In like a lion...

... is what March should be. Well, here it was pretty quiet. I had a quiet little weekend and there was no 'weather' to speak of, as the Midwesterners say. Just the regular wind, the regular sunshine, the regular coffee on the patio in 82 degrees.

So, a brief diversion tonight. A few things:

• I have now bought things I would never, I mean never, have bought in the USA. The first is bottled water. I broke down after a week in the new place. Costa Rica has treated water, it reeks of chlorine and should be a-ok for the digestion... but, ah, no. So after seven days, I've bought a huge bottle of water for this week as I reset my Delicate System. You can just call me Josh Lyman.
• The second: I also bought mayonnaise in a bag that pours from a spout. I will photograph this if you have not seen it. Now... me buying mayo should come as no surprise. But in a weird plastic bag with a spout? It is interesting. (I skipped the incredibly popular Mayo-with-Lime this time. Lime is in EVERYTHING here. In plantain chips? YES. In mayo? Eh... NO.)
  
• The third: I spent too much money on a sweater from MANGO today. MANGO, or MNG, is the more upscale Argentinian department store. I tried it on, I loved it, and I thought, nope, you can't spend 25,000 colones on a sweater. Then my shopping companion asked, "Yeah, but will you wear it?" And I realized, yes. Yes I will. This is the sort of sweater that I will wear for ten years and then bemoan not buying two. I will debut it around the wedding time, I promise. It is perfection in a light pink, vintagey-looking package.

In closing, Arthur and his magical Mac skills are not lost on many of you. This weekend, it meant that he figured out some way of transporting to me, through Advanced Transfiguration classes maybe? or his innate non-Muggleness?, copies of both "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset." (Teh Internetz Rool!) There is a chance I have made you watch these films. If I have not...

Look, really, I love being your friend. I love being part of your family. But if you don't at least like these movies a bit (or hopefully love them to a sort of unhealthy degree) we can't be friends or family anymore. I'm sorry. I really am. But this is more than cinematic perfection, though it is that. It is life at its best, it is the ages of 23 and 34 captured with vision, understanding, compassion, humor, heartbreak and artistry. We just can't be friends if you don't love these two films. (Though if you do, can we debate which is better and why? I might die of excitement.)

And now! And now! I can watch them anytime I want and I will never, ever, ever, forget them again. I watched "Before Sunrise" on VHS for the first time when I was 15, a year after it came out. I dragged John to "Before Sunset" in 2004, when we were first dating, on opening weekend. They are probably unnatural influences on my life, but there you have it. (Not probably. They are.) I can't blog with a focused mind anymore, because I am off to watch "Before Sunrise." Again. Thanks to Mom for buying the DVDs many years ago - they're nearly worn out! - and thanks, muchisimas, to Arthur. Either for appreciating my obsession with the films, or for sending me a digital fix, mainlined. Uh, you know. Whichever way you like to look at it.





(Side note. These films remind me of many people, many times in my life, many memories good and bad. But I am often, recently, reminded of Adrienna the most when I watch them. She is very amazing.)