On the Outs, and Loving Every Minute

It's spring and I have a new goal. I am trying to be more "out of it." The very phrase, "out of it," is out of it, so I am off to a good start. The other reason I am optimistic is that, if truth be told, I have been out of it for a while, but I'm just now turning it into something I want to be, instead of something I don't want to be.

For example, in the past I've felt a bit foolish having never seen the TV shows "The Sopranos" or "Sex and the City" -- the reason being that no matter how well done they were/are alleged to be, they sound trashy to me. I was never inclined to make the acquaintance of mobsters, even those who regularly have their heads shrunk. And I was somehow less than curious to learn about the sex habits of women who wore very high heels. In fact, we don't have HBO, which I know our friends in New York, where we live, think is odd.

I say "we." Yes, my husband is in this with me. Since he is a math professor, he has had a really good start. I don't know whether you know any mathematicians, but if you mention, say, J.Lo to a mathematician, he is likely to think you are talking about something red that is refrigerated. I know who J.Lo is, but I don't want to know. In fact, she is largely responsible for my new goal because I decided that something is wrong with my life if I know who she is or isn't on the verge of marrying. And it's not just J.Lo. It's everyone in showbiz. I have nothing against them personally. I just feel my head can absorb just so much information and, now that I'm getting older, I'm pickier about what's in there.

I confess I got somewhat hooked by the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" show on TV (which may be "in it" in some social worlds but is wildly out of it in mine), but we have never seen "Friends," "Everybody Loves Raymond" or any of those other people everyone loves. Nor have we seen any of those reality shows, except once for five minutes. I don't know about you, but my life is too short for even five minutes of Donald Trump.

We do go to the movies now and then and have a nice time. But that's because we don't see any of the movies you're supposed to see. I saw previews of some of the Oscar winners, for example -- and, although they seemed awfully well done, they looked upsetting.