deeps: (pause) No. I can do it.
Later….
I hand Deeps the phone with the number for the dealership plugged in.
Deeps: What?
Me: Call the guy and find out about the car – when it’s available and for how much. Oh and find out about side airbags.
Deeps: Fine….
He wanders off and has a short conversation. And returns a few minutes later
Me: So?
Deeps: He’s going to get us information about the blue one. I told him that he should call back tomorrow after 8. I think it’s more than you want to spend. But you’ve got to talk to him.
Me: Oh is it that time?
Deeps: Yeah, and I need him to know that you play hardball.
Labels: 2004, marriage
By: Alyssa | Tuesday, March 02, 2004 at Tuesday, March 02, 2004 | |
Absinth makes the heart grow fonder
We had boys’ night out (BNO) on Saturday. It was a good occasion to drink, eat some barbecue and talk smack. Yes, I know I’m not a boy but my willingness to do all three earns me an invite to BNO. Plus I brought my husband to make sure that there were plenty of boys to balance out my non-boy-dom.
The night was great, the food was pretty okay, but the drinks crossed over into the world of desperate rather quickly.
We ordered our meals and a couple of drinks. Apparently there was a small problem with some of the drinks we ordered – they weren’t available, so we got alternates. We waited and waited for our food. The waitress apologized and provided us with a free round of mystery alcohol. I still do not know what I drank. It was not nice.
Then we elected to go to our friend’s house to play some cards, shoot the breeze and drink some Absinth from Prague. Now… Absinthe (with an e) is the hard-core stuff that nobody makes anymore. Absinth is the dumbed down version – at least, this is what I thought. We had the stuff without the "e." Ultimately, it tastes like mouthwash and gives you a headache rather quickly. Lesson learned.
I prefer a nice whiskey.
Labels: 2004
By: Alyssa | Monday, March 01, 2004 at Monday, March 01, 2004 | |
