Posted 6:28 PM by Blah blah

Too Much to Talk: House, Dinner, Skating, Comics, and Unfaithful

Sorry if I haven't returned your email recently. I haven't finished settling into the new house, and I have limited Internet access now. Also, I got a lot of mail recently (from both friends here and online friends), so I apologize on not getting back to you.

I never understand people who say they have nothing to write or talk about. I NEVER run out of things to talk about. In fact, I always overflow with ideas for conversation, and I only pick a very narrow slice of my life and chatty thoughts to put here. Maybe I should do a whole week where I just list topics I COULD talk about but have no time to really flesh out. People who have chatted with me know that IF we have chemistry, three hours of conversation may rush by, like that.

What's the longest you have ever talked on a phone with someone? With one girl I was dating, several years ago, my record was six hours straight.

However, put me at a dinner table with someone who is my complete opposite, and you'll find me chewing the tablecloth and exchanging meaningful looks with old ladies at the next table. I'll discover all these imaginary cracks in my plate, wolf down my food, and use this chance to practice Pig Latin with the Jewish waitress.

Of course, it wouldn't just be me talking. I am very sensitive about boring you. I have the personality of a journalist, so I do a great deal of listening, too. I want to see what makes you tick. I want to unlock you.

For example, here's what has been kicking around in my head this week:

- Mira, you asked if we hired any big and strong guys to move our stuff? You are looking at them, baby! My housemate and I pretty much did it all, both this Saturday and last (in the rain). After lifting the washer and dryer, the mega screen TV, the desks, the beds, and the bookshelves, my hand was about to fall out of its socket.

- The new house. Two story, three bedroom, two bath. Nicely landscaped backyard. Living room huge enough for big parties and a pool table, which my housemate plans to install. The price DOUBLED from the original owner's price, five years ago.

- Dinner with my housemate's family. Saturday, right after the move, his brother-in-law hosted a surprise birthday dinner for his sister. They've been married several years. His brother-in-law, who also has a strong interest in film, cooked this fantastic dinner that impressed us all. From the grilled salmon, to mussels bathed in butter and wine, to Vietnamese spring rolls dipped in a brown sweet sauce, to Chardonnay, to a cheesecake, we were all very impressed! He offered the salmon stacked in a neat column topped with greens, like it came out of a restaurant. We were: my housemate, his girlfriend (also my housemate), two of his sisters, his brother-in-law, his brother, and his brother's girlfriend. Had a great time! It's not often that I get to have a fun dinner with a cheerful family. I appreciated that night a lot.

- Sunday morning: went rollerblading for an hour and a half, at Netscape headquarters. As you remember, I'm taking lessons. My teacher, Patrick, is excellent. Here's his skating webpage. You may see some of our pix. He has taught for ten years, plays roller hockey, and competes in triathlons. He's also starting this company, Inner Light Studio, on the side. Very cool guy and excellent athlete. So far, in three lessons, I've learned: 1) how to brake much better, 2) how to start skating backwards, 3) how to sprint like hockey players do with their duck walk, and 4) how to skate a slalom course. Amazing for someone who was pretty shaky at the beginning. My lower back hurt greatly after my first lesson, but you know, after all of my moving, I didn't feel any special pain or soreness any more!

- Sunday afternoon: went to the mall and checked out the only comic book shop I know around here. Recently, as Valerie knows, I've been indulging my old passion for comic books. Have bought some very adult, dramatically impressive graphic novels. Comics are NOT just for kids. For one thing, my favorite hero from childhood, Spider-Man, has been revamped in a new series that started last year, called Ultimate Spider-Man, written by Brian Michael Bendis. I cannot gush enough about this fresh look at Peter Parker and Mary Jane from the very beginning, updated for the 21st century. In many ways I love it and find it superior to the original issues. As you see, I'm a big comics geek when it comes to Spider-Man. Millions of others and I relate very well to Peter Parker. I sometimes feel it's about me.

- Another comic that has engrossed me is written for adults and has no super-anything in it. It's about politics. Called Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President, it was written in Japanese by Kaiji Kawaguchi and printed here in America in 2000. This is no child's manga. It's a penetrating, very believable work of political intrigue. It's about the fictional bid by the first Asian-American ever to run for the White House. No super villians or powers. Just some extraordinary human beings caught up in a Machiavellian drama and soap opera. I was absolutely amazed by this set of books. And more amazed that it is written by an outsider, a guy from Japan. Kawaguchi uncannily profiles the American political process in shrewd detail. If you ever saw or read Primary Colors, a thinly disguised work about a Clinton-like guy running for president, you will appreciate Eagle. And this book is LONG. Eagle is five volumes. Each volume is about 400 pages, making the whole work over 2000 pages. I've finished two volumes already and can't wait for more! If you want to learn many insights about crafty campaigning and what it might take to get an Asian into the Presidency, read this book! It's been nominated for an Eisner award, which represents the best of comics for that year.

- Saw last year's movie, Unfaithful, with Richard Gere and Diane Lane. Directed by Lyne, the man who brought you sex-obsessed movies like Fatal Attraction and 9 1/2 Weeks. I was blown away and emotionally touched by this film. Diane Lane plays a suburban wife who reluctantly, then passionately, gets caught up with a younger Latin lover guy, played by Olivier Martinez. I was blown away by her Academy-Award deserving performance as the conflicted woman who is torn between a hidden lust, seething guilt, and a devotion to her husband and family. Gere was excellent too, as the wronged husband. I like this movie and script infinitely better than his Autumn in New York with the very miscast Winona Ryder. It's not a flashy, over-the-top movie. Just about everything that happened was reasonable and subdued, like it is in real life. This movie also feels European, which is not an accident. It was inspired by a 1969 French classic, Le Femme Infidele. In the movie, the ending plot is slightly different. Anyway, if you want to see an emotionally affecting, very realistic portrayal of just how a proper loving wife could be sucked into and deal with the consequences of infidelity, WATCH this movie! It also brought to mind the unfaithful people I have known in my own life, which is another story...