March Round-Up

Are you kidding me? It's almost May? How is that possible?

Well, let's look back at March, back when the year still seemed fresh.

Movies Seen: Twelve, with none in a theater. None. That's a damn shame right there. I think my favorite was "Enchanted," in that I really enjoyed it; it wasn't a masterpiece, but it was fun. As someone who has an almost visceral reaction to classic Disney movies (I usually start crying the minute the opening credits begin, don't ask me why) there was really no way I wouldn't like it. I just wish it ended about 10 minutes sooner than it did (and the old ladies in the deleted scenes on the DVD's extras summed up my feelings about that ending perfectly, which is probably why they cut that moment out). My least favorite was "Beowulf," unless it was supposed to be a comedy, in which case, it was hilarious.

Books Read: Only two. I finally finished "Stumbling on Happiness," which I really enjoyed when I read it, but promptly forgot most of the insights found in the book the minute I put it down, which tends to be my problem with most of the non-fiction I read. The other was "Adverbs" by Daniel Handler, the guy who writes the Lemony Snicket books. I haven't read a lot of books by people I know (or knew; I knew him during high school) but this one had a lot less of the "I wonder if any of this is based on anyone I know?" kind of thing that his book "The Basic Eight" did. (I basically spent that whole book pondering who he had based all the high schoolers in the story on. Some were incredibly easy since he only changed, like, one letter in their names.) But that aside, I can't say I really enjoyed "Adverbs." It was one of those books that's so focused on being clever, with overlapping characters and a confusing narrative, that it just felt like a chore to read, with no real pay-off for being so difficult.

Fancy Dinners Out: Four. One was another birthday dinner at La Traviata (this one for my dad). Another was a friend's birthday dinner at Perbacco, which was tasty and an all around fun evening, although I think I have come to the conclusion that I just don't like risotto that much. Another was Joe's of Westlake, although that's not really all that fancy; kinda old-school fancy (really old school). And finally I gave Farmer Brown another shot, and two strikes they're out, unfortunately. We stuck to appetizers this time, and they were cold, and bland, and in some cases, not really how they were described on the menu. Food coming out cold is really, really amateurish, and that's happened both times I've been there. It's too bad because they have some interesting cocktails and some incredibly good strawberry rhubarb pie. If I ever do go back, I'm just having a drink and that pie.

Live Shows Seen: None

Shoes Bought: Two pairs. The first was this pair, which were on sale for really cheap, so don't think I'd pay over 40 bucks for those (even though I do think they're super cute). The second pair was a pair of red satin flats by Steve Madden, kind of a combo between a sneaker and a ballet flat. I wore them once and they tore in about five places. I can't find a picture of them anywhere, probably because they are a total embarrassment, and not for sale anymore. So I exchanged them for these, which were the closest thing I could find to a relatively stylish walking shoe. And they really are quite comfy, even if they make my feet stink to high heaven when I wear them without socks...