So, last weekend was a four-day weekend for me, because I’d taken Fri/Mon off for my birthday trip to Provincetown. Which I cancelled due to weather. It was the right call, but *sigh*
Friday was the birthday itself. Sixty-two, woo-hoo. I’d had dinner out with Miss Tessa on Tuesday, and have another one with Renee this week (possibly having to maneuver around rehearsal). But all I did on Friday was eat, goof around on the internet and go to the movies. I did my traditional ‘go to the diner and eat waffles’, which is always lovely. Then headed home and had a nice phone call with my dad.
I didn’t go to three movies in a row, but did decide to go to Astoria and see The Odyssey. As I’d said, I really wasn’t interested in the story per se, but everyone who’d seen the movie had said, ‘yes, you should see it’ and of course it will be a big Oscar contender. I really liked it a lot! Nice acting in it and how nice to see faces like John Leguizamo. I was super impressed with Anne Hathaway. Did not recognize Robert Pattinson at all. Oh, so that’s Tom Holland. And Matt Damon is always really good. It occurs to me now that although MD has never been a ‘heartthrob’ so much as just a good-looking young man, and then a good-looking man, his career is pretty much on the level of Tom Cruise’s, and unlike TC, he’s not a total weirdo. Bottom line is that MD is just a really good actor and it’s great to watch him in good material.
The movie itself was fun to watch, although the second odyssey scene where they come on shore and there’s a child and then they get routed by really large guys – wasn’t sure why that was different from the Cyclops stuff. Loved Emily Mortimer’s scene. And was grateful that just as my attention started to flag, the movie’s pace really picked up in the last hour.
So… anyway, yes, The Odyssey, worth the trip.
Went home and picked up the birthday cake I’d ordered for myself. I know, you can get a slice of cake practically anywhere, but the bakery a block away, which is otherwise unmemorable, makes really good birthday cakes and I wanted one. I ordered the smallest they had, chocolate icing, vanilla cake and cannoli filling. And icing roses. What I got was that, but no roses, strawberries instead. I was like, where did these come from? I think it was a language barrier thing during the ordering process – I said, ‘yeah, it’s fine, but I didn’t order them and I’m just going to pick them off’.
Then when I had dinner at the Q, I mentioned to the waiter (who knows me) that it was my birthday, and they ended up bringing me a pumpkin creme brulee with a candle which was very sweet in more ways than one, and then I didn’t want cake. But the next day, I quartered the cake, froze three of the quarters, and ate the rest over two days. (and am now working on the 2nd quarter. yum) My niece send me a bunch of individually-wrapped gourmet cookies, which were tasty (note the past tense) and I got gift certificates and a book from my dad and brother. So that was all very nice.
I spent the next three days cooped up at home, for the most part, waiting for exciting scary weather and just getting dreary weather for the most part, although I know other local regions really got hit bad with flooding and so on. Did a lot of home projects, getting caught up, and even ahead of schedule, like uninstalling the air conditioners and moving them down to the storage closet.
(oh, not part of the weekend, but I did finally get the guest room toilet fixed. That was a journey in terms of actually getting our super to come up and look at it, but through persistence and a well-timed visit to the co-op office to ask for the name of a plumber (which the super overheard), I got him to come up, and an hour later it was fixed and didn’t cost too much, huzzah. )
I mentioned before that my office’s book and movie clubs were doing a joint project about The Talented Mr. Ripley, so I rented that and watched it for the first time since C and I watched it probably not long after it came out. I’d remembered liking it, and that it took place in sunny Europe, but that was about it. So suddenly we have baby-face Matt Damon, cute as a button and yet appropriately creepy. And, unlike on the first watch, I’ve now actually been to many of the sunny European locals, so I was like, “oh, they’re at the Spanish Steps” or “oo, the Piazza San Marco” and so on. The movie takes liberties with the book, including adding a totally new character played by Cate Blanchett, but all those changes make sense and Blanchett is wonderful and it’s a super good movie. I understand the ending is different from the book, and I’m still reading the book, so we’ll see. But definitely worth the effort for both. This past week, we had the ‘discussion’ meeting at work after the screening last week (which I’d missed) and that was really fun too. I like my co-workers and will miss them once I leave.
In other news, 1776 is now completely blocked, that’s cool. My role is very prop-heavy, I spend half my time figuring out where things are supposed to be at any given moment. Also, my director has very nicely quashed my tendency to make up dialogue to go along with my movements (ex: “I’ll get you a chair.”). I guess that’s fine with public-domain G&S, but might actually land us in hot water with MTI. Pity, when Hopkins drops the mug of rum, I had been joking with Lauren that I should say, “What, you want me to hold it for you?”
I didn’t get the big spring project, but that’s just as well. I will be busy figuring out My New Life, no more stumbling out of bed or cups of ambition.
