1. Catching up on movies.
- Extract — kinda disappointing. I love Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig and Mike Judge. And Ben Affleck was funny as a cliched stoner dude. But it seemed to kind of fizzle rather than make a bang.
- Julie & Julia — loved it. Don’t see why the critics gave Amy Adams a hard time. Nora Ephron has become one of my new heroes over the last couple of years since I read two of her books, so I was a bit worried this might disappoint (by being too chick-flick-y.) Not the case. It was great.
- Paranormal Activity — points for going with the Blair Witch-style focus on “fear of the unknown” rather than “blood & guts galore.” Minus points for a kinda let-down-y ending. (Either way, C-Nor and I both admitted to being scared to venture into my dark stairway after watching.)
- It’s Complicated (tagged along w/ the p’s to that one). Too chick flick-y, too unrealistic, and too long, but otherwise funny (and kinda cool to see a middle aged woman [Streep] get to play sought-after sex symbol in a Hollywood film.) Alec Baldwin’s performance as a boob makes it worthwhile, too.
2. Reading.
Without a highlighter! And reading fiction! Ah, it felt fantastic. With the cat curled up on my lap, buried under the Snuggie (which, I’m sorry to have to say, since it was a gift from my Little, is kind of annoying rather than comforting– I can never find the damn sleeves and it’s hard to walk around in without tangling yourself up and tripping over your Snuggie’d feet), I managed to get time to finish:
- The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta. Absolutely loved it. Have been dying to get to it ever since finishing Little Children. I continue to marvel at Perrotta’s ability to write quality, accessible, funny fiction. Literary fiction that comes off as pure entertainment.
- Love is a Mixtape by Rob Sheffield. His writing in Rolling Stone sizzles and crackles and zings with awesomeness. The book doesn’t quite do that, but partly because of its subject matter: it’s a eulogy and love letter to both the wife he lost in the 90′s, and to the 90′s themselves.
3. Wii-ing.
Playing bowling and ski slalom on the Wii, doing yoga and my two fave options on the Wii Fit Plus: the ski jump and the Super Hula Hoop. Man. Never thought I could sweat so much playing a computer.
4. Cooking.
Actually using the burners on the stove. (Okay so I only cooked one night. But still, points, please. Texas Black Bean Soup — zero points on Weight Watchers!)
5. Driving.
To Springfield to have Christmas w/ my sister and her family.
To Carthage to spend Christmas Eve w/ the p’s.
To the QC’s to spend Xmas Day w/ C-Nor and his p’s.
Back to Macomb to take care of my cat.
Back to the QC’s to be with C-Nor.
Back to Macomb to spend NYE w/ friends. (Who, btw, beat my ass at SuperMario Wii. I’m totally uncoordinated to begin w/, and the Miller Lite Lime Cactus was not helping.)
Phew. Thankfully I didn’t have to struggle too much with the winter weather. But there was quite a bit of driving in this.
In Conclusion and In Sum
It was luxurious to get to spend time w/ C-Nor (more than 2 days in a row!); to be with family; to soak in some pop culture; to ring in the New Year with some of my oldest friends; to not have to study or write papers; to be off work.
I tried to consciously be thankful for the time off—in other words to remember having to be right back in the newsroom on Dec. 26 to cover those critical First Baby of the New Year and Shoppers Hit Stores for After Christmas Bargains stories.
News business, I sometimes miss you, but this time of year is not one of those times.
Tags: movies, Rural People Read Too
I think you had Mich Ultra Lime Cactus at NYE.
Also – NYE ROCKED! Thanks for the memories!
Oh yes, whoops! I messed up my brand recognition.;)