1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before? Eat snails.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? The real question is if I made any. If I did, I'm sure they had to do with going to the gym. And I went up until September.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes.
4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes.
5. What countries did you visit? Jamaica. Ya mon.
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? A faculty position. Crossing my fingers.
7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? October 31st. I defended my dissertation.
8. What was your biggest success? Defending my dissertation!
9. What was your biggest failure? Not getting the job at P.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Yes. Oy. What a summer of infection and gastric difficulty.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Cooper. He was adopted, technically. But he sure is expensive to feed.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Almost everyone! I have seen a lot of people be very, very cool this year.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Any school that doesn't send rejection letters after you've applied for its job search.
14. Where did most of your money go? Dogs. House. We had a roof done and we finished the little room upstairs. Mike also built a built-in for the study.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Cooper! Some job prospects. Going to Jamaica. Defending the dissertation.
16. What song will always remind you of 2008? I don't think there is any one song. Maybe Rihanna "Please Don't Stop the Music" because I'm not fond of it and it was played on every station imaginable.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you a.happier or sadder? b. thinner or fatter? c. richer or poorer?
a. midlin b. more fat, less bloated, c. sort of in between. both slightly richer and slightly poorer.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Vacationing. Exercising (more recently than before). In fact, I was planning to go to the gym this morning, but it's snowing like crrrrrazy.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Grading papers. Normally, I love it, but two writing courses and three papers with drafts was a bad idea.
20. How will you be spending Christmas? We went to my parents for Christmas. We ate Chinese food Christmas Eve and had a lovely time. On Christmas day we saw my cousins in Milton.
21. Did you fall in love in 2008? Sure. I have a silly doggy, and a silly husband I love.
22. What was your favorite TV program? Either The Office or Lost. I wish I watched less tv, actually.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? I can't think of anyone.
24. What was the best book you read? Does August: Osage County count? I actually saw it before I read it.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Autolux.
26. What did you want and get? A dog!
27. What did you want and not get? That job at P. And various other jobs. :^(
28. What was your favorite film of this year? There Will Be Blood. I think I saw that this year.
29. What did you do on your birthday? On my birthday I think we went to The Flying Pig, though I'm not sure. For my birthday later on, we drove to Mohonk, hiked, ate, and had massages. I'd recommend the hiking, but not the eating or massages...unless it's not busy.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A postdoc or faculty position.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Out with the old, in with the Anthropologie. I discovered that one of the million great things about living close to NYC is that you can get those sweaters they list for $248 at $60.
32. What kept you sane? Exercising. I'm actually not sure I stayed sane.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Obama! Not in a crush way, but in a fabulous President.
34. What political issue stirred you the most? Let me think...what happened this year...hmmmmm
35. Who did you miss? Parents, friends who live afar.
36. Who was the best new person you met? A friend's boyfriend.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008? There are just some things you can't have control over or plan.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore." - Network

Ah, yes. Here I am again writing much much later than I had planned. In the meantime, I've had some luck with schools -- no job yet, but job prospects seem better. I've also baked four batches of cookies and today I hope to make it an even five. I have so much to do today. I'm sure you are thinking the same thing. But perhaps you don't have a four hour drive in addition to what you have to do. In the face of it all, I think I'll take a short nap.

From black to white...

A veil has lifted, at least in part. Sadly, I don't really feel that any of the templates for blogs fit my mood these days. I'm unofficially Dr. Shea. I just have to finish revisions and turn my dissertation in. Yippee! First, I have to get through about a million job applications, though. Well, I wish it were a million; perhaps then I would have more of a chance. Sure, I get down about the fact that I happen to be going on the job market in one of the worst years ever. Sure, I do. And then I remind myself that on January 20th, Barack Obama will be our President. And what's more...George W. Bush won't. And that makes me super happy. Yes, things will be bad and Obama doesn't necessarily make things automatically better. But it proves that someone really can pull himself up by his bootstraps. I just hope that means someday that someone will be able to pull herself up by her bootstraps. Anyway, it gives me confidence about the tenacity of my own bootstraps.

In the past month or two I've been quite busy doing boring things like job applications and responding to papers. So there really hasn't been that much to write about. I'm trying to get back to the gym more now that Cooper is more adult-like. He's often calm, but he still has moments of total craziness. Like today, I took him for a walk down town and he was all over the place. Normally, when I walk him, he stays right by my side a little ahead of me. But downtown he was all over the place, and I was embarrassed at his misbehavior. Someone really needs to go back to training class. I also think that someone really needs a gentle lead leash.

Ah...so I hope to write more now (for real). I'm taking next semester off teaching to involve myself in some theater things and to write some creative things. Let's hope I accomplish both goals, hm?

Ahh.

This week I turned my dissertation in; it's in a before defense final version. That means that I'll have to revise it after the defense but that it is finished in a fashion. While I did breathe somewhat of an "ahhhh" this week (or really today, because I had to teach yesterday), I won't really feel fully ahhhed until I turn in the final version.

Today I treated myself to some much needed rest, some law & order: svu, a run, and a trip to Trader Joe's. I decided to hold off on grading papers or doing any academic related work today. I would have liked to paint our new shed outside, but it was kind of on-and-of raining, so it wasn't a great painting day. Perhaps tomorrow I will do that and plant the garden that I ordered. I might also purchase some tulips and plant them. If I lived in the city, I would simply plant tulips everywhere. I love them. But here I can plant them in the backyard only because of the deer. The deer make gardening difficult in general, bastards. Actually, they make everything difficult. They are like huge mice. I'm surprised there are so many of them, given the sheer number of howls I hear from coyote at night.

Now that I have to take a break from the dis, I'm hoping to blog a bit more. We'll see.

My goodness. It has been almost a month since I last posted. Well, now I've started teaching at Fordham. And what did I choose to teach first? None other than Tropic Thunder. So far the students seem to be enjoying it. And it did bring up some interesting questions that I talked about in my previous entry. It is and incredibly offensive film, and therefore quite bold by any standards.

Yesterday I turned 31, which I think will be a good year. Or rather, I hope it will be a good year. 31 seems so old...so much older than even 30 seemed. When you're 30, you're really almost still in your twenties. 31 is definitely in the thirties and heading toward the mid-thirties. Yikes!

Well, I must now go to plan my class at Fordham for tomorrow. I hope to write sooner next time, and perhaps I will have more to say now that school has begun. There isn't much to write about when one is simply writing and researching every day.

I'm fascinated by Tropic Thunder, a movie that I haven't seen. Naturally, I'm most fascinated by the re-institution of blackface performance at a remove. Robert Downey Jr. plays an actor who plays a part in blackface, thus removing Downey from playing the part in blackface himself, something which he ultimately does. The idea itself, being at a remove, seems to work for critiquing the blackface in that it critiques Downey's whiteness ultimately? But it also raises the issue of "performing black" -- something Downey seems to do, again, not at Downey. While the use of it in the film may work out well, I'm a little afraid to see what the film opens up in others.

In actual news, I went to the Guggenheim for the first time and saw an exhibit on Louise Bourgeois. We had friends visiting from Tennessee and I think I was the only one of the four of us who enjoyed the exhibit. Unfortunately, the permanent collection was closed because of the renovations. We did see woodcuts by Kadinsky (who knew he did medievally-inspired woodcuts?) that were really beautiful. The next day we went to botanical gardens in the Bronx. I'm definitely going to go back in the spring; there isn't a whole helluva a lot in bloom right now, with the exception of the roses. In the spring, they have an orchid show, so I would like to go to that and then check out the blooming trees on the trails. It will remind me a little bit of our home in Brooktondale, which was like a botanical garden in itself.

I have returned from Denver. And this is what I discovered while I was there. First of all, it is dry. Now this may seem obvious. But I mean dry like the desert. Even inside the hotel with airconditioning going at maximum force, there was a constant need to drink water. And stepping outside made one feel like a shrinking prune. On top of this dryness, I had a runny nose. The runny nose was actually something everyone at the conference had; there was a lot of sniffing in between papers, blowing noses, and drinking water, all at the same time. Going out at night, I discovered that because of the altitude one drink equals 2 or 3 -- especially if it's wine. And they don't tend to serve vegetables. I remember ordering a half chicken -- something that would generally be accompanied by a happy green vegetable and potatoes. Well, this chicken was accompanied by potatoes and fried onion rings. Yes, that was the vegetable. Despite the dryness and my lack of vegetation, I enjoyed Denver, in part because I did a lot of carousing (obviously enhanced by the altitude/alcohol factor) disguised as networking.

Now that I'm back, I'm working on figuring out what/when/where I'll be teaching this fall. I thought I would have the answer to this yesterday, but here I am today with still no certainties. I'm not good at the whole "not knowing" stage of things. I don't seem to get a lot done during it.

It's hard to know what to write today. I know so many people who attended the Unitarian Universalist church in Knoxville, and I imagine that some of them were there today during the shooting. I didn't know either of the two people who died, but it's a small town. And having something happen in a community like that is always...shocking. I'm trying to figure out the what to write to the people at my law firm. Everyone I know who attended that church was so incredibly generous in their work and life. And in an area of the South where a lot of difference wasn't accepted, the Unitarian church worked to include everyone. My thoughts and prayers go out to them.

A lot went on this weekend. Yesterday we went to a party and to Mike's Mom's wedding. They planned it within a month and a half; I have to say that it was really well put-together. The ceremony was just the right size and they didn't do a lot of the annoying wedding stuff that takes up a lot of time. There was food, dancing, cake, ice cream and cookies. Mike and I even got a little salsa dancing in. Afterwards, we went to another party. I couldn't think of eating another thing, but it was fun to play with kids and see people from Mike's work.

We also saw Batman: The Dark Night on Friday night. I have to say that we almost went back again and saw it last night, but I didn't think I could drive home after; I was so tired. Really, Heath Ledger's performance is unbelievable. He makes the Joker seem so human -- thus, it's really quite frightening on a different level. If you havne't seen it, I highly recommend it.

There are several reasons why I no longer wish to live in the South. The heat is just one of them. But today and more specifically now, I join Cooper in the discomfort of having to live in the North without central air. It's really damn humid out -- still not as humid in Tennessee, but not even the cave dwelling known as my house can cut out humidity when it lasts for as many days as it has. So I sit and sweat. Cooper gets up, grabs a toy, plops right back down, and proceeds to play with the least possible effort. Then, he stops and concentrates on breathing for awhile. Yes, the bedroom is air conditioned. But who wants to be shut up there all the time? And in this heat/humidity, can one even think of eating a thing called dinner? When I look at weather.com, I know it lies -- that both the temperature and more importantly the humidity are higher than the stated results. It's like they want you to suffer more; they present you with lower results to make you feel unworthy of complaining. And I suppose in some parts of the world, this is cool. But I'm an Irish girl and my Irish genes were simply not used to this heat.

Enough. In actual news, I'll be going to Denver next week for a conference. Oh yes, I have to write a paper before then, and I'm trying to figure out how to cut down a few dissertation chapters into one paper. This is a tad bit more difficult than cutting a seminar paper down as there is more material. But this is why one only leaves oneself one week. It takes the time you have and no longer.

Cheers. Stay cool. M.

What an illustrious weekend. We started out by going to dinner at one of the trendy Chinese/Indian fusion restaurants in New York -- Chinese Mirch. The taste was everything you enjoy about both cuisines. Oddly enough, we were meeting two friends there, but two more people whom Mike knows from work showed up there at exactly the same time -- completely randomly. So we had a lovely time eating with them as well. Then, we went to an apt building in New York City (the friends we went to dinnner with did an apartment switch with a couple they know for the weekend -- they live right on a lake in the country and the other two live in Manhattan). We joined them in the Manhattan apartment, which has a common balcony on the side that views the river. And we saw what was undoubtedly the best fireworks show I've viewed before in my life. On top of new technology in fireworks I really can't explain, there were smiley faces, stars, and cubes. Then, after that we went salsa dancing at Gonzalez y Gonzalez. Some of the people there are just absolutely incredible. I don't know how the men can lead and ladies can follow like that. We returned on the last training after practicing our salsa moves in Grand Central Station.

On Saturday we awoke late and then traveled to Bristol, CT to attend Mike's father's 4th of July party. They have a pool, but it was really too cold and rainy for us to go swimming. We returned to NY and visited a party that was supposed to still be going on with people from Mike's work. But it was over. We still had a couple drinks with the owner of the house, who coincidentally had the same sink in his bathroom that we are planning to install in our downstairs bathroom. It was nice to see that sink "in action."

Today we are focused on work and house stuff. So it's not as fun. But Friday was definitely one of the best 4th of Julys ever!

It's rather humid tonight, unfortunately. But even when it's this humid, I think about how humid it is in Knoxville, Tennessee and thank my stars for the New York humidity.

Tomorrow my cousin is going to bring her dog and we'll have her for two whole weeks. If Cooper knew, he would be soooo excited. He'll be excited when he sees her tomorrow. It's really enjoyable to have both a big dog and a little dog hang out with each other. By the way, Cooper is getting so BIG. I looked at him today and thought, oh my god, he's almost full size lab. Well really, he'll be growing until September. But that seems almost to me.

Tomorrow Mike and I are also going for our weekly salsa dancing. Mike's mother is getting married this summer, so it looks like we'll finally have a chance to work on our salsa skills outside of class/time after class. But that isn't until July. In the meantime, we'll practice. In the past weeks, when I had the mega-cold/flu, I got so dizzy dancing. It was great to dance tonight and not feel dizzy at all. This leads me to the conclusion that mega-cold/flus suck.

Ah well, that is enough blogging for now as I have absolutely no news to report. Oh no wait, my Mom retired. I guess this is a summer of Moms, with Mike's mom getting married and mine retiring. It happened all of a sudden because the Union is renegotiating contracts and she had to decide quickly whether to take an early retirement bonus. So she did! And now you'll see her walking the beach at Quincy, taking yoga, and going to the Y far more often. She's going to be ripped.

Ah! Here they are. This is us at the wedding in Jamaica. Have I mentioned how beautiful the wedding was? Have I also mentioned that we're trying to get everyone to get married in Jamaica because it was so much fun? No really, think about it. Compared to a wedding in America (unless you live in the South), it would be so cheap. In fact, if you book 10 or more rooms, your rehearsal dinner is free. And your ceremony is included, so everything else is an add-on. But your guests can do things together -- like snorkeling for free! Highly, highly recommend it.
-Megan

Hey mon,

Ahhh. The tough thing about vacation is coming back. All I want to do is go back to Jamaica or go somewhere else. But that's just not possible right now. When we returned from Jamaica, I started to come down with a cold. Then I got a tick bite and had to take a dosage of antibiotics to prevent the onset of lime disease. The antibiotics don't cure the cold, of course; in fact, they killed all the bacteria fighting the cold. So I got really sick and found myself shivering under all my blankets in 80 degree weather. At the same time that all this was happening, I had a PIPIDA scan to see if my gall bladder was O.K. Let me tell you, when you're sick, having a PIPIDA scan is no fun. It's probably no fun anyway. But it's definitely no fun when you have to keep blowing your nose without moving your abdomen. Anyway, I'm over all that now, and I'm feeling peppy.

A couple weeks ago, Mike and I played touch football at a birthday party. It was so much fun. And I found that after awhile, all those football techniques I used as a child came back to me. I was a force to be reckoned with. But our team lost miserably...so I guess I wasn't that much of a force.

Blogger wouldn't let me upload any images this post; perhaps that has to do with being signed into two Google accounts at once. I'll try later.

-Megan

Bon jour.

I realize I haven't written in awhile. But from the end of April until now has been a bit crazy to say the least. And I expect it to continue through May into June...at the very least. On the plus side, I did have a few relaxing days in Jamaica. It was a five day vacation, and I'm a bit sad that this year we didn't take a longer one. Well, I suppose the year isn't over yet. Right? Anyway, I included a picture of me just before I got the worst sunburn I have ever had. I couldn't sleep on my back for days. I couldn't wear a strapful bra. It didn't ruin the trip, but it was not pleasant. Next time I'm going to take my t-shirt snorkeling. I guess even 50 doesn't work when I go swimming.

The puppy is well. He caught giardia just before we went away. And the vet medicated him heavily so that he could stay with my cousin and her dog. He overcame it and stayed with them. I think he had more fun there because she was there. She'll be coming to visit next week, though. So he'll be happy!

Neuteronomy.


Cooper was neutered this week. And he's doing great. He's doing so great he wants to go outside and play. But he can't because of his stitches. So instead he tries to play inside as if he's playing outside. He needs to be reminded constantly that he should calm down. I don't know how other people deal with neutering labs and then sitting inside with them for a week. But it is not fun for either of us...especially when one of us received 5 hours of sleep last night and wanted to take a nap after coming home from teaching.

In part, the lack of sleep is due to salsa dancing. Mike and I have been enjoying our Thursday night salsa. We take 2 hours of class and then dance for a couple hours. It's a really fun thing to do because it's active and we meet lots of different people. Plus, there is an absolutely fabulous Greek diner nearby, and we get to enjoy a weekly dinner there. I often wish that we had all-night diners in the Quincy area when I was in high school. I remember going to Bickford's late at night and thinking it was disgusting. And you know if I thought it was disgusting as a teenager, it's got to be really disgusting. Blech. Suddenly I am reminded of the worst food poisoning I've ever had -- from a milkshake at Perkin's. And I just can't bring myself to have another milkshake. I've maybe had one since then...? Maybe...

Other than salsa, I'm just my usual self. Mike and I have been exploring various hiking trails in Westchester with Cooper (pre-neuter). We're really lucky to live in an area with so many preserves and state parks. There are tons of trails still left unexplored by our well-worn feet. Otherwise, I've been playing some Scrabulous. If you haven't joined Facebook yet, I highly recommend that you do. And if you're thinking, well, I'm on Friendster, please be informed the Facebook is sooo much better than Friendster. I never checked Friendster daily; but Facebook...I'm obsessed.

I've changed my diet to a mostly protein diet in accordance with suggestions by my chiropractor to avoid getting migraines. So I'm hoping the side effects are that my muscles look mad crazy by the time I go to Jamaica next month. I know another great side effect is that I can feel good about ordering bacon when I go out to breakfast on the weekend. OK, so bacon's not really part of a lean protein diet, but it's still protein damnit. And I'm going to allow myself that indulgence once a week.

I can't believe I'm saying next month is May. Can anybody tell me where all the months went? You know, March and February? And can anybody else tell me why there are no jobs listed in theatre that I can apply to? Oh, I guess I can blame Bush for that...even if he really had nothing to do with it.

Not a whole lot is happening here. Mike and I went up to Western MA Easter weekend to see my friend Matt's play. It was lovely because we could take Cooper and he enjoyed time running around on the farm with other dogs. Plus, Western MA is nice. The small town of Ashfield has everything -- a pizza place, a diner nearby, and a quaint breakfast place. Love it. Though they also still had snow, which was not as fun.

On the way back, we stopped at my Aunts for some time with the four little cousins (i.e. my cousins' children). They are just absolutely too cute.

Has it really been that long since my last post? I'm on Spring Break right now, and so far, I'm enjoying it. I'm doing bad things like having pancakes for dinner (last night) and Annie's mac & cheese for lunch (today). To counter this, I also treated myself to two fitness classes in a row last night.

At some point, though, I have to get to work on my dissertation. So that's my after lunch plan. And it probably involves going to Starbucks so I won't have any distractions like a dog, or internet.

As you can see, there isn't a helluva lot going on. I did go into the city to see August in Osage County. I highly recommend it. It's very now, but in some ways, it's very much an American classic. So if it tours near you, it's worth seeing. You could, of course, always come to NYC to see it too.

Here are some incredibly cute pictures of Cooper when my cousin Julie's dog, Hero, visited for some play time. Hero was more interested in the treats I had in my pocket, though. Cooper is generally interested in sticks.

Today he went to canine kindergarten again so I could have a break and actually get some work done. Imagine that! He's zonked right now and sleeping peacefully. When I picked him up today, he looked like he had increased in size. He's growing so fast.

Otherwise here it's the same old same old. We plan to start salsa dancing tomorrow. I don't know if the place we are going to will work out, but we'll give it a try.

I'll be up in MA the weekend of March 1st. My cousin is having a christening for her baby. He looks so cute in pictures. I can't wait to meet him.

The big snowstorms always seem to hit when I have to drive back from Fordham. Or rather, they hit EXACTLY when I have to drive back from Fordham. Today, I get out of class at 2:15 and the winter weather warning starts at 2p.m. I'm hoping that means that the storm will really start at 3 p.m. But really. I doubt I'll have that much luck.

Cooper is doing well in his training course. He tends to learn tricks a little too quickly. It's like he knows what to do so you don't need to say the command anymore. And sometimes that makes it difficult for him to learn commands. But he's loads of fun.

This past weekend Mike and I went to a party called "Thanksgiving in February." And at the party, they used a fryer to fry not only a turkey, but also pickles, mashed potato balls, chicken, oreos, and Twinkies. Even though I had only one thing of everything fried (with the exception of the Twinkie), it took days for my arteries, veins, and intestines to recover. It was delicious, of course. But man was it filling.

LOST

I thought that the season premiere was actually going to be two hours. So I was sad to find out that the first hour is a recap of everything I've seen. We brought Cooper to one of Mike's friends from works house, and he was very well behaved. He really likes to lie down under tables. And yet he doesn't like his crate. How odd.

I shouldn't be posting tonight. I have far too much to do. But for some reason, I had to change my template. I'm feeling quite capricious when it comes to templates. Doesn't it seem like no one has created a new blogger template in like a million years? What are all those people doing now?

Anyway, without a tt job or a postdoc thus far, life feels up in the air. So I had to change my template. And I went with black. I really don't know why. Black just looks good, damnit.

Here I am.

Not a whole helluva a lot going on. So I felt no reason to post.

Cooper is pretty damn cute. Most of the time he acts like a puppy. But sometimes he acts like a dog with a lot of wisdom. He has soulful eyes. He certainly does not act like a dog with a lot of wisdom when he is in his crate. This is by far his most problematic issue. We don't know if it is crate anxiety or separation anxiety. And it's going to be difficult to tell. Otherwise, he is simply fabulous all the time.

I've started teaching at Fordham again. And I do enjoy it. There is kind of a lull in job applications right now. I have one, maybe two more to apply for before there aren't any more openings. Of course, there are many places I still haven't heard back from. Some of these are in the interview process. Others probably haven't started sifting through applications. So who's to know? There should be more listings for jobs appearing soon. I look forward to it. Having listings to look forward to always helps when one receives a big ol' rejection letter.

For now, I'm just having a low key Friday night. I watched another episode of My So-called Life. I think I mentioned before that this is available online at the ABC website for everyone's viewing pleasure.

What do I really want to watch? LOST. I can't believe that the premiere is less than a week away. AHHHHHH. Wast that a scream or a sigh? Only I know.

Introducing Cooper

Hi all. We've adopted a doggy. His name is Cooper and he is a five month old chocolate lab mix. He is a really low key puppy, and he's absolutely a delightful dog. We adopted him from a shelter in Tennessee, and he was transported up on Wednesday. It seems like he really recovered from the transport just today. He looks all chocolate lab, but his coat is a little more thick and wavy on top so he is either mixed with a curly coated retriever, a Chesapeake Bay retriever, a spaniel, or a shephard -- just to narrow things down. Anyway, he's loads of fun, super-cute, and I hope you all get to meet him soon.

I'm back after a whirlwind of holiday action. A whirlwind of holiday action really only leads to one place -- hours and hours at the gym subsequently to work off all that extra fat. I ate many delicious meals at others' houses, and I don't think the celebrating has quite finished yet. I'll spare you the details of the individual meals. But they were enjoyable. So were the cookies I made. And now I must return to the norm. I have eight papers to grade today and I have to get back into the grind of applying for jobs, working on the dis, etc. But it was nice to have a short holiday break. If I do get a more permanent job next year, I think that we will go away after the holidays next year. It will be delightful to go somewhere warm and experience New Year's in a different place. Speaking of New Year's, we went to the city yesterday to see a 10:30 a.m. showing of There Will Be Blood. The film is absolutely amazing. Beyond words. Fantastic. After it got out we walked through Times Square. I can't imagine spending New Years there. At 2:00 there were already people staking out spots on the sidewalk. They were even standing on the middle islands on Broadway. I really have no desire to ever do that; for one, I hate crowds. Anyway, we returned home and spent New Year's at Lys's friend's house. He had a champagne and Scrabble party. I have to say that it was a really enjoyable New Year's. And that's definitely something I would do again.