oh look!

Oh look! I haven't written in ever. What a surprise... Will make it a goal to post this week or next. For those of you in the cheap seats holding your breath.

Canyon Road

Stepping into Canyon Road on 76th and 1st is a treat. On a blistery winter evening, you come in from the wind to a warm décor of wooden bars and ceilings with wrought iron chandeliers and antler decorations that make you feel like you’re in Santa Fe. It’s an instantly comforting place that invites you to sit by the bar up front for a frozen margarita, despite the cold outside.
The pomegranate margarita was delicious, sweet (but not too sweet) and simple, and fresh. The food was light for Mexican, and inventive – the spinach, goat cheese, mixed pepper and mushroom enchilada was a perfect and unboring vegetarian dish, while the goat cheese and poblano chile quesadilla looked equally delicious. Whether with friends or a date, the fun, but slightly sophisticated spot should make for a great evening (but warning: the third margarita is definitely a bad idea).

http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/canyon-road/menus/main.html

Amused by my first week of diligently packing lunch

And also running for a Ginger Ale.
Having recently moved back into the city, I have been attempting to keep a strict budget with myself. Other than an impromptu trip to Brother Jimmy's last night and an ill-advised, but worthwhile, shopping spree at Duane Reade following (my friend, who turned into my personal shopper, managed to find me tupperware, band-aids, razors and floss before I made it past the Dove section of the aisle hunting for a cheap color protectant shampoo -- it was hard to do after a few beers!), I have been doing well keeping to this budget. I went shopping at Food Emporium the week I moved in and I am determined to eat every last bit of food I got instead of going out or ordering in -- the last time I lived on my own, I struggled with shopping for one person. Peppers went uneaten, tomatos went rotten, milk sat unused, etc, in favor of the local sushi delivery. Which leads me to today's lunch. I'd made it before I had my coffee, which is always a bad idea. It became just another form of snoozing. I meant to just pack a can of tuna, a pepper and some bread to prepare once I got to work, but then I saw making the sandwich as an opportunity to delay getting into the shower. I started chopping up pepper with no particular plan, and then thought hey, that tomato should go in too... opened the can of tuna with no mayo to be found, and threw it all together in a bowl. Thought toasting the bread would be good too. I tried to put the odd concoction into the bread but it barely fit. Tuna and peppers sprayed everywhere. I stared at the sandwich, wanting to throw it out but I knew I'd come too far for that (at this point, it was making me late for work). So I threw it in a ziploc bag and hoped for the best. Now here I sit, discreetly trying to fork a piece of tuna from a Ziploc bag and hoping nobody at my office sees this. I'm going to the gym later and suspect I will pay for this budget-sandwich by passing out on the spin bike.

Even Devon Sawa is addicted to texting

I know this because he was sitting directly in front of me last night at the world premiere of Valkyrie, leaving me to wonder: Who on earth has Devon Sawa slighted to get put up here in the cheap seats with me and my friend, esteemed as we are?

While I wasn't staring at the back of the former teen star's head, admiring each blond hair perfectly in place, I had some time to watch the new Tom Cruise vehicle, directed by Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men). From the start, the movie has the feel of those BIG war movies; ones that perhaps could have been made in the 1940s, with big explosions, bulletted alerts to the location and year at the opening of each scene, planes soaring over views of North Africa, or Berlin, or the Eastern Front in Russia. It tells of the real-life failed attempt (one of 15) on the life of Adolf Hitler, rife with the Titanic effect (ie, maybe this time the ship won't sink... maybe this time in history they will kill him!) so you're on the edge of your seat most of the movie, despite the grim certainty that you kind of know how this all will end.

Tom Cruise is resolute and determined as Colonel Stauffenberg, a dissolusioned German soldier driving the assasination plot forward. His performance is OK, but I think used the physical limitatations of the character as too much of a crutch--as moving as it was to watch Cruise painstakingly button his shirt after losing a hand and three fingers to a bomb blast, struggling with a physical handicap does not an actor make. Stauffenberg also lost his left eye, which is used as a clever stage device for the film, such as when he drops his plastic eye in a co-conspirator's drink as a signal. It's also used for dramatic effect when, three quarters of the movie in, he turns slowly while shaving and the full injury is revealed up close. It's ironic, too, that for much of the movie Stauffenberg is the only one that really sees what's going on -- the evil around them, Germany's honor lost, the true stakes of their plot.

With memorable turns by Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Eddie Izzard, the movie is worth forking over $10 for over the holiday season, but I doubt we'll see it in the Oscar one.

Slumdog Millionare

Best movie of the year.
Slumdog Millionare, Brit director Danny Boyle's (Trainspotting) latest, takes us on a tour of modern-day India through the memories of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), an office worker who has just won millions of dollars on the program, "Who Wants to Be A Millionare?" Since he is just a "slumdog," his honor is challenged and he is accused of cheating and questioned by police. The interrogation reveals a tapestry of events in Jamal's young and tragic life, woven together by screenwriter Simon Beaufoy (based on the novel Q&A, by Vikas Swarup), that contains clues as to where this young man found the answers. The result is a beautiful, heartbreaking and ultimately redemptive story of love and survival in a brutal world.

It's not you, it's me

It isn’t working. And if I’m honest with myself, it never was.

We got together last March when his predecessor, a small blue Pantech, lost his head. I'd had high hopes for that one -- I nicknamed him Zoolander phone, because it looked like the one Zoolander had in that movie. But he was too small to live, though we had some good times together. For awhile, I tried taping both halves of his body together, but eventually, there was nothing anyone could do.

They said this one – a Nokia – was my only option, since the Zoolander was no longer being made. I’m not one to settle, but it seemed like all a girl of my means could do.

I hoped for the best. I tried to ignore his weird habits, like delivering my texts days after they were sent, only dialing out on his terms, always being tired (he's had a hard day), sometimes not letting my calls through (he's just protective, and a little jealous!) but it wasn't easy. I felt he was too masculine, with his big brute exterior, big buttons and even larger font.

I felt like he never suited me.

We reached the last bar, if you will, when the offenses became just too obvious. I would call out, and though I could hear who I called, they couldn't hear me. I was constantly taking his battery out and putting it back in; it was exhausting. I missed a few important calls, and friends thought i was ignoring them. What if there was an emergency?

It was with this resolute understanding I took him to 42nd and 5th yesterday. I’d stopped into another Cingular (excuse me, AT & T) the day before, flirting with the idea of leaving him there and ending it for good. I would cut my losses and run. But it turned out there was hope: the salesman believed I was under my warranty. I could trade him in for a new model, just like a man having a mid-life crisis! Just go to 42nd and 5th he said. I felt like I was sent to see the wizard.

I signed in at the magical 42nd and 5th cell phone repair center and waited for thirty minutes. The crowd was like the one you would find at a tow center: a sad, sorry lot, knowing they are about to get ripped off. Sighs filled the air. But not me, I had hope. A young, bespectacled man with a moustache asked if he could help.

“Yes, my phone’s not working, I understand I may be eligible for a new one since it is still within my warranty?” He went to type on his computer.


“It’s never worked," I added. "Not since I got it.” He looked back up at me patiently. I told him everything – the disappointment I felt, the betrayal, and that I didn’t ask for much, just the ability to receive calls, and that this phone just seemed incapable of even that. I didn’t even want internet! When I was finished, he looked back down at his computer.


“I’m sorry ma’am, but this is a refurbished phone. The warranty is up after 90 days.”

I stood, and tried to not to show my sinking heart. "But... I never even wanted him. He was all they would give me."


Spectacles was sympathetic, but unmoved. Was I at least eligible for a free upgrade?

“No, it says here you’re not.”

I wanted to say more, but realized there was nothing left to say. It was over. I turned to go, and he called after me. I stopped, and turned around.

"Theres a store, right down the block, if you want to try that one. Maybe the computer’s wrong, maybe you can get that upgrade.”

I saluted him, and walked to the next store.

New Salesman on 41st and 5th was talking to someone, but asked if he could help me. I explained I needed a new phone, trying to shake off the dejection I still felt. As he took me to the section, I saw one that looked exactly like the one I had.

“No!" I said, shuddering. "Nothing like this one. I don’t care what it is, just nothing like this one. Not even the brand."

He gave me the same look the last man had.

We walked back to the computer where he, too, informed me I was not due for an upgrade yet. I could go to Best Buy, he suggested, and buy one of these (his arm waved over to the section of darkness, where they all looked chillingly like the one I had) but then would be charged $100 for them to activate it. I could get a new phone now, but anything that didn't look like the piece of crap I had was hundreds. Could I just cancel and go somewhere else? No, that would cost me too.


How much do I have to keep giving when I'm getting nothing back? I’d done everything right, I told him – paid my bills on time, charged him when he needed it, never got him wet...but I couldn’t win. It wouldn't work. How much longer did I have to wait for what I needed?

March 30, 2009, said the salesman.

Saturday Medley

On Saturday, after having two cavities filled, I tried to dull my mild existential unease at having to face uncomfortable and physically painful moments throughout life by hunkering down in front of the television.

On this rainy day, I found my attention split between Kramer vs. Kramer and Reign Over Me, neither of which I'd seen before. I always think it's interesting watching movies in this sort of context (laying on your couch, not totally committed), as opposed to the focused attention you'll give something you paid ten bucks for, or rented for an evening.

Reign Over Me was really good in that subtle, Saturday morning way. It may not have been the best pick for trying to feel better about life, as one of the main characters, Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler), is suffering from post-traumatic stress after losing his wife and three daughters in one of the plane crashes on 9/11. When his former roommate from dental school, Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle) runs into Charlie, he's saddened to see what the loss has done to his old friend -- Charlie is barely functioning in society, living in a bubble world that is guarded by his landlady and accountant, the only people he lets in, despite repeated attempts from his former in-laws to be in his life. He can't face the memory of his family, or the horrifying circumstances of their death.

Alan is also intrigued by the life Charlie has set up for himself, a solitary life based on scootering through the streets of New York, Mel Brooks comedy movies, and video games. His wife even accuses him of being jealous of Charlie's freedom.

Their rekindled friendship cracks open a window out Charlie's world, and he begins to experience life a little more, which doesn't always bring the best consequences. Alan changes too, recognizing in himself the ways that he too has shut people out.

Adam Sandler's performance was great... at times heartbreaking, at times funny. When he is finally able to talk to his wife's parents, telling them it's easier for them because they still have eachother, and that he sees his family everywhere, which is why he doesn't need to talk about it, my numbed face came very close to showing emotion. And then when he said, "I even see the dog. A german shepard walks in I see a poodle. That's how f-ed up I still am" (referring to the family dog, who was also on board), I shed a tear (from the active, left side of my face.)

Kramer vs. Kramer, a classic, was also quite good. I only saw the last twenty minutes which I think is enough for me to confidently say I agree that Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep are fine actors! And that kid was damn cute.

Also, soundtrack to Reign Over Me was amazing! Charlie uses his headphones to tune out the world and has a great choice of stuff to do it with. Really liked the Springsteen, and the Pretenders song, Stop Your Sobbing.