NetFlix Addict

Hello, my name is Dea, and I am a NetFlix Addict. Is there a 12-step program I can join? Many years ago, I used NetFlix--mostly because I had fines at all the local Blockbusters. I barely used it. I had the same lukewarm movie in my house for a month and I never watched it or returned it. Eventually, I cancelled my subscription and moved on to racking up fines at other Blockbusters.

Recently, I have found my way back to NetFlix and I feel that I am becoming co-dependent. I eagerly wait for the red / white envelopes to appear in my mailbox. I am constantly amazed at how many movies they have in NetFlix land and how quickly they ship / receive / ship me movies. My co-worker told me that I would become addicted if I wasn’t careful. This was after she heard a friend and I dissecting the shipping process – (how do they get the movies in 1 day?) Well, after updating my queue, writing reviews for my friends and reviewing movie after movie…I realized, she may be right. I check my NetFlix page at least a few times a day. I sat on my couch a few weeks ago and watched 4 episodes of Felicity in a row, so that I could mail the disc back and get a new one. It has become a major obsession and it’s not just me.

My friend, Jen, has been cemented to her couch watching every single episode of Homicide. (I know…I think it’s a little scary too). My friends have built queues of 60-70 movies. I mean think about it. Would they really rent these movies if they going to Blockbuster? I know that I wouldn’t rent half the documentaries in my queue if I had to pay for them. Maybe that’s the beauty of it. NetFlix allows you to expand into genres that you normally wouldn’t. It allows you to grow as a human being. It is here for the greater good of humankind. Or at least that will be my justification the next time I find myself chained to couch on a Saturday afternoon.

Just another Blog Entry

So, lovely Jen wants to know if I am posting again. I know. I suck. I am not sure why I have been such a slacker. I have started a bunch of posts, but they were not as interesting as I wanted them to be and so I deleted them.

This is an entry just to have one, but I promise there will be several that follow. So many that Jen's next comment will be "Enough already!"

Can I get some applause?

Last night was Neil Diamond. It was the culminating event of my birthday weekend and I was very excited. Got off to a bit of a rocky start--rushing home, barely changing clothes, running the carpool all over the North Side and then racing to the UC and getting there 40 minutes early. Nice to get there early, but I would have loved 5 minutes at home to brush my teeth and refresh myself a bit. No matter. Jen, my Mom and I ate something and headed to our seats at about 7:55 PM. The announcer told us that there would be no seating during the first song (which was never actually enforced, though it was a nice idea) and that the lights would end abruptly--which they did about 10 - 15 minutes later.

Neil opened with Crunchy Granola Suite—not a favorite of mine, but soon the show was rocking. He played some of my favorites (Play Me, Forever in Blue Jeans, Cherry Cherry, Cracklin’ Rosie, Soolaimon, I Am I Said…). We were clapping, swaying, singing and having fun…at least the 3 of us were. I think that someone accidentally sat us in the ”No Fun” section. Almost all of Section 308 sat through the whole show—even through America and some through Sweet Caroline. Seriously, it’s Neil Diamond. He is a little bit country, a little bit folk, a little bit Rock ‘n’ Roll, a little bit cheesy and a lot of fun. You are supposed to clap and dance and sing. Why go if you are not going to have fun?

Shout out to the 2 women in front of us—Section 308, Row 11—who did not once move or clap—not even at the end of a song to show appreciation. They uncrossed their arms only a few times to look through binoculars, but I don’t know why they bothered. It didn’t change their disposition at all.

Real shout out to the couple (not sure if it was straight girl and PGA or an actual couple) who were a few rows ahead and to the right of us. They danced and sang to every song…as it should be.

All in all though, Neil was a blast. Great show—even when we thought he was making out with his backup singer after “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” (she turned out to be one of the members of the band’s wife). Neil was all I thought that he would be and then some.

Random Things from the last few days…

• Thanks to my coworkers for the crazy video they made and the birthday celebration they put together on Friday afternoon. Had I known that it would be indicative of the celebrations to come, I may have tried to get a nap in—maybe eaten a Zone Bar.

• Spent 3-hours in a car with a friend I had lost touch with over the last few years. Aside from the traffic (and a mini-detour), it was a nice road trip—as nice as a trip can be when you are going to be with a friend who’s just lost her father. He sent me a Tom Stoppard quote he thought that I might like. Since he racked his brain a bit and probably exhausted Google, I thought that it at least deserved to be posted here. And so it is…”If Beethoven had been killed in a plane crash at the age of 22, the history of music would be totally different. As would the history of aviation." -Tom Stoppard

• No matter what the context, a young man in military dress playing taps on a bugle is bittersweet. It is beautiful and touching and heartbreaking all in one moment.

• People who buy old churches, make them their home and then turn the “living room” into an Irish Pub may be going to hell =0) Or, they may be friends of mine who threw a darn fine party over the weekend—complete with a blues band that rocked the church out of its foundation.

• Sunday afternoon proved to lead to an evening of debauchery. Complete with a guest appearance by “bad friends speech” guy; two friends of mine being put into cabs and put into bed before 10 PM; 5 Guinness Lunchboxes (not sure what others had); 2 other people celebrating their August 1st birthday at midnight with me and tons of laughter and fun. It ended with me sleeping through my dad’s 3:30 AM “this is when you were born phone call” and grudgingly answering his 6 AM “think I am being funny by calling my daughter again” phone call. All in all, I had a blast on Sunday.

• Monday morning, birthday breakfast of an Entenmann’s Crumb Donut was a lovely way to start the day. I saved the cards that had come in the mail for me so that I would have something to open…I am still a little kid that way. My mom came into the city and we went to see the Body Worlds exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. Strange exhibit, but excellent. I absolutely recommend it. Had an ice cream sundae before lunch, which is perfectly justifiable on your birthday. My mom conned the waiter into embarrassing me. I loved the gesture, didn’t like holding a sundae over my head. It turned out to be a perfect day.

• Last night, my friend Natalie bought me balloons, a card with my favorite Maya Angelou quote on it (The best part of life is not just surviving, but thriving -- with passion and compassion, and humor and style, and generosity and kindness.) and a beautiful spiral book of Maya’s quotes. Jen met me with a gift card for tea (and coffee—she checked) and a book…people came into the bar and bought me more drinks that I could ever consume in one evening—in fact, I think I have a credit at the bar. I looked around the room and thought that life doesn’t get better than this. I have friends who know me well enough to know my favorite quote and well enough to pick out the perfect present for me. I was really touched. My friends and family really made this weekend wonderful. I just wanted to say thank you to all of them.

• My Mom and Dad are probably the most generous, loving people I know. I am grateful to have them as my parents and wanted to thank them—they not only brought me into this world, but they have been there supporting me ever since.

• T-minus 5 hours and counting until...Neil Diamond!