Cupid's Cruel Arrows

One of my favorite indie movies this summer has been 500 Days of Summer, which actually warns you that "this is not a love story."

The tag line: "Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn't." Ouch. This kind of thing happens everyday, right? But rarely do they make a film highlighting this very common and painful phenomenon in such a unique yet matter of fact way.

I don't want to ruin the movie, but let's just say I could identify with the protagonist in the story. You think everything's going well. You want to believe it's going somewhere despite some obvious red flags. (Well at the time, the flags appear more like pale pink until hindsight adds a richer hue.) You want so much for your love to be enough for the both of you, but it's just not - leaving you with a sense of loss, confusion, anger, despair, and the eternal "WHY?!!!"

I wanted to hate the girl in the movie. She was so cool and too cute. However my friend pointed out that the girl was always upfront with the protagonist. He simply got too emotionally attached. The story is also entirely from the boy's point of view. We never get her side of the story or her perception of the relationship. They could probably remake the movie entirely from her point of view. It would be an equally interesting film but I doubt it would affect as many people in terms of connecting with that universal sense of heartbreak.

The beautiful thing about the film is that it resolves things much like life does. It doesn't necessarily end up the way you want, but it opens up other possibilities and you simply move on.

A Few Flicks

Despite all the drama of work and boy the past several weeks, I did manage to squeeze in a few entertaining flicks.

21 - I love gambling movies. Especially ones based on a true story. Even if the true story actually involved more Asians, less violence, and less romance. It was still fun and got me in the mood to go clubbing, which I did, this past Saturday.

Leatherheads - I actually hate football, but this was a fun throwback to those old fashioned screwball comedies with lots of witty banter. And it was kinda cool to see how football started. Renee Zellweger is getting weirder looking, George Clooney is looking old but still dashing, and John Krasinski is cute but not as cute as when he's in The Office.

The Waterhorse - So cute. Scottish accents, baby lochness monster, and overall a sweet story. I'd watch it again. And I'm sure kids will love it too.

Lust Caution - Total 180 from the previous flick. Beautiful film, beautiful actress, amazing scenery. But wow. You go, repressed Chinese people! When Jigaho said she had seen soft core porn more toned down than this, I was impressed. And I think that describes it perfectly. But love scenes aside, it was an intriguing film, all 2 1/2 hours of it. I even watched the "Making of" documentary afterwards.

Gone Baby Gone - It started off a little slow and quite talky. Actually the bf got bored and I had to finish it alone. But, man it was worth it. It was a great film and I am impressed with the brothers Affleck. So many twists and turns and at the end of the movie, it leaves you thinking about what you would have done. Moral quandaries are always fun.

Lars and the Real Girl - Cute quirky film. Ryan Gosling is such a great actor. And after the initial "ew that's gross, people actually buy those?!" they made the real doll almost like a real person that you felt for. Weird. And a little sad. But overall a sweet story about how much a community will pull together for one of its own. Almost makes you want to live in a small town.

I'm excited that the movie blockbuster season is almost upon us, especially Indiana Jones! Until then, more catching up on rentals and watching whatever I can get my hands on.

Crybaby

God damn hormones.

I was watching the movie The Last of the Mohicans this afternoon, a movie I've watched many times back in the previous decade because the music alone hooks me in. And oh my god, the chemistry between Daniel Day Lewis and Madeline Stowe is phenomenal - I was once read a review that said the passion between their eyeballs alone could carry the scene where they just stare at each other before running into each other's arms. But now I digress.

Anyway, it's a movie I've seen many times before without shedding a single tear. Because hey, it's a happy ending right? The two main characters end up with each other and all is good in the world of love. But today, as with everything I watch these days except maybe horror films, I was bawling. Why did that guy have to die for someone who didn't love him back? Why did the other guy have to die so foolishly without waiting for his backup? And jeez, why did that girl throw herself off the cliff after this guy she barely knew? Everything was just so unfair and sad!

I can't quite pinpoint what's wrong, but it's a good week when I can go the whole week without shedding tears. Often, the quivery feeling lasts for days, when anything can set off the deluge. I feel slightly mental.

Work and the bf take turns making me cry and that is not good. I either need to toughen up or take some drugs.

Another Fun Quirky Movie

Last week, I managed to walk out of work somewhat early to see a sneak preview of Dan In Real Life with Sly. There are some slight continuity problems, but overall, it was a really cute and funny movie. Everyone laughed out loud just enough, and we could all connect at an emotional level to the characters even if you couldn't empathize with the main characters.

I was never a huge fan of Steve Carell but after Little Miss Sunshine, catching some episodes of The Office, and now this movie, I'm impressed. He's like the next Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey, Greg Kinnear... All expressive with the puppy dog eyes, all comic restraint, and all manchild-like though slightly more man than child in these recent roles.

I love these ensemble cast movies where the chemistry between all the actors are vital to the movie. Just like one of my all time favorites, Playing By Heart (something I've made almost all of my friends watch). The next one I'm looking forward to is Feast of Love. It's about time the giant splashy summer blockbusters are done for the year and we can look forward to the quieter introspective movies they start throwing out from now till Christmas to make the Academy Awards season. That and the new TV season starting, I have more than enough escapist pleasure to get me to 2008.

Labor(less) Day Weekend

In a long stretch of no work holidays until Thanksgiving, I thoroughly made the most of the Labor day weekend by mixing equal parts quality time with friends and equal parts sitting around like a log.

On Saturday, a group of us headed over to the newly renovated Griffith Observatory to enjoy the view, learn about space, and in general, hang out with one another for Jigaho's birthday weekend. Getting to the actual observatory is still quite an ordeal - you have to reserve a shuttle time online, drive out to the LA Zoo and park, catch the shuttle which takes you the longest possible way around the park and up the hill to the far end of the Observatory parking lot, and schlep over to the front desk and make sure you get tickets for the planetarium show before they sell out. We ended up staying there for hours until closing time, eating dinner at their little cafe and exploring the all new downstairs area, where you can weigh yourself at every planet's station to see how much you'd weigh, say on Jupiter. (About 400 pounds. Pooh!)

Though the live narrator's voice was extremely soothing while dramatic, I promptly fell asleep through half of the planetarium show per usual, as soon as we leaned back in our chairs and the lights went out. Maybe I'm just a gigantic nerd, but I already knew most of the stuff we were covering from all those astronomy classes I took in college and the gazillion times I read National Geographic's Our Universe cover to cover as a child. Not only did I fear spiders, monsters and the dark as a kid, I genuinely worried about supernovas and the fact that the sun would one day grow large enough to swallow Mercury, Venus and Earth in its path. Never mind that this would occur millions of years after I'd long walk this earth.

After looking at Jupiter and it's moons through the telescope, we headed back down and finished off the night with yummy milkshakes at Fred 62 in Los Feliz. Anyway, I can't wait until the hype of the Observatory dies down again and I can drive up that hill and park right in front whenever I want. I used to do that all the time and take out of town guests up there to enjoy the view and experience a piece of movie history.

On Sunday and Monday I scooped up the cat enjoyed the luxurious AC at the parents' house for the rest of the weekend, making sure to lounge in the pool for a good hour both days. I must admit, I have been spoiled with access to a private pool for almost half my life and I do feel sorry for people who never had one. It's a lot of maintenance, but oh so decadently wonderful on a hot summer day. I managed to step out twice during the weekend. Once to pick up boba teas and club sandwich making ingredients at the market with my dad, and Sunday night for Peruvian food and a movie with Bizarro twin.

Bizarro Twin took me to a hole in the wall Peruvian restaurant in the Anaheim hood, ordered our food in impeccable Spanish and proceeded to discuss ethnic stereotypes, growing up multicultural and our own perceptions of various people we've encountered. Life is never dull having her around and I often laugh out loud much more than usual. We topped off the night by watch the anti-date movie 2 Days in Paris, a movie that throws you in the midst of an angsty relationship for two days. It's directed by Julie Delpy, from the Before Sunrise and Before Sunset duo, and boy does that woman like to talk and dissect every nuance of a relationship to death. Though there are lots of funny moments in the film, we both left the movie emotionally and mentally exhausted. "I don't want to watch all this craziness much less live though it!" exclaimed Bizarro Twin. Good for us, since neither of us are remotely close to being in relationships such as the one portrayed.

On Monday night, I capped off the weekend in the best possible way. Glued to the television for two and half hours, watching the Justin Timberlake concert live on HBO, before heading back to my sauna of an apartment. Now my life is complete and I'll never have to pay to see him live in concert.

Enjoying This Day and Age and More Summer Movies!

It took months, but Princess and I finally finished watching West Side Story for the first time Friday night. It was entertaining, though long, and I don't know why I never watched it as a child. I've certainly seen The Sound of Music no less than twenty times. We were both surprised that the song "Somewhere" was actually from this movie and not Barbra Streisand. We were also quite entertained by the dark pancake makeup they used to make the actors look Puerto Rican. Being raised here in LA as a second generation kid, sometimes I forget how dating outside your race is intolerable and taboo for the older generation and perhaps still in several parts of the world. It just seems so silly to me when you look at the big picture now.

On Saturday, I met Ballet Dancer at the Arclight Theaters. It was my first time there and despite the pain of actually getting through the traffic to Hollywood and the insane parking lot, I would definitely go there again. It's what a movie experience should be - reserved seating, cleanliness, attentive staff who introduce each movie and personally request people to turn off phones and refrain from talking, AND stand in the wings throughout the whole movie to make sure temperature, sound, EVERYTHING runs smoothly. Not to mention a very nice theater with comfy stadium seating, crisp screens and sound buffering from the typical action movie next door.

We watched Becoming Jane, which is right up our alley. However, I'm usually one for happy endings. Though I knew in the back of my mind that Miss Jane Austen died young as a spinster, although a successful novelist, I couldn't help but hope that the movie would give her a happy ending with her true love. Because I'm just a sap that way. I was a bit sad afterwards for her, and again marveled at how horrible it was for people, especially women back then, when money and property meant everything to a good marriage. Again, I take that for granted in this day and age but I also do wonder if I'll end up like her and whether that's so bad?

Finally, on Sunday, after an early morning (ack!) adventurous yoga session with Jigaho and brunch with our friends, a bunch of us caught The Bourne Ultimatum. I've always loved Matt Damon despite the whole dumping of his girfriend on national television (talk about not handling a breakup smoothly) and I loved the Jason Bourne series. The movies are always intelligent, fast paced, intriguing, and fun to watch. This third one in the series is no exception. In fact, I think it's better than the second one because it has more of an emotional hook to it, without losing any of the pacing. Definitely recommended! I hope they make more!

Oh I also caught the movie Sunshine a week ago, a small sci-fi thriller from Danny Boyle- he of Trainspotting and 28 Days Later fame. I was drawn in by the crazy improbable premise, a bunch of astronauts traveling to the sun to deliver a nuclear bomb to the core and reignite the star before it dies out, and by its diverse international cast. Of course, I can't give an accurrate review of it as I saw the last thirty minutes hunched in the corner of my seat with my hands over my face. Erm, I'm a bit of a scaredy cat and though this isn't a horror flick, it's quite tense and some crazy stuff happens as the movie concludes. Still, I would objectively say it's a good movie and if you like that sort of stuff, definitely go support it.

A Cautionary Comedy

Work had another Friday night party - this time to celebrate all the new blood who had joined the company in the past month - so per usual I bolted as quickly as I could. Instead, I cheaped out and ate in, shared some of my junk food with Sly, and caught the movie Knocked Up with Sly, Polar Opposite, and his friend.

Shock value is what comes to mind when R-rated comedies are involved. This one (by the same folks who brought you Forty Year Old Virgin) was no different. Let's just say if you're on the fence about having kids, this one might just hurl you over to the other side. (In case you're wondering, that would be the side that disappoints your parents by not propagating the human species.) I think it's also a grand example for pushing oral contraceptives on young women. Seriously.

There were tons of hilarious moments in the movie and it was a perfect Friday night, end of the work week, no brainer type movie. My only beef is that much like Forty Year Old Virgin, the movie is definitely a man's point of view. The female characters are fleshed out slightly better than Virgin, but there are still some oddities we noticed, like why does the female protagonist have no friends of her own?!

Anyway, when we stepped out of the theater, Polar Opposite asked us girls "So would you guys have kept the baby?" And he was met with a resounding and simultaneous "HELL NO!"

Summer Movies and a Fun Fourth

There were a ton of summer movies I was excited about and so far, I've seen two of them.

On Friday, we had a company movie day to see Ratatouille, which I adored. So much so it only furthers my desire to work for Pixar and move up to the bay area. I'm also going to see it again tomorrow night.

The voices aren't celebrity driven like Shrek and other mediocre animated films. The look of it is amazing. The story is well-written and never predictable or cliched, a difficult feat for an animated film. And the fur on the characters - well maybe it's because I know how hard it is to create computer generated fur, but it makes me want to pet the rat as much as I had wanted to hug Sully, the blue and purple monster from Monsters, Inc. If a company can make rats look cute and huggable, they got my vote.

Today, instead of heading toward the beach where gazillions of other people went, I steered toward the other direction. I headed toward Westwood to watch Transformers in the nice big Village theater, where they have all the fancy schmancy movie premieres. This is my favorite theater not only because it's an old fashioned one movie only theater, it's also has the best sound, crisp digital projected picture and it's huge. I lined up for hours to see all the Star Wars there back in the day, and it makes the movie watching experience that much more fun.

I have to say I was extremely impressed with Transformers. I knew it would be fun to watch but didn't expect much from these big budgeted Michael Bay splashy movie events. Let's just say my jaw was literally hanging open every time I watched the robots transform and battle. They came up with a decent story, good actors (especially the lead kid), decently fleshed out characters and of course, mind-blowing computer animated robots. I never thought those toys my brother and I played with as children could look so cool in "real life." It was also fun to see a couple of my friends' credits at the end of the movie.

After the movie, to celebrate feeling better after 4 days of some weird stomach bug, I risked a night of pain by getting some Haagen Dazs ice cream. Yum! And instead of sitting at home relaxing, I fought off the tiredness and the lonerish instinct, and accepted my friends' invitation for some nice grilled steaks at their place. We also managed to lean way out of their balcony to see the fireworks show down at the marina. If only we had every Wednesday off.

Childhood Nostalgia

I just finished weeping over a beautiful anime film titled "Only Yesterday." It's a Studio Ghibli film, one of the biggest and most successful Japanese anime studios that managed to get a distribution deal with the Mouse-eared company and enjoy some mainstream releases here in the US.

This particular film was never released here, but a coworker lent me his DVD from England (I heart Macs for having an awesome DVD player, able to play films from different region coded DVDs!). He promised me the ending made the film and I have to agree. It was thoughtful but slow throughout, or maybe I'm just tired from the weekend. It flows like a short novel - anadult's memoirs about her childhood and where she is now in terms of achieving her dreams. Something I can definitely relate to as I've ruminated over this a lot the past couple years.

You bounce back and forth between bittersweet nostalgia and hope for the future. You remember how important certain things were to you as a child and pivotal turning points in your life - some barely noticeable to adults and people around you but monumental in shaping how you see things as an adult. The film captured all of that so well and by the time the heroine wraps up her journey, tears were just uncontrollably streaming down my face.

Yup, it's a Monday.

Thwarted

Last night, Sly and I tried to participate in the LA Film Festival and watch a screening of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's "musical" episode from season 6. Apparently, it's become this new cult phenomenon much like Rocky Horror Picture Show, complete with props and singalongs. We realized this too late, however, and drove by the long line for people who actually had tickets and then passed by the other long line for standby people who didn't have tickets. Who knew there were so many geeky fans like us out there?

We decided to not waste our time in line and headed for the newly reopened Barnes and Nobles bookstore. As we walked up to the door, the security locked it up right on the dot at 10pm, only letting people out. We pressed our noses to the window to see if anything had changed at the bookstore and whether there had been any hullabaloo or fanfare on reopening day. None at all. Just your usual books.

We walked across the street to get some ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. The employee inside locked up as we walked up to the door, shaking his head at the girl begging to be let back in because she actually left her cell phone in there. Sheesh, these people really do just close up as fast as they physically can, regardless of business.

We gave up and headed to the supermarket instead, picking up a pint of Ben and Jerry's and heading back to my place for one of the many movies still on my Tivo. I decided that Sly HAD to watch She's the Man with me again because we needed a good laugh from the night of bad luck. I think the ice cream and silly movie at my apartment ended up being the cheaper, more fun alternative!

Movies of Conflict

Rarely am I ever in the mood to watch war films or movies depicting the atrocities of humanity or civil unrest. I much prefer happy escapism. Why bother with movies depicting real life when I already think real life and growing up two highly overrated things one must endure? Anyway, occasionally I'll stumble upon these movies when they fall into my lap.

While I was in Chicago, my brother happened to have a DVD of The Last King of Scotland. I heard great things but nothing about it interested me. But hey, since he had it around, why not? From the first 15 minutes, I was intrigued. I can't quite explain why it was so mesmerizing. It could be the phenomenally charismatic portrayal of Idi Amin by Forrest Whitaker. Or maybe the charm of newcomer James MacAvoy. Mainly it could be the story itself, about the fictionalized friendship between the dictator and his personal physician, seen through the young idealistic physician's eyes. Whatever the reason, the movie was riveting despite the subject matter.

Another movie I happened to watch on cable this weekend, was Courage Under Fire. It's over ten years old, but I remember I was somewhat interested in it when it first came out, probably because it had Meg Ryan and Denzel Washington in it. Now that it happened to be on at the right time, I couldn't stop watching it through dinner, Father's Day or not, much to the amusement of my parents. It's a little slow, but the mystery that slowly unfolds is worth it. Great acting on everyone's part, including a very young and skinny Matt Damon and a tough-guy Lou Diamond Phillips of La Bamba Fame.

Milking The Premium Channels For All They're Worth

Have I mentioned how much I hate the Time Warner Cable Service and their monopolies on television? I used to pay ten dollars a month just to get basic service for my local 13 channels. As if that wasn't highway robbery enough, once Time Warner bought out Comcast and Adelphia, they forced everyone to upgrade to basic cable for forty-five dollars a month or suffer the fate of bunny ear antennas and fuzzy reception. What happened to the days of free and clear TV of yore?

Because I could not bear to deprive my Tivo of its glorious recording capabilities and brand spanking new TV of its hi-resolution potential, I sucked it up and continued to pay. I stay on hold for over an hour with customer service to log my complaints and get refunds when the service goes down. I send them emails complaining of their crappy services and policies. And the lovely thing is, they sometimes set it right by crediting my money back or in my case giving me six months free of premium channels.

I think that's how they get you. It's like drugs. Now that I have HBO, Showtime, and TMC, I don't know if I want to give it up. This whole On demand thing is brilliant. And the shows they're airing on cable these days far surpass many network shows and feature films at the theater.

My six months free is nearly up, so as I teeter on the fence of practicality and thriftiness versus indulgence and lunacy, I've been recording every movie I can get my hands on, every movie I ever remotely wanted to rent or watch if it happened to be free and landed squarely on my lap as I sat there bored with nothing else in the world to do.

Last night, I watched half of The Lake House, which I already saw a while back and made me weep yet again. I followed that up with She's The Man, a modern remake of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Now I am a SUCKER for any modern remake of classics. Clueless. Loved It. Ten Things I Hate About You. One of my favorites. She's All That. Pygmalion story never grows old. I actually laughed so hard and so loudly at She's The Man, that any person who happened to pass by my apartment at that time must have thought a crazy retarded person lived there. It was that funny and cute. I may need to watch that one again.

Finally, I watched Just My Luck, in which Lindsay Lohan actually reminds me that she's a cute adorable girl who can act and oozes charisma. The whole luck thing was very appropriate for my recent entry and I love the idea of karma and balance in the world.

There's ten more movies beckoning to me in the next week or so. The farewell to premium channels never felt so sweet.

Movies Appropriate for A Goodbye

For the Memorial Day weekend, not only did I visit tons of friends and shop up a storm, I also went and supported the movie box office by watching not one, but THREE movies at the theater. First there was Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End, the last of the Pirate trilogy with the ever charming JohnnyDepp and the beautiful, Boy (who was the One)-resembling Orlando Bloom. Unnecessarily long at nearly three hours and headachingly confusing with triple crossing and quadruple crossing protagonists, the movie was fun though not completely satisfying.

To make up for supporting the big budget, somewhat soulless studio film, I paid to see two independent, made on a shoestring type films. The first one was Waitress, starring Keri Russell (she of the heartwrenching heroine Felicity fame). The movie's most known fact, however, was the unfortunate murder of the writer/director/actress Adrienne Shelly last year. All of the actresses were great. And boy did I crave pie. You'll have to watch it and see what I mean. They market the movie as a light romantic comedy but don't be fooled. It's a tiny bit dark and sad even if it is cute overall.

The last movie I saw yesterday was the Irish "modern day musical" film Once . The director and the lead actor were in the band The Frames and all the beautiful music was written and performed by the two lead actors. It's not a musical in the traditional sense of singing and dancing and random breaking out into song. The music's presence actually makes sense as these are two musicians falling in love, getting to know each other, performing and recording their songs.

I enjoyed all the movies for entertainment value, but also because I saw a common theme that I liked. They weren't so much about the "happily ever after" but more about showing how love - being in love or being loved - inspires you to do big things with your life. (You may think it's a stretch but if you watch all of them, see if you'll agree with me.) That is encouraging. It makes me think "I want that. I want to be in love. I want to be inspired." If only I could have just the good parts, the giddy, lost all sanity, think I can fly parts. And not the inspired to run so hard, the physical pain is better than the emotional pain parts. If only.

Juvenile Humor

I've accomplished nothing this weekend nor the past week in terms of prepping for my trip. So now I'm having stress dreams about packing and prepping. Sigh. Instead, I watched plenty of silly movies this weekend, hung out with friends, had dinner, and played the Wii.

On Friday night, I joined Jigaho, Polar Opposite, and Wavy to see Blades of Glory, a silly Will Ferrell movie spoofing the ice skating world. Not my usual cuppa tea but something about it made me laugh. Though it briefly crossed my mind that "Wow, I just spent 11 bucks to see this silly movie," it was worth it to hang out with my friends.

Twelve hours later, I headed for a free screening of Meet the Robinsons with a coworker friend. I never read the book and haven't been super impressed with the Mouse-eared company's latest films. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by the story, the characters and the look of the film, even tearing up at the end. It's kind of like a quirkier, kiddie version of Back to the Future. I loved it so much, I can't wait to buy the film. It has replaced Flushed Away as my new favorite animated film.

Today, I attended another free screening with Polar Opposite. TMNT. Yup, that's right. Turtles. Of the Teenage Mutant Ninja sort. I never liked the cartoon as a kid nor read the graphic novels but something about this CG film appealed to me. Again, I was pleasantly surprised by this film. It wasn't heartwarming or beautifully rendered like Meet the Robinsons, but it was definitely an entertaining action film that kept me engaged the whole time. I would see it again. Maybe even pick up the graphic novel just to check it out and learn more of the back story.

To cap off the weekend, I met up with an old friend, his wife and their 4 month old baby daughter for sushi. We tenuously set out to a local sushi joint, praying that the baby would just fall asleep or sit very very still and stay very very quiet. No such luck. And she demonstrates her hate for me but screaming so loudly, I can see her tonsils, whenever I try to hold her for more than two seconds. She in fact scrunches up her face, opens her mouth and screams silently for about two seconds herself before the volume catches up to her and she bellows as I quickly pass her back to her parents like a game of hot potato. At least the restaurant staff was nice about it and gave us mochi ice cream for dessert on the house.

So three movies - all entertaining and I only paid for one. Screaming baby - but great sushi and free dessert. I'd say it was a winning weekend overall.

Zoo

Or 300 depending on how you look at it. I watched this epitome of the guy movie Friday night with some friends and rather enjoyed it. You get what you pay for and it's pretty much what you'd expect from watching the trailers. Very stylized look with a lovely monochromatic sepia tone, visually stimulating film bathed in CG geeky goodness, oodles of buff half nekkid men running around in capes, knee high boots and underwear (I gave up asking why. I just accept it.) and tons of testosterone filled battles and blood. (UBBF, you'd probably hate this film but you'll probably be dragged to it anyway by your counterpart.)

Jigaho and I, a minority in the group of young cheering fanboys, had some good laughs. We actually laughed out loud during a couple of inopportune moments. She was one of the people who thought this movie was titled "Zoo" for the longest time; so when they brought out rhinos and elephants during one of the battles, she leaned over to me and whispered "here's where the 'zoo' portion of the movie starts!"

Music is to Looks as Lyrics is to Personality

With a smile plastered to my face the whole time, I finally watched the movie Music and Lyrics. And I enjoyed every moment of it! From the silly music video to the cheesy songs to Hugh Grant trying to dance. It was the perfect romantic comedy for a Saturday night with friends.

One of my favorite metaphors from the movie comes from Drew Barrymore's character Sophie. She explains to Hugh Grant that the music is like a person's looks. It might catch your attention at first and hook you in. But the lyrics are the personality - it's what you learn to really love about the song once you get to know it and understand its words and meaning. That is exactly how I feel about songs.

On another note, while driving to the theater to meet my ballet dancer friend, my newly revived Ipod (thanks to the awesome ITrip docking station for the car) pulled up a song I hadn't heard in awhile. Annie Lennox's rendition of the song "Waiting In Vain" from the Serendipity soundtrack.


This was the song I sent to the "soulmate" to tell him how I felt. I even spelled it out for him by sending him the lyrics (you know, just in case he was too stupid to hear it through the song). I had watched too many romance movies. Didn't it always work out at the end with a song? Apparently not.

While we were in a store, the original Bob Marley version of the song came on and I turned to Ballet Dancer to reminisce about the song and the movie. Before our movie started I told her about Mr. DD's breakdown. She made a face and said "Thank God you didn't end up with him!" There's nothing quite like hindsight and the perspective of a loyal friend to help you cope and enjoy a lovely romantic comedy completely angst-free!

Pop!

Wavy is addicted to watching this fake music video from the movie Music and Lyrics. The song is actually quite catchy and now is stuck in my head. I haven't seen this movie yet but we're now on a mission to learn those awesome dance moves. God bless the 80's.

Vegas, Baby, Vegas

This is the only picture I took in Vegas this weekend, sunset outside the Primm outlet mall, as the cars from Los Angeles crossed the Nevada border.

It was a low key, yet interesting trip to visit a couple friend of mine. The husband was a trusted work friend, my daily coffee buddy and work confidante. His wife was a cool girl friend I could watch chick flicks with. We barely had anything in common with completely opposite upbringings and personalities, but we complemented each other and shared the same sense of loyalty and stubborn dislike of injustices, being Libras and all. She was the one that would try to get me drunk every time, but also the one that would always keep an eye on me, keep me safe, ward off any strange men, and make sure I had a good time without getting too sick by the time they dropped me off at home.

They lived a block away and often invited me over for dinner and a movie. He called me his stunt double when I'd go out with his wife to attend all the free ballets she scored from work. It was almost what you'd call a perfect relationship amongst the three of us. So when they broke the news to me last year that they were moving to Vegas for her job, she asked "Are you mad at us? Will you ever talk to us again?"

The first thing they hit me with after flying in Friday night was "we have something to tell you." For the past few years whenever anyone says that to me, my first response is always "You're engaged." or "You're pregnant." Because really, what other big news in our age group warrants such an anticipatory announcement? But then she threw me off and stood up, as if she were going to walk off and fetch something to show me. So I said nothing. Then she unbuttoned her jeans and showed me her flat little tummy. Still I said nothing. (Trust me, you don't want to err on these assumptions.)

I looked back at her, thinking "well, my unpregnant stomach looks a hell of a lot bigger than her allegedly pregnant one. This sucks." I looked at the smiling couple again and said "No. No way." They kept beaming. And I was floored. Only a few months ago, she had confided that she was fairly confident they weren't going to have kids. And she responded "well, it was always going to be zero or two."

After luxuriously sleeping in till 11 the next morning (though waking up in the middle of the night anyway), we hit the outlet mall to buy her some new clothes. How surreal is it to help your friend buy tops that could work as regular tops and maternity wear? Especially when you're wearing those same types of tops because they're in style AND they hide that extra ice cream sundae or burger you've been eating. Another humbling moment.

Shopping wiped us out. And the way the desert that is Las Vegas saps every ounce of moisture from your body is unnerving. We were constantly drinking water and going to the bathroom every hour. We managed to see a very Vegas like musical comedy show Saturday night - Gordy Brown at the Venetian hotel. (Yay, it was free!) And we squeezed in the movie Pan's Labyrinth this afternoon. (What a beautiful, unique, creepy, and sad movie all in one! A must see.)

The best part of the weekend was knowing that these two are the only people who will give me no pressure to wake up by a certain time on the weekend nor stick to a strict schedule. We lounged, they cooked delicious meals for me like the good old days, and we sipped lattes from their fancy schmancy espresso machine that puts Starbucks and Coffee Bean to shame.

The bad part? Seeing how I was bigger than the pregnant woman, hungering every two hours like the pregnant woman, running to the bathroom and waking up during the night as much as the pregnant woman and often tired in between going out like the pregnant woman. Sympathy symptoms?

This trip will always be exciting and fun - going to Vegas and not spending the whole time on the strip for the first time, being one of the first few friends to know their secret and having to keep quiet to our mutual friends about it for another 6-8 weeks. BUT it's also the trip that marks the beginning of my first ever diet. A sad resignation to age and slowing metabolism, cutting back on my great love of SUGAR.

To put it into perspective of how difficult this is going to be, as a child, a relative once told me (incorrectly) that if I kept eating so much sugary things, I'd get diabetes and never be able to eat sugar again. And I stubbornly responded "I will die without sugar. I guess I'll just have to die then." Ironically, the fear isn't so much of death. It's the fear of being alive but constantly unhappy with myself that's going to drive me.

Things To Watch

At the beginning of the new year, a friend lent me season 1 of The Wire, a look at the lives of Baltimore drug dealers from every level, and the cops that bust them. It's not my usual fare of choice, but by episode 3, I was hooked. When I only had 4 episodes left for the season, I only slept 4 hours because I NEEDED to finish it. I have season 2 in my hands but I need to recuperate before diving in again. I was also worried that I'd start swearing a lot more from the bad influence of this show.

On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, thanks to UBBF, my fellow coworkers and the new upgraded (legit) cable, I'm addicted to watching EVERY episode of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. I laugh out loud watching this. Craig McCracken is a genius. (He also created Powerpuff Girls!) Eduardo and Coco are my favorites.














I also finally managed to watch Children of Men with SLY last night. It was a chilly night in Westwood, but SLY and I got out of work early enough to find free parking, smuggle in a sandwich, soup, and some tea for dinner, and made it into the theater barely before the movie started, munching silently in the dark. The movie was bleak but an intriguing concept of the future. If mankind became infertile, I agree that humanity would cave in on itself and most of us would shed our morals. The movie just kind of ends with tons of unanswered questions, but we just decided to make up our own back story for the hell of it.

I realize that I loved watching all of these because there is nothing in them that I can really relate to - nothing that makes me angst or reminds me of anyone or any time way back when. Just pure escapist entertainment.

Parallel Dimension

My sleeping schedule is all messed up. Yesterday, I didn't get out of my PJs till 7pm and finally went out at 10 to pick up my friend from the airport and get some dessert. With the whole cable service merger, I temporarily have oodles of movie channels and on demand, which means I watched countless movies, such as The Man In The Moon, a movie that I've wanted to see since it came out in 1991. It's the sweet film debut for Reese Witherspoon and let's just say, it makes me glad not to have a sister.

I stayed up late again but unfortunately had to wake up early to drive across town for my goddaughter's birthday party. They have these warehouses filled with jump houses, slides, various other activities, and a food room for kids parties, booked by the hour. The one we went to, Hullabaloo's Playhouse was far away, filled with 25 of my goddaughter's closest kiddie friends, all under 6, most of them around 3.

Other than my godson's elderly nanny, I was the only childless/unmarried person there. It felt like a parallel dimension where I didn't belong. Other than the 2 other friends I knew there, none of the parents talked to me. To be fair, I was still groggy and delirious for most of the party, stupefied that I was even there.

For most of my life, up to my mid-twenties, I was so good with kids. I'd be the one on the floor playing with all the children and pets while the rest of the adults talked. They trusted me, followed me around, and saw that I was still a child like them. It's what inspired me to go into children's book writing.

Somehow, a few years back, I started losing that ability to relate. Of course, the inspiration to write children's stories evaporated soon after. Now, I look at kids and I see exhaustion. I see more than 6 kids and I think how did I ever manage to teach a class of them for a summer? I love my godchildren but worry I won't be able to relate or do enough for them. Every time I spend more than 2 hours with them, I want to nap.

The ironic thing is my friends chose me to be the godmother of their kids years ago because I was the youngest one amongst our friends, the most childish one, the one who loved my goddaughter the most, and the one likeliest to not have my own kids. Someone who could continue to love their kids the most.