... Likes Sands Through an Hourglass

My birthday was Sunday, and the weekend became very Me-centric. Since I turned 25, Mom and Dad felt that a celebration was in order. Friday evening, I met my parents at the Asian market near the university, and we bought salmon, halibut, grouper, and beef tenderloin for Saturday's cookout. In addition to this preparation, I baked a chocolate cake (with homemade milk chocolate frosting) for the festivities on Thursday.

The cookout was suppose to be a pretty small affair but quickly ballooned to a full-fledged party with twenty-two people, games, an impressive buffet (there's still food left), and many birthday cards. Dad and Poppy grilled all of the fish and beef as well as shrimp, chicken, and all the vegetables Mom didn't roast. My brother and his girlfriend drove up, and all the area family came. After we ate and most of the people left, we played a few games of Blokus, two games of Liverpool Rummy (the variation my family plays), and a game of Fluxx. Afterward, I was exhausted and went to bed after watching Rocky which I got as a promotional from Columbia House a few months ago.

The next morning, Dad made waffles, and I left for Jason's after breakfast. For my birthday lunch, we went out for Cane's chicken (one of my favorite places to eat). I opened gifts. Jason introduced Stephanie and me to Spades, a card game the bears a slight resemblance to Hearts. We played three games and all won one apiece. We watched the Ross Kemp episode of Rick Gervais's brilliant Extras.

We used the DruidCraft tarot deck that Stephanie got me for my birthday. She did a reading for me with a spread new to us. It was extremely interesting and fun. Sunday night, I did a Celtic Cross reading for her which wrapped up at around 5:30 in the morning.

Usually, I get very depressed and inconsolable on my birthday, but this year was different; I was in a pretty good (if somewhat unstable) mood. On the way home of Monday, I did have a moment of nervous anxiety and irrationally low self-esteem.

Last night, I was able to get away from most human contact and had some alone time. I watched Olivier's Hamlet and a 1934 Dick Powell film called Dames which was very low on plot and high on humor and spectacle.

Breakdown of birthday presents:

• Ticket to see The Drowsy Chaperon (Mom and Dad)
• White FiestaWare pitcher (Nana and Poppy)
• Autographed and framed photo of Joan Fontaine (Jason)
• Autographed Jason baseball card (Jason)
• DruidCraft tarot deck (Stephanie)
• Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant (Stephanie)
• Metallic necklace (Stephanie)
• Color-it-yourself tarot deck (Stephanie)
• Zen: the Perfect Companion by Seung Sahn (Stephanie)
• DK Eyewitness Film (Trish)
• Merchant-Ivory's The Bostonians (Shari)

Quick Thoughts of Some Films

I haven't watched that much this month since I got the fourth season of Boston Legal and watched it in an embarrassingly short amount of time. So I thought I would dash down my thoughts on the films I have watched this July.

The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
Fantastic film that I watched on TCM. It's the story of an exiled prince and a beggar thief who team up to defeat the wicked Jafar and reunite the prince with his throne and the woman of his dreams. Along with The Black Swan, this is one of the movies I've seen recently that I wish I'd seen as a preteen. I would have been instantly immersed in the world these films create; I would have made up stories about the world and its inhabitants.

Woman in the Moon (1929)
I got this film during the last Kino sale. It's a Fritz Lang silent film and one of the first films that explores space travel. In typical Lang fashion, the idealistic scientists are hijacked by a network of spies for shady businessmen (and one cigar-chomping businesswoman) who wish to control all of the purported gold caches on the moon. There's espionage, romance, and a breathable atmosphere on the moon.

Mr. Hulot's Holiday (1953)
Another TCM showing. The amazing thing about this film was the way it evoked warm, fuzzy feelings about vacations I've been on. Somehow, it encapsulates the anticipation, the heady feelings of travel, and all the little frustrations and inconveniences that inevitably crop up. Though it's a slapstick comedy in the vein of Chaplin, it feels very realistic and truthful.

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Watching this, I realized that I'd seen parts of it a long, long time ago. Either that or it has a familiar quality. I love Streep and Hoffman in about everything, and this was particularly moving. I can see why it won Best Picture that year. Also, the late 70s were a very brown time.

King Solomon's Mines (1950)
The TMC showing coincided with me finishing reading the book. Another film I would have loved when I was little. It's interesting the deviations they took from the book. Most of the book's actions happen, but the emphasises are different. The book is basically broken into four sections: the introduction, the trek across the desert, the battle of the tribes, and escaping the mines. The book adds a trek to the desert which takes up over half of the film. From that point on it covers the over plot points quickly and deletes the epic battle. I really enjoyed it and now have yet another reason to love Deborah Kerr.

I'm Not Good at the Internets

It's been over a month since I last updated and not because I have a lack of things to say/report. Mostly, I just don't think about updating. When it does occur to me to write an entry, I'm usually busy doing something else (ex. driving home, showering, fretting).

Added to this is my aversion to "Internet culture." Social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter produce all of the anxiety of more direct communication without any of the payoff. A generally water-downed version of a person is brandied about without any depth of relationship and real understanding. While they are attractively concise, these tidbit offerings leave me cold. Of course, I'm primarily interested in understanding myself and part of this process is believing that others are just as interesting and interested in exploring themselves. And personal Internet information seems transitory and smacks of unneeded compromise. Which is my way of saying, "Whoops, I'll try harder in the future!"

Onward to the news:

1. Shelter

Everything on the buying-a-condo front is going smoothly. I got a call from the realtor today, and she informed me that the condo passed the termite inspection. Last week, the house inspector gave me his report which cited only an estimated $450.00 in repairs; these consisted entirely of things I had planned to replace. After this, I sent all the paperwork and documents to the mortgage company who has since sent it to the closing company. (I had no idea this would be so complex! The image in my head was of speaking with George Bailey at the savings and loan, striking a deal, and ending with a handshake.)

Unfortunately, the entire process has been plagued with minor inconveniences: the seller was out of town and unreachable for a week, my realtor's husband is ill, the seller's realtor gave us the wrong key when my parents came to look, one of the credit bureaus put the wrong credit history on my report. Through all this I've remained relatively calm and positive. I've even had a couple days when I was excited. Still, there is a persistent, foreboding voice in my head that keeps warning that I'm going to end up messing up my life more than I already have.

2. Education

I received all the acceptance letters and paperwork. I've filled everything out and sent it in. I do need to get a student ID. I was happy to find out that I will be monetarily compensated for the workshop I have to attend in order to teach first-year composition. I also received some of the articles and essays that I will use in the class. I'm excited about how structured everything is and am beginning to feel that I may actually make a success of this little endeavor. (I'm steering clear of any teacher-schmaltz.)

3. Birthday

I'm about to start my birthday weekend. I'm turning 25 (a quarter of a century) and won't have another landmark birthday for a number of years. Mom, Dad, my brother, and his girlfriend are coming up tomorrow for a cookout that will feature all of my favorite grilled seafood and roasted vegetables. I baked a chocolate cake and made the icing for it yesterday and will assemble it tomorrow morning. On my actual birthday, I'm going over to Jason's to hang out for awhile. Beyond that I haven't any plans except to watch a couple good movies and relax.