It’s early Sunday morning, and there appears to be some sort of … ehm … a BLIZZARD outside. I slept over my friend Jen’s last night, a cozy warm port in the storm (which had already begun). Out the window is insanity. The snow is still coming down, and the wind appears to be quite strong – I can hear it. I love snow. I do wonder, however, about my prospects getting home today. Hmmmm<\/p>\n
Yesterday Jen and I had plans to go see a matinee of The Aviator. We met up at the Chelsea Clearview (where on May 6, 2005, a convening of the brightest minds of our generation will occur, to see the premiere of the long-awaited Hitchhiker’s Guide!!!). The snow was already coming down pretty hard. It was beautiful. You could tell it meant business, but it was beautiful. New York City transforms when it snows. At least to my eyes. It becomes magic. Poetic. Everywhere you look you see beauty. In New York?? Yes. When it snows.<\/p>\n
To get into the city from my small cliffside dwelling across the Hudson, I take these little rickety shuttle busses … which are hysterical, and … it feels a bit third-world. Like … if you had a complaint about the driver, you literally wouldn’t know who to call. Is it a legitimate company? No idea. But this is how everyone gets into the city from my town. What’s amazing is that, on a good day, with no traffic, my commute (door to door, I’m talking) is 15 minutes. I leave my apartment, and in 15 minutes I’m in Times Square. Not too shabby.<\/p>\n
So anyway, the snow is already coming down pretty seriously. I get on the bus. Which has about 20 seats. There are 6 other people on the bus, all bundled up like myself. The roads are very slushy, everyone is driving very cautiously. And on our approach to the Lincoln Tunnel, our wee bus did a damn DONUT. A full DONUT, careeening our way towards the turnstiles. It was nauseating. You could feel the skid start to happen … and then … uh oh … here we go … All 6 of us passengers, at the same time, went like this: “WoaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAohhhhhhhhhhhh” It was a roller-coaster sound … starting slow and soft, then getting louder as we spun all the way around, and then dying down when … we realized we were not dead.<\/p>\n
So there was THAT.<\/p>\n
I need to talk about The Aviator in some detail (in MAD detail) but I’ll save that for another post. Jen and I came out of the movie at 6 pm. It was now dark, and the snow had continued to fall, without letup. The streets looked noticeably more difficult to manage. Almost no cars were driving. Everyone on the sidewalks hunched by us, faces down, staggering through the growing drifts.<\/p>\n
We decided to have a sleepover. First, we went to Barnes & Noble to satisfy my immediate desire to buy a biography of Howard Hughes. (That is how I am. Curiosity about something blossoms overnight? Immediately go get 5 books about it. Ask no questions. Follow the obsession).<\/p>\n
Jen and I slogged our way back to Hoboken. We decided to make dinner. Have some beer. Rent some movies. Jen decided to make cookies. So we had a shopping list. It took us about 45 minutes to do all of our errands, because our mobility was quite compromised, due to the growing drifts. Certain bars and restaurants were continuously shoveling in front of their establishments, and so as we strolled by, say, The Black Bear, we could move freely. But the second we reached the next storefront, we were in big trouble. However, snow is great. We love snow. We were happy.<\/p>\n
We saw THE CUTEST LITTLE KID walking along with his mother. He was probably three years old. He was stuffed into a snowsuit (hence, he could barely move his arms) – and he was wearing a cool biking helmet and MASSIVE orange snow goggles. He looked like a small insect, with big bug-eyes. Or like a wee wee ninja fighter. And his mother was trying to move them along, to do her errands, stocking up for the storm … but he, of course, HAD to try to walk through the drifts. His tiny mouse-voice blabbing to his mother, coming at us through the snowy night.<\/p>\n
Errands finally accomplished … ingredients for cookies purchased … 2 movies rented (Dodgeball and Mean Girls) … and finally we were ready for home.<\/p>\n
In her apartment, we lit candles, we cooked, we drank beer, we talked incessantly about our lives, what we’re going through right now, what we’re struggling with, what we’re excited about. She’s one of my dearest friends. We played Bare Naked Ladies, blasted it really, and danced around manically, in our pajamas. Laughing hysterically. Bare Naked Ladies. Such HAPPY music. Really. Love them.<\/p>\n
Then we settled down with our healthy feast of food, and watched Dodgeball.<\/p>\n
And LAUGHED OUR ASSES OFF.<\/p>\n
It is SO stupid. It is SO funny. It is SO ridiculous. I enjoyed every stinkin’ second of that movie. My kind of humor. Absolutely STUPID. Like … Vince Vaughn playing dodgeball?? What???? And that hilarious guy from Office Space? When has that actor EVER been asked to do ANYthing physical in a movie? He must, with his looks, always play geeks and weirdos. When has that actor ever had a slow-motion action sequence in a movie?? Well, in Dodgeball, he does. It is riotous.<\/p>\n
And I fell suddenly and deeply in love with Justin Bateman. I couldn’t get over the guy. Does anyone remember his small part in the movie? He plays the sidekick commentator, who is just kind of a cool clueless dude, wearing sunglasses, spiked hair … with a name like Pepper or something … Bateman doesn’t have much to do in the movie, but he was cracking me UP. I am in love with him now.<\/p>\n
We kept checking out the window at the progress of the storm.<\/p>\n
Then we curled up under a fleece blanket, and I read out loud the Introduction to my new Howard Hughes biography. Then we talked about Howard Hughes for a while, talked about the movie.<\/p>\n
I slept on the couch, like a feckin’ diving bell under the ocean. I’ve been sleeping really really well lately … different for me. Normally, I’m a bit more restless.<\/p>\n
I dreamt about the Spruce Goose.<\/p>\n
And woke up to a blindingly white snow-covered world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It’s early Sunday morning, and there appears to be some sort of … ehm … a BLIZZARD outside. I slept over my friend Jen’s last night, a cozy warm port in the storm (which had already begun). Out the window … Continue reading