Chapter 33: Quiet

Okay, so I don't really have a set topic to discuss this evening. I didn't really have an eventful day. I woke up at 7am, turned on the radio on my computer and waited for my cue to call for tickets, (I didn't win,) then got up and got ready for work. I went to work, it was terribly boring and then I came home. Nothing really of not happened at work. I pretty much kept to myself all day. I drew a slightly more detailed design of the butterfly dress I mentioned yesterday, as well as an offbeat triangle patterned corset style mini-dress. You know, the type of thing ever guy does when he gets bored? That is kind of what my life is all about right now - doing things to keep myself from being bored. It's not working, unfortunately. I am finding myself constantly bored and not just in the moment to moment sense. I am finding myself incredibly bored with my life right now. I know the reason behind this, too. I've done something I have really never done before. I have made a solid decision about making a change in my life months in advance of it actually happening. Most of the life-altering decisions I have made in my life have been executed at a moments notice. I am finding it difficult to figure out how to deal with the wait. Still, I am going to have to deal with it: The wait is a very important factor in this whole thing. There is a lot of preparation to be done, and I need to get to it. To keep myself from getting bored in the meantime, though, I need to stop focusing on distracting myself with frivolity and start working on things that are going to be important once the change does come. I think it's pretty clear what I am talking about here: driving.

Before I wind up on another tirade about driving and on the whole concept of the move to California, I should probably veer off onto another course. Not EVERY blog can be about that. This evening I spent a little time on one of my favorite websites, Oh No They Didn't, which is always pretty entertaining. They had one of what they call an "Epic Post" this evening that was absolutely hilarious. Apparently, an entertainment journalist/celebrity biographer named Ian Halperin is publishing a book called "Brangelina," about the relationship between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie that supposedly drops some bombshells. In true ONTD fashion, though, there were a lot of completely ridiculous statements thrown out there, my favorite being, "Jolie would lick Pitt's asshole - that's why he left his wife." Now, don't get me wrong, I have had some very positive experiences both giving and receiving analingus, but I wouldn't necessarily think of that as reason enough to leave your marriage. As far as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie go, I am not particular fans of either one of them. I don't really enjoy much of their work and don't find them particularly interesting, but there is one person involved in their whole media image that I absolutely love: Jennifer Aniston. Jennifer Aniston is one of my favorite actresses and one of my personal idols. There was even a whole page dedicated to her in my attempt at a wish book, (a scrapbook of things that I hope to accomplish in my life,) because I feel that she exemplifies, in may ways, the type of person I aspire to be. I also feel extremely bad for her nowadays, though, because she is a major star, (despite not having ever really had a very successful film and not having really made an impact, creatively, since "Friends" ended,) but people seem to cast her talent and her abilities aside and just view her as this sort of desperate woman, based on the endless tabloid tales of her never long-lasting relationships with famous men. It is a shame because she is really an exceptionally talented actress, particularly in the realm of comedy, but she never seems to get credit for that. I just think she, as a person and a persona, is a very strong example of strength, faith, positivity, humility, kindness, humbleness and humor. For these reasons, and many more, she is one of my personal idols. One of only two, in fact, (the other being Mandy Moore.) This post on Oh No They Didn't wasn't really concerning Jennifer Aniston, though, beyond the fact that the book reveals something that seems really heartbreaking to me: Jennifer Aniston met Angelina Jolie very shortly before she lost her husband to her. Angelina Jolie paid a visit to the set of "Friends" and, if the story is true, met Jennifer. Jennifer told Angelina that Brad was really excited to work with her and that she hoped they had a really good time working together. Imagine how she must feel about that looking back on it now. Aside from all that, though, the whole book sounds like it is essentially this author piecing together a lot of different tabloid stories and creating a book out of them. I tend to be a fan of celebrity biographies, (more often than not, though, I prefer autobiographies,) but this is one that I really don't have much interest in. I'd much rather re-read "Star" by Pamela Anderson.

Speaking of celebrity dramas, though, I suppose I couldn't really discuss celebrity drama that doesn't really interest me without mentioning the biggest scandal of the moment: Tiger Woods. I honestly don't entirely understand why people care so much about this whole thing; he's a golfer, for chrissakes! I find it really fascinating, though, how over the course of a week this whole controversy has escalated to Jon & Kate Gosselin proportions. I suppose it makes sense, though. After all, a year ago Jon & Kate were people of even less interest than Tiger Woods is. It just seems funny because nobody gave a crap about Tiger Woods before all of this came out. At least, not enough people to cause a scandal the size of this one. I just think it says a lot about the direction the entertainment industry is heading. People like Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton haven't caused a controversy of this proportion in quite some time. It seems that people are looking for less of the "celebrity" type scandals and more "real life" type stories that are sensationalized just as much. This would also explain the prevalence of reality stars being discussed in the blogosphere, which seems much more prominent than stories of actual celebrities lately. I must say, despite the fact that I understand why people enjoy hearing about every day people in sensational ways, I much prefer the world where people want to pick apart actors and musicians and such. It just seems like the natural order of things. It has often been said that celebrities are America's version of royalty, which I completely agree with. I hate to see Joe Schmoe, who happened to be on a show with his 8 children or is really good at one of the least popular sports out there, being raised to such the same status as people who are talented and providing the world with a very important service: Entertainment. I'm sure, a year or two down the road, we will be seeing a return of the ACTUAL celebrity scandal. In the meantime, though, at least we have Mackenzie Phillips. Sure, she hasn't been an ACTUAL celebrity since the 80s but at least she has that, and has one hell of a story to tell. If I were Perez Hilton, or if this were my own blog intended for gossip and such, I would absolutely have to dub that the scandal of the year. That story is completely extreme, although I think her sharing it is actually doing a lot of good in the world. She, crazy as she may seem, is creating a platform for, and giving a voice to, millions of men and women out there who have suffered similar traumas and I definitely think that is a good thing. The whole story, though, of how she spent nearly a decade having sex with her own father, is completely insane. You can't really blame her for being a little off her rocker. I would imagine, all these years later, finally getting that off of her chest must be a massive relief. I can't even begin to imagine what that must be like. After the Mackenzie Phillips interview, Oprah did another episode of her show speaking with other women who had similar experiences and the whole idea is just heartbreaking. It just seems like such an abuse of power and authority and sheer dominance over your own child. It's just wrong, and I am glad somebody is giving a face to people who have suffered such trauma in their lives.

Tonight I also watched the fall finale of the new "Melrose Place." It was kind of bittersweet, really, because this episode was the last for two of my favorite members of the cast, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and Colin Egglesfield. The show also did something that I absolutely hate = they didn't close out storylines for either one of them. Based on my TV watching experience in the past, I know that this generally means that there will be brief mentions of both characters when the show returns in January that don't really provide any closure to those storylines. Despite initial misgivings, I have come to really enjoy the new "Melrose Place." I watched the original series sporadically, but never really followed it like I did "Beverly Hills 90210," but I think this new version is really fun and interesting. As much as the concept for both shows was widely "poo-pooed" by fans and critics alike, I think the CW made a very good decision doing follow-ups on both of these series. I don't think either one of them are going to win a pile of Emmy's or anything, but they are both fun guilty pleasures. It is a shame that Ashlee Simpson-Wentz' character has been written off the show, though, because she was one giant ball of crazy that, for the first four episodes or so, was the only thing keeping me coming back to it. I am keeping my fingers crossed, though, that her departure from the show will inspire a return to making music, though. No matter how entertaining she was on this show, I will take Ashlee as a musician over an actress any day.

On the agenda for tomorrow? Nothing in particular. Work. It is "Glee" night, and I had better cherish it because it is the last new episode airing until April. It is crazy to think about but when "Glee" comes back on the air, I will likely be a few short weeks away from making my big move. Wow. Putting it in those terms makes me realize, while it is a good while away, it isn't THAT long. I have got to get to work on learning to drive immediately. That is something that I really hope to have done before moving. I just feel like it would be best to be a licensed driver before getting to California. Plus, it gives me a major goal to focus on in the time leading up to the move. I have got to start studying that Florida Driver's Manual. I will set aside a little period of time for that tomorrow after work. For now, though, it is almost 12;30am, and if I am going to wake up in time to try for the 7am hour radio contest tomorrow I have got to get to bed. Wish me luck.