Explosive Donut

I’m running into a problem at the gym. Sometimes I’ll be watching a quality movie and out of nowhere, nudity. Before I can fast-forward the video, the guy (or worse, woman) next to me looks over and suddenly I’m the gym pervert.
Honestly, I’m not sure if anyone’s actually noticed this, but this is what I assume their reaction would be.
The first time was when I was watching “Sex, Lies, and Videotape”. I realize in hindsight that watching a movie where the first word in the title is “Sex” is probably not a good choice for the gym. Although, you never actually see anything inappropriate, you certainly get the idea something inappropriate is happening just out of frame.
Yesterday I watched the first half of “Monster’s Ball”, which was recommended to me and got great reviews. When recommending something to me, please specify if it’s Not Safe For The Gym (NSFTG). Within the first five minutes someone (I assume Billy Bob) enjoyed the services of a “lady of the evening”. I’m not really sure what happened as I saw it through ultra-high-fast-forward. There was a repeat scene about half an hour later as well. Both of these “Scenes of Ill Repute” were pretty long too – they took almost a minute just to skip.
Everyone at the gym must think I enjoy watching porn on fast-forward now.

The past week in Boston has been busy!
After flying out from Seattle Melody and I did a lot. We saw a few movies (V For Vendetta, Thank You For Smoking, The Ring 2), got dim sum twice, and seem to have walked across the city multiple times. My step counter would back that up if I didn’t reset it every day.
We especially saw a lot of Harvard Square and Harvard St. around Brookline. Although coffee shops are not as prevalent as in Seattle (but where else would be?) there’s still enough cappuccino sources to keep me going. At one point I did have to walk about five blocks for my fix though. In Seattle, walking more than two means you’ve no longer in Seattle.
I think I also managed to shop more than Melody this week (now this is impressive). I didn’t shop much – I just bought a new belt has become way too big for me (the best reason to buy a new belt). So it’s not that I did a lot of shopping, but that Melody didn’t seem to do any. I should probably start stocking up water and duct tape for the coming apocalypse.
I also got to see my mom and my friend Mark (from high school). Both seemed to be doing well. Also, both seemed happy to see me as well which is good too.
I even got to meet many of Melody’s coworkers last night during their pot-luck dinner. Melody and I made california roll sushi which came out pretty well (I even got the inside-out trick down). There was a ton of awesome food and the carrots were good. Really good. They were so tasty and juicy. And the stems were green and perfect, like blades of grass. It sounds crazy, but these carrots must be experienced! Oh, and the brownies were crazy delicious too.
I do have to fly back to Seattle today. Turns out I do need to show up to work and do something to get paid. Until that happens though, Melody and I are heading to the aquarium for some fishy and penguin-y fun followed by my favorite Chicken Tikka Masala that Melody has been hearing pleas to make all week.
Finally I’ll also see Sasha and Mike once I get to Seattle. They’re nice enough to come pick me up at the airport hella-late. Thankfully I don’t have any checked bags (although we’ll see about that when I finish packing back up) so I don’t think I’ll get stuck in the eternal Seattle baggage-waiting limbo this time.
I’ll miss Boston (and Melody, you’re a big part of that too!) but I’m sure I’ll be back again soon. After all, all of the dim sum places give you hot sauce without even asking for it.

When I first moved out to Philadelphia to I noticed that everyone showed up late to pretty much everything. At the time I figured that it was due to the huge New York/New Jersey contingent living in their self-centered world. Most would refer to simply as “The City.” As I had just arrived in Philly, it blew my mind that people needed to go to another city. Most were either from NJ or Brooklyn/Queens/Staten Island and would complaining about how boring/smelly/etc it was when they hung out with some critical mass of New Yorkers.

But now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure it’s the cell phones that did (and still do) it. Maybe New Yorkers just beat everyone else to them.

I’m not saying that people are late because they’re yabbering on their cells. I think they’re late because they can just call up the friend they’re meeting up with and say “oh hey, I’m running late. See you in ten minutes.” This usually means see you in twenty, but the point is that they can always call and say they’re running late. I hypothesize that people know that showing up on time will no longer cause the people they’re meeting to leave since they can always call them to stay put. And to be honest, I’m just as guilty of this move as anyone else. Maybe more so.

Now here’s where it really becomes a problem. Since nobody wants to hang out in rainy seattle, cold Cambridge, etc., for twenty minutes, they start showing up late. Nobody wants to admin that they’re showing up late so now they don’t even call to say they’re being late. Instead, you just wait for whoever to call you with the “hey where are you?” line and say, “Oh, I’m almost be there. See you in ten minutes.” And you know you’ll be there in twenty anyway. So at this point, the goal is really to show up as late as possible while still beating the person you’re meeting so that you can make the ‘Where you at (dog)?” call. Sadly, I’m well versed in this move too.

But I think cell phones can solve this problem too. Once they all get GPS access it can remind you to get up and go visit your friend on time. It could even tell you the quickest way to get there. And if you don’t move, it could even tell your friend where you are. Then again, it could just make the problem worse – your waiting friend could just look up where you are and see that yes, you are running late. At least they’ll know you’re really showing up in twenty minutes.

I saw “Thank You For Smoking” last night with Melody. They were holding a free showing in Boston. How am I supposed to resist going to see a movie that I want to see when it’s free?

The movie was awesome (and not just because I didn’t have to pay for it). The main character isn’t as immediately deadly as American Psycho’s title character, although he certainly contributes to many more deaths. He’s certainly undesireable, but I did have to respect that he really did enjoy what he does. Anyone who changes their perceptions of smoking because of him is mighty dumb.
The surprising thing was that Melody enjoyed the movie as well (because of Katie Holmes, the original WB actress?).
For such a depressing and sick subject, it’s a funny movie. Cancer and manipulation has never been more hilarious.

Today I finally got a copy of Metroid for my DS. I preordered this game in December 2004 when it was supposed to come out in December 2004. And then it was supposed to come out in January 2005. And February. And March. And 2006. When I finally did buy it today I was a bit surprised that they would actually have something to sell me. Then I checked to make sure there really was a game in the box. And that it worked.
I’m happy to say that it did.
I’m usually not a huge fan of FPS (First Person Shooters), but this is really well done. Using the stylus like a mouse somehow works really well. Maybe they’ve spent the past extra sixteen months perfecting that.
There’s also some online play but since I don’t know anyone that owns a DS, let alone a game that just came out today, I have a feeling this will not be much help to me. But if anyone on the interwebs has a DS, let me know. I’m a bit afraid to go online and play random people. In the past 24 hours I’m sure there’s already plenty of people waiting to sink their teeth into noobs like myself.
Juicy, juicy noobs.

Now that I’m visiting Melody I’m subject to more WB watching than I’m accustomed to (which is more than zero). There’s something quite unique about the way WB shows make me squirm:
Terrible Camera Work: Take a scene where two characters are talking. The camera will focus head on on each character and just cut to the other camera when the other character talks. It’s as if none of the actors/actresses can tolerate being on the same set as each other.
Needy Guys + Whinny Women: All of the guys in the show seem only to want their girlfriends (typically the main characters on the show) to approve of them. Having their families approve is a bonus. The women cannot stop bickering (typically about said guys). I’ve noticed that most of the time, the girl who’s dating the guy is trying to prove to her girlfriends that her boyfriend isn’t that bad. At the end of the show everyone realizes that the guy is great and he gets the validation he craves.
Inane In-Jokes and Repetition: If phrases like “You’ve just been Gilmored” or hearing “Oh my God, we’re awful” every thirty seconds don’t make you shutter, you need help. I swear someone appologetically said “We’re total bitches, guys.”
Acting More Rigid Than a Billboard: I would assume all of their scripts are written on cue cards as nobody ever looks at the character they’re talking to. However, the dialog is so mind-numbing that I’m convinced they’re illiterate and just pretending to need cue cards to hide their terrible shame.
Weepy Girl-Song of the Week: The shows always end with a girl singing along with a sappy acoustic guitar song. The shows also end with an advert for said song.
And now I’ve been informed that I’m in for another hour of this. During a new episode of 24. Kill me now. Please.

I bought a video game called Animal Crossing the other day. It’s like The Sims but with bipolar talking animals:

I’m not sure whether I like the game or not. It’s simultaneously boring and humorous. There’s no real point to the game and as far as I can tell, no way to beat it. Mostly you just wander around and talk to random animals who move in and out of your town (I named mine “Sammich”). My character, “Spanky,” can catch fish and butterflies, gather apples and shells, and many other inane things. You do this to pay off your morgage of course, which never ends because every time you do pay it off you’re forced to take another to expand your house.
The owl in the picture above runs the museum. You can donate items like fish and fossils but as far as I can tell, there’s no benefit to doing that. This is the major problem (or great feature) of the game: there’s no point to doing anything. You never really get rewarded for anything you do. You can never win, but then again, you can never lose.
The one thing I genuinely dislike about this game (and a few other ones like Nintendogs) is that it keeps track of how long it’s been since you’ve played and then guilts you for not playing sooner. I figure if I’m buying the game, I should be able to play it whenever I want and not have a mangy dog or angry animal townsfolk harassing me.
One cool feature about the game is that you can wander into your friend’s towns if you know other people that play the game. Which is a problem for me – I seem to be the only person past elementary school that plays this game.

Yesterday never seemed to end and today never seemed to start.
Did lots of packing before and after work. The longest part doesn’t seem to be picking clothes anymore but making sure I have all my gadgets (camera, phones, laptop) and their respective chargers. I bring so many electronics these days that I need to bring a surge-strip along with me too.
By the time I finished it was time for dinner with a friend from high school and her boyfriend. We had a delightful conversation over Indian food about a flaming bag of poo that lasted for eight days in a Hannukah miracle. Truly a message of hope.
Since my flight left at 1AM, we still had some time to burn. We got some bubble tea (Caramel Milk Tea is a good flavour) and watched the first half of The Arristocrats. Bob Sagat is a dirty dirty man.
Next stop was the airport. For a company intent on profit, I’m surprised they haven’t started using computer kiosks. Although, now that I think of it, I’m a bit surprised I didn’t just print out my ticket at home. Each one of the security guards (at least last night) at SeaTac have a bizzare gut. Not only are they huge, but they stick out like they put balloons under their shirts. And their legs and rears are not fat. Maybe they just swallow troublemakers instead of arresting them.
In a personal first I slept most of the trip over to Boston. I was only woken up when my aisle neighbor made a noise like he was choking on his own throat. I overheard the flight attendants having a conversation about one of their friends who ate a live rat on camera so that he could get a video of it on the internet. I wanted to tell them that anyone can put anything on the internet and the rat-consumption wasn’t necessary, but I didn’t want to ruin the “achievement.”
After I got off the plane, I reunited with Melody. We took the bus back to her place and I passed out for a few hours. She’s very proud of her new bed ensamble and I must admit it looks very nice and coordinated.
Soon after we got some falafel wraps down the street and made our way downtown where we watched “V for Vendetta.” I really enjoyed it, but I kept wanting to see Hugo Weaving’s horribly disfigured face. They made a point of saying that this was unnecessary multiple times in the film, which of course only wanted me to look even more. His hands were pretty nasty though. His home was very nice though. I kept wondering what he’s paying for rent on that place.
On the way back to Melody’s we got some groceries for our upcoming herb chicken dinner. It’s almost done now and smells delicious. I’m so hungry…oooh it’s ready!

Proud to say that we won our first dodgeball playoffs! We’ve got two games ahead of us, but I have to miss the next game as I’m going to be in Boston all next week!
It was a solid victory, although the highlight was when a certain Canadian teammate was giving advice to a fellow player, “after a season you don’t mind balls flying at your face.” While this certainly is a reasonable statement in the context of dodgeball, it turns heads when uttered while walking into the men’s locker room. And when repeated loudly while in a sushi bar an hour later…
I’m definately not looking forward to my flight leaving at 1am, but certainly worth the hassle. Unfortunately I’ll be arriving in Boston a mere one day late for St. Patrick’s Day and probably wearing my green from the day before. You can’t get pinched for wearing green the next day, right?