wendy and lucy

I'm one of the few people that did not like the movie "Wendy and Lucy." I listened to a radio interview with the director this morning, and it did not make me like the film any more. On paper and in theory, I should like this movie – it's sparse and realistic, it's about a young woman and a dog, it was filmed in the Pacific Northwest and directed by a woman. I'm sort of the target audience for a film like this.

To me, it seemed like a grad student project. An okay film, but not something I would necessarily pay money to see. Michelle Williams was decent, but not oscar-worthy. There was something about this film that I just didn't buy. Maybe that Michelle Williams is really heading for a cannery in Alaska? It seemed more plausible that she'd be heading to a barista job in Portland.

I appreciate the director's effort to expose the precarity of life in the grand US of A, but it didn't work for me. Maybe if I was still an alienated 22-year-old that can't get a job and doesn't know what to do with my life. But, getting older has taught me that that stage of life is a lot less interesting and romantic than I thought it was while I was in it.

I wonder why this director has a fascination with people on the edge of society. If I had to bet, I would say that she has never been close to the social/economic precarity her characters face. And that is probably why the film does not ring true.

one more week chicago

It's been warmer. It's like my blood is less gelatinous, like motor oil when it warms up, everything moves easier. I'm still amazed by how many things A. and I have accumulated while living in this apartment. The truth is, that we could live just fine without 98% of our stuff. The books we never look at, the CDs we never listen to, and the plates we never use. Yet we're bringing it all with us. The cats are jumping in and out of the boxes, not sure what is happening.

almost out of here

Well, we're packing up all our stuff. Listing furniture on Craigslist, and all the other joys that come with moving. I'm still recovering from my last day at the office, but I'm oh-so-glad that's over. I still feel stuck in sludge that is normal winter-feeling for me. I alternate between being really excited and a little scared. I always freak out a little during "in between" times. I like to be settled, and have all my stuff somewhere. That's just how I am.