Category Archives: True Life

First time pre-screening a film

First time posting to craigslist

First time playing with cream eyeshadow

First time owning a smart phone

First time cooking spaghetti squash

I didn’t consciously set out to make this a week of new undertakings, although upon reflection that wouldn’t be a bad approach to life. Completely by accident, the past week was filled with firsts.

First first–spaghetti squash. In my four decades on the planet, I’ve never met a squash I like. I avoid it whenever it’s polite and possible. But then about a year ago, spaghetti squash came as a side dish with my salmon at Bonefish Grill during a friend’s retirement dinner. I thought it’d be rude to leave it untouched, since the retiring friend was picking up the tab for everyone’s meal, so I took as small a bite as humanly possible. Then another bite. Before I knew it, I’d cleaned my plate. Hallelujah! A squash I like! Well, this week I decided to cook it myself for the first time. After quite a bit of Googling, I found directions I liked for cooking it in the microwave (there were lots of sites that recommended just poking the squash with a fork and popping it in the microwave, but that sounded like an explosion waiting to happen). In just 15 minutes I had a whole bowlful of steaming, stringy goodness–which the hubby absolutely refused to share. Apparently, he’s never met a squash he likes either.

Second first–smart phone. There was no point in getting an iPhone while we lived overseas, because it would not work in the States…unless I bought the full-price, unlocked phone and a handful of different SIM cards. So I got el cheapo pre-paid dumb phones to use overseas and an el cheapo pre-paid dumb phone to use over here during the times we were back for family visits, business trips, etc. I’ve continued using the US dumb phone the past two months, in an attempt to burn through the 800+ minutes I’d already purchased. Except the phone never has a signal when I need to dial out, and never rings when someone calls me. Enough is enough already. So this week, I got my very first iPhone. The hubby’s been coaching me in which apps to download, but my attention is focused on finding the perfect case. First things first, dear. I can’t go around with a naked phone.

Third first–screening a movie before its release. I’m a sucker for loyalty cards, so when we went to the movies a few weeks ago, I signed up for the theater chain’s reward program. The spam email commenced immediately, but buried in there was an offer for free tickets (in return for a review, I thought, but there’s been no follow up for that) to see About Time before it officially opens November 8. I’d seen the trailer (which was a bit ambiguous–date movie or chick flick?), and I didn’t think there was much chance of getting the hubby into a seat at regular price, but he was happy to go along for free. Apparently lots of people were…the theater was nearly full, unlike all the movies we’ve paid to see recently. Turns out About Time is quite suitable as either a date movie or a chick flick. You won’t find any novel twists on the traditional time travel plot, but the dialogue is good and there are lots of laughs. The fact that most of the characters were British even helped to ease my homesickness for England for just a little while.

Fourth first–cream eyeshadow. I don’t use eyeshadow often, but when I do, it’s always been the powdered variety. I can’t seem to apply it, especially if there is the slightest hint of sparkle, without getting it all over my face. At a friend’s Mary Kay party this week, I tried cream eyeshadow for the first time. I like the idea of it–no wayward sprinkles drifting down on my cheeks, but as this was also the sparkly kind, I thought it looked kinda greasy on my eyelids. Now I’ll have to investigate the existence of a matte finish shadow. If one is out there, this could be the start of a whole new era in face painting.

Fifth and final first–craigslist. In the process of moving back into our house, we found some stuff we just don’t need any more. A lot of the little stuff has made its way to Goodwill, but there are some larger items in excellent condition that we’d like to sell. I’ve heard countless people talk about items they’ve bought and sold on craigslist–its main appeal in this case is that its local, unlike ebay. I don’t have to worry about how to ship a four-piece patio set, I can just tell the buyer where to come pick it up. So I took photos and posted ads on craigslist–they’ve been active just over 24 hours. Holy wack-jobs, Batman. Gmail’s filters can’t figure out which messages to send to my inbox and which ones to send to the spam folder. I’ve gotten aggressive demands for my address, hostile inquiries (in very poor scammer grammar) about whether my ad is legit, and half-naked pictures of some chick. I’m thinking I should have paid to run classified ads in the local paper. Some firsts just don’t pan out.