7.30.02 Cable and DVD

So, Elizabeth is home watching cable TV and calls me, "Can you grow up to look like Richard Gere? Please, please, oh please?"

"Uh ... I guess I could try ... I guess ..."

"Please, please, oh please?"

"Uhhh ..."

"Okay, who do you want me to grow up to look like?"

My mind starts rifling through the hot list of actresses, before I catch myself. A quick scan through my manly-man-manual reveals two choices, one being the non-answer clause. I choose the second, "I would like you to grow up to look like ... Elizabeth."

"Really? ... Oh, I love you so much."

I found the answer under the chapter listing the double standards men must tolerate and their associated trick questions. I'm getting good at this. (Sorry. That probably sounded meaner than it was meant to be. I was just being sarcastic. I actually like the way Elizabeth is or any way that she wishes to be, and I’m sure that’s mutual, for it what’s on the inside that counts … yada, you get it).

We finally did it though. We took the plunge. Some of you would be proud. We got cable television ... finally. We also bought a DVD player. Yeah, we're starting to live a little.

So Elizabeth and I, we've been doing a lot of life things. We've started to finally accept the fact that we are New Yorkers, or more specifically, Brooklynites, and started to live here for a little bit. We're even pinging around the idea of investing in a little place to hold us over for a little while. We’re still undergoing sticker shock in this arena.

I tell ya though, it was much more fun thinking that we were movers and shakers living on a more global scale, flying here and there, but I guess that's what a good hard recession does to people. I’m not saying that those plans are too far out of reach or not one day attainable. It just seems wiser these days to preserve and savor what you have already. Sometimes, you have to do this first in order to grow.

Well, despite the fact that we reside in a terrorist-fear filled city; despite the fact that we reside in the heart of Brooklyn. We’ve actually started *living* here. We've decided that our temporary cardboard furniture just wasn't holding up anymore. (I'm trying to be symbolic noting the cardboard furniture—but in actuality, I'm not straying *too* far from the truth—believe me, I get a lot of sh*t for this from Elizabeth).

We've decided to go do things like go to our local neighborhood theatre and to our local neighborhood restaurant. We even signed up at our local neighborhood gym and actually started going. I think we've done everything short off acquiring the local accent. We've been trying hard in that also, although to no avail.

Elizabeth has been learning some premium choice words ... if you know what I freakin' mean. Yo!