December 27st, 2001. Thursday
The Christmas holiday was a relatively stress-free event. It started off very relaxing. I'd planned to leave New York with my brother Geoff on Saturday, but we both thought it'd be better to just relax on for a day and leave on Sunday. So I had a very pleasant Saturday afternoon in the City. Sat in Cafe Pick Me Up for a while and finally fished reading Farenheit 451, which should've been done in a few hours and which I'd been carrying around for a few months now. Then for no particular reason, I thought I'd go to a museum. I never take advantage of all the museums in this damn city. I'd heard wonderful things about the display up at the MOMA, so I hopped on the train for midtown. The "donation" to get in was a stiff $8.50, even with my NYU idea, but I figured I'd be a patron of the arts. And I was really curious to see the Alberto Giacometti exhibit. So that's what I did. I never really know what to think when I go to art museums. I always feel like I'm missing something. If you were to ask me what I thought of Giacometti's sculptures, I don't know what I'd say. So please don't ask. But I can say that it was definitely a compelling exhibit. I was mostly interested in trying to figure out why certain sculptures were named what they were named, particularly the surrealist stuff. And I did feel like my understanding of art in general has improved over the last year. There wasn't much room for it to go anywhere but up. But I have to say what I found really interesting, and what I spent most of my time doing, was watching the other people there. There was the requisite older gay couple, with one the professor and the other the wide-eyed learner. The professor had on a red shirt and blue blazer, not worn but just draped over his shoulders. And of course he held his glasses in his hand and gestured with them endlessly, using them to point of aspects of the art of chewing on them pensively whilst staring or rubbing the other man's buttocks. That didn't really happen. Then there were the security guards. As I do at big rock venues, I always wonder what the security people think of the performance or exhibit and of the people who come to these things. Do they just stand there thinking "What a fucking crock of shit!"? A funnier incident was the "The Museum will close in 12 minutes" announcement. This guy comes over the PA system and, as you might expect, begins a standardly formal "Ladies and Gentlemen..." Then for an awkward 20 seconds, silence. Then the voice comes back over the PA, the guy clears his throat, and says "Ahem... sorry. So, uh, as s I was saying, (*laugh*), the time is now 5:33. The Museum will close in 12 minutes. Thanks. huh." The security guards found this all hilarious. I like when things that are supposed to be formal and very proper break down into casual banter. It adds so much humanity to a environment, particularly someplace as sterile as a major metropolitan museum. Anyway, I didn't get to stay at the museum for as long as I'd hoped. I didn't know it closed so soon. But I spent a good hour there, so I think I almost got my money's worth.
So after that, I decided to stroll on over to Rockefeller Center. I'm always saying how much I like New York in December, but I'd been so wrapped with work and other little things that I haven't really had much of a chance to actually just go out and enjoy being in the city. The tree and the sights weren't anything terribly spectacular, but it was just the people and setting on the whole that made it somewhat enjoyable. Or at least it made me feel like I was no longer obligated to enjoy the city anymore. It was really crowded, as you might expect on the sunday before Christmas. I wandered into Brookstone, mainly to escape the crowds, but I managed to find a Christmas present for Geoff while there. It seemed logical to shop for him there, since there are a lot of neat little trinkets that no one ever needs but are sometimes cool to have. He can pretty much buy whatever he wants, so I figured the store was right up his alley.
After that, I met Geoff and a friend down at the Grey Dog on Carmine street. I thought we were going to see that French flick Amelie, which would have been a nice way to top off the museum/city-appreciation theme of the day. We decided instead on a big sushi dinner at Yama, right across the street, which was just fine by me. Still, I'd like to see that movie at some point. Heard good things bout it.Scrambled around Sunday morning, trying to get everything together in time to make the one o'clock bus. It was packed, and I hate crowded buses. Luckily I sat with Geoff, so I didn't have to endure the banter and/or smell of a stranger. So it wasn't an unpleasant ride home. Once we reached home, I began eating, and have been unable to stop. I tried to stem the tide of gluttony and weight gain with a little contraption my brother Garrick had, one of those electro-ab stimulators. It was fairly painful and uncomfortable, but after a few minutes I kind of got used to it. I don't know if it actually does any good at all. If it actually just made the muscles look toned but didn't increase health or strength one bit, that'd be fine by me. Hell, if it did all that and actually decreased my strength and health a little bit, I'd think I'd still be ok with that.
Anyway, there was also the task of setting up the Christmas tree. It was a crooked, sad looking thing, but by an ill-advised aunt at the Home Depot. What you get for going cheap. We had all but decided to chuck it and go buy a new one, but decided to give it one last try. Brothers Garrick, Galvin, and I came up with an ingenious way to deal with the slanting-tree problem: We simply tilted the pictures to match the slant of the tree, then they stood crooked as well. If not for the curtain in the background, you'd never be able to tell. We are all geniuses. Well, not Garrick, last time we were tested. Not many gifts were exchanged this year. The parents gave gifts of cash, which was just fine for me, and which bought the digital camera I'm now using. From Garrick I received a gift card from Target, which I used to buy a new sweater and some socks. Who'd've thought I'd ever own so much Mossimo clothing? By the way, I'm a huge fan of the compound contraction. Anyway, we guilted Galvin into buying us presents, once we found out he hadn't bought any for us. He never buys presents. I really can't remember ever receiving a gift from him. So he got me two DVDs- The Goonies and Best In Show. And Geoff got me a new phone, which is pretty nice. A 2.4 ghz momma. And that wraps up the presents. No pun intended.
So as tradition dictates, we went and saw a movie on Christmas Day. Last year, actually, was the first time in at least 8 years we didn't see a movie. Geoff absolutely refused to sit through "Castaway," and instead insisted that we go see "Dude, Where's My Car?" Quite a stalemate was had, as each showing passed, and eventually we just said fuck it. Anyway, this year there was a bit more consensus, and we went to see the Lord of the Rings movie. Geoff was of the opinion that it wasn't the best movie for Elijah Wood to make, since everyone already thinks he gay, and there are some pretty heavy homosexual undercurrents throughout the movie. Not to mention he speaks in a British accent too. The movie itself was fairly enjoyable. Although I pretty much ruined the first half because I kept thinking about when, not if, I had to go to the bathroom. So as I was watching, I was also closely monitoring my bladder pressure levels. While drinking a very large slushy. Anyway, Geoff didn't particularly enjoy the film. I guess I could understand why. I mean, it was three hours long, and while consistently entertaining, not a hell of a whole lot happened. Well, that's not really true, but I guess it seemed that way because they started out on this journey, which was the whole point of the trilogy, and they barely got into it at all. It was about two hours of setup, then the real plot. But if theyu told us they had the next movie ready to watch right after we finished the first one, I probably would've had no problem sitting through it. So I guess we'll call the movie a success in general.I got a call on Christmas Eve from my childhood friend Becky Thomas. It's Dr. Thomas now. She's a doctor. So yesterday, before leaving town, I picked her up and we took a little trip to target. It was definitely nice to see and hear her. I hadn't seen her in about two years, since she visited New York. Something I noticed with her, and that I've been noticing a lot lately with certain people, is that I can be instantly and unceasingly hilarious, but somehow I find it unsettling. It's sort of a default mode of cynicism and sarcasm, and while those are two things I enjoy and employ frequently, lately I operate solely in that mode for hours on end. And then when I get a moment alone to myself, I feel exhausted and somehow dirty. It just feels sort of phony I guess. Maybe I've been burned too often being more sincere. I don't know yet. It's sort of a new realization and I guess it will some more monitoring. But something's a little off about my social interaction lately. Still, it was an enjoyable outing with Dr. Thomas, finished off with a brief sit in Arby's for a Coke slushy and some cheese sticks. mmmm mmmm good.
So then I went home, had a ham sandwich, finished packing, lost my watch somewhere, and headed to the bus station in downtown Reading. Bade the parents farewell, and three hours later, back in New York. It didn't even feel like I'd been gone at all. Sort of weird. And now I am back. On the whole, it was just a very uneventful holiday. But compared to the terribly troubling deeply depressed Christmas I had last year, this year was swell. Lots of food and fun and family.
The double job-duty was in effect this evening. After the night job, Caryn picked me up in her car, on one from her parents, and she drove me over to Tonic, where I was hoping to see Dymaxion play. I'd read some rave reviews and thought I should be going to hear more music. Matt and James were going to meet me there. But when I got there around 11, the show was already over and Matt and James were nowhere to be found. Somewhat annoyed and freezing, I came home. And here I am. Got a call from Jen K today, who just relocated to the southern tip of Park Slope. So that is exciting news. I haven't seen her in a while, and it'll be nice having her in the neighborhood. More local friends are always good. Thank God tomorrow's friday. I really need to ease into these work weeks after vacations. And then a 4 day weekend. huzzah.
Mail to G-Rock