Stanford and the City

A handful of girls and a couple of guys got together last night to watch SATC.  I'm not going to give anything away, VU, so you don't have to turn away. This was that rare occasion when I actually see a movie in the theater, while it's still fairly current.  I went, not because I was expecting it to be "big screen worthy," i.e. full of special effects or landscape shots, but because I liked the idea of being caught up in the cultural moment.  I missed the show while it was on TV (behind the curve, also didn't have fancy cable), and caught up largely by borrowing DVDs from the Palo Alto library, that summer two years when I was "on sabbatical."  So I didn't even see the seasons in order, and still have a lot of plot holes.  I also went because I feel like my life here in the Silicon Valley is lacking somewhat in friends of the female persuasion.  So I'm trying to be more friendly with the ladies.

I settled into my seat at the last minute, having climbed over two women of a certain age who were now next to me.  After the lights went down, I heard one of them sniffing and crying over the previews.  And as the title screens came up, I heard a *crinkle, crinkle* and smelled a waft of chocolate.  I looked over to see her cuddling a big bag of chocolate covered pretzels.  I smiled, and was glad to see that I was about to enjoy this cultural moment alongside its precise target audience.  (They gave it two thumbs up.) 

In other news, I've been meaning to start swimming again each day this week, and haven't, because each day I've also intended to introduce myself to a partner who just joined our firm in the hopes of getting work from him.  This is a conflict, because I wanted to make a professional first impression, which in my book means a suit and heels and full face of makeup.  Full makeup, however, makes lunch time swimming impossible, because of the mascara running and so forth.  No way am I bringing remover.  (What's my problem?)  So I've been getting all gussied up, but each time I go by his office, he's never in. 

So today it's Friday, and most of the people at the movie last night knew one another via Stanford Masters swimming (it's how I knew the people I knew), and basically convinced me I really need to get back there.  So I threw up my hands re the new partner, dressed in a firm T-shirt and jeans this morning - and at lunchtime, I went to the pool!  And it was great.

All of the coaches are great, but Tim is my particular favorite, for the simple reason that he starts each practice with a joke.  He has a new joke every day.  Maybe as part of my (still in development) get-fit scheme I should share with you the joke, so that you can keep tabs on whether I attended.

A USC student walks into the library, and says, "I'd like a hamburger please."

The librarian says, "I beg your pardon?"

The USC student says, "I'D LIKE A HAMBURGER PLEASE."

The librarian says, "I'm sorry, but this is a library."

The USC student says, "Oh."  He cups his hands around his mouth, and whispers,

"I'd like a hamburger please."

I laughed.  I always laugh.  He usually gets groans or stony silence, and this time he justified the lack of reaction by saying the joke was ruined by the helicopter going overhead.  I suspect part of the distraction may actually have been the very attractive athlete behind Tim who was removing his Speedo, under the limited coverage of a rather short towel.  The guy in question was obviously unself-conscious; it was pretty clear that he was changing right there mainly so he could hear the joke.

Anyway, it seemed somehow apropros that there was a half naked man decorating my SATC-inspired return to the pool.  For his own part, Tim greeted my return warmly, and said he thought maybe I'd "moved abroad."  Yeah, I get it, it's been awhile.

I didn't bother with makeup afterwards, since it wouldn't do much to combat the deep rings my goggles leave around my eyes for four or five hours, and it seems I forgot to bring a hair brush to the pool, so I'm a wet, tangled, blotchy mess.  Oh, and I forgot deoderant.  On the upside, I finally met that new partner. 

Comments

[Vaguely Urban]

Worth it for the towel change, right?