On a precipice here (or at least I hope I am). As feared/hoped, I’m in the finals for two jobs and had an interview for each yesterday. Either would be fine, but I’m definitely leaning towards one. I will give details after it all resolves.
I’d forgotten to mention in the last post one key thing: I had a root canal. I guess the significant part is that it was such a not-big-deal that I forgot to mention it. Really, it was as painless as they can make something like that, and included a cute little animated video of what was about to happen to me. Since then, I haven’t really been in pain at all. (From my tooth anyway. Right now my hand fracture from last year is being a little ouchy, not sure why.) So… successful root canal. I have a followup with that guy next week, then I have to see my regular dentist for a crown (and a cleaning).
I also should schedule some other doctor’s appointments before (with luck) I start work again and have to switch medical insurance again for like the sixth time in two years.
Media consumption stuff: we finished Pose and are now into Season 2 of The Politician, which I don’t love, but it’s so bizarre and the casting is so terrific. Poor Ben Platt – he’s clearly subscribed to the ‘now that I’m on camera, I can never eat again’ philosophy, and I just want to make him eat a sandwich.
Knowing that this wouldn’t be C’s kind of thing, but taking advantage of our Disney Plus subscription while we have it, we’re also watching The Mandolorian. Again, don’t love it, but it’s fun (I like Westerns, C does not) and Baby Yoda is frikkin’ adorable. (I almost immediately ordered a couple of figurines for my desk.) Anyway, we only have 3 more of those to go. Might try Space Force next.
New movies that we definitely want to watch have sort of dried up, so I proposed a rewatch of the Harry Potter films. (He responded, “I think I would like that. In order?” Me: “No, dear, in some random order. YES, IN ORDER”) Turns out that it was exactly what we both needed. Halfway into movie #1 I was glowing like a light bulb, and I definitely heard sniffling from my quarantine companion at the end of movie #2. We’ll do two a weekend for the next three weekends, I guess.
I will say that Chamber of Secrets is my least favorite of the books and movies, but there is some really good stuff in there. The whole flying car thing I thought was really funny, particularly the car becoming sentient and hiding in the forest. But boy, the movie is clunky. For time reasons, they have to sort of throw in stuff with no adequate transition. Ron: “By the way, Harry, Happy Birthday”. (not a plot point, not necessary anyway, and they could have had the car pull up and have Ron say, “Hi, Harry, Happy Birthday”) Also, Riddle’s villain monologue about making Ginny do all the evil stuff comes out of nowhere. Clunky scripts and cuts. I maintain yet again that the books are ripe for a refilming, each as a miniseries, so they can breathe.
Books: I finished the Broken Earth trilogy. It’s amazing, but definitely will require a reread to get all the details and figure out what’s going on now that I know ‘the secrets’. (it’s still not entirely clear to me where Guardians came from) I think I will get it at some point as an audiobook and listen to it, which forces me to slow down and not skip and skim.
I also read a fun Jake Lassiter book, “Bum Luck” and have just started a Jack Reacher book, “Never Go Back”, which has already hooked me.
More M/M romance of course. I will say that you don’t necessarily realize how good the good authors are until you read one by a bad one. I won’t name the book, but I will say that the whole joy of a romance novel is seeing how you get from the meet-cute to the clothes-off part, and cheating on that means that the book is just not interesting.
But the good ones are really good. I read the 2nd and 3rd books in KJ Charles’s “Society of Gentlemen” series. Had been leery of, but very intrigued by, the second one, which involves an S&M relationship. An author who can make me understand the dynamics of such a relationship and make me sympathize with the characters has a job ahead of her, and this book does that in spades. It’s terrific, I adored it. The greatest bit is that the two characters, who are in sort of a ‘let’s meet every week and play kinky games’ relationship, have actually fallen in love with each other (neither knows it’s reciprocated), but don’t really have a good way to express it because it would contradict the scenario they have set up. The way it gets resolved is supremely satisfying.
Finally, a couple of videos.
and me, recreating my freshman fall piano jury.
Stay tuned for possible good news! (or much maudlin emoting of a not-good sort)
The Toast Point Page 