 Some of Those Rays |
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I write this through gritted teeth as I bravely soldier on through the onset of the cyclical bitch of menstrual cramps. It rained seven and a half inches here this weekend, but did that stop me? No. No, it did not. Finally coming to a theater near me was Before Sunset (don't worry, I won't give anything away), and I wasted no time hurrying to see it. Eva and I, resurrecting our once regular tradition of going to movies together (the last one we saw was Chicago, where she sat grimacing in nausea, unaware that her WATER HAD BROKEN), and it was a delight just to be there with her. The movie was so good. I loved every second of it. The critics are right. It's better than the first one, and the first one is such a gem that it was hard for me to imagine that it could be matched let alone surpassed, but there is something really special about these two actors together. And the fact that they wrote it along with director Richard Linklater just makes it all the more endearing. Julie Delpy is so radiant that I wanted to be her best friend, be in love with her, be her. And even though Ethan Hawke's cragged gauntness kind of scared me at first, my affection for him returned quickly. It was smart and lovely and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time even though it was just walking and talking, walking and talking, walking and talking. I loved recognizing the sites of Paris. (I've really felt like I've been reliving my trip lately, between this movie and Amy's beautiful photos and entries.) Anyway, I staunchly did not want to know beforehand about the plot or how it ended, and somehow, magically, for months on end, I've avoided reading or seeing or hearing anything about the movie other than that people loved it, and I'm happy to report that I loved it, too. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Perish the thought that I will have to wait another nine years to watch the story unfold some more. Early Saturday morning, Eva and her baby and I headed to a fun run/walk, but we didn't do much of it because we were wrong about the time and she had to pick her husband up at the airport, but I didn't much mind because it was rainy and shitty outside. I headed to the book bazaar and bought a few old books like Anastasia's Chosen Career (this new, cute, photographed Anastasia instead of the old, awkward but loveable, illustrated Anastasia really disturbs me), Hey, Remember Fat Glenda? (I can't remember if it's offensive or not), and Dear Lola: Or How to Build Your Own Family. I've never read the last one, but something about it made me flashback to another book I read when I was young that somehow involved a whole bunch of kids. It's so weird. I can't remember anything about other than I think it was light blue, featured some kind of handwritten drawings or writing at points inside or maybe a drawing or a diagram of a house, and possibly had a character named Seth. I have no idea if such a book even exists. I feel like maybe a mom and dad who each had a bunch of kids were getting married and they all had to move in together or something. Maybe I'm jumbling Yours, Mine, and Ours (GOD, how I loved that movie) and Seth Sandroff in my brain or something. Maybe more of it will come back to me, but it's kind of driving me insane. Okay, being driven slowly mad but wondering about this book, I just called Maryeliz. and said, "I am having a flashback." She no doubt thought I was referring to our memorable Halloween night, 1995, but alas, no. I said, "It was a light blue paperback. It had a lot of kids in the story. It had a character named Seth." She immediately said, "I remember that book! Someone got married?" I said, "Yes! Yes!" She said, "Wasn't it called something like Happily Ever After?" "Yes! Yes! Yes!" "Or no, wait -- Happily Ever After Almost?!"? We were breathless and panting at this point. What is she, a wizard? A genius? I found this description at BookCrossing:
And now that there've been moments of gold and flashes of light and it's all come back to me, I just want to get my hands on a copy! Okay, I just ordered one. Thank you, Amazon Marketplace! Anyway, after the booksale, I headed to Target where I extremely put off by the eyeglasses man, who tried to explain to me why a pair of glasses whose frames cost $69 would total up to $180 with the lenses. I tried to explain that I wanted the very basic lenses, no special anti-reflective mumbo jumbo, and he was so curt and unhelpful that I basically said, "That is ridiculous," turned on my heel, and walked out before proceeding to spend the entirety of my eyewear budget on knobs and handles for my kitchen cabinets, an odyssey that included my first use of a drill, three subsequent trips to Target in two days, sawdust all over my kitchen, and blisters in the shape of very hot screws all over my fingers. (Note: don't try to grab a screw after you've used a drill on it, or sizzling steam will rise forth from your burning flesh. Just a tip.) But the knobs and handles look pretty cute. I woke up early on Sunday morning and continued my mad organizational frenzy. I cleaned out a bathroom cabinet. I soaked my silverware in the sink. I filled up two bags with discarded shoes. My entire dining room table is now covered with boxes and bags of things to give away. It is liberating, liberating, liberating. On Sunday, I also ate grits for breakfast and red beans and rice for dinner, all prepared by my mother, and that's always a good thing to do on a rainy Sunday. I'm really looking forward to The American Musical, which is airing on PBS for three nights next week. Seriously, I cannot wait. Also, people who have BBC America, don't forget that The Office special airs next Thursday, October 21. And now it's a new week, and the rain has stopped, and hopefully the dogs have not suffered permanent brain damage or muscle atrophy from the cabin fever they suffered this weekend and surely I will survive the cramps. And miraculously, our team won the game this weekend, and I finished season three of Felicity, and to my sister I say, although it might seem from the first few episodes that the bloom is off the Felicity rose, hang in there, because there are moments this season that are worth seeing, and it gets better, and without season three, you can't get to season four, which is definitely worth it! And someday this week I will have to tackle the rainforest into which my yard transformed this weekend and wash all of the stinky muddy dog towels. But today I just want to buy some stick-on heating pads and open up my sunroof and sing loudly now that the sun has finally come back out. 
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