friends with money. i watched this movie last weekend actually but i just remembered it. that would lead one to believe that it's because i didn't like it but one would be wrong. i think. i have no problem saying that it was a good movie. it was well acted and dialouge and emotional expressions were on point for me. what i found disturbing was the subject matter. i NEVER talk about money so to watch a whole movie with it as the focus took me on a mental journey. actually, the movie wasn't about money - it's never that simple, is it? i enjoyed the journey - i enjoyed looking at the pitfalls that we all face no matter our economic status, marriage status, etc. i even enjoyed jennifer aniston in a very familiar depressed, going nowhere sort of character. enjoyable film with some not so enjoyable characters. a-.
american dreamz. i watched this trailer and thought, "wow, that looks marginally entertaining; it's about time someone spoofed american idol". i was very wrong. the movie is essentially a satire of america, all encompassing. i am still a little shaken, honestly. it does not end as one would think, yet given the thinly veiled sentiments expressed, it was not a surprise. i know this will sound wrong and superficial but i spent a lot of time thinking, "mandy moore's face looks really shiny and she's really tall". yes, i admit it. anyway, watching this will leave you with something to say. b+.
scorched. 2003 comedy-heist flick starring alicia silverstone, woody harrelson, rachel leigh cook, john cleese, ivan sergei and others. the plot is that three bank employees, all for their own twisted reasons, decide to rob the bank on the same day. the three stories intertwine with much hilarity. there's nothing new here; the characters are absurd in a way not always seen though. good times. b+.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Sunday, April 23, 2006
"it's like we're 10"
or as i like to call it: sunday, sunny sunday.
what fun!
j told me to meet him at his house at 3:30pm. i was all, "well yes, sir!" anyway, i get there and he's not there so i went to get some gas. the boy needs to move from gresham. really!
anyway, we had such a great day. the weather was so nice today. i was kinda excited to see where it was he was taking me. i thought multnomah falls so i was all..me..and said, "ah, multnomah falls! that was the first place i ever went when i bought my car". so he said, "well, we're not going there now". i just had to laugh.
i spare details: we went to bonneville dam and walked around. you know- i bitch often and freely about my work but i had to give pause when i saw the woman at the dam whose job is fish counting. yep, watching the fish going by and ticking them off...one by one. it kind of made me a little more grateful.
so, we left there and headed to cascade locks. what a cute area! he took me to thunder island and we just had a great day. we walked the perimeter, got swirl soft serve cones, climbed a tree, climbed over rocks and just laughed. it really was like we had a day as 10 year olds. that theme only continued as we went back to his place and watched "muppets take manhattan" - there is no need to review this movie IT IS EXCELLENT ALL MUST VIEW IT - and laughed at all the funny lines. we particularly like janice - the only female in the band. love her!
i'll spare details again: we were getting hot and heavy on the couch and then on the floor and then..........his roommate walks in. d'oh. i have rerun in my mind over and over WHY we just didn't move into his room but the fact remains we didn't. so, i don't know how much of me was seen but i do know that i won't be able to look at j's roommate in the same way. the likewise is probably true also.
like i said, it was like we were kids.
what fun!
j told me to meet him at his house at 3:30pm. i was all, "well yes, sir!" anyway, i get there and he's not there so i went to get some gas. the boy needs to move from gresham. really!
anyway, we had such a great day. the weather was so nice today. i was kinda excited to see where it was he was taking me. i thought multnomah falls so i was all..me..and said, "ah, multnomah falls! that was the first place i ever went when i bought my car". so he said, "well, we're not going there now". i just had to laugh.
i spare details: we went to bonneville dam and walked around. you know- i bitch often and freely about my work but i had to give pause when i saw the woman at the dam whose job is fish counting. yep, watching the fish going by and ticking them off...one by one. it kind of made me a little more grateful.
so, we left there and headed to cascade locks. what a cute area! he took me to thunder island and we just had a great day. we walked the perimeter, got swirl soft serve cones, climbed a tree, climbed over rocks and just laughed. it really was like we had a day as 10 year olds. that theme only continued as we went back to his place and watched "muppets take manhattan" - there is no need to review this movie IT IS EXCELLENT ALL MUST VIEW IT - and laughed at all the funny lines. we particularly like janice - the only female in the band. love her!
i'll spare details again: we were getting hot and heavy on the couch and then on the floor and then..........his roommate walks in. d'oh. i have rerun in my mind over and over WHY we just didn't move into his room but the fact remains we didn't. so, i don't know how much of me was seen but i do know that i won't be able to look at j's roommate in the same way. the likewise is probably true also.
like i said, it was like we were kids.
review fer you
born in east l.a.. this late 1980s movie starring cheech marin takes its title from a line that cheech delivers from the movie. the basic story involves cheech playing a Mexican-American named Rudy. Rudy, through a series of comic misadventures, is deported from America to Mexico. it's full of some actual serious commentary on immigration and relations between mexican immigrants and mexican-americans. i found the acting pretty subpar and grimaced more than once at the canned, stereotypical performances but perhaps that was the point? c
Saturday, April 22, 2006
spring
wow, when portland blooms it f*ing blooms! it is gorgeous out here. i am truly overwhelmed with all of the colors i see when i walk/drive/ride down the streets of this city. people take such pride in their yards and keeping things alive and flowering. it's inspiring.
all of that said, i think the week preceeding today was one of the shittiest i've experienced here in portland. i hate to write bitchy recountings but this week was one for the books. i suppose monday started well enough. i did aerobics, had sushi with e,k and d and then danced my ass off with March Fourth. i swear, that's a great time at a great price. so, anyway, there is no specific event that characterizes the rest of the week as "shitty" but it was feeling shared by most i've spoken to. particulary horrible was thursday. EVERY ONE i spoke to was in some sort of bitchy mood/crisis/sad state just whatever. i hate to ever include work in that category because it is almost always like that but that specific day was AW-FUL.
thursday. i arrive at work about fifteen minutes late, as i've taken to doing. work on thursdays is usually a bitch because first we have a half hour staff meeting. then i'm doing screenings for potential new clients for the next three hours and then at 3pm we have another TWO HOUR staff meeting. well on this thursday we had a special hour long meeting after the first staff meeting. the purpose was for our team to 'debrief and process' with two "workplace trauma" staff. we have had a number of clients die recently and the toll on us was showing. after a death at our clinic, the client's case manager is required to gather a number of personnel together in order to go over the client's case. the "idea" is to administratively review how the case was handled with "no judgement". in reality, it's a scrutiny of our work. "what did you do?" "what could you have done better?" this does not feel good and truthfully, as the case manager you walk out with a sense of failure and immense guilt. sucks. so anyway, back to thursday, we were given the opportunity (sans supervisors) to talk about our feelings about the deaths and whatever else we felt was traumatizing us. sigh. long story short, nearly everyone wept with fatigue, guilt, anger and plain ol' burnout. these were all noted and told that they would be kept confidential. whatever. after it was over, one of them went to our supervisor and basically spelled out what happened. when it was my turn to speak, i spoke my mind. i said i hate, ABSOLUTELY HATE, being told i am responsible for someone's life to the extent that if they decide to jump off of a building - I am held accountable. it's a HORRIBLE feeling and i'm sick of it. i also opened up about the time i had to sit in one of those reviews because one of my client's was found dead in his apartment. i was pretty grilled, as was the person who prescribed his meds, and i said that i walked out of that meeting thinking, "wow, i'm glad i documented my outreach attempts". i told the group that i couldn't believe that the death of this man produced that thought! i said i couldn't believe how cold and callous i had become and this happened only two months after i was hired! so, we all broke down and slept walked through the rest of the day. that itself being another complaint i voiced: our clients get so much lip service from everyone else in the world, i feel bad that i can barely be present for them in my interactions with them, yet, that's the only way i've survived. i give my 75%. so during our last staff meeting, all of the sudden, someone needed to go assess someone to send them to the hospital. i'll spare the detail, but to say that this is a LONG process that essentially takes away someone's civil rights and sends them off to the hospital for further treatment. well i had the misfortune of having driven to work so i was volunteered. i entered the most DISGUSTING apartment you could imagine. broken glass on the floor; clothes everywhere; feces smeared on the floor...it was disturbing to say the least. anyway, we called the cops and then escorted her to the hospital and me and her case manager followed...oh yeah! it wasn't even my client! so i was done after that. i thought (stupidly) i'd try some retail therapy. i went to lloyd center. ugh. i bought an earpiece for my cell though -i've apparently been breaking the law using the phone w/my hands while driving. i didn't know! so then i go over to goodwill to see if i can score. i did! cute shirt, i go to the counter reach for my debit card and OOPS! i left it in the mall. i said fuck and shit so many times...i go back to the store and the guy luckily had it. i go back to goodwill because it really was a cute shirt and i'm DONE. i decided to take myself to dinner - sushi- but i did NOT want to go anywhere the least bit crowded so i headed to division. well it wasn't crowded but it took half an hour to get two rolls. why.did.i.even.think.that.this.would.have.been.a.good.idea.? i don't know - i've been called stupid a couple of times. so i decided to just call it a day and come home. i knew i wouldn't speak to my boy because he was working til 10pm and i was TIRED so i just called and left a message wishing him a good night. well he called and woke me an hour later. in hindsight, answering the phone was a bad idea. oh and did i mention when i got home i spent about 45 minutes speaking to my roommate, who was in tears, about her horrible day? i just should've known "the most horrible day of the year"would have extended to j also. he was PISSED. he was at work an hour and a half past his quitting time and had lost several important items for his job. he spent the entire 3 minute conversation huffing and swearing. this is odd for j so i just shut up and let him vent. i did make the mistake of trying to backtrack with him...sigh....he was all, "no, i don't even want to talk about it. i'm ANNOYED!" i almost said, "well, why the hell did you call me then?" i never call people when i'm in the bitchiest mood i've ever experienced! so as i was formulating that thought, he said, "i just wanted to call because i had to tell you good night". he saved his ass with sweetness. i just felt right back to sleep, glad that the day was actually over. good riddance.
luckily, yesterday was a lot better but i'll have to write about that later. i'm off to play scrabble! yes!
all of that said, i think the week preceeding today was one of the shittiest i've experienced here in portland. i hate to write bitchy recountings but this week was one for the books. i suppose monday started well enough. i did aerobics, had sushi with e,k and d and then danced my ass off with March Fourth. i swear, that's a great time at a great price. so, anyway, there is no specific event that characterizes the rest of the week as "shitty" but it was feeling shared by most i've spoken to. particulary horrible was thursday. EVERY ONE i spoke to was in some sort of bitchy mood/crisis/sad state just whatever. i hate to ever include work in that category because it is almost always like that but that specific day was AW-FUL.
thursday. i arrive at work about fifteen minutes late, as i've taken to doing. work on thursdays is usually a bitch because first we have a half hour staff meeting. then i'm doing screenings for potential new clients for the next three hours and then at 3pm we have another TWO HOUR staff meeting. well on this thursday we had a special hour long meeting after the first staff meeting. the purpose was for our team to 'debrief and process' with two "workplace trauma" staff. we have had a number of clients die recently and the toll on us was showing. after a death at our clinic, the client's case manager is required to gather a number of personnel together in order to go over the client's case. the "idea" is to administratively review how the case was handled with "no judgement". in reality, it's a scrutiny of our work. "what did you do?" "what could you have done better?" this does not feel good and truthfully, as the case manager you walk out with a sense of failure and immense guilt. sucks. so anyway, back to thursday, we were given the opportunity (sans supervisors) to talk about our feelings about the deaths and whatever else we felt was traumatizing us. sigh. long story short, nearly everyone wept with fatigue, guilt, anger and plain ol' burnout. these were all noted and told that they would be kept confidential. whatever. after it was over, one of them went to our supervisor and basically spelled out what happened. when it was my turn to speak, i spoke my mind. i said i hate, ABSOLUTELY HATE, being told i am responsible for someone's life to the extent that if they decide to jump off of a building - I am held accountable. it's a HORRIBLE feeling and i'm sick of it. i also opened up about the time i had to sit in one of those reviews because one of my client's was found dead in his apartment. i was pretty grilled, as was the person who prescribed his meds, and i said that i walked out of that meeting thinking, "wow, i'm glad i documented my outreach attempts". i told the group that i couldn't believe that the death of this man produced that thought! i said i couldn't believe how cold and callous i had become and this happened only two months after i was hired! so, we all broke down and slept walked through the rest of the day. that itself being another complaint i voiced: our clients get so much lip service from everyone else in the world, i feel bad that i can barely be present for them in my interactions with them, yet, that's the only way i've survived. i give my 75%. so during our last staff meeting, all of the sudden, someone needed to go assess someone to send them to the hospital. i'll spare the detail, but to say that this is a LONG process that essentially takes away someone's civil rights and sends them off to the hospital for further treatment. well i had the misfortune of having driven to work so i was volunteered. i entered the most DISGUSTING apartment you could imagine. broken glass on the floor; clothes everywhere; feces smeared on the floor...it was disturbing to say the least. anyway, we called the cops and then escorted her to the hospital and me and her case manager followed...oh yeah! it wasn't even my client! so i was done after that. i thought (stupidly) i'd try some retail therapy. i went to lloyd center. ugh. i bought an earpiece for my cell though -i've apparently been breaking the law using the phone w/my hands while driving. i didn't know! so then i go over to goodwill to see if i can score. i did! cute shirt, i go to the counter reach for my debit card and OOPS! i left it in the mall. i said fuck and shit so many times...i go back to the store and the guy luckily had it. i go back to goodwill because it really was a cute shirt and i'm DONE. i decided to take myself to dinner - sushi- but i did NOT want to go anywhere the least bit crowded so i headed to division. well it wasn't crowded but it took half an hour to get two rolls. why.did.i.even.think.that.this.would.have.been.a.good.idea.? i don't know - i've been called stupid a couple of times. so i decided to just call it a day and come home. i knew i wouldn't speak to my boy because he was working til 10pm and i was TIRED so i just called and left a message wishing him a good night. well he called and woke me an hour later. in hindsight, answering the phone was a bad idea. oh and did i mention when i got home i spent about 45 minutes speaking to my roommate, who was in tears, about her horrible day? i just should've known "the most horrible day of the year"would have extended to j also. he was PISSED. he was at work an hour and a half past his quitting time and had lost several important items for his job. he spent the entire 3 minute conversation huffing and swearing. this is odd for j so i just shut up and let him vent. i did make the mistake of trying to backtrack with him...sigh....he was all, "no, i don't even want to talk about it. i'm ANNOYED!" i almost said, "well, why the hell did you call me then?" i never call people when i'm in the bitchiest mood i've ever experienced! so as i was formulating that thought, he said, "i just wanted to call because i had to tell you good night". he saved his ass with sweetness. i just felt right back to sleep, glad that the day was actually over. good riddance.
luckily, yesterday was a lot better but i'll have to write about that later. i'm off to play scrabble! yes!
Friday, April 21, 2006
redemption
today was hella better.
i had decided that j and i would have 'stress free night' and i was going to plan something special for him. i did a lot of research and goggling and such and decided that i'd give him a choice. i told him "are you out or in?" he took that to mean was he in with the plan or not. funny boy. so he picked out and i said, alrighty...let's go.
i picked him up after work and headed to sellwood area. i decided we'd go to the driving range at the eastmoreland golf range. we hit about two and half baskets of balls, finally being able to properly relieve the stress of the day before. i have NO hand i coordination and so it was pretty funny (or so i'd like to think) to repeatedly watch me swing and hit nothing but air. i caught him doing the same a couple of times though. but i did get some good air a few balls and j did also. i personally detest watching golf and the whole golf culture, if you will, but it was a cheap way to get a few laughs and aggression out.
after that we headed over to a new thai place in sellwood. thai lahnna - really, really good food. they bill themselves as authentic and i would have no idea whether or not they really are but it tasted fresh and i got the 'mild' dish and it was still pretty spicy. the best thing about it is that it's one of these 'house restaurants'. i've never experienced that until i moved to portland and it's pretty nifty: going to a restaurant that's set in a big ol' house. it just makes for a cozier experience.
of course we then watched a movie. i'll review later. we were at his house and it was a nice night overall. complete cleansing of the mental filth of the day before. ahhhh...
i had decided that j and i would have 'stress free night' and i was going to plan something special for him. i did a lot of research and goggling and such and decided that i'd give him a choice. i told him "are you out or in?" he took that to mean was he in with the plan or not. funny boy. so he picked out and i said, alrighty...let's go.
i picked him up after work and headed to sellwood area. i decided we'd go to the driving range at the eastmoreland golf range. we hit about two and half baskets of balls, finally being able to properly relieve the stress of the day before. i have NO hand i coordination and so it was pretty funny (or so i'd like to think) to repeatedly watch me swing and hit nothing but air. i caught him doing the same a couple of times though. but i did get some good air a few balls and j did also. i personally detest watching golf and the whole golf culture, if you will, but it was a cheap way to get a few laughs and aggression out.
after that we headed over to a new thai place in sellwood. thai lahnna - really, really good food. they bill themselves as authentic and i would have no idea whether or not they really are but it tasted fresh and i got the 'mild' dish and it was still pretty spicy. the best thing about it is that it's one of these 'house restaurants'. i've never experienced that until i moved to portland and it's pretty nifty: going to a restaurant that's set in a big ol' house. it just makes for a cozier experience.
of course we then watched a movie. i'll review later. we were at his house and it was a nice night overall. complete cleansing of the mental filth of the day before. ahhhh...
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
the continuation...
ok i feel more firm about what i thought about the following movie...
sophie's choice. so what i decided is this: this movie is very well acted. written, i don't know but there are some stellar, emotional performances. it made even me consider meryl streep a good actress. this story, set in world war II new york, about a polish immigrant with a past in love with a brooklyn jewish man, with a LOT of issues, both befriended by a young southern wannabe writer can't help but be dramatic. as the truth about all is revealed it certainly feels like riding the whirling dervish - you're a little nauseated but feel you got your money's worth for the thrill. b+
sophie's choice. so what i decided is this: this movie is very well acted. written, i don't know but there are some stellar, emotional performances. it made even me consider meryl streep a good actress. this story, set in world war II new york, about a polish immigrant with a past in love with a brooklyn jewish man, with a LOT of issues, both befriended by a young southern wannabe writer can't help but be dramatic. as the truth about all is revealed it certainly feels like riding the whirling dervish - you're a little nauseated but feel you got your money's worth for the thrill. b+
oh my man...
i love him so. i wanted to type: i can't wait to tell him but no one is telling me to not tell him but myself. fear is keeping me from it and that is not good. hmmm...that thought just occured to me. i don't like that. anyway....
we just had a fantastic time! dinner and then a walk. we stopped at the school near my house and did a little play/fantasy/improv/acting type of thing. we tangoed and kissed. then we danced some more and pretended to be people from different worlds, one cold blooded and one hot blooded. and we kissed. i called him a tease..in character..but i meant it. anyway, then he kissed me in character saying that i could not refuse him then. i said- oh but you do not know the heart of a woman. that was deep...if you think about it.
our silly game seemed to get a little serious as he said his heart bleeds and it is cold and cavernous. i think he was a little serious. he's mentioned that before. i said, 'lucky for you i am very very warm'. i think we kissed shortly thereafter. yep, we gots it bad. i won't see him again until like friday or sunday i think. poo. 's ok though. for i am desdemona and my heart will forever beat for the man who is called alfonse.
*GRIN
we just had a fantastic time! dinner and then a walk. we stopped at the school near my house and did a little play/fantasy/improv/acting type of thing. we tangoed and kissed. then we danced some more and pretended to be people from different worlds, one cold blooded and one hot blooded. and we kissed. i called him a tease..in character..but i meant it. anyway, then he kissed me in character saying that i could not refuse him then. i said- oh but you do not know the heart of a woman. that was deep...if you think about it.
our silly game seemed to get a little serious as he said his heart bleeds and it is cold and cavernous. i think he was a little serious. he's mentioned that before. i said, 'lucky for you i am very very warm'. i think we kissed shortly thereafter. yep, we gots it bad. i won't see him again until like friday or sunday i think. poo. 's ok though. for i am desdemona and my heart will forever beat for the man who is called alfonse.
*GRIN
some fun now!
i just had the silliest date with j. we had thai at a very odd restaurant. i forget the name but it's on 48th and stark. WEIRD! even by portland standards. the guy says, "hello my friend! welcome to paradise! i'm jose, who are you?" and he seriously wanted to know. odd. so it got more bizarre. i was told to pick my beverage because it was "on the house". three great words for the cheap bastard in me. so then i hear the woman approaching my table (i'm perusing an apt. guide), "here's your appetizer on the house". i'm thinking SUPER! j comes and he gets the same welcome. well as we eat what we ACTUALLY ORDERED (pad broccoli and fried tofu) here comes the woman again, "here's sweet and sour soup...ON THE HOUSE" ok. it's nice but freaky. i'm thinking - what is the deal here. but no..it didn't end there. she came out AGAIN, this time with a plate of mango sticky rice and said (though i'm sure it's no surprise what i'm going to type), "dessert for you ON THE HOUSE". so, yes, that's: 2 thai iced teas, 2 salad rolls, 2 bowls of soup and a plate of mango sticky rice....FOR FREE! crazy! j thinks it was because it was the end of the night. i hope so! how else do they stay open?? so we did some walking around my 'hood, critiquing homes and such. then we played in the yard of the local elementary school. it was fun. i turned cartwheels..can't beat that.
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