Lynda Barry's Pandemic Diary Project

I am a recent convert to Lynda Barry and her awesomeness. During my time at home, I've been trying to do some of the exercises from her book, Making Comics, which I bought back in November 2019.

ANYWAY, the NY Times ran an article by Barry about how to remember this time, especially the period right when everything was changing, as there is "a particular clarity to the memory and feeling of the ordinary transforming into its opposite."

So, this morning I followed her exercise. I typed up some of my answers below. (I wrote them down in a notebook, originally. Also, I think we're supposed to do this exercise daily, like a true diary entry, but I will probably just do it once.)

"Scenes that come back to me when I think about started to change"

• Students in my class (about half?) wearing face masks. Some students wiping off their desks before sitting in them. 
• Joking with my coworker Scott on the way into the building about hoping the Coronavirus spread to USC so we wouldn't have to go to work. 
• Getting my nails done (on March 11, I think) in a salon (Nail'd It). No one was wearing face masks, but I remember thinking this might be my last chance to get my nails done for a while. 
• So much indecision re: flying up to visit college friends in the Bay Area (and celebrating Kaylan with a friends baby "sprinkle) the weekend of March 13-16. Decided not to go, ultimately. 
• Seeing First Cow (Kelly Reichardt film) at the Arclight Pasadena on Sunday, March 15. About three other couples there. Every other row was roped off. Theaters told to close the next day, I think.  Last movie seen in a theater before everything closed. 
• Monitoring cases n the Johns Hopkins map showing red dots wehre all the cases were. Kind of a big dot in Los Angeles. 
• Seeing that Pasadena had a confirmed case (in the LA Times) and wondering how concerned I should be.

Top Five Moviegoing Experiences - International Version

Today I'd like to share my favorite international moviegoing experiences (in chronological order, like the previous list).

1. Aladdin (1992) in Tokyo. This was the year my family was living abroad, and because movies were so expensive in Japan, my family literally only went to ONE movie in a theater that whole year. My Grandma Gene had sent me and my sister ALL of the Disney merch in advance of the film's release. I remember we had the step-up readers book, stuffed animals, and most importantly: the soundtrack, which we memorized and performed for our parents. I also remember I pronounced Jafar's name "Jaf-ee-ar" for some reason when I read the book. Anyway, to say I was primed to love the film is a bit of an understatement. I still remember feeling like I needed to pinch myself once the opening bars of "Arabian Nights" started (and I'm pretty sure I quietly sang along to all of the songs in the theater...).

2. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) in Bangkok. I got to live in Bangkok for a month after graduating from high school, since I had a friend, Pauline, who went there every summer to visit her dad. She invited me to come for part of the trip, and I was pretty lucky to have parents who agreed to allow me to go (despite the fact that I missed orientation for UC Davis!). Anyway, the movie itself was predictably terrible, but this experience stands out because before the film started, they played the Thai national anthem, and everyone in the theater had to rise and honor the king. The experience was bizarre; it was one of the times on that trip when I felt the most like a foreigner.

3. The Da Vinci Code (2006) in Göttingen, Germany. This was when I studied abroad in Germany for my junior year of college. I went to a decent number of films in Germany, but this one stands out to me for a couple reasons: 1. It was an "event" (I went with a group of American friends who had all read the book, so we were pretty excited to see the adaptation) and 2. almost all movies are dubbed in Germany (they don't like subtitles, apparently), so hearing Tom Hanks speaking German was super weird. I'd never realized how iconic his voice is! Also, in Germany, all movies that are longer than two hours have an intermission, so it was weird to experience that -- People buying beer and smoking in the lobby during those 10 minutes we had to hang out till we could go back into the theater.

4. Les Miserables (2013) in Surabaya, Indonesia. I lived in Surabaya for 10 months, teaching English as an English Language Fellow for the State Department. As with Germany, I went to the movies a lot during those 10 months, often as a coping mechanism for homesickness. I'm picking it out of all the movies I saw while in Indonesia because while I was watching the film, I remember thinking, "How much do these Indonesian audience members even know or care about the French Revolution??" while I was watching it. It was disorienting to watch a film about a historical event that felt so distant from the culture I was currently living in. Side note: As someone who did not grow up obsessed with this musical, this film did NOTHING to win me over. Good try, Hugh Jackman.

5. The Before trilogy (2014) in Paris, France. Once again, I am cheating, because I did not watch the trilogy in a movie theater. It was way better than that! On my first visit to Leah as a Parisian resident (she was living with her then-boyfriend, now-husband Urbain at the time), I had a wonderful time visiting all the usual tourist sights (the Centre Pompidou, Monet's garden, Versailles, etc.). But honestly, the best part might have been the day it poured rain and we decided to lie in bed and watch the whole trilogy back to back, projected on the wall. If you are a fan of this series, then you know. It was heaven.

Top Five Moviegoing Experiences

Wow, it's been a while since I posted here. Ever since our stay-at-home orders, I've been thinking about trying to blog a bit more. But unsurprisingly, I wasn't actually motivated to do it until I was inspired to write about movies.

So, a little background first. My favorite podcast is Filmspotting, and every week the two hosts do a top five, inspired by the film High Fidelity. This week, they discussed their top five moviegoing experiences, as a nostalgic look back on the days when we could actually go to movie theaters. Their list inspired me to create my own list. Once I'd started it, it became clear I needed a U.S. list and an "international" movie list (I love going to movies in other countries!!). Without further ado, here is the U.S. list, in chronological order.  (I'll post the international list tomorrow; this post got too long for two lists.)

U.S. Top Five
1. Titanic (1998) at the Mann Theater in Monrovia with Cammy. LEO! I distinctly remember not being able to stop crying after the movie ended. We went shopping at Mervyn's after (in the same strip mall as the theater) and I broke down in tears at least once amongst the t-shirts. So began my years-long obsession with Leonardo DiCaprio. (1998, I think -- I remember I didn't see it right when it came out at the end of 1997, because it was a debate with my parents about whether I was even allowed to see it or not.)

2. Fast and the Furious (2001) at the Krikorian in Monrovia with Cammy and her boyfriend Ed and his friend Mike. I think this is the closest I've ever come to a double date at the movies? My sophomore year of high school had just ended, and it was so fun to start off the summer by going see a movie with BOYS. The movie was perfect for a sort-of double date; I actually think I enjoyed it quite a bit. (I have zero interest in revisiting that film because...let's just keep the happy memory, right?)

3. Chicago (2002/2003) at the Pasadena Paseo. This was the year I camped out for the Rose Parade with a bunch of high school friends during our senior year. Billy McLellan and I were sick of the cold (and likely very bored), so we decided to go see the last showing of Chicago (I think it started at about 10:30pm) at the theater that was closest to where we were camped out. We had both already seen it at least twice already. Maybe one or two other people were in the theater with us?  We put the arm rests up, so we could lie down across multiple seats. Midnight struck while the film was playing, so we didn't even celebrate it, which was just fine with both of us.

4. Requiem for a Dream (2004? I think it was freshman year.) in Wellman Hall (?) on campus at UC Davis. This one is a bit of a cheat, because it wasn't in an actual movie theater. My friend Scott figured out that many of the buildings on campus at UC Davis were not locked at night, and you could just go into some of the lecture halls and project a movie onto the screen. So a group of us snuck in at least twice to watch both Reservoir Dogs and Requiem for a Dream. After that, I think the staff caught on and started locking the doors so we couldn't do it again. I am putting Requiem for a Dream as my main memory here, because I had a strong feeling of "...whoa" after watching it. Reservoir Dogs I disliked because it was too nasty and violent. Which--I mean, Requiem is pretty much equally violent and nasty. To be honest, I am not interested in revisiting either film. But sneaking in to watch these films with a bunch of my new college friends was thrilling.

5. Ran (2009) at Film Forum with Ari. So began my love affair with Film Forum (and with Ari!). This was my first time visiting Ari in New York City, and it was basically a perfect trip. It was also my first time spending time with Ari off the cruise ship, and my first time visiting NYC outside of a 4-day trip one other time in senior year of college. Ari played tour guide and took me to the repertory theater Film Forum, since he knew I was a budding cinephile. He picked Ran (a rather challenging pick, honestly), but it was perfect. When I moved to NYC a year later to start grad school, I became a member of Film Forum and basically caught a film there whenever I had free time. Film Forum remains the only theater I think of as "mine." 

6. Adding another one because I want to! Wonder Woman (June 2, 2017) at the Vista Theater in Los Feliz. I've never been a person who felt she had to see movies on opening day. But in summer 2017, Ari and I were doing a thing where we tried to explore a new area of Los Angeles (actually new to Ari, somewhat new to me) every Friday. We happened to be exploring Los Feliz on the day Wonder Woman opened, and we walked by the Vista Theater (a cool, old-fashioned one-screen theater) at the end of our exploration. We were planning to head home when we saw the line forming for the first screening of the day, probably around 1pm. I managed to talk Ari into buying a ticket and getting in line. This meant we had to wait in line (Ari hates waiting in line) for a good 45 minutes or so, but once we got in--and got really good seats!--I knew it was worth it. Everyone was SO into the movie and I had the experience so many women had of crying uncontrollably during some of the most bad-ass fight scenes with Wonder Woman. I am NOT a fan of superhero films in general, but this movie totally won me over.

Privilege

In honor of Black History Month, I am going to exercise #4 suggested by the Instagram post below (which was my radar thanks to Hannah's reposting):

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kerry Connelly (@kerry.connelly) on Feb 1, 2019 at 6:53am PST

10 ways I personally benefit from privilege:

1. Almost all public spaces feel welcoming to me, including museums, office buildings, and libraries. 
2. I can choose not to follow the news without it having a great effect on me.  
3. I am not afraid of the police. I have never been afraid of the police. 
4. I don’t worry about my husband having an altercation with the police.
5. I don’t worry about how to raise my children to behave around the police and law enforcement.
6. Sephora and other beauty/makeup shops always have makeup that matches with my skin tone and hair products that work for my hair.
7. I don’t have to worry about speaking “correctly” in person or over the phone in order to avoid being negatively judged.
8. I grew up in a “nice area of town” and experienced no financial troubles growing up. This is undoubtedly due in part (if not in large part) to the fact that my family is white.
9. Shop employees don’t follow me around the store, afraid I’m going to shoplift.
10. I can find many, many representations of myself in the media I consume (tv shows, movies, books). 

A couple other culture suggestions for this month:

• Read the short story collection Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. To be honest, the stories are extremely depressing and disturbing, but there's no denying the author's brilliance, especially in the first story, called "The Finkelstein 5." 
• Listen to this great interview with the 75-year-old black poet Nikki Giovanni. She's got spunk! Also, she knew Rosa Parks!

The Year in (Quick) Review

It's January 5th! I go back to work in two days! Quick! Let's review the year.

January - Cammy came out from Fort Collins to throw me a tiki-themed bachelorette party at the Tonga Hut, which was AWESOME.

February 18 - Ari and I got married at the University Club of Pasadena. It was (slightly) more AWESOME than my bachelorette. We did a "mini-moon" to Palm Springs right after, which was delightful.

March through April - Finished up the spring semester at USC. Taught in the Master's Prep program for both fall and spring of 2018.

May - HONEYMOON! Israel with the whole fam (in-laws, sibs, cousins, aunts, uncles) and then a little side-trip to Amsterdam (our airline, KLM, let us have a free stopover there). Beautiful weather the whole time.

July through mid-August - Taught ESL at my old job, the Columbia ALP, for Summer C session. Went pretty well for the most part and it was wonderful being in the city during the summer. Hot and sweaty but fun. Plus, Ari came out for the last week of work and that was nice to see him!

September through December - kept things low key around here. Presented at CATESOL in Anaheim with my mom, which was fun. Stayed local for Christmas (but went to Youngstown, as usual, for Thanksgiving). Missed Leah and Urbain because Leah is currently in Australia (through the end of January).

New Year's Eve - Ari's dad came out for four days, arriving on NYE, in order to go to the Rose Bowl game, since Ohio State was playing. Ari, his dad, and my dad all went. (Tickets cost $450 each!!!!) On Jan. 2, Ari also did an informal recital of a Mendelssohn piece for his dad and my family with his LA Phil coworker, Lucy, accompanying on the cello.

So, I honestly can't complain about 2018. What a great year! 

My favorite films of 2018

I managed to see a lot of films that came out this year, thanks to the miracle of MoviePass (that has since mostly expired...although I still have a membership and continue to hold out hope that it will get better).

All in all, I saw about 50 movies, not including Netflix comedy specials, that came out in 2018. Here are my favorites, in no particular order:

• The Favourite
• Roma
• Blackkklansman
• First Reformed
• Shoplifters
• Tully
• Minding the Gap
• The Rider
• Private Life
• Sorry to Bother You
• Eighth Grade
• If Beale Street Could Talk

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I also posted them on my Letterboxd account.

I think I'd put Roma and The Favourite in the top two slots (I don't know which I'd rank higher!), closely followed by First Reformed and Sorry to Bother You. I haven't yet had a chance to see Cold War or Leave No Trace, which I have high hopes for.

Man, I'd say this was a good year for movies!

image via 

I tried for a hot second to be vegan for the month of January (aka "Veganuary"). I didn't even last more than a day. Man, I'm weak this year!

Wrapping Up 2017

Hey look! It’s the last day of 2017! I guess I should put something up here. I’ve got free time. I've got motivation. So! Here are my year-end thoughts, for those of you dying to know.

This year started off kind of rough for everyone in the U.S., but it felt especially so for me and Ari, because we were still living with my parents, after moving in with them *temporarily* in September 2016. It took us until March to feel comfortable looking for our own apartment. We hesitated mostly because Ari was having trouble finding a music teaching gig (or any kind of gig). But then he got a job he really likes, working with kids in downtown LA through the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles.

The first couple of months of the year were rough politically and personally. But then we moved into our cute lil apartment in Pasadena (with a balcony! My dream!) and we both were working, and things started looking so much better. So much better, in fact, that I decided to propose to Ari in the summer (July 15^th to be exact, our 8-year anniversary), since I felt like things were pretty darn good. He’d moved to California pretty much just for me, and we had finally kind of found a place that we felt comfortable in. So, he said yes! Our wedding is Feb. 18, 2018! And totally coincidentally, the number 18 is the numerological representation of the word for “life” in Hebrew, so it’s considered an auspicious date, which is kind of cool.

I guess those were the two kind-of memorable achievements of this year for me – moving into our own place (20 minutes’ drive from my parents! Who’d have thunk I’d ever agree to THAT?) and getting engaged to Ari. I still miss New York City quite a bit sometimes (mostly the people; sometimes I miss the snowy, wintery weather), and I know Ari is not sure if he’s OK with living out the rest of our days in the Sunshine State. I am open to the idea of moving again when we decide to buy a house. I just really would like it to be somewhere that has indie movie theaters and doesn’t get snow…..

As I feel most of my friends (and the strangers I follow on Instagram) have been saying at the end of 2017: This year was a pretty terrible year for the world, but personally it has been pretty good. I guess we’ve all gotta keep fighting the good fight against this T character, but we can all love and laugh and enjoy life somewhat while we’re doing it, right?

OK, that is pretty much my wrap-up for the year, except for one more thing. I think I did a pretty good job of seeing new movies this year, so I have compiled a shortlist of my top five of 2017, in order.

1.     The Florida Project

2.     Call Me By Your Name

3.     Lady Bird

4.     The Big Sick

5.     Get Out

Honorable mentions: The Beguiled, Good Time, Logan Lucky, Wonder Woman

Overrated: Baby Driver, Dunkirk, Blade Runner 2049

Still want/need to see: Phantom Thread, The Post, Your Name, Personal Shopper

I wish you all a wonderful 2018! 

I think it's summer

Fresh pesto, snap peas from the farmer's market, and a grapefruit La Croix.

Look at what I did!

So, as I am unemployed for the foreseeable summer (hoping I get some substitute jobs, but so far I've missed two subbing opportunities due to not checking my email frequently enough). This extra free time, with limited $$$, means improvements on the new apartment!

Please admire my work lining lots of shelves:

As you can see, I have truly achieved "adult" status. 

Also, below is a panorama I took for a coworker who asked for an update on the apartment. It is unedited (read: no trash/detritus removed) for a totally authentic look: 

It's getting there!

Valbirthentine's Day

I had a good birthday + Valentine's Day this year, not least because my birthday was on a Sunday, and I forgot how wonderful it is to get to sleep in on one's birthday!

My birthday fortune in the LA Times. Not sure it makes sense.....

Ari made me birthday muffins! 

FREE Starbucks drink on my birthday! I got a molten chocolate latte with whipped cream. :D

Ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins with mint chocolate ice cream. By special request. Thanks for fulfilling my dreams, Ari! 

 On Valentine's Day, we had dinner in K-town and went to see Angel Olsen perform at the Wiltern Theater. My first time at the Wiltern; it really is a great venue. Unfortunately, we DID have to stand for over 3 hours to see the whole show, and that was pretty tough to do after a full day of work. There were two opening acts: Chris Cohen (psychedelic rock) and Jonathan Richman, a zany, ridiculous singer who is apparently is a living legend. He was definitely a lot of fun to watch!

But wait, there's more! On Thursday 2/16, we had a belated swing dancing birthday party at Lindygroove, which is where Ari and I take swing dancing classes every Thursday night. If it's your birthday, you get invite up to 10 guests for free, AND they give you chocolate cupcakes at a reserved table. So nice! So my parents and sister and my Aunt Liz came out to dance and/or watch people dance. It was really nice. 

We took this after Aunt Liz left. Oops. 

In case I ever get to walk the red carpet

I have found my dress. I'm not kidding. I mean, I guess Nicole wore it first, but I can deal with that. 

Takin' some action

I couldn't make it to the LAX protest today, so at least I can do this. (They postcards are dirty looking because of our wonky printer, but I like the homemade feel it gives them.)

Reading the news during class and wanting to cry.

That is all for now.

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

I, Too

Langston Hughes, 1902 - 1967

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides, 
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

Taken from poets.org.

Highlights from the end of the year (November 2016 - January 1, 2017)

Pictures!

First, camping in Cottonwood Spring, in Joshua Tree National Park. (November 5-6)

Dad, Ari, Aunt Liz, Me

Watching the sunset from the car while driving back from Jumbo Rocks

Important sharing of Hello Kitty filter on Instagram. My dream come true.

Heard David Sedaris speak for the first time, at the Pasadena Civic Center. (November 15)

Saw an NBA game for the first time on November 23rd. Go Cavs! (In Cleveland with Ari and his brother Ben.) 

With the Kessler family for Thanksgiving, in Mill Creek Park, Youngstown, Ohio.

Half-Marathon Weekend  (December 3-4)

Anja makes delicious crepes the day before our big half marathon, using her parents' awesome crepe-making tool.

Lunch and a tour of the Presidio with Alicia

Sunset over the Sutro Baths. 

The actual run! (This was right near the beginning). 

We all finished it in under 4 hours!! 

Nessa's wedding in Jersey City, December 10

Speeches

View of Manhattan from the Jersy City Hyatt

Christmas/Holiday stuff

Arty blurry photo of our tree (before it inexplicably started smelling bad...) 

Ari's parents visited and we joined them for a rainy but fun trip to Catalina Island on December 20.

Hanging and Bruce and Kathy Carter's house on Christmas Eve. 

Fiddler on the Roof singalong at the Laemmle on Christmas Eve

Mexican Train dominoes after brunch on Christmas 

Hike to Henniger Flats on December 28 with Erik, Cammy, Dad, and Aunt Liz (and her dog Axl) 

New Years with Ari's siblings visiting from Ohio

One warm day of sunshine! (But the water was FREEZING)

Everyone! At the park. We asked a stranger to take a picture of us and he asked us to hold onto his dog while he took it. 

Rainy San Clemente Pier on New Year's Eve

San Juan Capistrano Mission on New Year's Day

"Worth a Visit" -- Indeed, it was! 

My lame-ass attempt at wrapping up 2016

So, as has been widely discussed on the Internet (and among real people), 2016 was not such a great year, speaking generally. I agree with this assessment, the biggest downer of the year being Trump's election. I was so conflicted and upset about it that I couldn't come up with a blog post about it, even though I wanted to write one. I couldn't decide if I wanted the post to have an optimistic, sad, or angry tone. I still don't know which tone to strike when I think about Trump or talk about the future of our country with friends. So...yeah. Time will tell, I guess?

Bowie's death was the celebrity death that meant the most to me this year, although Debbie Reynolds was a close second, due to my longtime love of Singin' in the Rain.

In happier, more personal news, this year Ari and I moved to Los Angeles. This was a change I'd been pushing for since 2013! I really didn't know if I would ever be able to convince Ari to do it, but I did. We gave away 90% of our stuff (we kept no furniture) and drove cross-country from New York to Monrovia, arriving at my parents' house on Ari's birthday, August  31st. As I type this we are still in Monrovia, living with my parents, partly because it's been hard for Ari to find work as a music teacher (he wants a full-time job) and also because my bosses at USC waited till the last week of the semester to tell me whether I was hired back or not (I got hired back! Yeah!).

Four months in to California life, Ari and I are still figuring out how to live in Los Angeles, and hopefully finding our own place to live in the next month or two will help make us feel more settled. It's going to be expensive, buying all that furniture. grumble, grumble. But so far the lack of true winter weather has been wonderful, and I love being near my parents and family. Ari's parents came out for a visit a couple of weeks ago, and his brother and sister joined us at San Clemente for New Year's. A lot of our closer friends are still in NYC or in northern California, but I know Ari and I will grow more comfortable and build our own community here, with time.

Other highlights from 2016:

-Visiting Cuba! Went to Havana for 5 days with my parents and my good friend Alicia as part of a people-to-people guided tour, before Cuba totally opened its borders to U.S. travel.

-Visiting Mexico City! This was an unplanned trip that I adapted to travel by myself after a trip to Acapulco with some work friends that fell through when there were shootings in the tourist area, and I couldn't get a refund on my ticket. Leah ended up joining me for a few days, and it was a great experience overall.

-Completing a half marathon! I ran it with my friend Anja in the Marin Headlands, in northern California. Beautiful weather and REALLY difficult, hilly terrain.


Now, onto my lists of the year!

Favorite books read in 2016 (not necessarily written in 2016):

• Under the Skin, by Michel Faber
• Bring up the Bodies, by Hilary Mantel
• The Color of Water, by James McBride
• Pictures at a Revolution, by Mark Harris
• Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• The Nix, by Nathan Hill
• You'll Grow Out of It, by Jessi Klein 

Favorite new music from 2016 (I made the effort to listen to some new stuff):

• Lemonade, by Beyonce. Duh. 
• Skeleton Tree, by Nick Cave
• My Woman, by Angel Olsen (Favorite musician discovery of 2016: Angel Olsen) 

Favorite 2016 movies* (loosely organized in order): 

1. Manchester by the Sea
2. Everybody Wants Some!! 
3. Moonlight
4. One More Time with Feeling
5. Certain Women
6. La La Land
7. Hell or High Water
8. Arrival

*My FAVORITE movie of the year was definitely The Lobster, which came out in the U.S. in 2016, but is technically a 2015 film, since it took so long to reach us.

Happy Halloween!

Please admire my self-created Halloween nails (made from $1.99 glitter from Michaels)!

Also, I just noticed this is post #1,001 on this blog. Crazy, right? 

Irrational Fear #436:

That the sun won't come up one morning.

Thanks to reading this book when I was about seven years old.

A little "Awwww" for your Sunday night

“I was born in Venezuela. I moved here two years ago. I want to be President of Venezuela to change things and make better the world. Did you know that sometimes in Venezuela people shoot each other on purpose? I will change that. Also there will be rules against pushing people or thinking bad thoughts about people. I will make a rule so that there will not be too much cutting or killing of trees. And there will be a rule against killing too many animals because animals eat insects, and we can’t have too many insects. I will also make sure that we don’t waste water or food. Or if there is food left over, we have to be sure to put it in the trash. I can’t be president now because I’m only eight. But I did skip first grade.”

Taken from Humans of New York. I just had to copy this exactly because it warmed my heart on a rainy Sunday evening.