Goodbye January.

Wow. It's the last day of January already. It's been a month since we've welcomed 2007, how crazy is that?? Ok, so I hope that February will be another month of productiveness and gym-going (at the cheaper and cleaner NYSC). I kind of set a goal for myself that I will be employed by this coming March, though I don't really know how I'm going to punish myself if I'm not. I guess the pure torture and humiliation of being unemployed for so long will take care of that.

Some things I'm looking forward to in February: my paycheck!, chocolates for Valentine's Day, all the pink and red stuff that will be all over the place in lieu of that day, February sweeps, the cook-off, the Oscars.

Currently tv: Weeds Season 1 (I HEART Mary-Louise Parker, she's so talented and pretty)

Current music: Augustana - Boston, Mika - Grace Kelly, Beyonce - Listen

Catch & Release

Last night the girls and I went to see Catch & Release, the new romantic comedy starring Jennifer Garner, who (whom??) I have loved since ALIAS, my favorite show of all time. I think I went to see it more for her than the movie itself, because its trailer kind of makes it look like a generic, mediocre, "eh, I'll just catch this on DVD" kind of movie. Which actually, is just my kind of movie (I don't have very high standards, I guess) so never mind.

This isn't your typical boy-meets-girl, boy-and-girl-fall-in-love, boy-and-girl-encounter-conflict, and boy-and-girl-live-happily-ever-after type of romantic comedy. Jennifer Garner plays Gray, a woman who has just lost her fiancee and is attending his funeral on the day they were supposed to be married. Through the course of the movie, she discovers huge and disturbing things about him that she never knew while he was alive, and ultimately ends up discovering things about herself because of it. Of course, there's a good amount of romance involved, as she strikes up a relationship with her dead fiancee's friend Fritz (played by Timothy Olyphant, who looks like Josh Duhamel).

I can't say that a lot of the movie isn't predictable, because it is. But it's not bogged down by corny dialogue and cliche characters, which is good. All the actors were well cast (especially Kevin Smith in what could have easily been another stereotypical comic relief role), the scenery is beautiful, and it strikes a balanced tone between romance and comedy and drama. I totally could have done without the horrible editing in this one love scene between Gray and Fritz, but otherwise I was pretty pleased with the overall film and its uplifting message. Jennifer Garner has a very interesting film presence, I think. And she's completely adorable in many scenes. I have a girl-crush on her. :)

things are looking up.

My job search has hit a definite stagnant period, as I'm a) getting more desperate as the days and months go by, b) applying to jobs like crazy and not getting ANY responses in return, and because of a and b, c) January's almost over and I'm not any closer to reaching my resolution of landing a paying job. Thanks to two phone calls from my good friend Leslie, things are starting to look up. I don't want to go into details, because there is a huge chance that both these leads will be nothing more than me getting excited for 2 minutes and nothing good happening after that, but I feel like things will happen. If not this month then in the next. And before I jinx myself any further, this is where all job-related talk will stop.

So I will talk about what I know best, television. I love Thursdays. My favorite show, the Office, is on, and so is Grey's Anatomy, (which has been really good the past few episodes) and I like Ugly Betty (though I watch it online since it's on at the same time as the Office) and Men in Trees is a cute show (though Anne Heche still creeps me out to no end). Tonight we had 3 reruns of the Office, including Grief Counseling, one of my favorites of this season, and The Initiation, which featured the long waited very first interaction with Jim and Pam since he transferred to Stamford at the beginning of the season. I HEART this couple so much. And even though they've been apart most of the season due to Jim's transfer, then his subsequent transfer back with a new girlfriend named Karen, things are looking up for them as well. Yay JAM! I'll be talking about this couple a lot.

Apparently, Meg Cabot, the chick-lit author of such novels as the Princess Diaries, is a fan too. This is what she posted on her blog:
"And if you are not watching The Office, well, I just don’t know what to say. I guess if I were to say to you, “Jim said yes,” it would mean nothing to you.
If, however, you were watching The Office, and I were to say, “Jim said yes,” to you, you would inhale sharply and squeal, “I KNOW!” in a delighted manner. These words would take on a whole new meaning to you. Because this is seriously the hottest, most romantic show on TV, besides being the funniest, and if you aren’t watching it, well, I kind of feel sorry for you.
But don’t worry! It’s not too late to catch up! Start watching it now! Come on! It’s soooo funny!"

Couldn't have said it better myself. Ah, I love it. I kind of don't get people who don't find the show funny. It's one thing to have never really watched it, but it's a whole another to not find anything funny about it upon watching it. And one of my biggest pet peeves is people comparing the UK Office to the US one, but more annoyingly, dismissing the US one and not giving it a chance because of the brilliance of the original. They're different, each has its own merits, get over it.

Little Best Picture.

This morning, the 79th Academy Awards nominations were announced, and I have to say, at the risk of sounding like the biggest geek ever, I just live for this stuff. I love good films (though my taste in movies have been questioned) and great performances and all that jazz, so I really love awards season. It starts with all the Critics Awards in late December, then we have the Golden Globes (as fun as they can be, I have no respect for them or the 90-so members that make up the Hollywood Foreign Press), the Producers Guild Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, then of course, the Oscars. I love making predictions and analyzing who got nominated/won and who didn't and why.

Of course, it wouldn't be the Oscars without a few surprises. The biggest one was the Best Picture snub of Dreamgirls, even though it garnered 8 noms in total. Instead of the movie some people considered a lock-in for the coveted Best Picture nom, my favorite movie of 2006, and quite possibly ever, made the cut.

So, may I introduce, the Little Picture That Could, Little Miss Sunshine. The love that I have for this film knows no bounds, and I have the battle scars to prove it. I seriously tried to watch this film 4 times before I actually ended up seeing it. The first three were free screenings that the studio was doing in the weeks before the release (one in Boston, two in NYC), and the fourth was the misfortune of arriving late to a just-sold-out show on the night of its wide release. Not to mention the many many people I dragged along on any one of those screening attempts. But I finally watched it in the theater with a packed audience in a row filled with just my friends, and I can honestly say it was the best movie going experience I ever had. I was kind of nervous that most of my friends were there, just because I had talked up the movie SO much, but they ended up loving it as much as I did. The laughs were plenty (howling over the SuperFreak scene with everyone else was ah-mazing) and it was $10 and two hours very well spent.

And that is why I'm so so happy that the Academy recognized this gem of a film. Quite frankly, this isn't a typical Academy Award movie, but then again, this isn't a typical indie movie by any means. It was the biggest sell at Sundance Film Festivals ever, being bought by Fox Searchlight for $10.5 million. It went on to make $86 million worldwide. A small number perhaps, compared to $200 plus grossing blockbusters, but seriously, this was a small movie made on a small budget in a small amount of time. The screenplay is near flawless (the first 10 minutes or so is a perfect example of a perfect introduction of all the characters, wrapped up in a neat montage), the acting is perfect (I love all of the performances in this film, especially Steve Carell's gay, suicidal, Proust-scholar Frank), and the whole product is a seamless blend of comedy and drama and tragedy. I could go on and on. But I won't. So, yay, Little Best Picture!*


*There's actually no way Little Miss Sunshine is actually going to win Best Picture, but the nom itself is pretty darn sweet.

Brothers & Sisters (something I do not have)

Ever since I can remember, Sunday night has always been about finishing up homework, dreading the weekend being over and the tedious week ahead, and of course, watching television. Now that I'm not in school anymore, Sunday nights just don't feel the same way, even if the not fun homework part has been replaced with the way fun (and yummy) soondooboo dinners at so gong dong with the gang. But the television tradition still remains, thanks to my newfound interest in the Simpsons, the creative upswing Desperate Housewives has been on, and one of my new favorite shows of the season, Brothers & Sisters.

The thing is, the show isn't one of my must-sees, so I don't get upset when I miss an episode or anything. But whenever I do watch it, which is more often than not, I love it a little bit more. It's the perfect blend of funny and drama, it's well written and acted, and all the characters are really likable. I'm not a fan of Calista Flockhart at all, but I don't mind her so much on this show. I think the reason why I love the show aside from the aforementioned reasons is because I love watching the family dynamics of all the Walker siblings. Every fight, banter, issues that come up- they all stem from this deep-rooted love they all have for each other. I'm totally fascinated by it. It's probably because all of that is pretty foreign to me as an only child. It makes me wonder what it would have been like to have brothers and sisters of my own- whether I would get along with them and be friends with them or want to have little to do with them as possible. I imagine my life would be very different, and perhaps I as a person would be too. Maybe that's why I'm so drawn to the show; it feeds a desire to live vicariously through the Walker clan. Anyways, it's a good show.

Also, I think Dave Annable, who plays the baby of the family, Justin, is really really cute.

the first post.

Part of my New Year's Resolutions for 2007 (none of which I am actually actively working to keep) is to read and write more. At least 15 minutes a day. Sounds easy enough. We'll see how this goes. I know I'm 19 days in already, but it's better late than never, right? Hopefully this will improve my writing and get the creative juices flowing so that I may make a living doing it someday. A la Carrie Bradshaw, except without all the sex talk.

I'm just a girl with big dreams and no real motivation. So, here's to a new year of baby steps and little dreams, productivity and spontanaiety, less ruminations on drama and more acting upon the things that do matter.

current reading: The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold. (I'm re-reading it, cause I just finished her memoir, Lucky, which I found profoundly moving and disturbing at the same time, and I want to compare the two.)

current tv: The Office, 3x13- The Return. (Jim still has feelings for Pam! I totally sqeeeeed when he admitted that. My JAM heart is very full right now.)

current obsession: Triscuits. (My favorite Nabisco snack after Cheez-its. But you can't eat a whole box of Cheez-its and still feel good about yourself. The Triscuits are low fat. And really good and filling. Win-win-win.)