Monday, Jan. 03, 2005
Not that good of a Baby, posted at 11:24 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com A little secret: Whenever I write an embarassing entry, I like to write another one really quickly so it's not the one to appear on the page.So I want to talk about The Senator, where I went for the first time last night, as we took a post-professional day jaunt over to a 4 o'clock matinee of Million Dollar Baby.
First of all, the movie theater was really cool. I couldn't believe how big the screen was; it was like a football field. I liked the quaint antique quality the place had, too; there was a men's lounge, for example, with a fake fireplace.
In addition, a student from my school I had three years ago (3 years!) as a freshmen was the ticket taker, and she let me in for free. That was even better, and made up for the $3.50 diet coke I bought.
The movie, however, was an unwhelming letdown. I was really hoping to like it a lot, as it's been the most highly praised film of the year and was nominated for seven Oscars, but I didn't. The boxing parts were cliched and predictable, while the final act turned the film into a message movie that wasn't all that compelling since it's the same sort of thing Picket Fences was doing twelve years ago. The fact that it was well-acted and classy all around doesn't diminish the fact that I was just sort of bored through a lot of it, and didn't find it all that moving. Swank does a great job, as do Freeman and Eastwood, but all have done better movies. Freeman and Eastwood have good chemistry, but things bugged me about both performances: Freeman has played that character before, while Eastwood does this weird gravelly thing with his voice that is distracting.
Anyhow, I'm now left with a dilemma as to which film to root for in the Best Picture race. Sideways is a very well-made and well-acted movie, but was almost a film to be respected more than to be enjoyed. The Aviator also has its moments, but is too long and doesn't do justice to the mental illness scenes. Now I know that Million Dollar Baby, the film I was hoping to back, is very overrated. I haven't seen Finding Neverland or Ray yet, but plan on seeing both in the next couple of weeks. I'm sure you all are dying to know which film I will endorse, but I can't let you know until then. Right now, though, I'm wondering why Eternal Sunshine on the Spotless Mind wasn't nominated.
If you're wondering if I did laundry or bought underwear, I did the latter. I'm hoping that, eventually, when I get a washer and drier, I can make the full transition to having a complete boxer brief collection of underwear rather than briefs. I don't much like briefs any more but still have a few pairs so I have enough underwear to last me more than a month between laundry visits. Right now, the collection is probably 70/30 in favor of boxer briefs. When I get a washer and drier, I'll toss the briefs or maybe use them as dish rags.
(Joke.)I opted for a workout instead of going to the laundromat tonight. I needed to apologize to my body for all the bad things I ate today, namely peanut M&M's that my evil co-worker keeps bringing in in large amounts. I really, really didn't feel like going to the gym, and thought a few times about not going tonight, but I thought harder and realized that it's tonight more than ever that I need to go. I'm so glad I did. I was tired and started off running really slowly (5.2 mph), but ended up increasing my speed (going 7.5 mph at the end) and running the full 45 minutes. It was only 4 miles, so I did average a slow speed overall, but I had almost given up on a workout tonight. I then did a triceps, shoulders, and legs workout. I feel damn good right now, and I'm going to hit the sack and be in bed by midnight. Can't ask for anything more.
I love these professional days. Just go in and do the stuff you're supposed to do from 8-4**, then go home and not worry about planning for the next day or grading that day's work. Like a regular job or something.
**I actually was at school tonight until 6pm, but only because our new principal had a welcome reception and there was food involved, so I went. I even struck up a conversation with the CEO of city schools, thanking her for doing something about our former principal and for replying to the e-mail I sent her, and telling her things were feeling really good at the school right now. (I'm forgetting about the new principal's sexist comment for right now.) She was really nice and I was genuine in my thanks to her. I couldn't quite believe I had the guts to talk to her.