I am now completely sick and feeling like a cow's behind. Regardless, we are going to the Tower of London today. And then I'll probably have an early night on my torture mattress.
College bitches taking it hard
Well, I've been so lucky with not getting the full-blown cold this season, but I had a hunch that as soon as I went on vacation that I would get it. And get it I did. I am now walking around with a cough and sore throat and generally feeling like ass. But that hasn't stopped us from doing cool stuff. (It's just prevented me from being able to get an early start…) I'm not going to go into detail (that's for the big post when I get back) but I will mention a few things.
-Chiselhurst Caves are rad
-I have been eating way too much
-I'm seeing the Electric Six tonight!
That's all for now.
coniferous dockside
Greetings from London. I should be super excited to be here, but right now, having been awake for nearly 24 hours and knowing that it will be a while longer before I can get to sleep is taking away all the excitement that international travel usually provides. I'm having trouble emoting in any way, in fact. Even when our hotel couldn't find our reservation and it looked as though we might have been spending the night riding the bus from one end to the other, I was a complete and total emotional zombie. There have been a few other trying occurrences in the last day (including a setback regarding the extremely retarded layout of the Logan airport in Boston) but I shant bore you with the details. I shall only say that we were witness to a freak, hour long snow storm (not unlike what happened in Seattle last month) and that Dom and I hope to be snug in our pre-paid yet non-existent hotel bed for a nap in a matter of hours. If that doesn't happen, my next post might make a lot less sense. And we don't want that, now do we children?
don`t be an asshole Amie
I just saw the new Stranger. Apparently, the person who paid for a rave movie review in their Strangercrombie auction is none other than the director of “Muffin Man”. Now, all I know of this film is that a friend of mine was the lead actor in it. I have never seen it and cannot vouch for it. But I can say that if I paid for a “rave” review in the Stranger I would be pretty fucking pissed when I read a review like that one. It's full of back handed “compliments” and mentions over and over and over again that the reviewer was PAID to write a “rave” review.
The other day, I realized the PRECISE mentality of the staff on that paper. They are the high school newspaper staff. Too nerdy to be accepted by the popular kids, they use their position on the “journalism” staff to make fun of people they don't like. They write simply to amuse themselves and never learn anything about real journalistic integrity.
Hence there was nothing
I filed my taxes last night. It was the first time that I not only didn't get a return, but I OWED the government money. (Or at least the first time since I've been filing on my own). I already paid over $3000 in taxes last year and I OWED the government money. Dom says I should blame it on Bushy and I'm inclined to believe him. I wish my republican and well-paid boss were here so that I could ask him if he got a return this year.
In other news, today is my last day in this country for 12 days. I'm off to receive verbal flogging from Europeans for the gross misconduct of my country and it's “leader”. And I will enjoy it. How very Catholic of me.
Affordable zone spawn
This morning I got on the elevator with three other (two ladies and a man) people who seemed to work together but were getting off at different floors. The interaction was as follows:
Lady #2: Good morning!
Lady #1: Hi.
Lady #1 exits elevator
Lady #2:(calling after lady #1) Go get 'em!
Doors close.
Lady #2: (to man) She is on my deathwish list.
I found this interaction strange for several reasons. First of all, who says “Go get 'em” in earnest to a person as a way to start the work day? The answer is probably no one. Because she was being sarcastic and actually hates the woman. But it also made me think of how many people I have to pretend to like in a work (or social) situation and how many people might also be only pretending to like me.
barman at once grasped
WEEKEND RECAP
This will be one of the last posts for a while, as I will be in London. I might post in short spurts while I'm there, but I've already promised to check my work email and internet time is expensive in cafes. Anywho…
Friday
I was in for a mellow night after one of the worst work weeks in recent memory. Faye and I watched Super Size Me and Holes and enjoyed them both. We also enjoyed beers. End of story.
Saturday
I started helping Faye move around 10:30 am. We were going from a second floor apartment to a third floor apartment (with twice as many stairs as a normal apartment because the floor levels are split for some reason). It was definitely some hard work but luckily there were 6 of us and Faye doesn't really have a LOT of stuff. Also, Faye's parents (who are THE coolest parents in history) were sensitive to my wonky knees and so I did more helping Faye pack than I did hauling stuff up the stairs. Somehow I'm STILL sore from it all though. Yoga is great for general exercise but it doesn't involve a lot of heavy lifting. (Only as much as lifting my own body…which is certainly heavy, but apparently not as much as a box full of old English anthologies).
After finishing up, we had a beer starter and then Faye took us to Charlie's as a reward. Later, we ended up back at Casa Zookster to watch movies. We ended up getting a weird hankering to watch Total Recall. I hadn't seen the full version of it in a while (just the television edit) and I had forgotten how needlessly, graphically and awesomely violent it is! Paul Verhoeven's films are definitely among my favorite guilty pleasures. Especially since he has NO IDEA how ridiculous he is. We listened to a bit of the commentary and he was actually explaining the fact that the movie is a dream over and over and over again. “You see here, zis is the woman he chooses to be in his dream and then later you see zis woman again so you know he is still dreaming…” We GET it, dude. This isn't Eternal Sunshine we're watching here. (Although the plots do have their parallels).
Sunday
I skipped yoga because I was so rediculously sore from moving stuff and Faye and I partook of the time-honored Tacoma tradition of going to Target for no reason. It wasn't that exciting for her because she works right by it, but for me it was a joyful novelty. We ate taco bell (thinking, all the while, about Super Size Me) and then proceeded to fill our cart full of things we sort of needed but not really. I didn't break $100, though, which surprised me. I think it's because of the clothes. Target used to have great cheap clothes and now everything they sell looks like work-out clothes. I blame Jessica Simpson for making leisure-wear hip. No cute little spring dress for me.
Later, we attended Brian's Oscar party. I had planned on dressing up like Clementine to support Kate Winslet who was sure to be snubbed, but I couldn't find my Pippi Longstocking wig. We drank just the right amount of Cook's to make us slightly belligerent toward the actors on TV and a good time was had by all, even though the Oscars are bullshit. (However, I was very tickled and exited about Charlie Kaufman winning for Best Screenplay. Go Charlie! Way to break into the mainstream much to your apparent embarrassment!).
And now I'm back here for what will probably be three very stressful days of work. Lil D. is already acting put out by my future absense even though she hasn't had to do ANY extra work yet. I was explaining to her about the various outstanding issues and she was slumping on the couch and closing her eyes as if my words were giving her a migraine. I'm sorry you will have to take extra time out from shopping at Nordstrom.com to do a little of my job, beyotch.
Hooray for Mondays!
quiddities, such as 'Cash'
For anyone who saw the news this morning about the fire on Capitol Hill, even though they gave OUR address, it was not, in fact, mine and Dom's place that was on fire. It was our neighbors. I'm still a little fuzzy about which building it was because I was discombobulated when I left the house. I was about to miss my bus (as usual) and when I emerged from the door, I was completely blocked in by police tape. I thought about just running through but had images from movies and TV of being tackled by cops and I was not in the mood for that this morning. So instead I paced in front of my building for about 30 seconds before getting the attention of a police woman and asking if I could go through to get to my bus. She said yes, and through I went. Turns out, my bus didn't come anyway because it was re-routed due to the fire trucks blocking the way. So I was still late to work. But at least I didn't die in a horrible fire.
Last night I saw Sideways. It was a special treat from Dom’s dad who also took us to dinner (at the very yummy Roti on lower Queen Anne). This is the first “Best Picture” nom film I have seen. I thought that that it was aight. I enjoyed it for the most part. The acting was good. The dialogue was good. The pictures were pretty. But it was a little long-winded for my taste. And even though it was an indie film, I felt they over-explained certain things in an attempt to pander to a wider, dumber audience. I probably would never feel compelled to purchase it on DVD or even watch it all the way through again. Regardless, I am sure that it is the best film that is up for that particular bullshit award. Therefore, I am certain it won’t win. God bless the Academy.
UPDATE
Here's a story on the fire. Again they give our address and I must point out the fact that I am not dead…I think.
the geek minute
Geek Issue The First:
After several pretty mediocre episodes, (including one with Charlie, formerly my favorite character) Lost was finally good again last night. Who knew that Sun and Jin were so engaging? Maybe it's just the actors but their story was very emotional. Also, two people FINALLY hooked up on the island and I am just tickled pickles that it wasn't Kate and one of the hundreds of men she has drooling over her boney ass.
Geek Issue The Second
I want to be here.
Maybe next year…
Place it under the tongue and achive amazing result
I can FINALLY update my journal a bit! So here goes…
WEEKEND RECAP
The details are fuzzy as it's now Thursday, but I'll see what I can do to make this interesting.
Friday
We went to the long-awaited Elyse and Gene Housewarming party, made all the more special with an appearance by the soon to be extremely famous The Bobcats. Faye, Dom, Sherrard, Jacob and I arrived fashionably late because we were busy pre-drunking and watching Ginger Snaps (which was very entertaining and worth the hype). I must say those Canadians have a knack for surprisingly good horror films with female protagonists. Now we must get our hands on Ginger Snaps Back!
ANYWHO, we arrived at the party, met Maura, who is not only Elyse's friend from way back, but also the very first person whom I met on LJ before I met them in person. She wasn't a child molester or a 200 pound man, so I was pleased to meet her. She's also just as cool as she sounds in her “blog”. That last paragraph sounds painfully dorky upon re-reading it so I will simply move on.
The Wildcats were just as kick-ass as everyone said they would be. Those kids are gonna go far. They'll have a Stranger Suggests in no time, I tell you. And I will try to repress my jealous rage when that happens. There may have even been staffers FROM The Stranger there. Although I heard mixed accounts. Some people seemed to think that it was just “strangers”.
Saturday
We gathered our wits and strolled on down to Pacific Place for a matinee of Constantine. Apparently, many of the people I'd drunkenly invited to the movie the previous evening actually indented on showing up. So the Constantine Posse took our seats and prepared for the worst. Once again, we were pleasantly surprised! Keanu is still Keanu but the story is pretty interesting (apart from the lame subplot involving the Mexican just roaming around being evil) and the special effects were cool and the supporting cast was IN-credible! Even Gavin Rossdale, whose mere presence is comical, played a decent English Pansy Demon. Titda Swinton was mesmerizing and is so androgynous that I'm not convinced she's NOT a morally questionable arch-angel. And Peter Stormare as Satan was a joy to watch. Shia LaBouf's character was pretty unnecessary, but I just like having that kid around. I don't want to “spoil” anything so I'll just say that if you enjoyed the first Matrix, you will probably enjoy Constantine. Of course, they set it up for a sequel so hopefully it won't go the way of The Matrix and go from entertaining and decent to horrifically campy and lame.
After the movie, we caught an early happy hour at The Six Arms and just kept on drinking. We lost a few people along the way, tested out The Bus Stop, which is the new bar next door to Bimbo's that used to be a thrift store. It's kinda cool in there, even though their beer selection is limited. We also discovered that they had karaoke on Sundays so we made a plan to come back.
We then had a quick drink at the Cha Cha for old time's sake and headed back to my place for…I don't know what…TV? I think that's what we did. Like I said, it's Thursday. Things get fuzzy after a couple of days in this head of mine.
Sunday
We had breakfast at the B. & O. It was my first time there and I was very underwhelmed. $7.95 for eggs, TWO pieces (not 4) of toast and some crappy potatoes? No thanks! Give me the $3.50 plate of grease from Linda's or The Canterbury any day.
Then we hit Half Price Books for a while. I hit the yoga studio, and we got ready to sing our little hearts out at The Bus Stop.
And sing we did! It was kind of a strange scene because it seemed like the DJ knew EVERYONE in the place except for us. But we still got to sing a lot of songs, because the place was small. The DJ was even pretty nice even though she pulled that snooty business wherein she refused to call people who were singing songs she didn't like. But when she accidentally stopped the CD in the middle of my rendition of “Separate Ways” she genuinely apologized and let me and Faye sing “Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now” instead. (Because you simply CANNOT start “Separate Ways” again after that. You just have to let it rest and move on).
We were witness to one of the most amazing karaoke performers I have ever seen. A man called Ian, who bares a striking resemblance to David Sedaris, apparently knows his boys bands. And I don't mean just the lyrics. He knows all the dance moves too. And he does them. This man does NOT need to look at the monitor. He just needs room so that he can wave his arms and jump like a member of N'SYNC. It was nothing short of incredible. He did THREE songs like this and each one was more amazing than the last. All hail Ian.
The only real downers of the evening involved some loud and obnoxious girls (who acted out my karaoke pet peeve of making a solo song into a duet simply because they don't want to get up there by themselves), and some haters who were dissing on Oasis. But everything else was peachy creamy. I heart karaoke.
Monday
Nothing much happened apart from me sleeping in (even through the plumber installing a new dishwasher), and a bunch of us snoozing through The Punisher which is too boring for words. Even though I just typed some words.
end transmission
Effed by the Wind 
