I woke up with wild grey hairs in my eyebrows but after a scowl and a pluck they were gone and I really didn’t feel much different. The thing that struck me the most was that the time between 14 and forty goes by so quickly. It seems like yesterday that I was forgoing Saturday morning cartoons to lay in bed and fantasize that I was on white sand beach making love with Jon Bon Jovi. I was fourteen so I knew nothing of love or sex and even in my fantasies it was mostly rolling around on the sand slobbering in each others mouths and telling each other how hot we were and that our hair was fantastic. So technically not much different then my twenties except at twenty I was mature enough to know that sand up your ass is not sexy.
I think the days go quicker the older you get as well. It is almost impossible for me to think all the thoughts I want to think, and take all the naps I want to take and still manage to do all the things I planned on doing the day before but put off until today and now they may have to wait until tomorrow. I plugged my wax in three days ago and have yet to wax my brows so instead I took a pair of Dollarama scissors and cut my bangs off so that they fall across my eyebrows and what is happening there is now a mystery!
My Dollarama scissor haircut that covers up my greying eyebrows
This evening I brought a bottle of wine and a glass to the table. An hour later the wine remained unopened and the glass empty. Never in a million years did I think that wine would be one of those things I “didn’t get around too”
I applied for a job tonight. It’s funny because I wasn’t even looking for a job exactly and then all the sudden my dream job jumped out of the computer screen and landed on my lap seductively and stroked my face. My heart skipped a beat. I knew that technically we were not right for each other. It was a downtown job, I am an uptown girl. It’s champagne and caviar, I’m cheap red wine and Black Diamond cheese. What I am trying to get across is that there will be candidates with better “paper” qualifications then me but in the real world of experience trumps diploma I would kick the ass off this job. If they were smart they would come to my door with gifts of Lindor Chocolate Truffles and Liquor Depot gift certificates and beg me to take this job. It would be an Affair to Remember! So I realize it is a long shot but I put my hat in the race. You can’t lose something you never had so certainly no harm was done. I honestly haven’t felt passionately about a job in a very long time. I have always taken pride in my work but besides my Volunteer work that I am unquestionably committed to and get a great deal of personal reward from I can’t remember the last time I felt like I could imagine myself waking up and doing the same thing everyday. My respect to those of you who have worked hard to achieve your goals and do a job you love everyday, it is rare!
So forty rolled in pretty quietly for me. It was a Wednesday so no all night party, no jaggermeister shots and swinging from the chandelier but it was exactly what I needed. I had a quiet dinner and shared some laughs with a wonderful friend. We then went to the late show to see American Hustle. Ten Academy Award nominations and I kid you not we had the entire theatre to ourselves. We had our shoes kicked off and our feet up. There was a part in the movie when Bradley Cooper and Amy Adams go disco dancing so we got on our feet and had our very own disco party, so fun. I should mention that my friend is 37.5 weeks pregnant and she sure can bust a move.
American Hustle is set in the 70s, the movie is colorful and layered. The characters are complex and beautiful. Hair was big, bras were non-existent and though there really wasn’t any sex, the hint of it was enough and there were a couple of times when I wanted to scream “DO IT!! The movie explored relationships, consequences, ego, heart and the conflict between right and wrong. It was portrayed so eloquently that there were times I struggled in my own mind to decide what was right and what was wrong and was it really so black and white. The movie really studied the rhythms of the characters and showed you what people are capable of when their lives are in shambles. A line at the end of the movie spoken by Christian Bale (who reminded me of my dear Dad back in the 70s) stuck with me….
I have personal space issues. I am not sure when it began or how and why it progressed because I don’t remember always being this way. By nature I am an affectionate person and some people can bust through my bubble pretty easily but sometimes contact with people feels invasive. If you are among my closest friends don’t feel offended or worried that you may be smothering me. We both know that after a couple of drinks I lose my filter so chances are I would have said something sarcastic like “Are you trying to kiss me? You would have turned red and blurted out “No” and I would have said “then take a step back because I can see your tonsils when you talk and it is freaking me out!” I have on occasion though endured my discomfort for the sake of someones feelings. I always thought this was kind and mature of me until my friend told me she slept with a guy she wasn’t the least bit attracted to to avoid hurting his feelings. So, in some cases honesty or at least removing yourself from the situation is the best thing for everyone.
Last night I took my girls to the movies and I was happy because we had the entire back row to ourselves, or at least that is the way it began. Moments before the show people are filing in and crawling over me to get to seats. Thankfully there was still an empty seat separating my oldest daughter and her friend from the youngest and I, and there were two open seats beside us. I was so content I ate a box of glosette raisins before the movie even started. I was anticipating the entrance of Will Smith in tight pants when some late arrivals filtered in. Never mind that there was five empty rows to choose from, they sauntered up to our row and hung out awkwardly for what seemed like an eternity while they decided if they were going to sit there. I wasn’t about to give them an invitation or look welcoming or anything. Looking back on the situation I should have let out a guttural growl and told them that the seats were taken. Again the movie had already started so it was annoying to have them stand there and then even more annoying when they decided to shimmy their way into the seats squished between people who were already comfortable. Did I mention there were five empty rows? My mature voice is talking to me and it says “Michelle take a deep breath and enjoy the movie!” I try, I really try but the man is quite large and his arm keeps grazing me and I can feel myself retreating, mentally trying to make myself smaller He is a heavy breather, he sounds like he has been on a ten-mile jog. I am looking straight ahead and doing my best to focus on what I came for, enjoying a movie with my daughters. The smell of movie nachos hits me before they hit his mouth. They are loaded with jalapenos and dripping with cheese sauce. This guy is ravenous. He begins shoving them in his mouth handful after handful, barely taking the time to chew between deposits into his hungry cave. There is cheese sauce dripping off his chin but he doesn’t wipe it. He continues to stuff the nachos into him and I am sure he is going to barf on me. His labored breathing is ten times worse now. It sounds like at fat man on a treadmill. I am doing anything I can to focus on something else. Occasionally he snorts a little, I assume to avoid choking. In my head I am picturing my mother stuffing a butterball turkey with stuffing and she fills it and fills it until the turkey explodes all over me. My head starts to tingle and I pull my hair back tightly into a finger ponytail. Sometimes adding some sort of pressure to my body can help me refocus. I am literally feeling like bugs are crawling on me but I know this will pass. That triple extra large order of nachos cannot last forever. It feels like eternities have passed since this man sat down beside me. I sympathize for anything or anyone who has ever been trapped in a cage for I imagine that this is how they must feel, or dogs on leashes unable to run free. Now I am imagining myself in a wide open field with nothing but green grass below my feet and blue sky above my head. I am barefoot and running with my arms above me basking in the open air. The man puts his Nacho container on the floor. Surprisingly it is not done but he needs a drink. He takes a large swig and then burps and loudly clears phlegm from his throat. I want to be back in my wide open field but now I picture the heavy breather with nacho cheese smeared on his face chasing me through it. He takes another drink, every time he lifts his cup his arm hits mine. He burps again and this time the smell hits me immediately. Spicy jalapeno cheese burp. I jump out of my seat like it is on fire and dive into the seat beside Morgan and her friend. Within seconds the tension subsides and I am free to enjoy the movie.
These are in no particular order and I just picked the first ten that popped in my head, plus one more for good measure . These are some of my all time favorite movies, movie quotes and movie clips. I don’t consider myself a Movie buff but if I like a movie I will watch it over and over and over…
P.S. Guys, they are not all Chick flicks I promise!
DIRTY DANCING
“Nobody puts baby in a corner” Johnny Castle
Summer of 1963, first love, Patrick Swayze as the steamy, unforgettable Johnny Castle. Fabulous music playing on every turn table. I have watched this movie so many times I can’t count. I especially like to watch it when it is raining outside. I adore this coming of age classic drama and if you don’t have anything good to say about it just get off my blog! Kidding, We are all entitled to our own opinions but if you can’t find anything to like about this movie I will be shocked. I am a sucker for “The lift” scene!
Crazy Stupid Love
A guy actually told me to watch this movie. I watched it every single day the following week. Emma Stone is such a talented and likable young actress and Ryan Gosling owns the part of Jacob. Julianne Moore and Steve Carrell are so beautifully flawed and remarkably endearing!
Emma Stone as Hannah ” I’m here to bang the hot guy who hit on me at the bar”
and
“FUCK!, Seriously? it’s like you’re Photoshopped!”
Ryan Gosling as Jacob “The war between the sexes is over. We won the second women started doing pole dancing for exercise”
Then there is the LIFT!! The Dirty Dancing LIFT again!
YOUR WELCOME 😉
Grand Torino
I am a big Clint Eastwood fan “Make my Day!” is history! He plays all of his characters so well but I fell in love with him as Walt in Gran Torino. He used every known racial slur and even ones we couldn’t imagine but deep down he had such an amazing heart. (But still a BAD ASS!)
Clint Eastwood as Walt “I used to stack fucks likes you five feet high in Korea… use ya for sand bags”
PSYCHO
The original because remaking this movie was ridiculous! Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates was one of the most memorable characters ever portrayed. Alfred Hitchcock’s brilliance can not and should not be messed with!
Ten to Midnight
My favorite Vigilante ever, Charles Bronson as LA PD/Vigilante Leo Kessler in one of my favorite Police Drama, Slasher film.
Carlitos Way
Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope ann Miller and Viggo Mortenson finely portray their characters in this gangster drama set in the Bronx in 1975. Al Pacinos “Carlito” is a character in my heart forever.
Carlito “There is a line you cross, you don’t never come back from. Point of no return. Dave crossed it. I’m here with him. That’s means I am going along for the ride. The whole ride. All the way to the end of the line, wherever that is”
The Beach
It all starts when Richard (Leonardo DeCaprio) finds himself in Thailand and in possession of a secret map leading to a solitary beach paradise! Is Paradise all it is cracked up to be.
The Departed
Leonardo, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, several good reasons to watch this mob drama. Plot twists and turns, family, love, betrayal. A must see!!
Donnie Brasco
A true crime/mob movie with Al Pacino and Johnny Depp. That is reason enough. I think I like mob movies. It is not normally my genre but the few I have listed I have watched over and over. The characters draw me in and make all the shooting bearable. Joseph Pistone is an undercover FBI agent who infiltrates the mob as Donnie Brasco and finds his two lives colliding.
Joseph Pistone “All my life I’ve tried to be the good guy, the guy in the white fucking hat. And for what? For nothing. I’m not becoming like them; I am them”
The Notebook
Nicholas Sparks Romance novel come to brilliant life because of the glowing character portrayal of Noah and Ally by Ryan Gosling, James Garner, Rachel McAdam and Gena Rowland, Has anyone out there not seen this movie? Love and all the angst to go with it!!
Fight Scene
Kiss In the rain
If you’re a bird, I’m a bird!
Friday
It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t include this movie because I have watched it so many times I have the lines memorized. It a silly stoner movie about scheming neighborhood crackheads. Smoky and Craig played by Chris Tucker and Ice Cube are so enjoyable to watch. A laugh out loud movie but don’t bother with part two. Great soundtrack too.
Craig Jones: We ain’t got no sugar. Smokey: No sugar? Damn. Y’all ain’t never got two things that match. Either y’all got Kool-aid, no sugar. Peanut butter, no jelly. Ham, no burger. Daaamn.
EDIT
For those of you reading this late you are getting two bonus movies, my favorite fantasy Films…
Spirited Away
This Japanese animated movie scared the shit out of my daughter but she just asked to watch it now, she is 13 now and not afraid of a damn thing. I loved it, found it magical. A sullen ten year old girl moving to a new neighborhood enters an alternate reality.
Pan’s Labyrinth
This movie is subtitled but give it a couple of minutes and you will forget.
Pan’s Labyrinth takes place in Spain in May–June 1944, five years after the Spanish Civil War, during the early Francoist period. The narrative of the film interweaves this real world with a fantasy world centered around an overgrown abandoned labyrinth and a mysterious faun creature, with which the main character, Ofelia, interacts. Ofelia’s stepfather, the Falangist Captain Vidal, hunts the Spanish Maquis who fight against the Francoist regime in the region, while Ofelia’s pregnant mother grows increasingly ill. Ofelia meets several strange and magical creatures who become central to her story, leading her through the trials of the old labyrinth garden.
Dancing in the rain! 