Afternoon In Oaklyn

Began the day with a slightly earlier gym run than I have recently. Even at 10:30, the gym was still pretty busy. I did cardio on the elliptical machine today, alternating between watching Let's Make a Deal and men's rowing and women's swimming on the Olympics. There were a few people on the weight machines, but no one was doing arms until I was done, thank goodness.

I made a very quick stop at Marburn Curtains for a shower curtain, then went around the corner to the Acme for this week's paycheck and groceries. I didn't really need a lot of things, anyway. Raisin bread from the Acme's bakery (it's too hot to make it) and canola oil were the big ones. Also grabbed milk, chocolate chips, and fruit concentrate. Continued to stock up on chicken while it's on big sales for grilling season; got legs and tenderloins for incredibly cheap.

I'm tired of the freezer being so covered in ice, I can't get anything in there. As soon as I got home, I scooped as much of the ice on the bottom out as I could and dumped it in my sink. In my digging, I uncovered a huge bag of ice I used for my knee the last time I hurt it five years ago, a giant slab of salmon Dad gave me a while back, and at least two old frozen fruit bars. The salmon should be ok - I'll eat it this week - but I got rid of everything else. I'm still going to need to defrost the top, but I cleared off the bottom enough to be able to load my meat and frozen vegetables in there.

Ran Midnight In Paris as I made leftover chicken breast and cucumber-tomato salad for lunch. I was quite impressed with this sweet love letter to the magic of Paris and the lure of the past. Gil (Owen Wilson) is a successful screenplay writer who wants to try his hand at writing a novel. He's in Paris on a business trip with his obnoxious fiancee Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her conservative, snobby parents (Mimi Kennedy and Kurt Fuller). What he really wants is to see the Paris of the 20s, when groups of writers and artists lived in small studios and traded witty repartee with each other, but shallow Inez would rather drag him to museums to listen to her silly interllectual friends (Michael Sheen and Nina Arianda) drone on about art works they probably looked up on Wikipedia.

Gil gets his wish one night when he's out for a walk. Suddenly, at midnight, he's picked up by a vintage vehicle and whisked off to a smashing party with Zelda (Alison Pill) and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston). Cole Porter (Yves Heck) plays his own songs; Josephine Baker (Sonia Rolland) shimmies at a party for black performers. Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll) gives him writing advice and offers to bring his novel to Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates.)

Gil enjoys his trips into the past, despite Inez's increasing assumption that he's going nuts. He has conversations with artists Salvador Dali (Adrian Brody) and Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzi Bo), gives screenplay ideas to director Luis Brunel (Adrien de Van), and falls for charming artist's model Adriana (Marion Cotilliard). It's Adriana who finally teaches him a lesson when she insists on doing some time warping of her own. Gil discovers that you can't live in the past, but you can live your life to the fullest, the life you have now, this minute.

This is the second time in less than a month that I've found myself thoroughly enjoying a Woody Allen movie. In a way, it has a great deal in common with Hugo and The Artist, which also deals with France in the past and were nominated for Oscars. Paris certainly deserved its Best Original Screenplay Oscar, if nothing else. Sheen, Stoll, and Bates in particular have a lot of fun with their roles; Cotilliard does wonders with what could have been a wooden love interest. If you like Allen's recent films, Paris, literary or 20th century history, or are looking for an unusual romantic comedy, this is very highly recommended.

I continued the theme of fantasizing with Garfield's Feline Fantasies. In this special from the early 90s, Garfield imagines him and Odie as everything from airline pilots to gunslingers to globe trotters searching for the fabled Banana of Bombay. No matter what scrape the cat-and-dog duo get into, they know that John will always be there to get them out of it.

I had just enough time to get the budget done while Garfield was running. I didn't spend nearly as much as I had the past few months, but I haven't had nearly as much to spend. That huge 4th of July paycheck was a big help; I actually had a little leftover. I shouldn't need much next month, either. I do want to make a few day trips to the Jersey Shore, but there isn't much I really need clothes/shoes-wise for a while.

Work was busy through about 8PM, after which the dark clouds cleared people out, despite the fact that it still hasn't rained. My schedule next week is even less wonderful. While I do have Tuesday and Thursday off, I have fewer hours and an awful lot of late ones.