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with the weekend on my mind, i went to bed late last night, 3am, and woke up around 4:30 to the loud pitter patter of a rainstorm outside my open window. i don't have many memories growing up in taiwan, but summer rain always make me feel nostalgic for that faraway island. unfortunately, i couldn't fall back asleep until an hour later (despite the cool breeze blowing into my bedroom, a welcomed change from the dry heat), the rain having stopped already, the approaching dawn slowly lighting up the sky. when it finally came time for me to wake up, i was naturally tired. feeding on two hot strawberry poptarts wrapped in a paper towel, i bumped into dan at the subway station riding the escalator, my very first time since he and cymara moved into the neighborhood. "santa, santa claus," i whispered loudly behind his back, trying to get his attention. when he finally turned around after i called him by name, dan told me he thought maybe it was a crazy person standing behind him so he didn't turn around. he got off 3 stations later at kendall square, i went 4 more stops before arriving at south station.

work was thoroughly unmemorable. most everyone was mobilized to get a proposal out by the end of the day. i had no part in that time sensitive project, other than to burn a few demo cd's. alex was busy so i didn't even bother asking if he wanted to go running, and seeing how busy everyone was, i felt guilty if i went running on my own, so i sat this day out. around lunchtime i went to chinatown and got the spicy crispy chicken thai basil from rod thai, the most expensive thing ($6.55) on their lunch menu but very much worth the price, it's surprisingly delicious considering how its made in the sweat shop like cooking conditions of the chinatown upstairs eatery.

as the work week finally drew to a close, eliza got in touch with me as to her availability to go see saved! tonight. she didn't know whether she had to work late, and found out by day's end that she could come out and play after all, although she'd have to work this weekend. we scheduled to meet in front of the boston common theatre at 7:30. i went ahead and got the tickets in advance before eliza showed up, hair wet from having just taken a shower at her gym after a run. we went to the apollo grill where we both ordered a plate of sushi. i'm not a big sushi eater, but i wanted something light to balance out the heavy lunch, and figured the rawness of uncooked fish would constitute some sort of lightness. eliza got a big bottle of kirin beer, which i sampled, it has a light flavor, but for the life of me i still can't understand why people drink this stuff. with 10 minutes to go before our movie started, we got the leftover sushi in a doggy bag and eliza paid for dinner.

eliza and i tried to go see saved! about three weeks ago, after seeing a trailer for it when we saw coffee & cigarettes. although the movie was out at the time, it just wasn't playing here in boston, so we've been anxiously awaiting its arrival at local movie theatres. the trailers were already rolling when we got to the screening room, we sat all the way in the back. for some reason the entire back row seating had obscenely generous leg room, so we were really able to stretch out.

saved! is about the drama that takes place at a christian high school when mary (jena malone) becomes pregnant and starts to reexamine her faith in jesus. the premise might not sound very funny, but the reality of christian schools lend itself to ridicule. religion as a guideline for how to live one's life has its merits, but when it's followed blindly, when your life constantly revolves around god, that's when it becomes unhealthy, and that's when religion can wreck havoc on your life and others. organized religion seems to be a wellspring for hypocrisy. time and time again, what people preach in the film isn't what they do. from the alpha chick (mandy moore) who frames her friend to the minister who's having an affair. is the film anti-christian? it certainly makes fun of devout christianity for most of the film, but the ending is one of tolerance, an "aw shucks" afterschool special finale. mandy moore is great as the girl filled with "christ love", who is just seething with repressed rage underneath her fake happy exterior. patrick fugit (almost famous) has the role of obligatory object of desire. macaulay culkin plays hilary faye's crippled brother, he's surprisingly good in the role, he's got an old soul personality about him that really shines through, and he's one of the few characters in the movie who isn't religious. eva amurri as the lone jew cassandra is painfully funny, she tries to get into trouble every chance she can get and the school never kicks her out because they see her as somebody to be saved (the more she acts more, the more they want to save her). the movie is ambitious in the issues it tries to tackle: homosexuality, teen pregnancy, infidelity, physical disability, cliques, religion, even bad complexion. i can't help but to compare it with another "teen" movie that recently came out, mean girls, but compared to this movie, mean girls is a lightweight. as much as saved! milks the laughs, it also remains grounded in seriousness, and you never think for a moment that these are caricatures, but instead every character has a certain depth which makes it a more interesting film. it's definitely a movie worth checking out, there's many good scenes that still resonate after you're done watching the movie. it's also a good film to further the discussion about the role religion in society, and i applaud the filmmakers for tackling such a sensitive topic.

after the movie we walked down to the chinatown stop. i was hoping to get some candy from the cvs on the corner but it was closed. eliza and i parted ways, and i trekked back to cambridge, hoping that some of the stuff i online ordered this week would show up on my doorstep (no such luck). i watched the red sox beat the anaheim angels even though it looked like they'd lose for the first few innings. julie's ecstatic baseball update phone call prompted me to switch back to the game, and i was able to see it just when the red sox pulled ahead. the final few innings i actually fell asleep on the couch, my arm as a pillow, my laptop gone into sleep mode as well. not getting enough sleep last night finally taking a toll on me.