Odds are good that I don't like you

It's been one of those days. Which is really unfair, because it started out so well! The coldsnap seems over -- for now, at least -- and we cranked out a lot of work.

But after lunch -- a delicious solo lunch in my beloved Pittsfield Building, first time this year -- just about everyone I interacted with annoyed me.

First, there's Elvis. Yes, The King. I wrote a rather sweet and certainly well-intentioned post in honor of his birthday (below), and someone actually responded that I need to "get informed" about his drug use. Oh, give me an ever-loving break! Just a cursory search of this blog provides evidence of how "informed" I am about Elvis' life and career. And besides, this blog is my cyber living room. When you stop by, exhibit good manners or don't stop by.

Then there's my officemate. We were talking about movies and the Golden Globes so I mentioned All the Money in the World. Turns out she knows nothing about J. Paul Getty and claims to have never even heard about Claus von Bulow. And, she said, "I don't care." Well excuse the fuck out of me. Give me a list of approved movies and topics and I'll stick to it.

Then there are the unit owners in this condo building. This coldsnap has taken its toll on the plumbing. Is this the responsibility of the unit owner or the board? Now this is something I would admit I need to "get informed" about, except that we have a lawyer on retainer. Hey! Here's an idea! Let's ask the lawyer to do his job!

Then there's my oldest friend. She's owed me $100 from my birthday trip since late November. She asked me, while we were still in Vegas, when/how I wanted the money. I told her a check would be fine, and I'd like it before I left for Key West on 12/22. She agreed, and then never delivered. OK, she's broke, she's embarrassed. Trying to be sensitive to her situation, I never mentioned it. Today she sent me a breezy pair of emails, detailing how relaxed and happy she is to be laughing with her cousin. How this move is exactly what she needed. And oh yeah, doesn't she still owe me money? Yes, girlfriend, you do.

Oh well, now I've put it all in a post and I can move on. I'm going to settle in front of the tube, cuddle a cat, and try to appreciate the here and now.

Happy Birthday, Your Highness

Today would be Elvis' 82nd birthday. Here he is celebrating his 23rd birthday during pre-production of King Creole. It is, in my humble opinion, not only his best movie, it's the last one he made before he went into the Army. Directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) and with a top-quality supporting cast, it gives us a poignant peek into what his film career could have been if it hadn't been interrupted by the draft ... and then derailed by the combined evils of Col. Tom Parker's/Hal Wallis' greed and lack of faith in his ability.

One of the most tantalizing "what might have been's" is how his life would have unfolded if Elvis hadn't become a slave to the drugs that seemed to sap his earlier ambition and undermined his ability to say "no" to the crappy post-Army movies they put him in.