I’m working on my 2007 projected reading list, and I found this article to be a really interesting help in structuring what I hope to accomplish. It’s easy to get lazy and stop consciously learning when you get out of school and don’t have to take exams anymore. This helps.
Books I read this year, because I like being able to remember them, and my rating.
1. The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides (5/5)
2. Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf (4/5)
3. Desiring God - John Piper (5/5)
4. The Hours - Michael Cunningham (5/5)
5. The Nanny Diaries - Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (4/5)
6. The Elements of Style (Illustrated) - William Strunk and E.B. White (4/5)
7. Can You Keep a Secret? - Sophie Kinsella (3.5/5)
8. Wolves in Chic Clothing - Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman (1/5)
9. The Great Divorce - C.S. Lewis (4/5)
10. Shopaholic and Sister - Sophie Kinsella (3/5)
11. The Fortune Tellers - Howard Kurtz (3/5)
12. The Blue Castle - L.M. Montgomery (3/5)
13. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints - Dito Montiel (3/5)
14. American Beauty: The Shooting Script - Alan Ball (4/5)
15. V for Vendetta - Alan Moore & David Lloyd (2/5)
16. Emily Ever After - Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt (3/5)
17. Shopaholic Ties the Knot - Sophie Kinsella (3/5)
18. The Moviegoer - Walker Percy (4/5)
19. Consider Lily - Anne Dayton & May Vanderbilt (3.5/5)
20. Bergdorf Blondes - Plum Sykes (2/5)
21. The Debutante Divorcee - Plum Sykes (1/5)
22. Specimen Days - Michael Cunningham (3/5)
23. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon (4.5/5)
24. The Ragamuffin Gospel - Brennan Manning (3.5/5)
25. Searching for God Knows What - Donald Miller (4.5/5)
26. Elements of Style - Wendy Wasserstein (3/5)
27. A Model World - Michael Chabon (3/5)
28. Blue Shoe - Anne Lamott (3/5)
29. Who Will Run the Frog Hospital - Lorrie Moore (5/5)
30. Cheap Ways To Tie the Knot - Cara Davis (4/5)
31. Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier (3.5/5)
32. Shooting to Kill - Christine Vachon (4/5)
33. Zoetrope: All-Story (Francis Ford Coppola, ed.) (5/5)
That is nowhere near the 50 books I hoped to read this year and many of them are chick lit (some good, some intensely bad); however, I feel vindicated for the following reasons:
- I got married this year
- I weathered a major family crisis
- I’ve read the bulk of every issue of Image Journal this year
- I’ve read at least two long, meaty articles (usually more) out of every issue of the New Yorker that’s come to my door
- About half the books on my list are not what you might term “light reading”. I read fast and it still took me almost five months to get through Kavalier & Clay.
- And the chick lit books were all books-on-tape, because I can’t follow actual literature when I listen to it in spurts.
Stay tuned for my projected reading list for next year.
In fact, we returned yesterday around 4:00 pm, but we worked late into the night trying to get the apartment in order. See, we finished painting last Friday night around midnight, and then spent another three hours trying to get the apartment set up and putting only a dent in it, so we had to keep on it when we got home. Tom’s home working on it today while I’m back in the (very empty) office.
Yes, we had a delightful Christmas, despite the rough year it’s been. I think we’re all very happy to see 2006 coming to a close. Christmas is a big deal in our family and we love celebrating it. In fact, the Christmas celebrations have followed roughly the same gameplan since I was a baby, as far as I can tell (and I’m the oldest grandchild in my mom’s family). Now there’s me, my cousin Kayla (age 18), my brother Sean (age 17), and three little cousins ranging from age four to eight. Little kids make all the difference at Christmas.
We got into Albany mid-afternoon on Saturday. Nonnie (Dad’s mom), Aunt Jeanne (Dad’s sister), and my cousin Dan (Dad’s nephew) were in town for the day, painting the town red and all that. We headed out to a friend’s birthday party with all of them, then spent the evening at home exchanging presents between ourselves (they each got an autographed copy of “my” book, among other things).
They left before we got up on Sunday, and after a day spent hanging out at home with the family, we headed to Terra Nova for their Christmas eve service, then dinner with Mom’s family, then hanging out at the Rennells’.
Monday, of course, was Christmas, and we got many things that we had asked for and many more that we hadn’t asked for but wanted. Notably, we both got J.Crew scarves and gloves and sweaters from Mom’s sisters, a Crate & Barrel giftcard from my grandparents, a bunch of great books that Mom had picked from our Amazon wishlists, lots of chocolate, and too many other things to recall. Among my gifts to Tom were a sweater from Banana Republic that he’d been eyeing and the Sweeney Todd Broadway revival soundtrack. Among his gifts to me were Amy Sedaris’ rockin’ new book, DVDs of 10 Things I Hate About You and Bridget Jones’ Diary (from “Your Own Mr. Darcy”), a set of a dozen mini cookie cutters, the Last Kiss soundtrack (so far awesome!) and a ton of other things. He went all out. :)
We had a party Tuesday night at the house. Sarah came over and we made about one billion cookies and still had a ton of dough left over (now residing in my mom’s freezer), and many people came over and partied it up with us. We snuck out with Steve and Tami to the Troy Pub (oh, excuse me, Brown’s Brewing Company) for Christmas ale. It only comes once a year.
We have many and sundry plans this weekend, including one of Angela’s signature all-day dinner parties on Saturday and a New Years’ Eve spent in Jersey City. (Pssst, don’t tell, but I think New Years’ is my favorite holiday in the whole year. You get a whole new year, with no mistakes in it yet.)
behold
the virgin shall conceive
and bear a Son,
and shall call His name Immanuel
(God-with-us)the people who walked
in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
upon them a light has shinedfor unto us a Child is born,
unto us a Son is given;
and the government will be
upon His shoulder.
and His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace“comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
says your God.
“speak comfort to jerusalem,
and cry out to her,
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned;
for she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.”the voice of one
crying
in the wilderness:
“prepare ye the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
every valley shall be exalted
and every mountain and hill brought low;
the crooked places shall be made straight
and the rough places smooth;
the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”isaiah, 700 B.C.
I’m rather sleepy today, and these hideous flourescent lights don’t help too much.
We saw Les Miserables last night. Was great (of course)! And afterwards we went to my old apartment and hung out with Katie until much too late (admiring her tree and drinking her tea and eating her candy canes) and got to bed somewhere in the neighborhood of 2am.
Because we have a wreck of an apartment, I plan to work from home tomorrow and Friday to try and help out at home intermittently (and to cut two hours of commuting out of my day). Then there’s Christmas - we’re heading upstate on Saturday morning and won’t be back till Wednesday afternoon. So, if you don’t hear from us much, that’s why.
Have a lovely Christmas!
I was searching for something entirely different but stumbled on this article, which is a good low-level summary of my mostly-formed opinions on Christian films and why they aren’t that successful. This quote stuck out:
Jesus began many of his parables with the phrase, “The kingdom of God is like …” (He used this construct twelve times in the Gospel of Matthew alone.) In the book All the Parables of the Bible, Herbert Lockyer explains, “Because of His infinity, God had to condescend to those things with which man was familiar in order to convey the sublime revelation of His will.” Jesus’s parables allowed his audience to understand heavenly principles in earthly terms. He would even respond to questions with parables — instead of stating the answer outright, he would allow his audience to make the connections themselves. Jesus also knew that the things of heaven are too large to be fully grasped by the human mind. They are mysteries, in the classic sense of the word, and can only be hinted at through symbols and metaphors.
Christian filmmakers seem to dislike mystery. Rather than using Jesus’s construct, “The kingdom of God is like …,” their films often proclaim, “The kingdom of God is.” Nothing is left to the imagination. Audiences are not allowed to make their own connections; they are told what to think. In his book True Believers Don’t Ask Why, John Fischer characterizes this attitude as: “Jesus is the answer; therefore nothing can be left unanswered.” This approach, no matter how sincere, rings false to audiences and leaves them feeling manipulated. That’s why movies like Left Behind, which try to convince audiences of the truth, instead leave them tittering. Anthony Breznican of the Associated Press described it as “a weak proselytizing device masquerading as a movie.” The National Review’s Rod Dreher called it the “Gospel According to Ned Flanders.” As long as people of faith are more concerned with messages than metaphors, they are doomed to make bad films.
Discuss.
So yes, we’re still alive, and still painting. I’m much too tired to be interesting lately. I was off from work on Wednesday through Friday (low girl on the totem pole takes the leftover days) and spent them mostly doing things like working on the IAM website and doing all the Christmas cards and trying (in vain) to buy postage stamps. Tom and I did manage to see a few good movies (The Fountain, Stranger Than Fiction), drink some good tea, and generally do a bit of very much-needed relaxing. And very little blogging. And on Sunday we met up with his parents and saw Grey Gardens (on Broadway), a weird and wonderful show.
So, it never rains but it pours; we were supposed to hang out with my former roommate Katie tonight, but she called and said she had tickets to Les Miserables and would we like to go tonight? I’ve never actually seen Les Mis (tried one year over spring break, and the musicians were on strike), so this is a lovely little serendipitous occasion.
Last night, for dinner, we had deep fried Christmas pudding at Chipshop. (If you’re not an American and you’re reading this, you should know that we don’t really do Christmas pudding over here.) It was bizarre and splendid. Next time, we’re doing a deep-fried Snickers bar. Heart attack in a nice little package, with nuts!ww
Several caveats:
1. This list in no way reflects Tom’s preferences or choices.
2. I’ve not seen every movie so it’s wildly unbalanced.
3. I haven’t even bothered to rate anything television-related because I haven’t watched television since I was about eleven.
4. I steadfastly refuse to waste my time watching Borat for several reasons I don’t feel like listing here and don’t have to because frankly, this is my blog.
That said, here’s my picks (in bold) and snarks regarding the recent Golden Globe nominees (go here to see them all - I’ve eliminated all television categories).
1. BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
1. BABEL
2. BOBBY
3. THE DEPARTED
4. LITTLE CHILDREN - a tough decision, but this is the most flawless film I’ve seen all year.
5. THE QUEEN
2. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
1. PENELOPE CRUZ — VOLVER - Note: I love this movie and Penelope is brilliant in it.
2. JUDI DENCH — NOTES ON A SCANDAL
3. MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL — SHERRYBABY
4. HELEN MIRREN — THE QUEEN
5. KATE WINSLET — LITTLE CHILDREN - It was a toss-up between Kate and Helen, but Kate stunned me.
3. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
1. LEONARDO DICAPRIO — BLOOD DIAMOND
2. LEONARDO DICAPRIO — THE DEPARTED - I haven’t seen the others. If Forest Whitaker is as good as I’ve heard, I’ll gladly change my vote. Leo was awesome in this movie, but he’s not even my favorite actor in it.
3. PETER O’TOOLE — VENUS - This looks quite good and I can’t wait to see it.
4. WILL SMITH — THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
5. FOREST WHITAKER — THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
4. BEST MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
1. BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
2. THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
3. DREAMGIRLS
4. LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - I’ve only seen one other in this category (Devil Wears Prada), but I’d nominate this for Best Picture if I could. Next to Little Children, it’s my favorite movie this year.
5. THANK YOU FOR SMOKING
5. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
1. ANNETTE BENING — RUNNING WITH SCISSORS
2. TONI COLLETTE — LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
3. BEYONCE — KNOWLES
4. MERYL STREEP — THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - So, she wasn’t exactly *funny*, but she was GREAT.
5. RENEE ZELLWEGER — MISS POTTER
6. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Note: I’m disappointed to not see Alan Arkin or Steve Carrell in here for Little Miss Sunshine.
1. SACHA BARON COHEN — BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
2. JOHNNY DEPP — PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST - Johnny Depp was and continues to be the best thing this movie has.
3. AARON ECKHART — THANK YOU FOR SMOKING
4. CHIWETEL EJIOFOR — KINKY BOOTS
5. WILL FERRELL — STRANGER THAN FICTION
7. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
1. CARS - Well, I haven’t seen the others. This was fun, but not my favorite Pixar film.
2. HAPPY FEET
3. MONSTER HOUSE
8. BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Rather disappointed that Cache didn’t make the list; Tom will probably disagree with me.
1. APOCALYPTO (USA) - Don’t want to see this after hearing reports of the violence.
2. LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (USA/JAPAN) - Am curious!
3. THE LIVES OF OTHERS (GERMANY) - Haven’t even heard of this.
4. PAN’S LABYRINTH (MEXICO) - Can’t wait to see it; looks fascinating.
5. VOLVER (SPAIN) - I’m picking this because a) it’s awesome and b) it’s the only one I’ve seen; Pan’s Labyrinth may overtake it once I do see it, but this is hands-down the best Almodovar film ever.
9. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
1. ADRIANA BARRAZA — BABEL - This was a tough one, but she had me
2. CATE BLANCHETT — NOTES ON A SCANDAL
3. EMILY BLUNT — THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
4. JENNIFER HUDSON — DREAMGIRLS
5. RINKO KIKUCHI — BABEL
10. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
1. BEN AFFLECK — HOLLYWOODLAND
2. EDDIE MURPHY — DREAMGIRLS
3. JACK NICHOLSON — THE DEPARTED
4. BRAD PITT — BABEL - Very conflicted; I really loved him in this movie. The scene where he’s on the phone with his son? I don’t cry at movies, but I was pretty close. Still, I have to concede to . . .
5. MARK WAHLBERG — THE DEPARTED - Oh my goodness, he was SO inappropriate but SO good. Not for the faint of heart, eh, Marky Mark?
11. BEST DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE
1. CLINT EASTWOOD — FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
2. CLINT EASTWOOD — LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
3. STEPHEN FREARS — THE QUEEN
4. ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ INARRITU — BABEL - As much as I loved The Departed, I think this was a tougher movie to pull off.
5. MARTIN SCORSESE — THE DEPARTED
12. BEST SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
Note: Why is everyone ignoring Brick in this category? It’s a heck of a screenplay.
1. GUILLERMO ARRIAGA — BABEL - I’m tempted.
2. TODD FIELD & TOM PERROTTA — LITTLE CHILDREN - Without a doubt.
3. PATRICK MARBER — NOTES ON A SCANDAL - Want to see this.
4. WILLIAM MONAHAN — THE DEPARTED - And I’m tempted again, especially after seeing the original.
5. PETER MORGAN — THE QUEEN - And again!
13. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MOTION PICTURE
1. ALEXANDRE DESPLAT — THE PAINTED VEIL
2. CLINT MANSELL — THE FOUNTAIN - We saw this yesterday and I was stunned by the score; I loved it, and it was performed by the Kronos Quartet. Beautiful.
3. GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA — BABEL
4. CARLO SILIOTTO — NOMAD
5. HANS ZIMMER — THE DA VINCI CODE
I’m not good at coming up with subject lines. I also cannot title articles, stories, books, or movies unless a bolt of lightning hits me. Not a common occurrence.
Somehow all my deadlines seem to come up right before Christmas; at work, in freelance design and writing work. I purposely decided not to take on any more writing projects with deadlines in December so that I could have some sanity this month, between the painting and the programming and oh yes, Christmas!
We are nearing the end of le painting project. The light at the end of the tunnel becomes brighter each day. It actually looks quite good, better than I expected. I think we’re both a little bummed out that the bathroom and kitchen still need painting, probably in early 2007. In theory, we could just not paint them, but there’s stains from a cappuccino incident covering all four walls and the ceiling in the kitchen, and the bathroom paint looks pretty dingy. At least there’s no hideous moldings determined to turn our straight painting lines into ghastly bumps and holes. Mmhmm.
Being two weeks before Christmas, this is also busy catering season. Tom worked last night, and when I said good morning and goodbye this morning, he sleepily mumbled something about having a last-minute lunch catering job today. And another one Thursday! Good time of year for a little extra cash.
For my part, I stopped by Target to buy Christmas lights (unsuccessfully) last night on my way home from work. Then I remembered I had a Bath & Body Works giftcard from my birthday, so I stopped by there, and then ducked into Payless for nonskid pads for the inside of my more treacherous shoes. It’s handy living near the only really big shopping center in Brooklyn.
I got home and scrubbed paint chips off the bathroom floor, did the dishes, put away the laundry, and generally cleaned up the apartment as best I could. It’s a bit embarrassing how much I’m looking forward to cleaning my apartment when the painting’s all done. I felt so much more cheery after I finished cleaning last night. I think I have a distinct love of bringing order from chaos. That would make sense - my favorite jobs have always been those where I take large piles of mess or intensely disorganized situations and make them work.
I had vacation time to burn through before the end of the year, so I’m off from work tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday. Lots of plans and lots to do in that timeframe, but it will be nice to get enough sleep, for once. I’m going to a screening of The Wind That Shakes the Barley on Friday (it won the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year).
Randomly: related to my fixation on turning mess into order, I have a penchant for making lists. I’ve justified this obsession in the last year, when I realized that if I just do the things on the list, it’s even more successful. So, I tend to make a lot of lists at year’s end - favorite books/movies/music from the last year, books/movies/music to check out in the upcoming year, resolutions, plans, etc. I feel more organized going into the New Year if I do so. Call me a freak and stay tuned for said lists’ appearances.
You haven’t really lived ’till you’ve heard the Over the Rhine cover of Baby, It’s Cold Outside.
Not just that, but besides a number of songs from Snow Angels and their upcoming studio album, they played Born and (my personal favorite) Jack’s Valentine.
Baby, it is cold outside. We hope to finish with the painting this weekend, as well as up with the tree and back with the furniture, and two parties to go to. It’s the most spectacular time of the year!
My grandparents are rather young for grandparents, and so yesterday they blithely walked all the way from Rockefeller Center up 5th Ave to Lincoln Center, which is way farther west and a good 17 or 18 blocks north, through the park. We had a lovely time. We saw all kinds of great decorations, ate at a couple of great restaurants (Morrell’s here in Rockefeller Center and Cafe Fiorello up near Lincoln Center), and then wandered through all the shops down at Bryant Park before they got back on the bus and we got on the subway.
Tonight we will be seeing Over the Rhine at Joe’s Pub, downtown. I’m glad.
We had a scare last night while painting; Tom had painted the “bedroom” first. (I use the term loosely; it’s all one room, but an archway divides it in half.) The paint looked purpler than I remembered, but it’s a really funkycool shade and I like it. After we ate dinner (honey-lime tilapia, spinach couscous, and pearl onions in cream sauce), he started on the living room. Suddenly, the paint (exact same paint) looked very blue. What?
We finally determined that the lightbulbs were probably different colors. The one in the bedroom is significantly pinker than the one in the living room. Reddish + blueish = purplish, and that’s what we got. We weren’t sure of our hypothesis until the sun came up this morning, and in the morning light, we love it. Very East Village-y.
Tom wants to touch up the walls a bit tonight, then do the trim in a darker shade of the same blue, and then voila, we’ll be done - at least until we do the bathroom and the kitchen. The trim is no easy task, especially since it covers significant portions of the bedroom walls, but we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel at long last.
I’m leaving at noon today to meet up with Tom and my grandparents, who are in town for the day. We plan to give them the grand tour of all the places we rarely go (up Fifth Ave and over to Lincoln Center). It was a natural choice for them to meet me here; I work near The Most Fussed-Over Tree In The World.
Living in a city full of Jews and people of other faiths, I understand and am not offended by some people’s reticence to emphasize Christmas over other end-of-the-year holidays. It’s America, after all, and it’s not bright to alienate large numbers of potential customers. (Starbucks, in a stroke of marketing brilliance, sells both a “Christmas Blend” and a “Holiday Blend”. Genius!)
I enjoy reading the IMDB trivia for a movie after I see the movie. These, for The Departed made me laugh:
While shooting on location in Boston, Massachusetts, Martin Scorsese viewed the film’s dailies at Emerson College.
That’s Tom’s alma mater, y’all.
As research for his character’s occupation, Matt Damon worked with a Massachusetts State Police unit out of Boston. He accompanied them on routine patrols, participated in a drug raid and was taught proper police procedures like how to pat down a suspect.
Imagine being arrested. You’re freaking out, nervous, angry. You’re being patted down and your cursing the cops under your breath. Then you turn around and see Matt Damon in the uniform. What is this, a movie?
Jack Nicholson refused to wear a Boston Red Sox hat during filming and instead wore his New York Yankees hat.
HA! Oh wow, I wish I was a fly on the wall.
Leonardo DiCaprio was cast in the title role in The Good Shepherd (2006), but he dropped out to play Billy Costigan in this movie.
I’m sure DiCaprio had a good reason . . . but do please note that the title role in The Good Shepherd was given to . . . well . . . Matt Damon.
First things first: check out the December issue of Paste (the one with the cast of For Your Consideration on the cover and flip to the film reviews. Behold: the Volver review is mine.
A busy weekend. Tom finished up priming the apartment on Friday night and we had Mexican, then came back to the apartment and watched American Beauty on the computer, as the TV is buried right now. I’d read the screenplay in the spring; it was exactly the film I thought it would be. No more, no less.
We slept in Saturday and after cleaning up a little, we trekked down to Eighth Ave and 9th Street to have brunch at Dizzy’s, which is a hike, but well worth it. Best brunch in the Slope, hands-down.
We then trekked even farther to the movie theater at the bottom of Prospect Park and saw The Departed. It’s a remake of Infernal Affairs, a Chinese movie we’d watched a couple of weeks ago, and it was so much better. Plus, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a theater that did matinees in New York City - $7 a ticket! A bargain. We loved the movie, too. I had to chuckle as neighborhood after neighborhood was mentioned and I was like “Ooh! My grandfather grew up there!” My dad always said that he spent time in rougher neighborhoods as a kid. No joke.
We had dinner with our friends Brendan & Julie in the evening; swapping dinner parties, and it was their turn. They made madly good food (my mouth is watering thinking about it). We’re all grown up and stuff now. Dinner parties?!
Sunday, as always, equaled church, some wandering around the Union Square Christmas Market in vain hopes of finding stuff for presents and/or decorations, and then Casino Royale. Yeah, baby. It’s the only Bond movie I’ve ever seen, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
A week later, we’re still under plastic. We had to cut into it to get our hamper of dirty clothes, since it’s looking suspiciously like we won’t have our lives back until this weekend. But hurrah! That will mean Christmas decorations! And being able to sit somewhere other than the bed and look at something other than the computer.
This is an incredibly busy week. I have some projects with major deadlines this week, both at work and freelance. My grandparents are visiting NYC for the day from Albany on Wednesday, so I’m taking a half-day and spending it with them, then going to a gallery opening in the evening. Thursday night is an Over the Rhine concert at Joe’s Pub. Parties all weekend (Christmastime is here) and hopefully getting the apartment back into some semblance of order, picking paint colors for the kitchen and bathroom (yes, folks, there’s more), getting a Christmas tree . . . and retaining our sanity.
We made it to Mako Fujimura’s Golden Fire gallery opening in Chelsea last night. Somehow, this is the first of Mako’s openings that I’ve been able to attend. The paintings were stunning, of course (goes without saying) - all gold leaf layered over a bit of color. Oh, what I’d give to have that on the wall.
We knew a good number of the people who came, as well. Not surprising, since we have the double-whammy membership - TVC and IAM. After a couple of hours standing in very uncomfortable shoes, we trekked east in search of food and finally landed at Nooch. We got home very late, but you’re only young once, and we’re in the city that never sleeps, after all.
Painting has consumed our lives within the apartment. Everything is covered neatly in plastic and Tom has been painting his heart out for days. Our building is very old. My last building was circa 1900, and I think this one is from the same era or older, judging from the architecture. So, there’s all these curious mouldings scattered about on the walls and ceilings and they make painting very tedious work - you can’t just roll the walls and be done with it. Plus, our ceilings are abnormally high, which makes for a lot of looking above your head. And the roof and floor are noticeably crooked. Some call it frustrating; we call it charming and hope to live there for years. Again, you’re only young once.
Tom, being awesome, has done most of the painting himself, and in theory has finished priming and painted the ceiling today (I haven’t been home, but I have confidence). Hopefully now that the priming is finished, the actual painting will be a bit more fun. Yay! Color!
Because our life is swathed in plastic, we haven’t decorated for Christmas yet, and we probably won’t until the middle of next week. I’m itching to decorate, but I guess it’s probably just as well. We won’t go too far beyond a little tree and some lights, I think.