Well, dear readers, Thanksgiving is but a memory and today we have our Post Thanksgiving Syndrome, where we go into turkey and stuffing withdrawal and we act incoherently and suddenly yell out vile epithets such as “Hey, you, get off of my cloud.” We have guilt over how much we ate, but those who have leftovers will eat a lot today, too. We wish we’d just eaten one less helping of stuffing or sweet potatoes, we wish we’d have one less dessert item, rather than the five we sampled – that is all related to Post Thanksgiving Syndrome. But it is a small price to pay ($2.11) for having such a warm and cozy Thanksgiving. I hope all of you dear readers did and I hope you ate to your heart’s content and had jovial conversation in between stuffing your gaping hungry maws with every food imaginable. And why not, say I? That is what Thanksgiving is for.
My Thanksgiving day began at noon o’clock, when I woke up. I fell asleep around two so I got ten wonderfully wonderful hours of gloriously glorious sleep. I had odd but not unpleasant dreams, including one of my favorite kind of recurring dream – where I’m in LA but in the past – in this dream it was specifically 1960.
Once up, I was lazy. I just went from room to room not doing anything in particular. I spent a few minutes at the piano, answered a few e-mails, even printed out a few orders, and then I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Yesterday, I began watching a USA Network TV series entitled Mr. Robot, another SAG screener. This time they gave us the entire season from start to finish. This show has gotten incredible rave reviews from just about every critic. I read some of them. The first thing that struck me was how awful TV critics are. There were, I think, only two who were not having this show. On the imdb it’s a bit more mixed – for some it’s the best show ever, for others they liked the pilot but thought the series quickly went down the drain.
I kind of enjoyed the pilot. They try really hard to be weird and off-kilter – from the writing to the acting to the screwy camerawork. Obviously its creator, who, I believe, has only one or two credits, neither a success, loves his pop references, loves other films, loves other filmmakers and how they do things, and it informs every second of every episode. The dialogue isn’t great, at least not for me, and the plot is needlessly convoluted or at least hard to follow. A lot of this, I think, is meant to be through the weird eyes of the protagonist, a self-admitted addict, schizophrenic and brilliant computer guy. I can live without all the addict stuff – I just hate drugs and find it tiresome, obvious, and just off-putting and it makes me want to just not watch anymore. The lead guy is very strange, but compelling and I like him. Christian Slater is in it, and some of the other casting isn’t really to my liking. I’ve watched four episodes so far – the pilot was the best of them. Episode four was really about the drugs and going cold turkey and hence I was completely bored for most of it. One has suspicions about certain aspects of it, just because this creator/writer’s influences are so damn obvious. I’ll go ahead and watch the remaining five episodes and see how I feel.
Vistaprint had sent me a 60% off code, so I went and ordered my Christmas cards. Since my first book, my Christmas cards have always had the cover of whatever that year’s book was – I’ve done that for every book. This year has been so interesting, that I got a card with spaces for four or five images – so we have the book cover, the Welcome to My World poster, the Kritzerland at Sterling’s logo, my Mac Award, and something else I can’t remember.
For some reason, I’d written down that the Thanksgiving Do began at five. But it didn’t – it began at four. Barry called just as I was leaving the house around 4:50. I called from the car and apologized that I’d gotten the time wrong. But dinner hadn’t begun yet – they were just starting to carve the turkey. I was about to get on the freeway, which put me just ten minutes away. I zoomed on the 101 but as soon as I approached the junction to the 405 everything literally stopped. I could not believe the damn traffic on Thanksgiving Day when most people should be at their destinations by that time. It was worse than the worst rush hour. I thought it would clear up right after the junction, but it didn’t. I tried to hang on, but two off-ramps before mine I just bolted and took Burbank Blvd., which has few signals and which had not a car in sight. So, I zoomed down the street and got there not in ten minutes but in fifteen. I still had a little time to schmooze before dinner was served and I gave everyone in attendance some Wax Lips.
This is the fourth or fifth Thanksgiving I’ve spent with Barry Pearl and his ever-lovin’ Cindy and their friends, some of whom I know and are my friends. It’s always a lovely partay and yesterday’s was no exception. The food was swell and the conversation was scintillating and fun. I tried to be a good boy – I had turkey, a little helping of stuffing, a tiny amount of sweet potatoes, and some green beans and cranberries. It was all terrific. I took seconds of turkey, another tiny bit of sweet potatoes, and another small helping of stuffing and I stopped right there. And usually there are three or four desserts to choose from and usually I sample all of them, but last night I only had a small piece of the pumpkin pie. I was really full.
After that, I came back home and just zoned out until it was time to write these here notes, which, in case you haven’t noticed, is what I’ve been doing.
Today, I have no plans as in zero plans, other than to work at the piano, eat, maybe do just a bit of writing, hopefully pick up packages, and watch more stuff.
Tomorrow is the big birthday bash at the Dal Rae restaurant, which is kind of far, but thankfully the Staitmans are coming to pick me up and will drive. Sunday I think I have another birthday dinner to attend. And then we begin the Kritzerland rehearsal week.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, eat, hopefully pick up packages, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player? I’ll start – CD, lots. Blu and Ray, next up a movie called Ex Machina and the rest of Mr. Robot. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall try not to have too much Post Thanksgiving Syndrome.