I Have Figured Out "The L Word"

I just finished watching the Season 3 premiere and finale of "The L Word." They are both featured free On Demand so that you get all attached and order Showtime to watch Season 4. I watched both of these episodes on Angela's suggestion. They busted a CW all over the episodes, cutting out all the sex and swear words, but you could still get the gist of the action. And I've figured it out..."The L Word" is just a normal soap opera. Instead of portraying heterosexual relationships, they portray lesbian ones.

I know I am stating the obvious...but I really believed them when the show first started and they said it would "truly" portray the lives of lesbian women. Perhaps they are. Perhaps the point of the show is that lesbians on TV do the same insanely unrealistic things that straight people do.

I'm going to think on this some more...but not too much more. I'm not going to subscribe to Showtime, so what's the point?

Procrastination

Ugghhh! I'm supposed to go running today. It's already almost 2pm and I'm still in my PJ's. I have to go today because it's to the point that I'm getting more used to not running than running, which means all the work I've done by running consistently for the past week or so will be undone very quickly. Okay...after this post, I'm going to go run. Actually, I will finish this post, watch the funniest SNL skit EVER...then I will go run.

So the purpose of this post is to share with you a funny little ditty that I found on someone else's blog. Unfortunately, I can't remember the blog's name or how I got to it, so I can't reference it. I'm really sorry. I did, however, email the ditty directly to my mom, so I have the link to that. Are you from a Scrabble family?

I Am Not A Complete Financial F*ck-Up! I Am Not!

Money is my Achilles' Heel. I feel like a complete idiot when it comes to money. Even as I have made HUGE strides in handling my bills better and getting rid of debt, I still think I'm a schmuck.

I KNOW I am not a tool...*she says more to convince herself*...I mean, by the end of January, I will have gotten rid of about five thousand dollars of credit card debt by setting up automatic withdrawals; I will have paid absolutely no interest on my first new credit card in years by paying off the full balance for three months. I will have not had any previous balances on my monthly bills for at least six months...the exception being cable and Internet. I think I resent how expensive that sh*t is, so I resist paying the bill. I still pay it, though. Granted, the "Law & Order" payment helped, but I was still the one who managed that money. For many people, this isn't a big deal. This may sound like a father declaring, "I take care of my kids!" as if he was doing something special. But Americans are billions of dollars in debt, so I know I am not alone.

I have a long way to go, that is for sure. But whenever I feel down on myself, I go online and look at my TIAA-CREF retirement account. I don't have tons of different accounts that have my money making money, but I do have my job's 403-b. From my first day at work, I had them deduct money out of my paycheck...pre-taxed, of course...and did research into which mutual funds to best place it for my age and whatnot. Once I was working a year, my job started to contribute to the fund as well. The result: I've got five figures in my retirement account and I've contributed about half that amount. The rest comes from my job and the money the account has made. The best part about it is that I'm fully vested in all of it! So I get to roll ALL of that money over when I leave.

This makes me very proud of myself. It gives me the confidence to know that if I can get a handle on some parts of my money, even after 32 years, I can get a handle on all of it.

I haven't come up with my New Year's Theme yet, but I do know it will incorporate budgeting every month, building up my emergency fund, and helping Ella socialize better with other dogs in 2007.

Movies That Makes You Applaud

When is the last time you applauded at the end of a film? I don't mean self-consciously clap, but applaud as if you had just seen a great play or a cool jazz concert? Last night, I saw a movie that made me so happy that I applauded at the end.

Angela and I saw Dreamgirls last night. It was an okay movie filled with amazing performances, ala Ray. Some of the numbers were cheesy, but the movie did a great job of incorporating the music into the plot. The movie was not afraid of referencing the theatrical source - both consciously and subconsciously. Much of it took place on stage or in dressing rooms, so you never forgot that everyone was performing. The camera angles were created to connect the movie audience with the audience in the movie, so we were all watching The Dreams together. That was very cool.

Jennifer Hudson was fantastic! Granted, she didn't have to play Lady MacBeth or anything, but she worked it! Her showstopper, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" literally brought the house down...and I was in one of the largest movie houses in the city. She filled up the space with every facial expression, every hand on the hip, and especially every note she sang.

Another way the movie referenced the theatricality of the material was through the end credits. They were presented like a curtain call, with music and everything. There was a short montage of each actor's scenes in the movie, so you got to cheer for each of them individually. Jennifer Hudson's montage, however, began with a drum roll and the words "And Introducing..." When her name appeared, everyone stood up. Even though our brains knew she couldn't hear her standing ovation, our hearts didn't care. In such a cynical city, how fun it was just be unabashedly and openly happy.

Tight Lipped

Before I begin, I just wanted to say that I hosted my second Christmas dinner last night. I think it went pretty well. Everyone got drunk from eating too much, no one got sick from drinking to0 much, and people felt comfortable enough to stay till 1:00 am. Ella and I got to spend our first Christmas surrounded by friends new and old, and one kick-ass newborn. AND...I woke up this morning with only six wine glasses to wash because I had periodically been washing dishes all through the evening.

I learned yet some more things about myself yesterday:

1. I've got one twisted sense of humor. The older I get, the more twisted it seems to get.
2. I am extremely Type A when it comes to entertaining in my home. I don't want to be, but I just am. I thought that being Type A was just about being on a power trip. But it isn't. I would just to get really anxious if things weren't being done a particular way. So my Type A-ness would kick in because it made the anxiety go away...and I felt better. And it was very specific to getting rid of trash and putting unused item away. I just didn't want anything superfluous around while I was cooking. It was strange to recognize that.
   

On to my post.

I've spoken before about my silence regarding my love life. I'm contemplating whether or not it is self-imposed. Clearly, I'm not all that comfortable gushing about most anything. Maybe it's some warped sense of not wanting to make other people uncomfortable. I'd hate to be one of those women who only talks about their boyfriend, yet there is a reason that phenomenon exists. In the early stages of a relationship, it's normal to be smitten with every little thing he does. It doesn't necessarily make you co-dependent, or moving too fast, or unrealistic...does it?

Perhaps I'm afraid my friends will say what I say to myself ALL THE TIME: Well, you felt so good about Ex and see how that turned out. If this doesn't work out, like all the other ones didn't work out, how stupid will I feel? Pretty.

I think I might be afraid that they'll say I brought it on myself. Which of course I did. Which of course everyone does when they enter a relationship and it doesn't work out. Unless the red flags were there from the beginning and you didn't see them. In that case, you REALLY don't deserve any sympathy. Which is what happened with Ex. But of course I didn't have the vision I have now, so there was no way I would have seen them then. Arggghhhh!

All I know is that I want to gush about The Mormon. I'm crazy about him. With him, I have had some of the best times I've ever had with a man.

We are both very comfortable having a moment and then analyzing that moment, so for the first time ever, I feel completely comfortable to be my overanalytical self.

He is funny, romantic, passionate, so sweet.

He is not afraid to tell AND show me how he feels about me. I've never felt so loved and he hasn't even said the words.

We've only been dating for a couple of months, but I felt we should have been together for Christmas. And we should have definitely been together for New Year's.

I am thrilled he is a part of my life and I am a part of his.

See? That wasn't so hard. So why do I feel bad? Eh...I don't know. I am going to try to be proud of myself for not letting that fear stop me from attempting to be present for this amazing experience.

A British Accent Makes Everything Better

I came home Friday evening exhausted! I was so happy to begin my 10 days of holidays and vacation. I turned on the TV and nothing was on. So I ordered Imagine Me & You from On Demand cable.

It's quite a sweet movie, and it's pretty predictable. The American version of this romantic comedy is made almost every other month. But there is something about British wit and British accents that made this movie so much sweeter and funnier.

You want proof that what I say is true? Piper Perabo was the lead. She had to feign a British accent for this film...she did a solid job. She's was also in Coyote Ugly and The Cave. Not masterpieces by any stretch of the imagination. Yet her mediocre acting abilities were totally masked by all the wit and the accents!

Random Trivia: It was made by Ol Parker, an ordinary-looking chap, who just happens to be married to Thandie Newton.

Happy Christmas Eve!

Why Is It So Hard?

Why, in a City that Never Sleeps and has a Square that is lit up like it's daytime 24 hours a day, is it impossible to find white Christmas tree lights to replace the defective ones I bought on Tuesday?

Law & Order Update

I'm sorry I am just now posting about the Law & Order shoot last week.

It did indeed happen, but it is hard to explain. It was exhilarating, exhausting, frustrating, fun. I came home after running errands and checking on The Mormon...who ended up having salmonella poisoning...around 3pm. When I arrived, there were approximately 40 people in my apartment and in the hallway outside of it. There were also lights, microphones, boom stands, monitors, cameras, sound board, and cables set up in every available space except for my living room and bathroom.

My living room was painted a gross off-white, pinky color. I thought they were going to move in all their own furniture, but to my surprise, the art director ended up using a lot of my stuff. My couch, bookcases, entertainment center, and rug were all part of the shot. I was so proud!

With so many people in such a small space, I was expecting chaos. Instead, the crew was a well-oiled machine. When they had to shoot the detectives discovering a clue in my bathroom, they lit the scene through the window from my fire escape, and put the camera and sound people in my bathtub. They knew exactly when to call in the "B cast" (aka stand-ins) and when to call in the "A cast." When the direction shouted "Action!," everyone became absolutely silent, no matter what they were doing.

I spent most of the time in my kitchen standing behind the sound guy. I don't know his proper title, but he sat behind the huge mobile sound board and recorded everything. I talked with assistant directors, camera men, electricians, lighting people, sound guys. The director sat in the hall watching the scene from the monitor. He invited me to watch the shoot from his vantage point, but I figured I would end up seeing his vantage point when I watched it on TV. There is definitely a Law & Order shooting style. My apartment looked completely different in the monitor than it did as I watched Jesse Martin walk through it live.

They were finished shooting seven lines in two hours. Once they proclaimed "the gate was clear," all those 40 people and all their equipment were out of the building in 30 minutes. A well-oiled machine, I tell you.

They didn't get around to putting my house back together until Wednesday. But by the time I got home from work and picked up Ella from her nanny's that night, it was as if they were never there. They painted my living room back to its original color and moved most of the furniture back to where it began. It was eerie!

I took lots of pictures of my house and I got a picture of me with the Jesse and Milena. I won't show you that one because you are not allowed to see my face, but I will show you before and after's of my apartment.

Overall, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I'm glad I made the call. Getting that extra cash this time of year was a wonderful bonus and I have memories of Jesse hugging me to get me through those cold winter nights. Tee hee...

Thank You, Bush?

As usual, I am listening to All Things Considered. Michele Norris...I love her!...is covering the question of whether Americans can/will/would vote for an African-American President. In her story, Michele speaks with Diane McWhorter who says that Colin Powell made Americans comfortable with seeing a Black man as a national leader and Condi Rice made Americans comfortable with seeing a Black person in the inner sanctum of government.

I was actually talking about this issue this weekend and I said essentially what this McWhorter said: ironically, we have Bush 43 to thank for laying the groundwork for Obama in '08.

It's Christmas Too, Damn It!

I just finished my run. My route is basically the Jewish neighborhood that borders the West Indian enclave I'm a part of. I love running there on Saturdays because there is not a car on the road.

Anyway, I discovered today that not every house is populated by Jewish people. There were two houses that were decked out with Christmas gear to within an inch of their lives! It was as if they were proclaiming their own holiday spirit against the imposing neighborhood. It was funny.

Little do those households know, most of the time the people walking around don't care about Christmas decorations in front yards. I run through there all the time and I bet no one could identify me in a line up.

Ghosts and Celebrations

My apartment is a ghost town tonight. The people from "Law and Order" painted my living room today. So instead of the warm, inviting Moroccan Red it has been for the past two years, it's now a plain, dull off-white. All of my cushy, lived in furniture has been pushed to the middle of the living room. The aged wood bookcases are smooshed next to them. My TV is on the floor of my bedroom. They've unplugged my stereo.

It's so stark and so quiet...and it smells like paint.

It reminds me of when I first moved in...the previous owner just finished whitewashing everything when I bought the place.

It reminds me of what I felt when I first moved in as well...so tonight, there are the ghosts of Ex and Her and depression and grief sort of floating around my living room.

But I got a look at the shot list for tomorrow and it says "L. Britt's Residence." It also says that Jesse Martin and Milena Govich will definitely be here. I'll be receiving a phat check for them being in my house. I'll have to remember to be nice to Milena; I don't have the same excitement over meeting her as I do for Jesse, but that's only because she's new. I'm sure I'll grow to love her as well.

So I'm crazy excited and a little overwhelmed that this is actually happening as well as freaked out at how different my apartment feels and how much that puts me off-kilter. I don't think I've ever had such an intense relationship with my living environment before.

My street is a ghost town as well tonight. They are clearing the street in front of and behind my building by towing all the cars still parked. I have absolutely NO sympathy for the stupid idiots that parked right where there have been signs since Friday saying "don't park here tonight." It just goes to show how incredibly ignorant our country is. Either they didn't read the neon green sign that begins by saying "No Parking," or they read the sign and decided to defy it. As if by leaving their SUV on the street, they would show the cops who's boss. Dumb fucks!

As I see the cars get hauled away, I secretly think to myself...It's all for ME! Even though I know it isn't, it does make me smile.

To top it all off, my The Mormon is very sick and I am worried about him.

As you can see, I'm a big ole mess of emotions this fine evening.

Maybe it's just the paint fumes...

A Dream Come True

My lip is bleeding from biting it for so long. I wanted to let you all know about this big event as soon as it happened, but I didn't want to jinx it. However, today I saw clear signs that the process has begun, I have signed a contract, and received two confirmation phone calls, so now I feel confident screaming from the Internet rooftop.

Drum roll, please...

"Law & Order" is shooting a scene in my apartment!

Let me begin by saying how much I love this show. Love it. The theme song is my cell phone ring tone. When TNT has the marathons...I always watch. The show has been on for 16 years and I have seen most of the episodes. It was always a dream of mine to be an extra. Love it!

So when I saw a letter posted on the door of an apartment building in my neighborhood last week with "Law & Order" letterhead, I stopped in my tracks. Poor Ella! The letter stated that they would be shooting at the college nearby and were looking for an apartment to shoot a scene in.

I ripped the letter off the door and called the number right away. Luckily, the location scout had just posted the letter and was still on the street. I told him about my place; he told me what he needed. We met on the corner and I escorted him to my place, me telling him about my love of the show all the way.

He liked the size and the layout, but told me since they were using at least two places to create one "TV apartment", they probably couldn't use mine. It didn't fit with the other places he'd seen. We shook hands and I got ready to go over to The Mormon's.

Later that night, I saw I had a message on my phone. It was the LS. He just happened to visit a house across the street from my building and met a lovely couple whose home does match mine. So he wanted to bring some people to my house the next day to get their opinion. More "Law & Order" people would be in my house?!?! Of course!

The next day, a group of eight people came in and walked around. They turned on all my lights, stepped in my bathtub, spoke in hushed tones, got annoyed by Ella's barking. The director of the episode was very mean-looking. He was not impressed by my love of the show. They left.

Later that day, I got a call from the Assistant Location Manager, who told me the following: they loved my place, it was perfect for the shot, but it's too nice. They would have to paint my living room to make it work. Because of that, they are contacting all the people who live on my apartment line to see if there is another place easier on the art department.

You mean, someone else could benefit from my love for "Law & Order?" Yup. Ah well...

The ALM said chances are still good that it will happen in my house, so unless I hear otherwise, expect a technical crew to come by the following day.

The next day I'm working from home with no pants on when I get a call from the LS. Can we come by your apartment again, he asks. I'm confused because it's several hours before the tech crew is supposed to arrive, but I am not going to say no. He says, we'll be there in a couple of minutes. Remember...I had no pants on. So I throw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that displays my Alma Mater. Thirty seconds later, I hear a knock on the door.

This time, about 11 people come into my house: location people, camera people, art department people. Ella is barking: Get out of my house! and peeing on the floor. The director is NOT amused. I'm thinking Ella is going to ruin it, because he is staring at me trying to quiet her down. Instead, he asks me if I went to the college on my shirt.

I say yes.

He says he went to the college on my shirt. He asks me when I graduated and what my major was.

I tell him. It was his major as well.

We reminisce over faculty and the famous alumni he knows.

The mean facade was cracked.

The contract was delivered and signed later that day. They increased the compensation they first quoted because of the "inconvenience" they caused. What? This has been the most convenient thing that has every happened to me!

So next week, there will be a couple of days where I wake up very early. The lovely living room I painted myself will be transformed and then transformed back. Jesse L. Martin may be all cop-like in my house. It will be a VERY nice Christmas because of the check they're cutting me. And one of my favorite shows will forever have a piece of my apartment in it!

Labels

So I'm a girlfriend again.

The Mormon officially asked me to be his girlfriend on Sunday night. And he actually asked me...it reminded me of the scene in Easy that I like so much. And though I am thrilled by the fact that I am his girlfriend, the fact that I am A Girlfriend is kind of strange to me.

I know...it makes no sense.

I've dated since Ex, but I haven't been in a committed relationship since him and I guess that is what's so strange to me. There was a time when I never thought I would be in a relationship again. Yet, here I am.

And it's a nice one, nonetheless!

One where he makes a point of asking me how my day went; one where I am Sa-Tis-Fied, if you catch my drift; one where we love learning about and from each other.

There is a part of me that wonders when this is going to end, because of course this is going to end, right. What I am going to do to mess this up.

But I don't wonder enough to stop. I'm too happy.

I'm not rebelling against the label "girlfriend." I'm very comfortable with traditional societal roles and names for things. It what it means, you know? I am someone's girlfriend! Ahhhh!

The bonus I guess is that someone is my boyfriend. So I have a date on Saturday night, and someone to beat up people who are mean to me...though I would never make The Mormon do that. Well...maybe...depending...

I don't know. Ultimately, I'm happy to be his girlfriend and I'm glad he's my boyfriend and I'm having a great time and feel really good, so I'm not going to angst over this too much.

Another Online Therapist

Got this from Beebergirl. It's kind of eeiry how right on it is.

The Peach
Random Gentle Love Master (RGLMf)

Playful, kind, and well-loved, you are The Peach.

For such a warm-hearted, generous person, you're surprisingly experienced in both love and sex. We credit your spontaneous side; you tend to live in the moment, and you don't get bogged down by inhibitions like most women your age. If you see something wonderful, you confidently embrace it.

You are a fun flirt and an instant sweetheart, but our guess is you're becoming more selective about long-term love. It's getting tougher for you to become permanently attached; and a guy who's in a different place emotionally might misunderstand your early enthusiasm. You can wreck someone simply by enjoying him.

Your ideal mate is adventurous and giving, like you. But not overly intense.

DREAD: The False Messiah
CONSIDER: The Loverboy, The Playboy, or The Boy Next Door

Your exact opposite:

The Nymph

Deliberate Brutal
Sex Dreamer

Take it Yourself: The 32-Type Dating Test.

How You Know You're Ready to Own a Movie

I only like buying a DVD when I know I'm going to watch the film over and over. For some, that's easy to determine...like those films I've loved since I was a teenager.

However, when I'm wondering if a recent film is worth purchasing, these are things I pay attention to:

1. When I'm watching the film on television, I get frustrated by the fact there are commercials.
2. I'm not at all annoyed with the cheesy music that is clearly used to manipulate my emotions.
3. Mostly everyone is speaking with a British accent.
4. Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman and Colin Firth is in it.
5. Colin is a little silly in it, but in a very tall, sexy way.
   
6. Even though I've seen the flick a bunch of times, I still stay up till 3am to watch it again.
7. I cry at the same spots every time.
8. All the women are really beautiful, but not in a "feel bad about myself" way.

This all adds up to the conclusion that it's time for me to own Love Actually. It is a Christmas film after all.

The Best "Grey's" Yet

Last night's episode of Grey's Anatomy was by far one of the best so far this year. There was crazy drama, great dialogue "I passed you the torch...and you BLEW IT OUT!", and the action moved forward at a nice clip. It was definitely one of the best-written episodes of this season. For the first time this fall, I liked the entire episode, not just parts of it. Those twins were quite brilliant.

However, the reason this episode was so amazing was because...drum roll, please...there was NO voice over in the beginning of the episode. It just began. Yup, just started right in on the action. The writer made a decision to show us, instead of tell us (which is Good Writing 101). I was thinking I may have lucked out so much that there was going to be no voice over at all, but they put it at the end. Ah well, let's hope that this is Shonda's way of phasing out the voice over. People who rely on it to tell them what to think about the show are just stupid! There, I said it!