Have just seen Garden State .

Follow-up: am listening to "Caring Is Creepy" by the Shins. I will probably be sending some of this music to the Steph. You are warned, the Steph!

Oddly, my review of this film is pretty well stated in Elliot's blog review of this film. It was a really good movie, and funnier than I expected it to be. I walked out of the film feeling rather uplifted, which is strange because I don't actually think the movie was all that uplifting. (Pat, see re: our hypothetical action flick.) Nevertheless, it made me feel good about people in general. Of course, this could just be my typical mood lately. Since I got back from California, I've mentioned to people that I've been in a very chatty mood. The weather has been cool this week, and I've managed to feel just happy sitting around. I've posted a lot, and I've been talking to lots of new people. And liking it . What's next, making new friends? I've just been in a very friendly and cheerful mood of late. Of course, today I also had waves of deep unhappiness and paranoia, which hasn't really happened since I was so integrated in interpersonal relationships before. I realized that I still don't like most people, and I still don't want to know most of them, because most of them are stomach-turning shits. And it was nothing in particular that brought about this realization, either. Just a gradual dawning. Anyway, I hope my mood regulates itself soon, and hopefully in a way that won't leave me open and unsuspecting of hurt and disappointment. ... It was a lot hotter and more humid today.

Further thoughts on the film. This movie almost made me like Natalie Portman again. I liked her in The Professional , or, excuse me, Léon , and in nothing else since. This is not a good track record. I actually feel she's on par with Kirsten Dunst, in the sense that both have a great deal of talent, but rarely give performances befitting that talent. Kirsten has the double advantage of showcasing her talent more often, and having a personality that I feel much more at ease with. Also, the movie, despite being called "Garden State" did not feel or seem to accurately portray New Jersey, which is odd, since it was filmed almost entirely in Essex County, in which I live. Yet there was very little I recognized. At one point, the characters go into Newark, and it looked nothing like the city at all. Only sometimes did it feel "New Jersey-ian" - the architecture of the houses, particularly.

Today, I shamed myself by actually having a foodstuff advertised as "low carb." I feel dirty. But it was also advertised as a high-protein drink, which is why my mother bought it for me. My body is low on protein, as well as sugar, salt, fluids, white blood cells, and blood pressure. Heart rate and thyrois output, however, are up up up! I am, apparently, not a very healthy person. Which is odd, because I feel fine. Unless I feel like I'm going to faint or throw up, which lately is every day. So ... yay!?

Monday I'm going to court, bright and early! I hope that my effort to freak the establishment turn out well.