confessions.
when the npr station switches to the hour of celtic music, i don’t always change the channel.
cringeworthy, an ongoing list.
newest entries:
– pupperoni (dog treat)
– vanguartists (name of the artist collective at church)
– mommywood (title of tori spelling’s 2nd book)
– 4th of july themed clothes at old navy, worn by middle-aged women and their husbands.
– TG Fabulicious (clothing line launched by one of the real housewives of new jersey)
– slashers (not, you know, stars of violent films, but the proliferation of model/actress/personality/blogger coming out with their own clothing line/perfume/kid’s products/books/theme parks).
my summary skills are spotty at best. it’s a particular skill, and a useful one at that. it’s why we love quotes, song lyrics, poetry, as it captures a world of meaning and poignancy in a form fit for your pocket, where you can take it with you every day. it’s something i ask students to do in classes, and it’s something i am asked to do often, but really…i’m not always the best at distilling the art of an entire work (book, film, the television series the bachelorette) into a bumper sticker synopsis. or, as the former boss of the wife of my former co-worker insisted on his employees admitting rather than blaming something else:
i just don’t make it my highest priority.
you know, in case you were wondering why my movie reviews are relayed in the post-movie conversations between the boy and i.
also? i like the conversations we have, and imagined parts of them. he’s a perfect straight man in our duo, in every sense of the word.
after this movie, however, we sat in silence for awhile. no conversation for a weighty movie, for a few minutes. our conversation after hopped many continents and universes, prompted by the emotions of the film, and with that i will refrain from boring you.
instead, you lucky reader, i give the bits of the movie that kept rattling around my head the next day. the ones that cause time to stand still just a minute as they clarify portions of your life. no context given; this is all i have for you. go with it:
Jeannine: Can you ever break the ball?
Conrad Jarrett: You can’t break the ball. Can’t break the floor. Can’t break anything in a bowling alley. And that’s what I like about bowling alleys. Can’t even break the record.
* * * *
Conrad Jarrett: Anyway.
Jeannine: Hm, what?
Conrad Jarrett: Oh just anyway. It’s a conversation starter.
Jeannine: Hm, catchy.
Conrad Jarrett: I knew you’d like it, I’ve been working on it all day.*
*this exchange, by the way, could be a verbatim transcript of more conversations between the boy and i than you could imagine.
* * * *
Beth Jarrett: Calvin? Why are you crying? Can I, uh… can I get you something?
Calvin Jarrett: I don’t…
Beth Jarrett: What did you say? Calvin, what did you say? Tell me!
Calvin Jarrett: You are beautiful. And you are unpredictable. But you’re so cautious. You’re determined, Beth; but you know something? You’re not strong. And I don’t know if you’re really giving. Tell me something. Do you love me? You really love me?
Beth Jarrett: I feel the way I’ve always felt about you.
Calvin Jarrett: We would have been all right if there hadn’t been any mess. But you can’t handle mess. You need everything neat and easy. I don’t know. Maybe you can’t love anybody. It was so much Buck. When Buck died, it was like you buried all your love with him, and I don’t understand that, I just don’t know, I don’t… maybe it wasn’t even Buck; maybe it was just you. Maybe, finally, it was the best of you that you buried. But whatever it was… I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what we’ve been playing at. So I was crying. Because I don’t know if I love you any more. And I don’t know what I’m going to do without that.*
*this scene, this created a stillness in the room that was palpable, weighted with sadness. i love movies that can do that to you.
* * * * *
so, what is this movie about? well…ordinary people. the best kind.
all this fuss.
i’ve heard fairly consistent fuss about the rainy weather.
and i love it.
i love that the sun is out in the morning.
i love that it rains so long that it continues in the evening.
i love that the threat of rain causes people to maximize their time in the sun.
i love that it makes it conducive to staying inside and reading, or watching the oscar movies with the boy.
i love that through the magnification of clear rain, everything looks more green, more alive, more exciting.
i love the ominous look of deep grey clouds.
i love the torrential downpours and the idle drops of a light sprinkle, light enough to catch it on your face and walk around.
i love weather that calls for galoshes.
the fussy weather is, in short, fantastic.
me: so, what’s the verdict?
boy: how is it possible that after 3 hours, i don’t care about any of these characters?
me: i don’t know. i just kept watching, hoping that something would happen that made sense or that i would give a crap about.
boy: yeah. perhaps it would have been better had they just cut it in half?
me: and titled it “be patient” instead of “the english patient”.
boy: yeah. well, it’s 3 hours of my life i’m not getting back again. fargo should have won instead. even jerry maguire was better, and that’s saying something.
me: i agree.
[long pause]
boy: what are you doing?
me: i’m trying to remember a time before we started watching the movie…i can’t.
vancouver.
we are going to vancouver, BC in july.
our good friends christopher and asia are currently there while christopher attends vancouver film school, and since we hardly need an excuse to go see them and have always wanted to visit vancouver, we really couldn’t say no.
we were originally going to spend a little more time in seattle, but, wanting to do this cheaply given our respective financial situations (read: somewhat poor!), we decided to just do the vancouver part because it’s clearly enough by itself.
when we looked up the transportation options to get to vancouver from seattle, we were greeted with the lovely retro-tinged train schedule which was incredibly pretty and completely indecipherable. we somehow managed.
i wanted to take the train, but the schedule doesn’t really work with our flights. so instead, we will fly into seattle in the morning, stash our bags at the train station, and spend the day in downtown seattle (i am so excited to return, i can’t believe that i miss it as much as i do.) we then board a bus in the evening to vancouver, and get in late. spend 4 days in vancouver, and then travel home on the last day the same way we came.
$150 for plane tickets pretty much rules, people.
glad we could do this cheaply, because we are trying to save some duckets for a hopefully fantastic vacation next summer between my graduation and teaching in the fall. the boy has a very large stash of frequent flier miles that he needs to use by next summer, and we are hoping to make it across the pond. greece with cousin heather, or london with oye, or maybe australia with the burchs? hope, hope, hope.
i don’t know how, but i have managed to take a real out-of-state vacation every summer for the last 6 years. san francisco many many times, nashville, las vegas, arizona, los angeles…i am very blessed. 09 is the summer of canada.
boy: such a good movie. how did you like it?
me: loved it. and i might have a small crush on marlon brando now. is that okay with you?
boy: i have a small crush on marlon brando. so, yeah. as long as we can share.
me: united over our mutual crush on a film actor but only in one particular movie role from 1954. our relationship is really grounded in reality.
boy: indeed.
meet the artist.
if you have no interest in reading a little love letter about my very talented boyfriend, just come back tomorrow. actually, there may be more about him then too, as this week was the birthdaversary (definition: his birthday and our anniversary are pretty much the same day), so there may be more.
so, how about friday? good then, that’s settled. for everyone else, here you go.
i’m fairly beaming now, because my very talented boy has sold a few more paintings.
i have always loved and been immensely proud of his talent, and loved the fact that i didn’t have to use my “very supportive yet fake interested” face with his art. you know the one, where you are going to be all supportive-wife/girlfriend/whathaveyou, and say “that’s so great!” and hope that you never have to actually hang this stuff on your walls.
thankfully, i actually liked it. and some of the things, i loved.
his bachelor’s degree, after all, is in fine art with am emphasis in painting, so beyond his actual work (and talent) as a graphic designer, painting and mixed media is a core passion of his. and, part of the reason (you know, besides me) of moving here was so that he could have more creative time to pursue his fine art – hanging his paintings in galleries, meeting other artists and working on their art, taking more drawing classes, and of course, hopefully selling art as well.
one of our absolute favorite places in town is shuga’s, a bar/cafe/tapas place on the corner of downtown. i’ve come here for years, and the boy quickly adopted it as a fave haunt as well.
they have an open wall for artists to routinely show their work, and so i suggested he get on their rotation. one of their first openings (15th through the 29th) coincided with his birthday, so we decided to have an artshow/birthday, which is this saturday. (p.s. if you are reading this, you are invited! shuga’s, 6pm, saturday. do come, really. it will be nice.) he hung the paintings on friday afternoon, and since then has sold four paintings, with interest shown in a couple more and the owner of shuga’s and a gallery owner declaring their interest.
i’m sorry, but how badass is that?
very.
VERY.
exclamation point!
he is so persistent, and i am desperately happy that people are taking interest. he’s trifled with putting it on etsy, so that people can see it/buy it/hate it (just kidding) online, which will happen soon. many people have asked, so i will keep you in the know. until then, if you would like to commission some art or buy existing art pieces, have your people call my people 😉 but in the meantime, i wanted to show you some favorites from the show:
this one sold today, with another person also interested in it. this is his children’s book phase, as i am calling it.
this one he painted a few years ago, and sold on saturday. his friend garrett loved this painting, and is now very sad.
sorry for the crappy picture quality, i took it from the boy. this is actually his first painting he did for me, as a housewarming present a few years ago. it’s not actually for sale, but in the show for display. several people have wanted it, though, so he may be making more 🙂
the first painting that sold, again with another person interested in it. also, again my apologies for the crappy camera work (not mine!) the text says “teddy looked at the big pile. he did not want to go back.” from the children’s book phase of 08/09.
this one sold saturday, and i was sad to see it go. it’s one of my favorites.
this one was from several years ago, painted on wood.
also not for sale, and usually resides in my house above the television set.
this one is in my kitchen. it’s not in the show, but only for lack of room.
* * * * *
beam. bravo. cheers.
today:
– i finished a twelve page paper on hemingway.
– was the last day of school for the semester.
– my dad made me iced tea.
– my mom made me pasta salad.
– i saw a rabbit in the yard.
– is my wonderful boy’s birthday.
– my wonderful boy sold another two paintings, making three since he put them up on friday afternoon.
– i spent the evening with the lovely boy, the little buddy and addie.
– addison decided to dip her apple slices in ranch dressing at dinner.
– the two kids giggled the entire way to dinner.
– addie and i yelled “uh-oh, oh-no, oh my, and oh BOY!” repeatedly while she giggled on the way home.
– the boy bought me dinner and a milkshake.
– we sang flight of the conchords songs to my brother.
– we sat on the porch swing at night listening to the thunder.
– the little buddy fell asleep in my arms while i rocked on the swing.
was a very good day.
quotes:
“It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted in a profoundly sick society.”
| — | J. Krishnamurti |
sara, darling. 