Small Town Survival

So to speak. What I'm really talking about is the pending release of the September/October issue of All Things Girl. Word on the street is that it'll be out a few days early (like.. oh.. say tomorrow?!). You should check it out and of course look out for a little something by yours truly. With all the fantastic submissions it should keep you busy while I continue to formulate my thoughts on Michigan summers or August in Michigan or whatever it is out there. Anyway, get over to ATG and check out the issue on our favourite things: Friends, Enemies and Lovers.

That's right, the world must be coming to an end because the girl that hates cell phones finally owns one. Like my mom's friend said I joined the 21st century. I'm not sure about that ? since I'm already pretty technologically savvy. And it's not really cell phones that annoy me (I figured I should say that before I got a lot of hate mail ? send it anyway). So it's not the phones themselves that annoy me, it's the people that use them or the way they use them. You could be a perfectly nice, reasonable person but when I have to listen to your conversation while I'm eating my dinner and you're not even part of my group you're being rude. So shut it. Right, this isn't about my annoyance with mobile phones. Sorry.

I spent about two weeks checking out different stores to find out who had coverage in my area. I guess that's the thing about surviving in a small town, very few companies have coverage here. I always suggest to them that maybe we're a hole in the ground. It could be so. What do I know? I also tried to talk my mom into putting a tower in the back yard, but somehow I don't see that going over very well or very quickly even if it goes over well. In the meantime I found two companies that had definite coverage, a company that said I could try it for 15 days (that's average) and see how it worked in my area and a company that said they couldn't promise anything because they were paying to use another company's towers to get coverage in my area and the other week it was down and there was no coverage at all. Are you confused yet?

Either way I decided to go with VerizonWireless. They're the one company that has the most coverage across my area and across the nation really. Plus they offered me a good deal.

After that I started looking for phones I might like to have. Me? Like to have a phone? I know, I know. According my past preferences I would probably like the more expensive phones. I always seem to like the most expensive model, issue, etc. It was true this time too although I didn't get quite to the high end seeing as I don't need a camera phone among other things. When I arrived at the store I asked a lot of questions about the phone I liked (Samsung a310 ? apparently very popular as I've seen several since). I wanted to know if it would break and what sorts of breaks were common and if they were phone issues or I'm-an-idiot issues. The sales lady warned me of a few problems that people have that they cause themselves that can be prevented. These are the things that weren't covered under the warranty. She also tried to sell me a more expensive phone. It was about $70 more actually ? until the rebate and then it was $30 more. I decided I couldn't wait for 12 weeks while they sent the rebate check and went with the original phone of my choice.

The other part of this was that I was waiting for the holiday deals, or at least I was thinking about waiting. As I'm now the owner of a phone you know I didn't wait. I still think I got a good deal. Then again who knows?? Especially considering the first thing I said to myself when I walked out of the store, phone in had, was "I'm not sure I'm ready for this commitment."

And this from the girl who's in a long distance relationship.

I found the following voice mail waiting for me this morning. It apparently came in at 9:15 last night. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Guy: "How YOU doin'? I don't know who this is because somebody gave me the wrong number. I'm sorry. But.. damn you sounded good. I probably won't be calling you again? alright, bye.

*static* (and this is where it gets good because he didn't hang up like he thought he did.

Guy: You little bastard!

Friend: (laughing)

Guy: who the hell is Jenn?

Friend: Jenn? Ha ha ha

Guy: Who's Jenn?

Friend: (Laughing)

Guy: That girl sounded hot as hell dude.

Friend: Jenn?

Guy: Yeah. Keep that number, write that number down.. that mistake down.

Friend: (to someone else) All right I'll be off in a minute.. got it. (to Friend) 79? It was 97.

Guy: I was like "How you doin' girl, I don't know who you are and you don't know who I am but..."

(Background noise)

Guy: it's 97.

Friend: (mumbling).. she sounds really hot.

Guy: You better call Alley.

BackgroundVoice: It was 79!

Friend: I gotta go.

Guy: Call her.

Friend: I will after school.

Guy: Call her today.

Friend: I can't.

Guy: why?

Friend: 'Cause I gotta get in the shower and do my homework.

Guy: Alright. Bye.

Some of you may or may not know that I'm involved in the webzine All Things Girl. It's a pretty rockin' thing to be involved in and if you are so inclined (and you're missing out if you're not) you should check it out. The latest issue is on Tranquility & Pandemonium and features a lot of fantastic work from a lot of really cool and talented women.

Behind the scenes the editors are getting to know each other with the following questionaire. Some of it we probably know about the others, some of it we don't. Here's your chance to peek into the background and get to know a little bit more about me if you really want to.

1. Your name:
Jennifer M

2. Your nicknames:
Jenn, Jenny (rarely) and online: silentlove, oshaberi, and occasionally crazy coffee girl

3. Your birthday:
April 18th

4. Location:
small town*, Michigan
* a little dinky place near Ann Arbor

5. Maritial status:
Not. However, long-distance-long-term relationship participant here.

6. If you had to choose only one CD to listen to for a month, what would it be?
19 Wheels - Sugareen (Michigan band)

7. If you had to choose only one movie to watch for a month, what would it be?
Lor said Moulin Rouge, which I'd be inclined to agree with. Otherwise it's probably something like Practical Magic.

8. What about a book? (Same question as 6 and 7)
Does the book have to take me a month? How about Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman or possibly Good Omens.

9. If you could move and live anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Denmark comes to mind. I really like what I've seen of London or maybe Chicago.

10. What's your current occupation?
Substitute Teacher and student.

11. What is your ideal occupation?
Teacher, english, drama and communication. I also think event planning would suit me. Or maybe one of thoes people that takes care of clients at hotels in places like Las Vegas. Neat.

12. If you could instantly be fluent in another language, what would you choose?
Danish.

13. Tea or coffee?
Coffee first, but tea has it's soothing place in my life.

14. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would that be?
More dicipline to follow through with things.

15. Why are you a part of All Things Girl?
There is sometime a striking lack of unity among women and any chance to bring women together and celebrate their work and art is realyl fantastic to me. I also think it's a nice change from the please everyone else, change yourself routine that we see in a lot of publications. Instead it's about being who you are, expressing yourself and seeing what others are all about. I'm also female and an artist that is constantly seeking a community. What more could you want?

Is it Monday already? It must be. I slept until 8 this morning which means I didn't get that AM call to sub. I always have mixed feelings when I wake up after that magical time. On one side I really like sleeping in and on the other I really like making money and feeling like there's more to my day than playing with the dog and watching the commentary on the Alias DVD. Okay, that part isn't so bad but I can only spend so much time at the computer and in front of the TV.

Since I spent the day with him, I might as well give you the indie update. The last few days he's spent a lot of time outside with my mom. It seems to benefit us since it means that he spends the rest of the day sleeping and we can go about our lives without him trying to be in our laps or on our heads or whatever new form of closeness he's chosen at the moment. Yesterday he spent some time with Cody, the neighbor's German Shepard. Since Cody's a bit bigger indie tends to get quite the beating when they rough house and they spend a lot more of the time running around. Indie seemed a little sore this morning and hardly made it to the bed.

Mostly indie's gotten a lot bigger, is still really needy and likes to cuddle in the morning. Actually he's about 2 feet away from me at the bottom of the bed right now and I'm surprised that he's settled down considering earlier. He was in my lap every three seconds trying to get me to throw his little yellow football. I would and of course since it's fetch, he brings it back and we do it all over again. He's so cute and lovey when he's sleeping. Woo. Sadly for him he still doesn't get to spend the night in the house. I'd rather know where he is and while he's been good the two nights he's been in the house I don't really like it when he licks my face in the middle of the night. Speaking of sleeping, I think that's where I should be.

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Apparently they've crossed the Bourne Identity and Memento to get Paycheck. And the comparison to Memento I got somewhere else, but at this point I haven't a clue where.

Anyway, it's the holiday season and that means that we're through the lull of no good movies in sight. Not to say that there aren't bad movies out there, but there are a lot more out recently that actually look good. I'll start with Mona Lisa Smile and end with Something's Gotta Give. Of course, there's the Return of the King which will take me awhile to see since I don't feel like fighting crowds. Now all I need is a frequent movie viewer card or whatever it is, a movie companion (you know who you are) and a lot of free time... oh, and some cash.

On other sitting on my butt news, I've been reading girlie magazines and I've recently picked up Why Girls are Weird by Pamela Ribon. Yes, that one. I'm not very far into it but I will say that with in the first ten pages I was giggling so hard that I woke the dog from his midmorning nap. Hee.

In more active news I apparently have been watching too much Alias (what's an entry without a mention?) since I managed to sneak out of the house yesterday. See the thing is that if you open the door my dad wants to know where you're going. Well, somehow I managed to grab my scarf and leave without him even noticing. Dad started asking after me and no one knew where I was (library in case you're worried). When I got back our neighbor said I've been watching too much Bristow because I'm all sneaky now. I love that.

Right, so enough with the active stuff, I'm going back to my book.

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We finished watching Season Two of Alias tonight. I'd really like to check out the commentary and some of the extras on the DVD but they're due back tomorrow by noon and seeing as I have to work tomorrow I don't really have time. We did get through the bloopers, the "look" feature on the disguises of Sydney and the first few minutes of the making of "The Telling" which if I'm not mistaken is the season finale.

My dad, who doesn't watch Alias and will be happy to tell you what's wrong with the show even if you don't ask, mentioned one more opinion tonight. He expressed that he didn't know who to be more concerned with, Gordon, who wasn't sure what was going on or me for being able to explain it all. On my side, Gordon pointed out that I read about it online, etc. so of course I know more. Plus he wasn't sure if he hadn't heard something. He got it all right, it's just that I've been reading. The Television Without Pity recaps really help me keep up and catch up. There are also the forums and if you think Vaughn is hot you'll want to check out this site. Not that I think he's hot or anything. It's all about Sark. Okay. Shut up.

I won't go on. I can keep my obsession to myself. Besides, I just saw a news clip that enlightened me to the fact that there's a sports drink named by a rapper (I have no idea who) and it's called "pimpyjuice". I wish I was kidding. The hell?

Can someone get me a TiVo so I can stop with the constant TV. Please save me from these random weirdnesses. I can't help it if I'm waiting for the Simpsons to come on. Okay, okay, I need to get out. No more TV this week. Except? well, what about?? No? No. Okay.

So the part of my life that doesn?t take place in front of the TV takes place in front of the computer. No, that's not right. I subbed today at the high school. It was only a half of a day and the call came in at 5:44. That's in the morning. The only thing that means is that I'll be tired enough tonight that I'll go to bed early. Considering tomorrow's looking a little busy that will be a good thing. I was going to go to the teacher's party that I think I mentioned earlier but I haven't really heard much about it and I have backup plans.

My mom's boss is having a gathering for thirty of his closest friends. I think that translates into wealthy, older gentlemen. I think that sounded way shadier than I meant it to. Anyway, up and coming jazz singer will be there to entertain us and hopefully someone will offer me a job. I can always hope. If I'm not to tired from subbing it could be pretty fun.

Speaking of subbing tomorrow, if I have computer access it's my intention to tell a little bit about my town tomorrow. I've been thinking about how? quaint it is and it might be interesting to read about it. Every once in awhile I try and see it the way someone new would see it instead of the way I see it. You know, the girl who grew up in this funny little Midwestern town. We'll see.

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So I said I'd tell you about the holiday video we watched in class and I have this tendency to call movies films. As in, we're going to watch a film to day and I'd like you to be quiet during the film. Or something like that. Does it make me sound old? On to the uh.. movie. It was called Olive, the Other Reindeer and the summary goes a little something like this:

"After mis-hearing a radio broadcast about Santa canceling his Christmas trip due to an injured reindeer, Olive the dog decides to travel to the North Pole and volunteer to be a replacement. Unfortunately, Olive must deal with an evil postman who's tired of handling all the extra Christmas mail. Will Martini the penguin be able to help Olive realize her dream?"

Now I watched the movie at least twice and I'm not sure what Olive's dream was other than to love Christmas a lot more than anyone I've ever met. She even rivals Leslie on her holiday spirit. And before you start questioning why I've seen a film (there I go again) with a penguin named Martini (who does use the line "I'm fine, shaken but not stirred") more than once I'll get on with the little bit of adult humor I found in there. I don't mean that kind of adult. Hush.

See, Olive mishears the radio announcer who says "Santa's counting on all of the other reindeer?" now think about it and say it out loud. All've the other reindeer. Exactly. There's also a moment when the character Richard Stands thinks the Pledge of Allegiance is about him. You know.. For which it stands? uh huh, try it out loud again. Oh, and the guy who thinks that Silent Night is about him. "All is bright, Round yon virgin, mother and child?" His name is Round John Virgin. Okay, so that one's a bit of a stretch. Don't hurt yourself.

As far as these things go it was a pretty cute film and the kids loved it. Some of them were even in both classes that viewed it and wanted to see it again. Only hours apart. I know. Even the evil postman mentioned has a pretty good reason for not liking Christmas. He talks about (okay, he sings) all the heavy packages he has to carry and the excess number of catalogs that are sent out and heavy gifts, extra mail, and on and on. Someone should give him a clue that it's the corporations that are causing his grief and not Santa. And his first solution of sending hate mail to Santa in the names of children wasn't very cool. Dude, again, not Santa's fault. He should have asked for a new shift or a roll cart for Christmas instead of ruining everyone's good time.

So that's the movie in a nutshell and probably the best review I've ever given on an actual movie I've seen. Scary isn't it.

Tomorrow: thoughts on a wedding reception I went to or at least some thoughts that occurred to me while I was there, or driving home. I also saw Pirates of the Caribbean again so I might comment on that. OR you know, find something that doesn't involve me and the TV and write about that.

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I'm sorry ahead of time. I'm watching the Victoria Secret Fashion Show. I know, more tv. I need category just for this fact. I'm a little surprised that there's so much that goes into it. I'm also surprised that anyone can get into or out of those outfits. And the wings? I'd like to see those in the bedroom. I'm also kidding. I don't think they'd fit through the door. Ugly.

Also, what is Sting doing on this show? All surrounded by mostly naked women. I bet that's something out of his weirdest dreams. And what's even better is that some of them drool over him. And the girl who smoked on screen (that I saw).. not attractive. ew.

This has already gone too far. I'm going to change the channel and hope something better comes on before I fall asleep and have weird dreams about strangely skinny women with giant wings and few clothes. Scary.

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It seems like even when I get the chance to get out of the house I end up watching TV or movies at least. I was scheduled to sub yesterday, today and tomorrow and it turns out that in order to entertain the kids we're watching movies. That's right. Over the course of three days I'll see about four movies. Yesterday and today was spent watching Fantasia with middle school kids. They really like the Pastoral Symphony (Beethoven's 6th), which is actually one of my favorites for completely different reasons than the kids. They like it because they centaur's are half naked and you get to see ? uh? parts. They call it the horsie one. There's also the part where everyone gets drunk. Apparently they like that too. They also want to know if the movie is rated R because of ... uh.. the naked horsies. Good grief.

Then up at the high school we're watching Finding Nemo which is a fantastic movie until you have to watch the first half (and then the second half) two times in a row with no break in between.

It's not like I can pay attention to the whole thing though because there are so many kids in the class that I have to constantly answer questions and watch the doors lest the kids sneak out when I'm looking the other way. Luckily the only thing they do when they get out is wander the halls, but I don't really want that reflecting back on me. Like anything some classes are better than others, some movies are better than others and I think I'll take the Italian Job in tomorrow to save myself from watching Daddy Daycare.

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My new pretend boyfriend.

He's apparently not good enough for me. You see, I had a dream the other night that I was dating this fine specimen of a man. Did I mention that he is 45? Weird. (He's also half Danish.. I apparently have thing for Danes...) So I was dating him, but when he was home taking care of the dog I was out talking to other guys. I know, I know, I can hear your cries of injustice. I don't know what I was thinking either. Anyway, apparently in the dream world I have fantastic friends who tell me that I'm crazy and talk me into going home to see my (new pretend) boyfriend.

I?m also pretty clever in the dream world because I decided that going home to talk to him sounded like a pretty good idea. In fact, I declared that I would go straight home and ask him about the filming of the Return of the King because I was sure that it would be a wonderful, adventure filled story. When I arrived to our very large, very cool apartment he was laying on the couch not doing much of anything (but very well dressed) and the St Bernard (his dog I assumed, since mine is not nearly that large!) was laying on the floor near by.

He told me all about filming the Lord of the Rings and it was a good story, although, sadly, I don?t remember any of it now. Just that I dreamt he was my boyfriend. Sorry Orlando, you can?t win them all.

Just a thought.. doesn't Peter Jackson own a hair brush?

(not that his work doesn't rock.. but .. c'mon)

If you've talked to me in the last month you've probably heard me talk about the Polynesian Chicken. If I promised you the recipe, you no longer have to wait. If you're just tired of hearing me talk about it, try it out for yourself and see if you don't do the same thing.

To the Reader:

I've been doing a lot of reading lately. I started with proof reading a group project which took three out of six of us a collective 9 hours to proof and correct. Rewrite and write again, proof, pray and finally turn in. Also, I would like to point out that I was nice and drunk when I showed up to turn in the project. I adore my friends who get me wasted between classes and then invite me over for the weekend to continue any and all drinking. Fun.

I've also been reading the new weblog that Andreas has started. There’s also a wide variety of other websites that have been keeping me entertained.

When I’m not online I’ve been reading more books than anyone should every check out from the library and thank goodness that I’ve managed to get them back on time or the late fees would put me in debt. In no particular order they are: How to Meet Cute Boys, Charlie Wilson’s War, Inside the CIA, Alias Declassified, somesuch by Dr Phil, A Big Life in Advertising, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, and a variety of books that have slipped my mind.

Not reading, but not writing includes working on the revamp of All Things Girl with the other lovely editors and coming up with ideas for the next journal entry, finishing a piece of fiction I’ve been dreaming up for the last two weeks, talking on AIM and sketching out the new ending for the screenplay I started a few years back.

I’ve also been neglecting my email, my website, my lint collection and my phone. If you miss me or need to get ahold of me for any reason try prayer, God probably has a better percentage for answering people than I do these days. I might be kidding. Instead, send me the first two seasons of Alias on DVD and you’ll be guarenteed never to hear from me again.

Best wishes and I’m almost out of library books,
Jenn

So I mentioned that Andreas started up his weblog over at Solitude. As I was reading through it I realized that I had an opinion on a few of the things he had to say. Instead of simply talking about them with him over IM like I'd normally do, or sending an email like I said I would, I decided to put my thoughts out here for you in case you get interested in any of these topics. Or just because I feel a wee bit guilty for neglecting you lovely people.

So onward and inward or something.

From Orkut — I'm not impressed.

It's true, I'm a joiner of Orkut and at first I found it fun and exciting and I checked in several times a day or week or frequently at any rate. Then I started to forget about it. Time would pass and I wouldn't check in unless I got a message from someone who was adding me as a friend. I started to wonder who was adding me and if I should add them. There were people I hardly knew and the only real thing we had in common (that I know about) is the fact that we're all on the same message board with a few thousand others. Huh.

Basically the novelty has worn out and I agree with the changes that Rebecca Blood suggests. I'm sure there are more, but it's certainly a good start. And do we really want to mix business with pleasure?

From No reply necessary:

I've read so many different articles about managing time and email and computer time and grocery lists that you'd think we'd all have it down by now. I, too, rarely get back to people through email. I might cover the short stuff and I might send quick replies on occasion, but usually I feel people deserve more thought and time than that so instead they don't get any reply and emails sit in my inbox asking for my attention day after day after week after month until I wonder if it would be more embarrassing to ignore them or reply.

I like Andreas's idea about the 'no reply necessary' flag on email. I think about the emails that I've sent to people saying I enjoyed something they wrote and I simply get back a "Glad you liked it." Sometimes I think it would be neat if I could get more back, but I understand these people are busy and probably get quite a few emails that are exactly like mine. I did get a reply though and that was nice. Or was it? How much of their time did I take up just because I liked something? And if I didn't say I liked it would they keep writing or just give up because no one ever spoke up? Okay, tangent. Sorry.

Anyway, I think that the "thanks for reading" or the "glad you liked it" are fine replies and probably easy to get to. At the same time, it's the thought provoking ones that probably deserve the best reply and the timeliest because .. well, those people put in effort.

Will I only check my email in the future when I know I have time to reply? Probably not. Would I use a flag that let people know I wasn't expecting anything back? You got it. Do I send a lot of pointless email? Not as much as you'd expect. Will I ever get better at getting back to people. I bet you're counting on it.

Are you still with me? I'm not so sure...

I have no idea why this is so entertaining to me, but there was a nice kangaroo that rescued a man. According to the article the kangaroo was basically returning the favor since the family had rescued her from her mother's pouch some years earlier. Cute.

Way to go, Denmark.

Alias - rock. Did I mention I might sorta kinda want this?

How many can they make before we get tired of it? And are they all that different?

Education might be taking on a new face at Harvard. If they do it right it just might work. Plus I think everyone should be encouraged to study abroad. It changes your perspective and gives you a greater spring board for the rest of your life.

Also, you'll have to read it to believe it. Why didn't I think of this....?

In other news, I'll be posting photos of the deck in the next few days. Not only is it done, it's HUGE. No joke.

The new ATG is out as of today. If you want to know what I've been up to it's a good place to find out.

It’s probably time to give up journaling when you the only thing that makes you want to write is 36 pages of reading on Tudor education and the English Renaissance. Luckily, for you (or maybe me) I am not and it is not. Instead it’s a slow day at work and I’ve a few things to tell.

The first being that I feel like a sullen teenager 76% of the time. Where I mean that I feel like no one understands me and that’s the reason I’m this way or that. Clearly, I am not the only person to experience the things I do and while each experience is unique to the individual, I’m also old enough to know better. Yet this hasn’t stopped me from arguing, sulking, crying in the car, eating excessive amounts of chocolate pudding or stopped me from avoiding chick flicks nor films I know will make me cry (with the exception of Jersey Girl because it’s really that good).

I’ve also been reading a lot, and planning a handful of craft projects. If nothing else I’ll be so busy between now and, well, whenever, that I won’t get the chance to notice that I’m lonely and a little (more than I’ll admit) sad.

Three jobs (and I applied for the fourth) should do the trick. Also, if you haven’t yet, you should head over to allthingsgirl.com and take notice of the September 1 additions. Otherwise, wait awhile and the new issue will be out before you know it (or before I know it – October 1).

I'd like to take this space to reannounce a project that has been reborn. Andreas has joined me over at scatter joy where we're both posting photos.

The new issue, Falling, is up over at All Things Girl You should find something that will inspire you of you take some time to look through the different sections. There's a lot of great work in this issue. Also, don't forget to check out the submission page if you want a peek at future themes or want to submit something. The only rule is that you have to be a girl.

As for me, I've been fighting headaches for most of the weekend, but seem to be doing better today. I can't update weekly because whenever I try to put a time limit on myself it serves no other purpose than to keep me from writing. I will attempt however.

The driving range is closing in less than two weeks. Wow.

I still really like coffee and it's a good thing because it's the only thing that keeps me going some days. Other days it's simply the momentum. Busy. Also, if you have a birthday this week, Happy Birthday. I'm thinking of you and this isn't where the fun stops.

And lastly, a quote: "What looks like crazy on an ordinairy day looks a lot like love if you catch it in the moonlight."

The town paper is next door to the DVD store where I work. A few months ago one of the employees came over and asked if I wanted to be in the paper. I just had to answer a question, get my picture taken and there I would be in print. I didn't really want to do it, but I guess it never hurts and the question was "What's your favorite Holiday movie?" I of course couldn't think of one off the top of my head but finally came up with the Grinch and Rudolf, you know, the classics. Anyway, the week went on and sometime the next week a bunch of the kids at school were saying "I saw you in the paper, Ms. M." How weird. I of course did not see myself in the paper.

Looks like I'll have my chance next week since the employee was back this week to ask "What's the worst thing about Michigan winters?" The answer of course, "There are so many answers!" So if I remember, I'll be in the paper on Thursday. Again. It's like being famous in a small town.

Remember way back when, you know, that time I was watching more TV than was good for anyone because there wasn't much else going on? Okay, so now that I work at the DVD store and people are always asking me what's good, have I seen this or that, etc. etc. etc. I've been watching a lot of movies. A lot. A quick rundown:

Friday Night Lights - pretty good, based on a true story, straight up football story so if you're not into it then you're not into it. Don't blame me.

Catwoman - this is a fun action flick that's basically "look at me, I'm Halle Berry in tight leather." It's not going to change your life, it's got some major holes, but if you want some eye candy a little brain fluff this is going to do it.

The Forgotten - more sci-fi than I thought it was going to be. Still good and they give you an asnwer at the end, even if you don't like what that answer is. I haven't watched the alternative ending yet so I'm reserving final judgement. Mostly it's got more running than Alias and a lot of dark corners.

Cellular - er.. I'm mostly through this one (probably 10 min to go) but I'm not all that impressed. Our kidnapped lead is sometimes too calm to be believable, the guys is sarcastic and yet more clever than he really should be. Some of the time he's a stupid california idiot who wants his girlfriend backand sometimes he's all on top of stuff. It does keep moving at a fast pace, but a little unbelievable.

Without a Paddle - this is the stupid funny movie that you think it is. Seriously, and it's funny. Lots of good lines, funny characters and a lot of the same. Guys seeking something, and then and then and then and then. Still completely worth watching. Brain candy with popcorn is always good.

The Village - I know a lot of people think this is too easy to figure out, but I think it's a clever concept and fun. It's not as scary as you might think it is but instead is suspensful. There's a little bit of a love story and a lot of questions about why we do the things we do and what sort of sacrifices we might have to make in the end.

Garden State - Just see it. Don't ask questions. And then listen to the soundtrack.

I've seen more, but you've probably seen them too. Otherwise I'll be back to talk about them another time. Plus it's time for SNL.

Thanks to the glowing review from Defective Yeti's Matt Baldwin I decided to pick up this strange, strange book. I still have about 30 pages to go but I can say that I've learned a lot of things that I'll never use, a few things that will come at handy for small talk and a handful of things that grossed me out.

It's very true that we tend to objectify the dead in order to deal with them. Not that I've ever dealt with the dead, but it's a lot easier t read about this stuff when you aren't thinking about the person they once were.

This book is also a good case for donating your body/parts to science. I agree with the author and I can't think of anything better to do with myself in the afterlife if I'm not helping out my fellow people.

If you aren't too squeamish, this is a fascinating read. For example, the average human stomach can hold about 4 quarts of food before bursting. In one case, this was surpased by a supermodel (of all people.. probably making up for starving through her first 23 years) who managed to get down 19 lbs of food. Seriously.

Once you've read the book let me know and we can sit down over coffee and see if we can freak out the people at the next table over.

First of all. Kay Jewelers, SHUT UP. Christmas and Valentine's day are the two times during the year where the air waves are flooded with diamond ads. I'm tired of it. I don't want one and no one I know does either. SHUT UP. Plus, I know how the advertisers are all about promoting diamonds and that's the only reason they're a big deal as it is. It's no one's tradition but the advertisers. So stop listening. And yeah, every kiss begins with K. It's a letter of the alphabet. Now stuff it.

Moving right along... title is from a They Might Be Giants song and if you can tell me which one I'll stop bitching about advertising (it's my trained field after all).

Now that the sentimental part is covered, on to the hair. Oh, and I'm here tonight because Alias is CREEPING ME OUT. Anyway, I got my hair cut today. Twice... the first time. Ugh. I will never go to that place again. She just trimmed a little off the bottom and then sorta.. played with it for awhile. Razored some off for a .. textured look (I couldn't see it) and then put in two million tons of product. Gross.

So she finished and I left and went straight to the next salon and got an appointment to get it fixed. So much for growing it out, but it's a lot better now. It's cute and fun. Or at least that's what you should tell me when you see it. So from now on I'm done worrying about my hair. Only bad things can come from it.

The deadline is fast approaching (Mar. 15th) but this sounds like a fascinating project:. It's all about love letters written between two people who don't share a native language. I can only imagine the range of beautifuly clumsy that exists.

I've only written a few love letters in my day. None of them have ever been sent, and a few of them I still have, sealed in their envelopes waiting for me to either send them or to become so curious as to open them myself.

On the other hand, I suppose anything could count as a love letter, and in that case I've sent a variety of notes expressing my emotions or my thoughts. While I don't have copies of those, it would be neat to see how they change over time due to age or the complexity of the relationship, the length of the relationship or even the deepness of feelings.

This project might just inspire me to take that shoe box down from the top closet shelf and see what I've been holding onto for all these years.

I'm currently teaching Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Sometimes I think it's more fun for me than the kids, but they seem to be getting into it. We're using the SparkNotes version of the text which has the original text side by side with more modern text. They read both and are at least giving it a good effort. We've also looked at clips of Shakespeare in Love and the 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet.

As for me, it means that I get to watch both movies on my own. Shakespeare in Love is such a fun movie. I really enjoy the hints of Twelfth Night that are intermingled throughout as well as the inspiration of Romeo and Juliet. If you haven't seen either, I recommend both. Absolutely.

On other fronts, this week has been wonderful. Thank you all for your well wishes. Birthday week still survives and I think today will be another day of fun and relaxation. It's also marking the end of the school year. Or rather it marks the fact that we can see the end of the school year in the not so distant future.