Chez Nous

So, Skaht and I finally found a new apartment. I estimate that we probably saw at least 20 places before we settled on this one. It feels good to know that we don’t have to search anymore.

Apartment hunting was a soul-sucking and angst-ridden activity that left me with an even worse distaste for real estate brokers (I already damned them all to Hell the last time I had to move.) Skaht and I agree that you have to be a complete asshole to want to be one of these people. A slimy, sleazy piece of crap.

Oh yeah, and most landlords suck too.

Searching for an apartment right now is difficult. Rents have gone up and apartment quality has gone way, way down. We’re talking major fire-trap, hasn’t been maintained in about 25 years bad. And the owners of those shit holes wanted way more than we pay for an ill maintained 1 bedroom right now.

Besides the inflated rents and shitty apartments, we were inconvenienced by the larger number of renters out there who were also looking. Since mortgages are more difficult to attain lately, a lot of people who would buy are renting instead. So we had to deal with the fact that if we found a place, we would have to make a quick decision about whether we should take it. On more than a few occasions, apartments that we were inquiring about were snatched up during the day before we could even leave work to view them.

I felt like I was going to crack after a while. One thing I learned from this process is that I need to learn more about patience from Skaht, because he kept us both sane during our search. He also stopped me from making a big mistake on a one bedroom in Davis Square that would have cost us the dreaded “Finder’s Fee” (even though I “found” the place on Craigslist…but, whatever.)

Anyway, this new place is a two bedroom, so it has a lot of space. The kitchen is all renovated with stainless steel and granite countertops. The bathroom was recently remodeled as well. The owner will accept Monkey, so at least we don’t have to put him in the dumpster on moving day (although we always could change our minds.)

I’m looking forward to living in a place that is somewhat new and nice. Hopefully we can get movers who will move us this weekend. Yay.

Still alive. Really!

Even though our lack of blog writing might lead one to believe that we are either dead or missing, fear not! Skaht and I are still here and doing well.

Monkey is doing well too, especially in the growing cat department. Only thing is, he’s already an adult so he’s not growing up any longer – just growing out, if you know what I mean (fatass.) Looks like we’ll have to reduce his food intake again which sucks because he will freak out and then I’ll feel like a horrible mommy. Oh well, it’s better to have a healthy cat making me feel guilty rather than a fat cat who will devastate me when his life is cut short by diabetes.

Let’s see, what have we been doing? We went to Florida and I got to meet Skaht’s parents and grandma. That was fun. We celebrated Surprise Day on February 10 (I’ll post Surprise Day gift photos soon) and Valentine’s Day. We did a lot of eating and hating on things, so that’s always fun too. We also came up with some new screenplay ideas involving Monkey which we still need to post one of these days. You’ll like those.

Our birthdays are coming up in March, so that should be interesting. We’ve got tickets to see The National and Morrissey and we are getting tickets for Mogwai/Twilight Sad in May and Depeche Mode in July. Besides that, there’s a slight possibility of a trip to Iceland, provided that we get our passports updated and that I still have a job in a few months (you never know.)

Sorry that this status report post is so damn boring. It’s like something I’d write for a manager. Sooner or later, one of us will return to this blog and write a post that is actually worth reading…if anyone reads this anymore. You do, right?

Life Right Now

I am officially sick of winter and I have a cold. It’s one of those “gotcha!” colds. A “gotcha!” cold is a cold that seems to completely go away after you’ve had it for a couple of days – only to come back with a vengeance when you least expect it to. I started feeling the symptoms of the cold back on Sunday, but on Tuesday it was pretty much gone and I was happy while I danced around Skaht, praising the curative effects of maximum doses of vitamin C. Then, all of a sudden, Wednesday morning rolls around and I woke up feeling like Monkey had run a cat-sized truck back and forth over my face as I slept. Last night was worse and I ended up not getting any sleep due to multiple coughing fits. Thankfully, Skaht slept okay through all of that fun.

Our dance class was cancelled last night since the weather was so bad (rain/snow storm.) In a way, I was good with that since I felt like crap. I’m excited to get back to class next week though because we will be learning the Waltz. We just wrapped up the Foxtrot and Skaht and I have been practicing here and there, so we are improving. After next week’s class, we’re off to Tampa where I’ll get to meet Mr.and Mrs. Sand and be happy that we are somewhere where it’s not 20 degrees out.

Oh, my inner dork has resurfaced and I decided to download a free 10 day trial of the latest Warcraft expansion called “Wrath of the Lich King.” It’s actually pretty awesome because there is a whole new class to play with called the Death Knights. You start off as a level 55 character and you get to chill with the Lich King who gives you some pretty bad-ass quests. The game play experience is really dark and you get to raid a village and kill people while they plead for their lives (that's actually a little difficult psychologically at times.) After you get to around level 58, the special Lich King sequence ends and you go back to the original Warcraft game in Ogrimmar. I’m at that point now and I’m starting to get bored, since I’ve already completed all of those quests with my old character. However, I might keep up with it because my Death Knight is totally pimped out and she can make corpses explode.

Um.

Surprise Day!

Yesterday was Surprise Day. This month, we both surprised each other with books.

I got Skaht "Inbound Volume 1" which is a book of comics from Boston writers.



Skaht got me "Oblivion" by David Foster Wallace.

Just like that Enigma song...

The Saint Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, MA allows women to stay at the end of each month for either a weekend or a week and I am contemplating a retreat there in October. You might have heard of the monks of Saint Joseph’s – they make Trappist Preserves. Trappist Preserves are the very best preserves in the whole wide world and while I was spreading some delicious Damson Plum on an English muffin this morning, I thought “hey, wouldn’t it be great to stay at a monastery some day?”

Skaht probably thinks I’m going a little crazy, wanting to stay at a religious institution and all. I am not a fan of organized religion and of course, if I were to stay at the monastery, there would be all kinds of religious things going on all around me. All the time. So, why go?

I’m kind of asking myself that right now. I’ll be honest and say that I’m not surprised by my excitement over such an endeavor. I have always had great respect for those who decide to live according to such strict principles. There is something that is so beautiful about living an ascetic life where you must live quietly, simply and in total submission to a higher power. That sense of devotion, which upholds everything, is an amazing thing.

It would be a really wonderful experience to live a similar life, just for a short while. I wouldn’t come back reformed and religious, I’m sure of that. But, I would learn a lot about devotion and self-sacrifice by watching others and taking part. From what I can tell, I’d have to be silent for the entire day and night, breaking silence only to sing at set times during the day. I’d wake up at 3:15am and go to bed at 8.

A monk is available for private talks at specific times and I would look forward to meeting with him. I’d be honest about where I stand on terms of religion, but I have a feeling that whoever I speak to wouldn’t be offended by it. I don’t feel that any of the brothers there would try to convert me. Hopefully, he would understand my desire to be there as just what it is. Even though I am opposed to much of what organized religion teaches, there is a part of me that is sometimes sad that I can’t believe in a higher power. It’s not that I won’t believe…it’s just that I can’t.

I am not looking for a way to have faith. I just want to know what it’s like to be around others who can. Maybe it’s because I tend to look down on religious people in general society and I want to be more open minded. The strange thing is that I don’t have that same prejudice when I think of ascetics; I hold them in high regard. Does that make sense to anyone? Is this way hokey for this blog?

Anyway, I made it a point in my calendar to call in April so I can ask about a spot in October. Hopefully I’ll be able to go and experience this new life for a short while and then I’ll come back to Skaht, who will undoubtedly take me out for cocktails in an effort to shake the dogma out of me. No worries, he won’t have to do that much to get me back the way I already am.

In related news, Skaht and I saw "Into Great Silence" a while ago. It's a documentary about the monks of Chartreuse. I thought that it was a great film. Here is the trailer:

Sure, I'll Post It

DISCLAIMER: Alright, I actually wrote and posted this film review a few days ago. However, I removed it because I think that the writing sucks and it's too long. I'm going to repost it though because I feel bad that Skaht and I have been lazy about updating this thing and I know that we have a few readers out there. So, here's my shitty post about a movie:

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It’s pretty rare when I feel compelled to write a film review. That’s mostly due to the fact that I don’t really like movies. However, if Skaht manages to have me sit through one and I like it then hey, great. If the movie sucks then we’ll probably discuss why it sucked, be done with it and there you go.

This time it’s different because, well, here I am writing a film review. Last night, we watched The Haunting (1999 version) and it was so retarded that I was inspired to actually think about it long enough to mention it here. Seriously. This film is retarded. Retarded.

…I like saying “retarded”.

Anyway, I’m going to provide spoilers here, so if you actually want to spend $5 at Blockbuster and rent this thing, stop reading. I don’t know why you’d want to do that, but hey, I’m warning you anyway.

At first glance, I was actually psyched to see this movie. It looked like a classic haunted house type of tale which I really like. So, when Skaht and I found it, it didn’t take long to figure out that this was the film that we would use our free rental coupon on. After a dinner of Christmas left-overs and white Zinfandel champagne, we put it into my trusty PlayStation 2 (it doubles as my DVD player) and got comfy on the couch.

Shortly after the movie begins, Eleanor (a woman who has been confined inside, taking care of her dying mother for years), gets a call from an unidentified person, informing her of a sleep study that she should participate in. The details are vague, but in the paper, she learns that she would receive room, board and a $900 stipend per week. Not too shabby!

Some insignificant stuff happens next and then before you know it, Eleanor is on the road to the location of the study. After driving to the destination and consulting her map, she figures out that the huge, hulking mansion/castle in front of her is the correct place. The first image of the mansion/castle was so massive and fake looking that I began to wonder if this movie would end up being a huge CGI cheesefest. As the movie kept going, I realized that I was right.

Eleanor meets the caretaker and his dour, old wife who quickly informs her that once the night comes, no one will be around to help her should she need any assistance IN THE DARK. The wife repeats the same foreboding phrase to Theo (the next study participant), after she arrives as well. Theo is more interested in showing Eleanor her Prada boots and playing out her clichéd New York bisexual hot girl vibe, so she doesn’t really pay much attention. After this scene, an annoying super-anxious guy shows up and this completes the arrival of the study participants.

The three study participants meet the doctor in charge of the study plus his two assistants. Both assistants leave the mansion and never come back after one of them receives a facial wound from some supernatural force. How they leave is a mystery as the gates have been locked shut by the caretaker (and they remain locked after everyone tries to escape later on.) The house itself is gigantic and ornate and very fake looking – with lots of trap doors, heavy sculptures and a revolving, mirrored ballroom. The three ‘patients’ take to their rooms and have a few questionable things happen (these are supposed to be scary things, but they aren’t.) and then they go to bed. Meanwhile, we learn that the doctor isn’t concerned with studying their sleeping habits. Rather, he is interested in learning about how they cope with fear. Wow, what a jerk!

As the movie drags on, creepy things start happening to Eleanor and everyone starts questioning her sanity. Then, they blame the doctor for rigging up the house to make them all scared when they learn about the true intention of the study. Things change, however, when the good doctor himself is almost drowned by a blood spewing fountain sculpture in the greenhouse – making it undeniable to everyone that the house is insane, not Eleanor.

As far as scary imagery goes, this film has none. It’s billed as a “shriek filled funhouse”, but what you get is a lot of cheesy special effects and laughable dialogue. Did you ever see Casper the Friendly Ghost? You know the movie, not the cartoon? Well, most of the spirits in this movie look like him. I’m not joking. Fun scenes like a comical beheading by a fireplace ornament and a battle between Eleanor and a highly digitalized hawk sculpture come-to-life are additional worthy moments.

Look, I praise a good horror film that relies on minimal gore and effects to instill a sense of fear. But, this movie was so full of mediocre computer generated “grabby hands” and moving sculptures that it began to make a real mockery of itself. The best part came near the end when we find out that Eleanor’s great-grandad is actually the asshole who built the house in the first place and his spirit still imprisons the legions of children he killed in his textile mills way back in the day. So, the whole reason she ends up there (we find out) is because the house “needs her to protect the children.” Um. Ok. Seriously, Monkey could write a better screenplay then this.