2002-02-09 - 12:37 a.m.

On the internal soundtrack: "Get Back", Beatles

So, I have a couple hours to myself while Poindexter has lunch with three of his former coworkers. I'm looking forward to hearing all about it when he gets back. I was welcome to come along, but it sounded too much like a "guy lunch" and I figured either I'd be bored because I couldn't follow the conversation, or I might put a damper on things for them, being the only chick there.

We are in San Jose now, after our weekend with Poindexter's friend and his family. I want to gush about them, but can't figure out how to do it without invading their privacy. Suffice to say that I like these people a LOT and I actually didn't really want to leave for San Jose. And their fourth-grade son is so downright adorable and sweet that I actually revised my opinion of parenthood a notch or two. Not enough that I want to be a parent, but that it wouldn't necessarily be as horrible as I thought.

The main reason I liked them so much was because they all seemed so genuinely sweet and nice, but with a wicked sense of humor. I think "nice" is underrated. Nice people are often seen as pushovers, or doormats, or boring. I've heard people complain that "nice" is a lie, that it just means people are hiding their negative thoughts. I don't think this is always true. For some people -- myself included -- being nice is just what comes naturally. I want to be nice for *me*, because I feel better about myself when I'm nice, and because I get pleasure out of seeing other people liking my niceness. I never say anything I don't mean "just to be nice". I just make an effort to look for the positive in everyone, so it's easy.

We went to the Sharks game last night, and I got a really good action shot. One of the Sharks (Poindexter tells me it's Teemu Selanne) got ahold of the puck, and went tearing down the ice all alone, everyone else running after him, and got the shot on goal. You can see the puck in the photo, although it's blurred:

Before the game, there was a guy outside with a big sign and a megaphone, preaching. The reverse side of the sign says something different, and it's also very big on the "hell" aspect. He was using the scare tactics to win you over to Christ, I guess:

Things like this make me wonder: If I accept Jesus Christ as my savior because I'm scared of going to hell, not because of a true faith, does that count? I always figured Jesus would be able to tell I was just going through the motions, and I don't know if you get brownie points for trying or not. I mean, there are all kinds of rules about being a Catholic. It's possible to follow all the rules, and yet still not really believe in it all. I did that for years. Does that count?

The highlight of the game for me personally was the "Kiss Cam". They would focus the camera on people in the audience, and they were expected to kiss. I love this kind of thing. My parents kiss all the time, and so do we, and it was just the kind of thing that would be perfect for me. I was all puckered up, waiting for them to focus on me and Poindexter, but they didn't. Fuckers. When I mentioned it later, Poindexter laughed and said, "I knew it! I knew it, you were just sitting there, DYING to be on the kiss cam." He was lording it over me and making fun of me. Argh. Sometimes having someone know you really well is annoying.

Anyway, all but one couple kissed. The exception was a woman who practically fell out of her chair trying to get away from the guy, saying, "He just a friend!" All I could think was, what if the guy really likes her, and she only thinks of him as a friend? Major humiliation in front of thousands. That would be sad. I think at one point she picked up his hand to point to his wedding ring, though.

Another highlight of the game (for me, that is; perhaps not for true hockey fans) was the gift-dispensing shark blimp. This thing fascinates me and wigs me out at the same time. There's something really disturbing about a blimp inside a closed arena:

Apparently San Jose has done with sharks what Chicago did with cows: Everywhere you go, there are sharks painted in wild colors in lobbies, at the arena, and I think I spotted one in a fountain. It's really cool.

So, finally, a word to the wise: Don't let drunk people, however friendly and nice, take your picture:

previous index next