thanksgiving 2005

wednesday, 11/23

kid's day at work — chaos for some, but a respite for me.  work has just been way too crazy recently, but with everyone preparing for thanksgiving and/or preoccupied with accompanying a son, daughter, niece or nephew, i'm actually able to get work done in peace and at my own pace.  nice.

after leaving work at 3:00 pm, joe and i head home for some pre-thanksgiving food prep and then to the brooklyn academy of music to see rent.  the verdict:  not as good as the broadway show — for the most part, the movie sets distract from rather than add to the storytelling.  musically, i miss some of the recitative bits that were cut out (i.e., "i like boys / boys like me").  still, very fun, and jesse l. martin makes me cry.

thursday, 11/24

joe cooks, i clean.  my parents arrive in brooklyn at around 4:00 pm and we sit down to eat — cheese & crackers, shrimp cocktail, breaded clams, tossed salad, broccoli casserole, seasoned carrots, fusilli bolognese, chicken cutlets, and pumpkin, apple, and pecan pies à la mode.

after our meal, we sit and watch meet the fockers on hbo.  i didn't enjoy it that much in the theater, but seeing my parents' reaction is worth sitting through it a second time.

friday, 11/25

first stop is chinatown for dim sum, then off to the metropolitan museum of art for the van gogh exhibition.  afterwards, we swing by the asian art section, where my dad gives joe and me an art history lesson.  we wander around for a couple more hours hitting all my favorite spots, including the astor court and the temple of dendur.

for dinner, we swing by the upper west side for some new orleans cuisine (with the obligatory katrina discussion) and then back home.  my mom only makes it through about half of ocean's twelve before calling it a night.

saturday, 11/26

parents gone.  big sigh.  finally, a chance to really relax.  joe has to leave for two rounds of broadway cares collections in times square.  i spend the day catching up on sleep and watching two netflix dvd's i've been holding on to for two months now.

i feel like an idiot after watching mulholland drive.  i mean, not to brag, but i consider myself a reasonably intelligent guy.  other people i know consider this movie "brilliant," so what the hell am i not getting?  (always assuming, of course, that there's something to get.)  reading the collection of salon articles about the movie help to shed some light on the plot, but i'm still left incredibly dissatisfied.  naomi watts is amazing, though — despite being a bit too pretty, she's slowly becoming one of my favorite film actors.

not having any energy to devote to anything important (e.g., comics), i decide to tackle the rules of attraction as well.  hate to say it, but, though i never liked him as dawson, james van der beek is kinduva cutie.

sunday, 11/27

joe and i go to an open house for a one-bedroom in the same building as our friends phil & ivan.  the place is nice but a little small to accommodate joe and me, not to mention the amount of fixing up it would need (at least, as far as we're concerned).  ultimately not for us, but it's our first step towards purchasing real estate.

afterwards, we take the train in to manhattan to see syriana which, like ocean's twelve, features an ensemble cast that includes george clooney and matt damon.  the movie also stars the cutie who played dr. bashir from deep space nine.  the film is disturbing and depressing, but the cynical part of me wonders how many of those involved with the film own gas-guzzling suv's.  i am filled with self-righteous contempt as we take the Q train home.  then i get off the train and realize:  i've seen six movies in one weekend.  L-O-S-E-R!

rent

i am so excited for this movie!