Lobster land

Puppy, DJ Mother Nature and I headed up to Reebs's Maine summer home today for some beaching and feasting! We got a very early start, packed up the car and headed out of the city.

Upon arrival, we immediately headed to the beach and baked our bodies - a bit too much for my pasty self since I now am a bright tomato red. Just like a lobster!

And since we were in Maine, I had to have a lobster roll for lunch (yum!) and we all had lobsters for dinner. It was the first time for DJ Mother Nature, a former vegetarian, to actually crack open a lobster with his hands, so it was fun inaugurating him into the world of de-shelling crustaceans.

And to cap it all off, we roasted marshmallows around a fire and had s'mores for dessert! It was a perfect summer Maine day.

Dinner with the boss lady

My boss from my last job was in town for a conference, so we met up for dinner last night. We headed to a nice French bistro, we got some wine and she took my recommendation to order the delish mussels.

Even though she's only a few years older than me, working together created a hierarchical dynamic that defined how we interacted. But now that I no longer report to her, it was more like dinner with a peer where we were catching up.

But when she asked me about my new job, I didn't want to come across as too happy in my new position even though I'm much happier in my current job. In any case, it was nice having my old company pay for my meal!

Movie note: Panic Room

FOUR STARS

Well, Kristen Stewart's "acting" skills seem to have deteriorated over time. And it wasn't a very high bar to begin with.

Level failed

In recent days, I've become quite addicted to playing Angry Birds on Puppy's iPad. It's such a waste of time, but I simply cannot stop playing it. Furthermore, like Words With Friends, I'm not very good at the game, but it takes up way too much of my time.

Movie note: Tron

THREE STARS

Wow. Special effects sure have come a long way in the past three decades! Was there a plot? A point? Why did I love this movie so much as a cub?

Show me your teeth

One of the worst parts about moving is having to find a new dentist. In all my years of oral hygiene, the best dentist I ever had was the one I found in Washington, DC. He was the dentist to almost everyone in my company, and when I referred a new employee to him, she returned exclaiming that she wanted to marry him because of his kind demeanor, gentle touch, professionalism and easiness on the eyes.

In any case, I went to see a new dentist yesterday, at the super-positive recommendation of a co-worker. I thought I'd scheduled a routine examination and cleaning, but instead spent over an hour in the chair as the dentist (who was nothing special) counted and took pictures of my teeth while I pulled my lips apart with lip separators (something I'd never had to do before in my life). Then, the assistant took a billion x-rays before sending me to the front desk ... to schedule a cleaning!

The receptionist informed me that the next available appointment would be at the end of September, but I let her know she was acting like an idiot with that suggestion, so I'm going back tomorrow morning.

Movie note: Hard Candy

THREE STARS

I daresay the director of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse made a pretty-looking film, even if it was pretty disturbing. Little Ellen Page did a good job of looking like a baby lesbian.

Movie note: The Hangover

THREE STARS

Another movie that further reinforces my dislike of Vegas. More Wayne Newton would have been nice.

Movie note: Frank Herbert's Dune

ONE STAR

The last three hours of this mini-series were so boring! This is not an improvement over the David Lynch movie, which I thought was a mediocre adaptation of a good book in the first place.

Chin-jured

For the past few weeks, I've been suffering from a little deformity on my chin - a little something I've referred to as my "chin cancer." In reality, I believe it's a wart, but I'm no doctor, so I can't be sure.

This morning, I finally went to visit the dermatologist to deal with the situation. And to be cautious, she decided to scrape it off my face and send it to "the lab" for testing.

First of all, why I had to get completely undressed and wear a hospital gown in order to fix a blemish on my chin is beyond me. Something about being a first-time patient. Whatevs.

After excising the chin cancer, she applied a few gauze pads and taped up my chin, with instructions to remove it 30 minutes later. As I walked home, people naturally stared at my chin, and the folks at Starbucks did a pretty good job of acting extra-chipper and pretending I didn't have a big white blob of gauze stuck to my lower jaw. It was especially cute trying to talk with my mouth numb from the anasthesia, too!

When I got home, I realized the blood had soaked through the gauze, so I looked like a diseased freak. And now that more than 30 minutes has passed, I decided to remove the gauze and the former location of my chin cancer has started gushing blood. Like Niagara Falls-style.

Following the doctor's orders, I put a band-aid on the spot, but that was soaked through within seconds and dripping all around the pad. I soaked through several sheets of paper towel and now I have applied a huge bandage, suitable for a scraped knee, on my lower jaw. It seems to be doing the trick, but I think it's making the cats nervous.

Dress for success

When I was a senior in high school, I was voted "best dressed" by my fellow classmates. I'm not sure why, since my attire leaned toward Birkenstocks and untucked plaid flannel shirts - some sort of weird hippie/grunge style that really was more about comfort. I think it had to do with the multitude of clothing I had, not necessarily my style.

Since beginning work for my current company - a self-purported "fashion" company for women - a few months ago, I've had several conversations about appropriate workplace and event attire. Our policy states that we're "casual," and men in the office generally lean toward faded jeans and shapeless polo shirts. Women in the office are typically a little tidier in their appearance, but they can take advantage of the merchandise discount we get with our company's products.

While traveling around the Mediterranean a few weeks ago, I was admonished for being too casually dressed on our first day, so I spent the better part of that trip wearing the same pair of pants: the only pair of non-jeans I'd brought with me. And today, I received a message from our Chief Supply Chain Officer that I should remember to wear a suit to an upcoming event where I'll be representing the company.

So, in the past few weeks, I've been a bit more mindful of my sartorial choices each morning. I've been trying to balance the prevalent casual look with the elevated expectations of our executives. Basically, I've been trying to dress neatly without looking like I try too hard.

Today, since I'm scheduled for my first meeting with our CEO, I've dressed it up a bit, opting for a nice tie to accompany my dark jeans and woven shirt. I've been at the office for about three hours and I've definitely noticed a difference. In the hallways, people approach me differently and greet me as if I'm important. Several of my peers in my department have wondered jokingly why I was "dressed up." Someone called me "sir."

All this fuss makes me feel uncomfortable and I am starting to stress out about how I dress at a company with a casual dress code! But if I have to "improve" my attire to avoid awkward conversations about my clothing - and if it furthers my chances of making a bit more cash-money, I guess I'll do it!

Wordly wise

When Selives visited the other weekend, he introduced me to a little phone game called Words with Friends. I'm now completely hooked and I have games going on with Selives, Puppy, Blanca nad Roommates A&J.

I've also learned that "helio," "ki" and "qi" are words in someone's English dictionary. I've enjoyed playing this game and feeling like I can participate in something with friends who are far away, but I do hate losing.

Corporate perks

Yesterday, Puppy received through his work dealings ... an iPad! The best thing I've ever received through my work was a blanket. One that I am supposed to return because its cashmere-ness exceeds the amount we're allowed to accept when it comes to gifts.

Movie note: Blade Runner

FOUR STARS

I can see how this movie has influenced many things in my pop-culture lexicon from Battlestar Galactica to Britney Spears's video for "I'm a Slave 4 U."

Watch what happens

Every once in a while, I catch Andy Cohen's Bravo talk show, Watch What Happens. It typically features one or two of the "Real Housewives" famewhores, but occasionally features a legitimate star like Liam Neeson, Sarah Jessica Parker or Jackie Collins.

Last night, I watched an episode from Monday and it struck me that the entire show feels like a skit from SNL and Andy Cohen is like a 13-year-old girl hosting a public-access cable show from her bedroom. Andy's random odes to soccer hunks and lambasting of things like the sun make for pretty inane conversation, but I still find it pretty amusing. I love that he's free to act silly and talk about stupid things.

Sharp as a...

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I have got to stop drinking on days/nights before I work. My poor brain simply does not function as well and I fear my reputation is beginning to be tarnished by the jibberish that comes out of my mouth.

Sargent Meatball's marauders

On his way home from a week in Provincetown, Selives decided to stay with us in Boston for the weekend. It was great having a good friend in town and it gave me an excuse to plan some fun meals and activities.

Besides introducing Selives to the bar scene, eating decadent meals and shopping, we decided to do a famous Boston Duck Tour yesterday. For 90 minutes, you ride in an amphibious vehicle with a bunch of other tourists and learn about the city's history and monuments.

Our tour operator called himself "Sargeant Meatball" and showed up wearing a camouflage utilikilt and a Hawaiian shirt. He started off down the road and pointed out things of interest on the right and left of the vehicle, while giving a detailed account of how Puritans were responsible for everything Boston has to offer and describing how Boston introduced the "first" this or boasts the "best" that.

But Sargeant Meatball's brain must have been minorly fried from the recent hot weather because he would repeat entire stories, verbatim, within minutes of telling the story the first time. It was really odd and you could tell that he was on auto-pilot, with the script running through his brain.

Mental breakdown aside, it was a pleasant tour and even though it was gimmicky, it was fun to drive into the Charles River and float around a bit. I learned some interesting city trivia and would recommend the Duck Tour to any tourist coming through Boston.

Enabler

The attendant on our train just stood up and started singing "Kiss" by Prince, then stopped and announced, "Y'all are too mellow in this car. You need to get boozed up so that we can conversate and have some fun! I know it ain't Friday, but let's show a little more energy, people!"

$alad

I've spent the last 30 hours or so in New York for work and I do love the city, but it's murder on my bank account. How in the world did yesterday's lunch, consisting of a chopped salad and a bottle of water, end up costing $16? Ridiculous.

Scorch of July

Had it not been for our air conditioner units, I think the cats would be dead. It's been an unbearably hot few days - a summer heat wave on the East Coast - and it's pretty much impossible to spend much time outside. Coming to Boston, I was looking forward to summer nights where no jacket is required (unlike San Francisco), but the days have made me melt!

I'm on a train, heading to New York for work, and we passed by some beaches about two hours ago (I think we were in Rhode Island.). Already, before 9am, people were laying down their beach towels and getting ready for a day at the beach! I guess this is probably the only hour where sunbathing is possible because I'm sure it'll be disgustingly hot at noon.

Movie note: Ponyo

TWO STARS

The people who dreamed up this film must have been on some strong drugs!

Foolish fireworks

I'm all for celebrating on the 4th of July, but I think fireworks displays should be left to the professionals. On our way home from dinner last night, I noticed many people in our neighborhood launching fireworks from hand-held devices. These were people on the sidewalks, on doorsteps and just hanging around outside. They shot fireworks up into the sky, bursting over busy city streets or other passers-by. I try not to be a curmudgeon, but this seemed blatantly illegal and simply unsafe!

I secretly hope some of those hooligans injured themselves. Kids these days!

Movie note: A Single Man

FIVE STARS

What a pretty film! Sad and happy.

Movie note: Invictus

FOUR STARS

Rugby and race relations!

Movie note: It's Complicated

FOUR STARS

Old people love is cute!

I want your ugly, I want your disease

For Puppy's birthday, we went to see Lady Gaga last night. This tour, unlike her last, was in arenas, with tons more fans. And strangely, the audience for this tour seemed filled with little teenyboppers and I felt like the oldest non-parent in the audience.

Like the last time, Lady Gaga put on a very good show, but it didn't seem quite as creative as the last tour. She didn't re-interpret any of her songs and the whole production seemed more like a scripted show than a from-the-heart expression of emotion.

Nevertheless, it was a good time and a fun show.

Burning up

During a meeting this morning, a colleague started to fan herself with a catalog that was lying on the conference table. She announced to the rest of us, "Don't worry, it's not warm in here. I'm just having a hot flash!" That was a first for me.