Celeb sighting: Charisma uniqueness nerve and talent

On the Sunday of a three-day weekend, I kind of expect for things to be, you know, going on. Typically there's all sorts of city-type rejoicing and people out and about celebrating the fact that they can get drunk and not go to work the next day.

Well, Boston doesn't seem like that sort of town. At least, not from what I've seen (and I admit that I'm not "in the know"). Last night, Puppy and I went to the local bar (totes empty), downed a couple of drinks, then went to an advertised weekly night called "Hot Mess." Puppy led me a few blocks away and we arrived ... at a Courtyard Marriott.

Skeptical, I went in with pretty low expectations, and we descended a few flights to the basement level, which was rather stylishly appointed (but it still felt like the basement of a Courtyard Marriott) and quickly filled with people of all shapes and sizes. And I do mean all sizes!

The DJs played fun mash-ups (and one dared to play "Money Can't Buy You Class" by the Countess LuAnn DeLesseps from the Real Housewives of New York) and people all let loose. I was sort of mesmerized by a petite fellow with a very defined body because he seemed to be of indeterminate age. While his body looked like that of a young twenty-something, his face may have belonged to a fifty-year-old. And with his Guy Fiyeri/Zac Efron hairdo and raggedy goatee, it really was tough to tell.

But bopping around the crowd was Mystique from the most recent season of RuPaul's Drag Race. She was a large lady with quite the entourage. She didn't seem at all happy to be there and I certainly hope she wasn't getting paid much for her "appearance."

I have to say, however, that I think it was my favorite night out thus far, possibly because there was a dancer who had a rubber chicken strapped to his head.

That's not my name

Yesterday, Puppy and I went to a celebratory lunch for Flabs's daughter, who received her Hebrew name in a ceremony the prior evening. I hadn't been to Flabs's parents' house in probably a decade, but it was comforting to see that little had changed, including the family portraiture with creative poses and the maternity series.

Anyhoo, it was a lovely brunch with lots of little kids running around. Flabs and her husband gave their six-week old daughter some kind of lovely name which I cannot remember, pronounce or spell. I had hoped she would receive a name derived from the designer of Flabs's bat mitzvah dress. Something like ... Yessica McClintach!

Movie note: Valentine's Day

TWO STARS

Despite having met two of the actresses in this movie, I still found it convoluted, contrived and corny.

Municipal misery

One thing I hate doing is dealing with local government employees. After two parking tickets, I decided today I needed to brave Boston's City Hall to get a residential parking permit.

Unlike San Francisco's City Hall, which is beautiful, ornate and spacious, Boston's City Hall is a huge, boxy structure from the with an interior that typifies local government: dark and run-down.

I made my way to the "parking clerk" area which had a huge line feeding into four windows where frumpy, grumpy women served Boston's citizens. And like local government employees everywhere, these women did plenty of eye-rolling, sighing and took their sweet time between transactions.

When it was nearly my turn, something happened at one of the windows which required all four women to huddle around the single customer. Something about having two cars or something. Needless to say, it was an ordeal that seemed to take forever, even with the mighty brainpower of all four employees.

Summer hours

I think the best thing about my new company is ... summer hours! Starting today, and ending the Friday before Labor Day, we get to leave work at 1pm. The condition? We have to make up the "extra" four hours sometime during the week.

At the pace we work, this is no problem. Also, I wasn't able to leave until after 2pm today. Still, I'll take it!

It was just Charlie Salinger's dream

It's been a few days since Lost ended its run and I've been pondering the season finale. What if it had ended Newhart-style and featured Matthew Fox, waking up as Charlie Salinger, surrounded by his beloved brothers and sisters from Party of Five? I think I could have been on board for that conclusion, even if it would not have made much sense tonally.

But seriously, did I like the finale? Well, yes and no. I appreciated seeing characters from throughout the season and I liked the emotional closure the episode gave to each.

However, I think some fundamental questions remain unanswered, and this is a cop-out. If you're going to ask us to follow along as your characters skip ahead in time, back in time, and into some other parallel universe, I want to understand some basic mechanics of the island that's creating all this! And I just did not like the whole "put a cork in it" approach to resolving the good vs. evil issue.

Walk on the wild side

Lest you think that our housewarming party was all dullsville, I'm pleased to report that the party also featured:

1. A guest who exposed her breast
2. A guest who exposed her vagina
3. A guest who was armed with a handgun

But to be fair, guest 1 was breastfeeding guest 2, who needed a diaper change. Guest 3 is a friend who works as a Boston police officer and swung by on his lunch break. Still, it was kind of weird to have a man in full police uniform at the party, with the requisite gun and handcuffs!