Floating Leaf

Once again, my cinematic intuition has been proven infallible. I picked a movie almost at random, and it turned out mind-blowing. I was actually on the verge of skipping it altogether, since it was raining when I went out to the grocery store this morning, and the prospect of traipsing around downtown in cold, wet weather didn't sound too appealing. But I already had the ticket, so I decided to brave the elements.;) Btw, the rain soon dwindled down to a mild drizzle, and by the time I walked out of the theater, the skies had cleared and it got a bit warmer, too. So not a bad outing at all.

( The film was called The Notebook. )

In other news, I am happy to report that the heating in my building was FINALLY turned on at around 6 a.m. this morning. I'd been having a bit of a crisis for the past few days, because I really, REALLY detest feeling cold all the time. Last night was particularly bad. I don't know why they always wait for the outside temperature to drop down to 50F before they deign to turn on the heat... but anyway. It's on now, and it's doing a hell of a lot to improve my mood.:) Oh, and my period is over already. It did start on Monday night, so I went to bed early - and I did feel crappy on Tuesday morning, but somehow I dragged myself to work. It could have been worse, I guess...

Another thing that improved my mood last night was a phone call from a Very Cool Person. The same cool person, in fact, with whom I've been exchanging awesome fandom-related emails for the past few months. It's always a Big Event in my little world when an online friend becomes a "real life" friend who actually calls you on the phone. It's happened a few times so far... but it's never lost the air of slightly incredulous wonder, LOL. See, I don't connect with people that easily, and in many cases, I actually prefer to keep the acquaintance "virtual", even if the person doesn't live across the ocean. Anyway, I'm hardly ever the first one to suggest exchanging phone numbers - but this time I've been kind of wondering if perhaps I should... and then - lo and behold - she beat me to it.;) I have to say that discussing fanfic over the phone still feels sort of unreal; but it's awesome nonetheless.:) Those 45 minutes certainly went by very quickly...:D

And now, I need to catch up on sleep. I was either too excited or too cold last night to manage more than about 5 hours, and as a result I've been nursing a headache. I know I'm behind on comments, but I'll get there. Hopefully after I return from my next movie trip tomorrow...

So, on Saturday have my chiropractic appointment in the morning, and in the afternoon I'm taking a ride downtown to see that crazy lesbian movie that lasts three hours.:) (Check two posts down if you have no idea what I'm talking about, LOL.) I am also about to get my period any day now - and I sort of really want it to happen on Sunday, because that's the only day I don't have to be anywhere... but I am well aware that's not how things usually work.:/ I will most likely get it on Monday, since that's the day my boss is supposed to return to the office after her prolonged medical leave - and so it would be a very awkward day to call in sick. Especially considering the fact that I have already scheduled the following Thursday AND Friday off, to see more movies. Of course, it's also possible that my period won't even start till the middle of next week, since I don't really "feel it coming" yet - except for the intense and slightly manic mood I'm in, LOL. Well... I somehow managed not to call in sick at all last month, so let's hope I won't have to this time, either. *crosses fingers*

But what I'm really saying is I don't know if I'll have the time and/or energy to post this weekend. So in case I don't, I'm checking in now to say that all is well, if a little hectic at the moment.;)

Pleased to announce that film festival plans have been made.:) I am actually going to see five movies, starting with a Special Presentation of Blue Is the Warmest Color, which won this year at Cannes. And which just happens to be a lesbian love story.:D The movie lasts THREE HOURS, btw, so I am not quite sure what I was thinking (there's NO WAY I can endure 3 hours without a bathroom break) - but I ordered the ticket already, since they're showing it only once and I was afraid it might sell out quickly; so I guess I'll worry about the particulars when the day comes, LOL. That's Saturday the 12th. Then, the following week, I am taking Thursday and Friday off to go to matinees, since those are only $5.00 each (the Special Presentation ticket cost me $20 + extra fees for ordering online, so I want to keep the rest of the fun low-profile, LOL). A friend of mine is going with me to one of these, by the way. It's a Polish film about a Gypsy poet, whom I remember hearing about as a child - my parents used to have some analog records by various Gypsy bands/artists from all over Europe, and one of them was a Polish singer, whose songs I absolutely loved. Both the melodies and lyrics were very beautiful; and I think at least some of those lyrics were written by the poet in question. I don't know much about her, except for the name, so I am quite curious to see this film and find out more. It's bound to be a lovely trip down memory lane... Incidentally, there are several Polish films shown at the festival this year, and TWO of them are about gay men (including one about a gay CATHOLIC PRIEST). This is UNHEARD OF. I am more than a little stunned... LOL. I probably won't see both, but I would like to catch one at least. As well as an Argentinian psychological drama that sounds interesting. So yes, I'll be having culture by the bucket.;)

But speaking of movies - I just saw another rare gem on Netflix. ( Read more... )

Another weekend. I don't really have any news, aside from the fact that my boss is doing fine after the surgery, and has probably been released from the hospital by now. Of course, she won't be back at the office till October, so work's been very quiet. I mean, there's plenty of stuff to do, but there's no rushing around and being interrupted by "special projects". Which is just fine by me... LOL.

Also, it's that time of the month, and once again my body can't seem to decide whether my period has actually started or not.:/ ( Read more... )

Again, just a brief check-in because I feel bad about not being a very active LJ-er of late. I do read my flist, by the way - but I'm afraid I won't be doing much commenting in the forseeable future, unless someone posts something that absolutely REQUIRES a comment. Like I mentioned before, there has been a lot going on at my favorite comm over on Dreamwidth; and I'd rather invest my time in keeping up with that, because that's where my heart is at the moment.:) ( Read more... )

Happy Birthday, meathiel! Here's a nice pic for you:



All in black. Gothy Viggo, if you please.;)

Also, I may or may not have mentioned this, but the DreamWidth community for Vampire Chronicles fans has livened up a bit, and I check it out pretty much every day, so as not to miss anything. So if I am unusually quiet over here, this may be why.

Another reason may be that I have started watching Lost. I know, I know - it's over now, and everybody saw it ages ago. But I don't really "do" TV shows, and had no plans to change that - until my sister started bugging me to give this one a try. See, my sister is the one who originally "got me" into Anne Rice. Then into LOTR. Then into other gothic/fantasy authors, like Tanith Lee or Jacqueline Carey. So yeah... when my baby sis insists I am going to like something, she is usually right (she may not even realize what sinister depths of obsession I plunge into with some of her recs once I take the bait... LOL).

Anyway... Netflix has it all, and individual episodes are short enough that I can actually watch them on weeknights, without compromising my sleep schedule (unless I can't make myself press "pause" after one episode ends, because most of them end on cliffhangers... LOL). So that's what I've been doing. But I'll try not to neglect LJ too much, I promise.:)

So what's new here? Well, for one, I'm roasting, like much of the northern hemisphere at the moment. My room is a perfect little toaster oven, with the sun beating down on the windows from about 5 till 8 p.m. every day. The curtains are drawn, the A/C unit is roaring, and it still feels swampy. Oh joy. *wipes brow*

Oh, and I broke the big standing fan in the kitchen. It was always in the way, and I kept tripping over the metal crossbars that support it, and they gradually got bent out of shape, and finally one day the whole thing just crashed to the floor, and now it's dead.:/ Just in time for the massive heatwave we're having.:| I could buy a new one, of course - but lugging such a huge thing around without a car is really too much of a hassle, and a smaller one isn't going to help much anyway. The waist-high tower fan I put next to my bed at night (still need it, even with the A/C running) isn't strong enough to make any difference in the kitchen - so the kitchen has basically become a no-go zone. And the bathroom is a steam-room, of course - so unless I'm taking a cool shower, I rather try not to spend too much time in there, either.

Oh, and last night I blew the power circuit, because apparently I can't have my electric kettle AND the A/C unit on at the same time.:/ ( Read more... )

As you may have gathered from the above, there isn't much going on here at the moment. I might just as well attempt another installment of the neverending 30-day meme...

( Day 28 - Something that you miss, in great detail )

Just a brief check-in today, to repost something I found on Tumblr. This was written by someone who is a professor of literature. Here's what they think about fanfiction:

( I think fanfiction is literature and literature, for the most part, is fanfiction, and that anyone that dismisses it simply on the grounds that it’s derivative knows fuck-all about literature and needs to get the hell off my lawn. )

Looks like it's time for another segment of the "how I fail at life" series.:/ Our office closed early today, as it usually does before major holidays - so I decided to do something fun with the evening for once and go to the movies. There is this new film by Neil Jordan, called Byzantium, which just started playing last weekend. You know, Neil Jordan directed Interview with the Vampire. And The Crying Game. And Breakfast on Pluto. So he is very much a cult figure for me. Also, this new one happens to be about vampires (Jordan's personal take on the theme), and several people at the "vc_media" community on DreamWidth have either seen it already or are planning to - so I will actually have someone to discuss it with. Which might be the main reason I want to see it ASAP - otherwise I'd probably wait patiently for the DVD. But if there are discussions at the comm in the near future, I want to be able to participate without having to worry about getting "spoiled".;) So I actually dragged myself to a different part of the city in order to see it.

( But here's where the failure part begins. )

So, the plumber DID show up today. Around 5:30 p.m.:/ When I called the building management office in the morning, they said they had someone scheduled to come here TOMORROW. Yes, tomorrow. I was almost ready to scream, or burst out crying, when I heard that - and it must have shown in my voice, because the woman I talked to put me on hold for a few minutes, and then returned saying that someone will come this afternoon. Still, it was another day of waiting, another day off stress, since I didn't know what time he was going to arrive (if at all - I didn't have much reason to trust in whatever they said anymore, did I?...).

While I was waiting, my brother-in-law called me and said that he has a friend who works in building management, and that said friend explained to him how according to Chicago laws any maintenance problem reported by a tenant has to be fixed by the landlord within 72 hours - otherwise the tenant has a right to deduct $100 from his rent for each subsequent day during which the problem has not been taken care of. ( I didn't know about this, of course - but I do now.:) )