Tuesday, April 1, 2003
Suddenly, a Social Butterfly

Overhearing... Man on the M14 this morning: "Man, if assholes could fly, the conference room would've been a fucking airport last night. It was like an asshole reunion..." Seeing... Two men pushing baby strollers across W. 8th Street, the sort of thing I never saw in the suburbs. Once, the Greek and I saw a man with a newborn in a Snugli to which the Greek said, "What a wimp." That was probably the beginning of the end, not because I wanted to have babies and with him, but because nothing makes me more irritated than ignorance and intolerance. They are unwelcome twins in my mind. Encouraging... You to have your easy, on the surface, lives. You and I know the truth. Our addiction to creature comforts is a fetter that prevents us from soaring. Eating... Bacon and bon bons all day, or so one would think from the stereotypes I'm battling. If women weren't wasting all their time on this Beauty Industrial Complex crap, we might just cure cancer. Ushering... "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg," with Eddie Izzard. It was great fun, for a tragicomedy. Eddie rocked the theater. Writing... Not nearly enough, but what else is new? My threeway story has taken an interesting turn. I fleshed it out a bit more. Playing... The Sims, quite belatedly. Reading... A Room of One's Own, by Virginia Wolfe. Because everyone else has Mrs. Dalloway on order from the 'bary because of The Hours. Doing... Better in school than I thought, despite not getting through all the reading. I am one lucky bastard. Earning... An A on my psychology midterm. Two down, one to go!

no longer complaining about not having a social life again. Seems it's been one thing after the next recently. Last Wednesday, the first of the layoffs at work happened. It was Cute Boy, who was only part time, anyway. I hope he'll be able to survive off guitar lessons and such, he's not one to work 9-5. A few of us took him out for drinks after work. Good kid, wish him luck. : : : Thursday is my first night without school during the week, so I tend to do things with friends. I bought some discount movie passes from school and saw The Pianist with a couple of coworkers. They were crying inconsolably and I felt bad that I didn't. I still remember being beside myself after Joy Luck Club and don't even get me started on the lights coming on when the credits began at the Brea Mall theater when I saw Schindler's List there. It just made me angry. It's all connected, folks, the joys and the suffering. : : : On Friday, I went to a coworker's apartment and she made fish, my Friday favorite because the residence serves it every Wednesday and Friday. She lit the candles, recited the blessing and we wished each other a Shabbat Shalom. She has a ton of wine left after her recent housewarming party, so I'm doing her a favor by coming over and drinking a few glasses, oh yes I am. Afterward, we window-shopped at the bookstore downstairs and had coffee. I walked her back to her place and got myself downtown somehow. : : : Saturday was the busiest day of them all. I woke up at 6 to finish my Psychology term paper. Had a hell of a time finding a lab open on Saturday morning, but finally managed it (and, with the tuition we pay, I suppose it makes sense they're free). The prof handed back our midterms and, while I knew I did OK when I breezed through the 70 questions in 25 minutes, I didn't expect an A. Yippeee. In the afternoon, I went to a gallery in SoHo for my writing workshop. Interesting stuff, though some was of the variety I lump into "that's art? I'm in the wrong line of work!" It was great to see my classmate G, though and be urbane for an hour or so. Finally, I went up to Times Square to usher at Eddie Izzard's play, "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg." Twisted humor, blended with a fair dose of tragedy. I also loved helping people to their seats, shy though I am. It was interesting to see a big batch of New Yorkers all in one place to enjoy something. : : : Last night, I saw Head of State with Michelle. It was the light bit of fun I needed after The Pianist. Even though Chris Rock focuses on black themes, he generally does it in a way that is very accessible, getting down to the real truth of things, between the laughs, and I truly admire that. Speaking of admire, I'm rooting for Michelle as she starts the back to school process I underwent over the last year. It is difficult and makes time and money tighter than ever, but I'm gaining so much. I could only encourage her to find something that's meaningful to her. Hooray Michelle! : : : So, I finally bought the Sims. I see what the whole hubbub is about. I had the idea long ago to use it to see how characters might interact and to prod story ideas. However, I'm having as much trouble managing poor Jessica Ericson's life as I am my very own. It's difficult keeping her happy, comfortable, fed, clean and empty bladdered long enough to do anything but go to work, let alone interact with anyone. One of her neighbors fought with her on the front lawn, then walked into her house after she asked him to go and even went into her bathroom when she was in the tub. Kids, that's what I call a stalker, not someone who tells you honestly what they think. It's rather telling that the first things I bought for her were a bookcase, a bathtub and an electric guitar. She's a loner, too. [Next entry: "Busy Busy"] [Index] [archives] [bio] [Wish List]