Sunday, July 31, 2005

Romance...kind of

Today was a romance movie marathon. Three movies to be exact.

An Affair of Love I queued up this movie again because I recommended it to a co-worker who in turn told me I'd probably like L'Ennui. Hello?! An Affair was about two strangers who meet for sex and wind up falling in love. (sigh) L'Ennui was about disturbing, mad, sexal obsession. An Affair made it very clear to me to tell someone if I was into them or not regardless of the possible outsome of such a confession. It was a beautiful movie.

The next two movies I saw sequentially and for the first time. They did not disappoint. Before Sunrise is about an American and a French girl who meet on a train and spend the day together in Vienna before he flies off to the U.S. in the morning. It's twentysomething dialogue against beautiful backdrops. I kept wishing they would not sleep together. No luck. They slept together. They also promise to meet each other six months to the day because they recognize the spark of, dare I say it, soul mates.

As it turns out, they were unable to meet 6 months later. That's where Before Sunset comes in. Time elapsed...9 years later. A fluke. He's promoting a book in Paris where she lives. She shows up at the signing. Awkwardness. They fall back into dialogue. He's married. She's not. They both regret not being able to meet as planned 9 years before. And the movie leaves viewers guessing, which leaves the door wide open for another sequel.

Sunrise has these two individuals meet by chance and connect on a certain level. I believe this is what people do with the internet everyday...chatting in particular. To 'talk' and divulge to a total stranger and having it seem right. Then after sometime reality kicks in.

Sunset made me wonder about the what ifs in my own life. I wonder if I will ever get to see him again. If we do meet somewhere, it's fate. I'm not holding my breath, but it saddens me to think that under different circumstance that could have been the one.

Like I said, it was a day of romance what ifs.

Saturday, July 30, 2005

Apt Search

I've been moving for three years. The thought of moving gives me a headache. It's time. I looked at three properties today. They were all great.

#1 was on a tree-lined street. White picket fences. It was small! Only one person could fit in the kitchen at any one time. There was hardly any storage space. This made me realize how much sh*t I own.

#2 had an amazing kitchen. It was bigger than the bedroom. It had a granite island in the middle. (I loved it, and I don't even cook.) It was an extra room that could be used as an office. Quiet street. Loved it. It did not come with laundry facilities or a parking space.

#3 is in a great location. A block away from the main shopping street. Close to public transportation. Hardwood floors. I want hardwood floors instead of wall-to-wall carpeting this time. And the library is right there. ;)

This time it's serious. I gave my thirty day notice. I have to be out of here August 24. Hooray. I better find something that works for me by then.

Friday, July 29, 2005

Fat Reading

The first time I saw this advertisement I didn't like it. That's when I knew I had officially been brainwashed by television, radio and the print media. I am so used to seeing the thin, long-legged models that normal doesn't look right to me anymore. What the f*ck! Instead of celebrating this media milestone, bashing the unrealistic ideal, I found it flawed. No, this is not a celebration of fat. It's a step in the right direction and I was slow to accept it.

When I saw the advertisement, I was in the middle of reading Fat: The Anthropology of an Obsession. This book is really interesting. It looks at how fat is seen in different parts of the world. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. It proves that fat is an unhealthy obsession not only here, but in most first world countries.

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Tattoo Parlor

Friend and I went to dinner. After that we decided to walk off the dessert. He wanted to show me the tattoo parlor where he got his piercing. Okay. I'm flipping through the photo book admiring the detailed tattoos, some of the branding and cutting, the piercings.

My tattoo is small, but it still hurt. I can't imagine the pain involved with some of those large tattoos. Large artwork like that is done in sessions which may require to go over the same area again for color richness. Ouch.

Branding. Cutting. Piercing. The first time I heard of branding I wanted to do it. Some sense kicked in eventually. Cutting. Hell no. Piercings? 7. All in my ears though. As a teen I wanted one next to my eyebrow. My father said he'd tear it off. I believe he would have.

The pictures went from great tattoos to branding on the shoulders and back. The cutting pictures made me dizzy. Facial piercings...no problem. Nipple and vagina piercings...a problem. I couldn't finish looking at the pictures.

Sunday, July 24, 2005

#7

Lance Armstrong won his seventh Tour de France victory. Okay, I was awed by win #6 just yesterday! Truly inspirational on many different levels.

Fernando Valenzuela, Steve Sax
Orel Hershiser
Gabriela Sabatini
Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg
Debbie Thomas, Katarina Witt
Wayne Gretzky
Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, Andre Agassi
Jennifer Capriati
Lance Armstrong

Looks like I need to look for another sports hero. How about Danica Patrick?

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Athlete

As soon as I signed on to my machine at work, I got some pictures from a friend. I thought they were from one of her vacations in the Caribbean or some other romantic getaway. Wrong. They were pictures from her second triathlon in the last three months! I'm so proud of her! The water looked cold. The day was cloudy. The progression was:
1) Her number written on her calf and arms as well as pinned. She was all smiles.
2) Swimming. She's in the zone.
3) Biking. She's really in the zone.
4) Running. Can't get her out of the zone.
5) Crossing finish line. She was all smiles again.

She's always been athletic. Now she's an athlete. Way to go!

Monday, July 18, 2005

Questionable

One of my coworkers exhibited questionable behavior recently and it just so happens that his wife is away at the moment. He invited another married person out for winetasting, but did not invite her husband. That was sign #1. She thought it was too awkward to go alone so she invited three other people. We declined the invitation to which he responded, 'good.' That was sign #2. When she asked about rescheduling to August, he responded he would not be available anymore because his family would be back. That was sign #3.

Can a married man and a married woman be friends? Yes and no. Yes, they can be friends but with boundaries. No, my hypothetical husband could not be inviting his friend to go winetasting while I was out of the damn country. Where's the trust? The trust would be there, but I am not a believer of placing yourself in unnecessary situations that could introduce temptation.

Saturday, July 16, 2005

Summer is here

Today was a a wonderful 103 degrees. Yuk. I turned on the AC (which was working yesterday) and it did not work. Leasing office said the earliest they could come fix it is Monday! This meant bookstore and movies...doing things I enjoy that happen the have air conditioning.

Wedding Crashers
Can people actually crash weddings? These days everything is invite only. I've never seen people hook up at weddings, there is too much pressure, you are at a wedding for goodness sake. Regardless, the movie was funny. Football seen was hilarious. The crazy chick was over the top.
Having been a bridesmaid twice myself, I can assure you the only thing that was going through my mind was 'When can I change out of this dress?'

Seeing Vince Vaughn on the big screen reminded me that he was my first choice to play the lead in The DaVinci Code movie. Yes, we see him in comedies, but he could do drama. It's all in the face, the demeanor and he has it.

Dinner with a Perfect Stranger was my purchase for the day. I've heard buzz surrounding this book. Many were buying the latest Harry Potter (I only read the first book) while I was content with the small book.

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Lovely music

The Chorus was such a sweet movie. I plan on getting the soundtrack for the beautiful music. Of course, I cried even with the predictable storyline.

The last movie whose score moved me was The Phantom of the Opera which was way back in December '04. I was told I have to watch the show because even though the movie was great, the show is amazing.

Saturday, July 09, 2005

Driving in the City

I don't drive into SF. I don't like the traffic. Pedestrians are crazy. Too stressful for me. And this is coming from someone that was in LA for 24 years! That has to tell you something.
I drove into the city today. It was my friend's birthday and she had a small celebration. Managed to get the musicians to sing "Las MaƱanitas" for her.

I didn't stay too late. I missed the fun though, people got sick from all the drinking.

Monday, July 04, 2005

To err is human, no?

My latest strategy of using links for some of my blog entry titles redirects people to the movie page. Oy! Wake up already! jejejjejej

Sunday, July 03, 2005

Oh Brother

My mother tells me my brother is upset with me. He is upset that I come here and involve myself in family drama. Well, sh*t, it's my family too. His point is that I don't live here. I come here for visits throughout the year. That I should not be adding fuel to any fires. Part of me agrees with him, in two days I will be back in CA and this drama will not be part of my life. But right now, I am here and I feel the tension.

Spent the day with my friend who in turn took me to meet her friends. It was nice to see she has good people around her. We ranged in age from 23 to 54. In no way was I expecting to hear the words: man-whore. Overwhelming testimony of what I always believed..the best looking men are in Italy the only problem is that the Italian men agree with this statement.

What came out of this gathering was an announcement of planned trips. MQ told everyone I'd be in Spain in April. (It's actually Spain and Italy. M signed up to go with me.) The rest of her friends will be there in July 2006.

Spanish. English. Farsi. Vietnamese. German. French. those were all the languages that could be heard in that house this lazy Sunday afternoon over coffee and pastries. It was nice. All women, of all ages, of all nationalities.

Saturday, July 02, 2005

Too Sleepy

I arrived in OKC at 9:10 AM. I did not sleep a wink on the plane because I forgot my travel, neck pillow in the bag I checked in. I had it all planned. I would sleep on the plane and be energized when I landed; instead, I was dragging my feet and knocked out for three hours in the middle of the day. My energy was zapped for the rest of the day.

I did not arrive alone to OKC. 6 rolls of film arrived with me. From California to Georgia to Oklahoma. The oldest roll was from April 2004 and the youngest one was from April 2005. A year of pictures. Pitiful. It's one those tasks that just get lost in the daily shuffle. Everytime I saw them I'd tell myself I had to get them developed. They turned out great. I did not even remember what was on them to begin with so it turned out to be a nice surprise for all of us.

Friday, July 01, 2005

Is it over yet?

This was a tough week. Monday we had another goodbye luncheon. Tuesday said goodbye to another contractor (she was on a plane to Mazatlan before the sun set). Wednesday contractor went on maternity leave. Thursday said goodbye to another contractor. We also celebrated a birthday, someone finishing his MBA. Thursday I bid goodbye to M until the next time we see each other.

It is an endless circle isn't it? People come and people go. Not for one minute does life stop.

My flight leaves at 10:40 PM to Atlanta, because there are no direct flights to OKC and this flight met my time and money criteria.