Go East Young Man

Back from vacation. It’s nice to be home in LA. We spent time in Iowa with Kari’s family and then drifted our way across I-80 towards West Michigan to be with my always-getting-bigger family. Interesting tidbits:

We played hours and hours of poker with both families. In Michigan, nine of us visited a theatre to watch “The Producers.” Forty-five minutes later, nine of us walked out. Every day was cloudy. For Christmas, I received $150, a new Go-Lite backpack, four books, a poker set, and a new drill from Menards. I finished 4th and 9th out of sixteen players at Laser Tag. We rented a compact car for the week. Instead, we got a “PT Cruiser” – our most despised car of the year. America West allows you to check in over the web twenty-four hours before a flight. That was real nice.

Cheers to America West, Ace Rental car, jobs that allow us the freedom to travel, and families willing to take a couple of drifters in for a few days.

Josh

Film Review 2005

Sorry, not the list that gets checked twice. :) No, it's December 15 - which means it's time for an exclusive "Movie Notes" review of the year's best and worst films. A few things to consider: One, I haven't seen Munich, The Weather Man, The Producers or Match Point - so these will not be factored in, though they might have been. Two, lucky for you, I actually did see every other film. :)

2005 "Best Picture" Favorites:
_Crash
_Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
_The War Within
_A History of Violence
_King Kong
_Lord of War
_Hustle and Flow
_Good Night and Good Luck

2005 "Most Enjoyable":
_Lord of War
_Batman Begins
_Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
_Little Manhattan
_Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
_Be Cool

2005 "Best Actor" Favorites:
George Clooney_Syriana
Heath Ledger_Brokeback Mountain
Terrence Howard_Hustle and Flow
Jake Gyllenhall_Jarhead
Robert Downey Jr_Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Joaquin Phoenix_Walk the Line (a VERY close second)
Nicolas Cage_Lord of War
Russell Crowe_Cinderella Man

2005 "Best Actress" Favorites:
Flora Cross_Bee Season
Gwynneth Paltrow_Proof
Thandie Newton_Crash
Maria Bello_A History of Violence

2005 "Best Writing":
Stephen Gaghan_Syriana
Paul Haggis_Crash
Noah Baumbach_The Squid & The Whale
George Clooney_Good Night and Good Luck
Jim Jarmusch_Broken Flowers

2005 "Movies that Made Me Cry":
_The War Within
_Innocent Voices
_Little Manhattan
_In Her Shoes
_Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
_Hitch
_Cinderella Man

2005 "Movies that Made Me Laugh":
_Hitch
_Little Manhattan
_Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
_Shopgirl
_Lord of War
_Be Cool

2005 "Breakout Performance":
George Clooney_Syriana
George Clooney_Wrote/Directed "Good Night and Good Luck"
Flora Cross_Bee Season
Carlos Padilla_Innocent Voices
Jack Black_King Kong

2005 "Worst Movies":
_Must Love Dogs
_Elizabethtown
_Two For The Money
_Prime
_Bee Season
_Bewitched
_Monster In Law
_Constantine

What Would You Do?

I'm at the gym working out.
45 minutes on the stair climber. 15 minutes of lifting.
I walk down the stairs and enter the men's locker room.

The sign in the hot tub reads:
You must take a shower before entering.
You must wear a bathing suit before entering.

Being a rule abider, I wander over to the showers.
I then proceed to "the room" with bathing suit on.
BTW_The room is enclosed by glass on all sides.

Much to my joy, the room and hot tub are empty.
I wander down the invisible steps into hot waters.
I face away from the locker room for unwitnessed relaxation.

Suddenly, the door opens and a large, uneven man enters.
He came straight from a sweaty workout.
And, by the way, no shower.

And then, with one slow and gruntful move...
he takes off his shorts and underwear.
And then the moment I feared most.

His nakedness plops down next to me.

SO - what would you do?

a) get up and leave?
b) make conversation as if nothing just happened?
c) sit still, trying to remain invisible?
d) none of the above

Generation X :: Personality Tithe

Personality Tithe: "A price paid for becoming a couple; previously amusing human beings become boring: 'Thanks for inviting us, but Noreen and I are going to look at flatware catalogs tonight. Afterward we're going to watch the shopping channel.'" Generation X, 143

It's funny how much truth and reality flows through Coupland's thoughts. I only hope my life with Kari doesn't fall into this trap. I think the other side of coupledom is being able to become more independent and alive. Hopefully we make each other better.

And I really hope we're not boring.

The Wanderlust Dilemna :: PART 2

PRE-POST: If you haven't read the post below, you should do so before you read what is next.

So here's the dilemna: I want deep friendships with people I share life with. And I want to live in a neighborhood/city that I love. But I also want to be content, no matter where I am. I want more...but I don't want to suffer from terminal wanderlust.

Call it wanderlust, call is passion, call it idealism - on April 1st 2005 - Kari and I decided to go for it. We had an ideal (a vision if you will) of what could be for our lives, our friends and our city - and we we going to make decisions that would hopefully lead to our dream of doing life with our friends in an urban setting. If it didn't work...at least we knew we tried our best. And if it did? Read our ideals below:

// Most of all, we wanted to do life with our friends. We're still trying to figure out what this looks like, but we've made some steps. It means living close...like within a mile of one another. Close enough to walk or ride bike. Being close allows you to connect whenever you want. When you're this close, you can get together for one tv show. Most people plan ahead of time to get together and usually happens once a month at best. Doing life with friends means meeting each other at a bar after work for pool and drinks. This is the ultimate in doing life together...calling each other up on the way home for work to see if they (he or she) want to grab a bite at Jakes. It means taking care of each other...looking out for each other. This means more when you're in a new city trying to think through jobs and finances and how to register your car at the dreaded DMV. It means watching each others kids, going on weekend trips together, constantly borrowing money (and milk and dishes and movies) from each other. And so much more...

// We also wanted to live in the city. This means walking everywhere...or riding bike. Cars become a pain and are only used when absolutely necessary. Urban dwelling means developing places that become common in the thread of a week. Theatres, restaurants, bars, shops, gym, church, post office, etc (all within walking distance of course) - it means going back to these places so much that we get to know the employees from each local establishment. This is what immersing yourself into a neighborhood means.

Our dream is now many months in the making and is better than we could have imagined. Sure, we sometimes think about other locations - but life is here in LA...in Pasadena. And it was worth the sacrifice.

Forget terminal wanderlust. But cheers to those of us who still want something more out of life. May we find ourselves living in between this delicate balance.