22. The Perks of Being a Jew on Christmas

To the people who are not busy celebrating the birth of Jesus, Christmas is quite boring. From hearing Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” since before Thanksgiving to the holiday shopping hysteria, Christmas seems like a year’s worth of preparation for a few hours of enjoyment. If you’re not Christian, there’s not much to do besides staying home or subscribing to the Jewish stereotype of a “Chinese food and movies” Christmas. While I did improve my movie literacy by watching “Pretty Woman”, at about two p.m. I decided it was time for an adventure. I ended up taking my siblings for a drive. The roads were empty, so I took the liberty of cruising at the whopping speed of 7 miles per hour (much to the dismay of my brother and sister, who were hoping for a joyride) and parking as horribly as I could in the parking lot of CVS. Even CVS offered diminished fun on Christmas– due to Massachusetts “Blue Laws”, they were only permitted to sell certain classes of items. We ended up buying half a gallon of milk, before taking a circuitous route home.

Happy holidays and have a wonderful new year!

Firsts This Week:

• Watched “Pretty Woman”, “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, and started “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.
• Tried to have fun while buying milk

21. Artsy Photo Shoot Continued, Plus Toothaches

This week I got a tooth implant, so for the past few days I’ve been in quite a bit of pain. This  has made me very distracted. In lieu of my typical long post, I’ve uploaded the pictures my friend took of me a few weeks ago, detailed in this post.

Ballet on a Boulder

In a Field

Atop a Dying Tree

Firsts This Week:

• Got a tooth implant (aka, a metal screw in my bone). Ouch!
• Got accepted to college!

20. Unfortunate Experiences with Public Transportation

In a suburban or urban setting similar to where I live, public transportation is often the most convenient way to travel. Public transportation decreases the amount of cars on the road, saves precious time one spends looking for a parking spot, and is healthier for the environment. However, public transportation has its drawbacks. Namely, the strange characters one finds on the bus or subway.

Everyone has a story about a peculiar occurrence or person encountered on the train or bus– whether getting stuck in the underground for an hour or sitting next to a toothless woman sucking on popcorn (both of which I’ve experienced). However, the ultimate horrible public transportation occurred yesterday while I was en route to see a production of Hamlet.

I was on board the bus yesterday when a man, who seemed about twenty two years old, got on the bus. It was the stop before the subway connection, so the bus was packed. This man was holding a large duffel bag and holding some sort of chicken burrito. Though the bag alone was a nuisance, my main concern was the burrito. For the record, I have no problem with foods which are easily contained, like granola bars or perhaps an apple. However, the burrito is the antithesis of a neat food. The burrito crosses the line from snack to meal, which caused me much unpleasantness for the duration of the ride.

The stench of chicken filled the already stuffy bus as the man unwrapped his precious burrito from its foil. He then proceeded to eat it, rendering my pants as the tablecloth for his feast. For the next six minutes, I sat in silence as bits of chicken landed on my pants and the juice from the burrito dripped onto my knees. For fear of being as rude as the gentleman before me, I refrained from making an acid-laced comment. But I will tell you, yesterday was the fastest I’ve ever bolted off a bus.

In a twist of irony that would make any English teacher proud, after viewing Hamlet, I went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant. But no burritos for me.

Moral of the story: for the comfort of your fellow passengers, please refrain from making a mess on the bus or train. Eat your meals at home, in a restaurant– anywhere but the train.

Firsts This Week:

• Saw a modern-day interpretation of Hamlet, with a female Hamlet.
• Sat in silence as burrito juice dripped onto my pants.
• Ate at a new Mexican restaurant in town.
• Performed the Nutcracker for the last time at my dance studio.

19. A Long List of Movies I Haven’t Seen, and a few that I have

Though I generally try to be informed, I am hopelessly behind when it comes to movies. However, I can no longer be blissfully ignorant. After missing one too many Star Wars references in conversation, I realized that it is time to fix my movie literacy. Since my parents were not raised in the US, they never introduced me to films widely regarded as classics in America. As a result, my classic movie knowledge only extends as far as the James Bond movies, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Blazing Saddles, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Wizard of Oz. The list below contains movies that I’ve been meaning to see, including classics and films from the past few years. For the past few months, I’ve added movies to the list as I continue to miss pop culture references and silently berate myself for not having caught up with the times.

Movies I Haven’t Seen

• Inception
• The Dark Knight
• The Notebook
• Mean Girls
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Star Wars
• Lord of the Rings
• The Town
• Citizen Kane
• A Clockwork Orange
• Scarface
• Casablanca
• Rebecca
• The Postman Always Rings Twice
• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
• No Strings Attached
• Friends With Benefits
• Black Swan
• The Godfather
• Gone With The Wind
• Jaws
• The Blind Side
• Pulp Fiction
• Transformers

Firsts this week:

• Watched The Philadelphia Story, and was thus introduced to Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and John Stewart.

In the Comments Section:

Tell me, what other classic movies should I add to the list? Do you agree with my choices? Are there any movies that you’ve particularly enjoyed? Do you have a favorite cultural reference that comes from a movie?