Hailstorms, entertainment, and quarter-life crises, oh my!
So I went to Yoga last night (and did my weight lifting). I’ve been going for a month now, and half the time it’s been great. I feel all limber and like I’m walking taller when I leave, and I’m sore (but in a good way) the next day. And the other half of the time, I really don’t think it’s doing anything. I think it’s because we’ve switched between instructors every week, so what we do has been varying a lot. Anyways, last night was a really good one. However, I start walking home afterwards, get 3 blocks, and RANDOM HAIL STORM. Ok – so I stay under an awning until it passes. Then I walk home for about 25 minutes, and LIGHTNING STORM. So I start to walk faster, it begins to rain, and then it begins to PELT DOWN HAIL, again, while it is lightning out and I’m next to a park with no cover anywhere. So I wrap my scarf around my head like a babushka and press myself up against a wall so most of the hail goes over my head and wait till it turns back into rain so I can dash the last 10 minutes home (it was sunny by the time I reached the house, btw).
Craaazy weather.
At least I got home in time for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which made me laugh A LOT (seriously, anyone who can take the line “Charlie got molested” and make it a laugh riot is a genius. And yes, the show is very, very wrong). Also saw another ep of Heroes and Christopher Eccleston has joined in, which is fun (invisibility is cool…).
Speaking of Philadelphia, it did not fare so well in the America’s favourite cities rankings. Awww… I liked Philly. It had a couple of great cinemas and South Street was fun to visit. Plus all the historical stuff – I enjoyed visiting that when my parents came out for graduation (I went to boarding school in Delaware).
However, San Franciscans are the highest-ranked, best people overall. I know – just shocking news! (SF is almost dead last in affordability though – D’oh!). We’re also ranked number 1 in Notable neighbourhoods and gay-friendliness. We’re ranked 2 or 3 (out of 25) in sophisticated getaway, romantic escape, vintage clothing shopping (Departures, anyone?), home design shopping, worldly/stylish/and diverse people, ethnic food (GOD YES), underground arts scene, skyline and views, and environmental awareness. The only other category we scored in the last 5 was worst barbeque food (yes, it’s a category). Well, that’s because Leon’s out by the zoo closed.
Other cities I’ve lived in; New York is ranked first in people watching, classical music, overall culture, ethnic food, theatre, diverse and stylish people, and luxury shopping. It is in the bottom 5 for relaxing retreat, active vacation, friendliness, farmer’s markets, cleanliness, pedestrian friendliness, and dead last in affordability. Scandalous, that one.
Boston ranks in the top 3 for notable neighbourhoods, classical music, historical sites, intelligent people, antique shopping, and sports fan vacations. (Ooh – mom – tell me what the world series is like!) It is in the bottom 5 for active vacation, flea markets, friendliness, barbeque food, weather, and affordability.
How on earth does Minneapolis come in ahead of SF in theatre? I’m sorry, but that is just wrong. New York, duh. Chicago – ok – they have about as many preview shows as SF. And honestly – I think LA should be ranked higher than Boston. When I think of the best theatre, I think NY, SF and Chicago, then LA. Then Philly.
And I gotta be honest – who on earth plans their travel around shopping?
In other news, one of my housemates is driving me crazy. I’ve lived with more than 20 roomies, flatmates, suitemates, etc. over the years, and this guy is the most disgusting, inconsiderate one I’ve ever met. Luckily he lives in the sleep-out, so it mostly affects the kitchen and bathroom and not the living room, but I just can’t believe how awful he is. When I woke up this morning, the kitchen window was thrust wide open, despite the fact that there was FROST on the ground. Who does that? I nearly froze to death while I was cooking my oatmeal and tea. I won’t bore you with all the awful things he does (and there are a LOT), but he’s supposed to be moving out soon and that day cannot come soon enough. Plus – his girlfriend is really lovely, and they seem to be really serious about each other – and I cannot imagine dating someone who was that much of a disgusting slob. I don’t mind some mess – but would you want to marry someone who’s going to ensure your living space is constantly filthy? Euch.
13 lessons from Horror movies. Of course, the better list would be lessons from the horror films based on true stories. Like, make sure your diving boat picks you up again. Watch out for psychos in the outback (seriously, a TON of backpackers meet with grisly fates in Australia). Although I do think being careful of inbred mountain men is always good advice.
The best movie soundtracks. Thanks to the goodness of iTunes, I was able to put the Big Chill 1+2 together and include You Can’t Always Get What You Want, which was not included on either disc, despite it’s obvious placement in the film. And now I have the Rascals stuck in my head.
Found this cocktail online and I think I’ll have to try it out…
Cable Car – a San Francisco Treat (random aside – the inventor of rice-a-roni died apparently).
1 1/2 oz Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
3/4 oz Orange Curacao
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
Shake over ice and strain into a sugar/cinnamon frosted cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
Since we’ve had 2 SF related tidbits in this post, it might be a good time for me to blather on a bit more on that subject. I had a mini-crisis the other day about moving to SF. Now, frequent readers of this blog know how much I love my home town. (Frequent readers are also my family and close friends, so it’s not like that’s any sort of news, but whatever). So – right, mini-crisis. Which was something along the lines of, “oh my god, I’m not ready to settle down and become and adult, and I’m not sure what I want to do with my life, and why do I want to go home to SF when I don’t know anybody there?” Well, first off, I’m going to Boston for a couple of months to recover from travel, so serious life decisions can be delayed a bit longer (yay procrastination!). And I think Lyn’s suggestion of having a 1-2 year plan is a good one. I can go back to SF (which I really do love, obviously, and my freak out was soothed somewhat by thumbing through SFGate’s photos here). I really love SF. And while I know more people in New York, it’s even more expensive, and I hate the weather. I can still look for an international internship, since I should be doing that in my 20s, before I really settle into a career. But if I don’t find one, SF is home, and even if I don’t know anyone there now, I’ll meet people and it’ll be an adventure. If I end up not enjoying environmental consulting, I can always look for something else. I think I get stuck in the ivy-league mindset of “oh my god – I have to go find the perfect job that’s totally worthy of my education as soon as I’m out of school” way of thinking. But it takes a while to find a job you really want, and I can work something menial until then. And I can always explore entertainment industry options while I’m job hunting to see what’s out there. I’ll still focus on environmental jobs since I have contacts in the field, and that’s what I’m trained for. And let’s face it, I can earn more doing what I’ve been highly trained to do, and that’s a consideration given my massive amounts of debt from said training.
Was any of that coherent? Can someone say quarter life crisis?
I think I just need to remember to take a deep breath. I can move. I can work jobs that I have a tendency to think are ‘below me’. I can get a little bit more financially secure and then go out into the world again. I can remember that the benchmarks of getting married, owning property, and settling into a career that we’ve been force-fed all our lives are not really applicable to us anymore. I’ll repost the odyssey years article again here. The article on the same subject that appeared in the local paper is here. I liked this bit, “Nor are they part of a drop-out generation. The odyssey years are competitive and come with new pressures of their own. “There is a lot of expectation that you can have a career that really matters and a life of success,” LaHood said. “People won’t settle for just anything. They want to be happy.”
By 35, wanderers are beginning to put down roots. “Being 15 or 35 is not so different to 20 years ago, but it is very different to be 25,” said Galston. In this, he believes the United States is following trends set in Britain and Europe: “Americans tend to think we are on the cutting edge of a social revolution, but by European standards we’re still stick-in-the-muds.” “
If I only get one chance to do what I want, I might as well worry more about being where I want to be than achieving any predefined ‘life goals’. Because thinking about it, I’d rather keep a focus on what I want to be doing/ where I want to be now (so long as it keeps me solvent) rather than worrying about getting the perfect job or whatever.
I’m rambling again.
Speaking of the quarter life crisis, this is interesting. It’s so lovely to know that most of us all go through the same thing.
Oh my god – I’m so thrilled I went on the Times site – turns out John Oliver has a podcast there! Yay – I’m soo going to listen in after work.
Who needs to worry about life decisions when there are Daily Show correspondents to listen to?
Linkspam from Cleolinda;
A Roman Icon, Red for a Day: “After an initial burst of anger, intellectuals and art critics have praised a culprit who dyed Rome’s Trevi Fountain.” (Picture.) [Ed: that’s kind of awesome]
Colbert: “I Am Serious About Politics” (“I don’t want to be president. I want to run for president. There’s a difference”); Colbert outpolling some actual candidates.
Neil Gaiman talks about Dumbledore outing, agrees that writers know things about characters that doesn’t end up in the finished book, promptly gets assy hate mail. [Ed: I’m sooo confused. Which character?]
Actor’s Studio interviewer was once a pimp in Paris. No, seriously.
‘Viva Laughlin’ canceled by CBS after two episodes. Also known as, “Wow, That Guy Looks a Lot Like Hugh Jackman.” [Ed: umm not really. But I had completely forgotten that Hugh Jackman was behind this. WHY, Hugh Jackman, why? Why not just pay to air Blackpool in the US? Which I am definitely renting this weekend to watch.]
Scorsese and DiCaprio Teaming on Shutter Island Next Year. It’s a Dennis Lehane novel that apparently has a humdinger of a twist that may or may not cause you to throw the book across the room, and my soul craves knowledge of it now. [Ed: well, hell. Now mine does, too].
J.K. Rowling on Dumbledore Revelation: “I’m Not Kidding”; best magazine cover mockup EVER; Dumbledore pride tees; J.K. Rowling On The Death of [Spoiler].
James McAvoy To Play Kurt Cobain In New Movie? [Ed: I think he’s a good enough actor to pull it off. Didn’t they already make one with Michael Pitt? ]
Retro Cinema: Interview with the Vampire. STOP MAKING ME FEEL LIKE I’M EIGHTY! [Ed: I totally second that]
Sweeney Todd Soundtrack Cover People know what the public wants.
Tags: Travel
jwdmeow
The guy on Interview reminds me of a song from Irma La Douce. It was cut from the movie, but it’s called, “La Valse Milieu.” (sp?) It’s about a poue (sp again?) and her mec. Which is the subject of Irma, also. Very funny movie. Jack Lemmon is his usual brilliant self….
“This is the Paris that hides from the day, waiting for night for the stranger to stray. This is a world you forget or forgive…sinner or saint…”
I’m cynical? WHose having a 1/4 life crises? Crises don’t come up when life looks rosy.
I may not know what I want to do with my life, but at least I still believe in the power of cats…
I read the quarter-life crisis whine from the link, and I have to tell you that it sounds a whole lot like a mid-life crisis. I think every five years or so, it’s a good idea to take stock and come up with a new plan. Or at your age, maybe every couple of years…