Let's Try This Again

Well, this blog started out as a good idea, I guess. But if you’ll note in my profile the “recovering workaholic” part, you might not be surprised that I got busy at work and never really got going here. But walking in to work today I started putting together a post in my head (that’s what I used to do that made me think I could keep a blog in the first place). So here’s what I was thinking, as best I can capture it now.

Weather in Seattle has been particularly weird this fall, and last night was the capper (at least for me – folks in outlying areas whose houses washed away a few weeks ago probably have a different perspective). We had a windstorm whip through here with 90 mph gusts on the coast and 65-70 mph gusts here in the city. I swear to god(s), last night my apartment building was moving like we were having a small earthquake.

Then this morning, my power was out, like half of Seattle and 2/3’s of the surrounding counties. I know some folks who work for Starbucks, and I really need to let them know what a successful “third place” my neighborhood Starbucks turns out to be when most of us don’t have power. I’ve never seen so many folks in there; I think everyone wanted some light and heat and music as much as they wanted coffee. I spent a good few minutes glaring at one guy who’d finished his coffee but wasn’t giving up his table. Especially when I realized he was online reading the Drudge Report.

I’m at work now, and getting here was an adventure. My bus couldn’t get on to campus because a big tree had blown over into the road. It also knocked down part of a bus shelter. I’ve really got to get a camera phone or start carrying my digital camera around, because right now a picture of that massive root ball would save me about a thousand words. I have to admit, it looked pretty cool though it would have been much better had the tree hit the building next door, home of the university’s Forestry department. Did that tree have no sense of irony?

I should start a pool with my coworkers, though, on how long it’ll be before the bus shelter gets fixed. My money would be on about mid-May.

And there are tree branches scattered all over campus. My favorite (again, wish I had a picture!) was about three feet long, standing straight up with the broken end speared into the ground. Makes me glad I stayed inside last night. I guess I’m morbid (or I’ve watched too much CSI), because I couldn’t help but imagine that thing speared right through a person.

More reinforcement that I’m morbid comes from a grad student who just walked past my office door and noted how sad the cartoon on my door is. Finally, something I can show you a picture of!

8-letter Word for Good Film

Wordplay.

Seen at Seattle's Harvard Exit Theater on Capitol Hill. I'll be putting up a review at MatchFlick tomorrow and linking to it from here.

Hadn't been to the Harvard Exit in years. It's kind of a quirky place. There's a "lounge" on the main floor with seating and a baby grand piano. A fun place to watch this particular movie. Lots of the folks in the theater found the movie funny and laughed at parts you'd probably only get if you do crosswords yourself.

It's a little embarassing to find out that Mike Mussina, a guy I would usually write off as an uneducated jock, is better at the NY Times crossword puzzle than I am. I mean, if it'd been Barry Zito or something I might not be too surprised but I never really thought of the Moose that way.

And I didn't go see it just because John Stewart was in it, but that didn't hurt.

What I didn't do today

It was about 80 degrees this afternoon in Seattle. Driving down the street today a few blocks from home, I passed a three-block long stretch of road that had sprinklers on in a wide median full of grass and trees. I found myself thinking what fun it owuld be to just pull over and go running through those sprinklers!

Of course, then I convinced myself I'd look silly, that it'd be more fun if someone was doing it with me, that I didn't want to mess up my leather seats by getting back into the car in wet clothes, that I'd do something embarassing like slipping and falling on on my butt. All of that went through my mind as I drove those three blocks. So I didn't get out and do it. I wish I had -- but at least I thought of it. :)

Gee Ricky, I'm really sorry your Mom blew up

John Cusack is 40.

I was just over at MatchFlick updating my profile and trying to decide if I list him as one of my favorite people in film; there was a time when I’d see anything with John Cusack in it, because I knew it would reflect some part of my own life. I’m part of that generation who grew up with John’s comedies in the 80’s. And his name in Better Off Dead was Lane!

I loved the change from dorky comedies to Say Anything. It seemed like John was growing up, which meant I was, too. And at the time I really identified with Diane Court, a girl who didn’t really click with people her age because of how smart she was. How I wanted my own Lloyd Dobler! And yes, I know that’s not a particularly original sentiment. Most girls back then felt the same way (at least those of us who wanted the sensitive guy).

And then years later, as I’m thinking about my own high school reunion, along comes Grosse Pointe Blank. So he’s still doing it, keeping pace with the stuff that happens in my own life. Which is a weird kind of comfort that makes my life seem less random. As while I'm in grad school studying literary theory, he comes out with the artsy Being John Malkovich.

All of which is just a round-about way of trying to say that I was a little freaked when John’s info popped up and it said 40 years old. Well, at least he’s not taking roles where he’s playing Lindsay Lohan’s dad.

Starting Online

So as I’m starting to think about things I want to do to “get a life” again, I’m recognizing that one problem is having people to do them with. I have a small group of friends here in Seattle who’ve been close for years, but most of them now have small kids. Which means we can’t do a lot of last minute things, and that they just don’t have the time for a lot of things I’d like to do with them (travel is definitely out!).

And when there aren’t a lot of activities going on, I tend to focus too much on the limited plans that I do have. For example, I got a call yesterday from one of my friends (I’m going to have to come up with some pseudonyms or something for each of them – I think I’ll call this woman AlphaDog, not because of how she relates to our group of friends but for her relationship with her two dogs. She’s definitely in charge there.) Anyway, AlphaDog calls me; I didn’t pick up because I’m in watching the World Cup and assumed it was my sister (aka, the Bear). AlphaDog wants to go see An Inconvenient Truth. So I hear the voicemail and I assume she means that day. I call back, we’re doing the phone tag thing, and the day goes by. Maybe she meant sometime over the holiday weekend, again, because with two dogs, two kids, and a husband whose work schedule makes me look like slacker, she needs to plan. She’s actually done more than almost any of the rest of our circle to make sure we see each other, but I can’t just depend on her.

I need to reach out to other people who have more time to give. I’m baby-stepping it, though, (no pun on my friends’ fertility intended). First, there are some website forums where I’ve been lurking on and off for a while – I need to get involved in their conversations. They’re full of smart people that I have common interests with. So that’s resolution #1 – getting involved at Television Without Pity, MatchFlick, maybe Daily Kos. Then we'll see about IRL stuff . . .

The List

Remember that Friends episode? The one were everyone gets to make a list of the people that, if the moment arises, the person is allowed to sleep with without their significant other getting upset? (That's Wikipedia's description -- I tried three times to describe it in a way that made sense and didn't put the word "without" right after "with" but if wikipeidia thinks it's still clear that way . . . )

I love lists. I love countdowns. I used to listen religiously to Rick Dees and Casey Kasem. I heart a good spreadsheet.

And pop culture. If there's one thing I know so far that I'm interested in outside of work, it's all kinds of pop culture -- tv, movies, celebrity gossip.

So maybe it's no surprise I'm all about The List. Even though, since I'm single, my list is technically infinite.

According to the Friends original, the list is five names, and they called it the Freebie List. So I try to keep it to five (I'm a rules kind of gal), but the bottom three rotate a lot (I'm also flexible -- or indecisive). And among my friends, lower-case f, it's just called The List. So here's a good way to get to know me -- my five, and alternates.

1. George Clooney -- Clooney owns the top spot. He's talented, funny, cares about politics and making good movies (Now that he's bankrolled himself with crap like Batman and Robin. Which he'll admit -- another reason to dig him!), and a dead sexy voice. I've asked a lot of people for their lists and one thing I've noticed, Clooney and Matthew McConaughey never share a list; I'm a Clooney girl.
2. Jon Stewart -- Smart. Funny. Liberal. Smart and funny when his liberal sensibilities are incensed. Jon Stewart's only flaw is that he didn't wait for me. Yeah, okay, Tracey seems cool. Whatever.
3. Christopher Eccleston -- ah, the entry that reveals my level of geekiness! If you're living in the UK, this one's self-explanatory. The rest of the world (with some notable Canadian exceptions) will need to be told that Christopher Eccleston was the Ninth Doctor Who. And before that makes you run for the hills, watch this video!
4. Hugh Jackman -- Hugh has come on and off the list a lot lately. He replaced Russell Crowe as the Australian on the List. Not because Hugh doesn't throw phones, although that's a bonus, but mostly because Russell keeps growning out his hair! Stop that, Russell!
5. Ewan MacGregor -- No, not because he was Obi-Wan. The sexiness far predates that. I'm talking Brassed Off, Velvet Goldmine, Emma. Heck, I even Netflixed The PillowBook, and that Peter Greenaway stuff freaks me out!

Alternates:

• Eric Bana -- I've never seen Troy, though I hear he was luscious (what can I say, I'm not a Brad Pitt fan). This is mostly on the basis of Munich, and then on seeing Bana in his native Australian accent at red carpets and such. A surprisingly funny guy (he was on a sort of SNL show in Australia) which just makes him hotter. Hugh better watch out, the List's Aussie slot may be in play!
• Steve Jobs -- finally, a non-actor, although I guess he is now a Hollywood figure because of Pixar and Disney. Steve is still hot, but you should also see this pic of him from 1984. Mmmm, doing his part to make geeks sexy! One of the main characters in this romance novel was inspired by Steve.
• Ioan Gruffud -- I've been watching a lot of Horatio Hornblower. I think there's a sex joke in there, but it would work better if I were a guy.
• Clive Owen -- broodier than my normal type, but he just smolders. Hello!

Is there a pattern? Sometimes I see one -- I mean, dark hair, smart (or seem to be), lots of accents and sexy voices, funny's important but not enough to put Will Ferrell or a Wilson brother on there. And that there are mostly actors, if you count Stewart that way (he'd insert a Death to Smoochy joke here).

What does my List say about me? Take it as you will.

Stuff I Like #1: Bazeball . . .

has been good to me.

I grew up in a football obsessed house. I remember, when I was six or seven, being quizzed at family events on matching up pro franchise names with their host cities. Every Saturday in the fall was spent at Virginia Tech college games, long before they were the powerhouse they are today. I have a second cousin who coaches high school ball in Texas (yep, second cousins count, if you're Southern).

I moved to Seattle in 1996, a town that had just experienced its first real taste of baseball success and obsession in 1995. The pro football team was sucking, and I couldn't seem to get into PAC-10 style college football. But the Mariners were beloved, many of the games were on a station I could get without cable, I wanted something other than grad school to think about in the afternoons, and the announcers discussed the game at a level that I could use to learn the basics.

As I became a bigger fan, I went to a game at the old King Dome (not a pretty spot for baseball). I was at opening day of Safeco Field. The picture is the view from the best seats I've ever had, 30 rows directly behind home plate. I'm writing this while the game is on (top of the 6th, a 2-2 tie with Arizona). I've been to games in San Francisco and Anaheim; it's funny how both their stadiums reflect their locations so well.

But the M's were so bad the last couple of years that I became a fair weather fan (the kind we made fun of when I was a kid, like the folks who leave a football game when there's two minutes left so they can beat the traffic). Then I went to a game with some coworkers about a month ago (the seats weren't NEARLY as good as in that picture) and remembered how much I like the rhythm of the game. My football-loving family always dismissed baseball by saying "nothing happens" or "it moves too slow" but if you're paying attention, baseball is a game of strategy, of possibilities. It's not what happens, it's all the things that COULD happen each time the pitcher goes into his wind-up. It's a game of finesse and inches. It can be almost miraculous the way two curved objects (the ball and the bat) meet to create a line drive (think of the physics and geometry of that!).

Yep, I should spend more time with baseball again. I have a good friend and former co-worker who taught me a lot about the game. She needs to be coaxed back to it so we can obsess together again (the doping scandals have driven her away). Here's something I know I like, let's see what I can do with it. Stay tuned.

Grand Plans

I could have called this entry "My First Blog." After thinking about this for awhile, and admiring lots of interesting and creative folks who blog (i.e., wasting lots of time on their sites!) I've finally decided to take the plunge myself.

In an effort to give my blog some focus, I'm going to try and use this blog to document a particular project, or maybe it's better described as a process. Like a lot of people, I work a lot, and I think about work even more. I used to have interests, and occasionally even hobbies. This blog will be about my efforts to get a life outside of work -- the projects I try, the issues and questions I'm thinking about. I used to be interesting -- I will be again!

eta. but for the first few days, I may also just throw out some random thoughts so anyone who happens across this can get to know enough about me to maybe care if I get a life.