9-18 & 9-19

9-18

I'm a big Kevin Smith fan, and he's made a third CLERKS film.  But the only way to see it would be to pay the crazy Fathom Events prices, and see it during the one week it's available (which I believe is more than it was supposed to be--there was enough interest they expanded the showings).  I absolutely love CLERKS, and really, really like CLERKS II, so, at the last minute, I drove over to the theater to see CLERKS III.  

And . . . shoot, I guess I hated it.  It's hard to put my finger on what I felt, exactly, except that it didn't strike me as particularly funny, wasn't at all inspired, and made me much sadder than I would've expected.  He brought back nearly everyone who worked on the first one in 1993, even the bit parts from non-actors in Leonardo, New Jersey . . . but I felt like all of that was somehow pandering instead of sincere.  And then putting so much dramatic weight on poor Bryan O'Halloran (Jeff Anderson got to do pretty much what he did in the first one, only a bit douchier) was kind of hard to watch (when a real actor like Rosario Dawson shows up, it's practically night and day), and the sheer mountain of callbacks was practically overwhelming.  Anyway, I went home, and had to go for a run just to feel alive again.

Even though I've gone running the last few nights, I do find myself pausing at some point before I get home, either to catch my breath, or put on a new YouTube video.  Tonight, I vowed I would not stop, for any reason (just to see if I could), and deliberately chose a forty-one minute YouTube video, so I wouldn't have the excuse of stopping for another one.

I did quite well, until my phone, at the fifteen minute mark, shut itself off due to inactivity.  I tried not to stop as I fished my phone out of my pocket and woke it up again, but in the seconds it took me to not only unlock the phone, but start up the video again, I technically had failed in my vow.  Chalupa for you, but not for me.  Not tonight.

Exercise: Yes (15)

9-19

I may not have mentioned this before, but I am feeling really weird about going to Europe next month.  I keep getting this overwhelming feeling that I don't DESERVE to go on this most-expenses-paid vacation (hell, Jeff's already getting tickets to fudgin' Disneyland, so it really WILL be all-expenses paid if I don't stop him), and it's somehow sinful of me.*  So, when I saw a bunch of books at the Savers thrift shop yesterday that I knew Jeff would want, I took a photo of them to send, and when he said, "I feel bad asking you to buy them," I said, "Well, I AM coming to visit you in a month," so I drove all the way back and bought them for him.  Not that that comes anywhere near paying him back--I mean, he's flying me to a land where people sometimes start sentences with "Oy," for Bossk's sake--but it was the least I could do.

And speaking of doing the very least: I had the option of going to the library tonight and trying to get some writing done, but for once, I chose not to.  I instead went on my run early, and sat down to record more chapters of the audiobook.  I'm nearly there, and it helps that the last few sections seem to be shorter than most.  Once I get the book done (I'll still have to record the Author's Note, I believe--I have the others--but I'll have to ask Abbie), I am going to go all the way back to the beginning and re-record all the lines of dialogue for a particular character, because I could never remember how I voiced him (it's a character that speaks once every six or eight chapters).  Then, I'll have to edit it all, of course, and re-record the parts I messed up on (there are always some . . . you do it too, you know), and then, I guess I'll be done.  Dare to dream.

My Aunt Blanca came over for Sunday dinner, and mentioned that I looked like I was in good shape.  It was a nice thing to say, because a) a year ago, I was still doing push-ups and sit-ups every day, and b) I'm heavier today than I've ever been.  I was trying to get healthier in preparation for my trip overseas, where I only assume that I'll be walking around all the time.  Guess I should start doing sit-ups again, huh?

Exercise: Yes (16)

*I realize that's a crazy bullshit word for me to use, but that's how it feels.  It's like, when my grandmother died in 1996, and I realized the last time I'd spoken to her was to ask her to use her car, having totalled my own one (jeez, I can't even remember what kind of car it was).  It feels morally wrong somehow, taking advantage of somebody in a compromised position.