stephanie turns 25

Well, I'm officially a quarter-century old now. I'm not going through a quarter-life crisis, but I really didn't know what to do with myself today initially.

I woke up really early (which generally happens to me, it's not really birthday excitement), started a movie, and then went back to sleep. So I woke up later than usual (8:15), which resulted in me actually get a late start on the soft plans I made for myself.

My evening was taken care of. Andrew, Anna, and I had margaritas at Malo and then headed over to Taix for dinner. Before that, I went to see In Bruges at Arclight, which I really enjoyed. It's very funny, but it's also very violent. It had more blood than There Will Be Blood. Colin Farrell is great in small films. He's also really impressive in Cassandra's Dream, which I know I didn't blog about after I saw it, but I certainly recommend it. I enjoyed it a lot more than Match Point, which deals with similar themes.

Anyway, I didn't want to spend the bulk of the day in the apartment watching movies. I thought that would be depressing. Instead, I was determined to go out. The only thing I could think to do was to go to the Getty since I've wanted to see their photographic exhibits (that's pretty much the only reason I trek out there). I couldn't even think of where to eat lunch. I've been eating at home so much lately that I've even blocked my interest in going to places other than Oinkster (best hamburger in L.A.!). I only spent about an hour looking around and then decided to just eat lunch at their cafe, which I'd never even been to. It's really pretty nice and not too overpriced for a museum, especially one as isolated as the Getty.

From there I went to Arclight. I couldn't believe that in the middle of the day, on surface streets, it took nearly an hour to get between the two points. Usually during rush hour is takes an hour to get all the way home from the Getty, let alone 3 miles short of it. That was exhausting. Especially since it made it well into the 70s today with the sun beating down on me.

Oh and the first thing I did this morning was buy myself a birthday cake (but I didn't have them engrave it...that just seems weird when you buy it for yourself). But I haven't even touched it, and I won't tonight. Is it really your birthday without a cake? Sure, but now the cake seems silly. I hope it won't go stale overnight in its box. I don't have room for it in the refrigerator. We were all stuffed and sated by the insanely rich mousse Taix treated the birthday girl.

The best part? I can now rent a car without any extra massive fees.

Is this not the most boring post one could write about a birthday? I'm sorry. I am so tired. Between the one drink (which doesn't affect me until I actually get tired) and being up way past my bedtime, I'm just pooped. You're lucky any of this makes sense.

happy birthday, winona

Today is Winona Ryder's birthday. I was surprised to see her as the first birthday mention on The Bible's front page today. Someone needs to give that woman a job.

I know, this is a very exciting post after nearly a month, but my mind is a bit mush. I've spent the whole day sleeping and lounging after yesterday's long journey back from Portland, Maine. At some point I will publish photos from that trip and my trip to San Francisco a couple of weeks ago.

happy birthday, albert brooks

I'm going to take a page out of Allie's book and wish a celebrity a happy birthday. It's no ordinary birthday--he's 60! And he's not really a celebrity, because so many people think I'm talking about Mel Brooks when I profess my love for a lot of his work. Defending Your Life remains his masterpiece, but Mother is up there.

Maybe I'll have an Albert Brooks marathon today.

i know, i know...

I'm long overdue for a proper blogging session. I'll do it soon, I swear.

In the meantime, I thought I'd get started by saying that today would be my mother's 55th birthday. She died a month shy of her 48th birthday.

Happy Birthday, Mom.

do spelling mistakes alter taste?

No, they don't. Hansen's may still be the best birthday cake, even if they don't know there's a "t" in "Stephanie."

stephanie turns 24

Am I officially in my mid-twenties now? I think so.

A very lowkey birthday celebration, which is what I wanted. Anna and Andrew took me out to the movies and to dinner. I think we all had a good time!

I definitely recommend Factory Girl. Both Sienna Miller and Guy Pearce turned in excellent performances. What is this real sex business? I totally glossed over it. Looked like every other sex scene really.

Then Anna and I went to this new bar in the 'hood called Hyperion Lounge (I think you can guess what street it's on). It's unmarked except for a lit-up barbershop thingy (what are those things called?). They have a screen projecting odd movies, which is a nice distraction in a bar. I had a spicy ginger ale, but I'm so tired you would think I had something real to drink. Yeah, this blog is sort of falling flat right now because of it.

Oh well, another year, another something, right? Of course I'm young enough to still be thrilled about getting older (and I don't have any wrinkles or gray hairs to show for it yet).