We’ll start with Peter Hoeg. So I blasted through his new book, “The Quiet Girl”, which was a joy to read (Peter Hoeg is always a joy to read) until I got to the end. Much like Smilla’s Sense of Snow, The Quiet Girl pulls you by the hand with its suspense and beauty, haunting you with its imagery and humor. And really. Short. Sentences. Only to completely freak out at the end with some utterly nonsensical, overly fantastical, unintelligible ending.

Seriously, what the heck happened at the end of The Quiet Girl? I read the dang thing, and I still have no idea what happened! If Kain wasn’t the monster we were led to believe, how come Klara Maria was hit? And why, then, was M. shot? Honestly, the last 55 pages were completely incomprehensible. I was trying very hard to imagine all the events, in my small little head, but got totally lost with that ending. If you’ve read the book, please post a comment and explain what went on in that weirdo ending.

2. What’s this I hear about an asteroid possibly hitting the earth in 2029? Potentially wiping out a city and/or causing a giant tsunami? If Fox News says it’s true, it must be true! The corporate machine doesn’t sensationalize! Seriously though, um, an asteroid? DD and I will be 51 then. I guess that’s a long enough life.

everything you think you have to be afraid of is
meaningless, really, when you realize that actually,
the only thing you have to fear is death
which itself is only a concentrated bullet of fear
we’ve managed to dodge so far

and on the slick street, in the car,
opportunity spreads its oil like the fossil of orange leaves
waiting to be burned. and we walk, and we walk, and we
crunch the ground in our blue shoes, tips wet, toes bent
without even noticing the chances we’re squishing

and yet

aunt mary was as beautiful as ever in her red room,
in a square room which disappeared when she prayed,
which wasn’t there when she gave thanks and thanks again,
annihilating with it the abyss of fatalism and all the shadows
a nervous family creates when its back is toward the light

and tonight

despite the dust and the good we’ve yet to do,
the air is pungent with what’s been done
which smells delicious. when i remember that none of us
need anything but a blue sky and some pumpkin cheesecake
and in reality have nothing but the desire to be better,
it makes me calmer.

if you didn’t exist, the city would be slightly colder.
the gulls would never survive.

Just wanted to express my glee at beating AT&T in a dispute over $400 in international roaming charges that they had promised I wouldn’t incur…it only took five customer support calls, several disconnections, four failed attempts to send e-complaints, one conversation with a supervisor, and nine threats of taking my case to arbitration. Yay for persistence!

In other news, our 48 Fall Shootout film, Mac’s Quest, is currently being judged by some actual film judges. We find out in early December if we’ve won anything, but in the meantime you can create a non-threatening account on 48.tv and rate our film. Not that that will impact the judges’ decision, but whatever.

It’s freezing in my apartment. No matter how high I turn up the heat, I still feel freezing. And the Savin Hill rats are getting totally out of control: last night, walking from my car to the house, a big fat rat ran out from under a car, dashed across the sidewalk in front of me, slammed into the wall of the liquor store, ran back across the sidewalk and hid under the car until I passed. This whole situation took about 25 seconds, which is a lot of time to stand around if you’re holding a laundry bag, some groceries and other things.

I saw Menino last week, at the PCA press conference. I should have mentioned this rat situation. They’re literally taking over.

“It was the first snow fall, yesterday. I like it in my new, school touchstone….but I hate math. If Kate wern’t a teacher, then she should be a gidence councler. I half to do math with Matt [sad face] and Nick, [sad face], and I hate it. Mrs. Jeneti’s been sick, with Hernia, for about a mounth now. Mr. Jeneti’s senior, seems lonley, and Mr. Jeneti, Junior’s, wife is in the hospital, pregnent!!! Pretty exiting day, huh?!!! We got 5, or 6, inches of snow, and I got a new red sled, firebird, I love it. It goes faster, than any sled I ever had in my life. Except moms…mabye. But hers is 27, years old!!!”

“Dear Diary, it’ 11:25 P.M. and I didn’t do much today, Candice pushed me, and sweared at me, but I don’t care, I’m used to it, she was born mean. Sincerely,
Bonnie”

I think the worst feeling in the world must be having a 22-year-old’s fingernails digging into your upper gums, while attempting to stretch a string of elastic bands across your upper and lower teeth, unsuccessfully, and repeating the endeavor five more times until you almost bite her.

“Two more months,” Doc said again. “No really, I mean it this time — your bite has been corrected, we’re just finishing up here.”

Let’s hope.

Work has been insane. There’s just way too much to do and not enough clones of me to do it. I didn’t even get to eat lunch today, although I’ve pretty much been living off of adrenaline the past few days.

On my laundry list of things to do: edit GHRE’s promo video as soon as possible (or over Thanksgiving), drive to Phila, move to Germany, start a company, make another TP film and submit it to SXSW and The Hamptons Film Fest, meet some family members who shall remain unnamed, go back to southern Thailand, visit PW in Peru, learn ICT4D, learn German/Spanish/Burmese/Italian, sign up for a membership at Upham’s Corner Boxing, start training to beat last year’s awesome-but-not-awesome-enough time of 28:18 in the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day 5K Race, write an op-ed on the Burmese refugee situation in Thailand for the Boston Globe with DD, complete with photos, buy my aunt some flowers, start leaving work at a respectable hour, eat a chicken salad shortie at Wawa’s as soon as I get there, get into MIT/NYU/Bremen, get a copy of Peter Hoeg’s latest novel, and save up enough dough to travel internationally for at least 5 years straight….but not necessarily in that order.

It’s raining tonight. The apartment is cluttered and utterly silent. Our oven is still broken and our kitchen ceiling still has a gaping hole in it, but I like living here regardless.

Check out the end — pretty awesome. Man, I wish I was alive 50 years ago.

What have I been doing in the week I’ve been back from Asia? Working, and making this cool film with our production team. Since Tapioca won the 48 Hour Film Project (Boston) this spring, we became eligible to compete against winners from other U.S. cities in this Fall Shootout. The criteria was extensive and totally stupid; nevertheless, we nailed it anyway. All references to Hatuchama and superpowers were, obviously, required elements of the film competition.

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