Say Goodbye

Note: I found some provisional notes in an email to myself. The entries for 12/3, 12/5, 12/8, 12/9, 12/10 and 12/11 have all been updated with minor changes.

           I woke up on time, sprawled out in a living room chair and quite refreshed. This was to be my last day at the office. Some pipes in the basement were leaking, and up on the 6th floor, we were plagued with a distinct odor of sewage that came and went throughout the halls. Several library updates came in yesterday, and though I outstayed everyone (after 8 p.m. on New Year's Eve!) I was still unable to get it all sorted out. I left some work for Christina to deal with when she starts, but also a long note with as many tips and instructions as I could muster. It felt kind of anticlimactic working so late on my last day, but I enjoyed a beer as a reward for the extra diligence. I periodically broke up the boredom by checking the NHL scores, and New York Swiss-cheesed the Panthers as expected, 5-2. After some time and urging from the night watchman, I went home to briefly hang out with Jules and Alaric and hit the sack.
           Quotes of the day:
"Do you smell...uh...shit? - Tom
"You don't see Andy abandoning his post! He doesn't even work here." - Tom

Bob's Country Bunker

          My last Tuesday at the office was uneventful. Alaric was the first to return to the apartment, and Jules came over as well. We made a jolly bunch with Tasty Burger take-out and hockey. The Oilers ended a 9-game losing streak with a shootout victory against the Kings and made me a happy guy. I attempted to stay awake until the morning and but did not quite make it.

Alpha Flight

          This morning, I shaved with possibly the dullest razor in existence. This was to be my last Monday at Rich May. And what a Monday it was! At one point, I went to pick up a file at an MGH office and was asked for ID at reception. I dug into my bag, retrieved my passport and handed it to the guard. He made me a name tag, handed back my passport, and I headed for the elevators. I went to put away the passport and realized a condom had found its way into it, and the guy at the desk didn't react at all! Those are no longer being kept in the same pocket. When I walked out, I held my head high.
          Back at the office, I held a packet of paper motionless under a stapler until I remembered it wasn't one of the automatic ones. Diane asked me to go to the more distant bank, and it completely slipped my mind until about ten minutes before they were set to close. I booked it out of the office, through the streets and uphill to the bank in time. I guess if there's one thing I can do, it's run.
          After work, I went home and processed an unbelievable amount of paper. I hacked my way through a few shopping bags' worth of magazines and newspapers, restocking the supply of subjects for my decorative efforts. I watched the Stars cool off the Rangers win streak, 3-2, but it's all good. Our luck's been excellent, the Stars are okay in my book, and actually similar to New York as a hyper-speedy rush team. Florida is next up, and they should fold like a chair.
          Quotes of the day:
"It's a Christmas miracle!" - Ashley
"At 80% off, not buying it would have been like fucking your mother." - Dave

Bacta Tank

          Dear diary: Today, I did nothing but watch hockey with Iris and quickly fall asleep. Last night must have taken it out of me more than I thought. (The Panthers wiped out the laff-able Maple Leafs in an interesting 1 goal-2 goals-3 goals-4 goals exchange, and the Ducks beat the Canucks as a bonus. Two for two.)

I-90

          With no one in the apartment and having done the same thing for the past few days, I was gripped with cabin fever. Michelle was back in town, so I went to her place on the E Line for a small party. I met her roommate, Anneloes, who I can only describe as intense. She appeared with a variety pack of Hawaiian beers called Kona, and I can safely say these are my new go-to favorite. The Big Wave golden ale is best, but all of them are satisfying. A few other folks came as well, all friendly; the girls made a star-shaped nutella-filled baked confection, someone produced a ludicrous vaporizer, and an assortment of silly things happened. It touched my soul to interact with someone after the hermit routine.

Also. The Rangers won their 7th straight against the Devils on a hat trick from Derek Stepan, the team's second hat trick in two days. Something is in the water at Madison Square Garden. See also the Sabres' improbable 4-3 shootout win over the Islanders. This makes tonight a perfect run in the Tri-State area.

Cave of the Green Man

          Today was spent effectively the same way as yesterday, which is to say: faded and often asleep. I decorated further, cleaned the apartment to a meticulous level, and got organized. I have not made personal contact with a human in two days.

Take Me To the River

          Christmas Day. I alternated between drinking cinnamon whiskey, sleeping, and eating the huge chocolate pretzels that Kathy gifted me. I've been enjoying the solitude, but it got lonely today. I put in some work on a multi-part snapchat story paralleling "12 Days of Christmas". Since part of this involved drinking 5 shots of gin, I was out again within a few hours. This is the life.

Bukowski

          I had an easy, easy day at work. The firm was originally to close at 3 p.m., which is the usual for the day before holiday breaks; the admins moved this up to 2 p.m., and then finally said "screw it" and said everyone could leave by 1 p.m. I went home to an empty apartment and was soon drunker than Bukowski. I arranged my pile of presents, decorated my room until I was too unsteady to stand, and fell asleep in a pile of paper sometime early the next morning.

Lonesome Dove

          This was my first full day with the apartment all to myself. I woke up around 2 a.m. to smoke, decorate, clean house, and acclimate to the quiet. It rained all day, but my misery from walking around was tempered by the second office-wide Yankee swap. I made a play for a six-pack of fancy IPA and an accompanying movie, produced by one of Ted's clients. After work, Iris came over and we watched the second installment of Road to the Winter Classic, just as fascinating as the first.
          Quotes of the day:
"Gettin' richer every day!" - random dude, after seeing me pick up $.07
"Libbie is the canary in the coal mine." - Jim H, re: Citrix issues
"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of blazin' it." - Jules
...
Allen: "Wait! How about you take the lottery tickets, and I'll trade you the Starbucks card."
Libbie: "No, that's ok-"
Allen: "I can make life very difficult for you, Libbie."
Kara: "That has to be the first Yankee Swap threat."

Mysteries Abound

          After an entirely unnecessary all-nighter, I had a completely nondescript day at work. Not even feeling tired, I busied myself with random tasks until the end of the day.
          Quote of the day:
"Why do bad things happen to good people, Andy?" - Kara, after a can of seltzer exploded on me

Sudden Death In Carolina

          I got up in the afternoon and puttered around the apartment, but accomplished nothing of consequence. Iris, Sean and I hung out and watched the Rangers shut out Carolina, 1-0, for their sixth straight win! Talbot's third win (and third shutout for the season!) was an easy-peasy, 18-SOG affair. We also ventured to Tasty Burger once again.

When the Lights Go Out

          I smoked with Michelle and pregamed with Sean before leaving for the Aeronaut Brewery in Somerville. I met with Jules and Griffin to see Austin's band, the Dirty Dottys, perform in this cavernous, dark building. The Dottys have a self-described "pop-Motown" sound, perfect for dancing and singing along; their original material is fantastic stuff and their groovy cover of "Just My Imagination" made my day. The crowd was a blast, dancing and shaking, and the show was free! Also, since this was their "new album release carnival", there was a very unsettling mime in the crowd -- probably the first time I've seen a mime in real life!

Sludge Bomb

          The office was extremely quiet the day after the holiday reception. Several attorneys called out sick, making less work for the paralegals and me. This was lucky because everyone else was drained and moving at a snail's pace. Julia and I took twenty minutes to set up the computer at reception, groaning and rubbing temples all the way. Something mysterious and slightly malodorous was spilled on the carpet under my desk, so I tried to work around that while getting back into the groove. The mantra for the day was just to hold on until 5:00.
          After work, Jules arrived to relieve us with her brand-new launch box. We relaxed for a few minutes at my favorite spot in the Fens and tested it out, and were joined by Emily and Alaric at home. We watched Pulp Fiction, then ate at Tasty Burger and smoked a snipe or two while we waited. Emily and I made an adventure out of retrieving the mail before everyone crashed for the night.
          Quotes of the day:
"I'm pretty sure it runs on electricity." - me, setting up the PC with Julia
"Ashley just ate a steak dinner." - Kara, 9:05 a.m.
"This is a business, not a funnery." - Tom
"You know it's a good party when you find shoes." - Bob
"The only times I've blacked out were while I was drinking Franzia." - Sean
"She released her anal scent on me and I smelled like fucking cat-ass. It was horrible." - Emily

Article III: The Santa Clause

          Everyone seemed to float through the day before the holiday reception. I was forced to surrender my workstation about halfway through the day so that the caterers could set up a bar in there. The kitchen was soon packed with carts, crates and other sundries, and I spent the second half of my shift just staying out of the way and putting last-minute stuff in order. At first, I went down to the lobby to help the paralegals with the name tags, but it seemed like there were too many cooks there and I headed back to the office.
          Before I knew it, the firm was packed with roughly 400 people for what one guest called "the best holiday party of its kind in Boston." I enjoyed dim sum from one of the catering stations, avoiding the heavier roasted chicken, potatoes and the like. Emily appeared eventually, and together we stalked around the party, sipping on wine and beer and plucking away the occasional dumpling. Harold was merrily holding court in his office, surrounded by colleagues and a former paralegal from decades ago. After some wandering, Emily and I camped out in the library, where at least 5 cigars were being smoked at a time. A mustached gentleman chatted us up and asserted that it's better to work in the private sector because it's "just a better class of people," to which I smiled and nodded; later, an excessively drunk and flirty guest put her hand on my leg and rubbed Emily's back. Once things had calmed down in there, we scooped up some half or less than half-smoked cigars (the drunk lady called them "snipes") and headed out to the afterparty at the Vintage Lounge. At the bar, we met up with three of the lawyers and most of the paralegals. Emily and I put a few drinks on the tab, ate delicious flatbread, traded gossip, and bailed when we got too drunk. We even got to pay cab fare at the firm's expense -- a wise and lawyerly "no questions asked" policy -- and were soon safe at home. I met a few people, ate and drank well, and didn't embarrass myself, so I think the reception went perfectly. [Best dessert: cake pops. Best party favor: mugs full of Lindt truffles. Messiest drunk: Ashley. Greatest holiday sweater: Cats with lasers shooting out of their eyes, with a pile of presents underneath.]
          Quotes of the day:
Me: "Emmett's brother is just like him!"
Jeff: "Oh yeah, there's a whole series of them."
...
Party Guest 1: "I heard you know a little about real estate." [all laugh]
Party Guest 2: "I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy."

Last Light

          Work was a flurry of activity. The entire firm got together for the annual pre-party meeting (read: "don't get sloppy") and my day was spent making sure everything is more or less in place. At lunch, I reflected on all the positive events in the offing. See the normalization of U.S. relations with Cuba (and it only took 50+ years of failed foreign policy!), New York's moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, and the steady advance of marriage equality across the fifty states. I predict that the Supreme Court is going to come down on this within the year. It's hard to believe that I'll be able to tell my children -- or maybe nieces and nephews -- that I lived in a time when it was not so.
          After work, Iris came over for the Wild vs. Bruins game. I enjoyed a calzone and some of Iris's characteristically scrumptious cookies. Bergeron was Bergeron, Falk went balls to the walls in a fight, and Pominville managed to force overtime for the Wild. Things went slightly less well than I hoped when the Bruins scored in overtime, but a point is a point. Seeing New Jersey and Vancouver shut out was also fine by me. Alaric and I smoked as well, and for once, he went at it longer. Tomorrow's going to be a long, busy day for me.
          Quote of the day:
"As you've noticed, we have spared no expense making these conference rooms look exactly the same as before." - Bob

Hail Eris! Hail Discordia!

          I dragged myself out of bed with a series of 15 alarms, each one a different tone and spaced a minute apart. I was in continuous motion all day and felt pretty wiped by the end. A Red Bull, lots of water, and Regina's pizza at the attorney-paralegal lunch helped me survive through 5:00. After the office closed, I stayed with the admins and paralegals to do some sweatshop-status work for the holiday party. We stuffed gift bags with mugs and chocolate truffles and put together about a million name tags; once again, I climbed around in the upper reaches of the library to get everything looking perfect.
          I made it home in good time and prepared to watch the first of two Epix specials on the run-up to the Winter Classic game. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the program was amazing! It gave special attention to Capitals coach Barry Trotz and various players. There was a lot of insight into what goes on during play and practice, with mics on the ice and recaps of what happened in various regular-season games. It was fun hearing Joel Quenneville screaming about how the Hawks were playing "like we don't give a fuck!" The special was slickly produced and cannily organized, and is fully worth the watch. Later, Alaric and I smoked from an apple as the Rangers downed the Flames 5-2 to complete their three-game sweep of the Western Canada teams. I was entirely satisfied with how my day shook out.
          Quotes of the day:
"Ever since I was so mean to him, he doesn't come down to my office anymore. So I don't have to file a sexual harassment suit for my doorframe." - Shaela
"This has been a long week. And it's Tuesday." - me
...
Shaela: "What's the plan for food at the holiday party this year?"
Julia W: "Eat it all."

Cat With the Hands

          I smoked with Iris and Alaric and watched the Sabres beat up the Senators with an improbable 5 goals to 4, and we played Chicago to pass the time. I traveled alone to Julia's, and was soon feeling rather paranoid on the crowded Green Line train. I dislike any place where people are waiting together: waiting rooms, elevators, public transit. These things make me uncomfortable even under normal circumstances. When I arrived, Julia and I drank beers with Cara and played with their new cat, Scout. He's a tiny orange kitten and he loves me. We smoked and took turns reading to each other out of the Principia Discordia, the surreal book I found at Hempfest. We went to Shaw's as well, where Julia picked up raspberries and I obtained a fatal 12-pack of glazed donuts. When I got home, I maintained with Alaric and watched the end of 300, a perfect movie for when you don't want or need to care about what's happening.
          Quotes of the day:
"[redacted] is an anachronism. He should start phasing himself out." - Nick K
"Nooooooooo!" - Julia, thinking she had cherry tomatoes
"He's a cat stud." - Julia

Face Heel Face / Heel Face Heel

          I stayed in today, decorating and smoking as usual. Alaric, Sean and I completely fucked up after making dinner plans with Michelle; we expected her to come to the apartment first, and she expected us to meet her at the restaurant, eventually leaving alone, and no one came away feeling good. The Maple Leafs took down the Kings -- kek -- and the Rangers managed to shut out the Oilers on a back-to-back. I continued to watch Arrow and continued to be surprised by Summer Glau's character, the cutthroat CEO of many faces. Also, this nugget of wisdom from Dr. Ivo: "The essence of heroism is to die so that others can live."

"What seems to be the problem, citizen?" "You are trying to kill me!"

          I experienced a heavy dream about the end of the world and woke up feeling very emotional. I went to the office and mindlessly straightened up a bit. In the process, I helped Anne-Marie with some petty thievery and picked up some free clothing for myself as well. It's amazing how much random, outdated gear is just sitting in the closet, waiting for someone to take it. We can't even give the stuff away. At home, I played a chess match against Alaric. I don't remember who won, but I do remember that he threw a pawn/king Flying V at me.
          Iris, Sara, Clay, and Malcolm joined us on a trip to Tasty Burger, where we were served by the Russian. Once stuffed, we came home to drink a bit. Alaric and I then traveled to Regina's place, a massive brick-walled apartment not far from Northeastern. We turned up with her, Julia, and a bunch of other folks; margaritas and scrapping were involved. Finally, it was back home for hookah, etc. A feverish night of activities then came to a relaxing close.
          My top three hockey teams all won tonight! The Rangers blew away the Canucks in a 5-1 humiliation. "It's Miller Lite time!" The Wild pulled off another rally and beat the Coyotes in a shootout, 4-3. The Sabres even picked up a 4-3 overtime win against the (finally) improving Panthers. Other highlights: the Flyers going 5-1 on the terribad Hurricanes; the Penguins losing a shootout to the Bro Jackets, 4-3. All great stuff.

The King Is Dead

          I visited Anne-Marie at her apartment, which is on a singularly pretty street surrounded by other, far less charming streets. It's on the other side of Tremont Street, just a minute or two away from our old place at 1023 Tremont. She gave me pancakes with real syrup -- benefits of Canadian friends! -- and we put on the Habs game versus the Kings. Since we were watching a stream, the whole thing was in French. I stayed for the first period and saw Montreal get up 1-0, then headed back home to meet Sara, Clay and Nathan. (The Habs ended up destroying the Kings, 6-2.) We watched the very serious, very historically accurate medieval romp A Knight's Tale, which was fun against all odds. A reviewer on IMDb said it better than I could: "Normally I hate 'popcorn' movies - not because I consider them 'low brow' or an insult to the intelligence, but because they're shallow, tired and lack soul. Yet A Knight's Tale is different. No, it won't change your life and it won't make you ponder your place in the universe. But it will entertain you." Outside of the movie, it was interesting watching the Sara + Clay Show develop.

I AM ZETTERBERG.

          I had a long, busy day and felt worn out by the time 6 p.m. rolled around. I went to a bar called JJ Foley's with some of the paralegals, drank a few beers and had a grilled cheese and French onion soup. I don't entirely click with them in conversation, but we're all friendly people and everyone seemed to have a good time bantering and telling stories. At the apartment, I called home about staying in Boston for Christmas and it was a much easier talk than I expected. Stephanie came to see me after I got home, and together we enjoyed the merits of the Green Goblin. At some point she turned into a cocoon-like blanket/person hybrid. We talked about fashion, politics, work friends, and all types of stuff.

We Back

          Something happened and I was extremely late to work. I was barred from further overtime, and it's fine because I brought it on myself. After work, Julia and Johnny came over to our place. We chilled out and watched the Maple Leafs/Red Wings game, which ended in a tragic shootout victory for Toronto. Iris brought cookies, and Emily came as well. Our conversation turned into a sort of debate club over torture, presidential elections, social issues, and SC(r)OTUS.

No Place Like Home

          The day started off miserably, with the Green Line shutting down at every station and finally kicking everyone off at Boylston, meaning a long walk in the rain. My day was completely ruined when I was sent to the downtown bank on this, seemingly the rainiest of the year. Coat, no coat, no matter -- I was dripping head to toe and down an umbrella by the time I got there. Everyone was extra-sweet to me for the rest of the day, probably noticing the thunderstorm in my expression. The majority of my evening was spent decorating my room ("decorating hard," per my notes). It's beginning to come together but there's still a long way to go before I can call it finished. Alaric and I watched The Flash, with its typically mindblowing Man In Yellow cliffhanger. Hockey: Buffalo shut out the Kings 1-0, which felt good in my loins. The Wild beat the Islanders 5-4 after trailing 4-1, which felt even better. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Optimus Klein

          The Rangers beat the Penguins 4-3 in overtime, serving sweet justice for that recalled shootout bullshit the last time around. Klein cleaned up with another extra-time goal after part of his ear was mangled by a high stick. Even better, I fell asleep after Pittsburgh had scored and woke to the win. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Optimus Klein

Irish Yoga

          I woke up with the worst hangover of my life. I was curled up on the floor, doing Irish yoga practically the entire day. By the time 7 or 8 pm rolled around, I was shaking it off. Iris had requested that we watch a two-hour special about snakes, so she came over and joined Nathan, Alaric, Sean and me. The thrust of the program was that a team would go out and capture this vast, legendary anaconda, at which point one of the scientists would don a snake-proof suit and allow himself to be eaten and regurgitated by it. (In the interest of science, of course!) 80% of the special was the team dicking around in the jungle. They never even caught the damn snake! Another 10% or so consisted of explanations of the floating forest's ecosystem, which is actually fascinating stuff. Finally, the last ten or fifteen minutes were the experiment, which was aborted after a smaller, previously captured snake proved too powerful for the anti-snake armor, or whatever. The scientists topped it off by making baseless claims about the kind of data they probably would have collected if it had gone correctly. This was probably the most disappointing television program I've ever been excited for ahead of time. I desperately tried to enjoy the rest of the night with some Borderlands 2 and a late run.

Where Walks the Juggernaut

          In preparation for the party at Jared's this evening, I went to CVS with him to seek out Santa hats. We were prepared to hunt high and low, and were instead greeted with a display right by the front door. We wore them to Matthews, where the men's basketball team beat the Western Michigan Broncos handily, 81-69. They never fell behind. I like to see that sort of complete performance from the Huskies, given their penchant for choke jobs. Later on, I took my sweet time getting to the party.
          It was already a hot mess when I got there. Beer pong was in full swing in the kitchen; Lucas and Claire were walking around in elf costumes. I took a few shots and danced a bit before helping Katie E throw up, and then helping Nathan throw up. I also fell down the stairs, wrestled Malcolm and left a smear of his blood on the wall, and admired Matt T's glorious ugly Bruins sweater.
          Quote of the day:
"That's probably the easiest thing I've ever done." - Jared
"Isn't there another team called the Broncos?" - me

It Makes Me Want To Wag My Tail

          Sabrina received my letter today! I'm not a patient guy, so it was tough keeping it a secret from her. Props to Delia for enabling me to do so. Apparently it got there at the same time as some mail from Shannon, so good job us. I spent half of the day training Christina to replace me; she is friendly and a quick study, and I regret that we hadn't spoken in band before now.
          Quote of the day:
A client: "You guys are dressed up today."
Nick: "Yeah, we have a client coming in."

Little Red Lighter

          Arrow and The Flash are both entertaining shows in a garden-variety way, but the new crossover episode is insanely good. I was excited to see how the disparate tones of the two programs would be reconciled, and was satisfied with the outcome. Barry Allen is a bit darker; Oliver Queen is a bit funnier; and John Diggle does an interesting turn as comic relief. Of course, there's the unavoidable "who would win?" fight sequence! This blended Arrow's gritty hand-to-hand combat with The Flash's brain-breaking pseudo-pseudo-science into an eminently watchable spectacle. And as always, the little touches make good stuff great: the vocal cord vibration the Flash uses to mask his voice is used to a much scarier effect here. ("I heard you were looking for me!") Verdict: "ill af", as per my notes.
          The NASA boys went for an impromptu walk out into Boston University territory. It was late in the evening and we were stricken with cabin fever. I brought supplies for extracurricular activities, but had forgotten a key instrument (read: lighter) and first we hunted for a CVS or convenience store in order to purchase one. Once that was dealt with, we wandered through unfamiliar neighborhoods and chatted idly. We smoked as we walked, deliberately taking sprawling detours through the darkened suburbs. On the returning leg of our journey, I completed a personal first by breaking the law in the vicinity of a police officer -- call it civil disobedience. I like shady, uneven side streets the best, but I think there's a certain beauty in those big, empty avenues at night. The glare of streetlights is softened by the trees on all sides and in the median, diffusing a soft light. At a certain hour, someone traveling alone (or almost alone) can feel like it belongs to them. "The last refuge of the insomniac is a sense of superiority to the sleeping world."

Silver Bells

          Over lunch, I got my hair did. My shaggy mane has been replaced with a more approachable, close trim, but my beard is also bigger than my hair now, so... Much of my shift was spent doing kitchen grunt work, moving soda around the office and the like. It's not the most stimulating work but useful occupation is just that. Along with the rest of the paralegals, I stayed a few hours late to put up the holiday decorations. We had a few beers, threaded up garlands, hung ornaments, and listened to Mariah Carey. The reception area looks gorgeous with a full circuit of lit garland; arrays of gold and silver-wrapped presents have made the library remarkably homey. Dangers encountered: ornaments falling and smashing dramatically; cheap lights turning on and off at random; braving the basement to find the proper color of ribbon; climbing around in the upper part of the library. Later, I unsubscribed from numerous spammy mailing lists. Most of them remove you immediately, but Dell once again manages to shock with its bullheaded determination to ruin the consumer's day. I'm expected to "allow up to 10 business days" for the email unsubscription to be complete? We're talking about electronic communication here, not a specialty order! Later, Jules, Alaric and I ended up in the bathroom with a lack of places to go, and nostalgia for sophomore year was in the air.
          Quote of the day:
"I am gonna liquidate Dave [redacted]." - Scott
"Oooh, we just got religious up in hurr." - Julia W

Method Man

          Emily and I saw Birdman (Or: The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) at the AMC this evening. Birdman is a complicated film. I haven't digested it yet, and probably never will in the fullest sense; it's one of those where you can detect larger machinations beneath the surface, but the wheels never show. It is a bleak, black comedy full of futility and broken ego. A rotating, diversely talented cast piles on the plotlines, some of which seem to lack complete resolution but all of which are executed with surgical production quality. It's impressive watching a harried Michael Keaton hit rock bottom; Edward Norton is smoothly arrogant, both vastly and subtly different from the pre-incarceration skinhead of American History X. Zach Galifianakis is somehow the most diplomatic guy in the room as Jake, my favorite character. Bonus points for the always-charming Emma Stone! The jazzy and offbeat score carries the existential action along. There are some explosions and a guy in a bird suit makes a few appearances. Themes of acceptance, validation, and desperation run throughout. In my eyes, the main weakness of Birdman is that it is too clever by half. There is clearly a unifying vision at work somewhere, but the confusing abundance of storylines and overwhelming richness of the production make it somewhat inaccessible. I couldn't savor Birdman the way I would have liked to; trying to identify all the spices in the dish is too taxing.
          Quote of the day:
"The Devil is for people with no imagination." - Matt

Juneau and Roy

          The firm ordered L.L. Bean gear for everyone in colors of our choice, and I've been hooked up with a navy blue Rich May vest. It's warm, cozy and perfect for those days where the office is inexplicably chilly. In the evening, I did my laundry, struggled with Borderlands 2 -- it crashes more often than not these days, like all my other games -- and hung out with Jules. I also clawed my eyes out while the Lightning beat the Rangers 6-3 to complete a three-game season sweep. Finally, I put up nearly all of my remaining posters not deemed unusable this year. The apartment is still coming together.
          Quote of the day:
"You and ham. Such a whirlwind romance." - Eve, to Iris