#11. Cast Away

Since we are already in Tom Hanks mode, let me tell you about Chuck. Chuck Norris that is. This is Chuck.

Chuck has become my Wilson. Ok so he isn't a ball but he is my inanimate object friend. Chuck was a gift from my friend Clare, he currently resides on my mantle.

I moved to San Francisco in January, with my friend from U of A. I was living in Pennsylvania and he was living in Phoenix, after living here briefly with his girlfriend. I told him I was moving here for school and he started looking for a job, he couldn't wait to live here, he loved it.

So in January we arrived in SF. By May I was living alone. He neglected to tell me the reason he moved here was to get his girlfriend back, he succedded in doing so, and they got their own place. I cant really complain, our small apartment now only has me in it, and he is still paying half the rent. But its lonely sometimes, thats where Chuck comes in.

Chuck is my Wilson. My buddy, my pal, my confidant. But unlike Wilson, I cant throw Chuck out to sea when I'm mad.

#10. The Money Pit

I love Tom Hanks. Love everything about him. Love everything he has ever acted in, directed, produced or had anything to do with. But if I had to pick a favorite it might be (might, there are too many to pick from!) The Money Pit. I just recently reaquired it (my copy was stolen when my house was burgalarized in August) and have probably watched it atleast three times the past week, my parents on the otherhand have been living it.

My parents are on their fourth home in six years. This newest home is the Money Pit. Its beautiful, from the outside... Now I was only inside briefly, because when I was home the people living there had not yet moved out, and from what I saw it look good, if a little dated.

But I guess my observations were wrong, because from what I hear, now that renovations have begun things are going kinda like this...


I just hope this is the last move.

#9. Forget Paris

On a recent trip back home, I had the opportunity to spend some QT with my dad. I had not seen him or the rest of my family and friends for six months. But since his work schedule is hectic, he was one of the last people I spent time with. We planned our day visiting my parents new house (see next blog for more about that!) and my nintey six year old Grandma in her nursing home. We set off for the new abode first.

To get to the new place, we needed to drive through a business district poplulated by restaurants, car dealerships, and strip malls. When we turned onto the main drag I heard my dad say, "Red Lobster." To which I responded, "What?" He then said, "Mattress Factory." Again I asked, "What?" And this continued, until my dad finally pointed to the business signs. I then realized he wasn't having a stroke, but he was reading the signs out loud. I have no idea what made him do this, but all I could think of was Billy Crystal and William Hickey going through the exact same scene in Forget Paris...

#8. Saving Silverman

Ok, I love this movie. I think it is HILARIOUS, even Jack Black (who I am not a huge of) is funny. This posts moment relates to the scene where Judith goes to meet Darren's best friends Wayne and J.D.

Upon arrival and after a brief tour of the house, Wayne and J.D. sit down to enjoy some Sunday afternoon football with all the fixin's...yes that means nachos. J.D. (Jack Black) reaches for a nacho, but gets half of the plate because the cheese has stuck them together. Seeing this Wayne begins to yell, J.D. replies "Dude, if you get the nachos stuck together, that's, one nacho."

This weekend, while at the local watering hole, my friend and I ordered the nachos, and yep, you got it, I was J.D. this time. Not the most flattering thing to be a woman in bar full of guys with half an order of nachos squished onto a salad plate.

#7. "You had me at 'hello'."

Yes, I had a Jerry Maguire moment.

When I was a freshman in college I experienced love at first sight, thats right, it does happen...

It only took me two years to get him, it lasted a few months and I called it quits. I never regretted anything more, but I was young and stupid, what can I say? But he was never far from my thoughts, so a few years ago I found him on MySpace, we started talking again and have seen each other a few times since. It was going really well when I moved to San Francisco, as he lives in LA, much closer than Pittsburgh.

And then.....I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HAPPENED. We stopped talking as much and grew distant. Things got weird I guess, the actuality of the situation, that we were so close now, must have sunk in...

But this weekend I got a phone call... all I can say is he had me at hello.

#6. PCU

PCU is one my favorite college movies of all time, you cant beat Jeremy Piven and David Spade together.



I used to have the entire film memorized, but those lines have been replaced with more important info, like social security numbers and internet passwords, you know the good stuff. Thought I no longer remember ALL the lines I DO remember the scenes. I recalled one in particular the other night...

The other day I returned home to find my computer unplugged and not running because it exhausted the battery. Instead of the ac cord of my laptop occupuying the socket another plug was in its place, a plug to an extension cord. An "empty" extension cord, apparently plugged in by my roommate and never used. Normally this wouldnt be an issue, but not this time. This time I had left several documents open and unsaved, documents that were due the next day, documents that were all erased. As you can imagine, I was not happy and set forth to find my idiot roomie, thank god I couldn't or I would soliciting bail money from you right now...

This totally reminded me of the scene in PCU when Tom, the potential freshman or pre-fresh, accidentally trips over the massive cord connecting the computers of deadlined senior completing their thesis, deleting them all and sparking a man hunt. Only in my version I wasnt saved by a basement vault housing past papers, I had to do redo all my work. NOT COOL.

#5. Mother.

Have you ever seen the classic Albert Brooks movie "Mother," starring, well Albert Brooks and Debbie Reynolds? It's a story about a man who moves back in with his mother after his third divorce, in order to figure out why he has issues with women. It does not sound as funny as it is, its a typical Brooks dramedy, so it has its moments.



One moment in particular resonated with me this week, the moment where we watch as Debbie Reynolds attempts to speak with her other son (Rob Marrow) on a video phone (I know the video phone is kinda outdated, but Skype is quite the same). In this scene we see from Marrow's POV as Reynolds moves side to side and up and down in front of the video phone screen, never being completly visable. Its hilarious. I lived this last week when my mother decided that Skype was a good idea. It wasn't. It was in fact a terrible idea, and much like the movie, the call ended in frustration. While my mother has figured out her iPhone (after two years), she has yet to figure out the WebCam.

Guess I know what my next trip home is going to entail. Teaching her to text was a poor decision, I think I may have to come up with an excuse in the next few weeks...