2006-03-06 - So many bottles:

Well my mother got back on a plane today and is headed back to Montreal as we speak. I must say that I showed remarkable restraint throughout the entire visit, and did not buy a single pack of cigarettes, although I was VERY tempted.

I don't know if I mentioned it before or not, but I've been trying to quit smoking for about a year and a half. I've had a few relapses, but I've been smoke-free since October. So hopefully this time I will have quit for serious. My mother visiting was like the ultimate test.

------------------

BOOKS
So after my mother was squared away, I went to Seoul and hit the English bookstore. I came back with five titles:

1) You Remind Me of Me by Dan Chaon,

2) Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk,

3) The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami,

4) Under the Loving Care of the Fatherthy Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty by Bradley K. Martin,

and 5) The World According to Mimi Smartypants by, yes, Mimi Smartypants.

About Mimi's book: I started reading it on the train home, and tried hard not to laugh too loudly in the otherwise silent car. Frankly, I was surprised to see the book in Seoul of all places, so snapped it up. I'm enjoying it so far.

---------------------

THE OSCARS
Does anyone really, really care that much? I mean, I'm not going to watch movie just because it won an Oscar, or was nominated, or whatever. It's kind of like a party that famous people put on for each other to laud themselves for being so awesome. It's like the cool kids clique in high school, times a billion more cliques, plus a helluva lot more money, and a ton more people going, "Oooo, Ahhhhh" over everything that the famous people club does.

Not that I'm saying that movies, actors, and whatnot aren't important. I like movies, i like actors. I just think their lives are cushy enough as it is: they don't need some Super Awesome Club they invented to pat each other on the back for being so damn good at their JOBS.

---------------------

WINE
I have a lot of wine in my house, left over from a dinner party. I stocked my house with wine, and all of my guests came with unexpected additional bottles adequate enough to stock the party on their own. And, since it was also the night before we all went back to work, we didn't hit the bottle(s) nearly as hard as usual. So anyway. What I'm saying is, I'm gonna go have a glass or two of wine right now. I frickin love wine.