April 23, 2004

Never Insult "Katie's Theme"!

I watched American Idol this week over Coronas and popsicles with some friends, one of whom proclaimed, "I think LaToya is like the white Julie Andrews. With that short hair and everything, she just makes you feel happy inside when she sings." LaToya is still clearly the best singer, and I'm glad that one of the judges finally admitted that, and that it was Simon to boot. I wasn't crazy about her high notes this week, but what are you gonna do? Like the rest of the nation, I was stupefied by the results, but I've decided it's best not to overthink these things but instead to maintain faith in humanity and trust that there is no way that Putty DeGarmo (christened so by my friend who believes her face looks like it was constructed out of silly putty), John Stevens, or Jasmine will win.

:::

Survivor continues to enthrall me to what amounts to an alarming level. I continue to be repulsed by Shii Ann but wasn't surprised that she won immunity last night, because I guess that having the least amount of body weight (except for Amber, who probably felt safe enough not to really fight for it) to hold up with her noodly string bean of an arm coupled with the knowledge that she was out of there if she didn't win gave her the edge. She is so unlikable that I perish the thought that anyone would vote for her in the final two, and I cling to the hope that there's no one she could beat in that vote. But I don't know. I guess it depends on how pissed off the jury is at whoever ends up in the other slot should she somehow miraculously immunity challenge herself to the end. I do not know what it is that compels me to be so drawn to Boston Rob, but I remain somewhat obsessed with him. Every single week, I get squeezing sensations when I fear he is going to finally face the wrath of the tribe and get voted off like he would be if they had two brain cells to rub together. I know that Rob and Amber need the unit of four to stay in, but I wonder if they're making the right choice for the other 2 to be Rupert and Jenna instead of Big Tom and Alicia. Alicia was stronger than Jenna and therefore a threat in the immunity challenges, but she also was much more disliked, so it might have behooved them to keep her around. Rupert is not only stronger than Big Tom, I think he's also more popular, so keeping him around is a threat either way. And then there's Shii Ann. Gross, annoying Shii Ann, who, not while an obvious physical threat for immunity, obviously has it in her to win the challenges. I don't know. It all kind of makes my head hurt, but in a delicious way.

:::

Speaking of reality television, my brother sent in a tape for a show and got sent through the next round, so we videotaped him doing a live interview via speakerphone and sent it in, along with a very detailed background questionnaire and some photographs. It was all very dramatic and exciting and down to the wire, and they seemed to really like him, telling him he'd made it very far in the process and to be cautiously optimistic, but then he never heard anything back from them. I found a message board discussing how several people who'd made it to the live phone interview stage had also been sent a drug testing kit, which, frankly, seemed suspect to me, because who's to say someone else would not be peeing in your cup? Whatever? But the fact that he hadn't received one did not bode well for his chances, so I called to break it to him. It was disappointing to have gone to so much effort and to be encouraged by the casting people, but ultimately, it's probably for the best. I mean, let's face it, if he had been cast, the odds of being portrayed and edited in a favorable light were as strong against him as they were in his favor. You never know. Maybe it would have been a total disaster. Honestly, I hope the show IS a complete disaster, because any show that would not take someone as excellent as my brother can really just eat shit and die.

:::

I have this to say in response to Elizabeth's entry. Stealing Home is a Family FAVORITE. It was my older brother's favorite movie when he was a teenager. He was sixteen when it came out, and I guess it really struck a chord in him as an athlete, a teenage boy, and a complete sap.

My only bone to pick with Elizabeth is about the soundtrack, which I wrote about in part here almost exactly four years ago. THE SOUNDTRACK IS AWESOME! This movie came out in 1988! You cannot judge it by 2004 standards! One could argue that movie soundtracks should be timeless and blah blah blah, but that's a crock! For this time, the late 80s, which would be 8th grade for myself (and I would argue that teenagers are definitely the target audience for this movie even though obviously adults can enjoy it, too), it was perfect. And I will never be convinced otherwise. So shut it!

That is all.

:::

Last night I went to a jambalaya supper because my friend's mom's neighbor's family friend was going to be there and they've been going on and on and on about how they want me to meet him. So I did, even though most of me still balks to the point of inner shrieking at the thought of being set up with someone. And he was tall and dashing and charming and smart and funny, and I called my friend on the way home to discuss the possibility of making out with him. I wondered out loud that surely he must be a womanizer, because he was just too smooth and gorgeous not to be. And somewhere in the back of my mind, I recalled my nextdoor neighbor telling me last year about a guy she dated for a month who mysteriously dropped off the face of the earth and never called her again and how soon after she would hear horror stories about him from other women. And something clicked in my brain, which goes to show you that memory is a weird thing, because she told me about this person one time more than a year ago, and somehow I must have remembered his name on some deep level, because I called her when I got home, and sure enough, it's the same guy. And it's just my hilarious luck that when I finally get up the nerve to meet someone in an unofficial set up that wasn't really a set up but kind of maybe was (in that I was only invited because he was going to be there), it was apparently one of the most notorious womanizers in town.

But I still feel proud of myself for going, because while an unofficial set up that isn't really a set up might not be a big deal for most people, it kind of is for me. And in the immortal spirit of Bob Wiley, it's all about baby steps.

:::

About this time in ...

2003:

4/22:

And suddenly I'm looking forward to that night. Which I never, ever thought I would again. Even if only a few people show up, I know that I'll love those people, and that they'll love me, and we can raise a glass to each other.

4/20:

I used to say that my mom introduced herself to people by saying, "Hi, nice to meet you. Have you read Holes?" because that's how obsessed she once was with the book.

2002:

4/23:

"Now we can go without any parental contact until the wedding," he breathed on the way home, inhaling an entire cigarette in a single suck.

4/21:

My Church is pretty fucked up right now. I guess it's always been fucked up, but we realize that now more than we ever have. I read Erin's wonderful entry, and I started giving my own memories more thought. With everything in the news, I wanted to focus, for my own peace of mind, in spite of what I may now believe or not believe on any given day, on all that once was good, and still is good, for my family and for other families.

2000:

4/23:

I just sat there, drinking my beer, shaking my head, wondering if this is the essence of singleton life. Smoky bars and fake nails, tans, and tits, grinding in a meaningless sea to the rhythm of the Thong Song.

4/20:

Columbine changed things at school. It changed the implicit trust I had in my students and that they had in each other.


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