There was no Family Movie Night again this weekend due to way too much fun with friends!
On Saturday we went to the National Gallery with our Objectivist discussion group and enjoyed some art using Luc Travers' method. I promise to write much more about that soon, but there is too much to say in a quick update. Suffice it to say that a whole new world of art has been opened up for me.
After that we hung out with friends and had a campfire and ate chili and drank beer and bitched about home repairs, old farts who get in your way at Home Depot, environmentalists, and the state of the Objectivist culture. I hope you all have friends like that.
Sunday Sam slept in and the animals kept their mouths shut so we all actually got a decent night's sleep. We puttered around all day in little chores mostly related to our brand new deck and patio, which were completed late last week. I'll post photos soon.
Then Sunday night we had dinner with some new friends. We ate spaghetti, drank Chianti, and talked about Italy, amongst other things. Sam amused herself the whole evening by playing with their pets - two dogs and a cat. Once you have children it becomes difficult to have friends who don't, but pets help.
Next weekend we're taking a quick trip to Atlanta for a wedding and we'll get to see many of our distant friends.
I'm finally satisfied with my friends in life. I don't really mean my particular friends, but my way of dealing with friendships in general. There will always be new friends, and old ones will fade away, but I finally seem to be able to make and nurture the relationships that matter the most to me. I know what I want from friends and I seek it out. I have goals for friendships and I don't just accept the people who fall into my life. One important goal has been to find local friends. I started my Objectivist discussion group in large part for that purpose, and it's been a huge success for me. That is a big achievement, and I'm proud of it.
Monday, November 15, 2010
A Little Thing
The good part: Sammy finally understands that clean napkins don't need to be thrown away just because they've been removed from the napkin dispenser.
The bad part: Sammy now spits on every clean napkin that has come out of the napkin dispenser so that it will be dirty and can be thrown away.
The bad part: Sammy now spits on every clean napkin that has come out of the napkin dispenser so that it will be dirty and can be thrown away.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
TV for Me
The fall season started just in time to give me something mindless to do when recovering from the last miscarriage. I tried a whole slew of new shows, most of which I'm no longer watching. None of them were awful but they just didn't capture my interest. The only new show that I'm still watching is Modern Family. It's like an updated Cosby Show and it makes me laugh. Oh, and Adam and I have watched a couple of episodes of Outsourced but it remains to be seen if we'll continue with it. Adam is watching some kind of Zombie show and I try to watch it with him but I keep falling asleep. I also gave up on Caprica, the Battlestar Galactica spin-off. It would be nice to have a great sci-fi show again.
My old standbys aren't very exciting right now either. I'm watching this season's Survivor but I have to force myself to keep up with it. Some seasons are fantastic and some suck. I watch it as a game show or almost as a sport, and there is no team worth rooting for this year. I still watch House but the thrill is gone. Mad Men was great but it's over for the year already. The Office is always good for a couple of laughs, but it's really past its prime.
I guess my favorite show right now is Intervention. I'm totally addicted to it! There's something about seeing drug addicts totally self-destructing that is fascinating to me. I don't think I'm enjoying seeing them suffer or reveling in depravity. I think part of what fascinates me is the "co-dependence" of the families involved. (I don't really like the term co-dependence; I think it's more accurate to say that the friends and families of the addicts are evading the consequences of the "help" they are giving.) I have some firsthand experience in this area and it's good for me to get a reminder of how counterproductive and self-destructive it is to try to "fix" another person.
Also, I don't think all the addicts are totally immoral, hopeless losers. Many of them had severe trauma in their lives and they never figured out how to deal with it and they've put themselves in this kind of limbo as a way to cope. And then they have the physical addiction which makes it that much harder to get out of the whole mess. I do believe that their problems are 100% a choice, but that doesn't mean that moral, healthy choices are equally easy for all people. So I root for the ones who seem like they want to face reality, but just haven't figured out how yet. There are some addicts like that. There are also some who are too far gone, and some who are nihilists at heart and just slowly committing suicide and burning a path of destruction while they do it. Sometimes I can't watch the show if it is about someone like that, but usually it's not. Most addicts are somewhere in-between, and I like to try to guess which ones will make it and which ones won't. Unfortunately, at the end of the show you find out how they've done, but only a few months later. I'd like to know how some of them are doing years later.
The other thing I've been trying to watch on TV is football. I joined a Fantasy Football league as a way to try to jump-start my efforts to watch more football, but it didn't work. I've watched about 2 half-games all season. There is no reason I can't invest 2-3 hours a week to watching one single football game on Sunday or Monday night. Sam is asleep and I watch that much other TV in a week anyway. I think I'd enjoy just that much, but there is another problem: the games are on way too late here on the East coast. I just can't make it through a night-game, and I have no interest in watching the last half the next day if I record it. So, I think football is going to have to wait for a while. I'm hoping Sam will want to watch with me on Sunday afternoons when she is a bit older.
It's interesting to me, though, that my favorite shows, reality television shows, do seem to replicate watching sports. Survivor, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, and even Intervention, all involve rooting for someone who is trying to accomplish something challenging. They all require a lot less time-investment, though, and the challenge is not usually purely physical. Everyone seems to mock "reality TV" as something that panders to our baser instincts, and some shows do. But as a genre, I think the appeal of reality TV over the past decade has been due to its similarity to sports and game shows. So, I miss football, but I'm glad to have an alternative.
My old standbys aren't very exciting right now either. I'm watching this season's Survivor but I have to force myself to keep up with it. Some seasons are fantastic and some suck. I watch it as a game show or almost as a sport, and there is no team worth rooting for this year. I still watch House but the thrill is gone. Mad Men was great but it's over for the year already. The Office is always good for a couple of laughs, but it's really past its prime.
I guess my favorite show right now is Intervention. I'm totally addicted to it! There's something about seeing drug addicts totally self-destructing that is fascinating to me. I don't think I'm enjoying seeing them suffer or reveling in depravity. I think part of what fascinates me is the "co-dependence" of the families involved. (I don't really like the term co-dependence; I think it's more accurate to say that the friends and families of the addicts are evading the consequences of the "help" they are giving.) I have some firsthand experience in this area and it's good for me to get a reminder of how counterproductive and self-destructive it is to try to "fix" another person.
Also, I don't think all the addicts are totally immoral, hopeless losers. Many of them had severe trauma in their lives and they never figured out how to deal with it and they've put themselves in this kind of limbo as a way to cope. And then they have the physical addiction which makes it that much harder to get out of the whole mess. I do believe that their problems are 100% a choice, but that doesn't mean that moral, healthy choices are equally easy for all people. So I root for the ones who seem like they want to face reality, but just haven't figured out how yet. There are some addicts like that. There are also some who are too far gone, and some who are nihilists at heart and just slowly committing suicide and burning a path of destruction while they do it. Sometimes I can't watch the show if it is about someone like that, but usually it's not. Most addicts are somewhere in-between, and I like to try to guess which ones will make it and which ones won't. Unfortunately, at the end of the show you find out how they've done, but only a few months later. I'd like to know how some of them are doing years later.
The other thing I've been trying to watch on TV is football. I joined a Fantasy Football league as a way to try to jump-start my efforts to watch more football, but it didn't work. I've watched about 2 half-games all season. There is no reason I can't invest 2-3 hours a week to watching one single football game on Sunday or Monday night. Sam is asleep and I watch that much other TV in a week anyway. I think I'd enjoy just that much, but there is another problem: the games are on way too late here on the East coast. I just can't make it through a night-game, and I have no interest in watching the last half the next day if I record it. So, I think football is going to have to wait for a while. I'm hoping Sam will want to watch with me on Sunday afternoons when she is a bit older.
It's interesting to me, though, that my favorite shows, reality television shows, do seem to replicate watching sports. Survivor, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, and even Intervention, all involve rooting for someone who is trying to accomplish something challenging. They all require a lot less time-investment, though, and the challenge is not usually purely physical. Everyone seems to mock "reality TV" as something that panders to our baser instincts, and some shows do. But as a genre, I think the appeal of reality TV over the past decade has been due to its similarity to sports and game shows. So, I miss football, but I'm glad to have an alternative.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Family Movie Night - Monsters, Inc.
Our on-demand cable service has a category just for Pixar movies. Saturday night I read off the titles and brief descriptions to Sam:
As I expected, she said, "MONSTERS?????????"
Then she said, "What's that called again?" and I told her, "Monster's, Inc." She said, "I want to watch that one. Yeah, yeah."
The whole movie, she kept asking where the ink was. The fact that one of the main monsters was a kind of octopus didn't help.
Adam and I loved this movie when it came out but both of us had forgotten all of it except for that amazing scene with the doors in the warehouse at the end. The movie has some really sweet parent/child love moments. When Sully's friend Mike berates him for taking risks for the sake of the child, Boo, he tries to remind Sully about all the values they have given up: their work, their goals, their friendship. Sully replies, "None of that matters now." And Adam chimed in, "Not now that he has a child."
I totally missed that the first time around.
- Cars (it's about cars)
- Toy Story (it's about toys)
- Monster's Inc. (it's about monsters)
- A Bug's Life (it's about bugs)
- The Incredibles (it's about superheroes)
- Ratatouille (it's about a rat)
- Wall-E (it's about a robot)
As I expected, she said, "MONSTERS?????????"
Then she said, "What's that called again?" and I told her, "Monster's, Inc." She said, "I want to watch that one. Yeah, yeah."
The whole movie, she kept asking where the ink was. The fact that one of the main monsters was a kind of octopus didn't help.
Adam and I loved this movie when it came out but both of us had forgotten all of it except for that amazing scene with the doors in the warehouse at the end. The movie has some really sweet parent/child love moments. When Sully's friend Mike berates him for taking risks for the sake of the child, Boo, he tries to remind Sully about all the values they have given up: their work, their goals, their friendship. Sully replies, "None of that matters now." And Adam chimed in, "Not now that he has a child."
I totally missed that the first time around.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
A Little Thing
Sam has finally learned to open the refrigerator! (Well, it's more accurate to say that she has finally chosen to begin opening the refrigerator, since she refused to try at all until now.) The day when she can prepare her own meals and snacks is just a little bit closer.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Planning for Italy with Sam
Besides the new deck and trying to make a baby using an egg-donor, my biggest project is planning our spring trip to Italy. I've always enjoyed the process of planning a vacation, and this one is especially exciting.
The first thing I had to do was to get a new passport. I lost all of my important papers, including my birth certificate and passport, during the Great Moves of 2007-2008. I was very worried when I read on the Los Angeles County web site that it might take up to 14 weeks to get a certified copy of my birth certificate, but they got it to me in just one week. The passport was fast, too. Huge sigh of relief!
I also double-checked Sam's passport. She went to Mexico when she was three months old so this is all old-hat for her. I'm glad I checked because a minor's passport is only valid for five years. We'll need to renew next year. Put that in the tickler file now!
Next, I asked Facebook to help. I got lots of advice, and I compiled it all into a Word document (thanks, friends!). I also asked a couple of real, live friends who gave me invaluable advice. Based on all of that, we decided to stick with two cities for a ten day trip: Rome and Florence. We'll also spend at least one night on the road in between, exploring the Tuscan (or maybe Umbrian) countryside via automobile. I'm as excited about that part as I am about the big cities.
Now we need to book accommodations and flights. A quick search on Expedia told me that there are plenty of good flight options, so I started researching hotels and inns, figuring that availability might affect when we fly. But then I realized that I needed some good maps and guidebooks before I could figure it all out. Today I received Rick Steves' Rome, Florence & Tuscany, and Italy guidebooks, plus Streetwise maps of Rome and Florence. (I love those Streetwise maps for the US, so I'm hoping they will be reliable overseas.)
The first thing I did was open the Rome guidebook to the chapter on "Rome with Children." It begins:
As much as I like Rick Steves, this was a little bit offensive to me. Does he have kids? Or is my kid weird? My kid goes to parks and eats ice cream all the time. I'm confident that she will be utterly fascinated with just strolling the streets, and even with the art. Sure, we can't count on spending four hours straight at the Vatican Museum, but I can't believe that any of us will be jonesing for a playground.
Here is the first sentence in the next paragraph:
Sounds like a heavenly break from sightseeing to me. Actually, it sounds like New York without the cars. And Sam absolutely loved New York, including the walking, the subway, the buildings, and just being in a new, totally foreign environment. Oh, and yes, especially the pigeons.
Anyway, we'll get into the sightseeing planning later. Now we want to focus on getting inexpensive hotels in good locations for both cities - ones with private bathrooms and elevators and air conditioning, and maybe, if we're lucky, a little bit of ambiance. But really, we just want a comfortable place to sleep and watch videos and rest. I think we're going to try to hit Rome first because it will be hectic, then have a lazy day or two getting up to Florence, where I'm thinking the pace will be a bit slower.
Like I said, I love planning. I love trying to figure out all of these little details to make the trip as great as possible. Planning doesn't mean scheduling every little thing, but it does mean being prepared.
Next up, I'll start working through Rick Steves' Italian Phrase Book and Dictionary, which has been sitting hopefully on my bookshelf for eight years.
The first thing I had to do was to get a new passport. I lost all of my important papers, including my birth certificate and passport, during the Great Moves of 2007-2008. I was very worried when I read on the Los Angeles County web site that it might take up to 14 weeks to get a certified copy of my birth certificate, but they got it to me in just one week. The passport was fast, too. Huge sigh of relief!
I also double-checked Sam's passport. She went to Mexico when she was three months old so this is all old-hat for her. I'm glad I checked because a minor's passport is only valid for five years. We'll need to renew next year. Put that in the tickler file now!
Next, I asked Facebook to help. I got lots of advice, and I compiled it all into a Word document (thanks, friends!). I also asked a couple of real, live friends who gave me invaluable advice. Based on all of that, we decided to stick with two cities for a ten day trip: Rome and Florence. We'll also spend at least one night on the road in between, exploring the Tuscan (or maybe Umbrian) countryside via automobile. I'm as excited about that part as I am about the big cities.
Now we need to book accommodations and flights. A quick search on Expedia told me that there are plenty of good flight options, so I started researching hotels and inns, figuring that availability might affect when we fly. But then I realized that I needed some good maps and guidebooks before I could figure it all out. Today I received Rick Steves' Rome, Florence & Tuscany, and Italy guidebooks, plus Streetwise maps of Rome and Florence. (I love those Streetwise maps for the US, so I'm hoping they will be reliable overseas.)
The first thing I did was open the Rome guidebook to the chapter on "Rome with Children." It begins:
Sorry, but Rome is not a great place for little kids. Parks are rare. Kid-friendly parks are rarer. Most of the museums are low-tech and lack hands-on fun.
The good news for kids? Pizza and gelato.
As much as I like Rick Steves, this was a little bit offensive to me. Does he have kids? Or is my kid weird? My kid goes to parks and eats ice cream all the time. I'm confident that she will be utterly fascinated with just strolling the streets, and even with the art. Sure, we can't count on spending four hours straight at the Vatican Museum, but I can't believe that any of us will be jonesing for a playground.
Here is the first sentence in the next paragraph:
Rome's many squares are traffic-free, with plenty of space to run and pigeons to feed while Mom and Dad enjoy coffee at an outdoor table.
Sounds like a heavenly break from sightseeing to me. Actually, it sounds like New York without the cars. And Sam absolutely loved New York, including the walking, the subway, the buildings, and just being in a new, totally foreign environment. Oh, and yes, especially the pigeons.
Anyway, we'll get into the sightseeing planning later. Now we want to focus on getting inexpensive hotels in good locations for both cities - ones with private bathrooms and elevators and air conditioning, and maybe, if we're lucky, a little bit of ambiance. But really, we just want a comfortable place to sleep and watch videos and rest. I think we're going to try to hit Rome first because it will be hectic, then have a lazy day or two getting up to Florence, where I'm thinking the pace will be a bit slower.
Like I said, I love planning. I love trying to figure out all of these little details to make the trip as great as possible. Planning doesn't mean scheduling every little thing, but it does mean being prepared.
Next up, I'll start working through Rick Steves' Italian Phrase Book and Dictionary, which has been sitting hopefully on my bookshelf for eight years.
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