Tomorrow is going to be a rainy day. I have plans for this rainy day.

I am going to work on my newly assigned paper, I am going to complete one of my other smaller homework assignments, I’m going to modify the CSS and HTML for the book blog component of researchgirl.com (and maybe even write/source some content for that as well) and perhaps do a little poetry writing since I have some shreds to begin weaving together… or at least an idea of a story to tell. It’s a good feeling.

Also, I think I forgot to mention that last night, when my friend and I went to the theatre to see “Brokeback Mountain,” the movie ticketseller asked MY FRIEND if I was old enough to see the movie - as though she were my guardian. Rated R movies indicate that kids under 17 are not able to see a movie without a parent or guardian. She was asking my friend if I was old enough to see the movie with her? Which means she thought I was UNDER 17… possibly… how old???

I turned to the ticketseller, started getting my license out of my wallet and got rather belligerent, saying, “I’ve been old enough to see this movie for 11 years.” (Actually, only 10 years, but since my birthday is in April, I felt comfortable inflating the figure to 11). She replied, “Well, I have to ask…” to which I wanted to say, “You didn’t ask my friend… if you ‘have to ask’, then ask everyone and spare me the insult.” Do it like the chain restaurants do - they have their big “flair” pins that state “If you look under 35, we card!”

I was telling Vin about this tonight and he commented that “most women” would take that sort of thing as a compliment. I retorted that I am not “most women” and that this youthful appearance has been a chip on my shoulder (and not imaginary, either) for the duration of my adult life to date. I can worry that my weight or my height will hold me back in the professional and academic worlds - but those are things that I can change somewhat through diet and exercise or by wearing high-heeled shoes. The fact that I look like I’m under 17 and I’m actually pushing 30? No amount of makeup or cleavage will change that. I’d just look like a slutty teenager rather than a grown woman.

Of course, I have the comfort of knowing that this applies to my appearance only (I hope against hope). The minute I open my mouth, people realize that I’m not a teenager, that I’m past being a college student and that I’m a reasonably intelligent individual, if not somewhat intimidating (which I’ve been told that I am. Apparently, this is because I’m well-spoken and don’t “ummm” and “uhhh” and “like” a lot, if at all.)(Though this aspect of my speech also depends upon the audience and environment. With my friends, for example, I speak intelligently, but also develop the biggest potty-mouth. So uncouth! Not ladylike at all!)

If I could always introduce myself over the phone or via email - through words or speech - I think I’d get a lot more respect. This is typically the way it works at work, but not in personal life. It seems to me that the whole “first impression/appearance” thing is a much stronger factor in non-business life than in business life. You can wear shoes that are last year’s style and wear a crappy shade of lipstick at work, but if you know what you’re doing and do it well, you’re going to be fine. If you commit the same blunders when being introduced to people in a social setting, I think the forgiveness and acceptance are a lot harder to come by and the first impressions are a lot more difficult to work past.

Perhaps I’m overanalyzing. Perhaps not. These are just my little observations and analyses.

I’m watching a terrible/fantastically fun movie I rented from Netflix called “The Sword and the Sorceror” (not to be confused with “The Sword and the Stone). It’s from 1982 and it’s a super-cheesy action/adventure/fantasy - complete with a demon-creature named Zeus or something like that, and a throne usurper named Cromwell!!! It’s very much along the lines of “Conan the Barbarian”, “Beastmaster” or “Red Sonja” in terms of the style of moviemaking, the music, the stock characters and themes. I’m just laughing and laughing. And for those of you who care, there are boobies all over the place in the scenes at the castle and in the army’s camp. Those rebel chicks give it up for any serf, soldier or wannabe-king. Again, more laughing from me.

Goddamn this dry winter weather. My skin is so itchy and dry. I’m going to take an oatmeal bath tomorrow with the Aveeno stuff I bought a few months ago (when my skin was just beginning to feel tight and dry from the weather) and let that do it’s work. I also have the Aveeno lotion with colloidal oatmeal, so I’ll apply that liberally to my elbows and legs (which are exceptionally dry since I shaved my legs two days ago) and I should be able to fall asleep without too much irritation.

Thank goodness I don’t have celiac sprue disease or else I’d be absolutely f-ed - not able to apply anything containing wheat or oats or gluten to any part of my body or ingest anything containing those ingredients either. It’s amazing how many products that I use on a daily basis would be off-limits and potentially fatal if I had that sensitivity.

It’s a little after midnight, so I will get back to my movie. There’s a sword fight between a dude who was thought to be dead and the man who is avenging his parents’ and siblings’ deaths at the hand of the dude we thought was dead. Always a good reason, but full of the inconsistencies consistent with any sword fight… they’re too polite and wait for each other to regain footing before striking again. I know part of it is good/fair swordplay and all that, not hitting someone while he’s down… but how am I supposed to believe that the villain is truly villanous if he won’t take advantage of an opponent’s weakness, after he murdered his entire family and had his troops rape and pillage the village in which Avenging Man was living?? What - filleting him with his sword would be mean?

C’est la vie.