Lazy Saturday

Before I get into today’s nuggets of wisdom I must first give credit where credit is due. First off, to my friend Kate whose own blog detailing a day off from work was an inspiration to me. Second, a tip of the hat to SNL’s Lazy Sunday film which inspired today’s title and some of my Saturday activities.

6:57AM- Woke up for first time. Made mental check to make sure it was not a weekday, closed eyes and fell back to sleep.

9:20AM- Woke up for good. Only about 7 hours of sleep, which for a Saturday seems awfully short. Grab blanket and a vitamin water and hit the couch. I’ve got 3 Netflix rentals to choose from so while deciding on that, I watch VH1’s Best Week Ever which I recorded from the night before. You know when I first heard of a weekly best of show I thought it was disgusting. Surely, we don’t need a show recapping the week in pop culture complete with humorous observations while the memories are still fresh in our minds? Considering I’m now doing roughly the same thing, I’ve obviously come around on the idea. Plus the show keeps me informed on the stuff I miss or choose to miss like American Idol.

9:50AM- Decide I’m hungry so I to heat up some leftovers from dinner the night before. Last night is the first time I’ve ever used a recipe from the back of a jar or box. Made a perogies casserole by taking the Russian potato dumplings and layering them with broccoli, red peppers, béchamel sauce and some cheese and I must admit it turned out great. Anyway, it’s almost ten so an early lunch or brunch is appropriate.

9:54AM- Enjoying leftovers and decide to pop in The Chronicles of Narnia. I read the books as a kid and fondly remember a stage production I saw at the Children’s Theater of Minneapolis and neither time do I remember noticing Christian overtones. This time I’m looking for them.

10:30AM-About 30 minutes in the disc skips and I decide to have another serving of leftovers. I usually eat one big meal a day so I guess today it will be brunch. Take the disc out and try cleaning it with my t shirt. Try playing and again it skips. How could a DVD that’s only been in circulation for a month already be this dinged up? This time I try the old Nintendo strategy of blowing into the DVD slot on my player and lo and behold it works. The movie is good so far and the kids are excellent especially the ones that play Peter and Lucy.

12:15PM- The movie finishes up and I’m really pleased. Good flick that does a nice job of balancing all the special effects with the story. Still confused about the Jesus stuff. Is the lion Jesus? On the pro side, he does sacrifice himself for his followers and then is resurrected. On the con side, I don’t remember Jesus getting shaved before he was crucified. Is the witch Jesus? On the pro side, she does seem to be powerful and can turn snow into tea which is pretty close to water turned to wine. On the con side, she is pretty evil so unless the message is, “aren’t you glad Jesus is good because look at how badass he’d be if he was evil,” I don’t think that works. Is the wardrobe Jesus? On the pro side, it does open up a new world where moral choices are black and white and only those who are true survive. On the con side, it’s an inanimate object. Color me stupid I just don’t see the overtones and usually I’m the first one to jump on that bandwagon.

12:45PM- After surfing channels and posting Saturday’s blog, I decide to watch DVD #2 from Netflix, Woody Allen’s Match Point. While not a fan per se, I’ve enjoyed some of his movies a great deal particularly Crimes and Misdemeanors. Which, by the way, is not a good first date movie especially when you’re a freshman in high school. Anyway Match Point starts out really strong, I’m loving the cast, especially Scarlet who’s stealing the show.

2:30PM- The movie ends and I’m a feeling a little down. While it’s clearly the best Allen film I’ve seen in some time, it really drags on in the last act. You know where it’s going and so does the main character but it takes an excruciating amount of time to get there. Still a thumbs up but now I’m feeling movied out. Still have Shopgirl with Steve Martin but got a feeling that’s going to be a downer too so instead decide to read conspiracy book which is always an upper. I’m still working on my book after a month which is just sad but with May sweeps on TV and the start of the summer movie season I must admit reading has taken a back seat. Still on 200 pages to go, so I give it the old college try.

3:30PM- Found a good stopping point in the book as I figure I should probably go outside of my apartment and maybe wear some clothes other then my pjs. Head out with no plan other then picking up a blackberry green tea frappuccino from Starbucks.

4:00PM- Find myself at Barnes and Noble. With DaVinci opening this weekend their Dan Brown table seems to take up half the store. I spy Holy Blood, Holy Grail which provides much of the foundation for Brown’s novel and think about rereading it. Decide against it after I remember my friend just told me he bought it a couple of days ago and I’m first in line to borrow it. End up buying the graphic novel Watchmen by Alan Moore. Somehow I’ve managed not to read what many call the definitive graphic novel of all time despite my long time involvement in the comic book world.

4:20PM- Arrive at Starbucks and to my dismay am greeted by signs for a banana crème frappuccino. I shuffle up to my favorite weekend barista with my charm turned up to a ten and ask where the green tea is? Apparently it was only a seasonal thing and now it’s all about bananas. I’m so flummoxed by the news that I order some random drink and forget to keep up my end of the customer/barista flirting dance.

4:40PM- Arrive home with what I’ve deduced is a vanilla light frappuchino that tastes neither light nor like vanilla. I grab some cookies I baked from the night before and return to the couch. Before I left I set the DVR for the Belmont to see if Barbaro can take another step towards the Triple Crown. I turn it on and am subjected to 40 minutes of human/horse interest stories. Who watches all this filler? Not me, thank god for DVR. It amazes me that the race itself is only a couple of minutes yet NBC manages to book over an hour and a half of TV time.

5:10PM- Here we go the horses are getting ready. Wow, Maryland’s state song is really bad. Come to think of it besides Indiana and Kentucky are there any other recognizable state songs?

5:15PM- Oooh that sucks for Barbaro. It’s one thing to lose but another thing for you to break your leg. Its like watching the play were Bo Jackson pulled up lame thus ending his football career only this time it’s a horse.

5:30PM- NBC just basically forced the vet to say this is a life threatening injury. Now they’re positioning their aerial cameras to spy on the goings on. Not good TV but I guess they have to try to sensationalize it now that there’s no drama going into the Preakness.

6:00PM- More reading or Shopgirl? I’ll stick to reading and turn on the Brewers/Twins game in the background. Heck let’s go for the trifecta and turn on my iPod, mute the TV, and read.

7:00PM- Turn off the iPod and turn on yet another DaVinci code special on the History Channel. This one’s about trying to find Middle Eastern DNA in the bones of a Merogovian queen. While the DaVinci code is fiction many of the facts used in the book come from confirmed research so it’s always frustrating to watch these specials that basically throw aside all the theories as junk. This one is apparently a part of a regular series called Digging for the Truth and features a massive tool as the host. He’s clearly going for the Indiana Jones vibe but comes off more like a Food Channel host. I continue reading while he babbles.

9:00PM- Finish my book, grab some more cookies and turn on The Ultimate Fighter 3 on Spike TV. I’ve found myself roped into yet another reality show. Despite my love of pro wrestling I’ve never watched much UFC but this show is pretty captivating. I don’t think I’ll run out and buy any pay per views but I do have a better appreciation for the sport and the athletes. The show has all the reality trappings; contestants on two teams, all living in the same house, etc. The only difference here is that whoever gets their arse kicked ends up going home.

10:00PM- Start reading Watchmen while watching another History Channel special, this one on the Knights Templar. Much better then the previous one and a nice companion piece to the book I just finished. Even mentioned some things I had never heard/read like the money pit in Nova Scotia. Apparently its one of the many possible Templar landing sites in North America that predate Columbus. An intricate tunnel that could lead to treasure was built in the ground and has still not been properly excavated after over three centuries of trying and various booby traps.

11:30PM- Put all books away, grab some scotch and decide to watch season finale of SNL. Saw a new Falconer skit and was tempted to pick up the phone and call some people. (You know who you are.) Overall a pretty uneven show like most of the ones this year. When did Nelly Furtado become a pop whore? It works for her; the new song with Timberland is catchy. Thought Tina Fey would get a bigger send off but given how the news has suffered in the last year I’m kind of glad to see her go on to bigger and better things.

1:00AM- All out of Scotch and nothing to watch so time to call it a day. Put on a little Damian Rice and doze off thinking of what a lazy day it’s been.