::shivers:: Creepy, weird, old guys!

Seriously, I am not sure what it is about men that truly believes that a 21 year old girl would be interest in someone ten or fifteen years their senior. There are only two exceptions, naturally: 1) You must look like a greek god, or 2) You must have enough money to buy anything I ask for. If you are over 30, and you do not fit into either catagory, then please don't hit on me! And especially don't hit on waitresses! It's hard enough that we have to give you all the queso you would ever want. Why do you force us to keep coming back to the table while you make pseudo-sexual comments and watch your eyes roll on down our bodies! You put us in the awkward position of finding some fine line between protecting ourselves and protecting our tip. Bastards!

One Day I'll Get Raped by a Tree.

*Right now I'm sipping my coffee (that my mother bought me for my birthday) that was ground fresh this morning with the coffee grinder (she also bought for my birthday) and all I can say is, "Who wants alcohol for their 21st when they can have fresh ground coffee?"*

My friends have frequently expressed concern about my lack of fear about being broken into, raped, and possibly murdered. Several months ago, Sarah and Cassidy walked right into my apartment and stood behind me as I was bent over drying my hair upside down. I saw them out of the corner of my eye and thought it was my brother and so I didn't respond at all. When I finally flipped my head upright, I saw it was them and was taken aback. They laughed at me, but at the same time they were like, "If we were some freak trying to rape you, you know you'd totally be getting raped right now." Since this day, there has been more evidence that the safety procedures in my apartment are not up to par.

First, I'm sort of weirded out when people knock on my door. We normally leave the apartment unlocked when we are at home and our friends just walk in. My parents came over a couple of times this week, and each time Nick and I looked at the door slightly puzzled when we heard knocking sounds. I think we're the only children in the world disconcerted by the fact that our parents knock on our doors.

Finally, I iron my clothes for work everyday at my sliding glass door in my living room overlooking the little open space next to my apartment. It's a lovely spot and it makes me happy. Just this last Thursday, I was looking out my window when I noticed the leaves that were hanging close to my balcony had writing on them. One said, "Jesi I'm watching U!" and another "Jesi I'm watching you." I was terribly amused and spent the day investigating who had done this. (Not that it took much effort to know who likes writing on things with Sharpies.) After confirming the offender, I wrote him that I was concerned that my powers of observation were weak. I mean, seriously, this tree was stalking me for a week outside the window I look out of everyday and I never noticed. What will I do when another tree starts stalking me more discreetly? I'll never notice! Then it'll walk right through my door while I'm drying my hair upside down and then I'll be screwed. ::sighs:: I definitely need to step up protective measures a notch.

Of Communists and Wife Swapping.

So, I read The Communist Manifesto for the first time this evening. I'm not sure how I managed not to read it for so long, but I've known so much about it through other people, I just never took the time to read it myself. It is entirely as I expected, but I did find several parts of it were quite amusing. I found this section particularly funny:

"For the rest, nothing is more ridiculous than the virtuous indignation of our bourgeois at the community of women which, they pretend, is to be openly and officially established by the Communists. The Communists have no need to introduce free love; it has existed almost from time immemorial.

"Our bourgeois, not content with having wives and daughters of their proletarians at their disposal, not to speak of common prostitutes, take the greatest pleasure in seducing each other's wives. (Ah, those were the days!)

"Bourgeois marriage is, in reality, a system of wives in common and thus, at the most, what the Communists might possibly be reproached with is that they desire to introduce, in substitution for a hypocritically concealed, an openly legalized system of free love."

I love it: Bourgeois Marriage - a system of wives in common. I even love the "Ah, those were the days!" To think, I only have to marry one Bourgeois and then I get the hook up to a whole range of men! Man, we capitalists sure know how to have fun.

21st Birthday.

So, in less than 12 hours, I will be able to legally consume alcohol. It's a very strange idea to me. My parents would allow me to drink with them when I turned 18 and they would offer me a beer or a glass of wine. I was always very careful never to get drunk. This semester, however, my friends deviously schemed to get me wasted. I threw my very first party at my apartment and I was too distracted by hosting and meeting new people that I didn't notice everyone kept giving me drinks. Since then I have been drunk 2 or 3 more times, and found it to not be fun, really. So here it is, just before my birthday, and all my friends want to through a party for me. Here are my birthday presents:

Cassidy, David, and Caleb: Rum, Whiskey, and Vodka with a collection of mixers for the party.
Sarah: Hookah Tobacco.
Kelly: Flavored Cigarettes.
Andrew: Blush White Zin.
Evan: Champagne.
Josh: Chocolate Cigar.

Seriously, what a collection of adult substances. They want to buy me condoms, to complete the collection, but I informed them that would just be a waste of money. But, I feel horrible, because within the last couple of weeks I've decided to return to my old days of moderation. I'm slowing down the drinking to made one or two drinks a night. I only smoke once every few weeks, and when I do smoke, I try to choose only one smoking option (Hookah or Cigarettes or Cigars or Pipe) and now I have enough tobacco to last me until Christmas at least! So, last night at the 21st birthday party I was neither drunk nor buzzed. I had so much fun and was happy to wake up this morning feeling tired, but not hung over. I was so glad so many people were able to make it (like 20 to 25 people!) and we all just hung out, while I remained quite sober.

What will I do on my actual 21 birthday (the 10th)? I will go out with my parents (they're going to buy me an Italian Margarita), maybe watch a movie, and then I'm going to sleep. And somehow, that sounds like the best way to celebrate my birthday.

One Dark Film and One Light Film.

A dear friend of mine left a comment asking me to give 3 reasons to see "Requiem for a Dream." I loved this movie and so I decided to leave an entire post on this subject. These are the three reasons I give anyone so see good films:

1. A good point.
2. Strong characters and plot.
3. Complementary images and sound.

"Requiem for a Dream" not only slides through on these three points, it masters them. It starts with a excellent point: drugs destroy lives. The plot moves smoothly draws this point out in the lives of four central characters, all very believable and interesting. The sound and images match the story flawlessly. I think this film is probably one the best examples of correctly matching images and sound to the story. I really believe that I could watch this film with on the music and the images and still think that it was excellent.

Without a doubt, it is an extremely powerfully movie and one you are not likely to forget. It is definitely in my Top 10 Most Depressing Films, but I will defer to my good friend James, who said the movie made him happy. When I asked him why, he said, "Because I choose not to do drugs." So, there you go. I think everyone should see this movie once. It is a movie for adults: extreme sexual content, rampant drug use, and frightening images. However, if you are in the mood for a challenging film, you should absolutely take the time to watch "Requiem."

On a side note, I just watched the movie "Goodbye Lenin!" and it was a wonderful movie. It was considerably lighter and happier than "Requiem." If you dig foreign films, this is a good one to pick up. Not nearly as great as "Requiem," but well worth the time watching it.