Everything we planned on doing this weekend has fallen through. I was meant to be at the Virgin Mobile FreeFest, and since I was going to be in MD for the weekend Alex signed himself up for a photo walk for Saturday night and because of storms being predicted that was canceled (even though as it turned out the evening was rain free). Throw in Mclaren once again not winning a Grand Prix and you have both of us climbing the walls for distractions. I think we may be forced to leave the apartment today in search of entertainment...
I did originally DVR Cranford when PBS showed it last year (or was it the year before?) but some how it managed to get deleted and I was Cranford-less. As much as I love costume dramas I didn't think it was any big loss as Cranford was all about old women in bonnets with curls, right? Oh how wrong I was. I got the first DVD via Netflix yesterday and I was up way past my bed time watching all three episodes. On the surface it looks like it is just a tale of gossipy women in bonnets but my word it has some subversive themes: moderisation (the coming of the railroad), social class, the rise and mobilisation of the working class (through education and the railroad), and the constraints placed upon womenfolk by society. I am loving it and I even rearranged my Netflix list so that I get the next DVD on Saturday (sorry Quantum of Solace you'll have to wait).
Only focusing on the good stuff this week:
- Feeling very much loved from all the support from family and friends
- I am stronger now
- Going back to work today was the right decision as the familiarity and friendly faces act as a safety net
- Hotel Inspector on BBC America is alarming yet informative
- Looking forward to the chocolate chip oatmeal cookies I will bake tomorrow night
- Very clean oven (who knew they weren't meant to be black on all 6 sides)
- Prep for school
- Free weekend not spent working in a 10 x 10 ft tent
- Fall is on its way and I can almost taste the pumpkin spiced lattes
- The missing episode of Dollhouse will blow your mind
- Sushi
I am quite snobby about theatre. I have a preference for West End over Broadway, and I even still spell it t-h-e-a-t-r-e even though I now find myself deferring to the American spelling of most words. I am still quite clued into the London theatre scene and I make sure that time my trips back so that I get to take in lots of shows (last trip Phedre with Helen Mirren and Troilus & Cressida at the Globe). This fall everything may change as NYC's theatre looks very very appealing, and there are half a dozen or so shows that I am going to try to get tickets to:
- A Street Car Named Desire with Cate Blanchett @ BAM - okay I was underwhelmed by her turn as Hedda but am willing to give her another go
- Wishful Drinking with Carrie Fisher
- After Miss Julie - I can live without Sienna Miller, curious about Johnny Lee but the clincher for me is Patrick 'Closer' Marber
- Hamlet with Jude Law - there are nose bleed tickets for $25 so I think it's worth a punt
- The Age of Iron - more Troilus & Cressida is a good thing!
- Keep Your Pantheon by David Mamet and about Roman actors!!!!
- A Steady Rain with Bond and Wolverine
And since I am taking Greek drama this year I will be on the look out for off-Broadway tragedies.
I find myself unexpectedly convalescing after a fucking horrendous turn of events that ended with me having minor surgery on Friday. Thankfully it was minor minor surgery and something that I can bounce back from given enough time, and I do feel like I am putting myself back-together-again with the help of family, friends and some much needed head space. I am trying to keep myself busy and am tackling all the little projects that I normally don't get around to. So far I have sorted out all my blog feeds into folders in my RSS reader, designed my study schedule for 09/10 (looks like I will be almost reading a Greek tragedy a week which is pretty intense), been through iTunes U with a fine tooth comb and created a play list for all things related to Greek drama (and downloaded 38 hours of lectures on Greek mythology), and finally removed Christmas tunes from my iPhone play list (though Christmas is actually on the horizon so I may as well have left them on there). No doubt next up will be cleaning the oven if I am feeling up to it. Tomorrow will be my first day home alone but Alex is planning on skipping the hotel this week and will do the +4 hours round trip commute so he can be home in the evenings. I plan on going back to work on Tuesday though I will be taking things very slowly and if I get wobbly I will be high tailing it out of there. I think I should be able to hold everything together and it really is best if I get back to my normal routine as soon as possible. We have a trip to Portland, Oregon planned for the weekend after next so hopefully lots of "fresh" air will get me some colour back in my cheeks.
Positive
- Day 2 of ice-cube therapy for the cold sore appears to be working (fingers crossed)
- Finally rolled over an old IRA into my current 401k (this has only taken me over 18 months)
- Looks like there is lots of good theatre on Broadway this fall so my Mum needs to figure out when she is coming over and which shows she wants to see
- Seeing my cousin for coffee tomorrow before he heads off to Boston
- Finished another Wallander mystery and 'Dogs of Riga' was even more bleak as it was partially set in Latvia
Negative
- Last night I was woken up 1:30am by the TV stereo blasting as the cable box clicked on to tape something (and I must havenot turned the stereo off), or that's what I am thinking happened otherwise we a possessed home entertainment spirit
- I appear to be sleeping for 3 hours at a time and I am blaming the heat
- Even though I sent 2 claims to our travel insurance company in the same envelop they claim to only have received one of them
I am not sure what I love more about Mad Men the excellent writing, the stellar cast or the period setting which allows for a more interesting range of behaviors that contemporary dramas. In a world gone PC it's refreshing to be reminded that women use to smoke and drink their way through pregnancy (what's more dangerous deli meat, or a gimlet?) and that repression was the plat du jour. Last night I self medicated with a latte and managed to stay awake for the season premier of Mad Men. I can't give too much away as my mum has sworn me to secrecy until it airs in the UK but I can say that season three picks up a good 6 or 7 months after season two and the British invasion has well and truly taken hold at Sterling Cooper. Jared Harris is the hatchet man from London and my god he is good (Harris was obviously warming up on Fringe), and he is ably assisted by Mr. Nigel Murray from Bones who has been nicknamed 'Moneypenny'. Oh it is going to be a good season.
I know that summer is already on the way out as it is getting darker in the mornings and evenings, and that the US Open is fast approaching. It's probably not a moment too soon as I've finally had enough of August. I am loving my summer Fridays but hating being so sweaty and hot. I've started to yearn for cool days and being able to wear sweaters. For starting school again and being able to study over a warm seasonally flavoured beverage. For festival season to be over and to figure out how to use my remaining leave for the rest of the year. As much as I love USA cable channel it would be nice to have a bit more choice in what to watch. For the last few months I feel like the only shows I've had on the DVR were Burn Notice, Royal Pains, In Plain Sight and Psych. Mad Men starts tonight which I am very excited about but it would be nice to have a bit more variety. To catch-up with the Winchester brother, find out how House is doing at the mental hospital, what is going down with Spock in the parallel universe and see if Stargate Universe really is as dark as they are touting it to be. I guess I am ready to start wearing socks again. Well, until it starts to get properly cold, dark and then I'll start longing for vitamin D and 95F days.
I've just finished watching the season finale of Law & Order: Criminal Order and I loved that Det. Goren was nowhere to be seen and that the key piece of evidence was a charred teddy bear. I thought I was done with L&O:CI last season when Det. Logan left the franchise for like the 400th time. Oh Big just because Sex & the City is back doesn't mean you have to turn your back on your other franchise. But, Jeff Goldblum as Det. Nichols has sucked me back in. Goldblum is so good and his take on quirky is fresh in comparison to the lumbering Goren. Now all that comes to mind when it's a Goren episode is adverts for adult onset diabetes. Goldblum's Det. Nichols also has a back story to rival Goren's and I am eager to delve a little deeper and find out what happened in his missing 7 years from the force.
Wow the GOP is really beating up on the poor old NHS. I just wish that the British government could get its head out of its ass and react rather than leaving it in the hands of the Twitterverse. I mean seriously we have Palin and her "death panels", other politicians trying to claim that Teddy Kennedy wouldn't get treated in the UK for his brain tumor because he is too old, and I am just not sure how Prof. Stephen Hawkins slipped through the cracks. For heaven's sake one of the reasons why we have rationing in the UK is because they treat everyone. EVERYONE. And this system is open to abuse and it needs reforming as much as the US health care system does. There needs to be some happy medium between the two systems.
In the UK I would introduce a co-pay when you went to the doctors, and I think patients need to get a realistic idea about the cost of the health care they are receiving. So that they understand what a fraking bargain they are getting. A lot of people take the NHS for granted. The UK papers are always full of articles about the number of patients that make appointments and then fail to show up. Well if you had to pay GBP 10 co-pay regardless of whether you turned up to see the doctor or not (as we do here) then I would imagine patients would start being more respectful. With the extra cash surely the NHS could hire more staff and start cutting the waiting lists (this is how we refer to rationing because it sounds less communist). One more point that bugs me is that the NHS is always referred to as "free" when it is actually free at-point-of-service.
I really do hope that sane heads prevail and that Obama's health reforms pass because all Americans should be able to have access to affordable health insurance, and the oligarchy of the insurance companies needs to be broken.
