no one puts baby in a corner

One of the most classic film quotations of cheesey(/great) chick flicks of all-time. Period.

I still remember the first time I saw Dirty Dancing. I must have been ten, and I don't think I'd seen any movies classed as PG-13 before. I was over at a friend's house for a sleepover party with some 5-6 other girls. The racier components/innuendo flew over our heads. We were much more interested in the love story, the music, and of course the dancing.

I remember us rewinding the part where Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey sing Mickey & Sylvia's "Love is Strange" and singing at the top of our lungs. How do you call your loverboy? We thought we could mambo just like they did in the movie. The most complicated decision of the evening was who would lead, as we tried to immitate a much more simplistic form of the basic dances we saw on-screen.

Granted, we most definitely didn't try the lifts. [That would come later in college in the prime of my swing dancing kick, with the low point being my head on the cement of the fraternity house basketball court -- ooops]. But we sure had fun.

Deep Thoughts on Life... by Johnny Castle...
I'm gonna do my kind of dancin' with a great partner, who's not only a terrific dancer; somebody who's taught me that there are people willing to stand up for other people no matter what it costs them; somebody who's taught me about the kind of person I wanna be...

Never had I seen DD on the big screen. Until today. Oh yes. In honor of the 20th anniversary of its release, DD was re-released. There were only 2 showings, one today at 7:30PM and the other yesterday at the same time. Along with some friends, our tickets were purchased on Fandango last week in advance to ensure no issues with getting in.

Little wimp. He wouldn't know a new idea if it hit him in the pachenga...

Yeah, so excellent call Dr P on the Fandango-ing. Some of us started off the evening at the Green Turtle (formerly Drinx). Not half-bad, although you could instantly tell they'd just opened and were sorting out the little kinks here and there. It was a short visit though, as we had our minds on the important part of the evening.

As we walked up to print out our tickets from the machine, we saw "SOLD OUT" flashing up on the display. Yeah. Three cheers for planning. The Writer and I jetted ahead to secure a block of seats for the crew. We were in the very back row, which proved to be key for stashing our random pile of daily odds and ends along with allowing us to dance, gesture, and comment to our hearts content with minimal disruption to those around us. Fabulous. Dr P was the last to arrive, but she brought her newest Southernly proper hat purchased for the occasion along with other "squire-ly" items for the evening.

Once the movie started though, the audience participation was clearly fully supported by the crowd. Granted, it was not to the extent of Rocky Horror Picture Show, but it was fun. Acording to Em, it was officially a return to "Patrick Swayze: The Hot Years". Oh yes. The cheering was frequent, with the exception of the initial tension. Gasp. The movie was started much um stretched horizontally. It was like Dirty Dancing meets the Big Screen meets Laffy Taffy. No. It soon flicked off the screen and the screen came in a bit and all of the sudden, things weren't distorted. Much appreciated, Regal.

Back of Audience Member's Shirt:
"I carried a watermelon?!?"

The best though had to have been when the final number came on. Of course the crowd was in an uproar as Johnny declared "no one puts baby in a corner". But the best had to have been as "I've Had the Time of My Life" came on and that final dance number began. A group of about ten audience members were on their feet and dancing all along in front of the front row of chairs.

I can't remember the last time I've had this much fun at the movies. What a fun girl's night out. Refreshing to feel ten all over again, if only for an hour and a half.

kick some ice

What more does one need after a long week other than a nice relaxing and deliciously mindless 93 minutes with Will Ferrell? Nada. Will Farrell cracks me up. Some comedians poke fun at themselves or go on tirades cutting people down and in the end, solely succeed in irking me to no end. Not Will. Whether it's traipsing around NYC as an Elf, screaming he's to be feared ('cause he's the division manager AND he drives a Dodge Stratus), or embodying the motto of every proud Mississippi State fan (more cowbell, of course), he just cracks me up. Take that and combine it with ice skating, my favorite sport, and that's just about as good as it gets.

I was tired and wanting to get out. Rio's in the midst of finals for classes focused on a lot of heavy topics, so a little Blades of Glory seemed to be just what was in order. Now I did like Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, but I guess like is being somewhat generous. Maybe I should say I thought it was okay. Anyhow, I was willing to see if this one could come through better than its predecessor. I had faith.

John Heder coming out in a swan costume and the way they followed them around like "a day in the life of" feature just made me laugh, after having watched skating for so many years. Skating was the closest I ever came to sports growing up -- I probably took lessons for some three years. I wasn't one of those people who was crazy into it... so no 6AM runs to the rink for me or ballet classes to maximize flexibility on the ice. I did do one competition and spent some quality time in the lovely harness to get more lift in my jumps. Haha. All-in-all though, great exercise!

Anyhow, the cameos were cracking me up as well. Definitely was just what I needed... my abs were hurting from laughing so much. It did make me want to get my skates back out though. I can't even remember the last time I went skating... maybe in Miami? Gosh, three years or so ago?

Afterwards it was off to Oyamel for some Mexican cuisine. I'd scoped out the place when they started remodeling after Andale folded. They specialize in aperitivos (appetizers), so it's a pretty direct challenge to Jaleo, located right around the corner. I'd really liked Andale, which had occupied the space beforehand. Apparently though not enough of DC did, since I believe that's why they closed.

The space was still arranged the same, although the decor was much more vibrant and there was an interesting second bar area in the front righ-hand corner of the restaurant. At first, I thought they were preparing the desserts there, but then it looked like they were doing other dishes there as well.

I can't compare Oyamel's food with their prior operation in Crystal City, but Rio and I were pretty pleased. The queso fundido con chorizo was excellent. It came with these mini-tortillas which were really good. The tacos were good as well. Some reviews I'd read mentioned them being small for their $3.50 price tag, but the ones we got did come with some great guac and honestly by that point, I don't know that I could have handled much more. We did try their pollo con mole, which I really liked - but I'm typically a mole fan. The chocolate cake (also with mole) was a great finale.

It was not a cheap meal, but it was good and a spot that I had been wanting to hit for a while. I'd say it's a good spot to grab something small at the bar or meet some friends after work. I probably won't be there weekly, but not half-bad.

So is it 5:30 yet?? Guess that answer would be no... [groan]

why i'll pass on being your muse

Initially, guess I would have said I thought it sounded a bit romantic to be thought of as someone's muse. The Fashionista and I were discussing on GChat on Friday. She said "their purpose is to purely inspire with no real happiness". My response was "oh well then nevermind... I'll keep the happiness portion".

I was pretty beat for some reason on Friday night. LH and I discussed venturing to see a movie, but it just wasn't lining up. She was wrapping up things in the office before an upcoming work trip and me, I was just itching to get out the door before I fell asleep on my keyboard. So, a little indie film watching ended up being the plan for the evening. The Fashionista and crew were meeting up at HRC for a pre-movie dinner and then heading on to the E Street Cinema, the only theater in DC running Factory Girl.

Edie Sedgwick... she was not one I was familiar with. When the Fashionista mentioned heading to see the movie, at first I thought nah. I don't know anything about this person. This might be one I can sit out. I started looking a bit into the film though and was intrigued. Here was a story of someone who went from high society to drawn into this alternate universe that was Andy Warhol's factory. Someone who was a fashion icon. Someone who could have been destined for so much more in life. I decided I was in.

I can't remember the last time I went to HRC. I did remember instantly upon entering the restaurant that it was always some sort of mecca for middle and high school tour groups. If I didn't instantly remember, I would be reminded as I was surrounded by swarms of young girls taking photos in the restroom or the server telling us no, she could not turn down the music -- it had to be loud enough to drown out the swarms of children seated throughout the restaurant. It was fun though. The highlight was the bronze-ish sign pronouncing "embassy of rock". Nice.

The movie itself though left an impression. I'm always intrigued to learn more about the life of the different people in movies based on real life. I'm fascinated by how someone like an Edie Sedgwick could become so entranced with a character like Andy Warhol to the point of sacrificing everything for nothing in return. Perhaps it was just all that she'd been through in her family life that led her to want to see more there than perhaps was really there. And while Andy did idolize her in some way, I don't know that I could say he really and truly loved her. Disassociating yourself from someone like that when they bottom out in large part due to your contribution in my eyes just cannot equal love. If it does, that's one type of love I want none of.

I just couldn't get over the relationship between the two... the way he drew so much out of her in the way of inspiration and energy. The way he used her until the point where he could not draw anything else from her and then tossed her away for the next "source". I'm curious to read more on their relationship, since I know the movie doesn't necessarily capture all of the reality there. It made me think though that if that's what it means to be someones muse, I think I'll pass. It's romantic to think of being inspiring, but when it means your life turns out to be somewhat empty... sad... hopeless... yeah, not for me. I'm much more of a substance kind of girl.

[Just to note... the Fashionista and I were discussing and apparently the representation of the Edie/Andy relationship wasn't so true to life... I decided to leave up the post here regardless, but wanted to note]

what if the devil's shoes are choos?

I haven't left my house all day, and won't be. At least I'm sitting up now. I thought at first it might be that stomach bug that's going around, but I think it must just be food poisoning or something along those lines. It seems bar-b-que and I are just not friends. It led me to the hospital back in college and I'd only recently begun to eat it. Ban back on. I don't know that I can hold the same ban to chocolate (also one of last nights culprits). That would be just criminal. I re-watched The Devil Wears Prada and finished off season one of Scrubs.

I'm glad I made the most of my Friday and Saturday since I've been stuck in bed. Friday was a lot more than I'd expected. The Fashionista and I hit Georgetown after work. We were pleasantly surprised by Mr. Smith's. Who knew? I'd always wanted to check out the spot anyhow since that's where Tori Amos got her start, and you know how Tori obsessed I am. It had a really cute courtyard area, which definitely wasn't to be expected from it's rougher façade.

We then hit up Blue Gin, which took a little effort for us to find - even with address in hand. Somewhere like Blues Alley sure, you'd expect to be down an alleyway. Blue Gin? Not so much. Ironically we found it by asking someone passing by on the street. He quickly replied he was new in town (so wouldn't know) but as soon as we mentioned Blue Gin, he knew exactly where it was. It was pretty funny. So warning to the ladies, the upstairs bar has a glass floor. If wearing a skirt, beware. It started to feel a bit like a big pick-up scene, so we opted to head on to our next option - a birthday party at Local 16.

It was after 11 when we arrived to Local 16, so it was packed. We ended up on the roof, where I was really missing the wonderful tent from New Year's. Why oh why could they not just keep the darn thing up? There were some interesting people out though. I met one guy who was an attorney with the Humane Society. While there, the Fashionista's friend the Giant met up with us, along with his friend. Having started the evening at 6, I was pretty maxed out and ready to head home, but somehow ended up heading back to the Giant's with the group. VB, I should have slid out when you did!

At 3ish, I decided it was time to head out when my cellphone was swiped from me and one of the guys decided it would be funny to skim through my last dialed calls list and call one of the guys listed there. I'd like to think I can take a joke... I can throw the quips back and forth without taking what's said to heart. However, calling up someone I used to date and leaving him a message telling him he was a fool might be a bit beyond the line -- even for 3AM. I know he didn't mean any harm, but I was a little bit frustrated with how the whole thing went down and decided it was time for sure to cab it home. Never a dull moment, although sometimes you'd like to look back and delete out a bit of the drama.

Thankfully, Saturday was already scheduled to be low-key. Having gone to bed at 4AM, I wasn't exactly rushing the clock to rise and shine. I ran out to do some errands and then headed over to LH's place for girl's night in. It was really nice to balance out Friday with staying in on Saturday. We watched a couple of movies I'd never seen, including Singles. I especially appreciated that one! I love Cameron Crowe. His movies seem to have so much heart behind them.

Now I'm watching The Break-Up and on the diet of champions, saltines and Sprite. Mmmmm. Good stuff. Could I feel like a bigger bum?

foggy beginnings and tainted beautiful faces

I just typed a wonderful blog that I rather liked and, as is the case from time to time, the stupid system here just POOF took it away. Grrrr. I will now make a feeble, half-hearted attempt to recreate it. As I'm sure you're all aware, it just never comes out the same. Tear.

So yes, in the midst of the holiday marathon, it was nice to have a bit of a change of pace last night and mix things up with a good holiday-related movie. I always like to check out at least one new holiday film a year, and this year I definitely didn't want to miss out on The Holiday. Last night I went to check it out with SL, EB, and MP. We'd all heard the mixed reviews but didn't care. SL mentioned it was supposed to have an Indie film vibe to it, which to me made it seem even more appealing.

I loved it. It was fun to do a mid-week movie. I can't remember the last time I did that. The only downside was I think that as classes have started to dwindle down on the college end (since we were in Georgetown) that the number of mid-week movie-goers must have gone up, which would explain the chatty fellow movie-goers who felt the need to add a running commentary which was most annoyingly inclusive of oooohs, ahhhhs, and noises of the cooing family. Gag. At some times, I expected the lights to come on and a discussion leader to emerge for us all to talk about what we were feeling at the moment. This movie definitely didn't seem to have the need to have that group sort of feel. Now, my story about watching Waiting to Exhale at the dollar theater in AL is another story. That was one prime example of where the group feel worked. Great story ... haha for another time.

I think it's always interesting to watch a film like that when you have mixed feeling about the actors as people. You want to think, or at least I do, that you can walk into a theater and fully disconnect from any form of reality, including which actors have been arrested, are in rehab, or have been spending a bit too much quality time with the nanny. Ahhhhh the nanny. I have to admit, Jude Law's some nice eye candy. But that's about it. I was glad I was able to enjoy him for that... he can have that hour and a half of my time to be attractive. However, any attractive-related adjective that includes in any sort of connection to imply an attractive personality, yeah, he can't have that. SL and I were talking about this after the movie, and there's definitely a difference. He can have one, but the other - he certainly is denied in my books.

So this morning my schedule lined up with the DG again, so this inbound commuter was very thankful and happy to accept a ride in to the metro (and skip out on that invigorating 0.7 mile walk). Today was especially foggy. It looked like DC had plummeted into a thick vat of fog. As we were driving across the Mall area, you couldn't see any of those elements that I think of as symbols of DC. Looking to the left, the Capitol building was completely non-existent. The Mall in general had this eerie air about it, akin to visiting somewhere like the Korean War Memorial at night with the ghostly statues seemingly floating across the ground. The commuters walking across the Mall seemed to take on that ghostly air themselves. At the far right, the Washington Memorial too was just lost in the sea of fog.

It made me think that DC is still DC with or without those elements. While they're such visual elements representing the nation as a whole -- who we are and where we've been -- that they're really and truly just cosmetic elements. As I boarded the metro this morning, I found myself watching the people interacting more... watching their behaviors... wondering what each person's career happened to be. It's fascinating to think the multitudes of people we walk by each day. Each one has their own life. Their own mini-sphere. They have their own group of people who are important to them. They have their own unique sub-set of the area, be it their families, their families, their co-workers, etc. Each person is representative of such a different slice of DC, or for that matter even VA... or MD... it's those people that make up DC. It's definitely not the monuments.