It's a warm, sunny Sunday here at my apartment. I have the windows open, and Grace is sticking her snoot under the curtains and out the window, breathing it all in. In the distance, I can hear the chords of the Tall Stack whistles every now and then. I'm listening to The Doves and Coldplay, and now some opera. Could life be any better?

Well, well. My weekend activities snapped me back from a vaguely hostile funk (see last few blogentries). On Friday, D and I went to see "Lost in Translation" at the Esquire. I'm not generally a Bill Murray fan, but man he was excellent in this. Scarlett Johannson was great, too. I really enjoyed it, but as we were leaving, I was surprised to see D holding back tears: He said the two characters had no roots, and only connected briefly before blowing their separate ways with no direction. But the experience was a good one and, at least for Scarlett's character, made her a stronger person, didn't you agree? Well, I think D's a much more sensitive person than he might let on, more of an idealistic romantic. Silly boy! Not that I held a misanthropic view of the movie -- I thought it was a great story. Rather, I thought it was "realistic": People meet, people connect (sometimes briefly) and then go on their ways. It's not good or bad, it just happens. (And in this movie, I think the connection was "good." I might go see it again.)

Last night, C, D & I drove up to a Dayton party, the guests all know each other through a loose connection with BIPC. A lot of my favorite work people were there, including KL. She's always a little out of water at these events, since this crowd is not a suburban meat n potatoes crowd. It was a Tiki party, meaning the guys wore hawaiian shirts and the women wore muu-muus (ha ha ha!). I borrowed a straw polynesian hat from C. The host had tiki torches, and I joked that whether or not the hat got caught in the torch, I might burst into flames. (aah ha ha haaaaa.)

Three newly-hooked couples were there. They looked so happy, it's a mental snapshot that I want to remember. B met his friend J on vacation, and even though his divorce hasn't finalized, they are hitting it off pretty well. I really like J: She's funny and down-to-earth. T and M both work at BIPC, and he was kind of hyper before they started dating: She's really calmed him down. Finally, D brought his new friend D, someone who he met on-line and who lives in Dayton. I'd never met him before, and gosh I hope it works out. D wants a boyfriend and this guy seems decent and likeable and, at least last night, really into D. So, love was in the air. And hope is renewed.

This morning, I finished reading Ann Patchett's Bel Canto. I was having trouble in the middle; seemed like it took forever. It won the Faulkner Award, but I hadn't seen what made it so great. It really picked up at the end, but I'm not now sure if I liked the reasons why. If you plan on reading the book, then pretend I didn't tell you ... The characters in the book start falling in love with each other and then -- in the very last pages -- they're all gunned down. Just like that. In a way, I'm irritated: True Love can't last seems to be the message. Kind of a cop-out because the reader will remember and sentimentalize the love that takes up the middle of the book (see the reviews in the link, for example). I would have thought it an optimistic book, but now I think it's not so bright.

When I called D today to gossip, he said: What did you expect? They're all taken *hostage*, how did you think it would end? True. But it's also a work of *fiction* and the author could have chosen a different route. The plot and character choices she made here reflect a state of mind that sends a message. Because I disagree that "true love can never last", perhaps there's still some hope for me yet...!

Even though I'm preoccupied with the Dayton move and have taken myself off the dating market, I'm (suddenly?) a little more optimistic: The movie, the party, and my reaction to this book have me wondering about possibilities. I wonder if D's new friend has any available friends? hee hee.

Well, the music has ended and I'm going to see if I can slog through traffic to catch a glimpse of Tall Stacks before they toot out...

Cheers.