I watched Contagion on Monday night. What a stellar cast! The movie itself was spooky in a sense – how a work of fiction released nine years ago is so close to what’s happening today. I keep wondering if any of the clever people have checked the DNA sequence of our novel virus with the fictional one. With the truth being stranger than fiction, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a match. Anyone who hasn’t seen it, should watch it. It puts things into perspective.
movies
Day 25: Entertaining Angels
It’s day 25 of lockdown. As far as I know The Bean and The Toppie are fine (from COVID-19, that is), my friends haven’t murdered their spouses nor eaten their young, and my lettuce experiment appears to be successful.
Thinking Back: With Age Comes Wisdom
COVID-19 has everyone is losing their minds on some level. If you’re not, then please share whatever Kool-aid it is that you’re drinking. I am suffering from migraines again, and my sleep is constantly interrupted. Last night when I couldn’t sleep, I found my mind wandering back to 2004, when just as I was about to leave for the airport on December 26th, the media shared the news of the tsunami that had hit Thailand.
I boarded the plane anyway, because I was going to Singapore and the news reported that the island country had not been affected. I was 24, without a care in the world and it was my first overseas holiday. Nothing was going to stop me – not even Mother Nature sending a potential follow-up tidal wave.
Continue reading(Emotional) Weekend Whirlwind
I am at the point again that when the phone rings and someone asks, “What are your plans?” I just want to hide. Partly because I’m a little emotional, but mostly because of The Big Freeze that seems to have taken hold of the Sleepy Hollow Town I reside in; I’d much rather stay holed up in The Cave under my duvet with a book, or a movie. Elizabeth was having none of it when she called with this very question on Friday last week. She had been roped into helping a friend’s daughter (a young high-school learner doing photography as a subject) with her project on Saturday. She’d also kind of already told her friend I’d be more than willing to help too.
When I woke up on Saturday morning, I was reluctant to get out of bed. It was cold. And I was out of milk. Not a good start to my day. Anyhow, I did the no matter how you feel, get up, dress up, show up thing and went to Elizabeth’s house. I’d arranged for a friend, Joy, to do our make-up. Hell, if I was going to have to be in front of the camera, I didn’t want to look like a washed-out ghost from the 1920’s. Joy was quite excited to hear that the shoot was Gatsby-themed, because she has always thought of me as “the perfect Gatsby girl”.
My confidence boosted, and my lashes ab-so-lutely gor-geous, Dahling, Elizabeth and I set off the the venue, Deja Vu Vintage House, where we dressed up in real vintage clothes from the era, right down to pearls, feather boas and cigarette holders. Once I was all flapped out in my purple frock, it was as if I underwent a complete personality change. My inner Gatsby-girl took over and I ended up having so. much. fun.
Elizabeth, the two other ‘models’ and I laughed till our stomachs ached as we waved to random strangers driving past. The student taking the photos also had quite a few giggles at our antics. I’m sure the photos are going to be a-ma-zing!
Elizabeth’s elder sister, Olive, had made a delectable curry and rice to ward off Jack Frost’s spell. I love Indian food, so it was a given that I would stay for dinner. With a full tummy and a happy heart, I went back to The Cave and slept incredibly well.
Sunday I met up with Charlie at his place where we had a bite to eat, and I showed him how to make a killer fridge tart with 4 ingredients. I’m a firm believer in few-ingredient cooking, because I deteest pantry shopping almost as much as I hate doing the dishes.
Afterwards we watched two episodes of Elementary followed by a movie called called The Book of Eli.
One scene (of an attempted rape) triggered a minor anxiety attack in me. I’ve become increasingly aware that my friends and some family don’t understand my condition, and as a result, don’t know what to expect, nor how to react around me. The reading I’ve done on high-functioning depression states that sufferers become ninja-level-experts at hiding things. I surreptitiously (I hope!) popped a chill-pill and curled back on my comfy kick-out chair, snuggled under a blanket. Barring the upsetting scene, the movie is quite brilliant; with Denzel Washington in the lead, and Gary Oldman as supporting actor, how could it not be?
I will admit, I was feeling drained on Monday, and yesterday still, but today I’m feeling on the up-and-up again. I’ve learned not to beat myself up when I’m not feeling sprightly, but to continue with one-baby-step-at-a-time. I’m staying with Eliza and Nathan tonight, and I’m cooking (something I love, but don’t do much of at home, because the stove in The Cave is cursed – every time I cook on it for guests, it cremates the contents of the oven, making them a burnt offering!) On the menu tonight is (you guessed it), a few-ingredient, creamy seafood marinara pasta.
Catch y’all on the flipside! Have a Wonderful Wednesday 🙂
Deathly, not Deadly Thoughts…and Fish
I’ve been thinking about suicide a lot this past week. Murder too. And no, I’m not planning on taking my own life, nor that of someone else (although I’ll admit, as a wannabe writer, I’ve come up with some plausible, but not-yet-perfect ways to get away with it).
My curiosity stems from excessive screen time over the Easter weekend. I have to push my limits a little, and I think I did fairly well, considering.
I spent some time with my folks. The Bean was watching a movie called A Father’s Nightmare which I only caught the last fifteen minutes of but was able to pretty much piece the story together without much background info.
This was followed by Bird Box, starring Sandra Bullock (who at 54 could still pull off the role of a pregnant woman). Now, I hate spoiler alerts, so I’m not going to be a tell-all and ruin the movie for those of you who may want to watch it. All I’m going to say is that it’s not the best movie to watch if you’re on medication that may exacerbate suicidal tendencies nor if you’re prone to overthinking. I’m still wondering why some people became zombie-like, immune to the unseen force that drove others to kill themselves. Despite being in both categories, I quite enjoyed it. My rating is 7.2/10
On Monday I saw Chanté for a quick cup of Chai. She asked about The Sperm Donor and what I’d done the weekend. Turns out her hubby also wishes she’d change the channel off Crime and Investigation; she reckons she’s becoming clever. We’re both in agreement on one thing: We believe everyone has a breaking point where they can snap and commit murder.
The same evening, I saw Martha for dinner. We didn’t discuss murder or suicide. Damn pity, because she often has a very logical take on things so it would have been an interesting debate. She did tell me about a book she’s reading about people’s near-death-experiences.
Last night I had hake in coconut cream, with salad, sweet potato fries and rice.
The friend, Esmeralda (whom I dragged out in attempt to make her feel better about a crap situation) had pizza. I obviously can’t go into detail as to what said shit-storm entails, but she did say I am so tired of it; that (wo)man is going to drive me to suicide. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her utter the word suicide in the fifteen-plus years I’ve known her. She kind of changed when the situation started, but every time I see her, she seems more emotional, whether angry, sad, or frustrated. Like me, I don’t think she’d ever put action to her words, but as her friend I feel helpless as I watch her fall deeper into a fit of self-doubt.
One thing I do know is if she had to commit murder I’d probably be the one she’d call to help her bury the body, like Gabby did with Bree and Lynette, because at the rate we’re both going, we are our own brand of Desperate Housewives, living in our very own Wisteria Lane.
Refreshment for the Soul…
Mom and Dad left in the camper yesterday to the Bontebok National Park situated just outside of Swellendam.
Given the fact that I had some time to myself, I trotted off to Woolies and stocked up on my three favourite things chocolate, cheese and cookery magazines. I bought full cream chocolate milk, chocolate mousse cupcakes, chocolate peppermint cupcakes, a cheese platter, Taste, Food and Home Entertaining and the Ideas magazine. Ironically I didn’t get to indulge in any of them because by the time I left town, I was in the mood to have a home-cooked meal and watch DVD’s.
I stopped at the local DVD shop and rented The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (I love Nicholas Cage and magic, so this was like killing two birds with one stone), Eclipse (Rachel nearly had a heart attack when she heard that I still hadn’t seen it) and Eat, Pray, Love. Once at home, I popped all the indulgences in the fridge and heated leftover leg of lamb, rice, concertina potatoes, roast Mediterranean veges and a stuffed gem squash for a late-lunch-early-dinner which I ate off a tray, followed by the tricolour surprise dessert I made for Mom and she didn’t want. Even if I had wanted to eat some of my Woolies goodies, I was just too full…
While having a tri-movie marathon seemed a fabulous idea at the time, it left me with a seriously sore head 😦 I switched off the light just after ten and woke up after eight thirty this morning, my head still pounding. I would not have minded if I had had wine, but I hadn’t. (I have made a mental note to drink wine in future…)
I went into town again this morning to take stuff through to Aunty Carol and Uncle Barry who will be making the trip to Bontebok National Park later today to join my parents. Not being in too much of a hurry to come home, I mosied around a local clothing store and bought myself a funky floral top and a sleeveless short cabled cardigan for Elizabeth (I hope she will like it – if she doesn’t then I will keep it for myself). Then I popped into Woolies again, bought myself a chicken wrap and a salad and ate it down at the local beach. The weather is fabulous, despite a few dark clouds looming…
Isn’t this just the ideal setting for a solitary lunch, to refresh the soul?
Well, I’m back home now, feeling heartbroken for Elizabeth who has just let me know that a close friend of hers, Greg has died from a heart attack 😦
We have plans to go out for dinner tonight and while I’ve tried to convince her it might be better to stay in, she is adamant that she wants to go. I have a feeling I may be having breakfast on the beach tomorrow morning too.
Reflections of a Misfit 