Sunday Politics

Meticulously executed, it's no surprise that this film is an Oscar contender.

Eric and I just finished watching a great FROST/NIXON, that even though I'm not into "polidicks", was an impressive piece of work. Later today I'll be moving on to TROUBLE THE WATER.

It's a joy to feel accomplished, which allows me to indulge in film on my Sunday. After handling the chores, and otherwise feeling prepped for my 4th week of 9-5, I'm off to my good friend Athena's with a story about Hurricane Katrina that has been nominated for best documentary feature.

Speaking of documentaries, look out for a local project on Byron Hot Springs...

Happily Employed

Good morning,

The alarm has been waking me at 7am the past three weeks, and now on my Saturday I wake up at 7am without the alarm going "boing, boing, boing!" (one of the iPhone's friendlier sounds). I thought it would bother me, this whole early wake-up call thing, the commute, and the responsibilites - ergo the rat race. But, no, I'm stoked, I'm honored, I'm excited, I'm at a loss for words as how please I am to have landed a job. In fact I feel guilty when I talk about it, especially these days where so many are being laid off, so I'll move on.

Last night I had a fun ending to a great week. There was short of 20 of us, and we all conquered the various Kabuki auditoriums for a film, followed by some casual conversation. I saw THE READER and was "so and so" impressed.

Anyhow, today there's more film talk on the agenda as we're meeting with old friends/collegues to discuss a new project. Stay tuned...

Che at the Movies

Hi folks,

It's good to be back, and I'm proud to make my first post about Soderberg's latest four-hour homage to Ernesto "Che" Guevara. The film "Che' is meticulously executed and visually immersive. However, four hours long I'm curious as to how the general public receives it. 

Thanks to Terry Brejla, I had the pleasure of watching it at a prescreening hosted by Karen Larsen and Associates here in SF. At Landmark's Embarcadero Theater we indulged in the fantastic cinematography and detailed depiction of Che's life in two 121-minute segments with a 20-minute intermission.

Benicio Del Toro as Che was captivating, and his stellar performance was flanked by other interesting actors such as Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace) and Demían Bechir as Fidel Castro. In the midst of the sub-titled dialogue it made for entertaining moments to watch Phillip Lou Diamond and Matt Damon appear and perform in Spanish as well.

All in all, a must see that will give you insights to details of Che's life and his fight, that has become a worldwide symbol of revolution in 20th century politics.   

It's good to be back,

K

Zzzzzzzz!

Wow, I'd forgotten how demanding being chained to a desk can be. There's simply not much time for anything else but accomplishing the basic chores and gym maintenance outside "office hours". Yuiks, because I miss sharing my many thoughts that actually have taken an exciting turn since this past weekend. What can I say? Spending time with my Shamrock like we did on a 12-hour road trip is ALWAYS inspiring. But, the details will have to wait until the weekend, bohoo! In the mean time I'll keep being an office goddess, and right now that means: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Oh, sweet dreams to you too!  

Significant Others

I can't help but add this blurp before crashing a little too late on my Friday night (well, I guess technically into the wee hours of Saturday AM already). The thoughts came about in the movie theater on Wednesday night while I was waiting to watch the sequel to the "The Sisterhood of the Flying Pants. I'd gone to the movies alone for perhaps the second time in my life, and I had already eaten all my popcorn with another 15 minutes to wait before the trailers started, so I guess I felt inspired? Anyhow, I just thought that if I wait any longer to post these thoughts they would lose much of their relevance, so here goes:

What makes one a "significant other"? Do you have to live together? Share the same bed? Finances? Commute? Well, room mates, co-workers, and good friends might do all of the above, but that doesn't necessarily qualify them as "significant others", does it? What does then? Is it when emotions are involved? When we share our emotions with one another? Laugh together? Cry? Argue? Share secrets? I think we're getting closer.

The beauty of "significant" is that we choose someone to be significant to us. It's someone we find significant enough to share with whom we are; our innermost secrets, our joyful likes, preferences, and painful dislikes, as well as fears. Ideally it's someone we trust with all of these feelings without hesitancy. Do you have a significant other? Are you one? If you are, you must be a grand individual. Being worthy of holding someone's heart in the palms of your hands is a great honor, not to mention a significant task.    

A Stolen Moment

That's what it took, a stolen moment facilitated by a canceled haircut appointment, in order for me to drop a line about this hectic week. Don't get me wrong I was looking much forward to this haircut and worked my behind off to meet the 40-hour work demands as stipulated in my contract, so I leave work at 2pm for this treat. Therefore, in the moment, admittedly I was bummed that the stylist student had called in sick. But hey, then again, how can I get upset about other people's misfortune. Actually, a part of me hopes she's not sick at all and instead playing hooky, so she can make to the Outland Festival playing up SF this weekend. Manu Chau, Beck, Jack Johnson, and many more! Yeah, she better be there and not in bed :-) 

Turns out my eye is no longer swollen, so, yay, the $50 meds have worked their magic. Nevertheless, it was boring news to find out at the optometrist when I went for the follow-up that I may need ointments and drops foreeeeever. Apparently, when you inflict the kind of injury as I did where you sever and disconnect the tapophilia and endophilia cells, chances are your eye will never heal up 100% again. Darn it!

Oh well, let's move on and dwell on the fact that I got paid today! My first pay check as a working professional after 4 years in the school system - wohooooooooo! It feels GREAT, and seemingly this is only the beginning. Today I had a fruitful conversation with the CFO about future and permanent opportunities where I'm temping, and I look forward to keeping you posted on this. Sure, every time the phone rings I still hope it's the non-profit company that's calling me back for a second interview, but as I'm succeeding and plenty distracted in my current situation, I'm not too worried about looking for work these day. 

Anyhow, I better run for now. I'm picking up Eric soon, so we can go meet one of his high school buddies, who's in town. We're having dinner at Andalu, and I'm sure you soon will find a review on Yelp of this experience. Also, the art director invited me to a closing party for a painting gallery, so we might just add that to our list of fun tonight ;-)

Btw, I attach the comedic input of the week. Thanks Tiger for sharing your eminent editing skills. With all this eye trouble I've been going through, I might just use your fashion idea of the 60s cat-eye look for a new pair of glasses.

Take it easy, and now I'm part of the working crowd again, can I just say, TGIF!

xoxox! 

Restless Nights

Sometimes I have a hard time staying a sleep at night, and right now is no exception. I woke up at 3am to go to the bathroom, and here I find myself at 5am blogging in attempt to wear myself out a little. Well, I'm supposed to get up in an hour, so I guess I better make it quick, or else I will be having a loooooooong day. According to my iCal I'll be back home tonight to fix dinner around 8:30pm after working my temp job for 9 hours, driving to Lafayette and back, and going to the gym - phew! I think 'm already exhausted. Perhaps that's why my mind is racing; I'm a little wound up before the week even has begun? I went to bed early, though, I admit, close to 10pm, and I fell asleep immediately. Well, lately I have had many thoughts about the future, family, and health, and these are all things that I feel are at a halt these day while I'm situating a more or less permanent work identity. I assume these sleepless nights are an expression of this. 

I miss my family, and events like my Danish Grandfather's birthday next weekend remind me that I haven't made it to his birthday (nor my grandmother's for that matter) in 10 years. I realize how lucky I am to still have them around, and consequently a slight feeling of guilt settles in my conscious. How can I make up for this? Well, Eric has luckily agreed that we go and visit my Danish cousin in Thousand Oaks next weekend. She lives there with her husband and two wonderful girls. Her sister, who lives in Denmark, is coming out to visit, and I practically invited myself to stop by during this time. I very much look forward to it, and I got the idea that we call my grandfather, while I'm there, so he can hear a "happy birthday" from all of us while in the same room. Hopefully it's a thought that will come true.

Anyhow, I better find my way back to bed even though I haven't covered my thoughts regarding the future and my health yet. In the mean time, I'll look forward to Eric's Dad's reaction when he receives the e-card I just sent him in honor of his birthday. Happy birthday Dad!