Blue Moon Over Boston

(This picture was not taken by me. I got it off the web.)


There comes a time in everyone's life, I'd like to think, that one becomes what one despises. One does what one swears one would never do.

This entry is my concession to righteous defeat. I swore I would never wallow in sentimental drivel on my blog, my public face, but drivel now I must.

If the whole point of a blog is self-expression, I cannot but express the pervading feelings of gloom and doom that have hung over me for days, like the predictable overcast skies of San Francisco.

Moving to a far away city, for all its novelty, sucks. I miss familiar people, places, activities, etc.

Yes, it's trite, homesickness, or whatever you call it. But I don't think it will dissipate in a short time. I'm so tired of moving, like clockwork, from place to place every two to three years. I'm so tired of meeting people, getting acquainted, and then critically evaluating how/whether/and why to stay in touch. What to say and how much?

I don't think people are meant to live outside a community. And I believe a true community takes years to form. Years to know and years to trust.

To be everywhere is to be nowhere at all. To meet many is to know none. And to move a lot is to be all alone.

Geek Speak

What is a geek?

Richard, a self-acknowledged geek from the WB reality gameshow, "Beauty and the Geek," defined it this way for Regis:

"A geek is...a little better than a dork, and...a little lower than a nerd."

Well, there you have it.

A love-hate relationship with Larry Elder

One of the most frustrating shows I have ever seen on TV is Larry Elder's.

He is a fifty+ black talk show host (who I think used to be a lawyer) and seems to always talk about issues that are really interesting to me.

Yesterday, he had 4 women on his show. 2 believed that women should stay home with their kids and not go to work. The other 2 have kids and work and wouldn't change that even if they could.

Today's show was a wake up call for me. Blatant racism against blacks is alive and well. A white dad, mom, and 20+ year old daughter were on the show. They told her, ever since she was young, that interracial dating was immoral. They disowned her when she married a black man and disavow their mixed grandchild.

"Is there any kind of black man, with any kind of resume, acceptable to you for your daughter to marry?" Larry Elder asked.

Without a moment's hesitation, both replied, "No."

"If I came to your house and said that I was dating your daughter, what would you say?" asked Larry (who, judging from this question, seems to be some kind of glutton for punishment).

"I'd say, 'Don't let the door hit you on the way out'," was the mother's reply.

That show was frustrating. For 30+ minutes I heard the mom and dad spew racist ideas and at the same time, deny that they're really racist. Maybe they're not. Maybe they don't think that blacks are inferior to whites. Maybe, as they claim, they just don't believe that different races should mix. Whatever their views, I was unhappy.

I suppose I was unhappy that they even brought up race in the first place. I grew up indoctrinated by public education to believe that race doesn't matter. Race should not figure into any important equation. Race should not ever be a factor. A person's race is superficial.

But here they were. Husband and wife, parading on stage with a litany of ideas, completely beholden to them, unapologetically denouncing everything that I had ever been taught about race. How could they do that?! What makes them so confident and sure?

I am not satisfied to simply encounter a different opinion and say, "Oh well, different strokes for different folks." I want to understand. And I don't want simple intellectual understanding, I want an existentially satisfying understanding. I want to feel the truth of their truth. I want to feel the persuasiveness of their argument. I want to be seduced, but not give in.

But I can't understand the racist couple. I can't understand the moms-should-stay-at-home women. And for that, I hate Larry Elder's talk show.

How dare he bring up interesting topics and not even try to resolve them, just a little bit. He just asks questions that put his guests' eccentric opinions on display, never asking them to justify them. Never challenging them. Never getting the audience just one little step further towards any real understanding. He just leaves me hangin'.

Adventures in Middlesex

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, that's Middlesex COUNTY.

We have been thoroughly enjoying soaking up the local flava here. Lots of young people, modern stores, old books, and great architecture. See for yourselves.

Here at the Coop I'm trying to get into "school mode", which includes spending time in bookstores, wearing flip-flops, and trading in my purse for a back pack. 

Michael can't resist taking a picture with Mr. John Harvard himself. This statue is called "the statue of the 3 lies." 1) The date inscribed is wrong 2) John Harvard is not the founder (as the inscription claims), he is just a major donor. And 3) This isn't Mr. Harvard's likeness. What a sham!

This was taken on Harvard's B-school campus, which is very beautiful and rich (and a thousand times better than the law school) All the buildings are built in the historical style you see behind us. We spend all our time at the B-school since we live on the B-school campus (which is isolated miles away from the rest of the school)
 

This is part of the B-school "student lounge." Everywhere there is crown molding and the plushest leather couches. Down the hall is a cafeteria, bookstore, and US Post Office! "Better than Westminster?" I asked Michael. "No," he replied, "there's no ping-pong table." 

Doesn't this look like I'm drinking a urine sample? It's uncanny how warm it is too. (It's just tea though.)

Glued to the Boob Tube

Who doesn't love TV.

It makes me laugh, it makes me cry. It sucks all the time out of my otherwise monotonous life.

I was never allowed to watch TV as a kid (but tried to sneak some in while the parents weren't home anyway). And then in college, I didn't have the luxury of a TV set either. Post-college, I was too cheap to have TV service.

But now, since I've moved into a "spoiled private school brat's" furnished pad...oh man. It's TV 24/7. Although there are only about 5 good channels, it's enough to keep me glued for the majority of hours in the day. Imagine the degeneration if I actually had cable!

In the morning, things usually start out light with Regis and Kelly. Does anyone else think Kelly has an abnormally large bobble-figurine like head?

Then it's straight into "Starting Over," a show where 2 "life coaches" try to help 5 women through their "issues." All 5 women live in one house together for weeks on end. That used to be my vision of hell. The hormones, the passive aggressiveness, the sensitivity...yikes. That would be my Fear Factor challenge. And yes, I do catch Fear Factor later in the evening.

But one show that is surprisingly addictive is actually not even a "real" show. The TV Guide channel has shows that run on the top half of the screen while the channel guide schedule scrolls through the bottom half. This "not a real show" show even has legitimate commercials! I'm just so impressed with how they can actually split one channel into two, essentially!

But anyway, the show is called "Look Alikes" (or something to that effect). One lucky contestant is chosen to receive a complete makeover so that they "look like" a Hollywood celebrity. I've seen David Arquette, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, and most recently Reese Witherspoon. Some are more convincing than others. (David Arquette was like a total carbon copy!)

But why do I love this show so much? Because. These makeovers are amazing. You can actually confuse these mere mortals for their demi-god counterparts. It's unbelievable.

Now that I think about it, I love any makeover show (people or houses). "What Not to Wear," "This Old House," "The Swan," and all those makeover talk show episodes. Makeovers are the ultimate act of creative redemption.

I once tried to makeover my friend Jenny. I read Kevin Aucoin's (cosmetician to the stars) book on makeovers and bought fifty dollars worth of cosmetics from my local Walmart. I began with her skin, of course, and as soon as it looked flawless and nicely contoured, I proceeded to the eye makeup, at which point, she then chose to reveal to me that she has very sensitive eyes and really can't handle any eye makeup. Well, that's all right (could've saved me 10 bucks there, but ok). Some shadow and eyebrow darkening would just have to do. And then the lipliner, lip stick, and finally blush.

I remember taking a few pictures of my obliging model, before and after. I never got to see what the pictures looked like though. Lazy, uninitiative sloth that I am, I never developed the film and it expired 3 years later. I had to throw the whole camera away. (In my defense, I would just like to mention that part of the reason I didn't develop the disposable camera is because there were still a few shots left in it. So another one of my more redeeming qualities did play a role in my deliquincy, thriftiness.)

But judging from Jen's reaction when she saw "the finished product" in my bathroom mirror, it wasn't the most successful makeover ever attempted. I thought she looked pretty modern, urban, smokey eyes, you know, the whole metro look. She, on the other hand, forever referred to it as, "that awful makeover you tried to do on me." And always quickly adding, as if an uncontrollable afterthought, "I looked terrible."

Roadies Across America

Well, we made it.

After schlepping in a 14 foot Uhaul with our car towed behind for nine days, we have finally arrived at Boston.

The move was exhausting (mostly for Michael and our guy volunteers). But yours truly did a lot of light lifting!

The drive was extremely uncomfortable but offered splendid panoramic displays of Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahomah, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, and upstate New York. Some scenes of our great country, among other things:

Nevada is nothing but desert. Not even a shrub to speak of. No wonder they have to legalize naughtiness. 

The great Hoover Damn in Arizona. 

Gorgeous skies in New Mexico. 

Cool cave formations in New Mexico. 

This greenery was a welcome change from all the desert. This is Northern Texas. 

The arch should give it away. We're in St. Louis! (the biggest city we've passed so far). 

Lush Ohio. There were emerald forests in abundance from then on. 

After driving for 7 days, I feel we've earned the right to park with the big boys. 

We swing by Cornell to visit Michael's younger sister. This guy in the back is the best friend and right hand man of Mr. Cornell. 

What's a cross country road trip without a stop at a yuppie bookstore to catch up on celebrity news? 

Typical gas refill cost. We filled up twice a day! Ouch. 

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After hauling major boxes and stuff, we are relieved to be at our Boston summer sublet.