Why I get more picks

We went to see Slumdog Millionaire tonight. It was Katherine's pick. I picked last weekend - Rachel Getting Married. And the time before that. And before that. And before that.... Sometimes the movie choice is unanimous, but when it's not, usually I win.

Slumdog was outstanding. It deserves to win the Oscar for Best Picture. And Best Director. If if were up to me, I'd give it the Oscar in every category it's nominated.

However, it took me half of the drive home to stop crying. Because, intermixed with the beautiful directing and inspirational love story was the truth about what life in India is like for many people. Slums. Poverty. Violence. Loss. Heartbreak. Exploitation. That's what kept me crying even after the ending with the Bollywood-ish dance scene.

I'm very happy that we saw the movie. Kath made an excellent choice. It's just going to take me a few romantic comedies to recover.

Good thing February and Valentine's Day is just around the corner. The movies will be ripe for my picking.

My helper

Sometimes the reason for my difficulties in completing work at home is staring me in the face.

Sometimes it's better to be a cat

Yesterday I found out that I had passed the first half of my boards required for graduation and preliminary licensure prior to beginning residency. I had taken the test on December 16, and ever since then the belief that I had failed was hovering in the back of my mind. (The test is only pass/fail, costs $1000 + travel costs, is only offered in 5 locations throughout the US, and is difficult to schedule.) I managed to forget about it during the day over the holidays, but every night that nagging thought would pop back up. So, yesterday when I learned that I had passed, I had to keep going back to check that my mind was not playing tricks on me.

Yesterday, it felt like this huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders, and I finally slept well for the first time in 6 weeks.

Now, I can finally move on and get ready for the second half of my board exams. I own my mind again.

And I can stop wishing that I could be a cat - they always sleep well.

A few of my current favorite things

1. Peet's coffee - from my Christmas stocking
2. My "psych-looking" Java House mug
3. Kitties napping in the morning
4. Kitties napping in the afternoon
5. Kitties napping on my lap
6. dietgirl.org
7. Our new queen-sized down comforter from llbean - our Christmas present to each other
8. Afternoon sunshine
9. Afternoon gym excursions - even if it's just to pedal on the lowest resistance and read magazines
10. Temperatures above zero
11. ttv photos
12. Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give
13. Sharing happy news with my hon bun
14. One More Time by Mike Royko
15. Rachael Ray's Chicken Provencal Stoup

It's cold outside but warm in my heart

Katherine and I got to know each other because of music. We discovered that we could talk to each other endlessly while driving to Chicago to see Melissa Etheridge one July 4th weekend. (My sister Lib was in the backseat sleeping for the majority of the trip and would wake up occasionally to say "I don't like slow songs.") Our first "non-date that should have been a date" was to see one of our now-favorite folk singers, Beth Amsel. And since then we've continued to discover other old and new female folk or indie artists together.

I get cranky this time of year. I'm not a fan of cold, dry January - those days when I step outside and my nose hairs freeze are my least favorite. Yesterday was such a day. I want to hibernate and not wake up until spring.

But last night, Katherine put her metaphorical foot down and we drove up to Cedar Rapids (really a mere 23 miles away, but we never go there) to see Catie Curtis at a recently-reopened-since-the-June-floods arts center. The concert was outstanding - the audience didn't mind that it was chilly inside and that there was a plumbing issue that required "letting yellow mellow." Katherine and I both loved her - another artist to add to our repertoire.

And when we drove home afterwards, somehow the cold seemed more bearable.

The Mini-Loser Challenge

Katherine and I are having a 3 month-long weight loss challenge, beginning tomorrow, modeled off of The Biggest Loser. We will weigh in tomorrow morning and have weekly, monthly, and a final 3 month prize for the "biggest loser" based upon our weight-loss percentage. The 3 month prize will be a luxurious massage at a local lifestyle spa.

I'm very excited. I think that I finally have figured out how to best channel Kath's competitive spirit and my general ambivalence about competition into a mutually beneficial weight-loss program.

Of course, I did lay down the law... Tempting the competition with chips or other such tasty treats will not be considered fair play and will result in forfeiture of future prizes. Unless the competition wants to be tempted.

The Perfect Storm

You know what happens when you live with your sisters or your girlfriends and your cycles all sync up and you're all craving chocolate and feeling moody...

As Katherine put it tonight, "It's the perfect storm."

I blew up and she blew up, and we both took turns crying and apologizing. But afterwards, I told Katherine that "I feel so much better."

Sometimes, you just need a good cry. (I swear this is why women, in general, have longer lifespans than men. My theory is that PMS forces our emotions out whether we like it or not.)

Of course, this was already after we had gone to a screening of the documentary "The Times of Harvey Milk", at which I had found myself excessively sniffling (luckily I was just one of an entire choir of snifflers). So, you can imagine how red my eyes and nose are now...

Katherine had better watch out...

I think that I fell in love just a little bit when the first thing that President Barack Obama asked the crowd at the Neighborhood ball was,

"First of all, how good looking is my wife?"

Excellent priorities, Mr. President.

The Declaration of Independence rings true today.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..."

At times, grasping the significance of this day seems impossible. Listening to Barack Obama's speech on Election night brought it home, and I suspect that listening to his inaugural address will have the same effect. Even just watching the crowds milling about on the Mall, wanting to be present on this day, fills me with such a feeling of hope, inspiration, and a belief in the power of the American democracy.

I think that I will need a box of Kleenex when I watch the inauguration this morning.

And, this may be silly, but I'm also very excited to see Michelle Obama's inaugural gown.

I think I should take my cue from the cat.

Our cat Puck has always been a food lover. We got her when she was a tiny kitten, barely a month old... my roommate found Puck and her siblings in our garden... she was the runt of the litter, and Katherine and I decided that her siblings ate her share of dinner because as soon as Puck came to live with us, she ate and ate and ate and ate. We had a two-sided food bowl - one side for Puck and one for Ty. However, Puck would sit in one side and eat out of the other. It was hilarious; especially as Ty would politely wait until Puck was finished unless we intervened.

Because of her weight, Puck has always been relatively unathletic. She could jump on our couches, and on the bed, and on our laps, but she has never been one of those cats who likes high places. Ty was always the athletic kitty. She has always been one to find her way to the tallest piece of furniture - kitchen cupboards or bookcases - and survey her domain. Ty's athleticism has served her well as she is constantly hunted by our third kitty, Dory, who has a head tremor. Ty's refuge has been our tall bedroom bureau. Neither Dory nor Puck can jump that high, luckily for her.

Until now. For the past two days, Puck has found her way onto Ty's bureau. We have not seen this miraculous feat of athleticism, but we can only assume that Puck can jump. Kath and I are assuming that Puck has found her inner athlete since we put her on a diet.

My New Year's resolution is, as always, to lose weight, become healthier, and to find my inner athlete. I'm thinking that I'm like Puck. It's there, but I just need to find it. Maybe the secret is to have Katherine start taking my food bowl away from me.

I need something warm.

These days, when the temps are hovering below zero for what seems like an interminable length of time, I find myself longing for sun, crackling fires, warm sand, beach towels...

So, when Katherine asked me what my music suggestions were the other day, I said "anything warm," which led to listening to Cat Stevens. This led to a discussion last night about whether our songs in iTunes were "warm or cold". These are some of our conclusions....

Warm:
Lose Yourself by Eminem
Sand in My Shoes by Dido
Original Sin by Elton John
Boston by Augustana
No More Valentines by Elton John
Perfect Love by Marc Cohn

Cold:
Here (In Your Arms) by Hellogoodbye
Push by Sarah McLachlan
Life for Rent by Dido
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses by U2

We disagreed about Clocks by Coldplay. Kath thinks it's warm; I think it's cold. But we agreed that individual artists can have both warm and cold songs... even on the same album. In general, I was surprised at how much we agreed on this nebulous classification scheme.

You know it's cold when....

... you have not changed your clothes for 3 days because it's too cold to enter the closet as a result of the air leaking in around the air conditioner.

... you take hot showers just so your feet can reach normal body temperature for a few glorious minutes... even though you haven't been outside in 3 days.

... you have spent the past 24 hours huddled on the couch under two blankets and 3 kitties watching a Lord of the Rings marathon because school is cancelled and if you venture outside for more than 10 minutes you will die... at least that's my interpretation.

Yay for the coming balmy weekend... temps in the 20s!

The quoteboard

In my lab, we have a quoteboard on which we write amusing quotes by members of the lab, that, especially when read out of context, are quite hilarious. For the most part, they are unfit for respectable company, so I would not post them here. But, I've often thought that we should have a quoteboard at home because I live with quite the witty companion.

Take tonight for example.... Katherine was dancing around, fresh off of her Hip-hop abs workout session... so I was teasing her that this hip-hop workout might be giving her a hip-hop attitude. Her response was that "It just brings out my inner girl-from-the-streets." Hee hee. If you know where Katherine grew up... quaint, New Englandy, one-street Deerfield... combining that with "girl-from-the-streets" is just too hilarious.

Milk, it does a body good

Kath and I went to see Millk on Sunday afternoon. We've been waiting to see it since it came out, and it lived up to our expectations. In light of the recent election results, I thought the movie was aptly timed in its release. I thought I would make it through the movie without crying, since I knew the story, but no... the last scene with the candlelight march left me mopping my eyes with my butter-soaked napkin.

Kath and I were thinking that if Harvey Milk had been alive today, Proposition 8 would not have passed in California. Milk fought to prevent Proposition 6 from passing in California at the time - this would have led to the firing of all gay and lesbian teachers and their supporters in California schools. Part of their strategy was to encourage gay individuals to come out to everyone they knew as a way to show people that someone that they knew was gay.

My theory is that being closeted about anything is unhealthy. Living my life honestly and without fear of others' opinions of my life is always best. I certainly have struggled with this at times, but I find that I am happier when I live in this way. It does help that I have a home with someone who loves me, always.

This "someone" tends to be more aware of others' opinions. And, she may disagree with me that living one's life without consideration for others' opinions is always best. Especially when I tell her that I would never break up with her because "I know that I am the best person for her." Then she rolls her eyes and makes comments about a "ball and chain." Luckily, I know that just means that she loves me and doesn't want to admit that I'm right.

Hello Iowa, my old friend

Home again, home again, jiggedy jig. The kitties were so nice to let Kath and I sleep in until noon on Sunday, since we didn't get home until after one in the morning... I spent way too much time sitting in airports on Saturday, but I was happy just to get home. I even upgraded myself to first-class on my last flight just to be sure that I would get a seat after my original flight was cancelled.

I love Iowa City, folks. If it only had a large body of water that was the size of Lake Superior or the Atlantic Ocean and was located within a day's drive of New England, we would be set. The best part of my life, meeting and falling in love with Katherine, happened here. So, flying home after this holiday season was slightly bittersweet when I realized that this would be our last holiday trip East.

Poor Katherine. I think she should be prepared for buckets of tears from me for the next 5 months. I spent the 6 months before she moved back to Massachusetts occasionally tearing up whenever I would think about her leaving. I'm thinking this is going to happen again when I think about leaving Iowa City, my home for the past 7.5 years. Perhaps I wouldn't get so teary-eyed if I would focus on the "lovely" move East- with 3 kitties who dislike each other and one litterbox- all in one car. Now that will be fun!

I am addicted to the internet.

How did I live before internet access? Apparently, I had a lot more time and was much more productive. I've learned this in the two days that I've spent without having the opportunity to get online.

2009 has been an interesting year thus far. I've had many mini-crises in my head and an actual real crisis yesterday involving icy roads and late buses and a missed interview that was (thankfully) rescheduled. (I learned from this fiasco, though, that it is best to not travel to one's interview the same day and have changed my travel plans accordingly.) Aaagh. Have I mentioned that I now hate the match? I swear that it is designed to test the mental health of med students prior to entering that stressful intern year. I will win this battle, though.

What else have I learned in the first days of 2009? That I eat when I'm stressed. Sour cream and onion chips. I'm feeling a strange sense of deja-vu. I think I should take up yoga instead... and in a strange coincidence, my better half gave me a yoga DVD and a yoga ball for Christmas. I should pull it out tonight. I think I need it.