Movies

So at first I thought Bill and Tom's "150 Movies in 2007" thing was a little strange, but now I've found that I'm actually keeping track of how many movies I watch. You two are evil. I can't recall all the movies I've watched so far (I'm pretty sure I saw more than half of "High School Musical" last week, and most of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" sometime this month), but the following are the ones I'm totally sure of:

Notes on a Scandal
Casino Royale
Capote
Christmas in Connecticut
Cars
Bringing Up Baby
Notting Hill
The Wedding Singer

I've watched about 40,000 episodes of Grey's Anatomy, but that doesn't count, I guess. Sigh.

On a side note, "Notes on a Scandal" was really really well done. I need to see "The Queen" before Oscar time, but Dame Judy Dench was tremendously psycho in this movie. Using the Tom rating scale, I give it a "definitely worth paying full price in the theater." It's not a feel good movie, but it's powerful and upsets you. And that's a good thing.

My New Year's Project: Month One

I know I said a few posts ago that my resolution for 2007 was to have my wisdom teeth removed. But I also started two self-improvement projects that I thought I'd talk about a little bit.

The first one was just to start walking three or four times a week, and so far that's going very well. My treadmill had to stay at my parents' house when I lived in my apartment because there was no room for it. But now, I have a sweet little setup in my spare bedroom. I took my new stepladder and put it right in front of the treadmill. Then I put my laptop on the stepladder so I can watch DVDs while I walk. I can't believe how quickly the time passes when I can watch "Grey's Anatomy" and walk at the same time. I hardly even get tired. (OK, that's a lie. By 2.5 miles, I'm looking forward to finishing up and getting off the darned thing.) I've even managed to wake up early a few mornings and hop on the treadmill before work so I could have my evening free. Let's hope this continues.

My second self-improvement initiative was born out of necessity more than desire to better myself. And it's proving much more difficult than walking.

When I lived in my apartment, I had some expendable income. Not much, but enough to buy what I wanted or eat out a few times a week. But when I moved and had to worry about things like my mortgage and the gas bill (vultures!), I realized that I couldn't live that life anymore. Instead, I had to start taking control of my spending, and that meant making rules about what I could and couldn't do. So I decided during my Christmas break that in 2007, I would only be allowed to purchase a meal one time a week. And folks, that includes lunch. So if I forget to take something to work and need to buy my lunch, there goes my one luxury of the week.

The first three weeks were terrible, like I was a heroine addict going through withdrawal. When I was a little girl, my family could never afford to eat in restaurants--maybe just a few times a year. So all these years later, even though I'm a grown-up now, going out is still a novelty. I love restaurants. I love the menus and the sweetener packets for my iced tea and all the people and the contented feeling of fullness without having to wash dishes. It's probably one of my favorite things to do in the whole world.

And boy did I miss it when I couldn't do it very often. Lunch from home seemed stale and boring. Cooking every night? Blech. I missed Arby's. And take-out. I missed Applebee's.

But in the past week, this not-going-out thing is getting much easier. I'm into a pattern now and I seem to be doing fine. I've resisted the urge to order Chinese with people at work, and I've gotten much better at cooking tonight's dinner with an eye toward tomorrow's lunch. I've also found that hording my one day/night out is the smartest thing to do, and it makes that Arby's or Chic-Fil-A taste so much better for the week of anticipation that preceded it.

I guess the best thing is that I'm saving money, although it's just going into my furnace. I do feel about 30 lbs lighter, though, just from not eating out. (Note that I haven't actually lost weight. I just feet a whole lot better.) I hope that by March or so, staying home for meals becomes my status quo.

But I really miss Chic-Fil-A. I wonder if it misses me.

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

Or not. Depending on where you go to school.

A local university has begun circulating a proposal calling for a "smoke-free" campus by 2010. Basically, it is what it is: the university will no longer tolerate smoking anywhere on campus--even outside. They say it's to create a healthier environment for nonsmokers and to make the university a more supportive place for smokers trying to quit.

I couldn't be more outraged and concerned about the future of privacy and democracy in the United States. And yes, it's all because of a smoking policy.

For starters, the policy is one more sign that our country is moving closer and closer toward true paternalism and away from democracy. To quote Bill, "I can't believe how many millions of dollars our country wastes to keep people from killing themselves." And you know what? He's right. Let's stop and think for a minute, folks: Smoking is LEGAL! It's OK to smoke. You can't be arrested or go to jail or be fined by the government for sucking on a nicotine stick. Yet the university wants to punish employees who choose to engage in a legal activity. And fine them if they violate the policy.

When did we become so concerned with peoples' habits? When did it become the role of administrators and the government to tell us that the ways we might hurt ourselves are bad and must be abolished? Since when did I lose my God-given right to free will?

Yes, I understand that second-hand smoke causes health problems, which is a good reason for bans on indoor smoking and creating smoking zones at least 20 feet from building entrances and air intakes. (The university, by the way, has such a rule but it is not enforced.) But at the same time, we seem to be forgetting that smokers have a right to smoke, just as much as I have a right to munch on Oreos. And unlike me and my Oreos, smokers are physically addicted to the cigarettes. Some of them really cannot quit.

I don't smoke and thankfully none of my family members smoke anymore, but it's easy to see how this policy creates an "us" and "them" mentality, whereby smokers engaging in a completely legal activity become the enemy. They're "those people" walking to the nearby park to take a smoke break; they're "the smokers." They're the Other. They're evil spawn of Satan who must be banished from the premises because they have a bad habit. And they're "the enemy" for a reason.

Cigarettes, by all accounts, should be illegal, given the amount of restrictions on them in today's society. But they can't be, any you know why? The tobacco lobby. And, of course, the astronomical amount of tax money generated from their sale. So what's the best way to handle the problem? Alienate the people who do it. Call them names. Wrinkle up your nose at them as you walk by. Convince them that they only have two options: quit or be forced to the margin of society, where they'll be scowled upon forever.

My other major concern about this proposal--and the way we're treating smoking lately in our society--is that I don't think it will end with cigarettes and tobacco. Look at New York City and its ban on trans fats. (Many other cities have followed suite, too.) The logical conclusion to me seems that after the smokers, the evil spawn, are taken care of, the fat people will be next. In 10 years time, you won't be able to buy butter or Doritos because they'll make you gain weight. Fat people (like me) will be scowled upon and forced to different parts of the restaurant so people won't have to look at us. Oreos will be the main characters in stories we tell our kids about the "good old days" when you could do with your body what you wanted because it was yours and not the government's.

I can even see this extended as far as personal behavior. Once you get the smokers and the fatties rounded up, you can go after the masturbators. Yes, I said the M Word. Think about it: it's a bad habit that can easily turn into addiction for people. Some folks do it many times a day. It can keep you from having a healthy relationship with other people. It's considered dirty. And all those mothers said for all those years that it would make you go blind.

You might disagree with me, but you know what? I don't care. This is my blog and for once, I can say what I want. Don't like it? Don't read it.

Now, where are those Oreos? I'm going to eat them while I can do it without paying a fine.

Why I Hate To Iron

Every time I iron a pair of pants, I'm confronted with the undeniable gigunderousness of my ass. There's nothing as damaging to your ego as sliding the butt portion of a pair of pants onto the ironing board, looking down and realizing that your ass cheek is as wide as that board. You can't blame the lighting or say that it's just the cut of the pants. No siree. My butt fits in those pants and so does the ironing board. Therefore, we must be the same size.

And therefore, I will just be wrinkled from this point on.

I've Resolved...

...To get my wisdom teeth removed in 2007.

What? You expected a slightly more soul-searching post? Maybe about how I need to do more with my writing, drop about 10 pant sizes or just be a better person in general.

If that's the case, well, your 2007 sucks already. I'm keeping my goals low and attainable.

Adios wisdom teeth!

And Happy New Year to all of you!