Floating Leaf

So, I went to see a good friend of mine last night, and she suggested we watch a movie she had just rented. The History Boys. A British comedy about teachers, and high school students trying to get to Oxford & Cambridge. I said OK, basically to humor my friend, who is a teacher herself. I had no slightest inkling the movie was going to turn out this good. Basically, we were both totally floored by it. Just... O. M. G. Totally fucking brilliant (or 'brill', as the Brits would say ;). The dialog was killer (I LOVE British humor, give it to me anytime, I just adore the way it makes my brain work to catch the punch line... LOL), the portrayal of characters refreshingly honest, and the whole story just rocked the foundations of social bigotry down to the very core. I don't want to give any spoilers, but let me just say, as an incentive, that The Gay in this movie is not only a subtle undercurrent, but a powerful driving force, moving the plot along all on its own... LOL. So run to see it, folks, when you have the opportunity, and then come back here to discuss it with me.:D

( And, to top off the review... )

And now I gotta get my ass in gear, because I'm meeting akashaelfwitch for another round of POTC:AWE fangirling in about two hours.:) (After last night's dose of brainy entertainment, I'm just in the mood for some pretty Orlando and his unsurprisingly 'Aragornish' facial expressions worn to match the nice burgundy pirate shirt.;D) And then another friend - the one I saw last night - wants to drag me to some lesbian bar or cafe (a quiet place, I hope, because crowded dance floors somehow no longer hold the appeal they had for me a few years back...). OMG... what a weekend. *wipes brow* ;)

First day back at work after my unplanned sick leave, and everyone says I still sound awful. They should have heard me try to speak five days ago... lol.

Anyway... I spent most of the weekend hanging out with akashaelfwitch, watching movies. Yesterday was the annual Gay Pride Parade... but I didn't go. Even though a good friend of mine was planning on going, and called me to ask if I would join her. We went together last year, and it was great - but somehow this time the prospect of having to elbow my way through a crowd of sweaty strangers on a hot summer's day didn't seem half as appealing.:( Besides, it was Sunday morning, and my idea of a Sunday morning doesn't include getting up early and going out. On the contrary, it includes sleeping in, reading in bed, taking my time checking email & LJ over breakfast, which is then followed by a long bath... so by the time I'm dressed and ready to face the world, it's usually late afternoon.:) That's the main appeal of a Sunday for me, and apparently even a gay parade isn't enough incentive to change it any more. Which probably means that I'm becoming more and more antisocial/reclusive/lazy/set in my evil ways as I get older... *ponders*

In other news, apparently if you happen to be a 'legal alien' in the US and have a valid green card (which I do), you don't need a passport to go to Canada. You just present said green card at the airport and they let you in. Seems kinda strange, especially since regular US citizens need a passport; but that could be because a simple state ID/driver's license doesn't carry as much legal weight as a passport, while a permanent resident card certainly does (for one, you could never get it without having a valid passport AND a visa in the first place, so...). Anyway... in that case, I can safely plan for Toronto; provided that my vacation request is approved, of course (which it should be; unless someone else from my department asks for a vacation at the same time, which would be an evil coincidence indeed). So... keeping my fingers crossed on that account. *smiles hopefully*

Snagged from rainweaver13, again. Different result this time.:)

What color is your soul painted? Grey Your soul is painted the color grey, which embodies the characteristics of elegance, humility, respect, reverence, stability, subtlety, wisdom, strong emotions, balance, and cancellation. Grey falls under the element of Water, and symbolizes the moon, tide, ebb and flow. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

In other news, still feeling like shit. Or possibly worse.:( And guess what? My doctor is on vacation. Until the middle of July. *frustrated growl* And yes, there is another doctor covering for her, but she can see me no earlier than Wednesday afternoon. Hah. By then, I figure I'm going to either die, or recover all by myself.:D

( So what have I been doing today? )

Snagged from rainweaver13. And, again, we got the same result.:)
Not that my writing could ever come close to either hers or Virginia Woolf's... BUT. The 'inside my own head' focus is definitely there.:P




In other news, I am FINALLY going to see POTC:AWE tomorrow. With akashaelfwitch, who has seen it four times already (ahhh, the sacrifices we sometimes make for our friends... ;D). Yes, I had to wait for her to come to Chicago again, because none of the few friends I have here would even consider seeing a Disney movie.:P And I can't really explain to them why I want to see it - not without going into the whole slash thing. Because otherwise I probably wouldn't want to see it either. Btw, I just pictured myself saying something along the lines of: Yes, I want to see this movie for Orlando - not because I fancy him, but because I think Viggo does. Heh. I bet the look on some of my friends' faces would be priceless.:D

Also, my throat feels extremely dry, constricted and scratchy for some reason. I keep drinking water and hot tea with large amounts of honey, and still it doesn't get any better. Could it be some infection?... Last time I got a nasty larynx inflammation that lasted a week and required antibiotics, it was also the height of summer. I hope this one is just a side effect of my allergies, or possibly air conditioning, which does make the air extremely dry - but I have a feeling it might be something worse. I woke up this morning feeling like I had spent weeks in the Sahara...LOL.

( another random topic change under the cut )

So, it seems that the big LJ suspension scare is over. I was nervous there for a moment, even though my most questionable interest is probably "elladan/elrohir" - provided, of course, that the anti-freak police knows who they are and realizes they are actually brothers.:P Very fictional brothers, and certainly very mature (hundreds of years old... LOL), but still. I'm sure some people might possibly be offended at the idea of them having a sexual relationship. But then, some people seem offended by the very existence of gays, lesbians or transgendered individuals - which, of course, does not mean that said individuals should pretend not to exist. It is not possible to please everyone, and LJ is definitely not the place to start trying, IMHO.

That said, I sincerely hope I don't get suspended because I posted a few little ficlets implying twincest between Tolkien's characters. In fact, will probably post another one in the near future (if the muses continue to cooperate).:P

I have contemplated going "friends only" - but there are reasons I don't want to do that, so I'd rather wait until it becomes absolutely necessary. It's kind of sad that some people have to do that, IMO. Even if I totally understand why. I just used to think that LJ was this wonderfully open community, where you met new friends just because you were "out there" on the web... and well. Uhm. Yeah. It sort of isn't anymore. *sigh*

( In other totally irrelevant news: )

OK. Time for another movie recommendation. For those who enjoy angst, drama and romance without a happy ending. And no, I don't think this is a spoiler - because when you put together topics such as World War II, gays and concentration camps, then a happy ending just doesn't fit into the mix (unless it's an American movie - which it luckily isn't ;). Anyway. A Love to Hide, by Christian Faure. Paris, 1942. Two guys are trying to keep their long-term relationship secret, while at the same time hiding a young Jewish girl, who happens to be in love with one of them. As if that wasn't enough, the same one also has a young, foolish, temperamental and jealous brother, who doesn't know about the gay thing, but is in love with the girl. Needless to say, drama abounds. And finally the lovers are torn apart.

( Read more... )

In other news, I have been exercising/taking walks (very brisk walks, to the accompaniment of lively music from my iPod) EVERY DAY since last weekend (by which I mean the PREVIOUS weekend). Go me. I still feel like a wimp for getting tired so easily, but I don't let that stop me. I know I must be either weaker or heavier (or possibly both) since I last did some of those exercises, because they still seem more difficult than they used to - but that only means it's high time to go at them, while I still can.:P

Speaking of which - my LJ-time for tonight is up. See you guys later. *waves a friendly hand and disappears*

Wanna hear a funny story? Okay. So I emailed my ex-roommate again last night about that customer code I need in order to access my Yahoo mail. It took a lot for me to actually write that email, since she had totally ignored the two previous ones; but I figured I might try again, just to be sure I had done all I could to retrieve that mailbox before Yahoo wipes it out (which, I assumed, would happen in about two weeks). So I very calmly and politely informed her that I never meant any offence against her, regardless of what she might think, and that I would really appreciate that small helpful gesture. And guess what? She wrote back today, telling me very calmly and cheerfully that she has no intention whatsoever of giving me access to her internet account, and that it was actually her who changed my password after I moved out. Why? Because I don't live with her anymore. Period.

I was speechless. I just couldn't believe it. Not that she would do it, but that she would take almost three fucking months to even let me know. And then say it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I swear I almost blew a fuse (and it takes a LOT to make me angry). But since I pride myself on being very calm and collected, I somehow controlled my murderous rage and wrote her back in polite language, saying that all I care about is MY PRIVATE EMAIL and that, since she doesn't want to give me access to the AT&T account, maybe she could create a separate free account and transfer the contents of my Yahoo mailbox to it - and then give me the password to that. And since I felt really uncomfortable asking her for any favors, I said I wasn't expecting her to do that for me out of the goodness of her heart, but was willing to pay her for it. It wasn't meant as an insult - though I admit I didn't care much whether she might get offended or not. It wasn't like I had anything more to lose, anyway.:(

And she wrote back right away, telling me very haughtily that I was audacious to even suggest this and that she doesn't wish for me to try contacting her any more.

Very well. Not that I intended to, anyway. She pretty much told me all I needed to know.:/

Arrogant, vindictive bitch. I hope she chokes to death on her overwhelming sense of righteousness and superiority. I am audacious, because I think I have the right to demand access to my private email, which she has arbitrarily denied me without so much as a warning. If this is some sick idea of revenge for that stupid drain clog, which she thought I was responsible for, than I have indeed underestimated her sweet personality to cosmic proportions. See, my problem is that I always want to believe in the goodwill of other people. And when someone like that shows their true colors, I am stunned. Because I know I just wouldn't do that to her, had our roles been reversed - no matter how many drains I thought she might have clogged, intentionally or not. But that's just me - the eternal fool. Watch, world, and laugh.

And that's the end of tonight's accidental entertainment. *sigh*

Had a lovely evening yesterday with some fellow slashers at Anime Con (I wasn't really involved in the Con itself or anything, but since it happened in one of Chicago suburbs, I made a guest appearance :). Got to see akashaelfwitch, namarie120, elvishlady09, helynhighwater and agrotora. Checked out some interesting yaoi manga and was reminded of my once-great love for Dany & Dany.:) And will probably order their newest book as a result (because the characters look even MORE like Louis & Lestat than ever before... LOL). Hell, I didn't even know some of their old comics are now available in English (I have two in Italian, one with a separately sent English translation and one without). Haven't checked out their website in what feels like forever. I'm not very big on manga in general, but Dany & Dany's drawings are just SO elegant... *points at icon with a dreamy sigh*

Eh... no more. Must catch some sleep now (went to bed very late last night, didn't wake up too rested this morning as a result). Work tomorrow.:(

So, the doctor looked me over today, and one of the first things she said, even before taking a blood & urine sample, was that I needed to lose some weight. Bah. Like I didn't know that already. *pouts*

She also said that 'knowing' wasn't enough. Hmphhh. Guess she's right.:/

On the up side, though, I only paid a $20 co-pay, since it apparently qualified as a wellness/preventive care visit. So far, so good. Now they are gonna do some tests, and hopefully give me some answers. I don't know if the tests are included in the co-pay, or if they're gonna send me a bill later. I guess I'll find out.:)

BUT, regardless of that, I am getting $600 back on my tax return!!! YAY! :D

Oh, and btw, last Saturday some idiot drove right into my back bumper. It cracked under the impact and is dangling stupidly now, making this annoying rattling noise. Oh, the joys of city traffic. *scowl* The guy seemed really embarrassed and apologetic about it, so I'm hoping he gave me his REAL phone number and will pay for the repair like he said he would. Not that I wouldn't have better things to do with my time than visit an auto body shop next weekend.:/

OK. End of stupid, pointless post. *shrug*

I finally mustered up the courage and made a doctor's appointment. To find out why my metabolism is so weird; namely, why I have to pee every hour or two and eat every three or four, or I feel like I might faint (or actually DO faint if I go out in the morning with an empty stomach, which I never do anymore, precisely because I fainted two or three times on such an occasion); as well as why I get nearly catatonic after a substantial meal (to the point of having to sneak out for a 10-15 minute nap on the toilet seat at work after lunch - otherwise I would be napping right there in front of my desk, in plain view of the entire office). The obvious explanation seems to be either diabetes or something related to it, which wouldn't be a big surprise, since I know at least one person on my father's side of the family was diabetic; but it could be something else too, and I'm just tired of the guessing game. Besides, I'm also incredibly tired of waking up 2-3 times a night to go the bathroom. So if there is some medication out there that would make my bladder slow down a bit, I am extremely willing to try it. Of course I will probably have to do a gazillion of tests that are going to cost a shitload of money even with insurance; but since I don't intend to go on like this forever, I might just as well take care of the problem while I DO have insurance - right? Not that I'm expecting to lose my job again or anything like that; but I didn't quite expect it the first or second time it happened, either. And I do tend to put things off ad infinitum sometimes... especially difficult, embarrassing or painful things, of course. But finally something snaps and I tell myself: okay, girl, that's enough. Get your act together. And so I did.

So, if anyone happens to be reading this and to still give a damn (I know my journal has been incredibly boring of late), please keep your fingers crossed that I'm not in some serious condition I should have told a doctor about years ago. And, more pressingly somehow, that I don't go bankrupt (my medical plan is a PPO, because an HMO wasn't available; moreover, it's a high-deductible PPO, because it takes the least amount of money off my check). Anyone who lives here in the US knows what I'm talking about... and the rest of the planet would just have to take my word that medical costs here are somewhat intimidating. To say the least. And I am not exactly the richest person around right now. *checks account balance and snickers at the understatement*

OK. Enough whining for tonight. Gotta eat AGAIN, as well as read some slash to pump up the mood.;)