October 6, 2008

Top Five

I feel like I am living inside a John Cusack movie right now. As if all the dark and twisted happenings have this undertone of humor that everyone else gets but I never experience because all I do the entire hour and forty minutes is brood. Admittedly his earlier films, like Sixteen Candles, are a bit light and fluffy for my current mood, but his independent stuff after the 1980’s turned up collar era is pretty close to how I feel.

In High Fidelity, one of my very favorite of his performances, it was all about music, how that related to his whole life and what about it defined all his relationships. He made top five lists for everything in his life; the entire movie was based around that premise. So here are some of my own top five, in no particular order.

Top five things I do all the time

Wake up and immediately pour a cup of coffee the size of my head. This corresponds with the fact that I do not speak until at least half of that cup is ingested. Some days it is the entire cup. Believe me this is safer for everyone involved.

Say please and thank you. And mean it. Common politeness is so underrated in society today.

Look at southern California. When the weather report comes on and the meteorologist shows the picture of the entire country, my eyes immediately go right for SoCal. Most of the time I miss the temperature here in the north east because I end up lingering so long over on the other side of the country.

Over analyze. Both a blessing and a curse I guess. As a writer I tend to put this quality to good use most of the time when typing away but in other areas of life it can become a bit tedious. There are days when I really wish I could be one of those blissfully unaware types, a person who never questions anything because they have no idea that they should. It would be so cool to truly be able to live in the moment without my brain always wondering what it all means.

Start things that I never finish. School, countless novels, career paths, relationships, living my dreams. The list goes on an on and it makes me good at everything but great at nothing. This is not to say that I never finish anything however, it is just that my moods and interests wane; sometimes the big things I was so enthusiastic about at first bore me after a period of time and I need to move on.

Top five favorite finishes

Stripes. Tough to complete because there is so much prep involved but they are one of the most versatile, gorgeous finishes. They can be done in so many different ways (product, color, size, etc) to achieve the perfect effect. The boys nursery is done in nine inch wide, alternating, strie stripes. It gives a wallpaper effect.


Brick. Talk about prep time but very loft chic!


Stainless steel. I have not actually installed this anywhere yet but I am dying to do so! Want to hire me? I’ll put it on your backsplash, kitchen cabinets or anywhere that sleek look is desired. Go ahead and give me a call. Have brush will travel.


Stone with veining. Another fun finish for its versatility. It looks really hot in a bathroom as tiles under chair rail.


Crosshatch. This picture shows a chameleon beige base with a pearl glaze in very flowing crosshatch basket strokes. Everywhere in the room and at all different times of the day the finish presents entirely different. For example on the lower right wall it looks like a solid color but in late afternoon the skylight above shines off the pearl and it reflects beautifully.


Top five movie quotes

“You’ll meet them all again on their long journey to the middle.”
Lester Bangs, Almost Famous

“My darling girl, when are you going to understand that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage.”
Aunt Frances, Practical Magic

“But I am an artist. I am an artist. Hey! I am an artist!”
Samantha James, Just Friends

“On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.”
Narrator, Fight Club

“What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?”
Rob Gordon, High Fidelity