that's what tracy keeps asking me. are you having fun yet? i can honestly say that yes, i am having fun. i was laid off last wednesday, and i think that tracy is just trying in his own way to show me the light. he doesn't punch the 9 to 5 clock like the rest of the world, so he exists on a higher plane. that's his way of welcoming me and asking if i'm fitting in alright. actually, i'm looking at almost one full week of unemployment and my life hasn't really slowed down at all.
the first five days were pretty hectic, lots of drinking and carousing and laughing. i went to a college roommate's going away party (to chicago, to settle with his family), i had a nice but overpriced valentine's day dinner with hilery, went to two shows (two nights of the knitters, with my good buddy virgil shaw opening both nights in grand form), met john doe and exene cervenka (see above), took care of some outstanding tasks on the computer, and visited the post office twice. i even saw two movies, Miracle and 21 Grams.
Miracle is a hockey movie, the story of the 1980 olympic hockey team defeating the USSR. as always, i agree with roger ebert's assesment of the film, which was: too much drama with the coach's marriage, not enough drama with the hockey. coach is kurt russell. patricia clarkson, who is an excellent actress, plays coach's wife. so of course long shots of the coach studying hockey films... honey, when are you coming to bed? not now, i'm busy. why don't you put away the hockey films and come to bed? i told you i'm busy. why didn't we ever talk about this? you know that hockey is the most important thing in my life! et cetera. here's a tip: if you are making a two-and-a-half-hour long film about hockey, keep the movie about hockey. unless of course we are talking Slapshot, in which case scenes of paul newman gathering dish on hanrahan's wife to use against him later as intimidation and bait for a fight are not entirely within the plot but still serve a purpose. also, Slapshot has cursing, fighting, and boobs. what's a hockey movie without cursing, fighting, and boobs? i'll tell you: it's a disney hockey movie called Miracle.
the other one i caught, today even, was 21 Grams. this movie was like getting punched in the chest. or like jumping off of a cliff into the ocean only to see the wave roll back while you're in the air, leaving you hanging in freefall over nasty rocks and barnacles. and it had cursing, fighting, and boobs. and naomi watts. she deserves the oscar. sean penn, a walking acting lesson in a heartbreaking role. did you see me shed a tear at the disney hockey movie? i think not. i didn't cry at 21 Grams either. my brother and the drummer in my band cry at movies. i just swallow my feelings, it's where they belong.
my goal for unemployment at first is to take it slow and do one big thing each day. it's hard to keep it simple, especially after years of cramming your days off with every last item on your to do list. now, my to do list is entirely made up of things that used to be on my to do later list. things like see a movie and clean out the closet. tomorrow, a friend is taking me to target. so, yes, i am having fun yet.
Posted by snackfight at February 17, 2004 07:41 PM