Lady Who Lunches

Happiness is, a
walk across the bridge for a
kubideh kabab.

Signs

M and I went to the Capital Pride festival to meet a friend of ours. After about an hour of wandering around and checking out the booths, we made our way to the stage area. Just in time to catch the lip-syncing excellence of American Idol sensation, Dario. At least that is how he was introduced.

Don't remember Dario? Neither did I. Other than him saying he was on the show, there is no evidence to support this claim. The next day we did some research and came across Dario's website. Here is how his bio begins:

"There are few individuals that you meet in life who stand out against the sameness of the American music establishment. This special and unique person offers a refreshing alternative to the norm---a strong character, a driven personality to succeed, an uncompromising passion for their music, and a special charisma on stage which truly shines, touches, and envelopes the audience in a distinctive way."

Except for the rather obvious abuse of adjectives, I have no idea what is going on in that paragraph. Still doubt how popular he is? His biography also notes: "He’s graced the covers of over 9 International magazines and appeared on numerous television programs, which include the red carpet events for the Grammies and The American Music Awards." An odd sentence structure to be sure. It is unclear whether he has been on the red carpet at the "Grammies" or at a red carpet event related to the "Grammies."

Anyway, long story short, he was abysmal. But, the refreshing surprise was the guy signing Dario's "hits" for the "crowd." Such as his smash "Be." Or "Lies." Dario takes a minimalist approach to his songwriting.

But, the sign guy breathed life into the songs by adding his own moves to emphasize the grooves of the song. Imagine, you are deaf. A guy is signing you a song. The sign guy has an incredibly difficult job, to be sure. He's gotta throw something into the signing to convey the groove. And the signer delivered. In a far more compelling way than Dario.

Lording of the Rings

I've added a ring to my left hand. I now wear two rings, two more than I've ever worn. When I first got engaged, I was wild over my ring, but it still felt strange. I would play with it a lot, taking it on and off. I would take it off to wash the dishes or take a shower, and a lot of times, I would forget to put it back on. By the time I got used to it, it was time to put on another.

Don't get me wrong, I love my rings, and what they represent. I love that they advertise the fact that I'm committed to another person, but sometimes they feel so... much. Ostentatious, even. Do people I know think of me differently now? Like I'm showing off? What snap judgments do people I'm just meeting make? Sometimes I want to tell them, "I am not my rings!"

I'm thinking of toning it down to just one, but I haven't decided. I do love looking at my diamond.

She blushes.

History

I find it greatly distressing that Barack and Michelle Obama resurrected the terrorist fist bump. Serious historical scholars know that the fist bump originated during biblical times, first seen when Pilate gave Herod a pound after authorizing the cruxifiction of Christ. I guess they didn't teach that at the Indonesian madrassa Obama attended as a boy.

I Want My 2.5 Hours Back

Life is short, and every moment that passes is one that is gone forever. The producers of Sex in the City owe me a significant part of my life back. And I don't take credit.

The movie was consumerist porn, with the main characters using materialism to make their special claim to vapidity. I think I came down with carpel tunnel syndrome from twisting my wrist so often to see what time it was.

The question I have for my wife and female friends is this: what is it about these women that you relate to? Here is what I took out of the movie: you should buy nice shoes, a Louis Vitton bag is apparently more important than the situation in Darfur, being dumped four times by the same guy makes for a compelling story, and that your friend shitting her pants is pretty funny. The latter I get, the rest...

It's Been A Long Time...

...I shouldn'ta left you... But seriously, it's not my fault. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. My little sis graduated from B-school (yay R!), Joseph K. and I got married, we went on our honeymoon, and spent our first weekend back in domestic-ville. I can neither confirm nor deny that we might have spent over half the weekend at Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, and Whole Foods.

The wedding was amazing. I am clearly biased, but I must admit, I have never been to a better party. The music was tight and the drinks were free-flowing. More importantly, they were shared with a fantastic crowd of people. I want to go back to 5/20 and start it all over again. When married people say, "Enjoy it, it goes by so fast", listen to them! The best part was getting to bond with my siblings and bridesmaids. I don't know what I've done in my past lives to deserve such love, but it must have been good.

The Dominican Republic was beautiful. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort. It was lavishly decorated and the service was impeccable, but I don't think I would repeat the experience. There's something weird about going to another country but feeling like you're still in the U.S. Everything at the resort catered to the American palette, so much so, that if we hadn't booked an off-campus excursion, we wouldn't have tasted Dominican food at all! In any case, the staff was attentive, and overall we had a great time.

Joseph K. made roast lamb marinated in mango curry sauce (yum!) tonight. Bigger props to him for taking me to see SATC last night. I love being married!