Things Marti Likes
1. Fried dough. As much as I know I should be watching my weight more closely, what with it being bikini season and how I've just bought a new, less-goofy one to wear while reading on the banks of the Charles, there is something irrisistable about taking carbohydrate-filled pizza dough, throwing it into a fryer, and then liberally sprinkling cinnomon and powdered sugar on it. It's chewy, contains about a million calories per bite, and is only available from pushcarts. Well, I had it in Fenway Park once, but it wasn't very good there. Of course, this is also where we experimented with putting mustard on it instead of the sugar, which some folks swear by, but not me.

Note that powdered sugar is just fun in and of itself. You invariably use too much and it blows in your face, which looks kind of silly but offers the opportunity for being kissed or licked off by your date.

2. Acting girly around Doug. I drive him nuts. I'm hot, I do guy things, and he's not sure how much that attracts him. So it's fun to tease. I was tactile last night, spoke baby-talk to the toddler on the bit of ground next to ours, and flirted. In part I'm trying to force an issue, see if he considers me girlfriend material or whether I should look elsewhere. Or whether it's even possible for me to have a relationship with a guy who knows about my past, specifically that my past is actually someone else's past.

Because, quite frankly, I'm getting kind of horny. There's really not a lot of opportunity to relieve that sort of pressure right now. I mean, I tried the other night, drawing a bath after I got home from work and I thought Carter and Maureen were asleep, and I'm not sure which of them looked more uncomfortable at breakfast - the guy in a girl's body who not only can't stand the idea of putting his new sex organs to use (and feels responsible for me having to satisfy myself), or the girl who thinks of almost any kind of sex as a sin but is trying to be tolerant enough to not say so.

Anyway, Doug got more responsive to it as the night went on. And not just because he was getting horny; we talked about where I stand in my life and the sorts of decisions and changes I was making in it. I think that reassured him.

3. Fireworks. What's not to like; they're colorful and loud and pretty. And we do it up nice here in Boston on the Fourth, with the pops and a gigantic show that may be the largest in the country.

4. Well-earned big tips. I still don't like the idea of tipping. Admittedly, before I had a job like this, it never crossed my mind that the restaurant not paying the waitstaff their full salary because it was assumed tips would make up the difference was a pretty crappy way to do business. Think about it - on a slow afternoon, the cooks get a full wage but the waitress doesn't, even though both are just as idle. Sometimes, though, you are just in the zone - managing tricky orders for a large party while also being gregarious - and it's cool to have someone recognize it. And you've got money for...

5. Cheap movie tickets. A few weeks ago I was sent the link for Loews Theaters' discount ticket site and ordered a bunch of "weekday escape tickets". At 6/$25, that's $4.17 for a movie and a small popcorn so long as you go Monday-Thursday. The popcorn alone costs $3.50, so it's kind of a deal. Just the sort of thing a movie junkie like me loves. I'm already calculating how many movies I plan to see before the end of the year.

6. Spider-Man 2. I like Spider-Man. I like Sam Raimi. I like the cast. And everyone hits on all cylinders. It's just a beautiful, beautiful thing, especially if you're already a fan, because as well as a good movie, there's the giddiness of seeing someone do things right. It's also Sam Raimi doing full-out Sam Raimi stuff for the first time since Army Of Darkness, or at least The Quick and The Dead. Dennis and I rather amused Kate and Doug and Jen and Carlos by rehashing all the great little things this movie did, along with the great big things.

I also invited them to the housewarming party in two weeks. They were glad to come, since it's been kind of tough to find excuses to hang around together since we were laid off.

So, now I've got to make sure to get Maureen and Carter on board.

-Marti
- posted 12:04 AM - - (archive use only)