I keep starting blogs and not having time to finish them, so I'm going to do a little bit of a brain dump during my train ride back from D.C.:
-- Late Friday afternoon train rides home from D.C. are the worst, and I unfortunately am working on a project right now that requires me to do a ton of Friday day trips between now and November. Perhaps the worst part is that these meetings, located about a 5-minute walk from the train station, end at 3:00, which means I just miss the 3:02 train home, which means I sit around until the 4:05, which doesn't stop at the train station near my house, where my car is parked, so I have to change trains in Trenton, and not make it home until close to 8 o'clock. The one good thing is that getting to the train station so far in advance of my trip makes it more likely that I get a good seat, which I did today. So there's that; yay!
-- The other good thing about getting to the train station early is getting snacks and trashy magazines, so I got an US Weekly and a McDonald's milkshake. I was especially excited about the shake, because so often, I wait in that interminable line, only to be told they're out of ice cream, or the machine's broken, or whatever. Not so today. Unfortunately, though, I took one sip and had to throw the rest away. Which, as Minnams will tell you, is a big deal, because I HATE wasting food, particularly anything ice cream-related. But the shake was just vile; I don't know if the machine was dirty -- or recently cleaned and not rinsed properly? -- or if the mix was rancid or what, but it was vile. So sad. Good thing I still have some ice cream cake in my freezer at home.
-- Last weekend, the Smelmooo went to D.C. overnight for fun, so I had the house -- and the TV -- to myself on Saturday night. I was half doing work, half watching Legally Blonde, followed by Legally Blonde 2. Which is an AWFUL movie. I remember not loving it in the theater, but not having such a strong negative reaction to it as I had last weekend. I think there are two reasons: (1) watching it right after the first installment, which I still think is quite good, it was striking how...there was absolutely NOTHING new about the second one. It followed the exact same formula. I know, I know, go with what works, but it was really kind of insulting. And (2), I now spend a lot of time on Capitol Hill, which I didn't when I first saw the movie. And I sort of understand now why my pediatrician sister can't stand watching ER; it was really, really hard for me to suspend my disbelief about so many elements of the movie (although, really, one doesn't need to spend much time on the Hill to recognize that, when Elle is walking up the steps into the building on her first morning of work, it's ludicrous that EVERY OTHER PERSON in the scene is EXITING the building). Anywho, I love Reese, I love Jennifer Coolidge, I love Regina King. HATE Legally Blonde 2.
-- I for some reason had it in my head that Elle and Emmitt had broken up, and actually looked it up to see if there was a Legally Blonde 3 where that happened, but not so. I think I may have mixed it up with Miss Congeniality 2. Is that right? Or some other sequel to a romantic comedy that ends with a wedding or at least requited love, and then the actor wouldn't agree to do the sequel, so they just switch up the happily-ever-after in the second installment? This is bugging me. Shari will know the answer, I'm sure. (please?)
-- My parents celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary this week. Maybe "had," rather than "celebrated," because when I called that day, my mom informed me that my dad was playing golf, and that they were going to a business dinner that night. They both seemed perfectly happy with this arrangement, and my mom pointed out that, probably, part of why they're so happy after all these years is that they each do their own thing, sometimes.
-- My mom left me a message just now on my work voicemail, and I saw it pop up on my email and panicked immediately, like when my boss comes into my office and shuts the door: I'm sure I'm in trouble. The Smelmooo and I used my parents' place at the beach a couple weeks ago, and today is the first my parents have been there since we left, and I just had a flash that I left the water on, or left something gross in the garbage, or did something else that would merit yelling and tears. In fact, it was a schmoopy message about how she was walking on the beach and thinking of me, and wanted to say hello, and she hoped I'm not working too hard. I have issues.
-- I somehow have more than 2500 emails in my In Box. I can't believe I just admitted that; I am going to get so much crap on that one.
-- My oldest niece turned 10 today, which makes me feel old. My littlest niece is three, and started pre-school this month, which might make me feel even older. And 31 just seems way older than 30, so it's been a banner month.
-- It seems like everyone I know is pregnant.
-- I hate, hate the new machines at our gym. I mean, I guess it's better than having every other treadmill out of service, which was basically where we were before they ordered all the new equipment, but the new layout of the space has the machines so tightly packed that I feel slightly claustrophobic. The ellipticals now have, like, four programs instead of 12; I think the treadmills have four (one of which does not allow me to alter the time of the program) instead of 20, which is not so fun for mixing up my routine, which I like to do fairly regularly. And, finally, the new machines display the miles, calories, time elapsed/remaining, etc. in a place that my magazine does not cover. And when I look at the time or distance, I get frustrated and discouraged and I want to quit.
I feel like I should have anticipated that I would hate the new machines -- just knowing that I'm generally resistant to any kind of change -- and asked what they were doing with the old ones, and tried to buy one for cheap. Oh well.
-- I had dinner last week in D.C. with a dear friend who I've now known for 21 years. That also makes me feel old, but also happy.
-- I also ran into a former colleague last week, with whom I once worked very closely, but who I'd not seen since January (and before that, probably last summer). But as soon as we had a free minute together, she was practically tripping over herself to tell me about some incredibly personal things that had been going on, which was essentially what happened in January, as well. And then she stopped herself and said, "I know, I know, we never see each other anymore, but I just still feel like we're so close, and I can just tell you these things!! We just pick right up." Which is true, and that's sort of a nice feeling, to have that kind of a bond.
-- I'm still searching for a solid Little Black Dress to replace the one I somehow lost after Mike and Renee's wedding, four years ago yesterday (happy belated anniversary, although I don't think either of you reads this!). No luck so far, although I got a super-cute white-and-black Tocca dress that I'm wearing to an awards ceremony on Monday in honor of the Smelmooo and 39 other outstanding New Jerseyans under the age of 40. That one doesn't help me for my cousin's wedding tomorrow, but I am quite excited, both for the dress and the chance to celebrate muh hubby's many accomplishments. Good times!
