stellaluna

I write to you from my new apartment.

Got moved in yesterday, and everything went much better than I had expected, despite the fact that this was supposed to be the hottest weekend of the year. Everyone showed up on time, Uhaul didn't lose my reservation, the truck...more or less functioned, and we were done by 12:30. I mean done; we had taken the truck back and everything. I had, along with J., three male friends helping me, and all I can say is that, very occasionally, stupid machismo pays off.

("OF COURSE I can lift four boxes at once. The fact that I have a busted knee and have to have surgery in the fall doesn't affect my lifting abilities AT ALL.")

I also have all of the amenities except for cable, and they're coming tomorrow. In the meantime, I've been watching DVDs. Because I'm a crazy person, I'm also entirely unpacked and have put almost everything away, and have already disposed of the empty boxes.

I just like being organized, and I hate living out of boxes.

This is a really, really nice apartment, and it looks great now that I've cleaned up most of the moving mess. It's going to look even better after I put the new couch in.

So. HI. Maybe now my brain will return, and I'll be able to write some of the fic and meta that I've been so frozen on for the past month or so.



I was very sad to see Malan go, which I didn't expect after my initial, not terribly positive reaction to him in the first episode. Here, though? I felt bad for him; despite his oddness and pretension, he was kind to everyone else, and it became pretty clear that the oddness and pretension are his way of coping with the world. He probably really has been the outsider for most of his life, and his genuine sorrow at being let go got to me, much more than a reality show should.

Aside from that, though, I didn't think it was a fair ousting. Don't get me wrong; his dress didn't work. The heavy ruching on the bodice wasn't going to do anyone any favors, and the deep brown was all wrong for a pageant dress, even if Miss USA did request earth tones. But he was someone who had potential -- his initial sketch was much better than what he ended up with, and I think a dress in the same cut would have worked much better in a different color and with a less heavy top part -- and I would have liked to see what he might have done in upcoming challenges.

Angela needed to be the one to go, I thought. I don't think for a second that Vincent is a peach to work with, but she was pulling the passive-aggressive routine right from the start, and it seemed like she'd made up her mind pretty early on that she didn't believe in the dress and didn't want anything to do with it. Which completely misses a big part of the point of this exercise: it was supposed to be about teamwork. What bothers me more is her announcement that she doesn't sketch, and that she went into her pitch meeting with Miss USA without even a clear vision for what she might design. If she doesn't have a coherent vision or practical skills, why is she here?

Vincent's dress -- the shoulders were a disaster, but the color was good, and the crisscrossed back was really nice. I do think Kayne's win was deserved; he came up with a good dress and, more importantly, he demonstrated knowledge of what works for a pageant -- not surprisingly, given his specialty. The color should really pop on stage, and I particularly liked the necklace-as-halter, which tied the whole design together.



So if I have enough brain power to write about this show in detail, I should maybe soon have enough to write about all things CSI:NY again...yes? I hope.