More Movies

Movies that I forgot were totally awesome, but recently watched:

* Antonia's Line -- a Dutch movie about a matriarch and her family. Good plot and pretty people.

* Field of Dreams -- I remember seeing this in the theatre in Long Island as a kid when it first came out. I put it on last night for "background noise" during packing because my stereo speakers don't reach downstairs. Of course, I ended up watching the whole thing and sobbed (the heaving, snot-nosed kind of sobbing) when Kevin Costner's dad takes off his catcher's gear and they end up playing ball. A most excellent movie for baseball fans.

Negotiations

I have my first offer on the house. It's not exactly what I expected, but we're negotiating and it's getting closer to what I wanted. I have St. Joseph to thank for this one.

A discussion with some friends on St. Joe and how he helps sell houses led to the discovery of this. Really, it doesn't get any better than that. The marketing genius of "Put the image of Jesus RIGHT ON FOOD!" sends me into giggle fits.

Listening To Right Now

On my Ipod, my "I'm leaving here and moving to MA" playlist, pared down from about 100 songs:

1. Dirty Water -- The Standells. Boston, you're my town..soon.
2. America -- Neil Diamond. You know you love it.
3. Across the Universe -- Rufus Wainwright. Just because.
4. Seasons -- Neil Halstead. I love it.
5. New York State of Mind -- Billy Joel. Who cares if it's cheesey? It's still awesome.
6. Homeward Bound -- Simon & Garfunkel.
7. The Long and Winding Round -- The Beatles.
8. Good-Bye to Carolina -- Lyle Lovett. LOVE. A friend put this on a mix. How did I not know that Lyle Lovett was cool?
9. Jersey Girl -- Tom Waits. Always.
10. Lowell, MA -- Death Cab for Cutie. Because they're the greatest.
11. Every Ghetto Every City -- Lauryn Hill. Get your groove on.
12. What's the World Got In Store -- Wilco. For me?
13. I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane -- Chantal Kreviazuk. Great Cover.
14. Chinatown -- Luna. This song reminds me of hanging out in New York right after college.
15. As We Walk to Fenway Park in Boston Town -- Jonathan Richman. For YG.
16. NYC -- Interpol.
17. The Only Living Boy in New York -- Simon & Garfunkel. Always been a great song, but thank you, t.v. crush Zack Braff, for putting this on the Garden State soundtrack.
18. Marching Bands of Manhattan -- Death Cab for Cutie. So good.
19. Wish You Were Here -- Pink Floyd. For all my bitches.

An Open Letter to NYC (thank you Beastie Boys)

I had my "official" goodbye to NYC this weekend. YG and I headed in [stopping first at Nordstrom's 1/2 year sale :-) ] and stopped at the W for overpriced but yummy cocktails, had dinner at Sushi Samba and drinks at Flute. We've done this a few times before and I don't care if it's cheesey or bridge-and-tunnelly -- it doesn't disappoint. Ms. Librarian joined us for a round of champagne as well, so that was nice. On Sunday, we got bagels, read the paper, and then went and sat in Union Square Park for a few hours with some eats we picked up at Whole Foods. Overall, low key but fun. I'm going to miss New York, but I'm looking forward to living in the city and being able to do this more often.

My unemployment has been treating me well, although I haven't been getting as much accomplished as I thought I would. I've been taking walks, riding my bike, reading and catching up on a lot of movies I Tivoed. Good: Crash, City of God, Dirty Pretty Things, Supersize Me. Not so much: The War at Home, Coffee and Cigarettes. I've also logged about a billion hours watched tivoed Yankeeographies since Yankee history is much more compelling than the not-so-hot Yankee present. I thought I'd spend more time getting together with friends and hanging out, but I'm having a hard time connecting with people. YG doesn't get why this is so sad for me, and to be truthful, it IS hard to explain the sometimes illogicallness (nice word) of feeling like a kid who is having a party that nobody wants to come to. On the good side, I have plans with some out-of-town friends this Thursday and am hanging out with NN and K and the zygote this Friday. And then I leave Monday. It still seems weird to write that. I leave Monday.

I leave Monday. :-)

MIA

I've been pretty MIA these days. I thought that being off would mean lots of time sitting in front of the computer doing nothing, but I haven't been on that much lately. I did fairly well at the garage sale and am still in packing hell.
The realtor open houses didn't go as well. It was basically me and mom hanging around eating cookies and waiting for somebody to show up. Hopefully this weekend's open house will go better.

What's a Buyer Do?

My sister is a buyer and whenever people ask me what that means, I'm never quite sure how to answer. The NYT explains.

While I love the Times, some of this stuff just floored me:

"The men favored short haircuts and dark suits with white or pale blue shirts. Their physiques were soft, perhaps from riding on the seats of commuter trains. The women, on the whole, looked in better shape, and their attire fell on the side of tasteful rather than fashionable."

Tasteful isn't fashionable? Huh? And yes, only commuters are fat with "soft physiques." This problem doesn't afflict the good people of Manhattan.

And:

"During the meeting, leggings were a source of surprise and excitement. Macy's sold 2,000 pairs the previous week. Customers, filled up on black leggings, now wanted them in stripes and floral prints with lace. "

WHY GOD, WHY? Leggings? Floral print leggings with lace? I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. I had those leggings circa 1990. It's like if I went to a designer and said, "Look, I really need a pair of pants that will make my ass look lumpy, droopy and just HUGE too. In a synthetic stretch material. And oh yeah, if you could add a little lace too, that would be great." Leggings = BAD. Just BAD.

Buy My Crap

If you're in NJ, this weekend, please stop by here. Although it will likely be disgusting and rainy, I really need to unload some stuff -- lots of books, clothes (many still with tags on them), kitchen stuff and knick-knacks. I also have some furniture like a stereo table and a dresser that I won't be taking with me to the sale, but am willing to sell (or at this point, just give) to someone.

Insert brief moment where the full extent of my immaturity shines through: The guy who sits in the cube across from me is talking to someone about another guy with the last name Cox, and he keeps repeating "Cox said" and "I was talking about Cox" and I laugh everytime. Because I'm twelve. Heh.

I took a break from packing this weekend and went out to Long Island. This is the first Memorial Day weekend in a LONG time that I can remember being able to go to the beach. It was hot as hell, but I did all my favorite Shirley things including a whole lot of nothing, a whole lot of reading and eating, outlet shopping, and sitting on the beach and staring at the large number of enormous people in very tiny bathing suits -- something of a Shirley phenomenom.

Now it's back to packing and prepping. All the energy that I had for this a few weeks ago has disappeared and I really don't want to do anything. It's a huge pain in the ass keeping the house clean enough for showing and I find myself only wanting to watch t.v. The only big pare down project I have left is to go through all my clothes and shoes -- something I really don't want to do. I was staring at the shoes last night and....I want them all. Sigh.

Brief Moment of Regret? Worry? Followed By "Things I Won't Miss About the Suburbs"

I went out to dinner with my mom, sister and my mom's friend last night after she spent a bunch of time taking pictures of the house and "staging" for showing the house. This apparently consists of putting a LOT of fake flowers, plants and vases (brought over from the Bonnie and Doug basement where knick knacks go to die) everywhere and putting on a nicer bedspread -- one that doesn't show so much cat hair. The place looks good, although I'm almost afraid to touch anything.

Anyway, we were eating dinner and watching the baseball game on the bar's t.v. Yankees vs. Red Sox. Yankees up by 2, but bases loaded in the bottom of the 8th and David Ortiz coming up to bat. Yikes! Watching the screaming fans at Fenway and listening to the always-audible chants of "Yankees suck," I had a brief moment of wondering what the hell I'm doing and where it is that I'm moving to. I'm going to live among these people? I live and breathe baseball. I love the Yankees, I go to games, I read the books, I tolerate Michael Kay, I've been to spring training multiple times....I am a FAN! But those Red Sox fans? Truly, a different animal. :-)

Topic shift.
File under Things I Won't Miss About the Suburbs: The new Walkmen album came out earlier this week. I had to go to 3 different stores before finally locating it at a mega-Borders. NN got me into these guys a few years ago. At first I was unimpressed and didn't understand her undying devotion, but they grew on me and I went through a phase of listening to only Bows + Arrows for about 3 months straight.

I won't miss not being able to find the "good" music I like to listen to. On the flip side, I've never had a problem locating the following out where I live: Ultimate Manilow, REO Speedwagon's Greatest Hits, Glam Rock Hits of the 80s, Poison's Greatest Hits (which KF and I belted out at the top of our lungs driving down the FDR a few summers ago), Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart, and the soundracks to every nerdy movie, including Fame, Grease, and The Wedding Singer, I've ever seen. So there you go.

Public Service Announcement

Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with this country? Do what you can.

The Senate is scheduled to vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment the week
of June 5th.

The text of the proposed amendment to the
Constitution is as follows:

"Marriage in the United States shall
consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution or the
constitution of any State, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to
require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon
unmarried couples or groups."

The HRC is delivering postcards
to congressional offices stating opposition to this amendment. Let
your elected representatives know that a vote for the FMA is a vote
against your friends and family by sending one: http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/fma_postcards.

Maybe Not Homeless (Except for 2 Weeks)

Up in Cambridge/Somerville area for today and tomorrow and I think I may have found someplace to live. I looked at six different apartments today. The first one I saw could have worked. It was in a big house, right near Tufts, and could have definitely fit all my stuff, but it was a little ragged looking -- lots of orange carpet, 70s'-style kitchen, and drafty windows. I thought to myself, "I could live here," but I didn't love it. It was less than a mile from Davis Square, though, so a good location. Everything else in Somerville that I saw was "charming" (read: small) -- lots of places I would have loved if this were my first apartment post-college, but since it's not, I have a hard time rationalizing spending $1650 a month for someplace that wouldn't hold ANY of my furniture.

I sort of fell in love, though, with a place right in Cambridge. Way more expensive, but very modern with 2 bedrooms, walk-in closets, two off-street parking spaces, and a POOL! It's walkable to all 3 squares and easily commutable. The only issue is the move in date -- July 1. My job starts on June 20 so I will be living out of a suitcase for 2 weeks. Kind of sucky. But with a mortgage (someone please buy my house) and rent, this might not be that bad. We'll see. I'm looking at a few more places tomorrow, but if none of them top this place, I'm going to take it.

On the move: I had lunch at a nice place and then got a pedicure -- a perfect day to feel really content about moving up here. I spent last night with YG and the MG too, and we had fun. She's a riot and is constantly giving me shit about liking the Yankees. They are supposedly "mean." The Red Sox, on the other hand, are "nice." Overall, I'm happy to be coming up here.

Enormous

The enormity of what I'm trying to accomplish in just 5 weeks is starting to set in. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and way overtired. I've been up to 1 or 2 a.m. every night since I've made my decision, cleaning out the house and making lists, and then I sleep through the alarm. Blah. I spent the other night in the garage just trying to make ROOM for crap that I have to throw out.

I feel like this is an opportunity to have a fresh start, to pare down, clean up, declutter....all good stuff. I look at all the things I have and it just makes me sad that I've spent so much money collecting stuff that I never needed and I don't use. Hello, 15 tableclothes? I don't cook and I never eat at the table. It's a waste, and I want to try and keep from doing this in my new place, wherever that ends up being.

I also want to make sure that I keep my food normal during the next few weeks and exercise when I can. This weekend was supposed to be this but I have so much to do that I'm staying home and getting the house ready for showing next week. YG is going to help me since I have no idea what the hell I'm doing when it comes to home repairs.

In other news -- my last official day of work will be June 6, but I'm taking about a gazillion personal days before then. Up in Cambridge on Monday and Tuesday to try and find a place to live. And more good times, over $800 of car repairs. :-(

Busy, Busy, Busy

Insanely busy this weekend and today. I messed around in the house some more, and ended up shredding 4 large garbage bags worth of paper this weekend, making a ton (literally?) of room for myself. Also have dates with Home Depot, the DMV, and Sears Carpet Cleaning. Glamorous.

And have appointments with 5 different realtors next Monday and Tuesday to try and find myself a place to live.

Deep breath. In one month, it will all be done with, but getting there is going to be a bitch.

More Reactions

I'm collecting some of my favorite reactions to the move:

"Only six more weeks until you're beantown's new sassy it girl. Wheee!"

"Wave adios to your sucky job and off to Beantown for you! (We'll make a Sox fan
of you yet... ) "

"Will your new job let you talk about blow jobs at the office? Because it's not
too late to negotiate for extra perks... "

"I am totally coming to visit you , and we can hang out in harvard square and go
to shows at the middle east and pretend we're not 30."

And this gem from my mom because it's absurd...and just odd considering that I'm in the middle of a divorce AND I would presumably tell my own parents if I was thinking of getting married :

"So you're going up there? Um, you're not getting married, are you? Because you should wait a while to do that again. "

This is infinitely more fun than making more lists. I started with one list and then it begat another list and that begat another...and now I'm just feeling overwhelmed. And the best way to deal with being overwhelmed is to procrastinate. I do have a couple of moving quotes, though, so that's a start. Now I just need to figure out how many cubic feet of stuff I have.

My reaction

Like-seriously refers to the reaction that I've been getting from lots of people when I tell them I'm moving. Me: I'm moving to Boston. Randomly-selected friend: Like...seriously? Me: Uh huh...
And then I hit them with the rock fingers.



My reaction on finding out that I got the job I want and am moving to Boston.

Not a Trendsetter

Everyone's got one. Or everyone had one...like two years ago. I'm officially rejoining the blogosphere. I tried this a while back and after three posts, gave up and never went back.
But now I'm moving....and I'm sure that's of much interest to a number of people, besides me.