is st. elmo's fire a cult classic at georgetown? i hope so.

after sleeping away a hangover all day yesterday i, to no surprise, found myself wide awake around 2 a.m. this morning. lucky for me netflix just added a ton of movies to their watch instantly, and i was very pleased to find st. elmo's fire to be one of them.

for reasons i still haven't quite figured out, i have been a brat pack groupie since about middle school. in high school one of my favorite movies, obviously, was the breakfast club. then once in college i had to move on to a movie more relevant to my life, thus st. elmo's fire took first place in my favorite brat pack movie category. i hadn't watched this movie in several years, and there were a lot of things i had forgotten.

quick and dirty analysis, now that i'm (slightly) more mature, and (hopefully) more critical...

if emilio estevez pulled those kind of antics in real life no woman would put up with his bullshit. it's not romantic, it's creepy. instead of a steamy kiss and a snapshot, it's more likely he'd be served with a restraining order.

i remember reading somewhere that demi moore's character jules was very similar to how she was acting in real life at that time. apparently this movie was her wake-up call to get her shit together. after watching it last night, that character reminds me of the way lindsey lohan is acting now. maybe joel schumacher can give lohan a wake up call, too?

no one in real life, but especially not at 22, can have a love triangle like that of alec, leslie, and kevin. it doesn't matter how well-adjusted you think you are. if you've seen the movie, you know what i'm talking about here.

andrew mccarthy and i have an odd number of things in common. we're both whiny, overly sarcastic, and small in size in comparison to most of our friends. oh, and we also both want to be writers.

also, i'd bet money that judd nelson got more ass in that movie than he ever has in real life. he's a douche in the movie, and probably in real life.

i can't wait to be mrs. jenny lewis.

i've been thinking a lot recently about cultural norms and habits, and really how odd some of them are. i think i've just been noticing certain things more often lately, and questioning how bizarre and outdated they seem to be.

marriage in general, but certain things really baffle me. particularly taking the last name of the person you marry, customarily that of the woman adopting her husband's last name. this and all the weird suggestions of ownership, and the transfer of it, seem ridiculous to me. my advice, keep your name. there's a 50 percent chance the marriage will end in divorce anyway, save yourself the paperwork.

leading up to marriage, i'm also confused by the courting practice. one, when people only date a person they can see themselves marrying. if i only dated people who i thought i would marry i would never leave my house. secondly, i think it is outdated to assume when a person asks you on a date that they will pay for you. maybe this one is just me, and i have weird rules and habits with money, but it makes so much more sense to me when both parties pay their own way.

outside of marriage now, there are plenty of other things that confuse me. why do people take their hats off for prayer, the national anthem, at memorials? i know it's supposed to be out of respect, but how is it disrespectful in the first place? bald heads and bad haircuts are equally displeasing to the eyes. and in the winter no one takes off their knit caps. also, i don't understand why people say "sorry" after someone has told them personal bad news. it may be polite, but it's an insinsere apology for something no one can change. instead, try saying something that it might really help the person to hear. another, why do people still say, "bless you" after someone sneezes? i've shied away from the pointless habit, unless i tell someone "god bless you" and really then it's just more for irony.

finally, i do not understand the practice of shaking hands. it seems like such a cold and manufactured way of showing affection. not to mention, no one ever knows if the other person has bothered to wash their hands recently. hugging is more personal and involves less germ-sharing. that said, when i do find myself in a situation where i have the shake someone else's hand, i always judge the person based on how firm the handshake is.

thirtysomething

my netflix has recently been recommending i watch the show "thirtysomething." the series really seems horribly depressing, and considering it only stuck around for four seasons, i'm guessing i'm not the only one who is/was of that opinion. while i have no interest in watching the show, it did make me start thinking about what my life will be like when i'm in my thirties. this is assuming, of course, that palin is not elected president in 2012 and the earth doesn't destory itself.

i have a few friends who are already in their thirties so i tried comparing their lives to what i imagine i will be like in seven years. this probably isn't the best way to guess how my life will turn out though, as i have no intention of still living in columbia. unless we get a trader joe's and H&M. then i may never leave.

i also thought about the members of my family who are already in their thirties. this too is not the best way to guess what i'll be like. they all have spouses and children. these are two things i can say with near certainty i have no interest in ever having.

then i started thinking of people who were popular in the 90's and are now in their thirties. naturally my first thought was about the cast of "clueless." then i just became depressed because i was reminded brittany murphy will never again lend her voice to the character of luanne in "king of the hill." that and alicia silverstone does work for PETA now, which is such a disappointment. and paul rudd, well he's still being adorably type-cast.

so, as i do when i'm bored, i googled, "people who became popular in their 30's." a couple of the more noteable stories i found- sylvester stallone was working as a deli counter attendant until he made "rocky." martha stewart was selling stocks. and james joyce wasn't published until 32, prior to that he had a successful career as singer, famous for his tenor voice.

it seems like i've always had the advantage of things falling into place for me relatively easily. so while i'm not exactly sure what the next seven years will bring and take from my life, i feel pretty confident about them. two things that are unquestionably important for me to have (or have maintained) at 30 though, all my hair and a 30 inch waist.