and on the sixth day

God made the shower with a drain pipe that didn't just dump water all over the VW Passat in the garage. And it was good.

Of course, one problem solved in the world of construction usually means another problem created. In an effort to get at the pipe without ripping out the shower tile, they chipped out a rather large hole in the garage ceiling. I have been hiding from my building manager all week.

In any case, the past ten days of non-blogging have been difficult. It's been a week of rough realism. I met with my adviser and we were both so very unidealistic about the job market situation. I've now looked over the list and I think I'll send out cover letters to around 10 Research 1 schools. I feel totally unprepared for this process--really, comparative literature produces mutts who can't compete at the big dawg shows.

The writing has also been very weighed down. I've produced a decent proposal and abstract but it's such pedestrian writing. I say pedestrian, the adviser says clear.


Netflixed
Henry Fool

Monsieur Ibrahim (et les fleurs du Coran)
I loved this movie. The ending is beyond the cheese and back, but mostly, the portrayal of the abandoned boy's life and how he develops the relationship with the old Omar Sharif hits just the right mix of sympathy and humor. And I was inspired to buy the Bobby Hebb song "Sunny," which I very much recommend.

Hardboiled

Restau 99
The Hungry Cat
After going to Hungry Cat,we saw one of the last performances of Culture Clash's run of Zorro in Hell at the Ricardo Montalban theater. It was a really fun show. The timing is perfectly paced and as agit-prop, it always seems in conversation with topical political issues, but without feeling like a stilted turn away from the show's own trajectory. However, I have to agree with Nikki's assessment that the way homosexuality functions as the site of fear is pretty problematic: sodomy as the punishment for not yet understanding the central importance of Zorro and how to inhabit his resistant legacy.

Dominick's
My dad loved this place. It's a good Italian place, we had manicotti and tender-tender hanger steak. The terrace area is beautifully pleasant.

Caioti Pizza Cafe
4346 Tujunga Ave, Studio City, CA 91604.818.761.3588
Finally! Yummy pizza we can both agree upon.
And a fantastic goat cheese and beet salad.

Mimosa
8009 Beverly Blvd. LA, CA 90048. 323.655.8895
Frances and I went over on Tuesday night. We had a lovely evening together: my choices off the menu were my favorites: I had a pistou soup and a chicken au jus with a fabulous succotash that I think would work with most anything: corn, olives, red bell peppers, rapini. But bring a sweater--the air con in there is out of control.