Office Monkey

Success! Working longs hours and late nights watching Buffy and playing Civilization II instead of sleeping have paid off. Was definitely tired enough for my judgement to be sufficiently impaired to enjoy The Lake House. The term is “suspension of disbelief.” One needs lots of it. and an unquestioning mind. There were a couple moments where my brain was still a little too active and threatened to sabotage the evening but fatigue-induced stupor prevailed and I was very forgiving and tolerant of the sloppy writing and gaping holes in the storyline. Didnt cry or get teary but was pleasantly content for the duration of the film.

After being in a relationship for 5 years, I completely forgot what i’m like when i’m single- totally boy crazy. Back in grade six or seven, i once made a list of all the boys i was currently crushing on- it was a long list. I’ve got a similar list now in my head and it includes almost the entire male staff of the hotel where i work: door men, valets, front desk agents, kitchen help, restaurant servers, management and even a guest or two. I will refrain from reducing these men any further and stop myself from any more objectification or appropriation of their identities (no talk of the young, dark latino or the suave and stylish frenchman ..its creepy). I will mention however, that our sommelier looks like jake gyllenhaal. only hotter.

Hours later, i’m downtown on campus and up ahead at the lights, i see a giant black SUV with 2 huge korean flags on each side. There’s whooping and hollering coming from inside the car and a huge korean guy sitting in the front passenger seat with two giant limbs hanging out the window which seem to be wobbling awkwardly. I can’t make out what i’m seeing until i’m a little closer and i realize that the giant tree-like limbs dangling over the car are his legs and he’s slapping his bare feet together while yelling, “Clap for Korea!” That put my sense of nationalism back in its place.

Stepped outside minutes after the first Korean game of the World Cup ended to catch a parade of 50 some odd young koreans marching down eglinton all dressed in red and accessorized with assorted “red devil” paraphenelia-thundersticks, 태극기 (taegukki- the south korean flag), and horned hats. Lead with a megaphone and the banging of a large drum, they clapped, shouted and sang cheers in unison all the way down to yonge. It was very cool. Kinda neat to see the tools and strategies of student and labour politics also being put to good use during international sporting events. I felt sorta proud.

Am totally loving season 7 of Buffy. i would almost recommend watching all previous 6 seasons just to fully appreciate this one- though there are a couple weak episodes in the middle. Still, really impressed with the writing. Not that it’s literary genius or anything- far, far from it. Buffy is alot like Keanu’s acting- accessible in that “i can see what you’re getting at” kind of way. its an good learning tool to help students develop an understanding and appreciation for writing- its like textbook examples of story and character archs, allegory, irony, genre conventions and their subversion…i think this is what you should start students off with in their english classes and then ease them into shakespeare.

or maybe i just like crap?

Starting my second job has put me well on my way to enjoying The Lake House at maximum capacity. Not only am I more tired, I’m also mal/undernourished. In between shifts and sleeping, I managed to squeeze in 2.5 hours of Buffy. Got weepy in each and every episode. Excellent progress.

TORY CASSIS
Had a run-in with Tory Cassis outside the Reservoir Lounge a few weeks ago. D and I had parked across the street from the Res and we caught Mr. Cassis outside taking a break between sets. After much hemming and hawing and with a push from D, I went over to say hello and asked him about A Steeple Full of Swallows-the Tom Waits Tribute he and some local musicians organize every year. The date always seems to move around between May and September and I’ve missed it multiple times despite obsessive scouring of Eye/Now listings and google searches.

Anyhoo, he was lovely. Very courteous and charming and quite handsome. i must say, i was pretty elated for the rest of evening. It was really rather nice having him looking down at me. And he was so very attentive….I really don’t have much else to say which is unfortunate as i wish i could reminisce a little more….Did i mention he was lovely?

KEANU REEVES
I cannot explain why i am so enamoured with this man except to say that i find him very very attractive and appealing. I can’t even honestly say that I think he’s a bad actor (though i admit-like most actors- there are a couple weak performances in his film repetoire). I like him. whole heartedly. he’s dreamy.

Sometimes, I like to call his acting… accessible- in that, “i can see what you’re trying to get at” kind of way. But generally i think he does a bang up job. And really, when his performance is less than good, it is often at the very least, on par with the general quality of the production as a whole.

It’s gonna be a good summer- two new Reeves flicks to look forward to. I’ve been watching the trailer for The Lake House repeatedly at work. Since we’re in open cubicles, normally I wait for my coworkers to go home so i dont look like too much of a freak. I’m not sure how good a movie it’s going to be. Apparently the screenplay (adapted from the Korean film Il Mare or ì‹œì›”ì• ) is by a pulitzer prize winner (the guy who wrote Proof) but judging from the trailer, the writing’s pretty generic and sloppy. I’m not worried though, the movie’s going to be AWESOME. I plan to get little sleep the night before and maybe have a couple drinks before i watch the flick. That’ll get me good and emotionally unstable/fragile and make me more vulnerable to the film’s weak character/plot devices. it’s gonna be good. i’m gonna cry. it’ll be beautiful.

You can watch the trailer here