Happy Weekend!

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Well the weekend is almost over for me, but happy weekend to those of you in other parts of the world with a few more hours left.

This weekend was really fun.  On Friday I met Adam and a friend in town after work.  We had dinner at a great cheap and cheerful Malaysian place.  After that we went to a fancy beer bar in town where they have a ridiculous amount of imported beers.  Adam was incredibly excited.

Then on Saturday we slept in and then headed to a friends wedding in the city.  I really love weddings, and this one was beautiful, held in an old museum hall.  The reception was lots of fun, great food and wine and lots of people I hadn't seen for a while.  We have both been really reclusive for the past few months, and I'm been avoiding social situations like the plague, but this went better than I expected and I had a great time.  I also had a few glasses of wine, which probably made things seem less awkward than they would have been otherwise.

Today I've spent the whole day in my jarmies. We watched a documentary about identical twins.  I did some internetting.  I'm not ready to go to work tomorrow, but on the plus side I only have two days of work this week and the we are off to Sydney for two weeks!  Hooray!  I can't wait.

I have lots of jobs to do before we leave for Auckland on Wednesday and I probably won't have time for blogging or commenting until I get back.  We are not taking the laptop overseas in case it gets stolen so will be relying on hotel computer access. This has all become so much a part of my life over the past few months (particularly reading and commenting) that it's going to be strange not going through my daily routine.    But also I think it might be good to have a break from the internet for a while.  I think that it might have something to do with my increasing social anxiety and withdrawal from the world.  I feel no need to even turn my cell phone on anymore, because I just don't care.  I am getting all my need for social contact from Adam,  my work colleagues, and bloggers.  There is something not good about that, to feel like I don't need (or want) to participate in the real world anymore.


One more thing on a brighter note:  this week we watched Young Frankenstein, which you haven't seen you definitely should.  Since then I may have watched this scene about 50 times.  It's so funny it makes me cry with laughter:



Have a fantastic week everyone! 

Movies of the Week

Adam and I watch ALOT of movies each week.  Probably every night we watch something different and on the weekends, several.  We have become much more reclusive in the past few months, content in being with each other, wrapped up in blankets.

I haven't turned my cellphone on in over two weeks, or been to any of the social events we've been invited to.  I'm not sure why this has happened, usually we are much more involved with the world.  When we first started seeing each other Adam would always be dragging me along to some party or another and wanting to go out.  He is an extrovert, I am not. 

Over the past however long we have been together we have both noticed that we are becoming more like each other in different ways.  Adam, always the idealist, has become more of a realist I think.  And me, always the pessimist cynic, well I'm starting (very very slowly) to become a little more optimistic.  Less tough and independant, more feminine and emotional.  He says it's a good thing, I'm not so sure.

Anyway, the point is that Adam has been infected by my love of being a homebody, and now we both love to stay at home behind closed doors, in a warm room and a warm bed and watch movies.

So these are the movies we watched over the past week:

1.  L.A Confidential

I really love this film.  It had a great plot and amazing style.  Kim Basinger looked amazing.  I got my hot rollers out to recreate the look - haven't mastered it yet.

2.  One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

I've seen this one several times and loved it. We were in a Jack Nicholson mood this week.

3.  Take the Money and Run

This is probably the funniest Woody Allen film I've seen yet.  We are working our way through all his films, and after this weekend we will be at #20 out of 36!

4.  Julie and Julia

I put off watching this for a long time because I heard mixed reviews, but I really loved this film.  I fell in love with Julia Child, she was so vivacious and funny. I loved the line when she took the canneloni out of the pot! This film made me want to eat hollandaise sauce and mayonnaise, and chicken, but we're both vegetarians.  I am going to try her mashed potatoes though.  I am going to read 'My Life in France' - Julia and her husband just love each other to bits and it was really inspiring.

5.  Chinatown

I've seen this before. I love Faye Dunaway, and her cheekbones and style.  She is a true beauty, just like Meryll.  I love the style of this film.  Jack is dashing aswell.

6. Husbands and Wives

This is probably my least favourite of all the Woody Allen films so far.  It was pretty close to the bone I think, as it was released when all the shit went down with their marriage breaking up and then the whole scandal (you know the story), and some of the monologues seemed pretty autobiographical.  I thought this film was really depressing. 

7. Little Big Man

I really loved this film.  It was a little graphic a times and there were certainly some scenes I found disturbing but it didn't take away from the overall entertainment of the film. 

8.  Reds

Wow this film was an epic.  We just watched it last night and it was long and involved.  But really great.  I wished I knew more about the political climate at the time so I could have a bit more context to the story but I did some research afterwards.  Adam and I both agreed that if we had been around during this time we would have been part of this movement too.  A great love story.

9.  Grey Gardens

We actually watched this the week before last, but it was so interesting I wanted to include it.  I actually came across this documentary via another blog which had posted an editorial on the fashion of Little Edie, and after looking around the internet found fansites for Little Edie where she was described as a powerful force for independance and autonomy and a fashion icon in her own right.  After watching the film, it's pretty clear that Little Edie was completely, batshit crazy.  People dress weird when they're mentally unwell - it's called being grandiose and disinhibited (which she cleary was).  I found it really disturbing that people were claiming that she was some kind of trailblazer for strong independant women - that's completely false.  She was paranoid, delusional and suffering.  She wasn't independant, she was living in squalor with her senile mother and living off food stamps.  I strongly doubt that she could care for herself.  It's really sad. But the film itself is interesting,  certainly exploitative I think - and when you find out that the pair actually got pretty screwed over by the filmmakers, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.  But there are moments of beauty aswell, which makes it really worth watching.

So those are the movies of the week people!  I'd be interested to know if you've seen any of them and what your thoughts were.

Learning to Love You More (again)

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Good grief it is SO quiet at work today I think my brain is stagnating. Typically my workplace is incredibly busy and very stressful but for the past 6 weeks or so there has been an eerie lull in activity. There are tumbleweeds blowing down the corridors.
In the beginning it was really refreshing but now it's got to the point where I feel really frustrated. I know that I should be enjoying the quiet times, but I just can't help but feel like there are so many other things I could be doing right now to make better use of my time.

I've spent LOTS of time on the internet today. Hours. Sometimes I get myself lost and disoriented when I spend alot of time looking at blogs because I can't remember where I started. I need to get outside today.

Anyway, a few posts ago I talked about doing a Miranda July project where you ask your family to describe 'what you do'. Well, I got the answers back. I should have told them it wasn't a competition to make me feel good about myself.
Also, I think maybe I should have directed them in some way because they ended up describing what I did for a job rather than how I spent my time. But still, interesting. Here is what I got back.

From my Grandmother/adoptive Mother:

"Naomi works in a very demanding job and amazes me at her commitment to her patients in an area only suitable for those with strength, love and understanding. Naomi is a very giving person and would give you the shirt of her back ifneeded. She has strong opinions and can talk with a great understanding of what she is saying. Naomi has strong political views which she sometimes needs to tone down a little and see things from both sides. I admire herknowledge and her way with words. Naomi gives 100% commitment to her husband and friends. I love her very much and am proud to be her Mum/Grandma."

From my brother:

"Naomi works in a area of society that most would struggle with and likely want to forget exists. She steps in where others are unwilling or unable to help. Amongst the frustration of the job are the rare moments where comfort can be provided or a care plan followed. Her strong views and forceful personality are used to good effect. She operates in the grey areas that those of us that are overly analytical are paralysed by and gives of her own self to provide support and direction for individuals in a place that puts them at odds with themselves and the rest of society. “

From my nephew (8 years) who proudly accepted the assignment saying "It's not surprising you asked me because I'm so good at writing", and then produced this:

"She’s a social worker at a health centre. She gives medicine for coughs, colds and flu’s. " (not true)

Gee, talk about prolific.


This week I'm going to post further on Food.Inc and how it affected me (and more surprisingly my husband).

Also I've been trying to crochet a granny square for a while now but had to give up because I couldn't do it, and I actually CRIED over it. I was so upset I typed " I can't fucking crochet!!!" into Google but apparently no one feels the same. Well this week I'm going to do it, even if it makes me want to drive the crochet hook into my eye. I shall not be beaten by wool crafts dammit!!!

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In other news, I'm embarrasingly giddy about Valentines Day (!). I've always hated Valentines Day and been the bitter spinster quoting divorce statistics but this year I'm actually excited. I'm not sure if the marketing campaigns have become more effective or if I'm becoming more romantic.

What do you think about Valentines Day, and also, what gifts do you get a man without making their balls shrivel?

Things that saved my sanity this week

Adam and I have been quarantined in our room all week with sickness and it almost drove us mad. We did lots of laying around and complaining, but it's actually been a pretty cool week.

I got lost on the interwebs and found lots of great stuff:

Hoardhouse - a site exploring the issue of compulsive hoarding in New York was really interesting and sad.

We listened to some epidodes of This American Life, a first for me.

We listened to the lullaby renditions of popular rock bands on this site, and got baby envy.

In the real world we watched these movies:

Continuing our quest to watch every Hitchcock film ever made

Because I've never seen a Woody Allen movie. This was so great

This movie was amazing. More on this later.

We also went to the second hand bookstore and stocked up, returned to vegetarianism and went to an outdoor music festival to celebrate Bob Marley's birthday. And I don't even like reggae.

Also these guys have been making me happy this week. They are just another reason why living in Wellington is so great.

Happy weekend everyone!