Career Women

You know the type.  50 years old, skinny, manicured, single, particular, outspoken...bitches.  Their careers are definitely successful.  They're usually VPs or CEOs of something.  Usually have a wonderful house or apartment in the poshest of neighborhoods.  They do not have animals that can't be left home alone for at least a week at a time because they travel so much (that is, unless the maid can feed the cat).  In my experience, a lot of these women are very nice and personable when you first meet them.  Sure, they're demanding, but they're used to getting their way, so we must recede and treat them in that way, for only God knows what would happen if someone stood up to them.  These women probably knew their career path at 12, and lets face it, have all the right connections, because without connections there's not much upward mobility possible.  They have everything.  And of course Hollywood has shown us in multiple movies (Kate & Leopold, The Devil Wears Prada, etc), they have everything but love.  Aw.  

I recently spent some time working with a woman like this.  When not talking about work, conversation went to her vacations on a yacht in Europe or returning home to her apartment in Soho.  She was perfectly nice.  She didn't listen to a word anyone else said, but she was smiling while interrupting.  She flirted with every man in the room.  She wore revealing clothing (if you could call revealing ribs and crocodile skin revealing).  I didn't hate her, but was relieved when her high stress form whisped out of the room.  

I am the opposite of this woman in many ways.  I could tell you a few jobs I know I would find happiness and fulfillment in.  I couldn't tell you how I intend to get those jobs.  I don't have a plan, a career or even (sometimes, gasp!) goals.  I'm not able to push everything to the side (even my happiness) for a job.  Does the fact that I run around the job world like a chicken with my head cut off and have no idea how to market myself make me less of a person?  No.  I just know that success will never come to me in this form.  It won't come from me farting around with art privately and not pursuing anything either.  So.  Crossroads?  Are the only two choices bitch or pauper?   

Chirp, chirp, CHIRP!

After a long day of travel, I arrived in sweaty Tampa.  The sketchy motel I'm staying at is in St. Pete's Beach - what I naively thought was the same thing as St Petersburg...ends up the town is 20 miles away and I am without a vehicle...  Still, could be worse.  I was definitely tired and so I went to turn in early.  I'm a little freaked out being on the ground floor of a motel so I didn't fall asleep right away.  Around 10 pm I started hearing a cricket chirping.  It was quiet at first, but then grew louder.  I tried to drown it out.  No dice.  So I got up and stomped the hell out of the corner I could hear it in.  It stopped.  Crisis averted, back to bed.  Light off, flip flops off, glasses off, vibrant floral pattern blanket on, sigh.....chirpchirpchirp....light on, blanket off, glasses on, flip flops on (who in their right mind would dare walk barefoot in this place, I don't know) over to the corner again.  This time, my weapon was a DVD case.  Slamming it against the wall, the carpet, every nook and cranny.  Back to bed.  Chirpchirpchirp.  This went on until 1 am.  I tried watching LOST to distract me and it worked for a while but I was exhausted.  Finally my brilliant friend Tom suggested I cover the area with hairspray.  That way, even if I missed the chirping bastard with my foot or DVD case, he'd hopefully be drowned in sticky alcohol spray.  I tried it around 2 am.  Silence.  I finally fell asleep a while later.  Silence.  5 am CHIRPCHIRPCHIRP.  Obviously pissed off by earlier homicide attempts, cricket vengeance was strong.  I put the pillow over my head and tried to go back to sleep.  I was in and out and finally got up at 7 when my alarm went off.  Light on.  Silence.  Right when I got up, he was silent as the dead cricket I had hoped he was.  

I haven't heard from him since....but it is twilight....

(...to be continued)

Gastro Non Grata

This event at the Triple Rock in Minneapolis was fabulous.  $3 to get in = small glasses of different beers to sample, small bites of food by famous local chefs, and some highly entertaining (if sometimes not quite technically good) live music.  PLUS a meat raffle.  Wow.  Best 3 bucks I've spent in a while.  This past weekend, the food was from the chefs of La Belle Vie and Sea Change (the Guthrie's new restaurant with the coolest logo I've ever seen), desserts were from La Chiquita.  Mini lamb burgers (I know..."Liiiiisa don't eeeeeat meee") and tuna boats (for lack of a better term....canoe-shaped baguette with tuna, vegetables, and delicious sauce) were the winners of the evening for me.  Also, quite the experience to have a Ukulele Orchestra serenade at the Triple Rock.  It was like a choir of children with recorders, where all members play the same melody line, but substitute the children with grade school science teachers and the recorders with ukuleles and the melody can be something written by David Bowie.  It was fabulous.  Rope Trick was the best band I think.  They had mostly an old western vibe with much yodeling thrown in.  The lead singer has a great voice.  It's definitely an evening of surprises and scheduled itsy bitsy courses.  Don't expect to leave full unless you go for second or third helpings of everything.

The next Gastro Non Grata event should be in November at the Triple Rock.  Watch out for it!

Summer Movies 2009

I've had some time at home, working remotely, and it's been great.  Of course in this time, being the movie lover that I am, I have seen quite a few movies!  Short reviews: 

Harry Potter 6 - As a lover of the books, of course I love the movies.  This movie really played up the humor of the hormones.  The action was good, acting great (I LOVE Alan Rickman and Jim Brodabent made a great Slughorn) well, great by the adult actors...although I think the kids are getting much better.  The movie was incredibly anti-climactic though, which left me disappointed.  

The Ugly Truth - Well what do you expect going to a movie like this.... It met expectations.  It was more raunchy than I thought, but just a cheesy romantic comedy with a very attractive pair.  However, Katherine Heigel has lost WAY too much weight and is now one of those bobbleheads : (

Funny People - Hiarious.  PLUS this movie actually had depth to it.  The characters were complex and the story was quite dramatic.  I like Seth Rogan more and more every movie he's in.  The best parts I think are the lost footage of Adam Sandler with Judd Apatow and the stand up that the actors actually wrote.

(500) Days of Summer - I'm not going to say too much about this movie.  It was everything you'd expect from an indie film - a little odd, confusing, cute and silly.  The characters were just not believable for me at all.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt was great in it, I've missed him.  And although I do have quite the girl crush on Zooey Deschanel, I was left quite disappointed in her performance.  Of course, if I met her, I wouldn't admit to that...

GI Joe - Yeah ... I saw it.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt was in this one too, but this time he had a cheesy cartoon villain voice and a crazy face.  Versatile.  You know who is not versatile?  Channing Tatum.  The boy can't even do a Southern accent.  Sad.  It was an entertaining action movie, but I did feel like the movie was made for prepubescent boys.

The Time Traveler's Wife - I was so excited and nervous for this film.  The book by Audrey Neffeniger might be my favorite book...ever.  I am so happy to say that the film didn't let me down.  Obviously there are things I wish they included or didn't change, but I think they did a wonderful job with casting, effects, and overall editing.  This film has had a lot of bad reviews by people who didn't read the book - apparently they find it creepy, which I could understand.  So if you haven't read the book, read it.  You won't be disappointed, it's nothing like The Notebook or those other cheesy stories.

District 9 - See it.  Holy moly see it.  Imagine if ET was even more humanized and ostracized...The film style was documentary which pulled you right in to this story.  The story itself was inspired by the Apartheid and the immigration "problem" since then with Zimbabweans coming into the black ghettos of South Africa in the 90s.  If you're squeamish with gore and blood, this isn't the movie for you.  If you're ready to see a film that makes you think and feel, please go.  And bring me back a baby alien.

Julie & Julia - My expectations were not exceptionally high for this movie.  I knew it'd be good, but I didn't know how good it would be!  Meryl Streep.  Holy moly.  The last movie I saw her in was Mama Mia.  And well, the director must have told her to act like that...because this woman is SO talented it's ridiculous.  She NAILED Julia Child.  Mannerisms, tone of voice, expressions, everything.  Not only did she copy Julia, she created such a lovable character!  Amy Adams was also good, but was totally outdone by Meryl.  I also loved the husbands of the movie, Stanley Tucci, and that other guy (whoops, forgot).  The characters were wonderfully written and played to perfection.  I highly recommend this movie.

Inglourious Basterds - Best movie of the summer in my opinion (District 9 is a close 2nd).  If anyone can rewrite history, it's Quentin Tarrantino.  As much as a prick he can be, he really is brilliant.  Most of the movie has subtitles and I'm so glad they cast native speakers for these roles, it's hard to read sometimes cause you're caught up in the actor, and you have to remember to read as well.  If its any indication on how good it was, I saw it Friday night, and Saturday I wanted to see it again.  

Prairie Dogs and ABBA

Lubbock has been a pleasant surprise.  I've enjoyed my time here, which I must mention, is mostly because the food I've eaten here has been AMAZING.  2322 at the Overton is an AMAZING restaurant.  Thankfully this is where I've been "forced" to eat most of the time I've been here.  Can't complain!  I also had really good sushi at Hayashi, a new hibachi grill in Lubbock.  We had our own little room where we sat on the floor...and I was in a skirt...but thank goodness there was a drop down ledge for our legs.  It was super cute and really good! 

I've had 3 HBO channels while here.  Woah.  I know, I've been spoiled.  I've gotten a taste for True Blood and Hung, both promising shows.  Also, how wonderful to work out while watching a movie with no commercials!  The only drawback is that the movies play quite a bit.  For this reason I have seen Mama Mia 1 1/2 times.  All I have to say is that it might be the worst movie ever made.  If you're casting a musical, get people that can sing.  Ugh.  Although the two youngings, Amanda Seyfried and the guy from History Boys can actually sing pretty well, so well done them!  Ok my peace is said.  Because of this overload of crap, I always have ABBA songs stuck in my head!  So that it wasn't stuck in my head with Pierce Brosnan's sad excuse for an attempt at a melody, I downloaded the best of ABBA and have been listening non-stop.  Not a bad thing ;-)  

Yesterday was the only day that I've actually explored Lubbock.  The campus is really beautiful.  And I would have pictures if there was a place for visitors to park for free... fascists.  I went to Prairie Dog Town, which turned out to be the corner of a park off the highway with a 2 foot stone wall around a 100 yd enclosure.  There were prairie dogs EVERYWHERE.  Unfortunately they didn't want to cuddle....but it was quite entertaining making noises at them and watching them pop up and do their prairie dog thang.  I also went to the Buddy Holly Center and the art center here where they had a couple local artists' shows up.  I'm glad I went but nothing too amazing.  Texas has been pretty good to me.  Although I'm kind of over being called a "yankee" and getting made fun of.  C'mon guys, I don't call you hicks to your face... North, here I come!

Lubbock, TX

If there's anywhere in the world I am absolutely not going to fit in...it would be Texas. Lubbock is the home to Texas Tech University. Apparently this is the 2nd biggest university campus in our country (losing only to the Air Force which counts its runway as square footage - a fact any Lubbockian is very quick to point out). I'm here in the summer which means two things: (a) The town is empty, and (b) It's HOT. The great thing about this state, however, is that their air conditioners seem to be colder and more efficient than any other air conditioners in the world. The site I'm working at is brand spanking new. I cannot tell you how awesome it is to be in a hotel and be the first person to ever sleep on that matress and those sheets. The downside is that they're still finalizing rooms, which means, at this point, I have no TV... (not a huge deal as long as I have it by Monday for the Bachelorette finale, know what I mean? lol) I'm only here for a week doing support, so there's no stress, and I'm able to kind of just relax and enjoy this place. . . .

While driving around Lubbock, it's not hard to find places that look very run-down, and, dare I label them, ghetto. One such place is where I ate tonight. Choochai Thai (god I love names that rhyme). The streets in Lubbock are numbered, the avenues are letters (so yes: Ave P, Ave Q, so on so forth) this little gem is hidden on 19th Street, overshadowed by a burrito place that looks shadier than a closed Denny's. And, I'm not going to lie, Choochai doesn't look much fancier... However. This place had fantastic service and really wonderfully authentic Thai food. Have I ever been to Thailand? No... So, fine, I'm no expert, but this place was REALLY good. I had pork wontons, yellow chicken, rice, beef & vegetables, and some sticky rice with custard for dessert. Am I turning into a heffer because I'm in Texas? Maybe. But the portions were relatively small, so don't judge me just yet. If ever in Lubbock, go to Choochai.

Occupational Thoughts....

I'm home for a little bit, but unlike other times I've been home, the office is keeping me busy.  Frown.  Well, at least I get to spend my nights with my loves.  Being home makes me want to stay here.  I miss having an apartment.  I miss having a life.  It's really got me thinking what I want to do when I'm done running around.  My two major thoughts right now are: Massage Therapist or Doula (or both I guess).  A doula, if you're wondering, is a birth aid.  Depending on the needs of the mother, the doula could be present for the pregnancy, delivery and beyond.  You don't need a medical degree, but there are a lot of classes and much reading working up to this position.  I just can't think of anything more rewarding than playing the role of a sister or caring female to the woman who is bringing new life into the world.  This career choice would be really taxing on my personal life, but so is the job I have now ... :-P.  Massage therapy has always been something I've been interested in.  I've been thinking more and more about it though.  I would really rock at it.  I would have good music playing.  I would be able to massage with pressure.  And I could even pull a Phoebe, and just buy a massage table and do it on the side.  If this took off, I could potentially do art more often and have massage be supplemental income.  I like both these ideas.  And although I want to go to grad school in a few years, and these programs would both be about a year (or more for the doula), I'm looking into going off to school again (can't get enough...) next summer or fall (or sooner if I get fed up with this job).  

Idiot story of the century.  I went to the eye doctor yesterday.  I had made this appointment on Monday, the 13th of July.  Upon my arrival, I was informed that my appointment was for Thursday the 9th of July.  Yes.  The receptionist made my appointment for a date in the past.  What did they do to rectify this situation?  Nothing.  Didn't even really apologize.  So don't go to Twin Lakes Eye Care in Roseville on County Road C.  Ok?  NEVER.  How's that for advertisement?  The sad part is is that I REALLY need new contacts and just got this funky insurance that doesn't work most places.  Ooofta. 

I get to babysit the munchkins tomorrow--so excited!